The travel… wasn't that bad, besides the fact that Rossie continued attempting to find something to call her Alice shift. She was between Ali-Ali and Lice, neither called to Elizabeth to be honest. It was part that it would be how they would speak to this form, and the fact that this form was more of a borrowed form than anything.

  Elizabeth wasn't sure if she would ever use it that much, she had decided to use it because it was what she was been seen as when moving around here, but this was Alice's form, it was like if she was using her older sister clothes.

  One didn't use their older sister's clothes like that; it was rude.

  Even so, Elizabeth left Rossie to her shenanigans since it seemed to settle the pink-haired girl's nerves; she had been…fidgety all the time since they arrived in Londonium, and Elizabeth could make an educated guess about why.

  This city had meaning for both of them, it was the pce that Elizabeth had decided to actually face her retionship with Rossie…It was also the pce that had ended with Elizabeth in a coma…

  It was the pce where Rossie had the happiest memory (Or Elizabeth hoped their first kiss was the pink-haired girl's happiest memory), but also, the worst memories were set up here. Elizabeth was aware of how much guilt Rossie held about that, the fact that Ethan took her body.

  Rossie always bmed herself for that, even though she had literally no way of dealing with it, and if she had attempted to do something, the pink-haired girl would have been killed, probably.

  If Elizabeth was thankful for something, it was the fact that Ethan hadn't killed Rossie when he took control of her body. She wasn't sure if her blooming love for Rossie had saved her or not, but she was happy about it nonetheless.

  Either way, "Everything okay Rossie? You can take your time, not like we will use the nickname you find for long," Elizabeth said smiling at the pink-haired girl and giving her a small hug from the side.

  She may not have enough plot to comfort the pink-haired girl, but she would hug her nonetheless!

  "Yes…but it's unfair that you can use pet names but we can't." Rossie said puffing her cheeks like an adorable cute squirrel that was angry, "That's it, I'm calling it, you will be Lice!"

  She would be a bug?

  "Whatever gets you happy," Elizabeth said smiling, the pink-haired girl was overdoing it, but Elizabeth didn't know what else to do, so she merely hugged her from the right while Rena used her assets to embrace the other arm of Rossie.

  "So, where to first?" Jenna asked from the back, "I don't really mind it, but we do have a schedule."

  They did?

  Oh right, Amelia….Elizabeth still wasn't sure how she was supposed to go about saving or helping that.

  "Well, we will go to the biggest shadow mana clump, which is that way," Elizabeth said pointing forward, "And deal with anyone that gets in our way."

  No one had gotten in their way after the catapult incident, it did help that she had thrown a good chunk of the lower castes of whatever tribal cults they had going, Elizabeth hoped the people that remained got the hint, she knew that a few of those she threw away had sent some type of message to the other people around, but hadn't gotten around decoding it.

  Surely it wasn't anything important, surely.

  "And then?" Jenna asked once more.

  Then what?

  "Well, we will see when it comes to that, I don't have anything against Echidna…" Elizabeth said, getting a couple of incredulous stares for her efforts, "What? I really don't. I can say the woman is a shitty Mother and a waste of Shadow Mana, but that's a personal opinion, she hasn't really done anything against us quite yet. Besides being a self-entitled prick, that is."

  Elizabeth really didn't mind it that much; she only wanted to punch the woman and give her the message that Chloe left for her, not in that order and not in singur units; she wanted to punch her several times and give her nothing.

  But she would respect Chloe's wishes and give her the letter….the punch was still in may or may not punch.

  "I mean it," Elizabeth said, sighing, "I know how much of a danger she is, more so if I had that much problem against [Shadow Pact]."

  Elizabeth meant it, she….was probably among the best Shadow Users in Zaanam, but she was not the best, she was aware of that, pride be damned. Shadow Pact had shown her that, that she was not at the peak, her shadow dragons were versatile and powerful yes. But they weren't infallible.

  It was easy not seeing that since she was so used to trouncing everyone around her, just like how she had humiliated all those cultists a few minutes ago in the park, no one had been able to lift a finger against her, her Dominion over the shadows was that absolute.

