I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

She was angry, her search into the [Library] hadn't been as successful as she had hoped for, there was the information she was promised...And nothing else.

 

It only said how the bracelet would link to the local network so the correct police worker would know where to go to pick up criminals she caught... And that they would only know her position when either she pinged for them, or she released a huge amount of mana into the atmosphere.

 

The first was to make sure her privacy and identity would be kept a secret, and the second...So they would send reinforcements or could prime up the correct search and rescue in case of a fight of bigger proportions was started.

 

So after not having much luck with that and being glared at by Alexa for pestering her about information, she decided to leave the [Soulscape] and continue her day.

 

"She could at least tell me if Alexanders had the information..." Grumbled the blonde while looking down at her wrist, she didn't have a watch on her [Shifted] form so she almost admonished herself.

 

Only to see a holographic watch form and show her the time "Oh...Neat... Also what?" The clock showed that she had spent almost five hours in her soulscape...?

 

No...?

 

She just pestered Alexa for what felt like ten minutes...And then woke up annoyed...

 

A quick look into her [Status] showed that her mana had indeed regenerated the right amount for that time...And the sun in the sky indeed was closer to his highest point unlike how it should be if it was still early in the morning...

 

"[You are finally awake mistress?]" Asked Beatrice into her mind.

 

She looked down expecting to find a pair of eyes peering at her from there...Alas there was nothing "[Here Mistress.]" Said the little girl from a shadow farther from her.

 

Elizabeth tried to move closer but was stopped by a frantic voice "[There is good enough Mistress. Your...[Mana] is uncomfortable in that form. It's too [Stiff].]" Said Beatrice, she could feel how she was moving backward to try and keep some space between them.

 

She just sighed at that, she really needed to know what was going on here. Her [Origin] was supposed to be that of a [Shadow] attuned Mage. It shouldn't be more [Stiff] as she was referring.

 

"How long was I out?" Asked the blonde trying to not think too hard about that, she didn't like to dwell on problems that had no solutions.

 

"[After leaving Mother you spent one hour and twenty-three minutes searching for a spot to meditate. Mother arrived at that time at the clinic and started her shift at 1 PM sharp. Then you spent six hours meditating and woke up a few minutes ago.]" Reported the little girl.

 

So she spent more time than expected?

 

But only had recollections of being annoyed while reading the stupid manual that didn't have enough information... And of pestering Alexa for a few minutes...

 

Was the time dilation shifting in her [Soulscape]? Or did she spend way more time than she thought trying to nudge the stupid blue screen for more information?

 

Either way, she needed to go and find and deal with her [Taint], so she would need to change. "Was anyone checking on me?" Asked the blonde into her shadow.

 

"[A few Magical Girls came by, but not a single one got close enough to trigger the wards you cast while in the [Soulscape], a Magical Girl dressed in black did stare at one of the scouts while he was moving. The scout had to change course to prevent a conflict. She stood near and only left when the scouts left.]" Finished her report Beatrice.

 

"She didn't do anything while no scouts were around?" Asked Elizabeth surprised. For what she had learned most [Tainted] should hold a grudge against those not tainted.

 

"[No. She reinforced the wards and added some protection against [Shadow] based magic, the ward design was archived by Sebastian for your study at a later date.]" And with that note, Elizabeth filed more things to do at a later date.

 

"Might need to thank her when I see her..." Said the blonde while dispelling the wards...She didn't remember making those either, but they had her mana and...Looked like something she would do?

 

They kinda felt familiar but she hadn't made them, she had to fight a little the mana on the other one, since that wasn't her mana. It was probably whatever the dark magical girl had cast.

 

After doing so she looked at the time again and started walking in the direction that was their shared apartment...Of course, she wouldn't go all the way, only till her bracelet pinged her that she was outside of the registered zone she was keyed to.

 

After that, she landed in one comfortable deserted alleyway (And one covered in shadows) and breathed in while focusing on her skill. "[Shift - Alice]" She felt her whole body be suffused with Shadows as they ate away at her transformation.

 

It....stung. It was like her whole body was being devoured and then transformed into something different, after what felt like an eternity she was in the middle of the alleyway in her street clothes and with a red bracelet on her left arm.

 

At least she didn't feel stifled anymore and she soon enough felt a rush of dragons go straight towards her shadow, "Note to self...Dispell the shift first the next time, that was awful." Mumbled to herself Elizabeth while cleaning some sweat from her forehead.

 

She started walking towards the street after making sure her clothes were a good fit, she had customized the [Alice] shift so that it would pick a dressing style different from her usual clothes too.

