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Chapter 21: We are done with this BS! time for the next!
🕑 Added 2025-05-02 13:00:10 +0000 UTCNo one bothered them as they walked out, Elizabeth found that…intriguing, and somewhat amusing, especially as the secretary at the door was flustered when she saw them walking towards the exit.
It looked as if she wanted to stop them, but at the same time wasn't brave enough to stop them.
Elizabeth didn't mind and merely motioned for Jenna and Lily to come, and in that way, Elizabeth walked out of the building, she…had gained a few things, made sure others were resolved…
"And your last will was fulfilled, Chloe," Elizabeth whispered as they walked to the street.
Elizabeth wasn't sure what or how to feel about it; she had…finally put to rest one of the greatest regrets she had about the whole Chloe dilemma. For one, she was coming to terms with the sacrifice Chloe had made, she had half hoped for Echidna to throw the letter to her face and dismiss the whole thing.
She hadn't thought that Echidna would not only read it, but that she would think that she herself was Chloe, her daughter. Or that she had wanted to raise her as one.
The fact that Nightmare Chloe had returned Echidna her memories of the pre-advent was also a plus since that had made sure that Echidna no longer wanted that, and if one added to that the fact that she was now 100% that it wouldn't be a problem…
The only real issue was that now Elizabeth had to make sure Shadow Pact wasn't a menace to society…and perhaps she would need to kill the man.
"Eli-Eli? Are you okay?" Rossie said suddenly, pulling at Elizabeth's arm, "Do you need something? A blanket? A pillow? My virginity?"
"Eli? Do you want us to turn back and destroy that building?" Rena said from the side, "I can't offer you my chest, waist…I…I don't have a virginity to offer you like Rossie, but I can do my best too!"
….First of all….Yes. Secondly of all, Yes. Third and more importantly OF COURSE THAT YES!
But more importantly.
"I'm fine." Elizabeth answered calmly, totally not hyperventilating and imagining what she could do with those offers, "I…I just…I just thought this wouldn't affect me this much."
That was the honest truth too, Elizabeth had imagined many outcomes, from Echidna ignoring her, to merely sending her away. None included an outcome where Echidna had attempted to take her in.
That…that had never been an option in what Elizabeth thought possible. Chloe had said that Echidna was a detached Mother at best and someone who ignored her at worst. Alice had said that Echidna was a proper woman with stricts codes that she liked to follow.
One who took great care about property and bloodline.
Both opinions implied that she had no reason to even like or entertain the idea of adopting Elizabeth.
"....If she…If she had shown even one percent of what interest she showed in me. Chloe would still be here…or she would have more opportunities to be around." Elizabeth said with a sigh.
"I'm happy that she didn't," Rossie suddenly said from the side.
"Rossie!" Elizabeth screamed back, surprised at those words. "How could you! Chloe was, like you, someone who was used and discarded! Nay, she wasn't even used!"
"I will not apologize," Rossie said shaking her head, "I am grateful for her sacrifice, because of her you are here with me today."
….
"If she had been loved, if she had been cared, do you think she would have offered herself to save you?" Rossie said without flinching or recoiling at Elizabeth's glare, "Do you think she would have even thought about seeking you out?"
Elizabeth knew the answer to that…probably not. She would have probably sought out Echidna about the weird desire to seek Elizabeth, thinking that she was being affected, and if Echidna was as good at mana manipulation and she could broach the use of shadows as much as she implied…
It would be possible for her to tamper with the intent within Chloe to fuse back with Elizabeth. Even with a fractured soul…Nay, with enough motherly love, it could be possible that Echidna would have managed to heal and nurture Chloe's Soul to full size.
"It is thanks to Echidna's disregard of her own daughter that you are here Elizabeth," Rossie said fully taking on Elizabeth's gaze, "It is because of her that you can be here, with me…with Rena…"
"We honor her fall," Rena said taking the other hand of Elizabeth, "And we are grateful, but make no mistake…we would sooner kill her and keep her down, if that meant ensuring you remain with us."
"...that isn't fair." Elizabeth said closing her eyes, "...she was innocent….she…."
"She made her choice," Rossie interrupted Elizabeth, "She picked you, and we will always be happy for that. You don't need to feel bad about that either, she wanted to join with you too didn't she?"
Rossie let go of Elizabeth's hand and instead pointed at Elizabeth's chest, "She decided to live within you, so you should also live for her memory. Didn't you already decide to do that? Didn't you name one of your shifts like her for that same reason?"
