Even as Gabriel received the Grimoire of Necromancy, he had only received two Spells and that too, low tier spells. According to Lira, it was because he wasn't strong enough to use more powerful spells and it was the Grimoire's way of protecting him.
However, with time, he realized that he needed a more powerful spell if he wanted to rob the Academy. He had no other choice but to request the Grimoire for more powerful spells.
That's where the cycle began... A Cycle where he started receiving more powerful spells. From that point on, he had become a Mid Tier Mage straight from Novice Mage and learned High Tier Spells of other Elements as well.
He couldn't have guessed just how much burden such a thing was placing on his body since he wasn't even aware of a phenomenon like that. As if to make things worse, he entered the Tower of Challenges where he had to use his powerful spells more often than not.
He only used to think that the reason he felt so weak after using a High Tier Spell was because his soul was exhausted, but it was only thanks to the Mirror on the top floor that he found out just how troublesome this matter actually was.
Affording to the Mirror, he was on a clock. The more he used his powerful spells, the shorter his time left was going to be, since every time he used ones, he was harming his body.
The Mirror didn't say that he was going to die if he fought people, or used powerful spells, but it did suggest him to avoid any battles if possible.
Fortunately, he was also told the solution of this problem. All he needed to do was find one item. Until then, he wanted to avoid fighting or using any powerful spells since he wanted to make sure that he had enough strength left in case of emergencies in the future. He didn't want the Soul Healing Pills to become ineffective for him.
That's also one of the reasons he didn't fight the Head Council Members properly, only killing Yoan. That was also a main consideration for him when he decided against infiltrating the Holy Church of Light.
Before anything, he wanted to go to the Arecia Empire and take what he needed.
It was his biggest consideration in not using any powerful spells of Necromancy until now. Even though it was a powerful element, that's what also became its biggest flaw at the time when his own body was struggling to contain the power of his soul.
He wasn't even sure if his Necromancy Spells were going to work or not, as they were also part of his magical spells. If they were also going to be nullified, using powerful spells was no less than a waste in this situation.
Fortunately, now that the Infernal Emperor and the real Izen weren't here, this was also what provided him with a perfect opportunity! With Izen's absence, the effect of Magical Immunity on his clones should've been weaker due to distance. At least he believed so.
If he was ever going to succeed with his Necromancy Spells, it was now.
He also called out his Ancestral Staff of Necromancy, which arrived, accompanying a powerful aura of death with it that even made Izen's clones flinch for a moment.
Even the real Izen who had just started fighting the Infernal King was shocked as he momentarily stopped in place. As he was connected to the clones, he could see what they were seeing and feel the Ancestral Staff's aura.
The Ancestral Staff of Darkness was something that was kept at the Academy of Elements for the longest of times.
He had seen the Ancestral Staff of Darkness quite a few times. In the first glance itself, he was sure that the Ancestral Staff that Gabriel was holding onto wasn't the Ancestral Staff of Darkness!
For some reason, he had a bad feeling. It was as if he had to go back to Gabriel and if he didn't, all his clones were going to die! Even though the clones were created using a spell, it wasn't as easy to recreate them.
It took him close to three decades to create twenty such clones who could share his strength. If they were all destroyed, he could only regain one each year. They were akin to limited resources which he didn't want to lose. And seeing the arrival of Ancestral Staff, that's what he worried.
"I need to get there to stop him!" He started flying back.
"You aren't going anywhere!" Izen had just moved when a seventy feet fall wall of blue flames appeared before him, blocking his path.
"Stay out of my path!" Izen roared in rage.
The Infernal King didn't listen to the man and attacked.
"Fine! I'll kill you first and then capture your master!" He joined his hands together. "Blessing of the Goddess!"
He cast another spell which cast a barrier around him. As the barrier only had to concentrate on him, it was much much more stable than the barrier he cast on everyone else before. It was also more resistant.
****
While the real Izen was being held back by the Infernal King, Gabriel already finished the preparation.
He raised his head, looking at the sky that was covered in clouds. A strange yet powerful energy started filling up the entire surrounding, giving even the clones of Izen a bad feeling.
All the Clones attacked together. However, this time, it was as if Gabriel wasn't going to hold back. He wanted to avoid using his Origin Element, but now that he did, he wasn't going to be stingy. If that's what he needed to destroy them, he wasn't going to hold
"Shield of the Dead." He cast a protective spell around him.
"What... is... happening?" All the clones rushed to Gabriel to attack him, but as soon as they got close to him, they saw thousands of evil spirits appear out of nowhere. The Dark Spirits surrounded him from all sides, as if creating a whirlpool around him, protecting him from all kinds of attacks.
The screeches of the Dark Spirits were painful and scary. The screeches of the Dark Spirits alone were enough to scare an ordinary human into submission.
"What in the..."
All Izen Clones were shocked. They had seen many Dark Spells, but a spell that uses the evil spirits? And the Ancestral Staff that they didn't see before? Was this guy really a Dark Mage? They couldn't believe that anymore!
There was no way that this person was just a Dark Mage! But then what was it? Despite so many questions, they all couldn't waste time. They attacked at the same time.
"Curse of the Dead!" Gabriel also finished his spell…
