Capítulo 10: Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Recruiting Another Spirit
Ray alongside Artemis and Tsukuyomi was dining in a high class private room of a restaurant while waiting for someone.
A middle aged man dressed in a butler outfit was standing nearby while attending to them. The butler might look normal but his sharp eyes are scanning Ray and his weapon souls, trying to ascertain their motive.
The restaurant was located in a luxury hotel which may appear to be a normal restaurant for the extremely wealthy. However the hotel is also an undercover gathering place for illegal business.
Ray was led here by Cosmic Guidance when he was searching for a place to find Kurumi. He learned that Kurumi was a freelance assassin and he could meet her here by disguised as a client.
"Excuse me sir, the one you asked for has been informed and will arrive in half an hour." The butler said respectfully as he continued to look at Ray.
Ray was an enigma for them, usually only the members or those referred by them only will know the existence of this place.
However there isn't any record of Ray being referred to and not even the information of his existence or past record. As if Ray suddenly just appeared in this world out of thin air.
They at first wanted to 'remove' the unwanted guest but they all become paralyzed by the killing intent released by Ray.
—Flashback—
"My apologies sir but I am afraid that we have to escort you out because this is a members only establishment. Without a membership, we cannot let you enter."
Several employees appeared while holding handguns and short blades. They are waiting for a signal from the man dressed like a butler.
Ray was quiet but he slowly lifted his hand before a few translucent green knives appeared while hovering at his sides, ready to launch with a single command.
"Shit! The enemy is a wizard."
"Don't be afraid, he isn't wearing a wiring suit."
Those armed employees exclaimed while the butler tried to reassure them that Ray isn't a threat since they overwhelm him.
Ray simply sighed before using his Haki while infused with his willpower and intent to form a paralyzing pressure.
The pressure was felt by the employees and the butler as a dense killing intent that caused them to see the illusion of Ray butchering people left and right like nothing.
"I came here in peace to do my business. Just let me in and we treat this as if it never happened, ok?"
Ray's words caused them to feel relief, they stepped on a landmine this time. They assume that Ray is affiliated with an organisation that has a business to do here.
Although their appearance is weird, they look like a group of cosplayers, especially Tsukuyomi. Ray and Artemis' outfit still can pass as normal but the shrine priestess outfit is eye-catching.
"Ahem, please follow me sir."
The butler cleared his throat before his professional demeanor returned and led them to a private dining room.
—Flashback End—
After more than half an hour, the room phone rang as the butler quickly answered the call.
"Sir, the person had arrived. I will exit for now, please press the button if you need me."
The butler then left the room before a long black haired girl entered the room. Her left eye is hidden by her front hair while the hair is untied. She also wears a black dress.
(Basically the outfit she wear when she went to a date with Shido but untied hair and her clock eye hidden bu hair.)
The first thing that caught her eyes were Artemis and Tsukuyomi. She can feel spiritual power from them but not from Ray.
Ray had hidden his every presence other than his physical appearance. Kurumi cannot even feel the life energy that she usually senses from a normal human.
Kurumi is wary of Ray but she hides it seamlessly as she greets Ray and takes a seat at the table.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, spirit Nightmare." Ray replied to her greetings with straightforward words.
"So, you already know who I am… then, what you need from me." Her smile vanished as a pistol appeared in her hand while pointing at Ray.
"Wait, I come to make a deal with you. I am a spirit too although not created like you."
Ray then disables the Presence Concealment. His wave of spiritual power floods out as Kurumi stands in shock.
She was shocked not by his power, but due to his time. His lifespan although not infinite, it's near infinite as Ray's lifespan is similar to a universe.
She is tempted to steal his lifespan which is a speck when compared to his total lifespan but she knew that it would be hard.
"Haah… what are you? I never seen you before." She lowered her pistol before asking Ray.
"I came from the future." Ray emphasizes 'future' as he look at Kurumi who is busy thinking of something.
"To be exact, 400 years in the future which I assume based on my age." Ray continues with his 'modified' background which is technically truth but also a lie.
"No need to think that deeply, I came from another timeline which is totally different from the current one."
Kurumi was shocked by his claim. Her angel can send people to the past but Ray clearly didn't go through that method as he claimed that he crossed the timeline which is totally different from the current one.
"..." Kurumi just stares at Ray before she opens her mouth and asks. "Then, why are you here? I can assume the cost isn't cheap to come here."