Rossie was right, Elizabeth had decided to do that.
fondle-fondle
"So be proud Eli-Eli, be proud of the choices you made." fondle-fondle "It is because of Chloe's sacrifice that we are standing here."
"...This would be more impactful if you weren't fondling me, Rossie," Elizabeth said, laughing, "Thank you for distracting me and reminding me that…we honor those who left us…."
"The pleasure was ALL mine Eli-Eli," Rossie answered with a cheeky smile back, "So, what's our plan then?"
"That depends on Jenna, I guess." Elizabeth pointed to the blue-haired girl who walked at the back, "Do we return to the restaurant? To a bar? or a park? We could see if the apartment we rented back during our first year is available too I guess?"
Elizabeth… didn't know what to do right now. They could always teleport back to Avalon, too, of course, but she wasn't sure if she should even bring someone like Lily near that house.
Grandmother…was not normal, and she didn't want to imagine what would happen if Lily got a sniff of her.
"None of those," Jenna said shaking her head, "We have a safe house here…or [The Twelve] did, I assume they kept it working as the [Nine Stars]?"
“......working…..not….all….but….some…..Amelia….gave….keys….” Lily said pulling out a card from within her clothes, "....should….work…."
"So not all the safe houses are working, but Amelia ensured some did," Jenna said nodding, "And that one should work for that? Fine, let's go girls."
Jenna then hailed a cab, and as they pilled on it, the older girl gave the address to the taxist. The direction was…a part of the city that Elizabeth didn't went during the time she spent in this city shrouded in shadows.
Mostly cuz her time was spent between the clinic, and the shadow parts of the city in question, besides the time she spent in the library of course. In contrast, the direction that Jenna gave was for a hotel in the fancy part of the town.
"Plenty of Shadow Users here huh?" Elizabeth couldn't help but say that as they moved.
"After [Advent] yeah," The taxist said, "Most of the things that need to be done can be accelerated with some Shadow powers, so the mayor gave grants to those with Shadow affinity so long they worked in public service."
The mayor did huh?
"Nothing to do with Echidna then?" Elizabeth said, smiling knowingly.
"Nothing official, at least," The taxists said, shrugging, "I am a former tainted who ditched the Shadows as soon as the [Advent] came,"
Elizabeth could not feel any shadow mana in him, so that was a surprise.
"Never had too much talent, not enough Shadow affinity for it to become a problem either, my power allowed me to freeze a shadow." The taxist said with a shrug, "Nothing fancy, and not many ways for the taint to mess that up, five seconds was all I ever managed."
….That….that was a dangerous power to have in a world ruled by shadows.
"So when the [Advvent] came along, I got offered a miscelaneous power and I picked it up," The taxists said with a smile on his face, "Now I can ensure the temperature in a determinated area never moves an inch forward in any direction."
And in that jovial tone, the man brought out from under the seat he was a box, "See? As fresh as this morning." And showed them his lunch.
A sandwich, a can of soda and some candy.
The man had used a traffic stop to showcase his lunch.
Elizabeth could detect the temperature of the objects using her Fire Manipulation and Wind Manipulation.
She could even use her [Identify] to confirm the temperature of the container and the things within, confirming that indeed, they remained at their set up temperatures…And the fact that the man had a skill for that…
That….that was a ridiculous overpowered skill. Elizabeth could think of several ways for that to be a busted up skill. And understood why [The World] had given him that in exchange for his previous power.
If he could freeze Echidna, Shadow Pact, or even Elizabeth's shadows for five seconds…
They would be powerless, well, Elizabeth less so. But imagine someone whose whole deal was Shadows?
And instead of that, they gave something that violated the laws of thermodynamics?
If he could keep the temperature stable of something like a fusion reaction? The man could probably move a nuclear explosion from one spot to the next, or outright prevent it.
If he…If he ensured that the temperature of something never changed…. couldn't he control the temperature outright? Lower it to freezing point, or send it up to boiling spot?
This taxist had one of the most powerful skills Elizabeth had seen in some time…and he was using it to keep his lunch fresh?
"Yeah, you are right." Jenna spoke from the side looking the box in question, turning it and examining it all over the place, "You really got the best possible skill, have you tried leveling up?"
"What for?" The taxist said as he pulled at the side of a building, "I got a nice job, the power bill never goes over the top, and the wife is expecting twins. I don't need more power, besides…what would I do? Prevent a villain from making the climate hotter?"
