Claudette followed the Elite Squad to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station, more because she wasn’t sure what else to do than because she had any business with them. Besides, the Rally Station was located in the periphery of the space around the Nexus, so the force of the aftershocks, which occurred about every fifteen minutes, was much reduced.

Some weird tension she couldn’t explain finally began to ease as she stood on the distant asteroid, with only mild reverberations in the ground. Claudette twisted and looked back past the minuscule-looking teleportation stations and the shadowy smudge of the Nexus proper behind it. Is there really… a force that can threaten the Nexus…? Maybe the Nether King...

None of the others appeared to share Claudette’s worries. Like a well-oiled machine, the Elite Squad quickly reactivated the old Engravings and began to do some light physical exertion to distract themselves. The recruits hefted strange pillars and began to jog mindlessly in a circle. Which left only Claudette and Helen idle.

Claudette watched the lovely woman out of the corners of her eyes, reading the slight cloud over her mood. Considering her own nerves, she figured a distraction was in order. “Ah… Helen, yes? Is something… the matter? Do you think Randidly-”

“What?” Helen blinked and twisted around. Then she blinked several more times, as though completely thrown by Claudette’s presence here. She waved a hand vaguely. “Oh. Oh, no, I’m not worried about that punk Randidly. Just… well, shit. A personal matter.”

Claudette felt speechless as she looked around at the exercising members of the Elite Squad and the distracted Helen. I mean I was used to Randidly completely ignoring my status in the Nexus… but its kinda irritating that all of his followers have inherited his… particular attitude…

“Then I won’t ask further.” Claudette offered Helen a polite smile. She cast her mind around for some sort of subject to bridge the gap between them. “....but, I was here to ask… would you like to participate in a spar?”

Instantly, Helen’s expression brightened. Her eyes scanned Claudette critically for several seconds. Then she nodded emphatically. “Ah… alright. I really could use a way to work off some stress. Here, follow me. Randidly made an Engraving for this as well.”

Helen led the bemused Claudette away from the huge circuit of Elite Squad members sweating and carrying Engraved pillars to a chaotically cracked basin. As they trooped down the dusty and smashed ridges, another small rumble echoed outward from the Nexus and set Claudette’s teeth on edge. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like releasing some stress was a good idea. Then, after they both warmed up, the two women both manifested their images.

A halo of cold surrounded Claudette, sending a creeping layer of frost out from her feet. In her mind, that ancient sword stuck in ice released a blinding pulse of light. Cool energy rushed through her veins, refreshing her and pushing away her worries. Opposite her, Helen had several smoking, swirling masses of wicker-blackness that clustered around her weapon. Almost imperceptible waves of lapping red energy spread out from her silhouette.

The subordinate of Randidly Ghosthound spun her spear expertly and accelerated forward cutting directly into Claudette’s expanding image.

Lowering the intensity of her image, Claudette lifted her hand and send a cutting wave of cold wind shooting toward Helen. Comparing their images, it didn’t seem fair to forcefully suppress Helen, so Claudette instead began to brew a casual blizzard around her. The wind seemed to sing in her ears. She would meet this foe with carefully aimed, small cuts-

Helen somehow adjusted her direction so sharply at the last second that she swam past Claudette’s howling blast of wind. Pressing her lips together, Claudette spun three similar icy wind blades together, imbued them with an intense feeling of cold to affect the surrounding area, then unleashed the net toward the charging Helen.

This time, instead of dodging, Helen’s points of smoking wicker spun together to form a massive drill in front of her body. Then she forcefully broke through the weakest point of Claudette’s attack. Some ice condensed on Helen’s leather sleeves as she charged forward, but a pulse of the woman’s Domain image quickly shattered those lingering notes of an image. Her decisive dismissal of her image left Claudette somewhat stunned.

Rather than continuing to charge forward, Helen decelerated and frowned at Claudette. She cleared her throat and spun her spear once more. “If you don’t intend to take this seriously, there is no point in continuing.”

“I…” Claudette was speechless. “I… well, I apologize. I thought, due to the differences between our image, the spar would be more even if I adjusted myself to your level.”

