[You have defeated a horde of Anathema! This is the summary of the points received. Consult Familiars for more info]

[Reward: 60 Points]

[Remaining Points: 860 (800+60)]

I barely got any kills. Even though we were surrounded, we had to split the points among eight people. Moreover, all of the Anathema were low-leveled.

"Why aren't there more of them?" Red Flame muttered, feeling disappointed.

"Be careful what you wish for, my junior. This is the dark land. There are a lot of surprises here. They could strike when you least expected it. There might even be a nest out there." Serene's teammate, Red Hound, responded.

"They are quite common. We get to clear two or three of them every expedition."

"Let's find it!" Red Flame said eagerly.

"No. If we find it, we have to run. Nests could house A-rank Anathema or even S-rank. We don't know what we might find there," Serene cautioned. "I have been on expeditions twice, and both had at least B-rank monsters."

"But Serene, that small one was D-rank, right?" Red Hound commented, seemingly remembering the old times when they were together on a mission to clear this so-called 'nest.'

"Yeah. But that one was a branch from the main nest 10 km away."

"I can't help but think about the environment. There are no plants or animals here. So, how do we even breathe?" Red Flame asked as he looked around. There were no Anathema in sight, nothing but ruined buildings. Remnants of the old world.

"Like living organisms, Anathema needs to breathe, too. So they manufactured some atmosphere devices. But this atmosphere is certainly not ideal. Thankfully, your astral shift provides you the necessary oxygen and filters the toxic material. That's another difference between Nests and rebellion nests."

"Eh? Just like Eden's atmospheric control?"

"Anathema's technology isn't as sophisticated, but close enough."

"If Anathema were animals, why do we need to fight each other?" Alice asked. She was the embodiment of Magical girls. So full of love and care.

"It's similar to farmers fighting locusts and rats. But that's a pretty oversimplified comparison," Wan-chan answered.

"What's locusts and rats?"

"I saw them in a zoo when I was a kid. But why do farmers kill them? That didn't happen in Eden's farm."

"They are pests. In the old times, these animals ate crops and spread disease, so farmers eradicated them."

"Anathema. It's guarding a cave," I muttered, breaking the idle chit-chat. A black, muscled humanoid with the head of a bull was standing at the cave entrance on our path. Felicia confirmed it to be a Horned Hellspawn, a minotaur-like creature from games. It was an E-rank monster. However, the fact it wasn't wandering aimlessly but guarding a cave bugged me.

Serene let Red Flame and I take care of the kill. The Horned Hellspawn was quick and strong. It managed to push me back with its fist despite my strength stats. However, without any weapons, it could only do so much. I quickly chopped it to pieces. The cave glowed with motes of light on the ceiling and walls, like fireflies had landed on them. As we ventured into the cave, my cat stopped me.

"Stop. Let me go investigate. Or would you prefer to have your clones do it?" I halted. I also noticed that Serene and the others had stopped simultaneously. Did their familiars give them identical instructions? "We are outside in the dark lands. This is Anathema's zone. Unlike usurpations, this area could spawn level 200 anathema at will. We must be cautious."

"Okay." I attached my mana eyes to Felicia, and she jumped off my shoulder and into the cave.

"Geez, Wan-nyan is too cautious," Alice muttered as she lazed around by the wall.

"It's a dog, not a cat. Its name is Wan-chan, right?" Sapphire sighed at the easygoing pink in our party.

"Let's hide outside. I would have agreed with Shining a month ago. But after encountering that Behemoth, I learned what fear is. We have to be cautious." Serene then walked outside and hid behind a boulder, waiting for her familiar to report back. We all followed suit. A few moments later, our critters returned with a report.

"No enemy above level thirty. There is a rebellion portal near the end. We must destroy it first," our familiars reported back.

"Alright. Let's storm it!"

[New Quest! - Anathema's Nest Raid]

[Description: Raid Anathema's nest and destroy its rebellion portal. Be quick or reinforcements may come. Try not to destroy the equipment inside.]

[Difficulty: Medium]

[Reward: 500 Points]

"Begin the operation. Speed is of the essence! Let's raid it!" Felicia said. Everyone started running at the same time. Managed by our respective familiars, we ran inside.

Several Horned Hellspawn and Saberfang Hellspawn greeted us. Apparently, our familiars didn't assign Minotaur as a name due to the differences. Only the monsters at the gate were similar to minotaurs. Horned Hellspawn was a name assigned to bipedal monsters with a horn, either one or two. Saberfang Hellspawn were bipedal monsters with fangs jutting out from their mouths. They all varied in color, but Felicia said they had similar strengths. Horned hellspawns would typically charge with their horn, while Saberfang hellspawns would try to bite. They are strong and fast, so caution is necessary. A direct hit could deplete over 20 percent of a typical rank E Guardian's shield aura.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Lily, wait. Try not to destroy any equipment in the room," Felicia whispered telepathically as we started our raid.

Ten minutes later, the curse seed was destroyed. The room was like an anathema's nesting spot, filled with black sludge in one corner but resembling a laboratory in the other. There were metal railings, clean metallic floors, and some glass apparatus.

[Quest Completed! - Anathema's Nest Raid]

[Description: Raid Anathema's nest and destroy its rebellion portal. Be quick or reinforcements may come. Try not to destroy the equipment inside.]

[Difficulty: Medium]

[Reward: 500 Points]

[You have defeated Several Anathema! This is the summary of points received after party's share. Consult familiars for more info]

[Reward: 50 Points]

[Remaining Points: 1410 (860+500+50)]

[You have leveled up to level 20]

I looked up at the points I gathered after killing them. They were harder than Fomorian soldiers, but since we had 8 members here, the points were split among all 8 of us. I knew I should not be greedy; I almost lost my life facing Anathema. However, looking at my decreasing income, I couldn't help but sulk. At least the mission reward was nice. It bumped my points back above a thousand.

