"Surprise indeed." Another voice came, but this time from behind Cylix.
"Step one, deflection." Standing afar, Novius had a clear view of the battlefield. Moreover, as the third person, he understood Gabriel's trick very clearly.
The first part of his plan rested on throwing Cylix in disarray by making him attack first, instead of taking the offer of attacking first. That way, he made Cylix curious as to what he was actually planning.
Next, he intentionally cast the strengthening spell to create some false smoke while his real goal was creating an illusion at that time, and he even succeeded.
While Cylix attacked the illusion, Gabriel was actually right behind him. On one end, Cylix attacked the illusion. On the other, Gabriel attacked him.
Unfortunately, a barrier of Light appeared between the two, blocking Gabriel's attack.