Helen nodded without seeming to be offended by Claudette’s words. But then the other woman smirked. “I mean yes, your image is more refined than mine… but we are not comparing images, we are fighting. And when we compare combat experience… somehow, I sense that I’ve looked into the regretful face of death quite a few more times than you have.”

“...If you are implying that I’ve never fought with my life on the line, that just isn’t true,” Claudette schooled her expression. This sort of skepticism was something that she had dealt with relatively often, considering the protective reputation of Don Beigon. “During my time training under the Frost Matriarch, I assure you that no corner was cut. I was put in dangerous situations-”

Helen waved her hand. “Nah, I know you’ve been in some rough spots. I wouldn’t have bothered to spar with you otherwise. But… there is a difference between fighting where failure means death, and knowing that you were about to fight, lose, and die… and make the conscious decision to continue struggling anyway. To be saved by an outside force, to live with the knowledge that you were insufficient…”

For a few seconds, Helen’s gaze was unfocused. “...the decision to continue fighting while knowing you are about to die cannot be simulated. That sort of stubbornness is an inborn trait that you only realize you possess… by being forced to possess it. And having that sharpens your attacks in a way that is hard to explain.”

Claudette stared at Helen, unsure of what to make of the distinction. Helen smiled and shrugged. “Just unleash your full strength, alright? And if you start to fuck me up… I guess then I was wrong to doubt you.”

Claudette’s mild expression twitched. You… are actually quite aggravating, aren’t you? Were you such a delight, even before you started training with the Ghosthound…?

Despite her misgivings, that irritation was the spark that Claudette needed to forget extraneous matters. This time when Claudette flared that glorious image of the frozen sword, she held nothing back. Her feet lifted up off the ground and the ground crackled with rapidly condensing frost in a three-meter area around her. She stretched her hands outward and spikes of ice formed at her fingertips. Claudette became the mobile core of a non-existent snowglobe; ice and snow spun outward from her body.

Ascendant and confident in her image, Claudette smiled at Helen. “Come on then. Do you really think you can bridge the gap between us…?”

Helen just laughed and accelerated once more. Claudette whipped her right hand forward and unleashed a constant stream of icy projectiles. At the same time, she began to lower the temperature around her to an extreme degree, dragging air down around her person as she sucked energies out of the molecules. This condensed air she cooled ever further, tightening the barrier and erecting a frosty, invisible line in the sand.

Helen’s movements continued to be impressively quick. She avoided Claudette’s ice spikes with ease and approached the outermost bastion of freezing air. Claudette quickly brought her hands together, keeping her palms a small distance apart. On the ground in front of her, the creeping frost began to stretch upward into the vague shape of the sword.

If Helen dared continue forward...

Of course, the other woman didn’t slow her onslaught at all. Helen's spear was wreathed in ominous darkness as she slashed through the barrier of cold air. Claudette braced herself and empowered the area with her chilling image, but the other woman just sheered her way through.

That finally earned Claudette’s full attention. The details of her image aren’t very impressive, but that intensity of belief… she isn’t Randidly Ghosthound’s closest follower for nothing. This performance… is slightly unbelievable.

However, within that barrier of air, Claudette held absolute dominion. She pushed the temperature down even further, while conjuring dozens of additional ice spikes in a single moment. As the icy sword gradually solidified, she unleashed a constant barrage of frigid projectiles.

Yet somehow… Helen continued to advance. A series of subtle and instantaneous feints and sidesteps caused all of Claudette’s attacks to stab harmlessly into the stone ground. Helen’s movements were quick and decisive. Flexibility and explosiveness made her seem near-invulnerable. Very soon, she reached the edge of the second ring of cold air. Helen once more raised her weapon that bled darkness, but this time Claudette was ready.

Claudette’s hands touched down on the hilt of that frozen sword. Her fingers tightened on the exposed ice; metal condensed within the murky core of the frozen material. The air groaned as the temperature dropped precipitously. Frost grew on every exposed surface inside the barrier of cold air, including Helen’s spear. Strangely, Helen didn’t flinch. Instead, she gathered all of black wicker pieces together and slammed them against Claudette’s image.

