The projection froze with the image of Rossie's now normal shift with Agatha shielding students and Rena's glare while hovering above Akira. Most of the students behind them had grabbed their weapons of choice or were about to discharge their [Skills].

 

"And then?" Elizabeth said as she glared at Michael, she noticed the similarity between the scene in the projection with the current one, like in the projection most of the students had moved behind someone for protection.

 

In the projection, they moved behind Agatha. Now? They moved behind Michael, as if he could protect them from her. Laughable.

 

"And then...well, Agatha made sure that Rossaline wasn't a danger to everyone by making sure she was in control of herself," Michael said as he moved the picture of Rossie to put it next to the one that had her with that... demon-like shift. "Afterwards after making sure she was in control of herself, she dueled the rest of the class. They thought she was weaker since her...showing was so spectacular."

 

Most of those still around grimaced at that, "They were wrong. Rossie never used mana, whatever that was. It wasn't Mana." Elizabeth said as she thought back to that [Shift], whatever it fueled it, or whatever Rossie used, it wasn't mana.

 

Nor had she used her [Soul] as fuel either, that dark sticky energy looked similar to what [Nyctophagia] had used, and whatever he had left in her containment chamber before she managed to purify it. But...different, while [Nyctophagia]'s felt more like an all-encompassing [Desire] to [Devour].

 

Rossie's felt...muted.

 

"Yes, she cleaned the floor with everyone that got into the arena, the first ones were the luckier ones since she had mana to spare and could knock them up in one go." Michael smirked at that, while more and more people grimaced behind him, "The last ones...not so much, she couldn't pull punches that well by the end so she just straight-up maimed people. We got lucky since Teacher Agatha convinced Rena to take care of Akira in the nurse's office."

 

Sure, that was the lucky thing on this.

 

"I still fail to see why you all react like that, Rossie was on the right here, she didn't ask for a fight against you all. Nor did she ask to be called here. As far as I can tell Akira and that fatso were at fault." Elizabeth pointed to one of the projections.

 

She [Willed] her mana to worm into one of them and hijacked the [Control] Node to rewind back into the image of that mysterious mage.

 

"He made Rossie fight against you all. You could have surrendered the fight or thrown it away, but since you all wanted the extra points you ganged on a lonely and obviously wounded girl." Elizabeth took this chance to record that [Mage]'s appearance, she would use him as a litmus test too.

 

She had a caste of [Minions] that could use the testing to see how far they could worm into someone's security.

 

"She still killed someone!" A girl screamed from the back, she tried to hide behind other students, but Elizabeth quickly locked onto her. She was dressed with a body armor similar in design to what Papa had wanted her to use.

 

A skin-tight body armor that left nothing to her imagination, the only uncovered part was her head, probably to get her used or because she wasn't expecting attacks to her head, her hair was purple with strikes of black here and there. She was probably on the [Hero] course, but she couldn't be sure, and while her mana didn't have any [Taste], she was probably either a self-buffer or a space [Skill] user.

 

"If, and this is a big [IF] Rossie ever killed someone, that person would be either a [Villain] or a [Rogue Mage]. And that would be justified." Elizabeth started, she wasn't quite sure how they found out about Aurelia, but they shouldn't have evidence since her body was [Devoured] by her shadows and her [Vestige] had been assimilated by her [Shadow Haven]. "And that would mean that she was within her rights to do so. We are, after all, students. The authorities can't expect us to have a fine enough control of our skills..."

 

The girl in question seemed to be trying to hide behind everyone, but the students around didn't let her, in the end, she even tried to hide behind Michael. But a well-placed barrier stopped her from doing so.

 

"I'm a good example of that, through my first year I could barely contain my [Shadows] from reacting to my emotions, and this murder you accuse Rossie of happened.....When exactly?" Elizabeth asked as most of the students seemed to eye the door with the love of a little girl that found about candies for the first time.

 

"...at the start of the first year..." The girl mumbled, only to look at her with renewed vigor and say again, this time with conviction, "At the start of first year Rossaline was living in an apartment alone and one of the students that was supposed to arrive never got here, so she must have murdered that student just to have the apartment to herself!"

 

Elizabeth only laughed, first slow and measured, only to start gaining speed and volume, "Oh sorry, but I was the student that shared an apartment with Rossie in the first year, but then again... not a single one remembers me do you?"

 

At that revelation, everyone seemed to look at each other, "Oh, are you now wondering if you judged a poor girl at her lowest point wrong? Come on, do tell...did you judge someone wrong?" Elizabeth would be lying if she said that she wasn't enjoying this moment, the moment the bunch of hypocrites started doubting themselves.

 

"So you say you lived with Rossaline in the first year? Do you have evidence of that claim?" Michael was the first to question, and she couldn't help but feel annoyed at that.

