“Prepare the defenses!” Was the first thing she heard as soon as they materialized in the tral spire. “Don’t let yourself be fooled, till we firm otherwise. That is not our Mistress but a [Dragon]. Our mistress would rather die than hurt Mother!”

  First of all… No wait, that was… Would she actually die rather than hurt Rossie?

  She wouldn’t hurt Rossie willingly, but would she rather die?

  …No, that was stupid.

  “I wouldn’t kill myself, I may maim myself, butcher my [Soul], torment my flesh and rip open my [Heart]. But I would never kill myself, that is the easy way out.” Elizabeth said as she saw all the [Shadons] point their ons at her, she could see most of her armada. The first Sixty Six shadons that had asded, plus some extras.

  “...Elizabeth? What is…this? These ... People? Summons? Revenants? What?” Jenna said as she her side from their teleport.

  Elizabeth didn’t have enough time to undo the wards around her spire, so instead she had pierced them using her mastery over both shadow and space to increase the gaps between the wards. Just big enough for her mana to pierce it but not enough to promise the stability of the thing.

  The cheeky girl (Beatrice) had tied herself into the wards, just so Elizabeth couldn’t attack her recklessly, at least while something of her remaihe moment her dragon half won and decided that she wasn’t worth the wait she would die.

  “Hello Mistress, I am sorry to ask you this, but what is more important, Mother, myself or you?” Beatrice asked with a slight bow. One may think she was being respectful, but Elizabeth could see her sending mana into her maid outfit just so it could shift into her armor at a moment’s notice.

  “Of course my family is important, but that does not mean I am willing to overlook myself. Too many people have sacrificed something to ensure I’m here now.” Elizabeth answered.

  That made the little maid rex a little, but not enough. " So if it was between saving Mother or keeping your power, what would it be? Would you rip your [Heart] out? Or would you try to ge Mother?” Beatrice asked as she raised her head and narrowed her eyes at Elizabeth.

  “Why would I o ge Rossie? She is perfect as she is.” Elizabeth said back at the cheeky maid.

  “...She will die at this pace, we ’t purify your mana fast enough, she is being eroded. Lady Rena may survive as a wyrm, but only because her soul was weak and more malleable. Mother is too stubborn, she refuses to ge. So she is being ripped apart by the seams.” Beatrice said as she turo look at the der that housed Rossie, “Either you rip your [Hear] long enough or us te the [Dragon Mana] from her, or you transform her into your [Kin].”

  Beatrice summoned all kinds of data and graphs, all seeming to firm the same. Rossie would not survive long enough for the [Dragon Mana] to be purged safely, nor would her body acclimate fast enough to bee a new species and adapt.

  “This…Maybe if we had arrived earlier we could do something, Merlin had some experience dealing with Dragons, and if not the Lady of The Lake or Manna could do something. Perhaps Tes? Edison?” Jenna mumbled as she saw the data, “I’m sorry Elizabeth, but it is too te. Even if the girl mao pull through, she would be ged, this mana…it’s too toxic to the psyche, I doubt any of the [Twelve] could survive it intact, maybe only Amelia.”

  That…was iing, so if they turned into enemies Elizabeth could let herself be imprisoned and just let all her [Dragon Mana] out?

  Nah, she had burned most of that already. All that remained from her tank of [Dragon Prana] was barely enough and was already depleting, she couldn’t keep that unless she indulged in that [Dragon Pride], and she wasn’t willing to live like that, she ehe zy aspect. But that was a life of solitude, and she…wasn’t willing to sacrifice Rena or Rossie for that.

  “Yeah, I see why you both would think that.” Elizabeth said as she walked toward the ders that housed Rena and Rossie. “This mana is way too toxiuch taint, too much…Corruption.”

  Elizabeth could feel the remnants of the [Dragon Mana] calling to her, to let her indulge once more into her [Birthright] to show the heathens who ruled above them all, orthy of adoration. To rule above all from her golden throo rule [The World], be it a thriving or a destroyed o mattered not.

  “Chloe told me to live for her, Alice taught me that I was too cocky, and Elzbeth taught me that no matter who we end up as, we remain who we are. No matter how we look like.” Elizabeth started pulling into the e that joined her to Rossie & Rena, she had seen it as something…hideous a precious.

  The evidence of her Love and the proof that should she fail to tain herself, she would end up making those that she loved a mere toy for her amusement, but right nht now it was a lifeline, a pure e between her Soul and the [Soul] of those she wished to save.

