The strange black patterns could be seen covering Gabriel's entire back. However, for some reason, he looked even better with them around. As if there was something really special about those black patterns.
"These are what define our control over the core of our element," Gabriel responded.
"Does that mean, you're really not a god yet?" Jia asked, stunned. She had never heard about this before. She even wondered if this was also what the other gods were trying to achieve when they left this place!
"God was the name given by you all. He's more like a candidate to become a God," Alion chimed in before turning to Gabriel. "Should you really be going around, telling others about this?"
"It doesn't matter," Gabriel replied. "The ones who want to kill me already know about this. Since she doesn't even know the basics, that only means she has nothing to do with them."
He snapped his fingers, making clothes appear around his body again. The flaming black robe wrapped around his shoulders once again.
Gabriel told the little girl about the basics. However, he still didn't tell her one thing. He didn't tell her that the more these Spirit patterns expanded around his body, the more pain he felt. It was as if his body was constantly changing into something he wasn't.
****
Elora and the others had a lead at the start. However, currently, Gabriel had already entered the inner part of the City while Elora was just reaching the entrance of the city.
"Strange... Why are there broken statues along the way?" Elora wondered. They hadn't yet faced any trap. However, they did find some signs of battle along the way, as if there was someone who had already taken care of all the traps in their path.
Even the compass had stopped making any big movements, as if there were no dangers left there anymore.
"Can we really take the main path to enter the inner parts?" One of the Head Priestesses asked Elora.
Elora in turn looked at the compass of Maya.
"There doesn't seem to be any danger within a hundred meters. It seems safe."
Elora took her first step inside the city. She didn't know why everyone called this city the most dangerous place. They had such an easy time there.
****
While the outer part of the City was dangerous, it was nothing compared to the inner region which was filled with dangers, as if this city's entire existence was only to stop people from moving forward!
The deeper Jia went inside the city with Gabriel, the more she realized it.
"There's someone ahead!" Jia suddenly stopped, sending a presence not too far from them.
Gabriel was still calm, as if he already knew about this. Their surroundings started changing as soon as Jia reacted. The buildings around them disappeared and a strange white mist spread out.
Not only did the mist make it hard for people to see, but it also had another magical effect. The mist messed with people's sense of direction as if it could manipulate space and time itself.
The more one stepped forward inside the mist, the further in the back they appeared!
"This trick never changes," Gabriel muttered, somewhat irritated. He raised his right hand.
As soon as Gabriel raised his hand, the aura of death spread out. Just his aura alone was enough to counter the mist.
The mist slowly dispersed, revealing a strange being before them.
The person looked like a human. Yet at the same time, it looked like something else. The man had a human-like body. However, he had six hands instead of two hands. His entire body was muscular.
The bare-chested man didn't look dead. Instead, his body was full of vitality. Unfortunately, he didn't look alive either. His eyes were blood red and his face was blank, as if he was nothing more than a puppet.
"Isn't he...?" Alion frowned. "I thought he was dead!"
"He's not completely dead. He's in control of someone else. When I came here last time, this guy also fought me," Gabriel answered. "When it was about to lose, it disappeared."
"He's the guardian of the core region of the City. In other words... He's the one who guards the path that leads to the realm between life and death. So you should be able to guess why he's still alive..."
"You mean he's being controlled by a Spirit from the Nether Realm?' Alion frowned. He finally understood why the man looked dead and alive at the same time.
Gabriel didn't just answer. Instead, he raised his right hand.
"You've annoyed me enough," he told the being before him. However, just as he finished speaking, that man disappeared.
The man appeared right behind Gabriel, stunning Jia and Alion who didn't even have time to react.
The man punched with all six fists at the same time. His physical strength also appeared to be contactable to Jia's strength. It was as if just one punch from that man could shatter even stars.
Not only did the man have strength, but his speed was also something mystical, almost bordering teleportation, making it impossible for others to keep up with him!
Boom~
The man's fists landed on Gabriel's back, all at once. However, what happened next made even Jia tremble!
Gabriel didn't even move from his spot. It was as if he was a wall while the being who punched him was no more than a child.
Gabriel's reaction was still calm. However, the reactions of the being behind him twisted in fear and anger.
"You're too weak to play with me." Gabriel's calm voice fell in the ears of the six-armed man.
The man made a quick decision, jumping back. However, as soon as he landed in the back, his body dropped to the ground, lifelessly.
It was just his body that moved back. However, his spirit couldn't move back at all!
It was as if some mysterious force had trapped his soul in its place, making it unable to move at all.
That invisible force was not only strong enough to hold the spirit back, but it also made the spirit feel immense pain.
Gabriel turned around, lazily glancing at the spirit which was struggling to free itself.
"And here I was wondering, how I could get your spirit. Who would've thought that you would deliver it personally..."
He placed his finger on the forehead of the evil spirit. The spirit screeched in pain as it was slowly devoured by Gabriel.
Spiritual energy entered Gabriel's body, not only making him stronger but also giving him some of the memories of the spirit.
Before long, the entire spirit disappeared. As for the body of the man, it slowly disinterested, turning into a pool of blood in the middle of the street.
Jia was still standing in a daze. It was the first time she had truly seen Gabriel's skills when it came to dealing with the Spirits. She even wondered if Gabriel could kill everyone like this! It was a brutal way to kill someone after all!
She understood even better why Gabriel was so frightening in his era. Just because he had been kind enough with her to answer her questions, she had forgotten for a moment that he was the Death Star!
