The cloudy sky cast a dreary atmosphere over the abandoned city. As Felicia predicted, even though we mimicked their appearances, once we got within ten meters, one of them started getting closer, forcing us to kill it. When we killed one, the others began to swarm us. Thankfully, it was in the outer zones, so they only brought ten phantasmic ghouls.

"It's not working…" I muttered. None of the Anathema were fooled.

"This kind of disguise only works on humans, who rely on their visual senses," Felicia sighed.

"Are there any anathema that rely on their visual senses like humans?"

"There are many kinds of Anathema. Such classification might exist. But don't depend too much on it. As far as low-level Anathema in my archive goes, even though their senses were degraded, they have life detection, mana detection, visual, and hearing detection."

"So I have to fool all their senses if I want to play hide and seek?"

"It is fortunate that Anathema's mana and life detection get worse the bigger they are. They won't notice you unless you are almost beside them, which is how you survived New Mesa. But there are no other living beings here, and most of them are low-level Anathema scouts. Once you kill one of them, they will feel it and surround you."

I marched on with five other clones. We no longer used our mimic spell, but that didn't mean we stood out in the open. We zigzagged through small alleyways in the abandoned city to our destination. From a distance, I saw a five-meter anathema guarding an entrance to a sports building.

"That Anathema looks high-leveled. Do you think I can take it?"

"If it is one-on-one, maybe. But you will be surrounded here, not just by small fry phantasmic ghouls but also by chariots and shooters. It is too risky."

"I see. If only I could see the seed, we could destroy it with our sniper rifle," I muttered.

"Should I scout? That way, we could determine the location of the curse seed," Felicia suggested.

"Won't it be dangerous? Ah, I mean, will you feel pain?"

"No. This body is merely a mana construct. I will not be hurt in the slightest. Moreover, I have proper stealth imbued. Unless there are Anathema specialized in detection, I should be able to sneak in safely."

"Okay. Help me, Felicia."

"Roger, nyaa."

Felicia then climbed down the building and sneaked inside. Through my mana eyes, the building seemed larger than it actually was. The building looked like a department store. It was a massive building with many parking spots in the back. Felicia saw the curse seed in the middle of it. The seed was larger than usual, about the size of a person's head, instead of the typical half fist-sized gem. It emanated an ominous aura and had wispy tentacles that spread out, probably reaching the other lesser curse seeds.

"Bingo. We are lucky. This is the real curse seed," Felicia reported through telepathy.

"How are we going to destroy it? It is surrounded by walls."

"This is a building from the old era. The walls are made from bricks and some even used gypsum. Our FMJ sniper bullet should be able to pierce it," Felicia analyzed. "But you haven't had the opportunity to snipe through cover. Guardian Academy had some lessons for long-range attackers which might interest you later."

"We are not in Eden, Felicia."

"My apologies. To make matters short, will you take the shot? I could tell you the coordinates. Fortunately, you have the Mana Eye skill. This will make things easy. I could guide you to fire your shots."

"Okay. Thank you."

"Alright. Hold the rifle firm and steady. See the marker from the tracking skill? Your mana eye provides you with the distance to the curse seed," Felicia guided me. After ten long minutes that seemed to last an eternity, she told me to fire. The bullet pierced the brick wall and went straight into the curse seed. It wasn't a bullseye, either because it went through obstacles or because my stats were not high enough, but it hit a bit lower than I hoped. Nevertheless, it was enough to shatter the gem.

[Destroyed: Curse seed]

[Reward: 250 Points]

[Remaining Points: 7960 (7710+250)]

The reward was bigger than the previous curse seed, probably because it was larger. I began to wonder if the system had a tier list for how big the curse seed could get.

"Lily, stop daydreaming. Run! The Anathema has located you!" Felicia warned as the entire horde of Anathema swarmed toward me. If it was just the small fry-like phantasmic ghouls, it wouldn't matter. But among them were high-level chariots, and even the boss monster that guarded the curse seed joined in.

"Let's just use horcrux…" I sighed. After I activated the skill, my body teleported, pain coursing through it as the fabric of reality was cut through, sending me outside the city. When I returned, a shattering sound indicating aura break was heard.

"Good work. Now we have one less curse seed to worry about."

"Ouch!" I looked at my hand; it was bleeding and I felt nauseous.

"Apparently, the further you teleport, the greater the damage," Felicia said. "Horcrux was not supposed to be used like a normal teleportation spell. It was a skill made to save you from a pinch."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"What good would it do when it harms me like this…" I muttered, remembering New Mesa. When I used horcrux, I was teleported with a bunch of broken bones. Sure, the fatal wound I received from the behemoth recovered, but it was replaced by a lot of misaligned bones and internal organ damage.

"It skips the casting part. Normal teleportation needs to stabilize the rift in space, while horcrux forcibly sends you through the rift as fast as possible. That's what causes the damage. In a sense, this is a flawed skill, but better than nothing. Even a C-rank MG would have trouble fighting that many Anathema, though not impossible."

"What kind of monsters do A and B-rank Magical Girls face?" I wondered.

"When you're on expeditions, there are some boss monsters whose levels can go up to 200. That's where they get the experience from."

"I see."

"But that doesn't mean they can't appear in Eden. There have been several incidents where B-rank or even A-rank anathema emerged from the usurpation in Eden. Thankfully, due to RED detecting it six hours early, there were no casualties."

"Hm… what's going to happen to the stray anathema without a curse seed?" I looked toward the city. The Anathema on the outskirts seemed to recede.

"The anathema will gather and form a new seed."

"Eh? Does that mean all of our work was in vain?" I squealed.

