"Yuri!" bunches of Yuri came at me. However, they weren't astral shifted. They weren't Black Lily but Yuri Shirayuki.

"I was supposed to be asleep. Where am I?" I asked my clones, who were calling me incessantly.

"We unsummoned ourselves and arrived here," my clones answered.

"Are you going to accompany me in my dreams too?" I sighed. The clones shrugged. However, one of the clones rose from the floor, her eyes stone cold.

"Shirayuki…" the clone that emerged from the floor said coldly. My blood ran cold. The cheerful attitude dissipated from my clones, and we all turned stoic as our trauma emerged. "Control your emotions. Be polite and honorable. You have to be a perfect Shirayuki."

"I am no longer a Shirayuki. I am Black Lily," one of my clones answered.

"Meanie! Mama was selfish! Telling me to be Shirayuki while she ran off to Newstar!" I looked toward the clones. Why did she call Mother Jennifer 'Mama'? I wondered. When did I stop calling Mother Jennifer 'Mama'? I stopped calling her that naturally. I never thought hard about it until my clones talked like that. Was it in kindergarten? Or was it in second grade?

Memories of such times flashed before me before one of the evil clones started berating me.

"So, you are no longer a Shirayuki? You are just like her then. Fleeing when things are not comfortable for you? When you became a magical girl and your future was guaranteed, you cast away those that shackled you. The ones who invested a lot into you…" I choked. My heartbeat rose as guilt filled me. A voice resisted the mockery. It came from other clones.

"Shirayuki never cared for us. They only provided us with money…"

"Then, what do you seek if not money? Prestige? Fame? Shirayuki gave you those, too. Do you think you became a famous actress because you are pretty? Because you are good? If not for Shirayuki, you would not have even passed the preliminary round."

"We studied hard, and we never skipped our classes. Telling us that all we achieved was through money was unfair!"

"You certainly worked hard. However, remember, such classes are paid for with money—money that an average commoner would not even consider spending."

Voices of dissent and resistance continued to resound one after another. The mockery escalated until one of my clones started to bring out her weapon. Nevertheless, we were one to begin with. The evil clones merely smirked at the futile attempt of the other clones.

"So, you are no longer a Shirayuki. You are no longer Yuri… but you are Black Lily…" the evil clones chuckled as one of my clones cut off her head. We were in a dream, so her head merely returned to where it belonged. The evil clones then disappeared, leaving a parting voice. "Are you worthy? Are you worthy of becoming the light and hope of humanity when you don't have one yourself?"

That was the final nail in the coffin, and I screamed in panic. "No. NO!!"

Images flashed before my eyes. The worshiping gaze of my friends grew stronger. People lined up and said that I was the future, the only hope of the Shirayuki's company. I was soon to be the leader of Shirayuki. My coworkers' expectant gazes. Then came Mr. Tanaka, who lost his job because of me. The disappointed faces of people who went homeless.

"No! I don't want to be a Shirayuki! I don't want to be a Magical Girl!" I screamed. The scenery quickly disappeared as I was greeted by a dark room. I looked at the surroundings; it wasn't my room in Eden or New Mesa. This room was much smaller.

"Yuri? What's wrong?" Felicia turned on the light. She then hopped back into my bed and loafed beside me. "Nightmare?"

I nodded. Was she the one who woke me? My heart was still beating fast. When I looked at Felicia, I wondered if she also expected something from me. Felicia yawned like a cat. Then she loafed back and took a sleeping pose. Even though she looked like she was sleeping, her voice was clear in my head.

"Will you go back to sleep, head back to the city, or go somewhere else?" Her question puzzled me.

"Is it my choice?"

"Of course. I am your familiar."

"Magical Girls usually have orders, don't they? Like killing Anathema or returning to Eden..." I asked her.

"The choice is yours. Guardians are free. Others can ask you to do something, but it is ultimately your choice to agree or not."

"If people don't follow orders, won't that cause a disaster? If you don't follow traffic laws, for example…" I asked her, reminiscing about my years as a student before I was a Magical Girl. Yuri was expected to be kind and helpful. I remember when I tried to be selfish and refused to act in a play, choosing to stay at home and laze about. The film producer then replaced me, and the movie bombed, causing the team to be fired. Then, there was another time when I didn't act as an honor student. My parents came to school and questioned my entire class and its teacher.

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When people didn't follow orders, it caused suffering. When I didn't help people with their bullying or their studies, they would fail the class and become targets of bullying from society. Some even stopped coming to school and became recluses in the shelter. When I was in elementary school, I was praised by my parents for being such a wonderful child. That pride and yearning soon turned into a curse. If I didn't excel, it meant something was wrong with me.

"Hm… that's true. Saying that you may do as you please might be the antithesis of what a Magical Girl is. The reason why we can confidently say so is because we discern that your nature is good. Every familiar believes that even if they give their host unlimited freedom, the world will turn for the better. There is no need for forced concession, trade, or rules."

I tilted my head but then understood. Felicia believed in me. It wasn't Zenith who believed in me; it was her. Zenith created her for me. She was somehow, through an infinitesimal chance, created to be my soulmate, unlike my clones, who shared my thoughts and memories. She was made to complement me, not merely copy me. She would support me even if I did something wrong. Her advice would be firm, but she would still support me. That's why Zenith implemented countermeasures like gate points and stats. That's why Guardian Command was made. Familiars exist for their masters. They don't bow to even their makers, the Zenith.