Kurumi assumes that through her own ability Yud Bet which have heavy cost to use.
Ray is laughing inside as he is about to repeat the introduction he gave Kotori. Although it is necessary to explain his existence. Since the 'natural' spirits are only two and Mio only created a limited amount of spirits.
If he didn't do it like this, he could risk being exposed. His contract also conveniently made him a bonafide spirit although without proof of his existence.
"I came here through coincidence but I plan to save my parents." Ray lowered his head as he faked his sadness when he said he wanted to save his parents.
"Parents? Are you a human that was turned into a spirit by the first spirit?" Kurumi smacked her palm on the table as she stood up from her seat while questioning Ray.
"Do you remember her face!"
"Hold up, calm your tits lady." Ray quickly calms her down as she about to pounce on him to dig the answer out. Tsukuyomi already deployed his knives, ready to shoot at Kurumi.
"Let me explain myself first."
Kurumi calmed down and apologized before she sat down and waited for Ray ro continue.
"You yourself know the reason for spirits creation by the first spirit right?" Kurumi nodded to his question.
"She is trying to purify the spirit core for something?"
"Yes, she made you a spirit hunter to do that for her and you lose your friends due to that and you want revenge by killing Phantom or the ones responsible for her existence"
Kurumi was shocked that Ray knew too much about her but she shrugged it off as someone from another timeline. Perhaps he and her from another timeline are friends or something, which isn't impossible.
"How is it related?" Kurumi asked impatiently as the explanation didn't explain about Ray's creation at all.
"I'm about to get to it, so… you are now searching for a way to return back to 30 years ago when Phantom was created."
Kurumi nodded as she got immersed in his explanation.
"An organisation named Ratatoskr are sealing spirits to enable them to stay in the world without causing a spacequake and effectively removing the reason for AST to kill them."
"To seal that power, they use a man that can seal the spirit power inside him through… kisses and dating."
"Wait, you are telling me that your father is that man… I can see that happening. Power of multiple spirits can definitely fuel Yud Bet…"
"Yes." Ray agreed as Kurumi's looks became complicated.
'If he is going to save his parents, does that mean that I killed his father to complete my goal.' Kurumi looked at Ray, about to say something but Ray was quicker.
"Don't worry, you didn't harm my parents but it's another person. Issac Ray Pelham Westcott, the one responsible for Phantom creation and aggression. Without him, none of this would have happened."
"My mission is to thwart him early before he can do anything to my mothers."
Ray intentionally speaks with great fervor as he lifts his fist up while explaining his grand plan.
Kurumi however is stuck when he utters the word 'mothers'.
"Wait, did you… say mothers."
Kurumi had a bad feeling about what was about to come next but failed to prepare herself for it.
"Ah, I forgot to explain that part. Yes, I wasn't born but created by cumulation of the sealed power of the spirits power sealed in my father. I eventually gained sentience but cannot interact with them until now." Ray explained.
Kurumi can already deduce the full answer to it and that made her become baffled and shocked by her deduction. She is having an internal turmoil as it is too far fetched to be real.
Ray sensed her doubt, he had to show her undeniable fact for her to believe him. He would definitely have a great advantage if he can have Kurumi's trust and support since she is undeniably the strongest and also versatile in power among all spirits when in base form.
He is going to use Chronokinesis to convince her. His control on time manipulation is quite weak but still enough to convince her.
Kurumi's abilities are shadow and time manipulation. Although he could manipulate time, shadows are still outside of his capability.
Ray gave her time to calm down and think since it might turn out bad if he pushed her. Her personality is mostly unknown to him since she is a good actress.
"So I would assume you will ask me to show you proof of my claim?" Ray asked when she visibly calmed.
"Yes, I cannot simply believe if an unknown spirit suddenly claims I'm his mother." She spoke calmly while looking at Ray with hidden nervousness.
Ray simply nodded then took the glass of wine given to him by the butler and splashed it on the table.
"My proficiency on time manipulation is low due to its difficulty to get a hang on it. This is the most I can do."
Ray then closes his eyes to focus and uses his willpower to forcefully alter the cause and effect using his imagination. He imagined his action just now but played in reverse as the spilled wine as if alive, slowly flowing back into the glass.
In the room, a few seconds after Ray close his eyes, Kurumi can feel the spiritual power flow out of Ray then move to the table.
To her surprise, she can feel the time manipulation like her fourth bullet ability, Dalet, that rewind time of anything she shoots.
