Chapter 10.5 - Date A Interlude 2
...
Deus Ex Machina Industries are the main supplier of CR-Units for the AST. They've done many great things for the world, their CEO Isaac Wescott was even knighted some years back. On paper, they're a great boon to the humanitarian effort.
So then what the hell happened last night?!
Waking up is already enough of a pain as it is, but my nice morning was ruined by hearing someone attacked a DEM base.
The assumed attacker was a Spirit. Of course it was, there's a massive gash in the island. Few could do something like that, none of them human. Or at least, physically human.
Though that could just be me assuming things. We still don't know if other Spirits were once human like me.
"Okay then, what do we know?" I ask my subordinates, from my commander's chair. Kannazuki's off today, thank God, so I won't have to deal with him this morning.
"DEM had a secret base on Neryl Island at it was attacked at 22:39 last night." One person answers.
"They went rogue. DEM as well as the British Government released statements not long ago, condemning them."
"They captured and experimented on all of the 73 people who were rescued, as well as God-knows how many more who didn't make it."
"No-one died, all prisoners were rescued, all workers arrested. No casualties at all."
"Okay then." I mull over that information. "So someone, clearly a Spirit, attacked them, rescued the prisoners and killed no-one. Are there any Spirits who could do... that?" I ask, referring to the massive gash in the earth. It looks like someone swung a sword inside the facility and cut though the earth. The island had a form of cloaking that blocked surveillance and prevented us from sensing any Reiryoku output. That is, until someone 'cut' through the barrier.
"No, ma'am. No Spirits, aside from the First should have that sort of power."
"Could it be Emperor? She fled from the AST and hasn't been seen since?" The fully armored Spirit had a rather weak spacequake, and because of this, is rated rather low in terms of strength, only a B-Rank, but she hasn't been seen since.
"Perhaps, we don't know the full extent of her power, aside from that copied angel." That's right, when the AST attacked her, she made a copy of Princess' angel. Can she do that with others?
"We did sense three large Reiryoku souces in the facility for just a moment, before once disappeared, followed by the other two moments later." Someone points out.
"So she had help, any idea who?" I ask.
"No idea, ma'am. Their power output doesn't match those of any other Spirits, they also were really high. We might have three new Spirits aside Emperor, unless she was one of those there."
More Spirits show up, and they're getting stronger and stronger. At this rate, my stupid brother's job will be even harder.
I dispel that thought by replacing it with another. DEM clearly knows about Spirits and, though that base went 'rogue', they still experimented on people. Some papers we recovered show they were trying to find out more about Spirits and maybe even create one. One thing about this bothers me though...
Did they really go rogue, or was it just DEM cutting their losses?
We know nothing of them truly. The AST's job is to kill Spirits, but what does DEM really want...?
"Hmph. Okay then people, begin compiling all the info we've gotten." With a resounding chorus of 'Yes, ma'am.', they begin to work. I get up and leave the room, my mind still racing.
Three Spirits raided Neryl Island. For what? And how did they know about the facility? It was in the middle of the Pacific? Hang on... there was one Spirit who could supposedly know anything with her angel's power. If Emperor really could copy angels...
Okay, enough of that. I was dragged out of bed on my day off. Hopefully, Shido's done making breakfast.
"Are you okay, Ellen?" I ask, while sitting at my desk.
"I've told you already, Ike. I'm fine." My old friend reassures me.
Last night was certainly interesting. The new Spirit Emperor seems to be a lot stronger than he appeared, and also knows much more than I expected. I've been trying to Inverse a Spirit for years, and yet he comes along and gets not one, but two Spirits to be able to Inverse at their will!
I feel a bit insulted.
He also seems to know about her. No other Spirit knows of her, save for Sister and perhaps Nightmare.
After Ellen and I returned to England, I began to think about this all. He can copy angels and demons, truly a strong power. He's still not on par with Mio, but certainly proved himself a threat last night.
