Claudette watched the fight between Randidly Ghosthound and Velio Dunn develop with complicated emotions surging through her heart. On the one hand, that drifting observer at the bottom of the numb pool felt a thrill of fear as she watched the situation develop. Velio’s sharp words had been the first time that someone had so casually threatened her, completely ignoring the massive existence that her father had always been. That threat cut through the long shadow in which she had always lived, because she saw in Velio’s eyes that he meant it.

He would truly kill her, just to infuriate Don Beigon. Because he was insane.

Opposite this crazed individual on the battlefield, Randidly was a recent arrival to the Nexus that had already climbed to the role of Head Drill Sergeant for the special recruitment to deal with the Nether incursion. And from all reports from the Fifth Cohort, his Elite Squad was impressing everyone. In terms of potential, no one would deny he had plenty. In the future, he could grow into a pillar of Military High Command.

Even if Claudette was worried about the murky methods the Ghosthound used to fuel his rapid growth, she wanted to hold onto the hope that he could help her seize control of her life. He could finally help her escape the depths of this pool.

So as the two opposite figures had mobilized their images, Claudette had resolved herself and began to conjure her own image. She needed to be ready. A chilling cold crept out into the space around her. A sword sticking out of the coldest ice in the world resided in her chest, freezingly the blood flowing through her body. Claudette’s eyes were sharp; Sshe would intervene in the fight if Randidly started losing too badly.

Velio might act tough… Claudette tried to reassure herself as Velio started unleashing image attacks and battering the Ghosthound. But… there is no way that he would just… challenge my father… With my identity… I can definitely protect Randidly...

However, just as Claudette was torn between disappointment that Randidly wasn’t actively fighting back and the realization she might need to strike much more quickly than she had expected, an abrupt shift occurred. The aura around Randidly Ghosthound transformed. His body language opened up and he flexed his limbs. Claudette’s eyes widened as she saw his muscles begin to flex across his body. Then Randidly began to move too quickly for Claudette to track with her eyes.

BOOOOM!

BOOOOOM!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

After several brutally powerful strikes that shook Claudette’s bones, even from afar, the two figures separated. There was a small wound on Velio’s shoulder that began to bleed raw energy. Once more, the fight shifted. Velio’s sword lost its luster, even as his image spiked upward in horrible deadliness.

Claudette’s heart began to beat faster as she looked down at the battle. Watching that first serious clash, she couldn’t avoid having a depressing realization. If I… try to interfere in a fight between the two of them…

Looking at Randidly Ghosthound’s image, Claudette would admit it was more powerful than her own, even if she was confused by how many different notes she sensed within the image he utilized. However, that difference was small; Claudette believed that they could still fight on even terms.

Comparatively, all Claudette could feel as she looked at Velio’s sword was dread.

Both accelerated and fought once more. Velio cut with his sword and sheered off a portion of the Ghosthound’s weapon. Although Randidly could remain ahead of Velio’s image by relying on his physical body, he could no longer meet Velio’s strikes directly. Then, just as Claudette was again trying to decide whether she could intervene, Randidly ducked under that horrifying image and smashed into Velio.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Again, he blithely overcome the vast difference in quality in between their images by relying on his physical body and Nether. There was something captivating about the way he moved so effortlessly to advance and retreat. And during that advance Randidly ripped open Velio’s thigh, flooding the space with even more ambient energy. The two parted again. Claudette, for the life of her, could not understand how or why the fight was developing in this manner.

How could a physical body fight against an image? Why were the wounds against Velio flooding the surroundings with Aether?

Velio roared in fury and charged forward and once more Randidly began to retreat, moving so quickly to avoid the slashes that his body seemed to be flickering in and out of existence. It was around this point that Claudette admitted to herself that she would not be able to meaningfully affect the outcome of the fight going on below her.

...no matter what, I was right. Claudette’s eyes sharpened as she tried to capture the brutally quick movements of the combatants. Randidly Ghosthound… is not a typical fighter. He possesses means that go beyond the norm. It’s still a gamble… a horrible, impossible one… but perhaps… he might truly be able to change my future...

Suddenly, the aura around Randidly evolved once more. A wreathe of grey power spread around his body and somehow… he looked different. The shift in his image wasn’t extremely profound, but suddenly all those disparate notes the had been releasing swam together in a grand current; everything was balanced where there had been a note of disharmony previously.

Armed with this new change, Randidly once more shot toward his foe with his spear raised. Velio seemed to expect this offensive and lashed out several times, but Randidly was too quick. He appeared next to Velio and attempted to bind the other’s hands. The details were fuzzy in Claudette’s vision, but Velio avoided the capture.