"What the heck is this?" Red Flame asked his familiar, echoing the question we all had.

"An Anathema base. Do not touch anything until we confirm it's safe."

"KYA!!!" Ocean White screamed as a metal box suddenly sprouted an eye. I was about to smash it with my naginata, but Felicia stopped me.

"So, what do you want us to do here? This is their base, right? Should we destroy everything?" I asked.

"We should carry some of them back. They would prove to be valuable research materials."

"Even that?" We pointed to the metal box with the eye.

"Yes." Felicia nodded. I couldn't see them, but I assumed the other familiars replied similarly, as all the magical girls showed disgust. Red Flame and Sapphire Priest openly complained.

Nevertheless, we complied with their advice. The huge 500 points awarded for this mission seemed to account for these pieces of equipment. I mindlessly picked up some jars filled with mysterious liquid and random apparatus. I vaguely guessed why we would want these things, but why did Zenith want them, too?

"Felicia, why would Zenith want these?"

"We study Anathema. Any information against them is useful. Moreover, while Anathema can bend the laws of reality, they can't ignore them entirely without a high cost in mana. As such, they mutate to better suit this world." I tilted my head at her answer but decided to ignore it. Felicia was talking about resources. So Anathema had them, too. She sounded like Anathema had sapience, even though our school books clearly marked them as non-sentient beings hellbent on world destruction.

"So, you need this?"

"My apologies. I didn't answer your question directly. We need them to research how they manipulate mana to bend natural laws as little as possible. If you're eager to know more, the research facility is in Eden, somewhere in the Northern District."

"The Laboratory and Material Compounding Center?" I recalled one of Shirayuki's branch departments. Being from a branch family, I didn't know much about it except for its name, so I didn't even know what they did.

"Yes. However, the fact that we study Anathema's apparatus is classified information."

"How do you even keep it a secret?" I asked as I pulled another box into my dimensional storage.

"We said it was Zenith's untested artifacts, tainted by Anathema. We asked them to clean it and, if possible, use it."

"They agreed?"

"They were eager. They could keep the weapon, we helped them study it, and we didn't bar them from using it, copying it, or even fusing it with other tech. We only desire the data of its use."

"You make it sound like you gave it to them for free, huh? Wouldn't other MGs complain?"

"Any relevant MGs who knew, like Serene Night, were compensated appropriately, nyaa."

"...what?" I spoke out loud, making others look at me strangely. We had finished cleaning the caves and were about to go home, but Felicia's statement surprised me, and I inadvertently looked at Serene's group weirdly.

"My apologies. I shall amend my statement. Other MGs who have gone on expeditions were briefed personally by their familiars about the apparatus. We also notified them and even gave them tickets to the lab to monitor the research."

"I see."

"That will also include you and Shining's team now. Whenever you have any concerns about us using Anathema's weapon, give us a call."

"Bribing…"

"We already gave you points, nyaa. This kind of cleanup usually only warrants 100 or 200 points max. Even usurpations in the middle of Eden are paid less, nyaa." Felicia meowed. I looked at her enviously. Even though I knew compensation wasn't ideal, I couldn't help but want more points.

"I see. I guess I have to hit the lab then," Red Flame muttered on our way home. Shining and Sapphire joined in before asking me.

"Will you come too, Lily? Are you free next week after this escort?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But I still have to apply for school, then there are tests. I also need to follow up on my friends. I might come, but not next week," I muttered. By "friends," I meant the sons and daughters who worked in the Shirayuki company. So, it was more like a supervisor checking on the conditions of their employees. The company is in shambles due to the recent evacuation orders. The Shirayuki employee count in Eden suddenly swelled by almost seven thousand. We are managing for now, but I need to work with Kageyama and Father to employ the refugees to other branches of Shirayuki.

"I see." Shining gave a wry smile.

"Yes? What is it, Sugar?" Serene looked at her hand. I couldn't see it, but I assumed she was talking to her sugarglider familiar.

"Girls and boys, Sugar has told me something important. An Anathema base has begun to be seen somewhere. This means the situation has gone critical. We need to prepare for an invasion. Sugar advises that we evacuate New Soil to Eden or other sanctuary cities. Let's go to New Soil and talk to the mayor there."

"Immediately? Is this New Mesa all over again?" Shining frowned.

"Not as urgent. But evacuation plans should be made right now. And this is classified information. Zenith claims to have found the Anathema Headquarters. They are currently preparing to assault it."

"Really?" I silently asked Felicia, but she surprisingly denied it.

"There has been no word from Zenith. But they should help us, so I assume Serene was given information and surmised we would attack there in the near future."

"So, it is not D-rank exclusive information?"

"That might also be the case."

When we returned to New Soil and its high wall, Serene opted to talk to the mayor at once while I was left to manage Shirayuki company. The evacuation process was unfavorable. We departed in the morning and now, as the sun was setting, there hadn't been any progress in the evacuation effort. They hadn't wrapped the metallurgy equipment, and the container trucks we brought remained empty.

"Mr. Tanaka, why has no progress been made in the evacuation effort?" I asked.

"Umm… The evacuation will begin next week, right? Why do we need to prepare now? We still need this mold and cast for the ingots we are due to receive."

"Please at least put the boxes into the trucks. We will move them out a bit at a time."

"But, we are almost clocking out. Will this be considered overtime?"

"Please make sure to pack up tomorrow…" I sighed and let it all slide, then went to my room. This is a disaster. Should I force them to evacuate now? There are dangers with Anathema's base nearby. The base was unguarded, so it is likely the anathema rendezvous somewhere. They might come to attack us now.