"Ellen, I'd like you to ramp up your training. You can defeat Spirits easily, but now that they can Inverse..." I trail off.
"I was already planning that, Ike. I'll also ramp up the others' training." Heh, she always is one step ahead.
"Also, expect an upgrade to Pendragon, I'm going to tell the men to start working on Caliburn." As I say this, Ellen's eyes light up with desire, excitement and confusion.
"Not Excalibur?" She asks.
"No. We're missing a certain... 'something' to make that. For now it'll have to be Caliburn." If we were to make Excalibur, we'd need something of immense power, like one of those Sephira Crystals.
"Alright then, I'd better get to work. Bye, Ike." She says, walking away.
"Goodbye, Ellen." The door shuts with a click. Takamiya and Ashcroft are still busy in China, dealing with defectors of ours, their CR-Units will need to be upgraded as well.
Hmm... perhaps after the upgrade I'll send Takamiya after her old rival. I wonder how she'd fare against Nightmare when Inversed...
True Spirit Record (cannot be accessed by anyone other than those reading this currently): Emperor (Real Name: Issei)
-Risk Factors: S-SS, perhaps even SSS; Is able to create anything, even other angels
-Spacequake: C; Rather weak, one of, if not the weakest one [C-SSS; Can fully control strength of Spacequake, and even maximize it]
-Spirit's Astral Dress: B; It's just a suit of armor, nothing special [Rank can increase if he makes it more durable]
-Angel: S-SS; Helel can create anything; Theoretically should be able to reach SSS
-_-Strength: 175 [999; User can create Boosted Gear. Multiple Boosts can be used to increase strength, additional Boosts can be used to reinforce body to be able to handle such levels of strength]
-_-Consistency: 166 [569; Helel has very optimized energy output] {999; User can imagine his own energy refilling.}
-_-Spiritual Power: 0; can fully control output [777; Helel has a weaker version of Ain, and runs on Semi-Pure Reiryoku] {999; User can create Boosted Gear.}
-_-Agility: 125 [999; User can create Boosted Gear and Transfer boosts to 'speed']
-_-Intelligence: 260; He did quite well in school [999; User can create Boosted Gear and Transfer boosts to 'intelligence']
True Spirit Record (cannot be accessed by anyone other than those reading this currently): White Nightmare (Inversed Tokisaki Kurumi)
-Risk Factors: SS
-Spacequake: AAA
-Spirit's Astral Dress: AA
-Demon: SS
-_-Strength: 208
-_-Consistency: 145
-_-Spiritual Power: 304
-_-Agility: 169
-_-Intelligence: 203
True Spirit Record (cannot be accessed by anyone other than those reading this currently): Dark Witch (Inversed Kyouno Natsumi)
-Risk Factors: AAA
-Spacequake: A
-Spirit's Astral Dress: A
-Demon: AA-AAA; Constantly teeters on the edge of one or the other
-_-Strength: 120 [370; Can cover body in flaming mud, which augments strength drastically]
-_-Consistency: 112
-_-Spiritual Power: 277
-_-Agility: 130
-_-Intelligence: 174
AN
Instead of starting on the next chapter, this came to mind. I wanted to show Ratatoskr and Wescott's perspective on things. Issei's really making waves, huh?
I hope I got Kotori & Wescott's perspectives right. One thing I'm constantly worrying about is wether or not I can write characters properly.
Also, I, on a whim, decided to put Spirit Stats in this one, I hope it doesn't come to bite me in the ass later. Remember, Issei can create anything, don't forget he could go toe-to-toe with Mio. Though, if she gets serious, she could just kill him with a single blast from Ain Soph Aur, or any of her other angels easily.
He's a strong Angel, but she is a God.
But don't take the stats so seriously. They aren't a 'be all, end all'. They aren't set in stone. If a strong Spirit was fighting a weaker Spirit and the weaker one were to get angry, they may get strength beyond the stronger Spirit for a moment. Natsumi, if mad enough, could output as much energy as Kurumi, theoretically.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next!