"At the very least, it prevents the usurpation zone from enlarging…. Hm?" Felicia looked beside me as I pondered whether to keep assaulting this city. If I keep destroying their curse seeds, it will decrease their growth. Less growth means fewer Anathema. If they produce fewer Anathema, I could eventually liberate this place.

"What?" I eventually asked her when I realized she was frozen in place.

"People… my senses tell me they are humans." I quickly turned and readied my weapons. I have fought Anathema that mimicked human voices. It is possible these are Anathema in disguise.

"Hello," three people warily greeted me. Two men and one girl. From the top of their heads to the bottom of their feet, they looked human.

"Huh? You said yesterday there couldn't be humans in here!"

"It seems I was mistaken. They are human."

Felicia and I communicated through telepathy, so the other party couldn't possibly hear us. I returned their greeting warily.

"Who are you? What is a little girl like you doing here in the middle of nowhere?" one of the men asked.

"I am Magical Girl Black Lily. I am here because… I want to kill Anathema." I didn't want to tell them that I ran away from home like a problem child, so I made up a little lie.

"My name is Jim, this is Catherine, and this is John," he introduced his group.

"That's a nice spear. Where did you get it? Did you have a shaman pray over it? Normal weapons won't work against Anathema."

"This is a Zenith weapon made especially for fighting Anathema."

"What's a Zenith?"

I looked at her, puzzled. Who in the world didn't know who Zenith was? Was it a trick question?

"Zenith? Are you perhaps from Sanctuary cities?" the man asked.

"Huh? Where else would I be from if not a sanctuary city?" I asked, puzzled. For a moment, I thought they were specially trained soldiers for expedition reconnaissance, but their gear was a bit too inadequate. They were only armed with spears, after all. The girl had a handgun, though.

"That Zenith? This is a chance! Hand over everything you have!" the girl shouted, but another man knocked her on the head before I could even do anything.

"Don't be stupid! There is no way we could do anything to Zenith's soldiers!"

"Felicia?"

"I have no idea. From their manner of speech, they appear to be outlanders who haven't set foot in sanctuary cities. I assume they lived outside the sanctuary cities and somehow survived by scavenging food from nearby shopping malls," Felicia surmised.

"Wouldn't the Anathema get to them?"

"As long as there are fewer than 100 people, their life signs would be too small for the larger Anathema to notice."

"I see."

"What do you mean by 'I see?'" the man asked warily. Even though he was the one who stopped her from pointing her gun at me, he readied his spear.

"I was just talking to my familiar. If we have no further business, let me go my own way. I promise not to touch any food around here," I answered.

"Lily, will you leave them?" Felicia chided me.

"What do you want? They don't seem to need any help. I'm awkward around people. After what happened in New Soil three days ago, I'm hesitant to meet people." I frowned. I am a magical girl, but people's expectations were too heavy to carry.

"Please ask them whether they want to move to the sanctuary cities or whether they have Magical Guardians there. Those spears appear to be enchanted and aligned, but they aren't in the spear vault."

"Hm? What do you mean an enchanted spear not in the vault?" I tilted my head. Before I could process what she meant by an enchanted spear that wasn't in the spear vault, I chose to obey her.

"Are you civilians stranded here? If so, would you like to move to Eden?"

"No… Life here might be harsh, but it is our choice. Besides, I can't leave my father here."

"We could take them."

"My father was kicked out of the sanctuary cities! They said he and our family will forever be exiled!" the man cried out. Before I could process what he meant, Felicia jumped to my shoulder with a warning.

"Anathema detected. We were a bit too loud. Prepare for combat."

A wave of despair as the Anathema cried tingled over my skin. Some stray Anathema belonging to the usurpation zone whose curse seed I just destroyed approached. Fortunately, there were merely twenty-ish of them, and they were all low leveled.

"No… We are going to die…" the outlanders said.

"Don't worry, we have Zenith warriors with us. At the very least, they will repel the Anathema coming their way. Black Lily is your codename, right? So, what's the plan? Run or fight? If you choose to flee, please help us a bit. We're on the same side against Anathema, right?" The wary man, Jack, pleaded for my help. His roundabout way of asking was both pleasing and irritating. He didn't expect much from me, which was pleasing, but he also hoped desperately for my help, which irritated me.

Nevertheless, I am a magical girl, so I chose to help them. After telling them to find a safe place to hide, I mopped up the phantasmic monsters with my naginata without using any magic. Fortunately, all of them were phantasmic ghouls, monsters below level 10.

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

[Reward: 200 Points]

[Remaining Points: 8160 (7960+200)]

After clearing out the small fry, I looked toward where they hid. Felicia kindly marked it for me. The girl excitedly came out and praised me for my prowess while the men had a more subdued reaction, a mix of awe and fear.

"So, let me introduce myself again. I am Magical Girl Black Lily. I came from Eden, and after the evacuation of New Soil, I chose to wander around for reconnaissance."

"We are an exile from Sanctuary cities, mainly Eden. We are nomads, never staying in one place for more than a year."

"I see. Where do you live now? May I come to visit you?" I asked.

"We can't give you food!" the girl retorted. The other two smacked her.

"I don't need food. I merely wonder how humans survive outside Sanctuary cities. Are you perhaps survivors of the frontier projects? If you need help, I could offer some assistance. Maybe a bit of medicine or even food?" I offered politely. Felicia had asked me to go to their settlement, so somehow, my days of being obsequious and polite resurfaced.

"Frontier projects? What's that?"

"Sorry. This girl was born outside of Sanctuary cities. She had her twelfth birthday just a month ago. Let me bring you to our settlement. And if you offer us your help, we'll take what we can."

Although Jim was wary, the mere offer of food and medicine seemed to outweigh the risk. And so, I was guided through the wasteland and into a cave in the mountains.