Chapter 14: Zerono, his AIs and the Girls Spirits

"Well, let's start working, Maria, what are the features of the Fraxinus EX?"

( Maria Arusu (Date a live = DL) : https://date-a-live.fandom.com/wiki/Maria_Arusu )

Maria explains to me everything there is to know about the Realizer system, which allows me to create shields call Protect, fields of invisibility and even serve as a weapon, Thinking about how much this ship could bring, a silly idea appears in my head

"Maria, can I ask you a question? "

"What is it, Commander? "

"You don't have to call me commander, you can call me Zerono or Zero"

"You don't mind, do you? "

"Maria, it doesn't bother me and I'm not asking you as the commander of the Fraxinus but as a friend"

"Thank you very much Zerono-san, what was your question?"

" Is this ship adapted to go into the space limit remains close to the Earth's attraction?"

"Uh, uh, uh," Maria starts laughing at my question.

"Sorry if my question is so childish," I say in a soft way

"Sorry Com... Zerono-san, but I couldn't help it"

"Don't worry about it, still for an AI you show a lot of human feeling"

"My program was basically an AI created by Ratatatoskr to simulate and help humans in a loving relationship with spirits. I have observed the interaction of a certain human being with spirits and am slowly beginning to understand "love".

"I see you're very lucky, love is a feeling that makes us human,"

"Yes, it's a fantastic feeling" she smiles

"Tell me, Maria, did you have a dream?"

"A dream... hmmm" she looks at me and then a smile appears on her face" I never thought I had one but now I have one"

"Oh, interesting tell me"

"It's a secret" she answers me with a wink

"Huh, that's not fair, it makes me more curious."

"Hehehehehe"

"All right, I'm not going to ask for more, so"

"Aren't you going to ask me what it is?"

"No, unless you want to tell me, and I never force a member of my family to do something for my own good."

"Huh?" she blushes a little

"Well, let's see what the ship's databases have to offer us."

"Zerono-san, what did you just say?"

"What?"

"What did you said before"

"Let's see what the ship's database has to offer us"

"Before"

"my own good"

"Long before that"

"unless you want to tell me,"

"After"

"I'll never force a member of my family"

"Is that what you meant by family?"

"Because you're part of my family Maria, what? did you think you were just a simple program made only to assist me and that I would treat you as such?"

"Yes, I thought that for a while, but now after talking to you it seems to me that I misjudged you."

"Really I'm asking myself if you're not really a human being" I put my hand on Maria's head

"Kya" she jumps a little bit.

"Sorry, it's a reflex I have when I talk to my little sister or my junior"

"Um um, I was only surprised but I don't hate this feeling, continues"

"I get it" I keep stroking her head

"It's weird, how could you touch me like that Zerono-san I don't have a physical body"

"It's because I'm half Human, half Spirit so being able to interact with an Artificial Spirit like you is not a problem"

After talking with Maria I search in the Fraxinus database to see what it contains, I asked Maria to go check the other rooms on the ship to give me a report on what's on board. During my research, I mainly examined Ratatoskr's reports on spirits, which contain all the information about them, but also all the events they have faced

"You can come out of your hiding place I know you're watching me"

From a shadow comes out a girl who almost looks like Maria, she has long black hair with white tips and a pair of golden eyes. Like Maria, she also wears an outfit similar to a Western nun. While Maria wears a white outfit, this girl wears a black outfit instead, a gold medal, and a golden cross symbol in the middle.

Her name Marina Arusu she's Maria's sister. She is an Artificial Spirit who was created by DEM (Deus Ex Machina) Industry to infiltrate and take control of the Fraxinus but thanks to Maria, Itsuka Shido and the members of Ratatoskr she could be arrested in time but disappeared according to the report

"Wow, you're not a normal human for detecting me so easily."

"You're not trying to hide your presence either."

"You're not wrong"

"My name is Zerono Pendragon, and you?"

"Why should I tell you my name?"

"You're severe, umm, well, since you don't want to tell me your name, I'll give you a nickname."

"Do as you please"

"You're sure I can come up with a name like Petunia"

"Marina Arusu, Marina will be enough."

(Marina Arusu : https://date-a-live.fandom.com/wiki/Marina_Arusu )

"Huh? "

"You heard me, don't pretend you're didn't ear me."

"Sorry I wanted to tease you, but you're more friendly than I think, really sorry"

"You, why are you so kind to Maria, humans are not so caring for strangers"

"You're right, humans are greedy, stingy, liars, manipulators and many other things, I'm no exception but my life is not normal I've experienced things that a normal person shouldn't experience, so when I'm with Maria I feel I can get along with her, and like a said I'm a half Spirit"

"You're really a weird person and I don't trust you completely, but I think you look like an interesting person to follow."

"If that's what you think, I'm glad to hear it."

