I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

"[Railgun]!" Someone screamed in the background.

 

She felt the voice was someone she knew, but couldn't for the love of all that is Holy remember who it was.

 

"Tch...[Mother] said to do this favor to him, not that I would have to deal with that [BRAT]." The voice of a man said in the background.

 

His voice was somewhat...far? It sounded as if he was getting further away from her.

 

Also, he messed up his pronouns, he would be so canceled...She would make sure everyone knew!

 

But why?

 

Why did she want to cancel him?

"Are you okay?!?" Said the voice of a girl next to her.

 

She seemed to have turned her up...?

 

Was she lying down?

 

Then she must be asleep...Or trying to sleep...But this bed felt so hard...Wait, were these people in her room then?

 

"You are...No wait, weren't you?" The girl seemed to be having trouble identifying her.

 

She opened her eyes and saw the world tinted in [RED], but even so, she could somehow identify the color of the hair and eyes of the girl in front of her.

 

Blonde wavy hair and sky blue eyes, same as hers, but [FAKE]. Oh right "[Thunder Queen]?" Chloe Ashcroft, one of her classmates from the powered side.

 

"You know me?" Asked the girl looking at her once more, trying to tie in the dots, but failing at it.

 

She got a nudge into one of her [Security Nodes] as if it was asking permission to lift the veil, and when she tried to make it so Chloe could identify her...

Only to get hit by a headache, so this [Shift] wasn't hers?

 

No wait, why it wasn't?

 

Wasn't this her [Magic]?

 

The headache only got worse and worse, summoning her [Status] she saw how her mana was still at 1%, but her [Stress] was climbing at quite the worrisome speed.

 

What was happening?

 

Why was the world turning red?

 

"Miss...I need you to [Identify] yourself." Said the blonde girl with her right hand hovering above her, after turning her up she had left her some space.

 

So nice.

 

But why was her hair fake?

 

Oh right, she was disguised "I'm [Elemental Weaver] a Trainee Magical Girl from the [Mystic Powers Institute]." Said Elizabeth, trying to raise herself while holding her head with a hand.

 

Oh right, the "[Villain]?" sputtered the word Elizabeth turning around.

 

"Oh, you remember me, how nice of you." Came the voice of the black-masked man from afar.

 

She quickly turned only for her headache to greatly increase at the sight of the man, she could almost see behind him a weave of darkness that extended far and wide...

 

And red cracks all across his body, did he have those before?

 

"Please desist your attempts to attack the [Clinic], under the accords signed by [Echidna] no [Shadow Based Villain] is to attack a clinic or hospital nor its defenders." Said Chloe in an authoritative tone.

 

All the while sparks of thunder radiated from her body and metal fragments hovered around them, all poised to attack Nyctophagia.

 

"Tch..." Clicked his tongue the Villain, "This is why I told [Echinda]to not allow you to work here."

 

What?

 

"I might not be able to [Touch] you, but I can still defend myself." Said the [Villain], then suddenly his mask showed a smile that made her shiver. "Actually...I can't [Hurt] you... But [Magical Girls] are protected by their [Shift] right?" His smile deepened more and more.

 

Oh...Right...She should be safe thanks to the effect of the [Shift]...

 

Then why was she suddenly feeling a bad premonition, "So this is permitted under those [Accords]." She...Didn't see nor feel anything.

 

But what she knew was that Chloe's face blanched and she started moving in an instant, she was draped in lighting and her hair turned from a blonde similar to her own to a yellow that was closer to energy.

 

Her sky-blue eyes somehow gained a yellow shine, her figure turned more sleek as if her whole body was lighting.

 

She was at her side one second and the next was in front of [Nyctophagia] with her hands at his abdomen, somehow the shadows didn't seem to touch her "[Thunderclap Strike]!" She intoned.

 

And soon enough a veritable deluge of electricity got discharged from the hands of the Chloe, sending Nyctophagia flying against a building at great speeds, he however didn't seem to mind it that much.

 

As he was laughing the whole way till he crashed against a building, "You almost make me regret the fact that you aren't on the menu." He said while getting out of the ruined building, shadows sneaking across the floor.

 

Chloe frowned and sent a wave of thunder-like mana against them vaporizing the shadows when they got closer to their side of the street.

