Hi! Lugal kug-ga here! I am a long time reader but a first time writer.
Imma say this now, I own nothing of the originals portrayed in this fic, I'm merely making an iteration.
And should you see some similarities with other fanfic Authors, it might be because I've…. copied it. Or took some parts of their works and incorporated it in mine. So, credits to them.
Enough of the boring A/N and onwards to the story.
I've committed to finishing this work, should it stop updating for a year, I've probably self deleted. So, sit back, enjoy, and review! oh and please point some errors if you see one.
—Arifureta —
The one who made the first move was Kouki.
"Myriad of Soaring Wings, Reach the Heavens, 【Soaring Flash】!"
Curved slashes of light directly struck Behemoth with a thunderous roar. Previously, when using 【Heaven's Might】, a higher tier skill than 【Soaring Flash】, he wasn't even able to inflict a single scratch. However, as Kouki proclaimed that they could not remain as they were back then, the results held proof.
"Gurgaah!?"
Shrieking as it scraped the ground while retreating, there was a distinct diagonal sword wound running across the chest of the Behemoth, dripping dark red blood.
"Nice! We are definitely getting stronger! Nagayama's team take the left, Hiyama's team from its back, Commander Meld's team on the right! Rear guards ready the magic! A high grade one, if possible! Hajime support!"
Kouki gave instructions in rapid succession. This is the result of Commander Meld's training.
"Hou~oh, excellent instructions with no hesitation. Heard it? All members, follow Kouki's commands!"
Commander Meld shouted as he led the knights and broke into a run around over to Behemoth's right. Everyone started to move all at once and encircled the Behemoth.
The vanguards desperately put up their defensive lines to prevent the raging Behemoth from reaching the rear guards.
"Guruaaa!!"
Behemoth crushed the floor with every step as it began to charge.
"I won't let you!"
"You shall not pass!"
The two giants of the class, Sakagami Ryutaro and Nagayama Jugo grappled Behemoth like in a rugby scrummage.
"Here dwells the raging power to split the earth! 【Herculean Strength】!"
Using magic to strengthen their physical abilities, more particularly their physical strength, they slid across the ground as they caught Behemoth's charge.
"Gaaaa!!"
"Raaaaa!!"
"Oooooh!!"
All three let out their respective roars as they mustered their strengths. Behemoth did not expect such puny humans to be able to completely stop and kill its momentum, as it stamped its feet in frustration.
Then 'Dopan!' an explosion sounded.
It was Hajime, laying face down the beside the rear guards, aiming a fucking sniper rifle. Grinning he spoke.
" Bullseye!"
The bullet hit the temple of the behemoth with pinpoint accuracy, the impact made its head jerk upwards and stunned it, the behemoth raised a pained roar.
"Gaaaarrraah!"
The rest did not miss this chance.
"A flash of supremacy that tears apart everything 【Absolute Severance】!"
Shizuku's quick drawing technique struck Behemoth's horn. The sword artifact's sharpness increased due to the magic cut halfway into the horn, unable to completely sever it.
"Ku, it's still this hard!"
"Leave it to me! Shatter, Smash, Pulverize 【Grand Strike】!"
Commander Meld dived in, striking his own knight sword on Shizuku's sword which was lodged halfway. The magically accelerated sword combined with his arm strength reinforced into a sharp, heavy blow that gave Shizuku's sword the impact it needed to push through. Meanwhile, several consecutive shots rang out, hitting its knees and eyes.
And finally, one of Behemoth's horns was cut into half.
"Gaaaaa!?"
The shock from having its horn cut off made Behemoth rampage with all its strength, causing all four of them, Nagayama, Ryutaro, Shizuku and Commander Meld, to be blown away.
"Gentle light which embraces all 【Halo】!"
Countless rings of light came together to form a gentle net enveloping the four of them who were beaten to the ground and had their breaths knocked out. What Kaori used was light defensive magic which killed the impact by changing its form.
Without delay, Kaori chanted the recovery spell.
