"Are you here to stop me?" Gabriel's voice echoed in the hallway as his cloak flew with the wind.
He didn't show any change in expressions at all, from start to end.
"What do you think?" A woman's voice came in return.
"Stay out of my path then," Gabriel stated, realizing who the person was. "Since you said you'll be neutral, then stay neutral. Unless you really want to stand in my way."
Even though Gabriel knew that this person was strong, he wasn't intimidated. He had his own strengths, and now that his strength restrictions were removed more or less, he felt even more free.
Moreover, there was no formation in this Empire like in the Church of Flames which could reduce his strength by sixty percent. If anything, he was at his strongest in this Empire!
Even though he was still a few steps away from becoming a top tier mage when it came to magical strength, with the help.of his three elements and two Ancestral Staffs, he believed that if things became worse, he could not only put up a fight against a Holy Priest but also win.
"As I said before, I won't interfere in what you do. I'm just here as a spectator..." Avilia came out of the shadows, appearing next to Gabriel. "In any case, they attacked you first. Maybe I would've been much worse for them if I was in your place."
Gabriel glanced at Avilia, slightly intrigued. So this woman really wasn't there to stop him. That was good. It gave him some freedom of movement while removing some risks.
"Do you have a Beast that can seal the space?" he asked after a brief pause.
"Why do you ask?" Avilia asked, frowning. She was sure that Gabriel already had a treasure like that.
When she was outside the castle, she couldn't sense anything that was happening inside the castle. It was clear that Gabriel had a way to seal the space inside the castle to make sure no one could see what was happening inside from outside.
"I have something that can do this. However, I can only seal a small space like this castle," Gabriel earnestly answered as he walked towards the exit of the castle to look at the commotion outside.
It didn't seem good for his army for the time being, since most of his army was already spread out throughout the Empire to stop smaller uprisings.
The army which was present outside the castle was limited and the force they faced was many times more. Despite their training, in front of the Knight Academy and their absolute number advantage, they were at a heavy disadvantage.
He wanted to go out and help them as well, but he was still hesitating if he should since he had a feeling that many eyes were hiding in the shadows, observing the battle secretly.
He could only prevent themselves from peeking inside the Castle.
"I see. So you want my help to prevent others from seeing you use your true strength to stop this uprising?" Avilia asked. "You can still think clearly it seems. Not bad. If you really used your element outside, even if you use the Element of Light, just for being involved in this Empire's matter, all the Churches would be here the next day to investigate."
"I know. I can't use magic as the Emperor, at least not in public. And I can't leave a witness escape who saw me use magic. I know that much. I'm asking you to seal the space so I can deal with the matter personally."
Gabriel didn't care about the enemies that were outside since they weren't enough to threaten him. However, if those people killed his entire army, it was a real headache for the future of the Empire. He had to stop them and he had to stop them with force this time since all other ways were closed.
"So will you lend me a Beast that can seal the space?" Gabriel asked.
In response, Avilia could only shake her head. "Even if I do that, it will benefit you. The others would still come to investigate if a barrier appeared in the middle of the City and the next moment the entire rebellion was killed, leaving only your army alive."
" This matter will definitely be linked to you and it'll lead to the same outcome. Even I might be linked with you in that situation."
Avilia understood how the Churches dealt with matters, even though she didn't deal much with them. She knew that doing something like sealing the space to kill people in the city was enough to attract at least the attention of the Churches since only powerful Mages at the level of a Head Priest could seal a small space, let alone sealing a space of that magnitude.
Even though Gabriel understood what she was saying and that it made sense, he knew that he couldn't stay out of this situation. He had to deal with this matter somehow and he had to do it while making sure to not reveal his identity before the ones who were hiding in the shadows, watching the show.
As Gabriel walked to the exit, he saw many intruders along the way. He didn't hold back in the least since at least the space inside the palace was sealed. All it took was a few shadow spheres.
At the same time, he sent his other Death Knights to check the other places in the castle to make sure that not a single person who dared to infiltrate the castle today was going to leave alive.
He stepped out of the castle, all alone. Even though Avilia was also nearby, she disappeared in the shadows once again.
Standing at the entrance of the Castle, Gabriel watched the people in the distance who were fighting the war. His Royal Knights held on firmly, but they were slowly being pushed back.
Callum could use spells to stop them right away, but on Gabriel's commands, he had resisted the urge of blowing away all these people in an instant, only using weapons to fight
The best warrior appeared to be the Saint Knight who had already killed many enemies. However, he was now being held back by the Dean of the Knight Academy and the best Knight of the Academy.
Other than Callum and the Saint Knight, the other Royal Knights were also performing well, but not enough to turn the tide of the war. In this situation, it was clear that it was only a matter of time before the Royal Army was going to lose the war.
That also lowered the morale of the army with each passing second since the army understood what kind of situation they were in.
Gabriel glanced in the empty space in the distance, shaking his head lightly. "Too many spectators today. What a headache."
In the end, he decided to deal with the matter in a different way.
He called out the Sword of Ulien which was now in the form that even the Academy of Elements had never seen before.
The bloodthirsty Sword in Gabriel's hands trembled with excitement as if it was able to sense the bloodshed on the battlefield. Holding the Sword, Gabriel felt as if the sword was finally home! This blood-covered battlefield... This ruthless war... This was where the sword was supposed to be!
The powerful aura of the sword spread far and wide. It could be sensed by everyone on the battlefield. There was not a single person on the battlefield who didn't glance in the direction of the Sword.
Amidst the various gazes, some friendly and some hostile, Gabriel walked to the battlefield holding the Sword firmly.
It was as if he could feel the urge of the sword. "You like to drink blood? Then today shall be a feast for you!"