 

She tried to scratch an itch on her left hand while thinking about how she was doing that only to touch her side.

 

"What?" Said Elizabeth while turning her attention to her left arm.

 

There where her arm should be she saw...A stump...

 

A stump leaking black sludge with some reddish streaks here and there, "STOP THIS NYCTOPHAGIA!" She heard the voice of Chloe.

 

"IT'S ILLEGAL TO [TAINT] ANOTHER MAGICAL GIRL!" She...was being tainted?

 

But...She called upon her mana and...found nothing answering, right...

 

She had only 1% of mana left...

 

"[Inventory]" Intoned Elizabeth...Only to find a red screen once more.

She...Was in trouble.

 

Her mana dropped to 0% and she felt her world crumble a little more, she suddenly started shivering and her left arm was crumbling away into motes of light.

 

The world was still being tainted red and she saw cracks appear in her skin once more, she...She...sHe...ShE...

 

"DO NOT DESPAIR!" Someone's scream hit her like a bolt of lightning.

 

There in front of her was standing tall and proud Chloe, her lighting somehow repelling the shadows that wanted to worm her way "A magical girl is the symbol of [Hope], the symbol of never surrendering...To [Strive] for a better future." Said Chloe while not turning to see her, only focusing on destroying any shadow that tried to come their way.

 

The mana emissions she was getting from the powered girl were out of charts, she doubted it would be near the level of power she should have.

 

She hadn't used [Identify] on her, but she had this feeling that she shouldn't be close to the same level of power that Nyctophagia.

 

But...What could she do?

 

Without mana too...

 

She only had what she had in her dress and her severed arm that was turning into motes of light...Wait!

 

"THE ARM!" Said Elizabeth grabbing her severed left arm.

 

"[Thunder Queen] can you sever one of my legs too!?!?" And turned to ask the magical girl.

 

For her part, Chloe almost staggered at the petition, while Nyctophagia started laughing at it.

 

"Why, you only had to ask." Said with a smirk in his tone the black-masked man before snapping his fingers.

 

"STOP!" Screamed Chloe sending another barrage of lighting his way, but he just theatrically jumped to the right dodging it.

 

She wondered what he was speaking about before a sharp pain struck her and saw her right leg be impaled by a spear severing it in one go.

 

She tried to not scream by biting into her lips but her HP dropping near the 5% zone was a reminder that she was in trouble.

 

She didn't have any Mana, her stress was nearly 80% full, and her stamina was dropping fast trying to compensate for the missing mana...And now she was missing her right leg besides the left arm.

 

"ThAnK yOu ★~ " Said the blonde putting her severed arm in her remaining leg and grabbing the severed leg.

 

She saw the leg starting to produce the same motes of light and closed her eyes, she was now holding her severed arm and leg with her right arm.

 

She tried to connect to the mana in the severed members, it was [Her] mana after all, and it no longer had any use in those missing body parts, she could feel a [Calling] from the mana in it.

She felt the message bloom and quickly dismissed it, the system was warning her against doing this?

 

Perfect, that meant that this was indeed the correct approach!

 

She sharpened her will and felt the mana in her body, even with her mana pool empty, her current body was one made of mana, the [Shift] spell basically made new bodies out of mana to allow [Magical Girls] to fight on pair with powereds.

 

Their true bodies stood in their [Soulscape] safe while a body made of mana was created for them to fight with, so...Even if she lost an arm & leg...Her true body was safe...

 

So these body parts were mana...And as such...She could theoretically absorb them back into her body as pure mana to fuel her spells and help Chloe!

 

Yes!

 

This was the type of story where the [Heroine] would make a sudden comeback!

 

With renewed vigor, she felt the mana in her body and ever so slowly nudged the mana in her remaining hand to shift and transform, her fingers grew small tendrils of blue energy that extended against the blackened and cracked arm & leg.

 

Ever so slowly the tendrils of blue energy dug into the lost body parts where they extended, she almost felt an impulse to gag when her mana touched the mana of the arm and leg.

 

It was so...[Corrupted] What should be pure it was tainted by foul energies, but even so, she did need the mana...

 

Besides...What was a little of [Taint] in a day's job?

