"Congratulations on being the first to get you Spirit CR-Unit, Origami."
Later that same day, once they had arrived at the NWET headquarters, Origami had asked to have her compatibility measured again. She got a 23% score, meaning that she was the first of the Spirit Team to get her CR-Unit.
While that was being prepared, Mio told Origami to go put on her new plugsuit to go along with the new CR-Unit. Origami went to change, and when she came back she was wearing an entirely white two-piece plug suit, the top part looked like a sports bra, and the bottom part looked like highleg panties.
As expected though, it was thin and tight enough that Shido felt like he could make out things he wasn't supposed to. Or maybe he was, since that seemed to be Mio's intention.
"Now, Shin, give her the CR-Unit, Keter."
Mio placed a certain item in Shido's hand, a ring. It was a beautiful ring, with a white gem on it. From the feel it gave off, that white gem was probably the Sephira.
It seemed Origami understood something and gave Shido her left hand. Actually, it seemed all the girls got it, as their eyes suddenly widened as they observed them. Shido, however, seemed quite lost and looked at Mio for help, so she pointed to her ring finger.
He still didn't get what all the fuss was about, but at least now he knew which finger to put it in. But before that, he figured he should congratulate her as well.
"Origami, congratulations on getting your Spirit CR-Unit. I hope we can continue to work together."
"I accept."
Shido felt that was a weird response, but he didn't pay it much mind and put the Sephira ring on her finger. It fit nicely, so Shido knew he hadn't put it in the wrong finger.
"O-ooh!"
All the girls in the room exclaimed in surprise, even Ellen and Karen, the adults, looked away with bright red faces. Shido still didn't get what this was all about.
After a while, Mio said "I think a demonstration is in order. How about a mock battle?" and so they all moved to the training room.
Since they still need to put on a regular CR-Unit, most of the girls went to do that, leaving Shido and Origami alone.
Well, they weren't really alone. Mio, Ellen and Karen were in the observation room with them. Still, from how close Origami was sticking to Shido, you'd think they were absolutely alone.
Shido thought that he should say something, but Origami was looking at the Sephira ring so intensely that he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth. He knew the Sephiras gave a feeling of power, but he didn't think it was this much.
Little did Shido know that, in Origami's mind, they were happily married, already had a football team's worth of children, and had such an active sex life that it probably wouldn't be long until the opposing team was complete.
Mio, Ellen and Karen were also quiet, but their eyes spoke more than words ever could. It's not like they were looking at Shido reproachfully or with disdain or anything, but Shido still somehow felt like he was being stabbed.
[Origami, they're done putting on their CR-Units.]
[It's time for you to come back to reality and go.]
"... Understood."
With that call from Maria and Marina, Origami separated from Shido and went to the training room, where the other girls from the Spirit Team were waiting for her.
"Keter."
Origami said, and then she was enveloped by light. A second later, the light dissipated and her body was now covered not only by the plugsuit, but also a beautiful white armor, even somewhat resembling a bride's dress.
Compared to that, the other 9 girls were all in the standard CR-Unit. The Spirit CR-Units were better even in terms of design.
{Like I said before, this is a little demonstration of a Spirit CR-Unit's power, so Origami will be facing everyone else. Let's see… how about if, on top of that, you girls get to go all out while Origami has to hold back to not damage the equipment or you girls?}
Although it might seem like Mio was saying something absurd, she figured it would be just right for demonstrating a Spirit CR-Unit's power. 9-on-1 with the 1 having to hold back, yup, that should do it.
No one said anything, so Mio just took it as an agreement from all of them.
Kurumi, Yoshino and Natsumi stood at the back, and they started to aim at Origami. Miku and Maya were a little behind them, expanding their Territory to give support to their allies. Since Maya's scouting abilities wouldn't be of much use here, she decided to join Miku. Tohka, Kotori, Kaguya and Yuzuru stood at the front, reading their swords.
As for Origami, she… hadn't done anything other than equip her CR-Unit. Yet, her eyes were focused. She clearly wasn't unprepared.
{Begin.}
As soon as Mio said that word, Kurumi took her shot. Yoshino and Natsumi soon followed.
As it seemed like Origami had no protection, it looked like her only option was to dodge. Yet, she remained still.
Once the energy bullets were right in front of her, she said a single word.
"Metatron."
