In Neo Ogma's hand was a flower that he held out with open palms as he approached the group.
"It's been some time, disciple of Ciel."
Yadrith nearly vomited as the voice pierced his ears, while Oliver collapsed dramatically to the ground. The voice sounded like a child, a man, and a woman talking at once. Before them was a monster who was truly unexplainable.
The flower suddenly folded, then twisted, reshaping into a dagger.
"You've found some interesting partners to travel with. A descendant of the Snake that possesses a wicked Rekh that makes even me slightly uncomfortable and... Equilibrium, you're travelling with someone who has somehow reached the impossibility of equilibrium."
Withstanding the voice of Neo Ogma, a thought appeared in Yadrith's head: '...Equilibrium? Oliver had mentioned it once.'
Neo Ogma began to fiddle with his dagger, throwing it into the air with a twirling motion before catching it.
Screeech!
Yadrith glanced behind him, and a massive scar, clearly carved by a blade, was left on the mountain across from the abyss.
'...'
He looked back at Neo Ogma.
"I was a bit agitated with Ciel and hunted Oliver as nothing more than a pastime. In other words, I never planned to actually come face to face with him or kill him," Neo Ogma sighed. "However, that equilibrium you possess is something I need. Though whether it is instinct or cowardice, I feel as though simply killing you will bring disaster to me. That's why I sent one of my assassins to do it. Unfortunately, that snake protected you."
'Is he going to read my mind like Miel?' Yadrith swallowed, realizing he may get a chance to knock this creature into the void behind them.
He stopped just a few steps away from Yadrith. "But, I will remain vigilant. The only way to stay alive in this world is vigilance, so I will ask you nicely before I take your life. How did you do it?" With his last words, his voice was just that of a man—uncloaked, showing sincerity.
Yadrith silently looked at him. 'I guess I'll have to lie, not even knowing what equilibrium is...' He focused his eye and stared into Neo Ogma's mask. "I—"
Before he could even speak, Oliver began to choke. A soft white hand emerged from his mouth, gripping the side of it. And a head full of platinum hair appeared, phasing out of his chest.
Soon an entire figure emerged, clothed in delicate, ornate silvery armor with golden accents. She was a woman with striking blue eyes, similar to Oliver, and long, elongated ears.
Oliver groaned, "Teacher...?"
She smiled at Oliver, then looked back toward Neo Ogma. "Don't get ahead of yourself, old man."
Neo Ogma took a few steps back. His expressionless face shook for a moment. "...Ciel, so you hid an avatar inside Oliver's body... To think you could do such a thing."
"So what? You've been stalking a group of kids with an avatar for months. At least mine was somewhat dormant." She chuckled. "If you want to settle things, we can. However, I have something more important to deal with first."
Ciel and Neo Ogma both turned to Yadrith. He felt his heart drop.
"I'll take it for myself." Ciel reached out for Yadrith, but Neo Ogma quickly intercepted her, sending a powerful kick into her avatar. However, despite his kick sending out a shockwave that nearly knocked Yadrith off his feet, Ciel seemed unaffected.
Neo Ogma, unbothered by this fact, gripped his dagger and brought it down. Ciel caught the dagger between her teeth.
She spoke, the dagger still trapped between her teeth.
"Is... Is Thet all thu gat, old man?"
Not even bothering to try to think about what she had said, Yadrith ran in the opposite direction of the two. He understood what type of situation he was in—one where both of them wanted to kill him.
Ciel struck Neo Ogma in the chest, knocking him back a few steps. She immediately pivoted, leaping toward Yadrith like a wild beast. However, Oliver had gotten up and stood in her way, intercepting her.
"What are you doing?!" she yelled, crashing into Oliver. The two tumbled down the slope, nearly falling straight off the edge of the cliff.
Neo Ogma sped over to the two, his leg lifted with the intention of kicking them off the slope.
Ciel bit her lip, and both she and Oliver phased through Neo Ogma's leg.
"Such a terribly annoying Regalia." Neo Ogma dashed away and sliced at the air toward Yadrith. In that moment, Mahaya had transformed into her human form, ripping Yadrith's cloak off of him and throwing him into the air simultaneously.
A powerful wave of Rekh passed by where they had been standing, severing a part of the cliff, causing the entire mountain to change shape.
'What the hell is happening!' Yadrith clenched his teeth. Being the only regular human there, he was hardly able to perceive the events taking place. Since Ciel had emerged from Oliver, it had really only been a little less than ten seconds.
His brief moment of respite had ended as he felt Mahaya grab the back of his shirt and toss him further into the mountain. Yadrith's eye widened—there was no stable land below him. Just a far drop into a foggy area.
Neo Ogma blurred from his spot, grabbing Mahaya by the throat. With no words exchanged, his dagger fell, meeting nothing but empty air.
"Another troublesome Regalia." He jumped off the air as if it were a springboard, flying toward where Mahaya had thrown Yadrith. However, he was quickly intercepted again by Ciel. She struck him with a power punch, sending him right off the edge of the mountain over the void.
Panicking, Neo Ogma shifted his balance in the air, but Ciel had already thrown Oliver's sword. It pierced right through Neo Ogma's stomach, sending him further off the edge.