When the wine flowed back to the glass, Ray opened his eye and looked at Kurumi for her decision.
Kurumi also looked back at him for a few seconds before she sighed and nodded. She then said "Fine, I believe you."
Ray felt relieved that Kurumi believed him. Although not fully, he can slowly build it up from the current trust she gave him.
"Anyway, now that you verified my claim. I would like to bluntly tell you, your quest to return the time and kill the Phantom is fruitless. In fact it will simply ruin everything." Ray said as he wanted her to not remove the existence of spirit like she would wanted.
If she removed the existence of spirit, the world will would lose its power even more since it essentially ripped apart the world's existence.
The canon of the world or rather the history of this particular world is like the memories of the world will, if it's removed, then the entire existence of the world will would also disappear.
Kurumi's mission to alter the history by removing the existence of the spirits means that she is killing the world itself and cause this world to be 'scrapped'.
Something Ray did when he, as Shido, removed from Date a live world and no one was able to seal the spirits.
The effect of it is, Princess or Tohka gave up on holding back when AST kept attacking her and became violent whenever she arrived on earth. She destroys the world in her rampage.
Kotori who was affected the most when her Shido suddenly disappeared. She at first tried her best to find him while acting as Fraxinus commander but with the stress of Princess rampage and unable to find her brother, she eventually lost herself in grief and became inverse then rampage too.
Thus Ray has to first stop Kurumi from changing the world.
Ray looks at Kurumi seriously while patiently waiting for her answers.
"Ruin everything? How did you know… did you see it from the other timeline…" Kurumi asked Ray with uncertainty in her voice.
She wanted to change everything and save those affected by the existence of spirits. That's her goal, her purpose for fighting all this time.
"You know the second spirit ability right? I have a similar ability but more superior than her ability in gaining any information."
Ray's Cosmic Guidance is indeed more superior, especially when he toggles it actively like during the ritual. It's basically a google that hooked up to Akashic Record.
Ray searched up the meaning of 'Scrapped World' and what he found is… disturbing.
The higher law that governs the universe will basically tear up worlds that it deem as malfunction into ether or energy then remake everything.
Ray then uses his psychic ability and transfers the knowledge of it to Kurumi, hoping it would persuade her from correcting the history.
After a while, she digested the knowledge he sent to her. Her face contorts as she learns that no matter how she struggles, even the universe or fate will stop her from achieving her goal.
Ray pitied her, he felt this too in his first life. No matter what he did, nothing will go his way. He feels like the whole world is stacked against him.
Kurumi is even worse than him, her entire effort and sacrifices are now worthless. Even if she manages to change history, the universe will simply tear the world apart and remake it for her to continue the endless loop.
Perhaps now isn't even the first loop, who can say no? Since everything will regress and start again. She will not even retain her memories due to the regression.
"So… everything I've been doing is worthless… this endless loop of restart."
Kurumi was so devastated by the revelation that her body started to turn white. Her inverse form which is the White Queen that Ray only ever sees in a spin-off of Date a live.
Due to the sudden berserk energy released by the inversing, he had to use Widen Magic: Control Amnesia on the whole restaurant to remove his presence from their memories and smashed the security camera recording before teleporting away with his weapon souls and Kurumi into a pocket dimension he made.
…
'Shit literally hit the fan this time. How am I going to stop this reversing. This pocket dimension can only temporarily keep her presence hidden from others but not for long since this pocket space is unstable.'
Ray is panicking for a while before he stop being a retard and use Cosmic Guidance for help.
(Note: Yeah, google for help but this in case, he is hooked up to Akashic Record. He should get some answers…)
He gained three ways to overcome this.
First is to use Cosmos Forbidden Knowledge to access the Cosmic magic that are similar to 'Wish Upon Stars' that basically is Wishcraft that is powered by the entire cosmos due to Ray's affinity. He can wish for the process to stop.
Second is Psyker ability, Dominate, this ability can stop the inversion but will enthrall her which is bad since he didn't want to.
Last one is Spiritual Domination, similar to second opinion but reversible and he will not enthrall her. Instead he simply 'tame' her and is able to command her like a servant but without the command seal.
Ray chooses the third option and activates the ability of Spiritual Domination.
He can feel his willpower form a link to her soul which weirdly focuses on the spirit core. His willpower then clashes with Kurumi's willpower and ends up overwhelming her easily since she isn't resisting.