Then Randidly just seemed to stare at Velio Dunn, briefly forcing him into perfect clarity in Claudette’s vision. The shadow of the image that Randidly utilized gripped the surroundings with such force fanned the flames of Claudette’s hope.

Those spiraling images within Randidly spun together and he struck. Velio’s body blurred into motion as he pulled his horrible sword to cut into the Ghosthound, but-

But then there was a ripple of something innocuous and overwhelming from the location on Velio’s chest that Randidly had attacked. It spread rapidly outward from the two figures, now locked into a frozen state. By the time that the ripple reached Claudette, hundreds of meters away, the details had dissipated. She simply saw a brilliant white light and heard a confident voice.

“...work hard…”

Then the ripple had passed, leaving Claudette with a horrible headache. After shaking herself several times and activating Healing Frost, the pain began to ease. Her vision cleared and instantly she looked down at the battlefield below.

The two fighters… were oddly still. But it was not the stillness of a standoff, but a more chaotic scene. Randidly was drifting back away from Velio, a metal hand raised and pressed against his head. His face was warped in a agonized grimace. If Claudette had a headache from getting hit with… whatever that was from so far away, she could only imagine how vicious it was to be directly next to the epicenter.

Meanwhile, Velio was also extremely still. His gaze was locked onto Randidly, but it was hard to tell what he was thinking based on the crystal covering most of his body. But from his slow but steady movements, he wasn’t nearly as affected as Randidly had been. He could move, but he chose not to.

Gritting her teeth, Claudette forced herself to approach. This stillness was her chance to diffuse some tension. She flitted forward, rapidly closing the distance to the two fighters.

Velio Dunn slowly raised his sword, almost perfunctorily. Despite the obvious pain that he was experiencing, Randidly also managed to raise his weapon in response. The athletic young man’s brow twitched and it was clear that he was having difficulties keeping his eyes open. The two stood opposite each other, their weapons raised, reminding Claudette of two statues standing guard opposite one another around one of the gates into the Beigon compound.

Crack!

The noise made Claudette’s stomach drop, but she realized that neither had moved. Instead, the crystal layer that had been steadily forming over Velio since the fight had started was now drying and cracking. The ambient energy in the surroundings began to diminish now that Velio wasn’t just churning it out. By the time Claudette arrived above the two figures, the crystals began to flake away, revealing patches of Velio’s skin.

But the stillness between them wasn’t enough for Claudette to relax. While Velio’s image continued to creep outward and fill her with fear, Randidly’s image was faltering and fading.

Velio didn’t even acknowledge Claudette’s arrival; he just kept staring at Randidly. Then the crystal across his face shattered and pieces fell away. His revealed expression was one of incredible intensity as he continued to stare at Randidly. His shoulders rose and fell with his heavy breathing.

“You…” Velio finally said. He abruptly moved a meter forward, closing part of the distance between them, but just as soon as he started, he stopped, as though he suddenly second-guessed his decision to attack.

His eyes narrowed, Randidly simply watched and waited. The notes of the images around him continued to fade. He was fighting to keep his power flared, but it seemed his mental wound was quickly strangling him.

“Isn’t this enough, Mr. Dunn?” Claudette licked her lips, surprised at how rusty her voice sounded. “I believe… the ten minutes have passed.”

Even Claudette inwardly cringed as she said the lie. But at the moment, she couldn’t figure out what else to say. Because it was obvious that after that strange ripple, Randidly could no longer keep up with the overwhelming image of Velio Dunn.

Velio didn’t even appear to hear her. His expression continued to flicker. From a deep fury, to a sense of wistful nostalgia, to a desolate expression of fear, finally to a strange sense of wonder. The lines around his eyes and mouth were shifting constantly, leaving Claudette wondering just how deeply disturbed this man was.

If nothing else, it definitely proved he would willingly attack Claudette Beigon.

Finally, something like his previous seriousness returned. He nodded slowly, eyes still on Randidly Ghosthound.. “I… owe you a favor. For being dumb enough to charge in like that. And I’ll pay it by letting you off of our deal for the time of the duel. But…”

Suddenly, Velio Dunn’s expression was incredibly bitter once more. But his image extinguished itself, ceasing its slow and destructive expansion. For a second his sword was just a dull grey weapon, then cobalt runes glimmered to life across the weapon. He sheathed his sword in the sheath on his back and crossed his arms. “The fact that you were able to damage the memory fragment that has cursed me for a thousand years…. It just proves how much you resemble him. I… cannot-”

Then Velio turned away, leaving a bewildered Claudette to approach the mentally wounded Randidly Ghosthound.