Bright light seemed to become solid in front of Origami, as if to form a wall. It blocked the shots, and the surprise made the girls stop shooting.
The vanguard noticed that this was their time to charge in. If they were quick, they could go around the wall of light and catch Origami. But, just as Tohka and the others began to rush forward, the wall of light dissipated, and Origami also charged forward.
In her hand was a pole made of light. She made use of her long reach to hit Kotori on the top of the head. Since she was trying to avoid causing any harm, she controlled her strength, and while Kotori was stunned, or more accurately surprised, by that hit, Origami swiped her off her feet, causing her to fall.
Considering that Kotori was the berserker kind of fighter, and that Origami had to avoid as much damage as possible, she figured that taking her out first would be her best option.
"Woah! L-let's go, Yuzuru. Let's show them the true power of the Children of Hurricane."
"Agreement. Kaguya and Yuzuru will take this opening."
Kaguya and Yuzuru tried to take advantage of the opening Origami showed when she took down Kotori. The twins tried to attack Origami's blind spot, their swords at the ready. Obviously, it wasn't meant to be a fatal attack, and they were planning to stop just before they hit, like you'd see in a lot of anime.
But even that opening was calculated by Origami. She turned her pole of light into chains of light, and had those wrap themselves around the twins. Before they noticed, they had been chained together and were unable to move properly. While at it, Origami also chained up Kotori, to make sure she wouldn't have to defeat her again.
"Haaa!"
Tohka finally reached Origami and tried to attack, but her sword was blocked by a shield of light. To make sure that Origami was being pressured, Kurumi, Yoshino and Natsumi were shooting at her as well, trying to support Tohka.
"Hey, Miku, I know this isn't usually my role, but I think we should focus on weakening Origami."
"What do you think I've been trying to do?! Is it even having an effect?!"
After the quick defeat of Kotori, Kaguya and Yuzuru, Miku and Maya soon noticed that their efforts were better placed in weakening Origami, as strengthening their allies wouldn't do much to close the gap.
Yet, it hardly seemed to be having an effect. Even Origami thought so. Which is why, despite her being technically the enemy, she decided to help out.
"Natsumi, use your Territory to weaken me."
"E-eh? Me? Y-yes!"
Although she was surprised about suddenly being called out, Natsumi did what Origami told her to. This also worked as a way to showcase Natsumi's ability that Origami had noticed when they were attacked by Tenka.
Finally, with the three Territories overlapping and trying their best to bring her down, Origami started to feel her body a bit heavier.
But even so, it was too little. It was hardly a bother during battle.
"Don't get cocky, Origami!"
Tohka was trying her best, maybe even a little too much. She seemed to be getting a little aggressive. Even Tohka herself didn't understand why, she just felt mad for some reason.
Still, she was the one being most successful in pressuring Origami. Everyone else tried to join in to support her.
But Origami knew it wasn't going to work. They simply lacked the raw power to pose a challenge. So she decided to bring this to a swift end.
Origami shot light directly at Kurumi, Yoshino, Natsumi, Miku and Maya. Once the shots hit them, they changed forms into chains of light, binding them and rendering them out of the battle.
"Ara ara."
"W-we've been caught…"
"Uuu, I hope I didn't screw up."
"If you're going to do this, I'd rather you bind me in a hug or something!"
"So this is the power of a Spirit CR-Unit. We were no match."
The only one left was Tohka, and she seemed to have no intention to give up. She continued pressuring Origami to the best of her ability.
But again, she simply lacked the raw power to put up a challenge. Origami waited for an opening, used her shield of light to parry Tohka's sword and knock it off her hands, and then, in a single second, she changed the shield to a sword and pointed it at Tohka's neck.
{That's enough. Origami wins.}
And with Mio's announcement came the official end of the battle. She then told everyone to take off their CR-Units and meet her in the observation room. They were all there in a few minutes.
"So, what did you girls think? The defeated side first."
Although no one said a word, there was something that was on all of their minds. Strong. If all Spirit CR-Units were this strong, then it would make all their struggles so far seem like jokes.
Mio understood what they were all thinking and seemed satisfied, so she switched to getting Origami's review on it.
"It's certainly powerful… but I don't think it matches up to a Demon King's power."
Origami was quick and direct. Being the one who directly fought a Demon King the most, she was able to tell that, despite her new power, it still wasn't quite enough.