He is immediately greeted with notifications but he ignore it and quickly dominates her will and turns her into a tamed spirit for his command to be effective.
"I command you to stop inversing!"
Upon issuing his command, the inversion stopped and her white part turned black and returned to normal.
Seeing this, Ray becomes relieved as the situation can become worse if her inverse self is taken over.
Seeing that she is still unconscious, Ray open the system to take a look at the notification.
———
Congratulations, user has obtained the title (Spirit King) for dominating a spirit.
Congratulations, user has unlocked the class (Summoner) for obtaining your first summon yourself.
Congratulations, user has unlocked the class (Spirit Summoner) for obtaining your first spirit type summon yourself.
———
Spirit King (Title)
Active Unit Slot increase by 1
———
(Note: Summons that need slots are summons that obtained through summon gems. Summon obtained normally don't require slot to summon.)
Ray saw the title and equip it immediately before he take a look at the newly unlocked class.
The summoner class basically allows Ray to tame any enemies that he defeated and turn them into summons. The stronger the summons, the greater the cost on his willpower and mana it uses when he actively summons them.
The Spirit Summoner is similar to summoner but more specialised for anything listed as spirit. This class also lower the willpower cost and mana which enable him to summon more and stronger spirits.
Both classes are good but not the type he would want and it's quite wasteful for him as he is not going to spend time playing real version of pokemon and travel the multiverse to become the very best trainer… tamer one will ever see.
Now that he have another unit slot, he wanted to summon another either Merlin or Ikaros.
Merlin can teach him magic but his appetite is quite full right now. His thoughts are split into 5 part with Thought Partition and use 4 of it to grind his abilities.
He only spent a few days since he started but he barely made a dent to the knowledge he obtained. Ray contemplates if he should use a hyperbolic time chamber and go all out to comprehend his magic knowledge for a decade or two.
Also the fact that he didn't have a certain amount of spells but he had to create spells himself through his understanding made it harder. To make them, he needs a few days of research but needs countless hours to fine-tune those spells which can take years or even hundred of years.
No wonder most archmage are composed of virgin grandpa. They probably spend their whole lifetime simply perfecting a spell. Hardcore one will become lich or undead just to further persuit their passion.
After careful consideration and weighing pros and cons, Ray decided to summon Ikaros.
He took out the summon gem from his inventory but stopped before he was about to crush the gem.
'System, if I summon Ikaros after the pandora evolution, will she retain the memories of her master and the imprint?'
(Due to her species type (Angeloid), she is created rather than selected from scrapped world to be summon. Created type are made through Hub to match perfectly with its original.)
(Created type summons can be customised by user.)
(Do user want to customise? Yes/No)
'I want Ikaros after her second-'
Ray suddenly stopped as he remember that he can customize Ikaros which could mean a different possibilities.
'What is the limit of customisation?'
(Cannot exceed its original power, must retain its identity and cannot add new power.)
'Hmn hmn, then I want identical Ikaros when she fell out of Synapse but able to stay in weapon like Tsukuyomi when unsummoned and able to bond to me like my weapon souls. Also retain her Pet - Class Angeloid program while set her main program as Strategic Battle-Class Angeloid.'
(Evaluating… …, customisation request is within set limit. Summoning initiated…, Summoning complete.)
The void in front of Ray suddenly shine brightly before unconscious Ikaros appear from the bright light. Multiple stone structure followed her appearance but simply continue to fall into the void.
He look at the still unconscious Ikaros before he gulped. In anime, he cannot truly appreciate her beauty but now…
Her body is voluptuous with long rosy-pink hair styled in pigtails secured with darker pink ribbons that magically stay alright regardless of condition.
She also wear her combat outfit while attached to her back is the glowing variable wing that look like a cherry blossom coloured feather wing in its full glory.
Ray waited for a bit but Ikaros didn't open her eyes. He waited for another few more minute before he asked the system.
(Due to special requests by user, user need to bond with the weapon in user's inventory to activate Ikaros.)
'Let me guess,... I didn't ask?'
(Yes, user are smarter now. Congratulations but system have no gift to provide as reward.)
Ray pop a vein on his forehead before he proceed to ignore they system. He took out the said item which is a gem that look different than the usual summon gem.
He hold the gem before crushing it. The dust from the crushed gem float to Ray's left hand before a glove appear from the dust.