 

It wouldn't do that both of her personas dressed the same after all, this time she was dressed in black cargo pants with a black hoodie and a black backpack.

 

She looked kinda small and with a dark beret, she hoped she could pass as younger than she was...

 

It was all an attempt to try and look weak...With some luck no one would mess up with her in the time it took to get into the designated spot, she had already thrown up her other cellphone and bracelet into her [Inventory] so only her obsidian bracelet and her new phone were on her person.

And like that, Elizabeth walked once again in the streets, this time trying to spend the most possible time sticking to the dark alleyways. She saw others like her from time to time, most only nodded her way, and a few noticed her and ran to the street.

 

"[Mistress there is someone following you...Again."] And a couple tried to tail her.

 

Of these, the great majority just stayed for a few minutes before leaving when they noticed how she just stuck to the alleyways and never once even turned to look into the streets.

 

Of course, someone was bound to try their luck and stop her eventually.

 

"..." Case in point, the girl in front of her.

 

"..." Who was only staring at her with a complicated gaze. "I don't know you, are you a student coming for her Midterm internship?" She was one interesting girl.

 

"[Mistress, this is the magical girl that casted the ward spell on you.]" Said Beatrice from her shadows.

 

Instantly the girl in front of her narrowed her eyes and looked into her shadow. "Are these things yours? It's a crime to use [Skills] and or [Magic] without being keyed to the city. Care to offer a scan to make sure you are registered?" Said the girl while putting forward her [Foci]... A teddy bear.

She...Was one weird Magical Girl, she dressed in the typical frilly dress one would expect from a Magical Girl, but hers was closer to a Gothic Lolita than the usual Sailor Uniforms. Also, her motif was Skulls. That looked quite good with her violet eyes but still was weird to see.

 

She had skulls as a motif and still dared to say she was a Magical Girl?

 

"I'm on my way to register with my school-recommended group." Answered Elizabeth, [The Hydra's Fang] was recommended to her in the school after all. "Miss?" And she didn't forget to ask the name of the girl!

 

She was in a roll today. First, a plausible truth that was half a lie, then she steered the conversation back to the girl so she would fluster by her omission to tell her a name!

 

"...Magical Girl - [Lunar Shade]. I'm working for the government and am sanctioned to work even with a [Shadow Affinity]....Or half a [Shadow] one anyway." Said the girl while putting forward the teddy bear.

 

"Am afraid that I will still ask for a scan. I do need to make sure that you aren't registered...I found evidence of your...Pets...Hounding a Magical Girl who was in her [Soulscape] that is against most common [Codes] around here, so if you aren't indeed keyed to any sector yet... No harm done." She was really clingy this girl.

 

And she was in trouble for [Hounding] a Magical girl?

 

It was making sure no one would interrupt her!

 

And more importantly, it was herself!

 

But she wouldn't get away without giving a scan it seemed...It should be fine? No way Zoe had keyed the thing yet...It needed her mana after all..."Fine..." Said Elizabeth while pulling up her hoodie's sleeve and showing her the red bracelet.

 

The girl frowned at the sight of the red bracelet but still scanned it with her teddy bear...And that was hilarious to see, considering the girl had a scowl on her face the whole time.

 

"..." She however didn't say anything after the light of the scanner died out, and that was a problem for the nerves of Elizabeth.

 

"...Any problem?" Asked Elizabeth, her red eyes bearing into the violet ones of the Magical Girl.

 

"None Miss Alice, you might want to update your [Profile]. It only states your name and...Nothing else." Answered the Magical Girl.

 

"...I will take it under consideration, was I keyed to any sector?" Said with a smirk the red-eyed girl.

 

"...No...Please keep a closer leash on your...Pets... It's in bad taste to have them spying on Magical Girls. And ask the [Hero] who you end up working for about our usual [Code] of conduct for how you are supposed to act when you find a [Meditating] magical girl." Ended up saying the violet-eyed magical girl while she started floating and gaining altitude.

 

"You sure I will work for a [Hero]?" Smirked Elizabeth.

 

"You didn't attack me outright, and while your bracelet is of a [Villain] group...[Echidna] isn't against giving [Heroes] or [Magical Girls] some help when they start up." Said Lunar Shade while fishing a red bracelet from the mouth of her teddy bear. "I also used one of those when starting...They do help with the [Taint]...And [Echidna] isn't against our kind keeping them. So don't think you only have a future as a [Villain]...We too can live in the light." Ended saying the girl while flying away.

 

That left her thinking...Was there hope for her life if she decided to try to live as a [Hero] in both personas?

