Merideth was caught off guard by the sudden retaliation after their weapons clashed; the sword sliced into her arm, though the cut wasn't deep enough to hinder her from using it. Attempting to fight a man made of stone with physical attacks was an uphill battle, for sure. She lifted her head up, staring past Zel for a moment. Whatever she saw there placed a grin upon her face, and she proceeded to charge for another strike. The warrior heaved the halberd upward diagonally, attempting to strike Zelgodis on his left side. Through, as the metal made contact with his skin, the repeated abuse and average quality of the halberd caused it to snap at the sheer force of the attack. With the amount of momentum Merideth gained while attempting to attack, she was sent twirling to the ground after the weapon was broken. The other half simply disrupted the ash upon the ground as it landed.<br/><br/>"I guess... it seems you've won the battle," she said, in a nonchalant way. "But it seems like it will be for nothing soon enough."<br/><br/>Cethin was standing near where Sylph was residing, a glowing green light emanating off his hand. While everyone was distracted, Cethin took the opportunity to capture Sylph in what seemed to be a ring placed upon his finger.<br/><br/>"Well, the rules never stated that I had to cease my operations whilst the duel was proceeding, yes?" he taunted, shaking his head at the group while he spoke. "Oh well. All in all, Merideth did lose, and this ring is magic. So, I suppose that means I have to refrain from bothering you for two months?"<br/><br/>The blonde man gave a brief chuckle at the end of his speech.<span style="font-style: italic">I don't want this opportunity to simply be wasted...</span>thought Merideth, looking toward the fallen Larea. She dashed forward, drawing her sword simultaneously as she did so. Another reason she refrained from using the blade was because it contained certain magical properties, which were made obvious from the engravings gracing its blade. Merideth believed that she would be able to disable Larea from escaping once she made an incision. She held the sword near her shoulder, aimed forward at the white robed girl. Nearing her destination, she leaped forward, attempting to plunge downward with her blade.<br/><br/>The sword made contact, but it wasn't on its intended target. On the receiving end was Sigrun, standing a few feet in front of Larea. The blade had pierced right through her armor and dug into the right side of her chest, the other end of the blade coming out somewhere near the middle of her back. The purple haired knight collapsed to her knees, her blood staining her sister's face. Merideth only stood there in shock, she didn't wish for anything like this to happen.<span style="font-style: italic">I... I didn't...</span><br/><br/>The distraught woman didn't wish to involve her sibling in this mess. Now she just brought her to the wrong end of the sword. She could only manage to stand up and slowly back away, looking at the scene in horror. She didn't want to further her injuries by removing her sword from her body, nor did she wish to hold the damned thing after what happened. Cethin only lowered his grin, looking at Merideth with some remorse.<br/><br/>"I believe it is time for us to depart. There is no telling what Origin will do if we proceed, and I am not a man of chance," he stated. "Besides, we have to honor their terms, yes? Come, Umbra!"<br/><br/>Merideth stood straight and nodded in response, her head still staring at the ground. A dark mist was emitted with a swipe of Cethin's hand, obscuring their vision by sealing out the light. Within a few minutes, it faded, with the two questionable characters no longer in sight.<br/><br/>Sigrun was laying near Larea, the pain from the sword being unbearable. What was she feeling? Compassion, sadness? Emotions were simply things she read in a book, she never really knew if she was feeling them. Words don't help her learn to differentiate which one was which, all of them seemed the same. Tears streamed down her face, whether it was from pain or something else was something she didn't even know. She reached her hand out into the distance, reaching out for her sibling, but soon her hand fell to the ground limp just as her consciousness faded.