Now that she had seen Akira's [Origin] for what it was, she was at the very least more comfortable with her next step, granted she hadn't been sure it would show like that. So far, she knew that [Origins] weren't exactly a known science for her.
Hell, she didn't understand half of what her own [Origin] had shown to her, but Akira's Origin?
Yeah, that couldn't be read any other way but the obvious one, he was [The Depraved Tyrant], there weren't many ways that one could be read.
"I could ignore you before. Even if you weren't a player, you have a good body, so I wouldn't mind letting you live." Akira said as the knight's sword dissolved into motes of sludge-looking mana and fell onto the floor, eroding it and making a sizzling sound. "Hell, even if you were a forty-year-old man inside that meatsuit I wouldn't mind it, you do you and all of that."
His mana seemed to boil more and more within his [Vessel] as he spoke. Elizabeth wasn't sure what he was thinking as of right now, why would he even think she was a forty-year-old man inside her body? Wasn't she feminine enough? What the hell kind of world did Akira come from?
"But this will be your last chance, Lizzy, [Kneel to me], become my [Meat sack], and I will maybe let a figment of your [Self] survive within that body. Hell, I may even let whatever daughter you birth be my [Slave]. " Akira said as she heard the scream of agony in her mind from her [Shadow Scout] running away from within Akira's shadow. "Hoh...So that's how you did it, you wormed a [bug] within my shadow?"
"[Report....Mistress...Target...has...arrived...at...breaking...point.... beware...]" Her shadow scout said as a last status screen flared within her mind.
Status
Name: Suzuki Akira
Title: [Hero Trainee]
Passive Titles:
[The Promised Hero]
[Awakened - Brave]
[The one who ran away]
Level: 30
Health: 100%
Mana: 100%
Stamina: 100%
Age: Body 17
Soul: 50 / Degrading
Strength: 200 +170
Constitution: 36 +20
Agility: 100 + 270
Dexterity: 90 + 60
Intelligence: 20 + 80
Wisdom: 5
Charisma: 5
Job: [Hero]
Job Skills[9]:
General Skills (9)
Title Skills: (4)
She confirmed the last bit of information and thanked the [Minion] while sending him towards the [Healers] within her [Shadow Haven], not sure if it would help, but she wanted to make sure the one that risked [Corruption] from such nasty mana had the best chances to survive.
She wasn't quite sure where she stood with all the [Minions] having Souls that she had going, but for now, she would treat them as companions, lest she end up mistreating them only to find that Beato or Sebastian would feel unwanted...
But for now, she focused on Akira who was waiting for her answer, she found it interesting that he wasn't sending more mana threads her way, had he learned his lesson?
"So, you want me to become like [Rena], and the only advantage of it would be that whatever hellspawn that was birthed would maybe survive long enough to replace me?" Asked Elizabeth, feeling dirty from the mere thought of such a cruel fate.
"Being the [Daughter] of a top [Hero] like me should be blessing enough for them. Serving me? That would be a reward in itself." Akira answered back at her as a bastard sword manifested in his hand.
"My answer will be a [No], or to be precise it will be a [Go and F#ck yourself.]" Elizabeth answered at Akira.
And after doing so she started her plan, it was simple enough really. She first commanded her [Minions] to spring from within the shadowed floor to burst forward, each hidden within a [Shadow Spear] and all of them flying straight at Akira at the fastest speed possible for her mana.
He, however, didn't seem to be too unsettled from this, "[Buster Sword - Sevenfold defense.]" Akira intoned as his buster sword broke into seven different swords that danced around him.
He then started by grabbing the nearest to him and using that one he sliced in two the first attack from the closest spear, then when his sword inevitably got stuck in the claws of her minions, he discarded it and grabbed the next one. Like this, he started dancing around as he grabbed the next sword and repeated it like that.
His swords were bathed in his murky mana and they eroded the shadow minions clinging to them, so as they evaporated and returned to her [Shadow haven] for decontamination the swords got released, and so, he continued his macabre dance as he slashed apart the attacks that flew to him.
Dancing around the seven swords as he struck down each one of her attacks, it wasn't long before he had finished the round of spears that she had sent toward him. And as he finished them off, he threw one sword after the next merging them back into the original buster sword.
