If it were just that, Gabby might have not reached the same conclusion but when he saw how he used micro movements to beat down on Macbeth despite his sword skills, Gabby became sure that there wouldn't be a stronger opponent than him among the participants.
Gabby felt that he had to remedy the situation somehow or they would end up on the losing side despite how far they had come. It was even possible that they might be unable to escape and might have to hand over their cards to get his forgiveness if things continued to escalate with him. He knew Ibeniah was too vengeful while Macbeth was too proud to do that. Therefore, he being the leader had to lower himself in front of Zavier.
From what he had seen, the masked man had only come over and was fighting them to save the girl that Ibeniah had been about to ravage. The girl didn't look like she was an acquaintance of the masked man as he hadn't even bothered about her well being after he had started attacking the three of them. Someone concerned would have definitely tried to make sure that she was okay.
In his judgement, either the masked man had helped her out of pity or he was somehow interested in the girl himself. Gabby felt that both the situations played out in his favour because in any case it would be easier to convince the masked man to let them go in both cases.
The first scenario being true meant that the masked man was a softie at heart despite his overwhelming strength and if they pretended to be remorseful, they might get his forgiveness with ease. Warm hearted people were the easiest to deceive since they sought positivity in others and encouraged those who wanted to turn over a new leaf.
In the second scenario, where the masked man was interested in the girl himself; they could just hand her over to him and get out of the way. That would make for the optimum solution since they would not have to act or pretend to be remorseful for things that they didn't feel bad about. Moreover, they would not have to beg him to be merciful and to spare them.
Gabby hoped with all his heart that the second case was true for the masked man. He wondered what the masked man looked like behind that obnoxious looking mask that seemed to be mocking them and their meagre strength at all times.
If only he could make out the expressions of the enemy, Gabby would have had a higher chance of escaping unscathed then.
Gabby soon felt his strength returning as the blurry and spinning vision came to a halt. The unmoving world had never looked as beautiful as this. The vertigo from the dizziness illusion had been so overwhelming earlier that Gabby was unable to believe that a normal mage had been able to cast such a strong illusion. Not only was its effect stronger than any of the illusions that he had come across, it also lasted for a longer duration. Gabby wondered if that was some kind of bloodline ability that the masked man had or if it was really magic skill that had been refined to the ultimate but he didn't dare ask his opponent.
For a second there, Gabby had even thought that he was up against an illusionist instead of a magician. Only after the masked man had conjured the white flaming sword did he believe that Zavier was a mage who had a good grasp on an illusion skill that was as strong.
Gabby moved as soon as his senses were back to normal and he appeared in between Macbeth and Zavier as swiftly as possible. He raised his hands towards the both of them and managed to stop them both in their tracks somehow at the very last second.
Zavier didn't want to fight them as well when he could take Dahila with him without doing that. Still he couldn't show any weakness on his part so he had to wait until they brought it up on their own. Moreover, he was not Zavier at least in the eyes of Dahila; after all, he was wearing a mask over his face.
Since he couldn't take Dahila away with him, he had to get the trio to leave them of their own accord so that he could sneak away afterwards while Shiranui and his original body could find Dahila soon.
"I think we started off with the wrong foot. There appears to be a misunderstanding among us so I suggest we solve it amicably among ourselves. There is no need for unnecessary violence that won't be beneficial for any of us, I assume. What do you say?"
The masked man slightly tilted his face towards the right as if he was slightly confused at Gabby's suggestion following which his slightly raspy voice terrified Gabby's heart.
"What do you mean by that when it was you people who attacked me first? Do you think it is that easy to offend someone and then come back running right after in order to ask for an amicable solution when things don't go your way? Do I look like a pushover to you?"
Zavier started gathering his mana in an attempt to scare Gabby who was already apprehensive.
"Please we ask for your forgiveness regarding our earlier transgressions. We thought that you had ill intent towards us and our Ibeniah is quite impulsive. He jumped to conclusions on his own before we were able to stop him. You know he is our teammate, no matter how impulsive and brainless he might be. We couldn't just leave him to fend for himself after he had already engaged in battle with you. But after seeing your strength we had no other option but to engage in negotiations. We couldn't keep going towards an end that we both don't want to see no matter what. I am sure there must be something that you want and we will be happy to help to the best of our abilities if only you let bygones be bygones and are willing to work out a solution with us amicably."
Zavier didn't reply for a while and acted as if he was thinking it over before replying.
"I don't think you have anything that you can offer me for letting you go. There isn't anything in it for me at all."
Gabby knew that Zavier was willing to concede if they could ascertain what it was that he wanted.
"I know that you came here for your companion. In our defense we didn't know, neither did she mention that she had a companion as capable as you otherwise Ibeniah wouldn't have done what he did."
"What companion?"
Zavier acted as if he didn't know that they were talking about Dahila and proceeded to take their frustration to the next level.
"Isn't the girl sprawled on the ground over there your companion? We thought that she was the reason that you were watching us and even attacked us."
Zavier snorted in disgust.
"Don't make it look like I was the one who attacked you when it was your foolishness that made me defend myself. And as for the girl you are referring to, while it is true that I was watching you because she caught my eye. It does not mean that she was my companion. I only wanted to teach you a lesson because that oaf was eyeing to f*ck the girl who had managed to catch my eye. And on top of that you idiots had the guts to launch an attack on me."
Gabby felt a little sheepish at the scolding that he received from the masked man. The raspy voice made Zavier appear older than he really was and Gabby couldn't help but feel like a kid who was being scolded by his elders for an inappropriate act. Gabby told himself that he had to hold his anger and had to please Zavier somehow.
In fact, Zavier had only told them that Dahila wasn't his companion because he didn't want them to even doubt that his true identity was that of her teammate. He was sure that the comparison could be made easily if his connection to Dahila was known.
"Since you are interested in the girl, why don't we leave her to you then? You can do as you please with her."
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