The Paradise of Darkness... It was named after the Paradise, but for the people who were trapped inside this place in the past, this was no less than hell itself.
Novius rarely used this spell in real life situations, but whenever he did, he made sure to kill the person that made him use it. Not a single person in a battle with Novius had managed to come out alive.
Fortunately, at present, Novius wasn't fighting an enemy, so he wasn't in any hurry to end the battle. There was not a shred of anger on his face.
As time kept passing, the Dark Manifestation of Gabriel started disappearing as the effects of the spell were near its end.
The shackles made of Dark Mist were waiting to entrap Gabriel as soon as he was out of his Dark Manifestation, and even Gabriel could see it. In any case, he didn't want to be caught since getting out was going to be very hard as well.
"Ten seconds before the spell's Effects are over... What can you do, little one?" Novius asked, wondering if he could actually be surprised by Gabriel.
"Nine..."
He started counting down, having an exact idea when that spell was going to end.
"Eight..."
There was no way out of this situation, according to him, since as soon as Gabriel's spell was over, before he could cast any other spell, his Shackles were going to capture him, even taking his Ancestral Staff from him.
"Seven..."
Gabriel also heard the countdown, and he knew that it was accurate. He only had seven seconds of this spell, but he had already thought of a way as well.
He held his Ancestral Staff firmly.
"Five..."
Novius had just spoken when Gabriel swung his Ancestral Staff of Darkness, canceling his Dark Manifestation before it was time. Novius knew exactly when his spell was going to end, so the best way to throw him off was to end the spell much sooner! That was the plan, at least.
Gabriel understood that Novius knew he was trying to vie for time, so it was clear that he was going to hold out with each spell as much as he could, utilizing every second, but that's where he was wrong.
For his own safety and to gain an element of surprise, Gabriel changed his strategy midway. He ended his spell, even though it meant wasting a few seconds of his precious spell.
Initially surprised, Novius was slow to react since he had already decided to use his Shackles at the end of his count when the spell supposedly ended.
Even the slightest delay in his reaction now gave Gabriel an opportunity.
"Shadow Dispersal!" Gabriel chanted, turning into a shadow that disappeared into the Dark Domain.
"Even that can't save you, my dear disciple!" Novius started rising in the air. Since he knew Gabriel wanted to waste time, even he decided to grant Gabriel's wish this time.
He flew high in the air since the shadow couldn't reach the air. If Gabriel wanted to fly, he had to cancel the Shadow Dispersal, which meant he had to come out of hiding. That way, Novius knew that Gabriel couldn't attack him from behind.
Boom~
As soon as the man settled down in this air, something solid came, hitting him straight in the head, sending him flying back to the ground.
Gabriel appeared out of thin air where Novius was standing before. It was as if he was expecting this from Novius. He even knew the exact spot where to hide.
With the distraction of the Dark Manifestation, Novius had forgotten that there was another spell that Gabriel had cast before that looked quite ordinary... It was the Wings of Light.
Because the spell was so basic that it even skipped Novius' mind. When Gabriel ended his Dark Manifestation, he kept his Wings of Flight.
In essence, Gabriel cast two spells at the same time, all with the expectations of getting Novius. He also didn't speak before the attack this time, learning a lesson from his battle with Cylix!
The Ancestral Staff of Darkness was similar to a magical staff, helping the caster strengthen their spell, but as it was an Ancestral Tier Staff, it was also unbreakable, working as a blunt weapon in situations like this.
Novius was hit out of nowhere, being momentarily surprised as well as stunned. The attack wasn't weak either. Even with his hardened defense, he could still feel blood trickling down his forehead as he flew back.
Fortunately, before he could fall to the ground, his mist captured him, softening his fall.
Gabriel didn't chase after Novius but for a reason. As Novius was stunned, trying to balance himself on the ground with his aching head, Gabriel had already finished casting another spell.
The defensive battle had gone on for long. Even Novius knew what he was planning, and if he still wasn't stressed enough, that meant he knew that even with all defensive spells, Gabriel couldn't outlast his Paradise of Darkness. This was also why Gabriel changed his strategy back to an offensive one.
It didn't matter if Novius had the invincible Paradise of Darkness; he was going to break it down, and more with his own Paradise of Darkness.
"Night of Darkness!"
A second spell was cast by Gabriel, which turned the entire world pitch black. Even Novius couldn't see anything in this darkness.
Night of Darkness was another spell that had a very short range. It only had ten meters of range, but as long as the spell was in effect, no one except the Caster could see anything within those ten meters. It was like the entire world was swallowed by eternal darkness, which took everyone's vision with it.
"I see... It seems you're getting serious. I should also oblige." A dark robe appeared behind Novius, made purely of the dark mist in the surrounding.
His body started rising in the air once again, but this time he kept his eyes closed. Since the world was already dark, there were only two ways to see. Either he could leave the range of the spell, or he could fight without sight, but for him, the latter option was more interesting.
Swiss~
Novius moved to the left gracefully, avoiding another attack. Gabriel had once again appeared behind Novius, who couldn't see. Surprisingly, even without his eyes, Novius avoided the attack.
Boom~
Thousands of Dark Needles appeared all around him, shooting in every direction, especially in the back where Novius expected Gabriel to be standing.
"Wrong place..." Gabriel's voice came, but this time it didn't come from behind Novius. It came from above.
Novius flew toward the source of the voice, only to sense a destructive energy under him as if a powerful spell was being cast into the ground.
"Night of Destruction!"
Gabriel's voice came, surprisingly, this time from the ground. Even though Novius taught Gabriel every spell he knew, even he was surprised at how Gabriel was doing it. How was he switching places so fast? It was as if there wasn't just one Gabriel here!
Gabriel cast the Night of Destruction, which was the most powerful individual spell of Novius if one was to ignore the Paradise of Darkness. The only problem was that the spell wasn't easy to cast as it took the blood of the caster and time to set it up as well.
The lengthy preparation was what made this spell the hardest to use since that much time was enough for the opponent to defeat a person.
It was only now that Novius started realizing everything! The [Dark Manifestation], then the [Shadow Transformation], followed by the [Night of Darkness], it was all a plot by Gabriel!
"Ha... Haha… Hahaha!" Novius bursts into laughter, realizing what just happened. "That was very..."
A powerful destructive energy spread out in all directions, mostly going to the sky where Novius was standing.
The dark yet destructive energy shrouded Novius, who was in the air and away from the protection of his mist, taking him in its embrace…