"Ah-" Elizabeth was about to say something when a glare from Jenna shut her down.
"Right…well, if you ever want work in the more heroical side of the world, send me a call." Jenna said pulling a card and giving it to the taxists, "We can find you a work, even if not as active Hero."
"...You someone important?" The taxist said taking the card and reading it, "A C - Tier Hero or something?"
"Or something." Jenna said nodding, "And my little sister should be popular, go check the latest videos of the MPI, even if you can't recognize her, she does end up in the video."
"Right…well, I'll take it into consideration…after making sure the credentials are up to date." The taxists said taking the card, "Not the first weirdo in the higher ends of the tier list to offer me job….why so many heroes and villains wants to save in electricity bill?"
"Hah!" Jenna laughed aloud, "Trust me, the real fight isn't between villains and heroes, but between the bills and the base."
The other girls got down of the car as the taxist left, leaving Elizabeth baffled.
"No one has ever told him?" She asked dumbfounded, "Really?"
"And what?" Jenna asked turning to Elizabeth, "That he has one of the most broken skills after the [Nine Stars]? Nay, he could be probably rank four or five if he joined…"
"That high?" Elizabeth asked, surprised, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Jenna said nodding, "The first [The Beast Master], then Echidna, Arthur, then the Italians, Lily, Amelia, [The Elementalist], and [The Monk]....not hard, right?"
"And you?" Elizabeth said confused, "You don't count?"
"I am not part of the [Nine Stars]," Jenna answered with a shrug, "But if I was, then I would be first. [The Beast Master] gets his spot because of the amount of effort he put in his power. And that is the same type of skill that taxist has. One that doesn't look like much."
"Wasn't [The Beast Master] a tamer like skill?" Elizabeth said confused.
"Indeed a like skill. He can internalize the powers of the things that he tamed." Jenna answered, walking to the door into the building, "And he has tamed a few interesting things across the ages."
".... Isn't he…. doesn't he have a whole island filled with giant monsters?" Elizabeth said remembering one of the vacations that Papa took her too, they visited an island where Elizabeth spent the whole weekend playing with giant crabs and monkeys.
"Yes he has," Jenna said, "And he can take in their powers, he has a few within his body at all times actually, that is why he is that dangerous…And why [The Elementalist] was even in the [Twelve] and [Nine Stars]."
"His boss right?" Elizabeth said, remembering what they had told her about him.
"Yeah, he was the first to see hope in him…the second one being your Father." Jenna said while they walked towards the reception desk, "We want to check in, here is our card."
"The penthouse right?" The receptionist asked, taking in the card, "It is empty, so you may proceed at your own leisure. Do you require anything?"
"No, that will be all. Make sure no one bothers us," Jenna said and turned to look at the girls behind her, "Let's go."
Elizabeth nodded and followed suit, the elevator was big enough that they all fitted quite nicely, not that it would have been an issue, Elizabeth was sure that Aura already had scoured the penthouse and was ready to teleport them in if Elizabeth asked.
The girl was like that,overly efficient in the weirdest places. Not that they needed that.
"What's the deal with these rooms?" Elizabeth asked turning to Jenna.
"Jump spots." Jenna answered, "They were landing and jumping spots for our teleportation network. Not all of us had a teleport skill…"
That seemed like a suboptimal way to move around for what were supposed to be the top heroes, no wait a second...
"Then we are going to a preset teleportation node?" Elizabeth asked feeling the mana around, she didn't detect any such place around, if this was a place set up by Mother for teleportation... Shouldn't Elizabeth feel something? Actually, if it was set up by Mother, then shouldn't it be gone after [Advent]?
"...You really think your Mother would have set something like that?" Jenna asked, stopping and looking back at Elizabeth, "Really?"
....fair point.
"Then who set them up?" Elizabeth asked confused, "I thought no one knew what the [Traveler] actually did, so it couldn't be him...right?"
"It was a team effort," Jenna said as they arrived to the door at the top, the place they had been coming, "All of those that had some way to move around provided something, some jump spots were made thanks to Shadow Pact, others to [The Elementalist], some used magic from [The Warlock], a few one used [The Prophet] miracles...But this one? This one was built by Amelia."
The door opened into a luxury room, "But like most it was lost, we need you to pull it out and see if we can get a connection to Amelia." Jenna said as Elizabeth looked around the room.
It was a very luxurious apartment, but it also didn't have anything that could imply the use of teleportation magic or skills...or anything at all.
Now...how to go about it?
