Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

After calming down Celaine, Maria smiled at her warmly, touched by the genuine affection that she displayed.

"Haaa…!" Celaine let out an exaggerated sigh, holding her forehead. "You know, you can't just let Mira keep doing whatever she wants to you. At some point, you're going to have to make a stand. Better to get it out now than in a hundred years, after all that hidden resentment builds."

"But…"

"NO! You've always been passive in the relationship, just going with the flow and following her every move, every word! I get it. You were young, naive, and, honestly, really stupid back then."

'Ouch.' Maria recoiled but kept a smile on her face.

"Mira's the type to take charge, or rather, she just does what she wants, others be damned. She helped set you on your current path, which you should be grateful for, but you've matured. You no longer need her to hold your hand every step of the way. And with that, you have to make her realize that you're now an adult and should be treated as such."

Celaine then walked to the window and held her arms out, showing all the people that were coming in and out of the building. "Just look at everything you built. In a prominent merchant city, you not only made a name for yourself but became a leading figure, shaping the trajectory of thousands. Sure, you had help, but at the end of the day, you did this."

"Your strength had risen considerably since you two separated. You're a rich young mistress now. You have hundreds, if not thousands, of people under you." Then, she turned around and stared Maria in the eye.

A sharp ring echoed off the walls as Celaine's saber-like Soul Sense crashed onto Maria, threatening to rip her to shreds. But a shimmering golden barrier surrounded Maria as the blonde woman's lips curled.

Then, as if on cue, the two unleashed their auras, causing the building to shake from the pressure. Arrays and Formations activated immediately, preventing any further damage, but the higher-ups of Sanctum and even a few strong entities throughout the city sensed it.

They all looked toward Maria's office, with a few people moving to check out what was going on, but the two remained indifferent to all this.

Celaine's aura attempted to cut through Maria's, but the latter's aura possessed an almost immortal-like quality that allowed it to regenerate almost instantly. The two fought like this for a few dozen seconds, with neither losing out.

Eventually, the two reigned in the pressure as cracks started to form on the walls, allowing the people standing outside the door to let out a sigh of relief. If they went any longer, the cost to maintain the formations would've been rather expensive.

"...You've also become quite dangerous," Celaine muttered as she flicked her hair back and rested her hand on the hilt of her saber hidden under her cloak. "You need to show Mira this. That woman is equally, if not more stupid than you, just in a different way. If it's not about power, she doesn't care. So, you have to make her care. To make her realize you're not the same dumbass you were when you were a kid."

"..."

Celaine's words were like a sharp saber stabbing straight into her heart.

Maria's gaze followed Celaine as she paced the room, each word from her friend striking deeper than any physical blow could.

"You're not wrong, Celaine. I've been... complacent, in a way. Afraid to confront Mira, to assert myself," Maria admitted, her voice carrying a mix of resignation and newfound resolve. "But how? Mira is not one to listen to words alone. She respects strength… action. But, you know… she's…" She didn't need to finish that sentence for the other party to understand.

Celaine stopped pacing and faced Maria squarely. "Show her! Not just through your aura or your newfound wealth and power, but in your actions and decisions. Make choices that are yours alone, stand firm in your beliefs, and when the time comes, confront her. Not as a follower, but as an equal."

Maria nodded slowly, absorbing Celaine's advice. Her heart felt lighter, as if a path had been illuminated for her. "I understand. And I think... I know just where to start."

***

A few hours later.

"The Northern Continent?! Excuse me for being impolite, but… Are you fucking kidding me?! There's no way you can go there! Not now!" A brown hair, brown-eyed mature woman shouted, slamming her fists on Maria's desk, glaring at Celaine, who was standing behind her.

"...Alicia…" Maria muttered with a wry smile.