  “And so know that whatever form you end up as Rossie, you will always be the Psychotic Stalker I love,” Elizabeth said and she willed her skill to flow into Rossaline Singh’s Soul, “ So whatever know that I will not ge you into anything, and I won’t mind whatever you end up as.”

  Then turning to the irl Elizabeth was… less sure about this. But taking a deep breath and sensing the ges in the Soul of Rena. She really didn’t have any choice at all, worse of all. The ges were too… deliberate. These weren’t the ges of someone who was ging desperately to her, instead to fill the missing part with the [Link] Rena was instead pg the strands of their shared [Link] in the parts that matched, ahe strands that didn’t alone.

  Rena wasn’t willing to take all that was Elizabeth (Unlike someone else).

  “Why are you the sane one Rena? Why?” Elizabeth sighed, “Fine, I will accept it. Your Love wasn’t seeded into you. Even with all the burning desire for survival, you still took the time to think about us. About me, about Rossie, about you…I will admit it. Your love is real.”

  She felt the strands that had bee alohin Rena’s Soul start accepting and ging, aodating the other side, for she also o learn and adapt in a retionship.

  “And just like how I will love whatever Rossie decides to turn into, I will always accept whatever you wish to ge into Watanabe Rena.” Elizabeth allowed her Skill to flow into Rena’s Soulscape, and so, she kickstarted what had already started.

  “Lady Beatrice? The readings are stabilizing.” One of her [Royal Mages] spoke to Beatrice.

  “Let me see.” Jenna at the side moved and seemed to grab papers of someone…of her own size, somehow the dots that the Shadon was teleported to Jenna’s hand. “...the mana readings are stabilizing, the [Dragon Prana] is being purged… But this is…wrong? These aren’t the readings of a [Human]. This body temperature would boil you alive…This heart rate would make your veins burst open…What did you do Elizabeth?”

  “Mistress? Why is Mrowing…horns?” Beatrice asked as she gaped at Rossie.

  “Well, the [Human] body go only so far… I learhat the hard way, as you saw from my… embarrassing showing of the st days.” Elizabeth said sheepishly. “So I threw it away.”

  “...But you look [Human], I ’t see any [Echo] around you…Nor I see your [Shifts]...what?” Jenna said scrubbing her eyes, then pg more mana into them she ended with a pair of eyes that seemed to have a plex series of magical circles on them. “Not here…not here….not here….That is a man… That is a squirrel… That is a squid?”

  Jenna seemed to be going aultiple iterations of worlds that had an Elizabeth Starbright in them. But from this pce…Yeah, she was not going to find many useful examples.

  “Mistress, you seem [Human] enough, and your status hasn’t ged. You still show as a [Human]” Beatriarrowed her eyes at her. “But Mother no longer shows as [Human], she is ing closer and closer to her [Sin]. You wish for her to turn feral?”

  ….Yes.

  “Of course not. But we do o fix their current problem first. After their forms acclimate, I will return their body to a Human one.” Elizabeth shrugged.

  “You will what? That is impossible, if your body is corrupted there is no ing back. I know that better than anyone.” Jenna gred at Elizabeth, “I grew isoted only with….[Your Father] as pany. And even that wasn’t that often since he o take care of you and [The World].”

  Elizabeth felt some…grudgeg in that statement, both to her and [The World]. Yikes.

  “Well, maybe this alleviate your fears.” Elizabeth said summoning a [Blue S] and sending it toward Beatrice.

  “And?” Jenna said crossing her arms and gring at Elizabeth, “Where is mine?”

  “Jenna love, I liked your friendship while growing up. You were the only ohat seemed to enjoy pying with me.” Elizabeth said smiling at the blue-haired woman. “But you weren’t there the st seven years, from the amount of [Mana] I feel from you I imagine why, but even so I’ll ask. Why haven’t you been around?”

  “...I had some work to do as [The Juggernaut], and [Your Father] deemed my presence would bee a hazard towards you. Since I was having trouble taining my [Mana] in the form I was using.” Jenna grumbled, “Here, have a look.”

  Jenna made a motion with her hand, and a [Blue S] appeared in front of Elizabeth: “Don’t mind if I do…Identify.” Elizabeth, however, wasn’t sure if that would be enough, so she used her own Skill.

