Incredibly Astonishing Numbers

Shido's senses slowly drifted back to reality, his mind was so fuzzy as if trapped in a lingering dream. Distant voices wavered in and out of his awareness, fragments of words breaking through the dull hum ringing in his ears.

"Coordinate FJ 1820, target 'Princess' has been lost."

"Are reaction waves below detection threshold?"

As those words muddled together in his sluggish consciousness, a sudden, blinding light flashed through his eyes, invading his vision.

Shido groaned softly, squinting against the glare. He jerked up with a start, the action forcing a sharp breath from his lips.

"Gah…!"

"Hm… Looks like you're awake." a monotone voice filled with tiredness said from nearby.

Shido turned his head toward the sound, blinking rapidly as his vision adjusted to the sterile white light of the room.

Standing close beside him was a beautiful pale blue haired woman wearing a ponytail on the side. She had a tired expression and a pair of dark circles under her eyes holding a flashlight, which she had just retracted.

Her tired expression and slouched posture gave her an air of someone always worn out, she continue to stare at him as she studied him carefully.

Shido look back at her for a few seconds observing her beautiful countenance. 

Reine is unarguably a beautiful woman with pale skin. Shido can't help but be mesmerized by her even though she had a pale skin and big circles under her eyes.

Still, seeing her current appearance and her previous look earned him a totally different reaction.

Watching her silently, he thought that her personality is completely different when she was on her Spirit Form. Shido grinned inwardly as he imagine what her reaction will be when she find out that he know her other identity.

Still, he play along and asked her in a warry tone.

"W-Who are you?"

The woman tilted her head slightly, the motion languid and disinterested.

"My name is Murasame Reine, and I am the Head Analyst." she finally replied, the exhaustion in her voice matching her appearance.

"Relax. I'm not a certified, but I can perform simple first aid"

Shido blinked again, his lips twitching faintly. 'That doesn't help me relax at all...'

The words sounded far too irresponsible for someone who appeared so professional. He couldn't help but think that she's kind of dumb.

An idea suddenly came inside his head. 'Scan' Shido activated Scan in his mind.

Ding!

[Scan Activated]

Target Status:

Name: Murasame Reine

Level: 1

Age: ??

Height: 164cm

Measurements (B/W/H): 95/63/89

Class: None

STR: 2

VIT: 4

AGI: 1

INT: 103

CHA: 16

LUK: 5

Threat Level: F

Affiliation: Ratatoskr

The status panel hovered before him, translucent letters arranged neatly. Shido blinked once, then twice, processing the information in front of him.

His eyes briefly flicked toward Reine before glancing back at the absurd numbers.

He inwardly sighed in relief.

It seems that his Scan worked perfectly, even in her current form. That much was a small victory for him.

However, as his gaze roamed the stats again, particularly her measurements, he couldn't help but tilt his head slightly. "95… 63… 89…?" Shido's lips twitched as he look again on the numbers then her figure as if checking if the measurements are correct.

For someone who had a sloppy expression with uniform and had such lethargic tendencies, her figure was far more… refined than he had expected.

Still, while her appearance exuded charm, the rest of her stats told a completely different story.

"Weak! So weak!" Shido mentally exclaimed, almost facepalming on the spot. If not for her incredible INT  whopping 103, far surpassing average human standards, he would've sworn she was physically on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

The lack of strength, vitality, and agility was almost comical. Shido stole another look at her.

Her perpetually half-closed eyes, her blank expression, and her subtle yawn as if completely unbothered by anything around her.

But thinking of her backstory, he knew that the she hadn't fall asleep ever since 30 years ago as Shinji's death still haunts her till this day.

'I have to solve her problem of sleeping.' he thought.

Reine's Threat Level was F confirmed it, this woman had the physical prowess of a civilian about to be knocked over by a strong gust of wind.

Still, Shido respected her INT. As the Head Analyst aboard Fraxinus, she clearly compensated for her lacking physical attributes through sheer brilliance.

'Guess brains really do beat brawn sometimes.' Shido mused with a chuckle.

Although the stark contrast between her dangerously powerful Spirit Form and this weak human form stuck with him.

A certain sense of humor floated through his mind. 'Talk about being a paper tiger…'

He allowed his Scan window to fade away, shaking off his thoughts as Reine raised an eyebrow slightly, no doubt noticing his awkward stare.

Shido quickly cleared his throat, forcing his face into a mask of innocence, before offering her the most neutral smile he could muster.

"Ah… um…" Shido muttered. 'Nope, better not mention anything about that.'

Reine tilted her head lazily. "Something wrong?"

"N-Nope! Nothing at all!" he replied quickly, waving his hands in front of him as she gazed at him in her usual sleepy, disinterested way.

"Uh… so where am I?" he asked, changing to subject.

Reine raised an eyebrow before letting out what sounded like a stifled yawn.

"Fraxinus Sickbay," she explained.

"You were carried here after losing consciousness during the explosion. Frankly, you're lucky to be breathing right now."

Fraxinus?

Shido froze for a moment, her words reverberating in his head. Memories suddenly surged through his mind like a tidal wave. The battle.

The blinding light. Tohka and Origami's final, catastrophic clash that sent shockwaves strong enough to tear apart the very earth beneath them. And then…

"Phantom." he chanted under his breath.

The image of his "Inner World" flashed vividly across his mind's eye. It was otherworldly yet serene, like the boundary between existence and oblivion.

There, he'd met Phantom, a spirit shrouded in mystery who had the power to cause catastrophe.

And then looking at this person in front of him. His lips twitch as he thought of the stark difference on their strength and personality

But that brief encounter had changed something in him, pulling forth an overwhelming force he wasn't prepared to comprehend.

The Spirit Form.

Shido instinctively lowered his gaze to his body. His hands trembled slightly as he inspected them, turning his palms over and clenching them into fists.

Everything about his current form felt so human, so frail, compared to what he had felt in that other state.

He still remembered the surge of overwhelming strength, the seamless extension of his will through his newfound form, power unlike anything he'd ever imagined.

But now... that sensation was gone, replaced by the familiar weight of his mortal body.