If the King of Greed had the skills to boast, Azekiel wasn't lacking either, especially with his Card of Judgement. Even though that skill was like a gamble, it hadn't failed him so far.
He wasn't going to hesitate. This was a direct conflict between two Kings, and if he wanted to finish the Trial of Second Floor, he needed to defeat Elijah.
"Woah, the Two Kings are going to fight! We can actually see the battle between the Two Kings!"
Cheers erupted on Floor Zero, and people excitedly waited for the battle between the Two Kings.
Both the Kings were their hopes for the future, and they should've desired for the survival of both, but on the inside, they were still humans that craved to see the violence of top-level fighters to get some excitement and entertainment and what could be better than the battle between the Two Kings.
"Who do you think is going to come out on top?" That was the question in the heads of everyone.
"Well, one of the two has already killed a King, so I would bet it'll be King Azekiel," A middle-aged man stated.
"Hey, aren't you the Porter of King Azekiel? Won't you be biased toward your employer in that case?" Another man responded sharply.
The man further continued. "We don't know how King Azekiel killed King Michael. The Battle wasn't shown, which meant it wasn't a battle in Trials. That also meant it wasn't an official battle. If I'm not wrong, King Michael came to the first floor to meet the new King who backstabbed him!"
"I refuse to believe that King Michael, who cleared two of the four floors, could be killed in a proper battle by a Rookie! Since it's a proper battle, this guy will fall and get punished for his ignorance. Just watch, King Elijah will win, and it'll prove my theory!"
"Isn't the King of Greed the weakest King?"
"Well, he was. Now the new King is the Weakest King. It's the battle between the two Weakest Kings, and King Elijah will win!"
The people on the Floor were split into two camps. One camp believed Azekiel was going to win, while others believed that he was going to die.
There was not a single person who wasn't looking at the screen ahead except one girl.
The girl with a strange mark on her forehead was left all alone since everyone got distracted by the battle on the Second Floor.
Instead of observing what was happening on the Second Floor, the young lady glanced at the screen, which showed the fifth floor where the King of Wrath was fighting the Dragons.
The girl seemed awfully focused on the King of Wrath for some reason, staring at him without blinking.
She slowly started walking toward the Portal of the First Floor, and no one noticed her leave either.
The Portal of the First Floor also had a shield to block any unauthorized person from going to the first floor. Only the Lord's and the Kings could pass through, and she was none.
Despite not having the authority to pass through the barrier, the girl took a step forward. Her body touched the barrier, which resisted her entrance, even sending a terrifying current in her body, but the girl wasn't phased.
The strange mark on her forehead started shining and gave her protection against everything. The mark also appeared to be absorbing the strength of the barrier and weakening it.
Before long, the young girl managed to pass through. She entered the portal and disappeared.
****
Back on the Second Floor, Azekiel stepped out of the Temple to notice a young man standing in the distance with his arms folded.
"There you are. I thought you weren't going to come out. I guess you aren't as big a coward as I thought." Elijah stated in a mocking tone.
Azekiel didn't answer. Instead, he went straight to his screen.
"Card of J-"
He was just chanting the name of his skill, but before he could, he found himself freezing in time. He couldn't move at all.
It was similar to what had happened when he last used the Card of Judgment, but now he was in the place where Michael was previously. He couldn't believe how. He hadn't even used the skill yet.
As Azekiel was confused, he heard the laughter of Elijah. "I was really confused about which ability to use Stealth of Greed on."
"I wanted Soul Snatch since it would've helped me steal your soul, but then again, it would've been a waste since I could only steal an ability for a day. If it were permanent, I wouldn't have hesitated. That only left your Card of Judgement. Thank you for the gift."
Azekiel couldn't believe it. Elijah could steal his skill for a day? So that's why he was on the receiving end of the Skill?!
The danger teleportation, the study of skills, the Stealth of skills, all of Elijah's skills were given according to his element, and that's what made them so unorthodox.
He could teleport in danger so he could live longer and amass more wealth and treasures. He could see others' stats, skills, and treasures so he could decide on what to take, and he could take a skill! It was as if all those three skills were complimenting each other.
Just as Azekiel had experienced before, cards appeared before Elijah, but this time, instead of six cards, there were five cards before him.
'So every time this skill is used, a card is burned to never return?' Azekiel summarized after seeing only five cards. "That means the cards don't have the Scales of Balance! That is good. He can't steal my stats, but I still don't know what the other five cards hold. Am I really going to fall here?!"
If he wasn't going to have the Card of Judgment, he basically had no offensive skill except summoning, and he had already used Summoning today. All he had was his Weapon of Sin.
Azekiel finally realized what Raphael was implying! The reason Elijah was this smug when challenging him... The reason he didn't run away! It was all because this was a trap!
He needed time to think about which skill to steal, and then he needed to steal the skull!
Five cards floated before the young man.
"What is this? Gambling skill?" Elijah exclaimed in confusion. "Whatever, it can't be too useless. It must be useful. Your system won't give you useless skills."
Elijah selected the card in the center and turned it around. The other four cards disappeared.