  Status

  Name: Jenna Lewis

  Title: [The Juggernaut]

  Passive Titles:

  [World’s Anchor]

  Level: 99

  Health: 100%

  Mana: 100%

  Stamina: 100%

  Age: 20

  Strength: 99

  stitution: 460

  Agility: 500

  Dexterity: 460

  Intelligence: 50

  Wisdom: 50

  Charisma: 90

  Job: [World’s Anchor]

  Job Skills[]:

  General Skills: ()

  Title Skills: (2)

  Status

  Name: Jenna Lewis

  Title: [The Juggernaut]

  Passive Titles:

  [World’s Anchor]

  [World’s ter Guardian]

  [World’s Spare Guardian]

  Level: 99

  Health: 100%

  Mana: 100%

  Stamina: 100%

  Age: 20

  Strength: 99

  [Limit Break Avaible]

  stitution: 460

  Agility: 500

  Dexterity: 460

  Intelligence: 50

  Wisdom: 50

  Charisma: 90

  Job: [World’s Anchor]

  Job Skills[]:

  General Skills: ()

  Title Skills: (2)

  “*Whistle* Damn girl, you sure had been busy…And all of this re [Advent]?” Elizabeth asked while turning to look at her childhood friend who nodded “Yikes, ime you want to py with any of my toys just ask for them, don’t want you sppio a spt in a wall. I like this body.”

  “Don’t joke about it and just give it to me.” Jenna gred while making a give-me motion with her hand.

  “...You are level 99 and you don’t have an [InfoSec] skill?” Elizabeth asked somewhat surprised, “For real?”

  “I don’t have any skill. Nor access to the [System], never accepted it. Never .” Jenna shrugged, “If I want to know if someone is strong I have Merlin gauge their mana, or if I o divine someone’s location I use Mana.”

  …That was cheating.

  “Then how are you going to see my skills?” Elizabeth asked fused, she would need access to the [System] right?

  “I just summon an [Echo] that is bound to the [System], they are way weaker than me. But in exge they have the useful [Skills].” Jenna smirked at her, “So.Give.It.To.Me.”

  Yikes, this girl was a work of art. Just Elizabeth’s type…No wait, that was her childhood friend! The one she used to py dolls and in the poll while little!

  “Fine, here. Have a look.” Elizabeth shook her head while summoning the description of the [Shift] skill and…nothing else. Uh Beatrice, she didn’t send the new addition to her [ Of Sin]. That one was…dangerous. She also didn't send the first blue box she got...To either girl.

  [Shift], you used it to make an alternate mana simucrum to disguise your identity, thinking that was its only use. You were wrong.

  This be used to create a mana simucrum, this be used to emute magid skills, but it is so much more. It is your birthright. A True Dragon is known for many things:

  -True Magic

  -Night invulnerability to magic

  -Legendary Resistao poiso magiundane

  -Regeion beyond the mortal realm so long their Drago keeps beating

  -Wisdom

  -Dragon Might, the ability to inflict fear and terror in the weak of heart

  -True Power

  -Shape-shifting

  Now, what have you used before of these ones? Any ideas? That is right. Shape-shifting. What you thought was the mundane [Magic Spell] created to emute a transformation sequence was so much more. The inal design was based upon [Dragon Magic], so you were already closer to the inal version. Ohat was made up to design to match your needs by a madman, a crazy bastard who decided that disguising the Epitome on Magic as a mundane skill was funny.

  This is closer to someone who decided to give a toddler the button for a nuke and ughed at its absurdity. But at least you aren’t a toddler prang around with a nuke anymore, right? Right Elizabeth Starbright?

  Instead, she only sent the sed ohe oh the description of her [Skill], or, well, she guessed that it was now a Skill.

  Shift:

  Allows you to alter the very fabriana and grants you the ability to el a spell or skill into something else. Transf the very essence of something into…ahing. Did you cast [Fire Bolt] and decided that you’d rather have [Ice Bolt]? Well, this is the skill for you.

  Are you tired of being a [Puny Human]? Wouldn’t you rather be an awesome [Dragon]? Lucky you, this is the skill for you. Are you in danger because your body is oversaturated by [Dragon Prana] and you risk death? Well well, do I have the right skill for you?

  Yes, Elizabeth, this skill will help you save people in very specific circumstances.

  It is possible for you to store the inal body in an alternate dimension while saving their data on [Akasha] and create a new body, since you still have the correct skill set to tie those funs together. But you will not store anything else within [The World] as you yourself cut that e.

  [Not that it will affeuch since you have that ridiculous Shadow Haven]

  -You make alternate bodies and save those [figurations] within the [Shadow Haven]. You may summo will at any moment, each has their own stockpile of mana and energy, which they will recover on their own. These bodies will recover from wounds at their own paly limited by the user’s skills.