"Heh, I knew that those skills were better put to use in a [Hero] like me. That bitch could never do something like this even with all those levels she has over me." Akira smirked at the sword as he pointed it towards Elizabeth. "Let's see, how was it again? Oh right...It was [Getsuga Ten$50u]."
And as he finished those words he swinged his sword down, but unlike before that Elizabeth hadn't been ready, she knew what to expect, so her body started moving as soon as the mental command to her [Shadow Puppeteer] skill pinged.
Her body started reacting as soon as the sword blade started flying towards her, only, unlike the one before, this one was faster and sharper. It was traveling almost twice as fast as the one before. Her body still managed to get out of the way (Mostly), but the sharp mana within the attack still managed to hurt her.
As the sharp winds created from the attack left cuts all over her [Shift], and that wasn't the worst part of it, each wound created from that attack somehow managed to make her [Bleed], not mana like it should be since she was in her [Shift], but actual blood.
Her body still managed to close those wounds as they got created, but she was still concerned from the wounds created from the attack, that shouldn't be possible.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"Stop dodging, if you are a [Player] you should fight like one." Akira said with an annoyed tinge in his voice. "Or if you aren't a [Player] but an [NPC] then act like one and become [EXP] for a [Hero] to grow!"
That was getting annoying, "[Fire]+ [Water]+ [Wind] +[Lightning]+[Earth]+[Light]+[Shadows]+[Space]+[Merge]= [Barrage Elemental Blaster]" And after merging almost all the elements Elizabeth knew she launched her [Spell].
Seven different magic circle joined manifested around her as they merged above and shot a rainbow colored barrage of attacks towards Akira, she wasn't under the delusion that this would make him flinch or anything.
Really, he had so many stats above her that it was possible that he may even think about tanking the attack, but in the end his self-entitlement won as his [Buster Sword] split in seven diferent swords once more.
She didn't even deign to listen to what he was saying as she left the control of her [Barrage] to her Royal Mages, instead she focused her mind into the next spell she needed to cast.
"[Soul]+[Mind]+[Shadow]+ [Body of Mana] +[Transform]= [Shadow Meld]" And with that she felt her body transform into a stream of shadows that sank into the arena floor.
Akira was too busy trying to dodge or destroy her [Barrage], up there in place of her body she materialized a [Shadow Doppelganger], a skill that she hated with all her [Soul], but that it was just too useful to not use, she had dug into her [Soulscape] till she found enough remanent of its use to materialize it once more and then immediately [Banked] it.
She didn't want to touch it, and it seemed that those [Banked] skills didn't grow with [Proficiency] or skill levels, but with her knowledge of the skill and its use.
So, while she wouldn't get nice bonus from it, so long she understood what she was doing she could use it nicely enough, and since she [Knew] herself, she could make [Doppelgangers] of herself easily enough. Not that they had that much power, nor were a game changer. Most of what those [Shadow Doppelgangers] could do, she could do easily enough without one in the area.
But the ability to pretend to be in two places at the same time? No way that wasn't going to be useful in the future, and while she could only link her [Sight] with them, she had hopes for the other senses remaining to join soon enough.
But for now?
"[Move along with the plan, try to not get hit]." She ordered to the [Doppelganger] as her [Self] traveled within the shadows to her target.
Akira had almost finished dealing with her [Barrage] and was still speaking about something, she could see the [Chain] that traveled towards Rena shining brightly under her [Sight], and [Mana] traveling towards Akira from it.
It wasn't the murky mana that he wielded, instead it was fire red mana that turned darker and murkier as it traveled towards Akira, she had a bad feeling about that one, but tried to not think too much about it. Instead, when she was close enough to Akira she moved to the next part of her plan.
"[Start phase 2]." She ordered her [Shadows], and as her orders left her metaphorical mouth her doppelganger started chanting. "[Dwellers of the dark heed my call, rise from within the deep place hidden from mankind, rise once more and bring forth the destruction that plagued the birthplace of your kind...."]
That sounded slightly more ominous than she remembered, wasn't the original chant that her [Doppelganger] was going to use a bastardiced version of Alexanders?
"[...RISE ONCE MORE, SEVER THE TIES FORGED IN BLOOD, SEVER THE TIES UNILATERALLY CREATED BY THOSE THAT SEEK TO DESTROY, SEVER AND SEVER AGAIN.]" The voice of her [Doppelganger] started to resonate within the shadow dome. Echo’s from the maws of her shadows speaking with her, each one distorted, a mockery of the voice of a human.
