She was getting tired, the mana was running rampant and it seemed to want to finalize the connection to...something. She wasn't sure what it was that her mana wanted to connect, but it made her recoil from how [Filthy] it felt.

 

Even so, the increase in power and the ease with how her magic answered to her emotions wasn't something she could afford to lose right now, it was what allowed her [Soul Magic] to progress so much in so little time.

 

With some luck, it would be the key to awake Elizabeth...

 

That only made the heart throbbing pain in her chest the more unbearable, here she was walking and speaking with the rest of the students while Elizabeth was tied to a bed with multiple tubes connected to her body.

 

No electrical reactions in her brain, no response to stimuli, if it wasn't for her [Soul Magic] she would have thought she was dead, but unlike most coma patients or patients with brain death, her soul was active.

 

And her? She was at the stupid school, doing some stupid ranking exams lest they take Elizabeth away and throw her into another 'Care Facility', the traps were obvious enough for her to see, and the only reason she was going with them was because she didn't want to completely ruin her chances at this school.

 

Should Elizabeth wish to return here, she would need to be able to after all.

 

But when they asked her to defeat all the students in the classroom? She couldn't help but look at them and found them...wanting.

 

"I will do it." Even the black-haired one that had been licking her over with his eyes. "But I want something else if I win."

 

She had noticed him trying to extend some kind of mana thread her way, but the thing was frayed as soon as it came near her rampant mana, "We are providing enough as is, do you need something else, Mister Akira?" Asked the mage that was in charge of making sure she stayed at the school.

 

They wanted the secrets to interact with the [Soulscape], so sure she could do it, when the real reason she could cast as if nothing was because Elizabeth had shown her the tricks of compound spells, it was easier to build up a spell in parts and join them later than trying to cast a complex spell in one go.

 

Not that she wasn't able to do either of course.

 

"I want her to spend a day with me," Akira said while pointing at her with one of his hands, she could feel the mana thread extending once more.

 

And something within her reacted instinctively and destroyed it, "We can't make her do anything against her will Mister Akira. But I'm sure Miss Singh will entertain the idea should you prove yourself worthy of her time." The mage said back while turning the attention of everyone to her.

 

"Let's get this going, I don't have all the time in the world." She answered back not willing to even entertain the idea.

 

Not like it would change anything.

 

"The match will be one vs one, the fight will end when one participant isn't able to continue fighting." The mage said while teleporting to the observation chamber, his voice being transmitted all over the arena with some transmission spells, "On the left side we have...[Sylphie Starheart] the young prodigy of [Healing Magic]!"

 

She of course used her [Shift] to change into her [Magical Girl] persona, she had turned off most of the [Nodes] on it, leaving only the bare minimum. She didn't want to deal with more hounds trying to find out how she was using magic. She didn't have the time to deal with them and care for Elizabeth.

 

"And on the right side, we have [The Warden Of Justice]!" On the other side of the arena, Akira stood with his stupid black coat and his overly decorated Katana. "He may look like a normal student but he also is a prodigy who can use advanced sword techniques and Magic!"

 

And sure enough, Akira did a flourish as he used some of his skill to create the magical circles that symbolized his [Magic skill], he, however, wasn't a threat to her either way.

 

She could see the design of the spell, and while it was overly complex and advanced for what he should be able to do. It was still a restraining spell from what she could tell.

 

"BEGIN!" And while she was busy reading the spells Akira was casting, the mage declared the start of the combat.

 

Such an underhanded trick, that wouldn't mean anything usually. But this time?

 

This time her enemy was someone somewhat more dangerous, "First!" The blubbering idiot used a burst of speed to close into her and extended his hand towards her chest.

 

Did he want to punch her?

 

She of course tried to raise a barrier spell, but didn't really have that many defensive spells prepared.

 

*squish*

 

And then she saw red, this...this...*grope*

 

THIS BASTARD WAS FONDLING HER CHEST?!?

 

IN THE MIDDLE OF COMBAT!

 

"Hmm....they seem bigger than the clothes suggest, hidden a treasure are we?" And he seemed so confident that he could get away with it, what gave him that confidence? "I can't wait to see what hides behind the clothes in a few hours."

 

Then it all made sense, he was mad, he was truly mad, why in the four planes of hell would she even want him to see her undressed? He wasn't Elizabeth. He wasn't worth her time.

 

He...

 

*grip* He... * worm in* He... *invade*

 

He...What?

 

The world seemed to lose color, something wasn't right. She knew this feeling, she had managed to leave this monochrome world, but it was returning?

 

No, it wasn't returning, it was more like she was going back.

 

This was good, she didn't deserve a world full of colors, not if it meant that Elizabeth would suffer, so this was okay, this was good. She deserved this.

 

Yes, she would be good once all the colors drained, she would be good again to...to who?

 

Of course, it would be to her only shining light of color in this monochrome world, it would be to Eli(A)za(ki)beth(ra). The only shining light of colors in her world.

 

"Did it stick this time?" And then that voice made her focus forward instead on the hand in her chest. "It seems to have stuck this time, man you made me work for it. Now quick, surrender, we need to go and find an empty classroom."

