Chapter 940 (1/2)

Helen’s breath came in ragged gasps. Alana was strong. She always knew that. Which was why Helen hadn’t had any intention of challenging her directly. It was Dozer that she had her focus looked upon.

Yet why was this fucking bitch constantly trying to kill her?!?! Without even using any active Skills… it was maddening. It was infuriating how stifled Helen felt.

Very quickly, Helen had been pushed to the edge of the arena. As her feet were up against that precipice, Helen’s anger drained away. All that was left was determination. Her focus on Dozer was discarded as useless; right now, this foe was far more dangerous. If she wanted to avoid death right now, she couldn't’ afford any distractions.

After all, Helen had no delusions about her abilities; although she had reached Level 50 on this planet, her Skills and images were still filtered through Randidly’s Domain. She could bring to bear most of her power, but that last 10% that she was missing was especially noticeable in battles of this level.

Her current failures against Alana were to be expected. Despite the other woman’s frequently divided attention, Helen couldn’t do anything but retreat.

And now there was no longer any room to fall back.

Yet Helen was not one of the apex predators in her mind. No, that was not her path. In her right hand, her harpoon began to hum softly. The cadence was carried along the chain snaking behind her back to her bone knife in the other hand. That noise grew, nurtured in her heart, even as Alana’s precise strikes continued to force Helen to inch backward.

Very soon, Helen’s heel was no longer on solid ground. It was suspended in the air above the two-meter drop to the area surrounding the arena. Still, Alana’s strikes rained toward her, faster and faster.

The Hellfin Reaper roared defiantly in her chest as if it would fight to the death to avenge this grievance. Yet its eyes roved around calculatingly, considering the different forces at play in the arena. On the far side, the group gathered around Randidly made its move, giving up on striking him down from afar and rushing toward him.

Honestly, they were forced to. With the assistance of the strikes from his roots, the riders were dancing around Dozer and deeply wounding the other elites. Clarissa cast spells to slow them down, but they weren’t interested in finishing off anyone. They were simply trying to sap Donnyton’s strength.

Helen breathed deeply, savoring the hint of blood in the air. Her Domain rippled, almost imperceptibly.

In response to the aggression toward Randidly, the tree behind him grew even taller, its thick roots covered in golden script digging greedily into the ground around him. Although it was just an image, the whole quarry rumbled ominously from the strain of withstanding Randidly’s image digging into it.

“Let’s stop playing around,” Randidly said simply. He raised Acri and pointed it at Donny. “Are you ready?”

Behind Randidly, there was a flickering in the air. Cold eddies of ash and dried blood gathered around him. Then the monstrous form of the Chimera condensed. Ripples spread outward, as the two images of the tree and the chimera coexisted.

As someone familiar with using images, Helen could sense the ripples brushing up against each other. However, rather than using them to influence the surrounding area right now, Randidly kept their influence rather focused. As such, they only served the specific purposes of strengthening his other Skills, rather than acting as a pseudo-Domain.

Yet those images together immediately changed the feel of the surrounding air. As with the area around all top-tier image users Helen had seen, the boundaries of reality were blurred by the System. They would need to move soon, or some of the surrounding individuals would naturally form a concrete image as the brains defensive response to the pressure they were under.

Although I suppose that is the point, isn’t it? Helen dodged Alana’s sluggish attack. While the other woman was so clearly distracted, her foot advanced imperceptibly, maintaining her stance on the edge of the arena.

It was a small movement, but it was still the first time she had managed to advance. Helen took another breath. The scent of blood in the arena was growing stronger.

The immediate shock radiating outward from the Donnyton group was palpable.

“How can you manage both-”

But before Donny could say anything further, the entire arena was engulfed in an all-encompassing light.

That wave of light that erupted from Randidly’s pale grey Crown. Suddenly, the entire area seemed to be bathed in twilight, transforming everything to a dreamlike state. While within the sphere of that light, even Helen tensed up. Although she had never experienced this ability of the Crown before, it was clear that it was not ordinary. Even Alana’s constant roiling energy couldn’t rid the area of it entirely.

Above them, it seemed that Randidly’s emerald eyes were inspecting every inch of the battlefield. Then, as quickly as the light had covered the arena, it disappeared. With the pause over, Donnyton’s group surged into motion to attack Randidly. But then Spearing Roots stabbed upward out of the ground in cruel waves, attacking everyone who was touching the ground.

Even Alana was hit by a wave, although a simple stomp of her foot produced a wave of flame that reduced the roots to ash. Helen grimaced. This woman was altogether too capable.

Still, that time was enough for Helen to push herself to go deeper into her own Domain, causing the thick currents of crimson energy to grow more dangerous and chaotic.

Helen’s Domain was somewhat special in that there were multiple layers to it that Helen could utilize. As with that final fight on Tellus, it was possible for Helen to dive deeper into the world of her Domain, causing its power and influence to skyrocket.

Yet at the same time, Helen’s dive expose herself to increased danger. If her Domain were to be shattered in this state, her image would be extremely damaged. Luckily, Randidly had beaten resiliency into her Domain. Although she still resented him for some of the torturous training she had been subjected to, she couldn’t deny how useful it was.

Alana’s spear whipped outward and Helen leaned backward. With a detached numbness, Helen watched the gleaming tip slide past the surface of her eye. No,deeper still.

Alana quickly pulled her spear back into a defensive stance and glared at Helen. It seemed that she sensed that the other woman was preparing something, and launched herself toward Helen to prevent it. Unfortunately, another wave of roots ripped upward, these cutting toward Alana at sharp angles that were much more difficult to deal with. Alana was forced lower her spear and shear the roots like it was unruly grass.