"You look a lot like him, even if your personalities are different" she mumbles to herself

"Did you say something? "

"No, nothing, *Really weird, *Ah I wanted to tell you, no, I'll show you something follow me"

"What's the matter?" I asked

"When you see you'll understand"

I follow Marina to a part of the ship that didn't appear on the plans would say she was added after the ship was built when I entered the room I notice that she is filled with box, 19 in all and in each box is a girl I recognize they are the spirits affiliated with Ratatoskr

"Marina, what is this? "

"Don't worry, they're just sleeping and immersed in a virtual world."

"Whew, I think something happened to them... "Suddenly my head starts to hurt and all of a sudden I find myself in a white room face-to-face with a boy of my age of average height and build, with blue hair and brown eyes.

'Itsuka Shido, why do you... '

'Nice to meet you, Zerono Pendragon.'

'Oh, nice to meet you~, that's not what I meant, what's going on, why are we here?'

'I need your help, it's something important and I don't have much time so I'll be brief.'

'*Why are all these events coming down on me and happening so fast* Okay I'm listening to you'

'First of all' he approaches me and puts his hand against my heart at that moment I feel something coming into me

{ Skills [ Spirit Seal ] Inherit }

'Huh' I look at him with my eyes wide open

'Why? This power...' I ask him

'I trust you, take care of others for me' then he disappears as for me I remember all the memories of Shido that I received with his power

" Z... "

"Zer... "

"Zerono"

"Um, my head"

"Are you all right? You start holding your head all of a sudden."

"I'm fine, don't worry," I pet her head.

"Don't pet my head," she pushes my hand and blushes

Then all of a sudden an alarm starts ringing, I turn to the boxes

"Tohka, Yoshino, Miku, Yuzuru, Kaguya, Origami, Mukuro, Nia, Kurumi, Kotori, Natsumi, Mayuri, Rinne, Rio, Reine, Mana"

"What's going on inside ?" asks Marina as Maria arrives in the room

A screen appears in front of me with the emotional state of the girls that is falling

'What's going on inside, what happens Shido, everyone' then I decide

"I have to go inside the virtual world everyone is in danger"

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{

Quest

Rescue Mission

The spirits affiliated with Ratatoskr asleep in the Fraxinus EX seem to encounter problems in the virtual world, Itsuka Shido has entrusted you with the mission of watching over her by giving you his power to seal the spirits.

Success: 3 Premium Tickets, Harem of Spirits

Failure: Loss of the power to seal the Spirits, Dead of all spirits.

}

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I go to a central unit in the middle of the room, while browsing the program I arrive on the interface it tells me the state of all the girls are in the virtual world, after having had an overview of the virtual world and I initialize my dive then I go to an empty box and prepare to enter the virtual world, I warned everyone at home that I would not be there for dinner and not expect me tonight and tomorrow morning

"OK let's go, Marina, you are accompanying me into the virtual world, Maria I'm counting on you to manage the ship while I'm away and to let me know when to go out because tomorrow I have school"

"Understood Zerono-san, have a good trip," Maria says to me

"Hey, why do I have to come with you? "

"For the good of Rio-chan? "

"I understand I'm going ahead to see if she's okay" and then she disappears in the form of a number

As for me, I put myself in the box and my kind of helmet on my head

"Link Start"

Suddenly I find myself falling in the air from my point of view I'm above Tengu city I notice activity and a half-destroyed building I see a lot of robots surrounding a group of girls and it's Miku, Yoshino, Mukuro and Nia and in the distance the Fraxinus is engaging another fighting ship probably one of the DEM's ships

"Tch, Bandersnatch, and wizard of the DEM" and then a mischievous smile appears on my face

"Well Westcott if you want to attack the Spirits so the Spirits will answer you, appears [ Excalibur Proto ], [ Astral Suit ] release " Excalibur appears in my hand and my clothes are replaced by Goku Xeno's outfit but the over-cloak is black and have a hooded with the Ratatoskr logo on the back, I dive towards the Bandersnatch group

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" I release all my mana and activate my [ Eyes of Spirit ]

Everyone downstairs is looking in my direction.

"[ Reload on Fire ] & [ Mana Burst Thunder ]" then I squeeze my teeth and then exhale air which forms the sound of electricity

" Secret Art:... "

At this very moment I slow down time to a fraction of my usual speed for five seconds, I lock each machine and then accelerate it several times in the next five seconds to reappear in front of the girls leaving traces of lightning behind me

"Thunder Time Slash"

{ Fusion Skill Thunder Time Slash create }

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Secret quest success :

Objective : Create a merge skill

Description : Create a merged skill to move to the top and also clean up your list of skills

Reward: Ceremony the awakening of the ????