The glove are made of thin but very sturdy metallic fibre. The area above the palm have a green circle that feel like gem by its texture and have a very light pink mark of wings. This appearance are perhaps of Ikaros green eyes and light pink wings.
While Ray is busy admiring the glove, Ikaros finally awake and the imprinting process started a collar and chain appear from her neck to Ray's left palm.
Ray was surprised when the chain suddenly appeared in his palm and quickly look at Ikaros who finally opened her emerald green eyes and looking at Ray, trying to understand what just happened.
"Its a pleasure to meet you master, my name is Ikaros, Strategic Battle Class: Type Alpha Angeloid. Your every need and want are my goal and purpose."
Ray however was focused on another thing that are flapping slightly and look very soft.
"Ahem, glad to finally have you with me." Ray walk foward a little to get closer to Ikaros before patting her head which she happily recieve.
"I have a question for you, Ikaros." Ray then put down his hand as he ask to confirm something.
"What do you precieve me as?"
"My master, my god. I am Angeloid created to serve master to the fullest of my ability."
Hearing her reply, Ray nodded before looking left at the supposedly still unconscious Kurumi looking at them silently with great interest.
"Ah, don't mind me. I'm merely a humble spectator." Kurumi said jokingly, finally not depressed like before.
"So… what's the deal with her? She called herself an Angeloid." Kurumi continued as she was genuinely curious.
Ray simply explained Ikaros as a summons then focused on asking about Kurumi. Since she became inverse, that means the reveal caused her great emotional distress.
Kurumi shrugs it off as she quickly changes topic to how this place resembles her pocket dimension she made using shadow manipulation.
Ray unsummoned Ikaros before he teleported out of the unstable pocket dimension with Kurumi into a deserted park on the edge of the city.
"So… have you calmed down?" Ray asked Kurumi who nodded in reply.
Ray knew that she was still being affected and Ray had no idea of comforting her. So, they both just sit on the park bench listlessly while looking at the sky for a while.
…
When the sun is starting to set down, Ray and Kurumi are still in the park. Although Ray is fluffing Tsukuyomi with blissful expression while waiting for Kurumi to sort her mind.
Ray wanted to quickly save Nia from the DEM private island but with Ikaros on his side, he didn't require Kurumi's help anymore.
He is responsible for her current condition which is why he stays here and waits for Kurumi.
While he is busy playing with the fluffy tail, he suddenly senses someone's sight on him. He opened his eyes and looked around.
He then looked at his side and saw Kurumi looking at him with slight confusion and gladness.
"Have you sorted your stuff?" Ray asked and released his hand from Tsukuyomi's tail before hugging him like a plushie.
"Mhm, I'm still going to get my vengeance from Phantom for deceiving me but I will no longer wish to return to change the past."
She already lost the sad and melancholy face and now replaced with determination. She lifts her dress slightly before giving Ray a respectful thanks.
"We keep getting sidetracked. But I came to find you for your help on something." Ray switches the topic to his actual reason for finding her.
"I need your help to save the second spirit locked in one of the DEM private islands where they do highly illegal experiments."
Ray magically made a map appear then pointed at the location of the island as he explained to kurumi.
"I estimate there will be around 30 wizards that guard the island while the rest are the scientists and the experimental subject."
"You need me for?" Kurumi asked as she knew that Ray is very strong and the other 3 girls with him are strong enough to pass as spirits.
"I need your help to search for the spirit with your clone. Although I'm strong, I would rather not risk exposing myself to Issac this early."
"I will make a distraction to attract most of the wizards while you search for the second spirit."
"After we evacuate, I will blast that lab into orbit. With me so far?" With his arm crossed, he awaited Kurumi's answer which Kurumi agreed without much consideration.
She herself also understands how evil DEM is due to Isaac's leadership. Since Ray proposed to destroy one of the DEM inhuman research lab, she naturally agreed.
When Kurumi agreed to help Ray, he was about to teleport away with her to prepare their attack tonight.
"Wait! When I passed out in the pocket dimension, what did you do to me? I can feel a link between us although it looks weak."
The link is the result of Spiritual Domination that forms a temporary contract between them. The contract is similar to the servant contract Scáthach has.
Ray will provide Kurumi mana or energy through the link. Ray can also command her but unlike command seal, she can easily disobey the command and terminate the contract between them if she wanted.
"I form a temporary contract between us for me to forcefully stop the inversion."
"My my, I didn't expect Ray to forcefully enslaved me when I'm unaware." Kurumi's playful self had returned and teased Ray with a sultry voice.
