She was screwed.

  Almost every piece of informatio access to in the library firmed what Zoe had given her, even the whole speech [The Stygian Bane] gave was the same ad verbatim. She found a few variations here and there, but most of those were attributed to interpretation from uages when they wrote the [Idea] of the speech.

  So in a nutshell? The bastard had ied the very [Core] of the p, and in turn, almost all [Shadow Based] powered...And a few [Shadow Mages] got affected by that [Taint]. The reports she found on it told about how the subjects started to turn mad, their only liween each other was a [Shadow Themed Skill] or a [Shadow Affinity] acc to the information she found.

  heless, they all turned mad and started attag left and right, the only saving grace was that they all turned mad in the same week...The one where most [Hero] and [Vilin] associations were m the terrible losses made by [The Stygian Bane]. So while they caused some damage... They were shut down quite easily since most groups were together m the death of most the majority of the sed iteration of [The Twelve] and those that lived in that city.

  This however didn't stop in the first week, most thought that it was the result of [The Stygian Bane] iing the shadow users with his [Skill] and probably wouldn't spread further. The current [Shadow Users] turhemselves in and used [Skill Restraining] colrs to prevent their skill from maing...Most still turned crazy, but they were more easily subdued...

  "But the new geion still got [Tainted]..." Murmured Elizabeth while turning in to the new page in her article.

  A firmed powered born after [The Event] turned psycho and tried to start a genocide ut down by her father, the skill of the madded powered was then examined by one of the new members of the third iteration of [The Twelve] and the effects of [The Stygian Bane] firmed on him.

  This was the turning point for most [Shadow] powereds, as Elizabeth tinued reading her fist was holding the table with more strength, and she didn't notice how at some point some of her shadows started c the desk and reinf it...Because if they didn't...That desk would crumble.

  "And so...We became pariah..." Laughed Elizabeth while reading the oute of that sed geion.

  They all started to run and tried to suppress their own skills, it didn't matter. Father and Mother were too good at their work; they caught most of the powereds and mages. Ironically, this event worked to make the powered and magical unity work together. They even fouhe first Prison capable of holding both types of metahumans!

  Yay, progress!

  "...You are so not getting a present this year papa..." Murmured Elizabeth reading on the progress they took.

  This persecution carried on till a group of heroes that man their [Taint] went [Rogue] and proved they could trol it and suppress it. But by that point, the public opinion was stacked against them...

  Ironically, while this group could suppress it to some extent they weren't free from it, so their temper was more...Votile. So they decided to not return to the [Hero] life and instead went full [Vilin]. And while they didn't it over-the-top crimes they still settled into the underworld by doing merary work and dealing with other [Vilins].

  They still robbed banks in the end. A fact that Elizabeth found hirious, that the end about their first act as true hoo god [Vilins] was a riot, sihe bck-haired woman with a wolf mask was helping civilians evacuate while her minions moved the moo bck vans and others dealt with the injured [Heroes].

  It was even more funny to read as they even gave their part to the polid made it to the papers!! They didn't know the group of [Vilins] was the oo report the whole deal, help the wounded and after everything was dohey just left with the money after getting thanked for their help!

  These articles were dated over 50 years ago, so that woman might still be around if she was above B-Tier...

  "Time to verify if the info is the same..." Said Elizabeth while standing and looking into her shadow. "Nyx, check if someone is around or if anyone is monit here." Said Elizabeth to her shadow.

  She saart of her shadow dart away and give a quick search around her, while that was happening "Nyx, send one of the fast Dragons to the other library, the one we visited before this one in the main street." And then another of her Shado her shadow.

  This as the one before was quite fast and darted across the room into the wall aed by one of the windows.

  While she waited for the answer she started fog on her [Skills], but she still felt kinda...Stifled, she still had trol over her shadows but it felt like someone had put a lid on her maximum output.

  "[Mistress, the first scout reports that no one is monit your current area...The scout found a camera system, but it is no longer funal.]" Came the voice of the little girl in her shadows.

  She didn't yelp at her voior jumped away from her own shadow...No matter what anyone says about it. Instead, she stoically frowned and said "What about the sed....scout." She had scouts?

  She really o infuse her [Identify] with idea and give her skills a one-over.

  "[He is rep that he will be soon at the location, do you require a certain spot to be monitored?]" Asked the little girl in her shadow.