 

The voice said, and something within her thought of the blonde girl sleeping in the empty apartment, turning to search for that little spot of color she searched around, but found...nothing.

 

"What are you waiting for? Or do you want me to do it right here? I won't mind it, but we need to deal with Rena first." At the mention of that name, she finally got annoyed with whoever's voice it was and turned to it.

 

There it was a black-haired teen whose image superimposed with that of a young adult in her mind's eye. His second image was of course older, with a white T-shirt unbuttoned and a black coat of the same design that the one that Akira was wearing, only more ornamented with gold and gems.

 

But most important of all, he wasn't monochrome, neither of him were. Both were a spot of color in this monochrome world and that...

 

"No." That wasn't possible, only Elizabeth should be a beacon of color for her, "NoNoNoNoNo."

 

"Did she break? Hmm....maybe that was why my [Divine Skill] didn't connect first?" The black-haired teen mumbled as she felt her chest being toyed with.

 

"NO!" And then it all made sense, why her body destroyed those mana connections with such hate, so she focused all her mana inwardly and destroyed the mana thread that was boring itself more and more into her [Soul].

 

"Gha." Akira's scream was all the momentary satisfaction she got as the black-haired teen jumped backward, the second image behind him blurred into nothingness soon after, but she saw it long enough to notice his eyes full of wrath. "You bitch...You dare go against a [True Hero]'s wishes?"

 

She noticed how the world gained color soon enough after the mana thread was destroyed, and also she found herself seething at the thought of what Akira had done. He had found a way to tamper with someone's mind even after [Odyssey] had made a [Divine Decree] that mind tampering was outlawed.

 

But of course, the god's decree wasn't good enough to prevent Akira's tampering, classical.

 

"I do not know how you managed to do that." She said as the mana coursing her mana veins started to turn pink with strikes of black and she felt something within her [Core] churn. "But you will regret it, my body, my soul, my mind are all for someone special, and that someone...Isn't you."

 

And as soon as those words left her mouth her mana exploded outwards, changing her [Shift] from that of a [Magical Girl] into...something else.

 

She felt something heavy hanging from her head, but didn't though much of it, nor thought much about the weird feeling on her lower and upper back, nor why she was feeling her fingers were longer.

 

No, instead of thinking about the changes her body was going through she focused on the man in front of her, the man that had his mouth hanging open while looking at her.

 

It didn't last long of course, as he seemed to recover his wits soon enough and his face morphed into one of anger, "YOU BITCH!" And sure enough he jumped once more towards her, this time using his restraining skills at the same time as he did a downwards slash towards her.

 

She had spent plenty of time thinking about how she could have helped Elizabeth, and if the information she found was to be believed, Elizabeth somehow had managed to stand up to people way over her own [Level], with nothing but her Magic.

 

How?

 

If she was guessing right the blonde girl probably had used her own body as a puppet to keep up with people her body wasn't able to react, so of course she followed the example.

 

"[Puppeteer's Lust]" The spell was simple enough, it manipulated the muscles, nerves, and bones of her body directly bypassing her consciousness. It reacted to the input her mind was receiving and acted using a predetermined set of reactions.

 

In this case, her mind reacted faster than she could ever and commanded her body to dodge to the side while kicking her attacker in the stomach with the suddenly pointy end of her shoe.

 

At what point had her shoe turned from a pair of sneakers to a dance gala shoes?

 

"Khuu." Ignoring the complaints of Akira as he flew backward, she took notice that not only her shoes had changed, her dress changed from her usual magical girl dress into a white summer dress, but she was also suddenly wearing black stockings that went all the way into her lower tight.

 

Her hands had a pair of white loose gloves and she noticed a pair of reptile-like wings on her back, followed by what seemed to be a tail with a heart at the end of it.

 

Just to be sure she touched her head and sure enough, she had a pair of horns on it, had she [Shifted] into some kind of demon?

 

"YOU BITCH DISCOUNTED DEMON!" Screamed Akira as he rose from where he had landed, "I DECLARE YOU EVIL!"

 

The effect wasn't immediate, but she felt [Something] change in the atmosphere, as if [Something] wanted to descend upon her and chain her to the floor.

 

And yet, "So fickle..." all it took from her was a flick of her tail infused with mana to break it, she didn't even need to make a real effort, if anything she found interesting the fact that her tail seemed to be able to channel her mana too.

 

"Now let's see, will my horns also work?" Thinking about the uses possible out of this, she focused the spell into manifesting, and sure enough, a magical circle manifested above her head. " [Soul] + [Void] + [Amp] + [Mutilate] + [Dismember] + [Dissolve] = [True Annihilator]"

 

Of course, she intoned the [Nodes] as they came into being and the spell finished being cast, Akira seemed to notice the danger of it as he quickly raised both his hands forward "[Hero's Armory - Rho Aias]!" And summoned a weird brown shield from it.

 

It mattered little to her as she flipped the mental switch and her spell shot forward, it turned into the image of a drill-like arrow that traveled in seconds toward Akira, her spell bored into the shield and seemed to stop for a second...

