The time kept trickling away. Ultimately, Azekiel decided to end the act and finish the young man before he could come out of his illusion.
He carried a knife as he walked closer to Elijah. Elijah couldn't see Azekiel getting closer. He only saw the statue standing as if lost in some thoughts.
"Have I proven my worth now?" the King of Greed inquired.
Azekiel stood right before the young man, ready to strike.
[Warning: Life-threatening danger detected. Activating Passive Ability: Protection]
Azekiel's knife came slicing down. At the same time, a system notification appeared. The system notification didn't come for Azekiel this time.
It was the System of Greed that had responded by alerting the young King of Greed.
The notification came as a surprise. He didn't see the statue attacking him, but he was sure that his system wasn't wrong.
Before Azekiel's knife could even touch the King of Greed, a translucent light surrounded him.
His figure disappeared. The knife could only hit empty air.
The King of Greed appeared in a different spot inside the hall, stunned.
The one minute was also over, and the illusion of the Witch of Famine disappeared. Elijah could see everything clearly now.
The statue hadn't come to life. It was standing in the same place it had always been standing. Moreover, the second book in this hand that he thought he received wasn't real either. It was just an illusion as well, which he thought to be real.
He noticed Azekiel standing where he was previously standing, holding a knife in his hand. It didn't take him long to understand everything.
The young man had tricked him!
"Illusion to backstab me? Have you no pride?" Elijah asked, enraged. "King of Gluttony!"
He could see his own book lying near Azekiel's feet. Now Azekiel had both the books in his hand since the Protection skill of Elijah could only teleport him when he was at doors of death but not the items he was holding.
Azekiel had everything he needed. He had the two books, and he knew they were related to something that was in the Tomb of Gods. There was only one problem. He didn't know about the passive skill of the King of Greed and couldn't take it into consideration.
That skill not only saved the King of Greed at the last moment but also helped him create some distance between the two.
"The one who had pride died only recently. If you want to talk to him, Shall I send you to him?!" Azekiel asked, taking a subtle glance at both the books in his hand. "Also, shouldn't you be the last person talking about pride? You killed your own mother all for some wealth?"
"Stop acting as if you aren't just as bad. No one becomes a King of Sin by being goodie two shoes! You probably did something just as bad as me!" Elijah roared back in embarrassment.
He didn't know Azekiel was here when he was confessing things. If he had known, he never would've accepted it.
Moreover, since two Kings were here in the middle of a Trial, the King of Greed was sure that everything that happened here was shown on Floor Zero. He felt even more embarrassed and enraged for confessing his secret before the entire tower!
"You lied about going to the battlefield and waited here to ambush me! But you don't know what a terrible mistake you have committed!" The King of Greed called for his System.
"Stats of Greed." He commanded, activating one of his skills.
Just as he commanded, a screen opened before him, which showed him the stats of Azekiel. The eyes of Elijah started shining in a mysterious light.
It showed all the stats, including the strength, defense, and all other factors, but that wasn't all. His System Screen even showed him something that it shouldn't have shown.
The King of Greed could see all the treasures of Azekiel and his skills as well.
As the King of Greed gazed at the stats of Azekiel, his own System also activated, issuing a Warning.
[Warning: The Eyes of Greed are reading your Status and skills.]
Seeing the notification, Azekiel was surprised. Just what kind of person was this guy?
He couldn't wait for even a second, or this guy was going to know all his skills and how to counter them.
Azekiel dashed to the King of Greed. His Gauntlets of Gluttony appeared around both his arms.
"Hmm? Those are some interesting skills you have there. There aren't many, but they're all so special. That would explain why you have such high stats in such a short time."
King of Greed didn't seem phased as he watched Azekiel get close to him. It was as if he didn't need to worry about anything.
Azekiel reached the young man, thrusting his claws.
[Warning: Life threatening danger detected. Activating Passive Ability: Protection]
The Passive skill of the King of Greed activated once more. He disappeared before the attack could even hit him.
Azekiel groaned in frustration! This guy! Why was he even harder to kill despite being weaker than Michael?! Whenever Azekiel got close to him to kill, he disappeared.
'If only I could see his skills as well! He must have a teleportation skill that activates on its own when he's about to be attacked. That would explain why he escaped while still being under illusion since he couldn't activate it on his own at that time.'
Azekiel tried to understand the skill to find a counter while observing the entire hall to find Elijah.
He was nowhere to be found.
"Outside?" Azekiel thought.
He still had both the books, so he was sure Elijah wasn't going to run away. He was still somewhere around here, and if his assumption was correct, then he was sent outside the hall due to teleportation.
Just as he expected, the door of the Hall opened as a mocking voice came from outside. "I had promised myself that if you stood between me and my goals, I would kill you. Let me make that true!"
Instead of being worried or scared after seeing the skills of Azekiel, the King of Greed was mocking him instead while promising him death.
"He is taunting you. I don't feel right about this. If he knows all your skills and is still taunting you, then he must have something to rely on, which gives him this confidence. Don't fall for it."
Seeing Azekiel getting agitated, Raphael chimed in and reminded him to be calm. "You have the two books. He doesn't. Let him be agitated instead. Then he will certainly make a mistake."
"Of course, I know what he's relying on. His passive teleportation. He believes he can't be harmed, but he's wrong. Even his Teleportation can't stop him! He wants to make this a battle of skills; then I'll give him a battle of skills."
Azekiel advanced to the exit, ready to respond in kind.
