Xin declared that she was going to offer the Spirit Tomb Key. Her words clearly shocked all her friends, who couldn't believe she had offered the Key! Seeing their reactions, even Gabriel could feel that this key was something special for them.
Xin never thought she would have to give away such a precious treasure. She was sure that if her father found out what she did, he was going to be really angry.
Unfortunately, she didn't have any other choice at the moment. She wanted to survive, and she wasn't sure if the items they had previously offered were enough to sway Gabriel. Other than that, she only had the Spirit Key, which she could think of.
"Spirit Tomb Key?" Gabriel was pretty new in the world of Mages. He didn't even know about the Numens until not long ago, let alone something like the Spirit Tomb Key. It was his first time hearing of something like that.
He looked at Raphael, who also looked just as confused at him.
"What do you know about the Spirit Tomb Key?" he asked. He wasn't sure if it was wise to tell the girl that he didn't know anything about it, but if he asked her in a different way, he knew he could get some answers.
He made it appear like he was testing Xin's knowledge.
"It's the key to the only known Tomb left behind from the Era of Gods," Xin answered. From Gabriel's expression, she didn't know what he was thinking. "There are only a limited number of such keys that allow entry into the Tomb, and each Empire only possesses two such keys with them..."
'A Tomb from the Era of Gods?' Gabriel was slightly surprised but didn't let it show on his face. If he wasn't wrong, the Tower at the Academy was also from the Era of Gods, but these people didn't know about it.
"One of our keys is held by my brother. The other is held by me. I am willing to trade that key for our lives!" The girl exclaimed.
She didn't know what the world was going to think once they found out that she had given one of the keys to a Dark Mage, but currently, she had to protect their lives first.
Despite her explanation, Gabriel didn't react, which made Xin wonder if he really didn't like the exchange offer.
She just kept her head down and really hoped that he would take that offer.
Gabriel hadn't heard about the Tomb before, but for now, he found it quite interesting.
"Fine. Give me the key, and I promise to let you leave safely in return."
Xin stared into Gabriel's eyes, trying to see if he was really serious. From her tone, it didn't look as if he was lying.
Eventually, she brought out a key that she was using as a pendant.
She gave the beautiful silver key to Gabriel.
Gabriel held the key firmly. Strangely enough, he could feel a really familiar feeling from the key. It was an energy quite similar to his Grimoire. The key was certainly not an ordinary key, but he wasn't sure how it was related to his Grimoire.
There were no strange marks on the key. It was only the shape of the key that was different than any key he had ever seen before.
"Where is the Spirit Tomb?" he asked the girl. "And when can people enter it?"
It was clear that the Spirit Tomb wasn't open yet. If it was, she was sure the girl would've already gone there instead of wasting time elsewhere. Even if she had already gone inside before, she could've given it to someone else in her Empire to enter. But she didn't. That could only mean that the Spirit Tomb wasn't open.
Xin didn't respond right away as she thought about fooling Gabriel. However, she was hesitating as well. What if she lied and was caught? That was going to be worse.
'Should I tell him that he can enter whenever he wants and let him suffer? If I don't tell him about the time when the protection around the Spirit Tomb is off, and entry is allowed, the Protection should be able to kill him before he even gets close,' she thought, but just the thought of trying to fool Gabriel was making her heart shake.
She was scared. She didn't know just what skills Gabriel possessed, but if there was one that helped him catch lies, then she was as good as dead after telling a lie. Moreover, she wasn't even sure if Gabriel didn't know about it and was just testing her.
Eventually, she let out a tired sigh and decided to play it safe. In any case, so what if she told him the safe time? By the time the Tomb allowed entry, the others with keys were going to be there as well.
As soon as their sides saw a dark mage, they were going to take action. It was better to let them handle things on their own instead of risking her own life...
"The Spirit Tomb is surrounded by protective formations that can't even be broken by a Holy Priest. The formation only stops working once every four years, and that too only for a short time. That's the rule where a person is allowed to approach the Tomb and use the key," she answered honestly.
"So that's why you aren't there," Gabriel understood why the girl wasn't there yet. It was because she couldn't. "When will be the time when the formation stops?"
"It happens once every four years. After exactly one month, it will be four years since it last stopped working. That should be the time you can enter."
Xin told Gabriel everything he asked and sometimes even things that he didn't ask, all in hopes of being able to leave this place alive.
Gabriel kept the key in his Spatial Storage safely. Even he didn't expect a trade like this in exchange for the lives of a few youngsters who he wasn't planning to kill in any case.
"You can leave." Even though he didn't need to, he kept his side of the deal as well and allowed them to leave.
Xin stood there, still suspicious. Were they really free? Could they really leave?
As Xin was confused, Gabriel stepped forward and placed his finger under her chin, raising her head, so she was looking right into his eyes.
"But remember what I said before... If you told anyone what happened here, the Yann Empire would become a relic of the past. I'll personally destroy it."