 

She already had that stupid dagger in her head and that was tainted too right?

 

With this mana, she would be able to purify herself and make a comeback!

 

After all, her mother had told her plenty of stories of people in other worlds who managed to tame the dark energies inside them...Surely it wouldn't be that hard.

 

She had managed to do this without help from her [Skills] and so, taking a deep breath..."I will help you in a moment [Thunder Queen]." Said Elizabeth before injecting her [Idea].

 

Into the mana tendrils that extended from her hand "[Devour]."

 

The word felt right, and so her mana tendril grabbed all that was her former arm and leg and ripped it in one go before shoving it straight into her [Soulscape].

She started to frown about that notification, she had gotten used to the last ones being [Red] and [Hostile] so she hadn't paid much attention to them as of late.

 

So why was she having trouble ignoring them?

 

Something was nudging at her.

 

So she opened her eyes seeing the notification, the weight of her dissected arm and leg was gone already and she could feel the mana traveling straight to her [Soulscape].

 

"[Thank you for being so...[Understanding].]" She heard someone say.

 

But no one was around?

 

Then from nowhere, she felt herself be dragged to her [Soulscape], somehow, or someone yanked at her throwing her against the shadow sphere that symbolized her [Soulscape].

 

But unlike usual when she would pass through it and land inside, she bounced away from it.

 

And there...In front of her...Was...

 

[Something].

 

A figure made of shadows clad in a red armor, the figure of a man that she had seen a few days ago...Was it last week?

 

The man stood there clad in shadows that seemed to reek of [Malice].

 