Snorting, Claudette gathered the cold rays reflected off the blade of the frozen sword and concentrated them on Helen’s resistance… but just as Claudette focused her attacks, Helen cut sideways. She moved several meters laterally, edging out from the powerful front of Claudette’s image and then slamming herself forward and forcing a path through the biting chill. Ice rapidly condensed on her joints, but the radiating redness from Helen’s body began to break down the restraints.

Helen settled her stance and raised her spear, but Claudette was faster. She drew her sword in a ringing slash. Metal as pure and white as fresh snowflakes gleamed with deadly intent. Frost colored radiance slashed outward… and Helen simply didn’t move in response to the attack.

Claudette’s eyes widened in horror. Her image-empowered attack took Helen in the chest, likely freezing her internal organs and bringing her Health down to dangerous levels. Claudette instantly felt regret. She lowered her weapon. “You-”

Helen thrust her spear forward. As she attacked, a massive shadow spread in the space behind her. From the depths of that darkness, a single eyelid trembled and then began to open.

Claudette’s instincts served her well. She brought the holy sword horizontally across her body and resisted the strange gaze, which caused the hairs of her arms to stand on end and her palms to sweat. Then she spun around and slashed again, this time targeting the attack at Helen’s left knee. This attack also landed. A thick rind of frost crusted up Helen’s thigh.

Claudette gestured imperiously, sending a wave of frost up from the snowy ground to cover both of Helen’s feet. “You are now immobilized-”

Helen simply stomped and shattered the ice. Claudette was stunned by how… casual an effort the woman expended to overcome the ice. The redness bleeding through the frost on Helen’s body was darkening toward the color of wine. The shadow she dragged behind her continued to stir.

“How the hell are you doing this?!?” Claudette swore in a rare showing of frustration.

Helen didn’t even answer, she just charged forward and thrust forward with her spear. Growling, Claudette brought her frigid weapon around in a sharp arc.

Over the next twenty or so minutes, the two women clashed again and again in a flurry of motion. Claudette’s mood continued to plummet. In any sort of direct confrontation, Helen was nowhere near her match. Her image would freeze the dark redness that Helen released without any suspense.

However, Helen was an expert at avoiding meeting Claudette’s image directly. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the woman’s body seemed to be made of metal and dreams rather than flesh. Many of the attacks that Helen had used to incapacitate much more accomplished Pinnacle Seekers during her training… were simply shrugged off by Helen. Part of it was the way she manipulated her image; even Claudette was stunned by the resiliency of the Depths of Horror. If Claudette didn’t stamp out all of it, the energy would rapidly flow sideways in an unpredictable manner and attack her in a different way.

But it was also clear that Helen had poured a significant portion of her energy into developing high-quality physical passive Skills and related images. Otherwise, even with advanced Stats, it would be impossible for the woman to shrug off Claudette’s attacks.

Rather than an image user, fighting Helen felt like struggling against a gleeful Nether Gatekeeper.

After the battle had ended in a bitter stalemate, Claudette sat on the ground and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. The spar had depleted her mental energy very quickly; very rarely had she encounter such a cockroach-like opponent. Then she glanced sourly over at Helen. The other woman grinned at her, looking flushed and invigorated, as though she had just gotten out of a hot shower. “Ha! Don’t give me that look. If I’m being honest, the methods I used against you are what Randidly does against me when he wants to use me for his own training… haaaahhh, I know exactly how exhausting they can be…

“And unlike me,” Suddenly Helen’s expression just turned as sour as Claudette’s. “You can at least force me back directly with your image. Imagine fighting against someone who can shrug off your images either physically or mentally. Literally, hell.”

Claudette just grunted.

Helen chuckled. "...will it help if I admit getting hit with your ice image hurts like a bitch?"

Claudette considered her numb and exhausted interior. There was no reaction, but she still opened her mouth. "...worse than it hurts when you are sparring against Randidly?"

"Like I said," Helen sighed. "Literally... hell. Basically, any part of his body can impact me and pop me like a balloon. You ever feel a limb liquify?"