 

"I have a picture that I uploaded, let me see if Mo...If [Odyssey] left that after ascending." Elizabeth summoned her Cellphone from her [Inventory] into her hands, and navigated the social site where she had uploaded most of her pictures.

 

Of course, half of the data was corrupted and the pictures didn't show right, most of the pictures of her time in [Avalon] were straight-up deleted if not corrupted data in the cloud. "Here, this should be proof enough." Except for the pictures she had taken at the MPI and while on her mid-terms.

 

Alice's account was surprisingly popular with some people still sharing the pictures she had taken almost a year ago, most wondering what had been of the black-haired girl that took the internet by storm.

 

"Hmm...it does indeed look like the apartments of the MPI...And that is indeed Rossaline Singh." Michael said as he enlarged the image and shared it with everyone around.

 

"Yes, that is the apartment Rossaline had for herself...So you shared a room with her? And she never did something...shady?" Another student asked with renewed valor. "Nothing...[Villainous]?"

 

This was getting ridiculous, "No. And even if she did, in this school they accept both [Heros] and [Villains], or did you all suddenly forget how the class got spited in two the first time we came to the arena? Or how the Mid-terms sent people to [Villain Lairs] as well as [Hero HQs]?"

 

It would be hilarious how they all said [oooh] in synch, had Elizabeth not been on the other side, was this why it was more popular to be a [Villain]?

 

She so much wanted to murder them all for bullying her adorable Rossie for such a misunderstanding (in their minds), "So we are the bad guys?" the girl that started all of this said meekly.

 

She would be in the [Cute] category, had she not antagonized her lovely Rossie. "Yes, you all ganged up on a sad girl thinking it would be an easy target after seeing her spend so much [Mana]. Then got mad because said girl defeated you all, got a narrative that made her a [Villain] and acted self-righteously." Elizabeth had no problem enumerating their numerous crimes of course. "In a nutshell, you all acted like Akira."

 

And what was the point of self-centered idiots who didn't think before acting?

 

"And were you good for Rossaline?" Someone asked that question surprised Elizabeth.

 

Searching the voice that spoke she found a group of four to five girls together at the back of the group, what they had in common (Besides not being in a stance to attack or defend) was that they all shared some degree of pink in their hair.

 

One of them was the waitress she got in the cafeteria even!

 

"I believe that I did my best as a roommate... And I'm trying to do my best to be what Rossie deserves." Was the only answer Elizabeth could give.

 

That question was too loaded for her at the moment, previous...no. Elizabeth hadn't been good to Rossie, not because she used her or took advantage of her, but because she hadn't noticed how much Rossie cared for her.

 

Not till she saw all their interactions when [Merging] in the [Shadow Haven], not after she experienced all that year in a few minutes before Elizabeth's Vestige fused with her.

 

"...I'm trying to be better for Rossie right now, and if that means that I must fight you all to prove my point I will." Elizabeth's shadows fanned out once more, this time, however, she took notice to restrain them to the arena. "So? Who will be first?"

 

No one took a step forward, it was Michael the one who seemed to get annoyed at that and moved forward saying, "Okay the spectacle is over, if you aren't going to use the arena move along."

 

This marked the moment when most of everyone started leaving the arena, the pink-haired group of girls just nodded in Elizabeth's direction before leaving.

 

Elizabeth noticed how that group broke apart following different people and the waiter girl followed after the purple/black haired girl that had spoken before. She would like to think that she was a friend of the girl...

 

But more than likely that wasn't it, she was half tempted to send one of her scouts after them...but...

 

"With that out of the way, do you really want to practice?" Asked Michael bringing her back from her musings, "You look more like someone who needs to rest after all of this."

 

He was right of course, she only wanted to go home, grab her Rossie, and sleep...when was the last time she had just slept for the sake of it?

 

Not because it was late, not because she was tired, just because she wanted to. It felt so long ago when she could get back from school, go to her room put on her pajamas, and just sleep all the afternoon, night, and part of the morning.

 

"...You didn't show how your fight with Rossie went," Elizabeth said noticing that the video evidence was missing that part.

 

"That would be because I didn't fight her. I'm not suicidal like they all are," Michael said expanding the image projection to show himself.

 

He was sitting on the bleachers at the very top, looking at how everything went, so that was why he could see it all and record it that well.

 

"And you were scared of Rossie when you noticed she was using another type of energy that wasn't mana," Elizabeth said with a smirk on her face.

 

"Smart girl, yes. I noticed, so I didn't want to risk it, besides... Like Rossaline, they can't expel me. Really, this is the only good thing about being at the top. Because sharing these spots with Rossaline, Akira, and Rena is pain in itself." Michael sighed dramatically.

 

Rude, she could understand that sharing something with Akira and Rena may be hard, mostly because of Akira. But her Rossie did nothing wrong!

 

"...Rude, Rossie did nothing wrong as we proved right now," Elizabeth grumbled.

