Chapter 223

The only way to get out of this situation was to get close to Izen and destroy all the clones. Unfortunately, that was the real troublesome part. 

He didn't know just what this Numen was that Izen was using, but the effects of that Numen were even covering all his clones, making them immune to all the magic as well. 

The Numen was amazing and even he wanted something like that, but taking that was looking like an impossible task since he had to defeat Izen first. 

"A dark mage who can use the spells of Light? The spell that you used was certainly not an illusion as far as I can see. That would mean that you..." Izen's gaze lowered, resting on Gabriel's gloves. 

Even with his mystic eyes, he wasn't able to see through those gloves and that's what made him so suspicious. A man who was hiding his Elemental Aura along with his hands that had the Elemental Mark that he had received. Both of that seemed to make sense if he was trying to hide something from others. 

"You have awakened with Light and Darkness?" he asked, no matter how impossible it sounded. If that was the case, it could explain why Gabriel was trying to hide it and trying to not use the Element of Light unless forced. 

Gabriel didn't answer right away, even though Izen was more or less correct. 

'If I try to get close to him like before, he'll use the same spell to attack me. All those explosives might already be in place, just waiting for me to move. Attacking him from the front doesn't seem like an option. From the back?'

Escaping from Izen was almost impossible since Izen was probably only faster than him who was a Mid Tier Mage who was only weaker once all his spells were made ineffective. 

"If you're not going to attack, allow me the opportunity. We should start finishing up." One of the twenty Izen disappeared, appearing right behind Gabriel, reaching out his hand which was shining in a mysterious light. 

"Not so soon!" Gabriel turned around, swinging his sword with full strength. He still had some awareness of his surroundings and his sense of danger. 

His Sword sliced through the wind but it was unable to find Izen who had again disappeared. Gabriel's face turned grim as he realized that Izen had again disappeared. He could feel the same sense of danger from the back now, but before he could even stop his attack, a cold hand landed on his back. 

Boom~

Gabriel felt as if a powerful bomb had exploded right next to him, burning his skin again. The explosive momentum sent him flying ahead. 

Gabriel had tried to fight as a Warrior inside the Tower of Challenges as well, but that was mostly against ordinary mages. Most of the time in important battles, he relied on his magic. Rendering his magic useless was exploiting the weakness that he never knew existed. 

The back of his clothes was once again covered in blood, but the clothes were still unharmed. If one was to look at the condition of his clothes, they never could've guessed that Gabriel's body was so badly burned. 

Thousands of Swords made purely of the Energy of Light appeared in the direction he was uncontrollably flying in, all aiming at him. 

"Maelstrom!" He cast an explosive spell but this time, he didn't attack the enemy. He used the spell on himself, making it hit his own chest, having no choice. Controlling his body's momentum at the moment was impossible, at least without any external factors. 

The Maelstrom was a spell of his own, so it couldn't hurt him, but it could still create a pressure of wind around him. 

Just as he planned, a wind pressure was created around him as soon as the Maelstrom hit him, stopping the forward momentum. 

Not only did his forward momentum slow down, but it also gave him more control over his own body, helping him balance himself. 

Instead of hitting the Swords of Light, he changed his direction and flew straight up into the sky, using his Wings of Light. 

The battlefield was too dangerous for him unless he found a way. 

"Arghh!" Gabriel was flying up to get a moment to breathe and gather his thoughts, but he hit something. 

Even he hadn't realized it before but there was an invisible dome shaped barrier around them which prevented him from leaving the zone. It was only when his body touched the barrier that it momentarily became visible. 

Not only did the barrier stop Gabriel, but it also sent a burning sensation inside his body, giving him even more pain. It was something similar to being electrocuted, but not quite. 

Gabriel was weakened even more as his Wings of Flight disappeared on their own, sending him falling down. 

Thud~

Gabriel dropped to the ground, making the group tremble for a moment with the impact. He didn't know what that barrier was, but it was as if the barrier targeted his soul directly, taking whatever bit of strength he had left. 

There was only one light in the darkness for him and it was that he still hadn't lost consciousness. 

He brought out a Soul Healing Pill, even though moving his hand was proving to be a hard task in itself. 

Since his Soul was already so exhausted, it was as if his body was also giving up on him. Even though with a trembling hand, Gabriel brought the Soul Healing Pill closer to his mouth.

Kick~

One of the twenty Izen appeared next to Gabriel, kicking his hand to send the pill flying in the distance. 

The pill fell around twenty meters away from Gabriel. 

Another Izen pickled to the pull, slightly intrigued. "A Soul Healing Pill? I thought these things went extinct. You are certainly quite resourceful, aren't you?"

"Let's see how resourceful you can be when you're inside our prison."

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Gabriel clenched his fist. His body was very weak, but his anger was at its peak. He didn't want to give in now. 

Even though his soul was completely exhausted, he still pushed his body up. 

Izen could only smile in response, watching the young man stand up again, even though he clearly had no chance against him. 

"You won't accept defeat, will you?" Izen asked, shaking his head in disappointment. 

"Not until I will." Gabriel answered as he placed whatever last bit of strength he had inside his one last attack as he swung his Sword, using his most powerful strike. 

Izen disappeared again before the strike could even hit him, making the attack miss. Weakened, Gabriel couldn't control himself anymore as he dropped to his knees. 

Izen appeared behind Gabriel. "Since you won't surrender, let me knock you out first then."

He raised his right hand. "Oh Goddess of Light, I-"

"Hmm?" Izen was chanting a spell, but he stopped in the middle as his face went slightly serious. He turned around, looking in the back, feeling a new presence.