"[̸̬̱̝̟̦͋́Ẁ̷̥͖ë̸̻̮̲́̃̐̃̈́̍͐̈̉̚̚͠͝l̶̡̡̲̱͔̺͇̟̼̞̳̭̗̔̒̾̏͗̂́̽͒̈́̓͘͜l̶̛̛͓͔̪̺̗̞͇͓̯̜̭̱̋̔͑͑̏͝͠,̴̫̫͚͉͙͈͖̯̰̠͙͔̤̝̆̈ ̴͕̠̠̺͍̥̱̖̤͇̞͈̝̟̲̊͑̆̔͝Í̴̘̯͉̜̣͐̑̽̕ ̸̭̀̎̆̊̐̽͝͝c̴̦̺̬̦̗͙͖̘͇̦͐͒̽̈́̉̇͊͘ͅą̶̠͇͈̹͖̜̋̋͋́̕n̷̰̜̠̈́̏͗̏͒̎̋'̵̢̡̥͕̲̰͎̳̥͓̼͐̏̾̂͘t̷̘̳̯͉̗̦͔̟̱̖̯̬̔̈́̈͊͌̒͘͠ ̷̢͓͎͍͕̦̙̮̦̜͉͇̯̀̓͐̐̂́͜s̴̢̱͙̋̎̒̐͘͝a̶̜͕̘͗̿͋̅̈́̉̌̅̇͌̃̾̇͘͠ŷ̷̘̫̗̣̳͈͙̝̩̥̦̦̓͑͝ ̸̢̨̳̩͓̙͖̤̭͗́̔̃̇̑̔͂̌̈́͋͝t̸̼̃̒̊̌h̸͉͖̠̲͔̪͌͊a̷̬͚̗̭̾̽̅͂̂̈́ţ̵̺̰̯̥̰̦͒ ̵̢̢̙̝͚̪̖͛̈̎̊̈́̅͑͘͘͜͝ẗ̶̨̧̢̞̞͍̻̫̪̟̰̳͓̥̜́́̄̅͂͐͆́͘h̸̡̹̮̝̘̹̙͙͑̆̃͗̌̍̄͌̽̀̃͘i̵̧̞̹̺͎̭̣̪̟̙̹̻̊̀̈͂̏́̽̃̓̒̚͘̕͝͝s̴͙͎̳̜̲̝̥̥̗̹͒̀̈́̔̓ ̸͕̭͌̎̀i̴͍͇̦̭̖͈̒͋̔̓̔̒̈́͆͠s̸̢̡̙̗̲͘͠ ̴̢̠̃̉̑̈́̚w̶̨̨̛͚̟͖̮̲̟͉͙̑̅́̿͂́̀̽̏̊͆̈́͜͝h̴̨̙͉̙̥͎͕̣͋͗̋̀́̌̽̊̌̿͊̔̃̚͠å̵̢̯̦̬͇̼͇͚̰̫͇̲̐̀ͅt̷͖͓͈͕̰̤̠̤̝̠́ͅͅ ̵̡̢̪̯͇̳̘̟͔͓̹͍̙̀̈̽̽̀̈̏͌͌I̸̠͛͑̍̿̄̋̈́̌̾́̅͛̆͆͝ ̴̛͔̱̈́̃̽̋͗̕͠w̸̛̺͗͘̚ǒ̵̝͎̦̞̠͇̫̦͕̤́̄̋͑̈̚͠ȕ̸̗̦̘̞̖̄̔̉̾̄͑̓̇̿̃̎̕l̴̢̧̰̰̲̬͉̭͍͇̰̭̜̒̌̂͒͌̎̉̚͝d̷̺̙͌̇̀̈́͌͘̚͝ ̴̖̗͔̆̈́̑͋̈́͜l̵̨̡̛͍͓͉͙̙͎͈̀̅̿̋̿͛̀͗̂͋̎̀͜ͅį̷̜̙̒̂k̷̖̞̜̳̞̙͚̙̰̥̠̾͌̍̿͒́̓̇͜e̷̮̜̟̖̬͚̬͛̓̐̒͛͌̋́͝͝͝.̸̢̺̪͇̳͓̰͌̒̈́̓̂̾̀̉̉́̄̕͠͝.̸̨̤̺͙̱̦̻̺̺̭̤̀̒̆̿̄̽̏̋̑̊̍͒̈́̅͘͜ͅ.̷͈̤̥̤̜̖͚̪̅̊̅̂̀̾̆̋͑͑͠B̸̢̡̡̛̮̤̫͕̪̯̭̮̀̾̄̋̎̌̋̏̈͘ͅų̵̡̧̮͓̼̬̪̥̖̹̻̯͈͌͌̑̏̑͊̔͋t̸̠̥͈̻̖̱̦̟́̓̈́̕͜ͅ ̶̨̱̱̪͍̻̬͎͒̋̈́͌̅͌̇̎̐̔͊͗̚͝ị̸̡̃͆͂̽̅͌͛̍̈́̽͋̿̕͝t̶̜̗̰̠͈̪̦̲́̉ͅͅ ̵̣̣̞̦̻̔́̀̊̂̈́́̒̎̎͝s̶̨̬͕̭̞͕̳̹̟̤̉̏̈́͛̓́͆͝͝ḩ̷̧̞̜͕͈̋͗͂̈́̽̑͆̎̈͒̓̌̃́͝ǫ̷̧̜̣̩̲͈͉͍̮͈̖͆̾̔̓̇̌͂̓͘ͅű̷̝̝̜̗̬̫̮̩̙͖͉̮̰͜l̶̢͙̩͓̹͙̥̪̫̹̈́̇d̴̨̻̟͍̬͕̼̮̦̪̼̼́͑̏̑͐̏̅̏́̌͑͒́̿ ̵̳̳͉͓͉̮̻̲̙͎̯͒̈͋͑͛͝s̴͉̳̖̻̺̬̬͔̤̗͍͚͚̹͂̂̎̌̈́̎u̵̢̢̖̭̪͈̲̐̋̈̈́̈́ͅf̸̺̙͙̟̻̰̝͚̠͎̦̞̅̓̑̏͜͠f̵̢͉̭͓̼̱͓̹̺̘͍̳̰̑̄́͋̑̔͗̅͂̐̕i̴̧̢͔͔͇̲̰̜̺̤̟̞̲̩̓́͗̆̉͐̎̅͊̀̆̂̒̈́͝c̷̛̯̻̩͙̞̅̒͊͛̋͋̅̑͛̕͝ę̴̗̫̠͖̀̀̀̄ͅ.̵̨̤͔̮̑̄̈́̀̑͠ͅ]̶̘͕̜́͂̈́̚͝." Said the figure.

 

She got a headache and quickly grabbed her head with both hands...