"Yes, you are correct. That's why it's important for everyone else to also gain this power, and also to grow stronger from there."
Mio's words confirmed Origami's thoughts. She nodded, and then everyone else nodded along. What Mio said was correct, and there was ultimately not much to be done about it.
"And how about your Angel, Metatron?"
"... It's weird, I felt like I wanted to call out that name. I also felt like I instinctively knew how to use it. It's a great weapon."
"Yes. A Spirit CR-Unit's weapon is called an Angel. It becomes the best weapon for the user, but I guess Origami is so skilled with all kinds of things that it just chose to become something versatile."
Indeed, while she was often seen using a sword or something similar to fight on the frontlines, Origami could basically perform any attacking role, which probably influenced her Angel. It made everyone wonder what their weapon would be.
"Now then, how about a round 2? Shin, Ellen, Karen, would you mind?"
"Eh? Me?"
"I don't mind."
"Sure."
It seems the demonstration still wasn't over.
/
A few minutes later, Shido, equipping Da'at, was facing the sisters Ellen and Karen in the training area. Incidentally, Shido, Ellen and Karen all got changed together, in the same changing room, so it took every bit of self-control that Shido had to not look at the Mathers sisters.
After Origami's display, it was Shido's turn to demonstrate the power of his CR-Unit. While its full power could only be reached after everyone had their Spirit CR-Unit, now that at least someone had theirs, Shido should be able to do more than before. Or so he hoped at least.
While Ellen had Pendragon, Karen was wearing a standard CR-Unit. The reason she didn't have her own personal CR-Unit wasn't lack of insistence by Mio, it was simply because she figured it would be a waste, since she was hardly ever present in the frontlines.
{Now, Shin, try summoning Metatron.}
"Alright… Metatron!"
Shido expected something like an anime scene where the protagonist first summons his weapon, or something like that. But reality wasn't so kind and summoning Metatron actually took a lot of concentration.
Even after he managed to summon it, he was having trouble making it take the form he wanted. Origami made it look so easy, but Shido was having trouble and in the end had to settle for a simple pole-like form.
All that took around a minute or so. After Origami's display, it made Shido feel really embarrassed about himself.
{Ready now, Shin?}
"Y-yeah."
{Then, begin.}
Unlike before, the fight didn't start as soon as Mio said those words. The only thing that happened was that Karen expanded her Territory, giving support to her sister and creating an area that would weaken Shido should he step in.
Ellen nodded, seeming satisfied. She was happy that he didn't rush in. If he had, she would have been easily able to parry whatever attack he tried to do and that would have been the end of the battle.
Although, it's not as if Shido had thought that far. He did think about going in, but he got a bad feeling and decided to trust his gut.
Still, the question as to how he would attack remained. Since he couldn't get close, he'd have to attack from a distance, and that involved changing Metatron's form again. He didn't really like it, but there was no helping it.
"!"
However, just as soon as Shido began to try and change Metatron's form, Ellen immediately rushed to attack him.
Because of the surprise, Shido was unable to finish changing Metatron's form. Ellen was too fast for him to dodge, so Shido had to use the Angel to defend himself. He was unable to keep his calm and simply created a mass of solid light between himself and Ellen.
It did work for the purpose of defending himself, but Ellen didn't give him any openings as she continued with relentless attacks. If she were to make full use of her speed, she could easily go around, but that wouldn't work much for training.
"What's wrong? Feeling pressured?"
"Guh!"
Shido was feeling quite frustrated at the fact that he wasn't able to fight back, or even say anything back in reality.
Still, he hadn't given up. He waited for the right moment and parried Ellen's sword, Caledfwlch. Well, maybe it's too much to say he parried it. It might be more correct to say that he tried, but once he noticed that he wouldn't be able to, he threw the whole block of solid light away, taking the sword with it.
Regardless, he achieved his objective. Now all that was left was to take the opening he created.
"Metatron!"
Shido shouted, and a small cylinder of light, about the size of a folded newspaper, formed in his hands. That was the best he could do so quickly, but it should get the job done. He thought to do the same thing that Origami had, knock Ellen off her feet and then bind her with Metatron, or at least try to.
