"You don't need to know what's inside. Just know that if people don't stop entering, something really bad will happen. Can you take care of it for the time being?" Gabriel didn't reveal anything.
He didn't know what the impression of the Goddess of Nature was on others. In any case, it was definitely better than Karyk's impression on others. The more he hid it, the safer he felt. He just went with being vague. It wasn't a lie that something bad will happen after all. The only thing was that it was bad only for him!
"You don't need to worry about that. The valley will close now. Even I won't be able to enter until it's next time of the opening. At that time, if you're busy, I'll send someone to stop people from entering."
"That's good."
Gabriel could finally relax a bit. The valley opened once every few years because of weakening of natural energy. So for a few years, he was safe. That allowed him to deal with matters of importance without being distracted. However, for now, he just wanted to rest under the starlight.
He occasionally glanced at the four towers in the distance. This trip here led him to some answers but it led to even more questions. He found out about things that made him realize just how shallow his knowledge about the World had been.
He used to think that all the Gods were dead but he was realizing that it wasn't the case. If the Goddess of Nature could survive for so long while being trapped, then what about other gods? What happened to them? Were they also alive? If they were, then where were they?
'Are you alive as well? Karyk?' Gabriel thought, looking at the beautiful moon in the sky.
Gabriel didn't realize when, but he eventually fell asleep. Fortunately, he cast a spell around himself to alert him in case there was even the slightest of danger. That spell could not only wake him up from his sleep, but also teleport him in a short range to protect him.
He didn't leave his protection on Avilia.
The beautiful yet cold night was silent enough to not disturb Gabriel's sleep at all. If anything, sleeping at such a height was even more comfortable for Gabriel.
During his sleep, he once again found himself near the waterfall where he was usually training.
Alion was still under the same waterfall, training his body. Alion was bare chested and didn't use any accessories other than the two earrings that matched the one with Gabriel.
Looking at those earrings, Gabriel often wondered just where the second one was which he could use. He didn't know if having two was better for training or if two of them increased even more pressure on the body.
He also jumped inside the water after taking off his shirt and swam to Alion. Silently, he sat under the waterfall without disturbing Alion and started training himself.
After Gabriel closed his eyes, Alion opened his eyes and glanced at the man next to him. He closed his eyes again.
****
It was the morning. Since there was no shade at the top of the cliff, the sunlight fell straight on Gabriel's face, waking him up from his long yet comfortable slumber.
He sat up and stretched his arms. His body felt so comfortable. After going through the pressure in the valley and the night's training, his body felt more relaxed.
Avilia was still at the Cliff. She was already up yet she hadn't woken him. Instead, she was sitting near a fire, cooking something.
"You know how to cook?" Gabriel stood up, patting the dust off his clothes.
"How do you think I survived in this world before becoming a Holy Lord?" Avilia asked, smiling wryly. "I won't praise myself too much, but I'm the best chef that I know. You're lucky to be able to eat my cooking."
Gabriel didn't take Avilia seriously. However,he didn't think of her as a narcissistic person either.
He didn't realise that he was really in for a surprise. It was only when he ate what Avilia had made that he understood that she wasn't lying at all.
"It's quite good. How about you become my official chef?" Gabriel asked jokingly.
"How about I push you off this cliff?" Avilia answered in the form of a question.
"If you agree to my request, I'll let you push me off," Gabriel answered, even though he knew she was never going to agree. Making a Holy Lord as his personal chef was impossible.
Moreover, it wasn't dangerous for him even if he was pushed off now! He wasn't the same weak person who almost died the last time he was pushed off a cliff. Currently, he had hundreds of ways to protect himself even without using his flight spell.
Avilia only glared at Gabriel but didn't answer. "Are we finally going back to Arecia? Is it time for you to execute your plan?"
Gabriel glanced in the distance in the direction of the Arecia Empire. "It should be the time."
"Is this plan also the reason you used violence against the citizens who resisted you?" Avilia asked, wondering if Gabriel had already thought this far in advance.
"Not initially." After a brief period of silence, Gabriel answered. "Initially, I just wanted to avoid the conflict and protect Arecia. But there were too many people who were working in the dark against me."
"They just used the excuse of me not coming to help to incite people. However, even if they didn't have that excuse, they would've found another excuse."
"I had to think of a way to deal with them. But the other Churches were also a headache. When the Church sent an envoy to me, it was clear that I couldn't hide my identity for too long."
"Once my identity was out, the resistance was going to be a thousand times worse than what it was at that time," Gabriel explained.
"So you let those people fan the flames to reveal themselves." Avilia frowned.
"Instilling fear with a thousand people against you is better than doing so with millions against you," Gabriel answered. "Especially since at that time, the other Churches would've been behind those millions as well."
"So you took this opportunity to control the people in advance?" Avilia asked.
Gabriel nodded. "I'm already called the Blood Emperor. So what if someone comes out and tells them that I'm a Dark Mage? It would be too insignificant. Moreover, after what happened in the past, the Empire's fighting force is weakened! Only the ones who are loyal to me are left. Instigating them would be impossible even if someone reveals my identity?"
"The scene of war would still be fresh in everyone's mind."
The more Gabriel spoke, the more Avilia became stunned!
When Gabriel fought against the people who wanted to kill him and remove him from the throne, she thought he killed them because of his anger! However, she was slowly realizing that Gabriel was just thinking too far ahead! Anger and heartbreak was just an excuse he used to show his own guards!
She knew that Gabriel was truly hurt on the inside at that time with the way people came for his head after all he did for them. However, he really didn't let his emotions control himself at that time! It was all for a bigger goal!
Everything that happened was what he had planned! As for the end goal, Gabriel was finally going to put it in motion! A goal that could send a wave of shock down the entire world! Gabriel had already planted seeds and now it was time to water that seed and watch it become a majestic tree!
This man... He was more dangerous and farsighted than she thought!