"You never change." He sighed, throwing his dagger at her.
Ciel smiled as she grabbed Oliver, turning the two invulnerable. Her Regalia allowed her, and those she touched, to take on an ethereal state. The dagger passed right through her head, embedding deep into the mountain.
"Let's hurry." Ciel grabbed Oliver and leapt off the air.
Behind them, Neo Ogma disappeared into the darkness.
Yadrith panicked as he was falling from an appalling height.
'Shit... shit!' He could hardly keep his left eye open. At some point, the air had gone from hot to chillingly cold, signaling that he had entered the tundra.
As he was flailing in the air, Mahaya abruptly appeared out of thin air, grabbing him, and the two began their descent together. Only now, with Mahaya there, someone could shoulder most of the shock.
Woosh!
They hit the snow with moderate impact. Mahaya felt her legs slightly tremble, but Yadrith, who had taken on almost no shock, just looked at her face with an odd look. He took in her appearance. She had bright-red eyes that were rather sharp, with long, dark eyelashes, a perfectly crafted face no less beautiful than Miel's, and elongated ears.
With her long, dark-purplish hair, her features gave her a rather divine look. Just as he had been with Miel, he was shocked by her beauty.
Thinking about it, Yadrith had now seen three people with elvish-type ears in this world: Ciel, Mahaya, and the woman who had healed him.
"Ha... It's odd your mother called you unsightly."
Mahaya instantly dropped him, and he hit his head on a rock in the snow.
"Ow!"
By chance, he noticed she was fully clothed under his cloak. Every time she transformed, she was naked, so she often took his cloak. He wondered at what point she had the time to put on a full outfit.
Not much time had even passed... Their encounter with Neo Ogma was no longer than two minutes.
"You'd laugh if you knew what I was thinking about." He sat back up and rubbed his arms. "Do you mind if I have my cloak back?"
She didn't respond but took the cloak off and placed it over his shoulders.
"Uh... Thanks."
"Oliver and his teacher will be here soon. If she attacks you again... I will flee with you," Mahaya spoke in a low voice.
"That's fine. Are you capable of that?"
Mahaya nodded. "Even if her actual body was here, I'm confident."
"Actual body?" Yadrith asked absently.
"Both she and Neo Ogma came in the forms of avatars. Ascendant Rekh masters are capable of such things."
Yadrith felt his mind go numb, remembering the destruction Neo Ogma had caused. 'Such power, and he was only an avatar?'
Just a few seconds later, Oliver arrived before them. Standing next to him was a beautiful woman with long platinum hair, wearing silver armor. She did a small wave to Yadrith.
Oliver lowered his head. "I apologize for my teacher's actions."
The woman smiled. "Since we've dealt with that troublesome old man, I must ask again—what are you, Yadrith?"
Yadrith silently stared at her. Neo Ogma had asked the same question. He didn't know how to answer and still didn't... Though, he did have an idea. What if he had tried to replicate Miel's situation?
"I can't tell you due to certain reasons, but if you have the capability to read my mind, it's possible for you to find out."
Ciel frowned. "You're fine with that?"
He nodded, refraining from showing a rude expression. 'She was okay with killing me, but not reading my mind!?'
"Tampering with the mind of another through Ethra is highly looked down upon and is one of the greatest evils... But, if you don't mind." She walked over and placed both hands over his head.
Her fingers were cold as they stretched over his head.
He closed his eye for a few moments, then looked up at her as he felt her fingers tremble slightly. Her eyes were dilated, just like Miel's had been.
'Is she going to start clawing at her eyes?'
Boom!
Her head suddenly exploded, causing Yadrith's mouth to part, his face twisting into a horrified expression as Ciel's body fell to the ground, limp.
Covered in her blood, he looked up at Oliver, who was equally shocked.
"T-teacher!" he shouted, running over to her body.
Yadrith resisted throwing up and backed away. "...I was not expecting that to happen...I'm sorry." He muttered, feeling like he had just murdered someone important to Oliver.
Oliver was speechless, looking away from Ciel's remains. He wanted to say something to Yadrith, but his throat couldn't manage any words.
"Interesting."
A voice layered in many tones spoke.
All three of them turned in the direction of the voice, and a man wearing an opera mask appeared. "Her main body must've taken quite the shock, but the knowledge she received must have been worth it in the end."
His figure blurred, and in the next moment, his cold hand covered in a white glove was gripping Yadrith's head, slamming him right down into the snow.
Mahaya reached out but was ultimately too slow as Neo Ogma delivered a palm to her chest, knocking her away.
Yadrith tried to struggle out of his grasp and succeeded. The Man With No Face simply stood there trembling.
Then, moments later, his head burst apart, flinging crimson gore through the snow. Yadrith couldn't help but stare at his body with another look of pure horror.
The avatar of Ciel knew no better, but Neo Ogma's avatar simply committed suicide.
Oliver let out a sigh of relief and fell to his knees.
"If Neo Ogma willingly volunteered himself, then she should be fine," he said while forming a mixed smile. "Ravenhood shouldn't pursue us anymore, so the only thing left for our journey... is to just survive the tundra."
Yadrith felt a bit of relief and stood up.