It's a lie if didn't get tempted but his love for loli and fluffy like Tsukuyomi is stronger. In his mindscape, the two army represent both side clashed fiercely as the lolia and fluffy army won an overwhelming victory.
"You are technically my mother although in a different timeline and you didn't match my preference." Ray bluntly told Kurumi before he carried her like a potato sack and teleported away to their next destination.
…
Scáthach is bored once again and her master left her in the infirmary when he teleported away.
She wanted to go and slay some aliens but they already went into hiding after the 'Planetary Blockade' was made by her master.
Since there is nothing she could do in the meantime. She materializes and walks toward the bridge where Kotori and Reine usually can be found.
She exited the infirmary and walked randomly as she tried to reach the bridge.
After walking for a while, she finally found the door for the bridge. She walked toward it confidently as usual before she phased through the door with a quick switch of form.
The whole bridge was in chaos when she entered. The monitors are showing 3 sentences as options while Kotori and the crew are busy discussing something.
On another monitor, she saw Shido, who her master claimed to be his father. She saw Shido talk about not denying the spirit's existence while the spirit trying to refute it while acting like she was sulking.
The spirit is yelling 'Baka' before trying to make an excuse for meeting Shido.
She said Shido is the first human she could have a proper conversation with. Thus, she will use Shido to get more information about this world
"I'm saying that I wouldn't mind if it's just talking with you. But it's just for gaining information. Mm, that's very important. Information is super important."
The spirit said before threatening to put a hole in him if he acted suspicious. Although Scáthach doubts the spirit will actually do it.
"Good job Shido!" Kotori stated while holding the lollipop out of her mouth.
"Commander, we detected the AST group on their way to Shido's current location in 5 more minutes."
"Ceh, just when things run smoothly." She put the lollipop back into her mouth before biting it with a loud crunch noise.
"Commander, should we inform Shido?" One of the crew asked.
"No need, you're only making him panic. They are doing fine right now."
'He will be fine, my healing flame should heal any damage on his body.' Kotori prays to herself, hoping that her power will heal Shido if he gets caught in crossfire.
Kotori sighed
Since this is the only way to, they can only watch while hoping that everything turns out fine.
Suddenly, Scáthach made her presence known to everyone by proposing her help.
"You can send me to delay the AST, I'm bored here anyway."
"Who!"
"Scáthach!" Few exclaimed when the Warrior Queen appeared.
Everyone was there during her summoning by Ray, they all knew that she is the real Scáthach from the legend and somehow can be summoned by Ray.
They gulped on Scáthach's request to delay the AST, they saw what Scáthach could do and AST would be slaughtered like nothing by her.
The Fraxinus wanted to stay amiable with AST since killing them will provoke them to kill spirits even more.
Their minds are easily readed by Scáthach who simply shakes her head.
'Why does everyone assume I am some kind of bloodthirsty killer that mercilessly tears apart my enemies.'
Scáthach mostly only kills gods and creatures in the Land of Shadow. However the numerous kill streak she accumulated made her to have thick aura of murderous intent, the culprit of her bad impression.
"Needless to worry, I will only incapacitate the AST members."
"I only need to delay them for a bit." Scáthach reassured Kotori.
"Very well then, get ready on the teleporter. I will drop you on their path, delaying them for 3 minutes should be sufficient."
Kotori quickly gave her order to the crew incharge of the teleporter.
"Can we trust her to… not kill the AST?"
Kyouhei was a former AST member and he believes that they are innocent since they only carry out their order to protect the people against spirits.
"I don't know but… my guts tell me to trust her."
"Anyway, send her now!"
Receiving her order, the crew use the teleporter and send Scáthach directly in the AST flight path which causes them to stop and turn into combat ready state.
…
A random building outside of Raizen High School, Scáthach stands on the roof with her back facing Shido's current direction.
She materializes the twin crimson spear but without the special ability of sure hit effect. Just simple crimson red spears since she didn't want to kill them.
The 14 AST group stopped when she appeared on the roof. They hover in the air while aiming their range weapon at her.
"This… a different spirit?"
Captain Kusakabe Ryouko, the commanding officer of this AST group exclaimed since they had never saw Scáthach before.
"Open fire!"
She didn't waste time before ordering her group to shoot Scáthach with a bullet strong enough to shred the concrete Scáthach is standing on.