 

Only for her spell to start boring into the shield, she heard the arrow destroy parts of the shield one by one, almost as if the shield had been made layered for some reason, as each layer was destroyed parts of leather flew around the arena.

 

"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Akira for his part screamed as such, only for his left hand to hit the floor while his other arm shouldered the shield. "[Hero's Armory - Enkidu]!"

 

As soon as he finished using his skill again a pair of pillars sprouted from the floor in the form of thick pillars that were used to keep in place the shield. Taking the respite brought by those pillars Akira jumped out of the way moments before her spell finished penetrating the shield.

 

Her arrow traveled a few meters before hitting the barrier of the arena and dissipating it into nothingness. "You [Villain]!" Akira of course took this chance to chastise her, " I will defeat you!"

 

And sure enough, he extended his hand towards the skies as he screamed at the top of his lungs "[Hero's Armory - The Spear of Destiny]!" And a spear materialized into his hand, it was...somewhat underwhelming since it didn't look special under any metric she could think of.

 

If anything it looked like a mass-produced spear meant for infantry, it was of a brown color, as if it had been bathed in blood recently, and its handle seemed been made of wood while the point was iron.

 

Really, it was a very average-looking weapon, and she didn't get a dangerous feeling from the weapon, but if Akira had summoned it using his weird skill, it should hold some degree of danger towards her.

 

So "[Amp]+[Demonic]+[Highest]+[Track]+[Armor Penetration] + [Empathic] + [Blast] = [Devil's Advocate]" She stopped pulling punches and cast the most dangerous spell she could cast.

 

The [Emphatic] node might look out of place, but it was put there to make sure her spell would propagate, it didn't matter what kind of defense Akira put, or used, her spell would still propagate using the karmic links between him and what he used to discard and try to escape.

 

Akira didn't seem to mind her spell as he pointed the spear towards her, "Last chance, become mine and I will absolve you of your evils with a [Holy Injection]." And only blabbered on some weird things.

 

She of course didn't even consider Akira's words and focused on her spell, she had noticed at the back of the arena the mage seemed to be arguing about something with Agatha who kept pointing towards the arena.

 

But paid it no more attention besides that, instead she focused on her spell and made sure the targeting nodes were pointed towards Akira, "Shoot." And pulled the metaphorical trigger on her spell.

 

The result was obvious enough, she raised her hand as the spell materialized from the point of her finger into the form of a long beam that traveled towards Akira.

 

The black-haired in question quickly kicked the ground and jumped sideways as he darted across the arena to try and get behind her, but the spell did a 90° turn as it followed after him.

 

This didn't seem to faze Akira as he just picked up speed and started jumping all over the place dodging the remains of the beam that was chasing after him, he seemed to know where her mana beams stayed and were weaving around them.

 

In the end, his target was obvious enough, so when he jumped straight at her throwing the spear ahead of him and running behind it, she was ready.

 

First, she flapped her wings moving herself to the side as the spear traveled straight ahead shining with a golden mana that reeked of [Divine Mana], and yet...it also seemed somewhat darker than the usual mana that she used with [Divine Spells].

 

It seemed to be self-generated from Akira's soul instead of coming from the divine, but she didn't have too much time to think about that as Akira was coming hot behind that spear.

 

"DIE!" And he was also screaming as he brandished a new sword, this one golden in color with blue accents on the handle and a sapphire on the handle.

 

She of course wouldn't die, couldn't die, not before Elizabeth woke up and she demanded her [Soul] from her, "No." So she answered as such as she intercepted the sword with her left hand.

 

Her hand of course burst in an explosion of gore as the overcharged mana in the sword clashed with all the mana she had fed into her hand, the explosion was fierce enough that it sent the sword flying and left Akira dumbfounded from it.

 

Of course, she would be confused too if she hadn't killed the nerve endings on her hand before doing that, "Never, ever, try to get your slimy mana in me again." She said as she kicked Akira in his nether region.

 

When he collapsed onto the floor from the pain, she took this chance to place one of her heels into Akira's neck letting the shoe draw blood, "Also if you ever try that with Elizabeth, there is no soul under the four planes of hell, seven heavenly planes or the void that will be able to undo what I will do to you."

 

It was just as she was thinking if it would make her message stay if she left a more permanent wound in Akira when the barrier opened and Agatha rushed in.

 

"Rossaline Singh, are you in control of your faculties?" Asked the witch as she levered a few magical circles that seemed to be of the [Vanishment] variation.

 

"Look at her, she isn't. This is why we need to keep our students on the campus!" The mage said at the side while grabbing what seemed to be a reliquary tied to a collar.

 

What were they speaking about?

 

Oh right, she looked like a demon girl right now, her true form had leaked to the outside..."[Cancel Shift]." So she simply focused her [Shift] to return to normal.

 

She felt the muddy mana drill itself into the deepest core of her core and her figure shone as her form changed once more into her [Magical Girl] persona. "Yes, now please leave the arena. I need to defeat another 52 students before I can return to Elizabeth."

 

Behind the teachers stood a red-haired girl who seemed to be glaring daggers at her, so at least the next fight was here and ready for her.

 

"Just a few hours more Elizabeth...I will be there soon." She would finish these soon enough, she didn't have time to lose here.