  But even like that she hadn't been able to suppress Shadow Pact, and Echidna stood above him, so chances were that she would need to use Chloe's Divine Thunder, or well, her own Divine Thunder.

  "....right…" Jenna said from the side looking at her as if she didn't believe a single word of what Elizabeth had said, "Well, so long you actually understand it, I don't mind pulling you out of actual danger, but I am tied too, if Echidna wants to smack you a little to discipline you, my hands are tied."

  What?

  "Don't get me wrong, I'll help you if your life depends on it, but a good trashing or two can do wonders for your training," Jenna said smiling and giving her a thumbs up.

  Was…Was Jenna so sure that Elizabeth would start a fight? And was telling her she would be defeated?

  Her? Elizabeth?

  Against that failure of human beings?

  The woman who couldn't properly educate his own son?

  The woman who ignored Chloe?

  The woman who tormented Alice?

  Elizabeth would?

  ….

  "Thank you for your vote of confidence," Elizabeth said as she felt her mana boil, "But even if I can't defeat Echidna using Shadows, you are aware that isn't all I have."

  Elizabeth said fring for a second lighting in her eyes, Jenna looked but didn't comment on it, if anything she turned to look around and then fred her mana a little, just barely enough for Elizabeth to notice it if anything.

  "Yes, I'm aware of you being more than just shadows." Jenna eventually said in the end, "I'm just saying, you don't have to fear for your life, there aren't any member of the [Twelve] or [Nine Stars] here, so I can make sure you are okay."

  "So you weren't making sure when we fought against [Shadow Pact]?" Elizabeth asked, arching her eyebrow.

  "...I mean I was, but in that one someone would have died to make sure you were okay. In this one, I can actually make sure you are safe without anyone dying." Jenna said with a shrug.

  Wait what?

  Someone would die?

  "What? You don't think I would have let someone get in my way to save you did you?" Jenna said turning to Elizabeth, "If they continued to stand between me and saving you, then they would be dead. I like [The Monk] and [The Elementalist]...and dealing with [The Beast Master] would have been a hassle…but your life is more important."

  ….To be honest Elizabeth hadn't thought about her life being in danger at that moment, she was too busy being angry at [Shadow Pact] or well, [The Shadow Tide], but….right…her life had been at risk, or well, not her life, but more like her [Soul]....

  "So…between you and [Echidna], who is stronger?" Elizabeth said, stopping for a second and turning to look at Jenna, truly looking at her. "Could you deal with her?"

  Jenna for her part continued walking as if nothing, passing Elizabeth, "Of course," And only said that, "Who do you take me for? There was only a person who I would never cim to be able to defeat, and that is your Father."

  "What about Mother?" Elizabeth asked.

  "...She doesn't count, your Father would come to rescue her, so it would be the same as fighting him," Jenna said grumbling.

  Heh, Elizabeth smiled at that, "In that you are correct," And ughed after that, thinking about Mother fighting against Jenna, even if Jenna somehow managed to defeat her Mother in combat (Elizabeth somehow couldn't see that happening, her Mother was like that), she could picture it clearly her calling Papa and getting him to defeat whatever had defeated her, "Mother does like to cheat."

  "That she does…" Jenna said nodding too.

  Elizabeth started walking after Jenna, pulling with her Rossie and Rena, who had stopped walking when she stopped, "So, what do I expect? Should I get into a fight with Echidna?" And asked as such, she still didn't think it would devolve into that….

  "She is [The Mother of Shadows] and [The Mother of Monsters]," Jenna said.

  "She doesn't deserve to be called [The Mother of Shadows]," Elizabeth jumped at that title. Echidna didn't deserve to be called the Mother of anything; that woman didn't deserve such a title.

  "Don't compin to me, I wasn't the one who stuck her with that title." Jenna said with a shrug, "Nonetheless, she holds both titles, so her powers are roughly in that direction."

  "So what? She births Shadows and Monsters?" Elizabeth asked, she did remember Echidna summoning monsters from shadows and whatnot.

  But she hadn't been paying too much attention, "That hardly seems like something worth of holding an S-Rank." Elizabeth of course knew how dangerous something that could hide within the shadows was.

