The mood changed, and the scenery grew cold. Oscar did not look quite the same, and it was hard to tell if that was even still Oscar. His skin was deathly pale, leaning more to a bluish color, like a frozen human, and his eyes became a bright, alluring blue. In his white hair, crystals of ice formed.
He slowly removed his coat.
"Huh? Kid, I've warned you once, haven't I?" Kibim sighed.
"Unless… do you have some kind of attachment to this old man?" he laughed, before kicking the General's body.
"Perhaps one of these two little kids over here?" he walked over toward their bodies, bending down and pressing at their cheeks.
"Which one is it-"
[Cast: Thorned Chained of Frost]
From Oscar's chest, three icy chains shot out, faster than Kibim's eyes could follow. They didn't strike him, though. They wrapped around Kibim, tightening and piercing his skin.
"!"
Before Oscar could close in on him, Kibim broke free.
This kid is fast… what kind of casting speed is that?
Then, he felt his neck. For some odd reason, he felt intense pressure. If he faltered for a moment, his neck would be sliced off.
What kind of… blood lust is this?
Am I facing a human?
No..
Oscar then leaped forward. Kibim shook his fear off, a nervous grin plastered across his face. He held his spear out, preparing.
Fwsh!
Quickly, he thrust the tip of his spear forward, catching Oscar in an opening as he moved forward toward him!
[Cast: Freeze]
Oscar rotated, avoiding the strike. His palm slid across the spear's blade, freezing it solid.
[Cast: Thorned Chains of Frost]
From the frozen metal, two chains shot out. At the end of them was a sharp blade, and it was aiming right at Kibim's neck!
Kibim through the spear to the side, jumping backward.
This is seriously dangerous-
His train of thought was interrupted.
[Cast: Advanced Frostfire Slash]
Lost in thought, he hadn't realized that Oscar had already reached him. He was less than a meter away, and the tip of his sword burned blue, so terrifyingly large and cold that Kibim himself could feel it from the distance he was at.
Right now, Kibim felt incredibly inadequate. In the forest, he was the small innocent grey bunny, being subjected to the fangs of the large white wolf, with it's beady blue eyes, staring at it's prey.
His body would not just let him die!
I'm not prey!
[Cast: Blood Web]
The thick webs of blood moved just quickly enough to stick to his limbs and stop his movements for a moment. That was until the webs at the contact point froze cold, snapping off.
"!"
Kibim swiped his long nails at Oscar.
Slsh!
In a split second, Oscar's sword tilted down, cutting through four of Kibim's five fingers.
Kibim's eyes widened in distress and alarm. A strange piercing, aching feeling that didn't feel like fire, took over him. His off hand, the left hand, moved quickly, slicing his entire right hand off his wrist.
Kibim's hand fell to the ground.
If I hadn't cut it off… my entire body would have been engulfed in those cold flames!
He planted his hands onto the ground, springing backward and clearing distance. Oscar laughed.
"Huh..? You wanna speak now?"
Oscar's voice came out a lot differently, a strange, unfamiliar coldness that was never there before.
"Why do you step back?
"… as if I couldn't reach you in a second?"
[Cast: Verglas Rising Pillar]
Before Kibim knew it, Oscar was in front of him. Pillars of ice erected from the ground, capturing Kibim's legs.
[Cast: Chilled Halberd]
In the palm of Oscar's hand, a halberd of ice manifested. He gripped it.\
Th-this is bad…
What's going on!?
I need blood!
Kibim grunted. He got his left hand, and sliced his legs off, soaring into the air. This was an action that caught even the crazed Oscar off guard.
"…"
[Cast: Blood Control]
The blood that trickled down the open leg wound acted as jet propulsion. Something that again caught Oscar off guard.
Wait..
Then, he collapsed.
The excessive usage of mana had drained him. His pale skin regained color, and the ice in his hair melted.
On the other hand, Kibim was flying toward the nearest peasant civilization. Over by the royal capital, the havoc was starting to calm down, as reinforcements came by to combat the highly skilled Iron Vanguard.
Kibim ran desperately. He didn't even know if Oscar was still pursuing him, but there was a terrifying fear that struck his heart. A primal fear, one that consumed his very being. Ever cell in his body screamed at him, to the point where it was almost painful for him to not flee.
Thank goodness… I saved the king for later!
He finally reached the king, who he had tied up a long time ago. He gagged him with an apple.
"Listen, my lord. Don't take it personally. Hm… how do I say it? I'm under new management now. Ogthos himself came to me and told me that you need to be gone, to bring this kingdom back into… no, that doesn't even sound believable. Sorry, my lord. Goodbye."
Kibim sliced the king's head off, before ripping his heart out. He took a gleeful bite. Blood trickled down his chin, and he grew the power to bring his legs back.
[Cast: Flowing Water Dart]
Amidst the reformation of his legs, a quick arrow flew toward Kibim, piercing through his neck.
Ailmer prepared his bow for another strike.
"Ailmer, you foolish elf.
"The royal blood of King Ethan the Fourth… it's invigorating. Rich in blood, and potential. That fat red-haired bastard couldn't do anything with all of this. But now, I'll use it quite nicely."
With this much power, I could possibly even beat that ice boy…
[Cast: Infernal Spark]
The arrow that was lodged into Kibim's thick neck exploded, sending his grey head several meters into the air, quickly. This was something that caught Kibim off guard, as Ailmer had no explosive casts that he knew of.
Unless..
"I'm sorry I couldn't make it in time, Ailmer."
A familiar voice sent chills down Kibim's spine that he could no longer feel.
The woman who the threatening voice belonged to walked toward Ailmer, placing a hand on his shoulder. Her black and white hair swayed gently in the night wind. She simply wore a white dress shirt under a brown corset, with black pants.
"It's fine…"
That woman… she was Isalda van Mahaut!