  -It is possible for the user to share these bodies with anyone willing to accept them and who has a [Soul Link] with the user, the body in turn will ge to aodate the new host.

  This one she also kept to herself, si was...more of a thing she had gotten after dealing with her Dragon half.

  -Pride’s :

  You are the one whned over all your realm; you stood at the top in yolden throne. Was your demesne a broken and ruined world? It matters not. Your peasants worked tirelessly to feed you their energy so that you would make your work e to fruition. And so, you wielded with pride your , standing atop the ashes of a billion souls.

  [Allows you to trol the make of any soul who you hold within your Domain.]

  [Allows you to split, break, and everoy that which makes ay a living being.]

  [Allows you to bestow a Soul shard to whoever you wish; should they nurture that shard, a new full-blown Soul will be born.]

  [Allows you full trol over those that pledge themselves to you, and in turn, you may grant them eternal freedom for any further tampering, should you wish to grant that boon to them.]

  [inal Owner of this sin: [Unnamed], The Dragon Empress]

  “....This one is…wrong.” Jenna said after reading her skill, that was just rude.

  “It worked for me, it allowed me to go from this crazed bitch.” Elizabeth said shifting momeo her [Dragon Empress] form, the ohat had a ga bck dress, a ade on horns, a pair of leathery wings at her bad a tail growing from just above her waist. “To this human totally average lovely aiful girl.”

  “....right. I see your Mother leaking.” Jenna said ign the theatrics of Elizabeth, “I mean it Elizabeth, this skill is [Wrong], no [Human] should be able to do what you did. And speaking of impossibles, I hazardly guess it but…we are in….?”

  “The Lost City of Aqui, the Capital of the Saintsworths.” Beatriswered before Elizabeth did.

  “That doesn’t answer my question, and I want Elizabeth’s asnwer. Not your answer.” Jenna said, looking down at Beatrice. Elizabeth mused at the fact that Beatrice was the only Minion that Jenna seemed to look directly at and not some vague spot above them.

  “...This is ihe Capital of the Saintsworth’s Empire. Aqui. But it is also something...else.” Elizabeth said as she raised her hand, and when it was at the her higher point she snapped her fingers. “This…somehow became my [Soulscape], then it became the pce my [Shadons] hanged around…at some point it started to bee something more and more important…Noeople refer it as…”

  “Elizabeth’s Domain.” A highly sultry voice spoke, Elizabeth felt a shiver run through her back at the sound of it, as if the most entig of all the world’s things had been densed into this voice. “A sacred ply worthy for those of us who love her unditionally, a pce where we receive her LOVE her CARE…”

  “A pce for the lost, a pce that houses those of us who cried for help and no one came to us.” A sed voice started speaking, this one made her feel a different type of rush, it made her felt her excited, as if she was experieng the thrill of adventure, of surpasing adversity, a rush of adrenaline. “Speak woman, who are you and what right you have to question Elizabeth. But be warned, you may be PROUD of yht in the HUMAN WORLD but you stand in Elizabeth’s Domain right now. You stand in THE SHADOW HAVEN.”

  Who were these people that made Elizabeth’s Heart beat this fast?

  “....What have you done Elizabeth?” Jenna said as she looked at the new additions to this versation. “A Demoness? Sucubbus? What did you do to her?”

  That’s right, her lovely and cute girlfriend Rossaline Singh had shed her [Human Shell] and woke up as a incredible entig Succubus. She was sure that her new Race wasn’t something as lowly as mere Succubi but she would find more about that ter.

  “And you? What even are you? Four arms? Three faces?” Jenna said turning at the irl. “I am ined to think that you are some kind of demon too…What? Ashura? The hell is an Ashura Mana?!?”

  Rena oher hand…Made her tingle for all the wrong reasons, the girl’s ge wasn’t inferior to Rossie at all. While her pink-haired girlfriend had grown almost to a height of two meter tall with a pair of leathery demonigs, two lovely (VERY LOVELY) horns and a very entig tail. Rena’s ge was mostly muted.

  Rossie’s skin had ged a few tones paler while Rena’s had turned a few tones more dark red. Rossie’s arms had grew pointy obsidian bails with hearts in each finger, while Rena had grown two extra pair of muscur(VERY MUSCULAR AND VERY HOT) arms.