 

"Oh no, you proved that you shared an apartment with Rossaline yes, but unless you changed your name, nationality and looked after [Odyssey] and [Framework]'s ascension...Then the disappearance of Aurelia Vitelius is a mystery to solve." Michael then summoned an image of the purple-haired girl who was supposed to be the original owner of that apartment with... Either Rossie or her.

 

She wasn't quite sure with whom.

 

"Hmm....never saw her in my life, but I do know that Rossie said her number was the one after mine, that was how I found she was my roommate," Elizabeth said as she dismissed the image Michael had created.

 

"Interesting, not only the fact that you didn't bat an eye at the image, but that you casually dismissed the projection of someone else. Just how good is your [Mana Manipulation] skill?" Michael smirked at her.

 

Was he onto something? Hardly a problem, she already had seeded his shadow with one of her [Minions], so she could deal with him at a moment's notice.

 

"You are not a good person either, so maybe everyone in the top rankers are bad," Elizabeth answered back annoyed.

 

She may as well leave after all, "Hah, you also are a top ranker. So are you bad then?" Asked back, Michael.

 

Was she?

 

She...hadn't really done anything [Heroic] at any point in her life had her? She never wanted to be a [Hero] or a [Magical Girl], and the closest to something she had wanted to do was her time as [The Shadow Empress], but that...hadn't been entirely her either.

 

Part of it was the fact that it was her father the one that made sure she went into the [Villain] side, the other half of it was how her time as [Alice] was more of a...blur.

 

[Alice] had moved by herself after all, she was aware of what she did and even saw her memories when the [Merge] happened, but it was...She was probably closer to [Alice] than to former [Elizabeth].

 

"I'm not like Akira, nor will I ever be if..." Elizabeth said after pondering that question, "If I had to guess I think that I'm closer to a [Villain] than to a [Hero]. But my morals and guide are those of a top [Hero]. I will protect what is important to me and will destroy anything that gets in the way of what I want."

 

Her morals were those that her father always spoke of, protect those you love, and defend those you treasure. Don't let those who covet what is yours get away with it.

 

"Well, as long as you don't commit any crime you can be a [Hero]...or a [Magical Girl] in your case I guess," Michael said not minding her answer.

 

"I will take it under advice, not that I am sure if I want to be a [Hero] or [Magical Girl] either, maybe I will just take Rossie and work as a mercenary or something after graduating," Elizabeth said while eyeing the arena, no one was left.

 

No one besides Michael that is.

 

"You weren't that bad for being part of Akira's group," Elizabeth said as she focused on her shadow dragons, searching for one that was in a more deserted location.

 

"...I have never spoken nor interacted with Akira," Michael said with a knowing smirk on his face, "How can I be part of his group? Are you sure you aren't part of our group?"

 

"You wish. No, you four were a thing, not anymore. Since Rossie is mine now." Elizabeth answered back, she had gotten confirmation from one of her minions that a location was open and empty, ready to receive her. "I will be seeing you, hope you don't change... I would hate having to do extra work after dealing with Akira."

 

And before Michael could answer her back "[Shadow Step]" Elizabeth invoked her skill and disappeared as the shadows covered her body.

 

She found herself on one of the roofs of the school, this one in particular was the roof of the library, she hadn't come here, but knew it was since her minion transmitted the relevant information as soon as she landed.

 

"Now...Rossie, have you finished doing your thing...?" Elizabeth asked aloud while thinking about her girlfriend.

 

"[Reporting back to Mistress: The Mistress consort is about to finish, if you wish to you can send her a message and she may finish her work early.]" Her shadows answered her back.

 

So Rossie almost finished huh?

 

"Let's text her and wait for confirmation, I can teleport to her right?" Elizabeth asked to her shadow since they seemed to be paying attention as of late.

 

"[Yes, we have an extra scout in Mistress Consort's Shadow for that same reason. Or you can teleport her to you if that is what you wish for too.]" The shadow answered back.

 

Interesting, so she could teleport Rossie to her? She would remember that.

 

But for now..."Voice message option...here it is: Rossieeee ♪~" Elizabeth started recording the message "I miss youuuuu♪" while spamming some star emotes on the chat.

 

"I have finished my things here, tried to kill some time in the arena but left since it seemed that everyone wanted to get on my nerves...I'm waiting at the rooftop of the library, I can either teleport you here or teleport to you. Call me when you are ready ♪" Elizabeth finished her voice message while leaving some star and heart emotes too, and after thinking if that was good enough she decided that no. It wasn't good enough yet.

 

"Love you ♪♥♪" She added a last voice message with some extra heart emotes to be sure.

 

Yes, that was perfect.

 

Now she only needed to wait for her girlfriend to answer... And to think if she wanted to ask her about that other [Shift]... But that could wait after a 16-hour nap/snuggle. There were priorities to all in this world, and the demonic alter-persona of her girlfriend wasn't at the top, no sir. That spot was for snuggling.