"Heaven's blessing Bestow healing upon the boundless children 【Reversal】"
As Kaori completed her chant, even though they were not touching each other, all four of them were simultaneously healed. That was a Mid tier light recovery magic which heals several people at the same time remotely. It was an improved version of the previously used 【Heaven's Blessing】.
Kouki took a thrusting stance, and rushed straight at the still rampaging Behemoth. Then, stabbing his sword into the previously opened wound, he pulled the trigger for the end of the invoked magic that he finished chanting while he was charging.
"【Light Explosion】!"
The enormous magic power accumulated in the holy sword flowed into the Behemoth through the inserted wound creating a huge explosion.
"Gaaaaa!!"
Even with a gouged out wound causing massive bleeding, the Behemoth did not miss the slight opening of stiffening after using the skill, and struck Kouki with its sharp claws.
"Guuu!!"
Kouki groaned as he was blown away. The claws themselves were repelled by the holy armour artifact, but the impact transmitted inside caused a violent coughing fit. However, his suffering only lasted for an instance. Kaori immediately applied recovery magic.
"Heaven's blessing Bestow power upon him once again 【Scorched Sky】"
If the recovery magic just now had its effects reduced in exchange for healing multiple targets simultaneously, this was a single target magic with increased recovery effects. Kouki was enveloped in light and made a complete recovery instantly.
During that interval when it got rid of Kouki, Behemoth put up a hard struggle, using its roars and shockwaves from its jumps to blow away the other members. Its broken horn unwittingly began turning red hot.
"…… It is able to use that even with a broken horn. That is coming!"
Shizuku's warning came at the same time as Behemoth's leap. Having experienced Behemoth's unique magic, everyone was on guard. However, the Behemoth this time had an unexpected jumping range. It left Kouki and the others of the vanguard team in the lurch, easily leaping over their heads and reached the rear guards. At the battle of the bridge, it only made small jumps, being able to make such a leap over there with its huge body is beyond their wildest dreams. The vanguards displayed anxious expressions.
However, one of the rear guards broke off from chanting and stepped forward. It was Taniguchi Suzu.
"Herein a Sanctuary, The Enemy of God Shall Not Pass, 【Absolute Virtue】!!"
The light dome from the casted spell was completed at the same time Behemoth landed like a meteorite. The terrifying sound of impact and shock waves scattered around, smashing the surrounding stone floor into a spiderweb pattern.
However, the absolute defense that Suzu had put up firmly resisted Behemoth's deadly attack. Nevertheless, forcibly invoking 【Absolute Virtue】 by omitting two of the original four verse incantation made it unable to manifest its usual power.
In fact, cracks have already appeared on the barrier. If not for Suzu, who held the Class 【Barrier Master】, it seems that the barrier would not have been invoked, much less resisting that attack. Suzu gritted her teeth as she continued to pour magic to make up for that two verse, while desperately placing both hands there, imagining an absolute barrier. A barrier without cracks. My barrier is absolute.
"Uuuu~! Like hell I will lose~!"
Just beyond the barrier, Behemoth pierced Suzu with eyes full of killing intent, her entire body was seized with fear and anxiety, her raised arms quavering. Frantically shouting to dispel her timidness, she was approaching her limits soon. Behemoth's attacks has yet to cease, and she would be unable to hold for another ten seconds.
It's going to break! That instant Suzu screamed in her heart,
"Heaven's blessing Bestow mystery upon here 【Yielding Heaven】"
Suzu's body was wrapped in light, and the magic power flowing into 【Absolute Virtue】 rose sharply as well. It was Kaori's recovery magic. It was originally a magic that increases another's magic power, however this time, it was casted while she was pouring magic power into a magic formation, hence greatly amplifying the amount of magic power that was originally flowing in. It was an application technique of 【Yielding Heaven】. It is a magic that only people who had Class 【Healer】, like Kaori, could use.
"This is it! Love ya Kaorin!"