  Rossie’s face had ged as if to mimi adult seductress face, while Rena’s face had remained mostly baby faced… But had also grown two extra faces at the side.

  It was an iing ge, because while Rossie had turned into a tall mommy, sorry. A tall mommy, sorry. A very tall mommy….A very mommy tall…. lsdfhaskljfasdljasfkdjasf

  While Rossie had grown to be a very normal (albeit HOT AS A THOUSAND SUNS) womahat.

  Rena had remained mostly at her previous size. She had turned into a young-looking girl with four arms and three faces. Her body was more muscur(AND HOT AS HELL), yes, but that was about it.

  “Right, I would love to explore and learn all about your new bodies girls. But I know from personal experience what that must feel like.” Elizabeth said trying not to think too much about what she VERY MUCH WAo do with ROSSIE’S TAIL, FACE, WINGS, HORNS, AND BODY at the moment. So grabbing the HOT MOMMY’s hand, she eled some of her Mana into the girl and said “Shift - Night Temptress into Rossaline Singh.”

  And like that, the figure that embodiment all the correct ways to make Elizabeth miss her pledge of staying someure] till she was eighteen vanished a behind the figure of her lovely and cute girlfriend.

  “....I didn’t get to py with that body yet, Eli-Eli. You are a mean. I wao do soooooo many things with you….” Rossie said sadly as she looked at Elizabeth, “ I am back, Eli-Eli. Sorry for being uo help you back then. You must have suffered.”

  ….God damned Rossie.

  “...We will talk about that ter.” Elizabeth said trying to not think too muto the image of her bloodied girlfriend in the ground trying to [Heal] her.

  “Mistress.” Meanwhile, Ashura-Rena walked up to her aended one of her arms. “I’m at your bed call.”

  ….she would bed call her back to…..ajem.

  “Shift - World Breaker Ashura into Watanabe Rena.” Elizabeth eled once more her Skill into the girl she wao train into using those four set of arms, three set of tongues into…doing things…for sce!

  Into the red-haired small and defily not petite girl.

  “That was a rush.” Rena said as her form returo normal.

  “Yes, yes it was.” Elizabeth said, “A very dangerous rush, let’s not do it again okay. For my mental health, I may o see a psychiatrist after this.”

  “...What in the seven pnes of hell did you…[I summon thy by our accords Mana La Fey, ihe figures in front of me and tell me their secrets.]” Jenna ted as the figure of a woman earing a nigth ga dress maed in front of Jenna.

  “....You would use your boon on this Jenna Lewis? Fine, I shall a, but the answer you seek will not e.” The phantom spoke, Elizabeth felt wary as something seemed to be trying to peek at her Soulscape only for it to…rub a piece of paper? It felt as if someone rubbed a piece of paper on your skin. “Watanabe Rena, Rossaline Singh, Elizabeth Starbright - Ashcroft. Three normal human girls, seventeen year old the three of them. Two born on the same day with a third one being born a couple months ter.”

  …That….was mostly correct?

  “No normal human girl would do what she just did!” Jenna said as she poi Rena and Rossie, “You saw them! Those weren’t humans!”

  “Ahe World says they are Human. Lodge your pints to that, not to me. The World says they are Humans.” Mana said as she turo look at Elizabeth, “Isn’t that right Elizabeth Starbright?”

  Why was she looking at her like that?

  “Yes? I mean…I haven’t….talked with her too much as of retly. But she seemed like…she was an okay-ish person?” Elizabeth answered.

  “[The World]? You spoke to it?” Jenna asked surprised. “And she was an okay-ish person?”

  Then, as if the dam had been broken, Jenna started ughing, “Right…you were the daughter of not only [My Hero] but also of Catherine…No way you would be normal. Fine, I will believe in your [Humanity], only because [He] asked me to look after you.”

  [He]?

  “[And with this I have shown that we mean no ill-will Oh Goddess of the darkest night please don’t be too harsh on Jenna, she means the best. But she wants to live up to a Legend and while you may not know what that is. As power flows through your veins. She means the best for you too.]” The phantom oke directly into her mind.

  “So? What now?” Jenna asked tiredly. “Will you ge me into a new species too? Are we opening a portal to hell?”

  “Well, that is rude. we are going to speak with [Shadow Pact], it is rude to scare the living hell of i girls. And while Chloe and Alice may have moved on… He was my [Hero] growing up. I hten him back…for the previous Chloe too.” Elizabeth answered as she willed a rift into the real world to open.

  Alice had taught her how after all. It was time for their return to Zaanam.