 

"...I wouldn't be able to trash Akira as a [Hero] tho." Smirked to herself Elizabeth while continuing walking to her objective.

 

"Make sure to give a wide margin to Lunar Shade when scouting, only interact with her area of activities if your mission is in conflict with her area." Ordered into her shadow Elizabeth.

 

She would give the girl a wide berth when possible, but for now, it was nice knowing some didn't let the [Taint] dictate how they lived, and it also meant that [Echidna] didn't tie them when she dealt with [The Madness]... That or she was using them as a way to get information on the [Heroes].

 

She felt herself stopping at that thought..." Am I more cynical in this [Shift]?" Wondered aloud Elizabeth.

 

Somehow she didn't think that this kind of thinking would come to her while in her blonde form... "[Something the matter Mistress?]" Came the voice of Beatrice from her shadow.

 

"Remember me the suggestion Lunar Shade gave tomorrow morning when this [Shift] is dispelled." Said to her shadow Elizabeth.

 

She needed to think more about this, she needed a way to measure how much her thinking changed between [Shifts], this wasn't normal. Now that she thought back on it, it wasn't normal how she dismissed the fact that she had lost almost 7 hours of time in the afternoon either.

 

Why did she dismiss that so easily?!?

 

While walking down the last alleyway she found that she was finally close to the building marked in the address, she only needed to cross the street, so she put on her hoodie's hood and fixed her beret so it would hide her eyes as much as possible.

 

Before crossing the street she walked to a nearby store and looked at her reflection to make sure it was good enough. Only to be stopped by what she saw.

 

The girl in the reflection mimicked her and raised one hand to her face near the eyes "What the hell?" And she could see clearly as day how her eyes were shining red.

 

She quickly expanded her senses into the shadows searching, but she didn't find her [Skills] acting up anywhere, most of the scouts were self-sufficient so they didn't need orders and the mana expenditure was negligible.

 

"Beatrice, are you using any skill or mana right now?" She said down her shadow, she didn't pay any attention to how people around her would react.

 

Most looked at her weirdly but when they saw her shining red eyes, they decided to walk around her.

 

"[Negative Mistress, we don't use your Mana unless we need to reform or heal wounds. Most of us survive on ambient mana, unless you need us to perform in combat we won't siphon Mana from you. Some scouts might use it to increase their stealth or range of operations. But unless you wish for them to move beyond this city they shouldn't require further mana investiture.]" Answered Beatrice.

 

"Then what the hell is this?!?" She exclaimed while pointing at her reflection eyes. The red seemed to want to expand beyond her eyes, it was almost as if her skin would crack at any moment and form red lines.

 

Then she felt something on her hand vibrate and was distracted. The red bracelet was turning hot and so she looked at it.

 

She of course selected the option with the number Zero and started walking following the holographic arrows, she didn't even put on her hood and walked straight towards where the arrow guided her.

 

She wasn't sure why her eyes were acting up, but her mind felt...Free. Her mood was calm even though she felt a sense of urgency, it was as if something bad would happen if she didn't manage to get her eyes under control.

 

So when she stood in front of a wooden door with no handle in it she kicked it open. "Didn't they teach you how to knoc..." Started saying a man with a weird black mask on his face only to stop when seeing her. "That way."

 

And then promptly pointed in the same direction that the holographic arrow pointed, she of course obliged and started walking in said direction. "We have a [Code Red], you got inbound...Yes, subject still seems to be in control...NO I DON'T KNOW WHO IT IS...." She could hear the man speaking at the back, probably reporting.

 

"[Mistress, the shadows here are...weird...They have inhabitants already, we won't be able to scout as efficiently as before...]" Started speaking to Beatrice in her mind, but she didn't pay attention.

 

She was in a hurry, she didn't know what was going on but could almost hear something cracking in the back of her mind. "Girly, quick, inside, [NOW] " At the end of the corridor she saw the same gnome that had sold him the phone.

 

And he was pointing at a humongous pod that could easily hold someone three times her size, her bracelet was pointing in the same direction so she walked into the pod and it closed behind her, now that she could see behind herself she found four figures had been stalking behind.

 

The same weird guy with a black mask, a girl with horns, what looked to be an imp, and...Zoe.

 

"She almost didn't make it..." She heard the gnome speak and suddenly...she felt...sleepy.

 

"But she made it..." Said the voice of a woman, it was an almost singing voice, one that you could claim was of a professional singer even. "...Jacky boi would have been so pissed if she..." They started speaking among themselves but she was so sleepy.

 

The last thing she saw was her reflection in the pod's glass. Her eyes were starting to lose the red color, and she could swear that before passing out they almost looked....[Blue].