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*BOOOM* all the Bandersnatch are destroyed which surprise everyone

" Wow, this Onii-san destroy all the bad robot in one moment, he looks cool right Yoshino " comment a rabbit puppet on the hand of a blue hair girl

" Um Um, you right Yoshinon "

"You making me blush you two, You're all OK? "

" Thanks for the help we almost surrounded by them " a short ash grey hair girl in sister cloth tell me

" Who are? Why did you help us ?" a light indigo hair girl asked me

"To put it simply, my mission is to protect you..."

"Behind you" scream a blonde long hair girl at me

" Tch, don't know when to give up, [Getsuga Tenshou] "I turn around in an instant and release a big wave of mana against a group of wizards who were trying to attack me from a distance

"You, who are you? "A woman with blond hair in battle armor shouts at me

"You can call me "Zero". Nice to meet you, Ellen Mira Mathers, the strongest wizard in the world."

"You seem to know who I am but I don't know you and this power, spirit power it impossible, why you're getting in our way," asks the wizard.

"Why? First, it's none of your business, and second, beating Westcott and DEM up for all the atrocities he's put the spirits through."

"Ahahahahaha, and you think you can stop us you're all alone and the other spirits are in the palm of our hand, to all units, capture them all"

'I'm almost out of mana and my fight with Rias peerage has taxed me mentally, I have to find they weak point to destroy them all at once,... I know I could do a merged skill if I could do the same with absolute knowledge and other skills but I don't know the rules to do it, damn it, I'm still trying.'

" [ Absolut knowlege ] & [Observe] & [Structural Gasp] "

{ DANGER Host if you continue you risk overloading your brain }

' Do it '

{ Fusion skill [Akaschic Record] create and [Eyes of Spirits] evolved into [Akashic Eyes] }

{ Following the creation of two high-level skills you could no longer use the skill fusion for 2 months }

A lot of information scrolls through my head which gives me a big headache but with [Gamer Mind] reduce the pain and red lines appear on all the objects in front of me and in my emerald eyes appear a mix red and blue ring

' I have developed Mystical Eyes and powerful ones to boot, [Akashic Record] ' A black book appear before mee with all the information of Ellen and her Wizard squad, but when I tell all it's all even their darkest secret

Then I turn my head behind to see the girls who seem to be still stunned by my skill then Yoshino look me in the eye, then I smile to her which make her blush

"The four of you go to join the others at Fraxinus, I'll take care of them"

"As if I'm going to let you [Chastifol]" Ellen and the wizards still standing fly at us by triggering a torrential energy barrage of magic missile

I place Excalibur on my back and then concentrate mana in my hand

" [Rhos Ais] " 3 layer flower form shield protects us from the missile

" What, 'Rhos Ais' how? "

"You ask too many questions, [Trace On] Enki, " a golden bow appears in my right hand then Trace 3 swords of rank D between the fingers of my left hand that I transform into an arrow with [Alteration] that I notch the 3 arrows on the bow then prepare myself to use one of my Breath style Technique.

Breath styles is a technique that has existed since the Edo era or before and goes from master to disciple, I acquired these techniques during my travels when I was working for the "Clock Tower", these techniques where the last legacy of my mother family and there are many of them, thanks to my high comprehension of the 5 great elements I could fully master breath styles related to the elements of Water, Fire, Wind, Lightning, and recently Chaos with any type of weapon.

"Complete concentration, Wind Breath: first style: Zephyrus Strike" The wind revolves around me and then around my arrows and then I release the arrow that rushes towards the magic missiles that destroy them and create a large shock wave

To avoid being hurt she starts to create a shield to protect herself from my attack she manages to almost block them all

Ellen looks at me with eyes full of fury

"How can the world's strongest wizard lose to a simple child, I wouldn't allow it"

"Oops, it seem, I made her angry." I use my mana to levitate myself and keep myself in the air by making support made of mana under my feet

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" she fly straight at me, I make Enki disappear, to make Yamato appear

I use Yamato to block all her attacks strikes after strikes while being in complete concentration.

"What's the matter, Ellen-san, I think you can do better" My attacks are getting more and more vicious and fast I don't leave her any spare and she manages to follow me

"Don't underestimate me" she pushes my vertical blows away then imprisons in a territory and uses [Chastifole] which attacks me in all directions

* BOOOOOM *

When the cloud of dust disperses I find myself surrounded by a magic membrane and Ruby and Sapphire around my neck.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, thank you Ruby, Sapphire, you are a life safe but how did you get here?"

"You're welcome Master, protecting you and helping you is our reason for being, so we've been downloading into the virtual world since the old man put us under your responsibility"

"We'll protect you no matter what happens Zerono-sama"

"It's true I'm not alone anymore, I have a family and friends who are counting on me and waiting for my return I can't lose now

"Thank you, you two, OK" I hit both my cheeks and then look Ellen in the eyes still shocked that I survived her attack

"Then Ellen, let's continue our date."