  Elizabeth for her part just thought that for a sed. "Tell it to find an isoted spot he main street, away from any mana wave dete system is preferable but not necessary. And tell me when he is in position I will [Travel] there in a sed." Finished saying the girl.

  She felt her [Soulscape] searg for the correode] and prodded her skill, turning it off aurning to her other form.

  "...My other form huh..." Said the blonde girl when the skill effect washed away, she felt her clothes once more tight over her body. Remembering how her previous form had a different figure...One more...Modest.

  She quickly enough did away with those measures she had taken, allowing herself to once agaihe easily...Now that the shirt wasn't stuck to her chest nor her pants were tied with a shadow belt she felt the stifling feeling somewhat more tame, as if the shadows were somehow farther away from her.

  "[The scout is in position mistress, shall we call back the scout here?]" Asked the voice from the maid in her shadows.

  She turo see at the desktop she was using, she decided to leave her new phone and the red bracelet oable "No, leave it here, it must inform me if someone is ing here post haste...I will not be away for long...[Shadow Travel]" And feeling the shadow shroud her whole body Elizabeth felt herself sinking into the shadows.

  It was a fortable feeling, almost as if her whole body was in her [Soulscape]. The feeling didn't st though, as she felt the shadows leave her body and soon enough she was standing in a deserted alleyway.

  She didn't want to take too much time, so expanding her shadows she found the library and walked straight to it, she didn't want to risk it. While she didn't feel the shadows as close as before in this form. She still knew her temper could rise if she was angered enough.

  So she walked straight and ignored most of those that called to her, a stark trast to how they looked at her while she had walked a few ho in these streets under her [Alice] visage.

  No ourned away from her, no one pretended she wasn't there, no one gred nor made rude gestures...She was getting angry again... So instead of thinking of that she donned herself in one of the personas she had crafted while in high school. The image of the top student.

  She smiled and waved while her eyes gzed over the faces all across the pce, she ignored what they said and just returned greetings with meaningless ents.

  And in that manner, she walked two blocks till she arrived at the Library once again. The receptionist looked still annoyed from afar, but as soon as she saw the bracelet on her right arm she radiated an aura of happiness once again.

  That was of course the obsidian bracelet that her father had given her. "I will use one of the puters...I do not wish to be disturbed." And on that note, she kept walking towards the booth.

  The guard at the end of the room just opehe door for her and walked after her, she thought they would try to banish her, but instead, he just guided her to the same both as before. She could see some people were around.

  'Monitor the area.' She mentally ordered to her shadow. And then made the exact same searches on the engine.

  To her surprise half of the searches gave urns, on this library database, she found a note about the same assault on the bank the shadow vilin did. But she didn't find information about how they had helped at the end, just a mention that a group of [Heroes] helped to repel the [Vilins].

  She didn't fiions about how her father and mother had made the first prison against [Tainted], but a mention that they had colborated to make the world a safer pd how they were w to create a metahuman grade prison.

  The information was limited...She couldn't help but smirk at that revetion.

  "[Mistress, the guardsmen made every er in your immediate zone leave, they are however cheg what information you are searg and the receptionist is berating the other workers to find the relevant books you need. But it seems they don't hold enough [Information Allotation] with the [Saintsworth's] to evehe books needed.]" Came the voice of the maid from her shadows.

  That was just perfect, it made her day eveer to know the people that dared to [Turn her away] were suffering their [Just desert]... Wait what?

  "We are leaving, order the scouts in rao return." Said the blonde girl to her shadows while starting to walk away.

  "[At once Mistress ... It seems the receptionist is on course to ambush you, should we dey her?]" Came from her shadow the question.

  She sent a [No] into her shadow with her i a walking. Sure enough, the receptionist was already waiting for her at the entry, oside was a group of people wanting to get inside while the guardsmen were keeping them away.

  "So sorry to bother someone of your esteemed position." Said the receptionist still smiling, but she could see her eyes darting all over the pce. "Could we ask your esteemed self to grant us a s of your bracelet? If you give us some [Allotation] we get you the information needed Miss..." tinued saying the receptionist.

  "The st time we fot to ask ohe passive ser wasn't w so we didn't get the [Reward] fiving you what you needed after all..." Said the receptionist while bringing forward a ser, it looked awfully familiar, almost like the one used to charge bills to her in the restaurant.

