Chapter 17: Lira
"A Dark Mage?" Gabriel was quite surprised to find a Dark Mage standing before him. It was his first time seeing one.
He had thought that they were extinct. And even if they weren't extinct, it should've been almost impossible to come across one so easily. Also, from the lady's words, it was evident that this meeting wasn't a coincidence. She was actively looking for him.
"Do you really need to be so surprised? I'm not a ghost." The young lady smiled in response. "Moreover, I hope you won't attack me without listening to me first. I'm not here to hurt you."
Gabriel had already gone through a similar form of bias where he was attacked just because of his element without anyone giving him a chance to explain. It didn't matter who this woman was or what element she had; for him, all elements were a threat to him.
He didn't actively attack her, but he did hold his Staff firmly in case he was attacked in the middle. At the same time, he also canceled his old spell. He didn't send his Grimoire back. The grimoire kept floating before him.
Even though he was prepared to fight if needed, he was confident that the girl before him was very strong. He could feel that if there was a fight, the chances of his Survival were very slim. The girl before him was strong enough to kill him if she wanted…
"Before we begin, I must say. That Grimoire is certainly very unique," Just as Gabriel had expected; his attention immediately went to his Grimoire. "It's definitely not the Holy Book of Darkness. At the same time, it's not like any other Element either. But it's certainly a Grimoire since it can fly on its own. Would I be right to assume that it's a new element that you received?"
"That's right. I'm not a Dark Mage." Gabriel affirmed. There was no point in hiding it since the girl already knew it.
"Oh, that I knew at first glance." The lady burst into laughter. "The world outside can't differentiate between symbols. They would easily confuse you with a Dark Mage because of your Element's color, but I'm a Dark Mage. I know that you aren't one of us."
There were quite a few differences between the Mark of Element of Darkness and the mark that Gabriel received, but more often than not, there were many who easily confused the two since they had never seen Gabriel's element before.
"So, what is your Element? What kind of Mage are you?" the young lady further asked.
Gabriel didn't answer her question. He wasn't going to tell her anything about him. For a mage, it was best to keep his abilities a secret. Unfortunately, most of the skills of the other Elements were well known, including the Element of Darkness. These elements had lost the surprise. He was different.
Instead of explaining more about himself, he changed the topic to the woman. "Why did you approach me? What do you want from me?"
The lady couldn't help but smirk. She noticed the hesitation of Gabriel to answer her. She didn't mind it. She was just a stranger to him.
"Fine. I'll be straight. My name is Lira, and I'm what they call a Mage of Darkness. I sensed your strange spell energy from miles away and reached your town to see what it was about. That's when I noticed the Mark on your hands. Unfortunately, I was too late, and you were already hurt. Your Grimoire took you somewhere unknown."
"Since then, I've been waiting to meet you again. I again sensed that energy just now, and it was even more powerful than before. So I came here, hoping to find you," she continued, staying in her place.
"I'll repeat my question. What do you want from me?" Gabriel asked, realizing that the woman hadn't answered his main question. "We don't share an Element. You can't use my Grimoire, and you can't use my Staff. Both of these things are useless for you. So what do you want from me?"
"I know I can't use your Grimoire because it's a different element." The lady nodded. "However, even if it were the same Element, I wouldn't be able to use your Grimoire. It's already connected to you."
"Other than you, no one can use that Grimoire, even the ones who share your Element. And even if you die, the Grimoire will just select someone else instead of going to the person who killed the Owner of the Grimoire," she explained.
"As for why I approached you, it's because I need your help," the Dark Mage stated.
"I'm sorry, but I've stopped helping others. Moreover, you're already stronger than me. There's nothing I can help you with. You should look for someone else," Gabriel stated, ending the conversation immediately. "Now, I don't expect anyone to help me, and I won't help anyone either. This is my new life, and I'll live it only for myself."
Even though the woman seemed quite earnest, there was a strange feeling inside Gabriel's heart that was telling him not to trust the girl entirely. He wasn't sure if it was because of what he had gone through recently or if there was more to it.
The young woman seemingly noticed Gabriel's hesitation.
"I know what you're going through. You just awakened, and you were attacked. Probably by someone you trusted? It can certainly mess with anyone's head. But that's what we Dark Mages have been going through for ages. We've been betrayed, backstabbed, killed, and more for no reason at all."
"Trust me when I say this, but I know what you've gone through. In a world where even your own blood can betray you, it's really hard to trust someone. But still, I ask for your trust. The two of us might not share the same Element, but we share the same enemies," she expressed.
"Previously, the entire world was against us, but now, it's against you as well. If we want to stop ourselves from being hunted like wild beasts, we need to work together. We need to change the world! We need to destroy the world that tormented us and create a world anew! A world that will accept us! A world where we won't have to fight for our lives!"
Lira appeared to be talking straight from her heart, and her emotions were clearly visible on her face. She didn't often show them emotions as she believed this made her look weak, which she didn't like, but currently, she couldn't control herself.
She had managed to become stronger throughout the years, strong enough to defeat most of the Mages. Unfortunately, throughout the years, she also had to sacrifice a lot for what she gained. She had to fight every day for a world where she didn't have to worry about being killed abruptly.
Gabriel noticed the pain in Lira's eyes. For some reason, she reminded him of himself when he was stabbed by Maya… those eyes weren't lying!
This woman really went through a lot of torment, but still, there was this uneasy feeling in his heart that he got from Lira… something wasn't right. For some reason, he felt as if there was more to her than she was showing.
"Create the world anew?" he muttered. "A different world? I think you're overestimating me. I just awakened. Can we really change the world? Can we really go against the Holy Churches?"
Gabriel was strong now, but even he wasn't confident enough that he could destroy all the Elemental Churches with his current strength.
"Of course we can!" Lira confidently stated! "And you are the key to achieving that! With you and me, we can do anything! You have the Grimoire of your element, and I have one of mine! We aren't as weak as you think! We don't need to be scared of the Elemental Churches. In fact, it should be them who need to be worried about us!"
"You have a Grimoire too?" Gabriel asked in surprise. Grimoire meant a Holy Book, and each element only had one. It was the strongest spell book of that Element which was like the Holy Grail! She also had one like him?
Did that mean she was a Holy Priestess of Darkness? The Ruler of Darkness? No wonder he felt that she was stronger than him, who had just awakened his element.
Lira nodded. She showed the dark pendant which was hanging on her neck. Just like Gabriel's ring, the pendant turned into a dim speck of darkness. It transformed into a black book which was similar in size to Gabriel's book but had a black crescent moon on the cover instead of the two Scythes that were in his book.
"I, Lira Elisi, the heir of Darkness, invite you to join us and work together!" Lira raised her hand. The Holy Grimoire of Darkness landed on her hand, releasing immense amounts of energy. "Will you help me? I don't mind if you don't want to fight with me for long. Just help me once, and I'll fight the rest of the battles myself!"
Even though Gabriel didn't know if he wanted to help her or not, he was really curious about what help she needed. She had a Grimoire of her own. And she was a mage for longer, so she was undoubtedly stronger than him. He didn't believe he could help her with anything as he was now.
"What one help?" he asked.
Lira took a deep breath as she grimly stated her request.
Hearing the requests, Gabriel's lips parted slightly. "So you are crazy…."