 

Wait...She had both hands?

 

She looked down and indeed, she had both of her hands, actually...She was no longer dressed in her [Elemental Weaver] form, instead, she was dressed in one of her street clothes.

 

A pair of jeans and a nice blouse, quite simple but comfortable and trendy enough that no one would say she was getting lazy with her clothing.

 

"[̶̢̳͈̦͈̖̫̱̥͙̤̖̳̉̒͜A̶̹̬̤̪͈̤̼̲̝̪̾̓͑͑̏̉̈̈́͜h̷̛͙͇͉̑͒̔͛̑̍̒ ̷̡̯̖̮̱̳̪̮̟̔̇̈́͜r̸̦͍̪̭̿́̊̿̂̓̊̍͗̔̒́̇ì̵̙͈̫̮̣̮̲͔̟̟̞͇̄̆ͅg̸͚̫͔̼͙̥̟͇̲̞͐h̵̨̛̗̹̙̠̭̯̫͙̗̞̐̄̈͛̇̉͊̊̂̕͝͝ͅt̴̡̜̲̼̰̣̟̜̳̒̕,̶̛͍̋͆́̊̐̈́̈̇̉͛͘͝ ̷̭̺̱̬͆̐̐̌̀̀̐͘̚Ȋ̷̧̞̒ ̸̢̨̡̣͔͎̲̗̪̥͖̓̽̍̿̄̎̈̀̽̂̚n̷̨͕͍͙̬̹͎͝e̷͖͔̯͎̱̜̥̯͙̦͛̾̉̕͜e̷̱̫̖̳̣̰͑́̆̂̏̈͋͐́͋̈́͐͝͠ͅd̴̢̓̑̀̌̊̑͋ ̵̛̰͖̘̠̰̳̆̊̈̊̕͠t̷̢͎̙̯͔͓̹̥̣͆̀̓̇̒͋̿͊͘͜ͅõ̴̻̊́̄͊̃̎̔̑͐͝͠.̴̧̧̨̢̼̤͚̹̩̰͍̙̟̯͔̕.̷̨̱̠͉͇̣͍̫͈̇̃̔̇͊̏́̓̔̄̓̎͊.̷̨̝̺̘͙̱̩͕͖͉̦̭̗͍̮̇̇͊̍̈́̂̽̊͒̕]̶͕̱͖͓̮͎̳̹̤̗̉͒͜... Speak like this now." Said the figure of shadows as his form started to...Change.

 

"[Shift - Elizabeth Starbright]" Intoned the figure made out of shadows...

 

And she saw in horror as one of the most powerful Shadow skill users's form...Changed.

 

It transformed as his body was surrounded by shadows from the mighty [Stygian Bane] into...Something else.

 

His crown of bones turned into a trendy hair band that settled in his head, his bald skull grew blonde and silky hair that went down almost to his hip.

 

His billowing cape turned into a blue one-piece summer dress, its multiple chains morphed into different jewelry across his body, an obsidian bracelet in [Her] right hand, a pair of earrings...A collar...

 

His black inky body turned into a smooth skin, what once were muscular body turned into a slender and delicate arm, his abs turned smooth and his chest grew till it seemed to want to jump out of the dress...Only for it to accommodate the size.

 

What once held a pair of malicious and evil red shining eyes turned into a pair of sky blue delicate eyes, holding perhaps some mischievous allure but ones that seemed to hold innocence and purity.

 

There no longer stood the pinnacle of evil, the reason that the [Shadow Alligned] users were deemed [Tainted]...Instead...

 

There stood [Elizabeth Starbright] surrounded in the most malevolent and evil shadows one could imagine, being caressed by their touch...Smiling at her...

 

She in turn looked at her own body...And how it was being corroded by red cracks, "Well, it was hard...I almost didn't make it...Oh right, we need something." Said the Stygian Bane with [Her voice].

 

She almost seemed to enjoy the feeling as she purred. "[Recieve Withold Experience.]"

"Skip the formalities, release the lock in the blocked skills." Said the Stygian Bane.

 

Somehow he...Or she?

 

She seemed to be able to control her [Skill] better than her!

 

WHY?!?

 

"You see...That brat," Said the Stygian bane while pointing behind her, she saw there...A kid?