"[SEVER ALL THAT EXISTS UNDER THIS CURSED HEAVEN, SEVER ALL THAT EXISTS UNDER THIS CURSED BLOOD, SEVER ALL THAT EXISTS FOR THE AMUSEMENT OF THE TYRANTS IN THEIR BLOODSTAINED THRONES MADE OF GOLD AND JEWELS, SEVER ALL THAT WAS MADE WITH THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT.]" Was...Was her [Doppelganger] okay?
"[UNDER THE MAIDEN OF SPACE FORMER NAME, I CALL UPON THY THE JUGDEMENT OF THE STARS!]" Her [Doppelganger] was what!?!?
"[STAR ANNIHILATOR]!™" And with that her [Doppelganger]'s hair shone in a mysterious purple light as the shadows behind her shone with the light of a constellation made of purple stars.
Her mana didn't felt like hers, it felt...filled with [Pain], but it still formed a magical circle with the design of a [Wanning Moon], and when it finished forming a purple beam of light shot straight at Akira.
He however didn't mind all of it, instead he stuck his sword in the arena floor near himself and started his own chant. "[In the name of all that is-]" It was probably a self-serving chant full of pompous words and a chant full of lies.
"[Chance!]" But for Elizabeth it was the best chance for her move. She quickly darted behind Akira and turned all the shadows behind Akira into a spear of darkness, the design was normal enough, it was a spear made with the core of [Stabby] and reinforced with all the mana she could spare.
The spear had veins made of azure light bathed in golden mana, it was a spear that resembled the spike that the world had used to attack her before, so she knew of the efficiency of this design.
And without further ado "[SHOOT]! " She attacked Akira with it.
"[-for all that is sacr] WHAT THE HELL?!?" Akira's chant got interrupted as his reflexes (Probably those that he stole from Rena as his body flared with Red Mana before he reacted) made him spin and grab the buster sword to deflect the spear made of shadows. " DON'T YOU HAVE SHAME? YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO ATTACK IN A TRANSFORMATION CHANT OR ATTACK CHANT!"
But it was too late, she hadn't traveled with the spear of shadows core mana, instead she had traveled under the shadow of her attack, and she was right now... within Akira's defense.
"[DEVOUR]!" And so, she morphed her [Self], her [Identity], her [SOUL] to truly embrace what her [Origin] was, she turned herself into [THE DEVOURER], but more importantly, she turned herself into [The One who weaved shadows]. And so, she dove within the [Shadow] of Akira, deep into his [Self].
"Wha-?" Was the last thing Elizabeth Starbright heard in the realm of the living as her [Self] morphed closer and closer to a [Shadow], as she dove deeper and deeper into Akira.
She turned from a human to mana, from mana into [Idea], and from [Idea] into [Shadows]. And as she dived deeper into what made Akira who he was, she found herself melding into nothingness.
So, the next time she manifested herself as [Her] she was surprised for where she had found herself. Why? Well, because she was within a school building.
It was similar to the MPI main building except for a few differences, first of all.
This school was wrong, no student was in a classroom and they all traveled from building to building smiling while speaking about nothing between them, they all seemed busy, but at the same time, they were going in circles.
Second of all, the students themselves were wrong, how? Easy, they all were females, there wasn't a single male on the campus as far as Elizabeth could see, and while it could mean that it was an all-female school, not even those that looked like teachers were male. Not the custodian, nor the guards, the prefect, teachers, cooks, gardener...no one.
Third, and this was the main important reason, all the females dressed in miniskirts with shirts that stuck to their body and they all had more cleavage than fabric.
" Where is your uniform?" And if that wasn't enough, a girl rushed to Elizabeth while speaking at her angrily, she was a blonde girl with blue eyes and a body that would make an actress weep.
"You can't be around looking like this, what would our [KING] think, come with me, I have a spare uniform, you seem to be my size so it should work for you...And if not, we can pretend that you are using the sports uniform." The blonde started speaking while grabbing her by the hand and pulling her towards the school building.
Elizabeth could see other girls moving around, speaking and writing silly letters into envelopes with hearts in them, they all kissed them close, dripped their perfume, put their hair and one even fondled her chest with the letter. They all were crazy.