  "No." Said the blonde girl while smiling, making the receptionist stop iracks.

  "I-I assure you that if we get this s we get all the information needed!" Started saying to the receptionist, looking at the security guards. "This is the most prestigious library iy and the oh more information avaible! We he patronage!"

  For her part, Elizabeth just kept a smile on her face "You know...A friend told me of how you treated her this m...And I don't like my friends being treated that way." She took out her phohe oill bound by all the information locks her father had put, even if half of them were ing off. She nning on only using this one while on this form.

  "And she even found me a nice Library with the information, but I still wao make sure we weren't missing anything here." And after finding the post she had liked before she turned her phoo show the image.

  The receptionist b seeing the image of her [Alice] form.

  "She said you weren't o her even after I suggested her this one...So no...You may not have my [S] nor my [Patronage]...Whatever you wao get...Go and find it from someone else..." She started walking towards the doors, she was feeling the aarting to rise.

  It was a miracle her shadows hadn't acted yet, so she o run away fast ahe stupid red bracelet on again.

  So when she saw that the guards weren't moving she gred at them and said "[Move]", she felt some of her mana leaking into her void was even surprised at the unintended use of [Idea]. But she didn't mind the effects.

  Sihe guards looked quite funny when they rushed to open the door for her, making her way to the outside. It seemed her use was limited sihe o the outside didn't mind it that muoved away.

  "I will however not e back so long as you stay here...Whoever your name was." And after saying such she walked to the outside, she ignored most of those that looked at her and instead rushed towards the alleyways.

  She ighe calls from the receptionist, and most of those outside rushed inside as soon as the guards stopped keeping them out. A few did try to follow her from afar, but as soon as she turned a er she used her skill auro the other library.

  "Did anyone see me using my skill?" She asked while donning her red bracelet and st the obsidian one.

  "[No one was istress. Should we mark the receptionist for monit?]" Asked the maid from her shadow.

  Elizabeth frowned but in the end, said "No...Leave her. I would rather mark someone more important like Selen...Or the asshole at the s...Don't mark either, just notify me if they e closer...But for now, we o deal with more important problems..." Answered Elizabeth.

  She was feeling the effect of the bracelet calming her emotions aurnio a more normal state. She sat down and stared at her new pho seemed she had a few extra likes and a DM from an at with a picture of the receptionist outside one of the Saintsworth's buildings.

  She quickly refused the DM and blocked said at, she got a few extra DMs from what looked to be employees thanking her for speaking to 'Her blonde friend'. Yeah...That was going to be a problem ter... wouldn't it?

  Uughh...Would she o learn a way to cast the [Shift] spell in another person and then ake the form so they could turn into her normal form...No that was way too voluted...

  "[Mistress, the receptionist of this pce is ing.]" Came from her shadows the warning of the maid.

  "Why would that matter?" Asked the blonde while pying with the new phone and blog DM's...She soon enough reported the ats that only wao speak with her 'Blonde Friend' for harassing a ohose saying thanks.

  "[The receptionist will look for your True form...But will find this Blonde form.]" Answered the maid from her shadows.

  That made her frown...Wasn't this her inal form? No wait...True form?

  The little maid thought her [Alice] form was the true form? Why?

  "[Shadow Shift - Alice]" Said the blonde while fog on the shift that would only ge her body and not her clothing or anything else. And then made the right ges to make the clothes more fortable again.

  "Did you find what you needed?" Asked the nice receptionist. She even brought some snacks!

  The other woman could learn a thing or two from her!

  "Yes, thank you. I will just finish my stuff here and carry on." Answered Elizabeth while grabbing her phone and saving a few articles on it for cheg on ter.

  "That is good, we still have a strong link to the main house thanks to Lady Eleanor..." Murmured the receptionist while looking at her bracelet, the red one. "Please do take care of her if you , as someohat shares the same [Shadow]." And on that note, she left.

  So whoever that woman was it must be someone in [The Hydra's Fang]. And probably someone important... And that woman shared the same [Shadow] as her?

  What the hell was that supposed to mean?!? She would check to see if someone in that [Group] had a power simir to hers and see on Monday. She doubted anyone else had this kind of power though.

  Hers felt too free form, after all, no way whoever was recruited with her had a skill as ve as hers....right?