Suzu poured in the originally required magic power for a four verse chant at one go while simultaneously re-erecting the complete 【Absolute Virtue】. The cracks on the barrier that was letting out a dry shattering sound restored instantly. Behemoth irritated at being unable to break through the barrier, scowled angrily at the brazen caster, but Suzu stood her ground and firmly returned the look.
Eventually, Behemoth's red-hot horns began to lose their effects. Behemoth lost its momentum and fell to the ground. At the same time, Suzu's 【Absolute Virtue】 also disappeared.
Behemoth has locked on to Suzu, who was having difficulty catching her breath, but the vanguards were already closing in on the Behemoth.
"Rearguards, retreat!"
The rearguards fell back at once upon Kouki's instructions as the vanguards surrounded the Behemoth once again.
Hajime, positioning himself a distance away, took aim.
" Transmute(Rensie)!" he whispered. Transmuting one of his bullets. This bullet was a bit special, for its core was made of a fire magic stone.
Overloading it with magical energy, an explosion comparable to that of a grenade launcher would happen.
Inserting magical energy into the sniper, he strengthened it, making it withstand the recoil.
This idea was made due to him and Yukitoshi observed how Shirou did his Reinforcement and came to the conclusion that Hajime's skill are suitable for its execution.
As they continued to lead Behemoth on with hit-and-run tactics, Hajime was done powering his bullet and the rearguard finally completed their chants.
"Fall back!"
As the representative of the rearguards, Eri gave the signal. Kouki and gang released a full powered blow and in one go, used the recoil to take some distance.
Immediately after that, the trigger for the high grade fire attack magic and a trigger of a gun was pulled.
"""""【Scorching Sun】! "Die!" """""
The spell was a high grade magic which requires five casters. An ultra-hot spherical flame resembling the sun that incinerates everything in its surroundings. The 【Scorching Sun】 that was formed directly above the Behemoth instantly swelled to eight meters in diameter and immediately fell on the Behemoth.
An intense heat assaulted the Behemoth. Its power was so great that barriers were put up in a hurry to prevent allies from being damaged by that attack. The 【Scorching Sun】 didn't allow Behemoth any time to escape, its sturdy outer shell was already melting, then Hajime's bullet penetrated its hide. Then.
"BOOM!"
"Gurugaaaaa!!!!"
A muffled explosion sounded inside its body. Behemoth's death cry reverberated across the hall. It was the same shriek they heard that day. The ear-splitting scream gradually thinned out, until it finally faded away like an exhausted flame.
Then, on the walls of the darkened hall, all that is left appears to be merely Behemoth's remains.
"D-Did we win?"
"It seems like we won……"
"We won……"
"Really?"
"Seriously?"
Everyone gazed blankly at the place where Behemoth was, and little by little began to mutter their affirmation of victory. Similarly, Kouki, who was in a daze suddenly regained his senses and raised his holy sword directly above his head.
"That's right! We have won!"
Kouki raised a shout of triumph as he brandished the shinning, glittering holy sword. With that shout, the reality of victory finally set in as cheers of joy erupted all at once. The guys were patting each other's backs while the girls were embracing each other with faces full of delight. Commander Meld seems to be in deep emotions too.
Meanwhile, Kaori called out to Shizuku who was still gazing at the place where Behemoth was.
"Shizuku? What's wrong?"
"Eh, ah, Kaori-chan…… Er, it's nothing. I was just thinking that we came back here."
Shizuku replied to Kaori with a bitter smile. It seems like she was immersed in the powerful emotions having become strong enough to defeat the former nightmare.
"Well, we are definitely getting stronger."
"Nn…… Shizuku-chan, if we go even further, then Emiya-kun……"
"Didn't you want to go and confirm? Isn't that the reason you are trying so hard?"
"...you're right."
The reason to advance. That is to specifically ascertain the possibility of Shirou's safety. Fear of reaching the answer, leads to one becoming timid. Sensing that, Kaori put strength into holding Shizuku's hands.
That power gave Shizuku the strength to get over her timidness as she displayed a smile.
Hajime came over to the two of them.