The hail of bullets causes the concrete to turn into dust that rises up, covering Scáthach.
"Halt!"
The group finally stopped firing but still aiming at the dust cloud since spirits are very durable.
After a few seconds, the dust finally disappeared due to wind. The floor now looks like swiss cheese with extra holes.
"Captain, the spirit never appeared on the scanner!"
"What!"
The captain pondered a little.
'Perhaps the spirit ability is invisibility?'
"Let's continue, the presence of another spirit still detected from the school."
"Oh right, isn't this the school you-"
Her word cutted short when Origami saw a red spear accelerating toward the captain.
She dash forward while deploying her defensive territory to tank the crimson spear. When the spear hit her, she was sent flying for a few meters and cracked her defensive territory.
The momentum from the spear caused her to hit two other AST members. The spear then dissolved into light particles as the other tried to help the incapacitated members while trying to form a perimeter guarded by their combined territory.
"Hmn, I guess I overestimated you… can't even hold against a casual attack of mine."
Scáthach tries to deter them and lower their morale by displaying their differences. However the captain quickly made a speech to regain their morale.
"Remember! We AST, fight to protect the citizens. We cannot falter here."
"Oooh"
Scáthach sighed, she wanted to make it easy but… whatever, this should spice things up enough for a warm up.
Another spear appear to replace the one she throw before she jump high to the sky and dive in like a wolf into a herd of sheep.
She take them down with brutal efficiency by knocking the back of their neck or a strong stab with the spear butt to their solar plexus. The sudden pain overwhelmed their senses and caused them to faint.
She continued until only Origami and Captain Kusakabe Ryouko were still able to fight. They are aware that Scáthach are just playing with them like a cat playing with its prey for fun.
"Oh my time is up." The teleporter activated and Scáthach stopped before looking at them both before taunting them.
"It was a fun warmup."
She then vanished leaving them puzzled by what just happened for them to wipe the floor so hard that the opponent only thought of it as warm up.
They woke up from their daze before they helped their incapacitated members to return to base.
…
When Scáthach returned to Fraxinus, she was greeted with a gloomy Kyouhei and surprised Kotori.
"So, I assume Shido succeeded?" Scáthach asked casually like she just went to grab a cup of water instead of decimating a group of armed wizards.
"Yes, he managed to secure a date and even gave the spirit a name."
Kotori smirked while sucking on a new lollipop while she looked at the data of this encounter shown on the monitor, compiled by Reine.
"Haah, this is disappointing…"
"Saving a world by dating the threat and seal them with a kiss."
Scáthach sighed while reminiscing 'other' her memories which includes fighting the demon god and Goetia in a certain timeline and adventure through singularities.
Kotori heard her comment and saw a chance to dig up some information from her.
"Why would you say so? Are there stronger enemies you fight before you end up here with Ray?." Kotori asked
"When compared to fighting against heroes from history and threats like demon gods from Ars Goetia, this fight is indeed mediocre when compared. Almost trivial."
Scáthach didn't mind sharing such information since her master didn't say she shouldn't or they are crucial information.
"I fight against countless gods or equivalent beings, how are inexperienced one like AST going to compare to the gods?"
"Right… your legend did state about it, you transcend your human limit purely by your achievement." Kotori agreed with a nod while both her hands and legs were crossed while she had a serious face.
Kotori are thoroughly surprised, demon gods?, heroes of old? even gods? She wonders how strong she is if she unleashes her full power.
"I had been wondering, how did you meet Ray?" Kotori finally asked the question which attracted Reine's attention, causing her to perk up her ear while pretending to use her tablet to analyse information.
Scáthach was silent for a while, thinking about what she should and shouldn't tell Kotori.
"Hm…" She hummed for a bit before she started talking.
"My master summoned me to his world before we made a contract to bind myself to him."
Seeing that no one asked any questions, Scáthach continued her explanation.
"I was supposed to be summoned to serve as familiar to mages selected for a magical war although it always went south and rarely they reach a proper conclusion."
"After that we end up here in this world when my master accepted a mission by someone to save this world."
"Save the world?" Kotori asks Scáthach to elaborate on that.
"The ritual my master made is for that purpose, the current world lost its natural defense which is why the alien invasion happened in the first place."
Everyone was surprised by the information that they all stopped from their task and listened to Scáthach.
"Other than aliens, master is also tasked to change the spirit's future and make it better than its supposed path from its original one."