However, the small cylinder was shot out of his hands by Ellen herself. She even took advantage of his forward motion and performed a backflip while kicking him in the face. Thankfully, she didn't seem to want to hurt him too much, since he was more surprised than hurt.
But he didn't have time to worry about that. Shido felt a strange feeling. He didn't know what it was at first, but then he realized it. Karen had focused her Territory in his direction, catching Shido in the now extended range.
This was bad. Although there was a big difference in compatibility between them, any kind of debuff wasn't good for Shido. He had to get out of it as soon as possible.
"Where are you going?"
Just as he was about to take off to try and shake Karen off, Ellen closed in on him. However, she didn't try to attack and simply tried to keep him in place.
Then, she also expanded her Territory, Shido guessed she was trying to make up for the difference in their compatibility by teaming up with her sister. He didn't feel his body being heavier or anything like that, but it wasn't a risk he was willing to take.
… Also, his cheeks started getting red. Again, the feeling inside a person's Territory is like a close embrace. And well, it's understandable that Shido would get embarrassed if he were embraced by these sisters.
That seemed to be Ellen's plan. As soon as she noticed how flustered Shido was, she easily subdued him in a way he couldn't escape. That marked the end of the battle.
{That's enough. Shin, Ellen, Karen, please come back here.}
Mio's words officialized Shido's defeat. The three of them unequipped their CR-Units and went back to where Mio and the girls from the Spirit Team were watching.
"Let's hear it from Shin first. What do you have to say?"
"... Well, I had trouble handling Metatron from the start. Origami made it look so easy, but I could barely do it. Maybe I just need to train more. And there's also how Ellen and Karen were able to beat me so easily, even though my compatibility is much higher than theirs."
"That's what I wanted to hear. Even after everyone gets their Spirit CR-Unit, don't neglect your training, and especially don't just leave everything to your power. Remember, Shin's boost is only temporary, and there may be situations when he won't be around. As for using Angels, I think Shin has the right idea about training, but I also think you shouldn't try to imitate the girls too much. Trying to find your own unique way of using those powers will be the core of your strength."
That was something Shido hadn't thought about. He had tried to imitate Origami, but he clearly didn't have the same level of skill as her. And what if one of the girls' Angels simply wasn't suited for him? Looking at it that way, it did make more sense to try to learn from the girls, but also find his own way of using those powers.
"How about you, Ellen?"
"These Spirit CR-Units and Angels really are something. Makes me wish I had one. But it seems that there's still a lot I have to teach you rookies, and especially you, Shido. You have too much potential to just waste it like this. I might have to start giving you some late-night private training."
Ellen said innocently, but the girls from the Spirit Team didn't have the same innocent thoughts. They still didn't know how Shido's ability was discovered, but they knew that Ellen had once made use of it, and that could only mean one thing. In summary, what Ellen was thinking of late-night private training and what the girls were thinking were completely different.
Mio noticed this, but she decided things would be funnier if she let it brew. She might even throw some oil in the fire if the chance comes. For now, she decided to move on and ask Karen for her thoughts.
"And you, Karen?"
"I mostly agree with my sister. So long as the Spirit Team gains power and experience, they'll be able to handle the Neighboring World and the Demon Kings. … For example, Shido didn't even notice that at no point I tried to weaken him."
"... Huh?"
Shido was surprised by Karen's sudden revelation. As it turns out, she figured that she wouldn't be able to weaken Shido by much because of the difference in their compatibility levels, so she would focus on strengthening Ellen while making Shido think he'd get weakened.
"N-no, but then, what was that at the end?"
"Ah, it was something we discussed while getting changed, while Shido was trying to peek at us. See, being inside someone's Territory feels like they're giving you a hug, right? So we thought that Shido would get flustered if we both did it at once and then he could easily be subdued."
"N-no, I was… trying to peek…"
Shido had no words. The plan worked exactly as they thought, but he couldn't help but feel he was being played with. He's also surprised that they noticed the times he tried to sneak a peek.
"Hmm, that's an interesting point. Maybe it would be best to have Shin train to get used to girls as well?"
"I volunteer."
Origami offered herself to help with some weird training Mio was thinking of. It took Shido a while to convince her to give up on that, although he wasn't totally sure he was successful.
With these demonstrations over, Ellen decided to train the Spirit Team herself for a bit, so that's what Shido and the girls did for the next few hours before heading home for the day.