 

A blonde kid, perhaps around the same age as Alexa, but he was definitely male, he was battered beyond reason and had wounds all over his body, he was dressed in an oversized white laboratory coat with missing pieces from scratches here and there.

 

"Left the good stuff blocked behind the different thresholds one achieves at different power levels, what you perceive as [Levels] is just a way to quantify the mastery one has over [Mana]." Started explaining the Stygian Bane.

 

All the while her [Skill] started showing up notifications all over the place, she couldn't get to read them as the other girl dismissed and accepted them as soon as she saw them.

 

What was she getting at?

 

She didn't have any [Skill] that would allow that [Villain] something...

 

Was it this about..."Of course, it is about [The World]." Answered the other girl before she could ask.

 

"Even if it is about that, why are you doing this to me?" Asked Elizabeth.

 

She...Didn't have anything special. She had made sure of that.

 

"You are the most special person on this planet...For two reasons." Said the stygian bane, smirking her way while one last blue screen showed in front of both girls.

 

"First of all...Unlike anyone else on this planet, you have no [Fate], you are free of the world's ties...You see...My [Fate] was to nurture your Father's [Seed] with my [Shadow] energy so he could build up the required resistance to create a successor for [The World]." She said with distaste.

 

"The [Advent] of the [Magical Girls] made that a moot point since [The World] found a better way to do so, then when your mother got pregnant and asked help from that brat...It made it further a moot point my existence." She said while throwing a Shadow Spear against the kid, she was about to close her eyes but the spear got obliterated by a discharge of electricity from the kid.

 

That...Was oddly familiar.

 

"Almost every single powered on this planet has [Fate] tying them to something, to become a [Hero] a [Villain], to create something...To [BE] something..." She said while using her shadows to create windows for multiple people.

 

[Echidna] leading the [Tainted] into a new age...Her Father leading the powereds...

 

Her Mother helping the world's mana be better distributed...

 

Agatha teaching...

 

Rossie healing the needed...

 

Even Akira had a spot there by being a nuisance...

 

"But not you..." Finished the Stygian Bane showing her...

 

And a black void, nothing...

 

"You are [Free] from [Fate]'s meddlesome hands...And you have this..." Finished saying the other girl while showing her the notification.

"Yes...Also, be done with the garbled text, it's annoying." Said the other girl.

Oh...Right...She had that...

 

What does that skill do again?

 

The last time she tried to use it she had been almost killed except for the fact that she was in a school full of powered healers and powerful healers.

 

"Assign all the points into Wisdom and intelligence." Said the other blonde girl.

 

Then with a smirk on her face, she said "Oh right...I need to leave here...." Her shadows boiled all around at the mere mention of leaving.

 

She couldn't help but smile at that too, the moment she left her body would probably turn back into its original form, so she would be hunted down by her [Father] and [Mother].

 

"But before that...Mold this here...create this here...inject this..." Started saying the other girl while she played with the shadows around her as if they were clay.

 

What was...

"Assign the body in front of me as a [Doppelganger]" Said the other blonde girl while walking towards her, she tried to run away.

 

To warp away back into reality as the idea of what she would suffer sank in, but shadow chains sprang from the floor.

 

She remembered those...The same ones that held her [Minions]...

"I accept being made into a [Doppelganger]." Said her mouth.

 

What?

 

Why?

 

How?

 

"Darling...I'm you now...You accepted the [Mana Infusion] remember?" Said her own voice...

 

Her own mouth...

 

Oh...

 

Then...?

 

"Yes, you tried to do what Catherine taught you in those tales...But you have no [Fate], you refused it remember? " Said the other blonde while caressing her face.

 

"So if you aren't a [Hero's Chosen]...Of course you don't enjoy their protection...Say thanks to your former self." Said the other blonde before she started to sink into the shadows.

 

The last thing she saw was the face of the other boy that sank beside her...

 

She...She would be fine right?

 

She...She could get away...

 

No way [The Stygian Bane] would win...

 

Even if he used her [Skill], she was barely level 26...

 

And [Villains] never win...The [Heroe] always arrive to save the world!

 

...Who was the [Hero] of this world though?

 

Who...Who would save her?