"Wait! Does that mean he already knows what is going to happen in the future?" Kotori immediately asked.
If Ray truly knows the future then it's a game changer for them since they will be able to avoid all the bad ends and set their path on the good end only.
This idea however was scrapped by Scáthach continuation.
"Yes but I would not recommend you to change the fate yourself since you are its native and surely will cause great butterfly effects unlike master that are completely unrelated to this timeline."
"Master however is immune to this as an outsider, his action will have minimal effect on the world."
(Note: She talking about Ray action cannot lead to the world being scrapped. Like player and npc, if npc behave weirdly, they are considered as defective and out of script. But players can and are supposed to behave however they like.)
"..." Kotori only silently looked at her before she gave up on her previous thought of making use of Ray's knowledge.
"What he really is? He introduced himself as a spirit born from other spirits' power when sealed." Kotori asked.
"He is indeed a spirit."
Ray is a spirit who arrived in Date a Live world. The contract made the change somehow and Scáthach noticed it but didn't ask Ray about it.
"I was summoned less than a week ago and didn't have time to be familiar with him."
Kotori and Reine nodded as they listened while the other crews continue their task after being stared by Kotori.
"How strong would you estimate his full strength?" Reine suddenly asked, which once again caught everyone's attention.
Ray definitely can use high level magic which they saw during the ritual but they rarely seen him use much of his ability other than using weapon souls and a little magic like Compression or Illusion.
Kotori wanted to know how much threat Ray posed if he suddenly turned against them and also her task to compile information about spirits for Ratatoskr.
Scáthach was about to answer her but suddenly an alarm went off, making everyone focus on the monitor.
"Commander, the system detected a sudden spike of negative spiritual energy! The value continues to fall and this…"
"What happened!?" Kotori asked when the crew suddenly went silent and stared at the screen in disbelief.
"The energy signature suddenly vanished. The energy was last detected in the luxury hotel of city X, 70 km away west of Tengu City. "
Everyone was busy trying to find out what just happened and launch an investigation. Just in case it's a rogue spirit.
"I can feel the master's presence from that direction."
Kotori was surprised when Scáthach told her that Ray is definitely involved somehow in this. She didn't know what else to make of this.
Should she just ignore it and ask Ray when he returned? What was he aiming to do?
While massaging her brow, she remembered the note he left that said he is finding a friend and will return in two day.
She is hoping that Ray didn't do anything crazy while she isn't watching. She starts to feel protective of him after the ritual incident.
She thought Ray died when he passed out of exhaustion. Her heart felt crushed when she saw Ray's body not moving and unresponsive.
She didn't understand that feeling at that time but when she consulted Reine, she said that Kotori perhaps had a maternal feeling toward Ray.
Little did they know, this was due to Ray being an infant great one. As they have extraordinary psychic talent and ability, the infant can produce an invisible aura that causes them to think of the infant great one as their own child.
This was seen in Scáthach when Ray was attacked in the Dead Marsh dungeon. Although with a bit of manipulation by Odeon since Scáthach's personality made it harder to be affected.
This aura is a subtle mind suggestion that no one can feel because of how natural the mind suggestion is. Although it also has its limitations.
People like Scáthach will be able to resist due to their mental fortitude developed after countless battles which easily shrug it off if not for Odeon's intervention.
Ray himself was unaware of this aura he emitted. His weapon souls are unaffected however due to them bonded to him by soul, they are able to resist the aura but Artemis sometimes are affected… differently.
Artemis became protective of him and wanted to keep him locked away. So that only she alone can care for him and keep him safe.
This feeling was suppressed inside her and she rarely leak it out but it's definitely there like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode when the time comes.
—————
(Note: Finally after 3 days I finally stop procrastinating and write the novel. Few fanfic updates and spending time reading them but Idk how it led me to return to honkai and got hooked up on new events which is why this update became slow.
Next chap we will raid the DEM private island to save Nia Honjou but her condition would probably shock Ray. A lil spice for the next chap.)
Additional Note:
(When I read the novel, I noticed that the mc power is poorly explained by me. So basically Ray is like a rpg character that gained a portion of the max level then unlock a lot of skill and magic but still didn't use much of them yet due to him trying to master his basic abilities (kinesis and his weapon souls)
So, he will not use them much because he needs to master the magic first or he will have backlash like in the ritual. Which is why he avoids using them since in a battle, those abilities are burden unless he goes all out or as a last resort.)
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