Gabriel's eyes narrowed as he took in the sight before him. The woman stood tall and confident, her violet eyes shining with a mix of surprise and amusement as she saw Gabriel.
She seemed unfazed by Gabriel's sudden appearance, as if she had been expecting him. She had intentionally left behind some trail since she wanted to draw him here, but even she didn't expect him to arrive so early.
If possible, she would've brought Gabriel with her in the first place, but because of a certain present that revealed a trace of killing intent in the form of warning when she thought about taking him with her, she had to leave.
She didn't want to put her mission at risk for Gabriel as she didn't want Ezekiel's body to be destroyed if another battle was to begin.
For that reason, she had to leave first. But she also understood Gabriel's eagerness to retrieve Ezekiel. To help him in approaching her, she left a small trail behind. She had drawn him to this place, but even she herself didn't know it was going to work so well.
She had thought that it wasn't going to work. That's why she had planned to go back, but to her pleasant surprise, she didn't need to.
Unlike her, the Emperor was surprised by his presence. He was even about to attack Gabriel but he stopped himself when he realized that Gabriel's aura was slightly different from the aura of the person that he had seen in the mirror.
If he hadn't heard of the story of his sister, he would've still thought that this sat the same person, but after hearing her, he had managed to distinguish the two.
Another thing that confirmed that this person was Gabriel was that the boy kept looking at Ezekiel.
When Gabriel arrived here, he hadn't thought that so many people were going to be waiting for him. His first thought was that this was a trap set for him.
Just one Elzerian was hard to deal with, let alone so many of them, most of whom were stronger than the woman.
"Did you really need to set a trap for me?" Gabriel growled, his voice laced with both anger and concern. He took a step forward, his grip tightening on the Sword of Life.
Even if it was a trap, he now knew better. He knew that fighting against them was a waste of time, but that didn't mean it was impossible for him to retrieve Ezekiel. The portal leading back was right behind him as well. If things went wrong, he could immediately retreat.
The woman smirked, her gaze never leaving Gabriel.
"You really made things easier for me by coming here," she taunted. "Always so considerate."
Gabriel's eyes flashed with a mixture of emotions- caution, frustration, and a hint of rage. He knew that Ezekiel, despite being alive, was still vulnerable, his life barely hanging by a thread. And it was Gabriel's desire to bring him back, no matter the cost.
Without wasting another moment, Gabriel surged forward, his sword held high. But to his surprise, the group of beings surrounding the woman moved swiftly, forming a formidable barrier between Gabriel and his target.
Their movements were fluid and precise, their violet eyes shining with a mysterious energy. Gabriel realized that these were not ordinary beings.
They possessed powers far beyond that of a regular god. They weren't just immortal but they also had treasures that could even kill gods.
Gabriel's sword sliced through the air with lethal precision, slicing through the barrier, even surprising the Elzerian Warriors that had created the barrier. It was only now that many started paying attention to Gabriel's sword and the gems embedded in it.
The Elzerians were known to be fiercely loyal to their Emperor, their powers bound to his very life force. Yet here they stood, defending the woman. It was clear that the identity of the woman was as simple as he had previously thought. .
Moreover, throughout this time, his attention kept going towards the lone man standing in the distance. The man didn't look like a warrior, but unlike the woman, no one was trying to protect him either.
For some reason, Gabriel kept feeling that he had to be careful about that man. But before that, he had to take Ezekiel.
After destroying the barrier, Gabriel moved like lightning, making it appear as if he was going to attack the woman in anger. Because of that, many Guards tried to stop him.
Gabriel had no time to ponder about anything else. He didn't want to fight them at the moment either. All he wanted was to take Ezekiel away.
As for the problem about Ezekiel's life force, he didn't know how to solve this problem yet. But in any case, he couldn't leave Ezekiel in the hands of these people.
His focus was on moving past the Elzerians and reclaiming Ezekiel. He fought only when he had to, his determination unwavering.
Each swing of his sword was met with an equally powerful counterattack from the Guards, their movements almost synchronized.
So far, none of the Ministers even joined the battle as they were clear that Gabriel didn't have a method to kill them. Even the King just stood in the distance, simply observing the young man in silence.
As the battle raged on, Gabriel's mind raced. He needed to find a way to break through their defenses, to reach the woman and free Ezekiel. Suddenly, an idea formed in his mind, a risky plan that might just give him the advantage he needed.
Summoning all his remaining strength, Gabriel launched himself into the air, dark aura wings appearing and unfurling behind him. With a powerful flap, he soared above the battling Elzerians, his eyes fixed on the woman.
In a daring move, Gabriel descended towards her, his sword aimed directly at her heart, ready to strike. As he drew closer, time seemed to slow down, allowing him to analyze every detail of her defensive stance, searching for any opening.