However, the woman wasn't done. Summoning stacks of paper from her storage ring, it all crashed onto the desk. "We're already weeks behind where we should be. From collecting funds, sending and receiving orders, our finances, and more, there are still thousands of things I need to audit! And you're telling me you want to leave? When we're about to hit a massive growth spike?!"

"I know it looks bad, but-"

"Not to mention, what are we supposed to do about the monthly meetings with the other leaders when you're gone?! You're not just our leader, but our backer. Without your strength and backing, the rest of us wouldn't be able to go nearly as wild as we are now! How are we-?!"

Maria had had enough of being interrupted and shouted, "Alicia!"

The woman before her flinched, not expecting Maria to raise her voice like that.

"I understand your concerns, but I've already found a solution." She said calmly, then raised her hand to the side of her chair. A humanoid dummy appeared beside her, but that was just the beginning.

A huge amount of Qi spiraled around the dummy out of Maria's hand. Sweat formed on her forehead, but she continued to use almost all of her energy on the dummy.

Suddenly, a blinding light emitted from the dummy, forcing the others to cover their eyes.

A moment later, a shocking transformation was revealed. It was an exact replica of Maria! Her aura, strength, the way she breathed, and even her unique Qi signature were all the same! The only difference was that the dummy's face was rather emotionless, but with a thought, Maria changed that.

Now, the two looked nearly identical.

Both Celaine and Alicia gawked at the sight, not expecting Maria to do that.

"I've been working on making a clone of myself for a while now," Maria said, enjoying their shocked expressions. "I know there are techniques out there that could do something similar, but I wasn't satisfied with those. So, teacher and I worked on developing one that could fully utilize our knowledge of the human body."

"H-How-?" Celaine stuttered, wide-eyed. She'd seen clone techniques in the Battle Maiden Sect's repository, but none were like this. "H-How can it have your strength? I can even sense that it's passively absorbing Qi to sustain itself!"

Maria scratched her cheek, a bit embarrassed. "It's… It's a bit complicated to explain but just think of the body as a giant Spirit Stone Mine Source with all kinds of arrays, formations, and runes carved on it. Combine that with a personalized cloning technique, and you have essentially duplicated yourself."

"..."

That explanation was too simple!

That was what their expressions said, but Maria could only shrug. The amount of time that went into perfecting this technique was astronomical. It was impossible to explain the complexities in just a few words.

"Just know that this is basically an extension of me. Everything that it sees, hears, and touches all comes through me. And, regardless of distance, I can give it commands or just leave it on auto-pilot and let it do its thing."

"...That's insane," Celaine muttered, and Alicia couldn't agree more.

Maria's smile widened as she glanced over her shoulder before turning back to face Alicia. "Now, there shouldn't be a problem with me leaving, right?"

Alicia unconsciously nodded. 'In fact, this might be even better than if Maria was really here!'

She could already imagine forcing this clone to work non-stop, doing everything that nobody else wanted to do. Although it was an extension of Maria's will, at the end of the day, it wasn't really her. She could have it work like a dog with no complaints!

'Hehehe~ I'm saved! No more paperwork!' Alicia chuckled, causing both Maria and her clone to shiver at her 'malicious' smile.

"...Don't be too hard on her, err… me, please," Maria murmured.

Yeah, yeah." Alicia carelessly waved her off. "Just get going already. You got business with Mira, right? You should go settle that."

"..."

Maria sighed, but she knew Alicia was just playing around. She and everyone else knew that Alicia played one of the biggest roles in the development of their organization. Whether it be her planning, administrative tasks, leadership abilities, attention to detail, public relations, and more, the woman was involved in everything.

Even without Maria's presence, everything would be just fine as long as Alicia was around. It was almost impossible for her to slack off.

"Then, I guess I'll leave in a few days. There are still a few things I have to take care of before I leave."

"Sure, do what you need to do. Just be sure to leave the clone out. I have a few tasks for it."

'...Maybe this was a mistake.' Maria was beginning to wonder, but since she had already made her decision, she couldn't back out now.