  It was how her Shadow Armada moved and struck from weak spots. Everything had a shadow, and if you could sneak an army into said shadow…well, very few people could survive that.

  "That isn't all there is to it," Jenna said shaking her head, "Her power is based upon the nightmares that pgue the world, so long people fear the monsters in the dark, she will have a boost to her powers. All her summons come from nightmares and terrors in the dark."

  Well, wasn't that ominous…

  "So tell me, Elizabeth, could you defeat something a thousand people fear?" Jenna asked, "Even if those thousand people actively boosted that creature?"

  ….Could she?

  "Or tell me this, what do you think people fear the most?" Jenna asked, smirking at Elizabeth, "What do you think people in this city fear the most…and how do you think it is affected after being turned into a Shadow entity."

  What did people fear the most?

  No wait.

  "How it was affected after being turned into a shadow?" Elizabeth locked into that, "So the fears are turned into shadows….so if people was afraid of alligators, Echidna gets Shadow Alligators?"

  That sounded stupid, and useles..

  "It isn't like that, or well, it is, but Echidna doesn't limit herself to only that," Jenna said shaking her head, "She uses the fears of humanity as a way to summon her things, that means that anything that has been feared was turned into a shadow for her to summon, people used to fear the minotaur. So she has access to a minotaur summon, she then uses it to make people from our time to fear it, in turn feeding it to make it stronger."

  Well, that was cheating, Elizabeth knew that Echidna cheated in some way, summoning something that was feared in ancient times, then using it to earn near fear? That had to be cheating.

  "So then the original minotaur got turned into a Shadow Minotaur, getting skills from being a shadow creature? I assume you mean the shadow skills like Shadow Leap I use?" Elizabeth asked.

  "And Shadow Manipution, Shadow Flight, Shadow Weapons, and whatnot," Jenna said, nodding, "You get the idea, all the things your Shadow Dragons do, that minotaur can."

  Well, that was….something Elizabeth didn't want to think about, but that also brought a new question to the very front of her mind.

  "What is that people fear the most in modern times then?" Elizabeth said as they got closer and closer to their destination.

  "You tell me, you have seen this city, and lived here as a [Tainted]." Jenna said turning once more to Elizabeth.

  Elizabeth in turn turned to Rena and Rossie, a silent agreement between them and both understood the unspoken question.

  "I fear…being left alone, for you to decide I'm not worthy and leave me behind for someone who isn't as broken as I am….for….That bug to return and you to leave me with him," Rena said first. Trembling as she hugged Rossie more strongly.

  "....I fear…..for you to be disgusted by me….for you to want to move away….and break the link that joins us." Rossie's fear was also heartwrenching, but expected, both girls had a great amount of dependency towards Elizabeth.

  Elizabeth would fix that at some point, but for now, at least she was happy that they could speak their fears like this.

  "What I fear the most…." Elizabeth said aloud, she wasn't sure what the answer would be, before it would be something stupid probably, but now? "...... Is it… the taint?"

  Elizabeth hadn't thought about it that much, but remembering how it felt as her sense of self was eroded.

  The dread she felt as her mind became a prison…..

  "Exactly," Jenna said nodding, "All those that got released from the Taint fear it. And it becomes a monster under Echidna's power."

  ...was she real right now?

  Echidna got the fear of all shadow users of the Taint and it was turned into a summon? She was being powered by the fear of Ethan's power?

  "That....seems unfair." Elizabeth ended up saying as they saw the building that was the base of all the shadows accumuting in this city. "So how does it look then?"

  That was the question, Elizabeth knew that she could use a version of the Taint herself, she had done so against Akira, and while she hadn't tried it against anyone else, since the mere idea of what it implied was so wrong, she didn't

  "Well, that you are about to find out right?" Jenna said as she pointed to the front, they had arrived at the building, "What I can say is that it changes from time to time; my interpretation of the Taint and yours probably differs, so how I perceived it probably affects how it showed to me."

  ....So now it changed depending on the observer too? Fricking Schrodinger's ass powers.

  Elizabeth didn't look forward to how this would end.