"Did you found a new student trying to worm into our [KING]'s attention by being different Lizzy?" A pink-haired girl spoke to the blonde that had brought Elizabeth into a changing room.
"You think she did it for that reason Lina?" Asked the blonde as she turned to the new girl that had walked into the room.
Elizabeth couldn't think straight right now, the world seemed to be wrong, "Rossie?" she said as she took the figure of the new girl into consideration.
It... looked like her Rossie, but it was [WRONG], this girl had waist long hair unlike the short hair her Rossie used, all the girls around had waist long hair with ponytails now that she took the place in full.
"Rossie? I'm Rossaline Singh, or how our [KING] named me, Lina." [FAKE]Rossie said as she turned to the blonde, "Just like how Lizzy was Elizabeth Starbright before our [KING] bestowed his [SEED] to her and baptized her."
"Lina, not in front of the new girl...You will make me blush remembering my baptize." The blonde girl blushed as she fondled her chest with one hand and the other went into her skirt.
"[...stres....no.....sig.....nal....gen....cy....tocol....gage.....]" Elizabeth received part of a transmition from her shadows, but she ignored it.
She couldn't feel a single [Shadow] right now, "Oh...I see...So this is how it is..." Elizabeth smiled as she saw both girls, both...[THINGS].
She felt within herself and found her body didn't seem to function as it should, she didn't felt the need to breath at all, nor was anyone breathing for that matter, she touched her hand and searched for a pulse and found not only her body cold, but no pulse at all was within.
Afterwards she grabbed the hands of the blonde and the pink-haired [THING] and found no pulse either in both girls, they didn't even felt warm at all.
"Hey! Only our [KING] can touch us!" Screamed the pink [HIDEOUS THING] as she fought to release herself from Elizabeth's hand, she seemed almost deranged as she did so.
In the meanwhile, Elizabeth focused and exclaimed "[BEAT]" as she forced the [Mana] within her body to kickstart.
Nothing.
"[BEAT]" She ordered once more, this time transforming part of her [Mana] into [Lightning] and discharging it into herself, she screamed as the shock traveled through her body.
She felt part of her [Self] burn within and felt lightheaded. That had [Burned] part of her [Existence] away, that was dangerous, she would need something stronger to kickstart it again.
But how was she supposed to get more mana without her [Mana Heart] generating it?
"Lina I think this girl is crazy!" The blonde [Thing] spoke as it hugged the pink [HIDEOUS THING].
"Maybe...maybe we should get our [KING] ? He should know what to do Lizzy!" The pink [HIDEOUS THING] spoke back at the blonde one.
Oh right...She only needed [Mana]...
"Well well well, I think I know just the right thing to fix this." Elizabeth smiled as her clothes turned into [Mana] and then morphed into shadow chains that flew straight at the two [THINGS]. She walked towards the door of the changing room and with a cling she locked it close.
"...wha- Is it Sunday already? Will you prepare us for our [KING]'s dinner?" Asked the pink [HIDEOUS THING].
"Oh, you scared me for a second, why didn't you said so? Now it makes sense why you don't have your uniform, you were going to use mine right? Our [KING] loves to find multiple smells in our uniforms after all, that is why I use a different part from multiple girls in mine!" The Blonde [Thing] said.
But she was too busy changing her clothes into [Shadow Constructs] she would need to [DEVOUR] two whole [THINGS] to turn into mana, so she needed to be sure that she would be able to digest them and turn them into [Mana] to kickstart her [Mana Heart].
But for now?
"[DEVOUR]" She opened her mouth as the shadows that got created from her clothes turned into dragon maws and she bited down into the two [THINGS].
All that could be heard was a crunchy and wet sound from the changing room, followed by the screams of two [THINGS] as they tried to fight back. It didn't last long before only silence was the only thing that remained.
Followed by small cries of a girl in an empty room.
"...I'm sorry Rossie." And after those words the whole room shone with the light of thunder as it rained down into the room. Lightning strike after Lightning strike. It took almost 14 attempts before the cries of Elizabeth calmed down.
But in the end...
*boom*
A single beat could be heard, as it started to gain speed and soon enough it turned rhythmic. The [Dragon Heart] had awaken.