"Thank you." I hugged her, then laid down again. Pinning her and turning her into a pillow.

"You know, cats actually hate being hugged like this. A human's body weight is much greater than a cat's, making them feel unsafe," Felicia commented as I snuggled her.

"You aren't a real cat, right? Hold it for a bit. What time is it?"

"4 AM."

"Then wake me at 6:30 as usual, and we'll return to the city. I am a Magical Girl. I will defeat every Anathema and curse seed I can find!"

"Okay…" I then released my hug but still kept my hand on her back as we fell asleep. Felicia was such a wonderful cat. If I didn't do my part as a Magical Girl, she might be taken away. I needed to do my best.

In my dream, my clones appeared again. The evil clones sneered while my other clones looked at them in disgust, brandishing their Naginata. They all multiplied.

"Even those Naginata no jutsu techniques were learned with support from Shirayuki's dojo. Why don't you just accept it? You are just an ungrateful wench. Even now, you choose to exile yourself. Even if you choose to be a Magical Girl and not a Shirayuki, you should return to Eden and become a poster girl, spreading hope like Magical Girl Pink Heart. Ah, but without Shirayuki's help, who would support you? Maybe Newstar Co.? Or maybe Enra. But you guys hate them too, right? Why not give yourself to Shirayuki? Or would you like to be independent?"

"Shut up! We are not whores who would sell our bodies wherever possible! We deserve to do it our own way! We are not puppets!"

"Everyone! Stop fighting." I clapped my hands once. The voice then silenced everyone.

"So, the main Yuri finally returns. What does Princess Yuri have to say to her subjects? Any orders?" one of the evil clones sneered. Hearing the term' Princess Yuri' made my skin crawl. All the trauma seemed to return to me. The responsibility of being Shirayuki's daughter weighed on me.

"Hah…" I breathed, trying to calm myself before replying.

"I will return to Shirayuki in time, clones of order." I looked at the evil clones. I smiled, then put my hands on her shoulder. "But I want to see outside for a bit. Shore up my experience. I want to help Shirayuki not as their puppet, but as their family. Do you get it?"

The clones shuddered. Then, they smiled. "We shall await when the time comes. We hope it will not be too late."

I then walked to my other clones. "Thank you, clones of freedom. Do you accept my decision?"

"Yes! We don't want to abandon Shirayuki either! We didn't like it when they were mean. But we didn't want to see it get destroyed either! Please help them when you have time!" Then I woke up with a pang in my head. I didn't hear any sound, but it felt like something knocked my head from the inside. I woke up with a start only to see Felicia looking at me intently.

"What's that?"

"That's my built-in alarm clock. I was thinking of stepping on your face to mimic a cat again, but I wondered if this futuristic and silent alarm clock would be more to your liking."

"A simple nudge and telepathic meowing would suffice, Felicia," I mumbled. She was so proficient in assisting me during combat like we had been partners for years, but when it came to this simple task, she just knew how to tick me off. Was that on purpose? Or was she lacking in common sense?

"Roger."

I transformed, put my house back into storage, and summoned my jeep. We drove back to the city and found it repopulated with Anathema, including the places I had cleared yesterday. I expected the Anathema and curse seeds to regenerate, but not this much. Moreover, it was getting harder to level up. I had been hacking at these Anathema for an entire day and had only gained three levels.

"Do we have to do this from the beginning again?" I muttered.

"The hot zones stayed mostly the same, so you don't have to revisit the areas you previously cleared. But we can expect the rest to be well-guarded. You might even have to use your signature."

"I see. We only need to destroy the fake and real curse seeds."

"You only need to destroy the real curse seed, but our sensor couldn't differentiate between the real and the lesser curse seeds, so I guess we have to visit them all."

I stopped outside the city. If we only needed to destroy the seeds, we should employ some stealth tactics. But except for mimic, I don't have any skills for stealth. I have skills that unveil hidden enemies, but none that hide me from them.

"Felicia, do you have something for stealth missions?"

"If you open the Terran clothes vault up to rare for 1,100 points, you could get a thermal stealth cloak with patterned camouflage for 150 points. You could also get soundproofing boots for the same price. If you upgrade to Masterwork for 10,000 points, you could have an invisibility cloak for 1,500 points. The usual sets for stealth specialists include soundproofing boots, an invisibility skinsuit and helmet, and either a resonation stealth cloak or thermal stealth cloak."

"..." I then summoned some clones for ideas. They are technically me, so I don't expect much. But I don't want to spend points like that. I need them for my primary weapons.

"Felicia, can we use the mimic spell to look like an Anathema and sneak around?" one of my clones with cat ears asked her.

...She has cat ears.

"Are those ears from the mimic spell?" the other clones asked. When she nodded, they started mimicking her, and cat ears grew from their heads. Some of the cat ears were black, and some were white.

"Hm… probably. As long as they don't look at you too intently, you could pass as one of their own. But they have mana sight, and Magical Girl's mana is essentially different from that of Anathema. If they checked, you will be discovered," Felicia said.

"Let's just kill the ones that look at us, nyaa!"

"How about weapons?"

"If you transform into a phantasmic ghoul, you could still use your weapon since you still have your hands. So, it would be preferable to transform into that kind of Anathema."

"Roger! Let's go!"