"Are the two of you alright? Kaori has the best healing magic. As long as Kaori is around, I have some peace of mind."
Hajime let out a slight smile as he thanked Kaori and Shizuku.
"Yeah, we're alright. Nagumo-kun…… Well, we are okay right?"
"Nn, we're fine, Hajime-kun. I'm glad to have been of help to everyone."
The two of them returned similar faint smiles. However, Shizuku's next words made his expression turn bashful.
"Speaking off, that attack back there was quite powerful, was that the trump card you've been making with Kaori-chan?" she asked with a teasing smirk.
""……"" the two blushed.
Shizuku looking at their reaction, sported an expression of disbelief.
"Wait.. you two.. since when? I knew Kaori-chan had always liked Hajime but…I thought it would take more time for you to get together." She spoke with disbelief.
"Shizuku-chan!" Kaori shouted in protest.
Shizuku, ignoring the flushing kaori, turned to Hajime.
" So, how far did you get?" She asked with seriousness. And seeing that Hajime's blush became more pronounced and not responding, her disbelief intensified. She then looked at kaori in horror.
"Kaori…. I never knew you were that kind of woman." Considering Hajime's passive personality, she surmised he couldn't have taken the initiative. And so the most logical reason is that Kaori did everything.
" Shizuku -chan!" Clearly shocked and flustered, Kaori couldn't utter words other than her name. But seeing that she didn't deny anything, Shizuku heaved a sigh.
Walking up to Hajime, she placed both hands on his shoulder, her action seems to knock him out of his stupor, when he looked forward, he saw Shizuku's serious expression. Feeling a chill, when Shizuku smiled, he unconsciously stood straight.
" Hajime…you know what happens if you make her sad…don't you?" She said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Hajime could feel her fingers dig into his shoulder, and he was sure he could see a Hannya appearing behind her.
" ..I-I got it.." Hajime managed to utter after a few moments.
With his answer, Shizuku's smile became genuine, taking back her hands after petting his shoulder.
" Well, good luck. Both of you." With that, she left the shaken Hajime and the still blushing Kaori. Sighing once more, it seemed Kaori became impatient after Hajime's near death experience.
Then hearing Kouki's talk with meld Shizuku sighed. Instinctively wanting to complain, but also knowing that as usual, there isn't any ill will in Kouki. With the somewhat delicate atmosphere in the air, the class energetic kid came flying in.
"Ka-ori~n!"
With such a bizarre call, Suzu ran over and hugged Kaori. Looking over towards the voice, Shizuku couldn't help but smile.
"Fuwah!?"
"Eheheh, I love Kaorin super much~! If not for Kaori's support, we would have been completely flattened~"
"Hey, I said hey, Suzu-chan. Where are you touching!"
"Geheheh, does it feel good here? Or does it feel good here…… Argh~!?"
While Kaori is embarrassed over Suzu's words, Suzu will ride on the mood and grope her body like a perverted old man. Hajime responded with a hand chop. That slightly intense tsukkomi exploded on Suzu's crown.
" Who are you saying who belongs to who…… Kaori is mine!"
"Eh, N-Nagumo-kun!?"
"Ho~ , you've become gutsy huh, Hajime-chan, I knew the two of you've been going out lately, but, I wouldn't let you~, only Suzu can pii and pii with Kaorin!"
Hajime became silent, but then gave suzu a smile. Suzu didn't know why he was smiling at her like that, but it kinda irked her.
"Suzu-chan!? What in the world are you thinking of doing!?"
Hajime and Suzu with Kaori inserted between them and busy playing the straight man. Before they knew it, the delicate atmosphere from before had already dissipated .
From now on, it is a completely unknown domain. Kouki and the others shook off their past nightmare and advanced forward.
Meanwhile:
"Da-a, damn!" a rare moment of Shirou cursing.
"…Shirou, Fight…"
"You're too carefree!"
Currently, they were traversing through savage grass with Yue on his shoulder. These grass grew up to 160 cm and went up to his shoulders. It was fine for him because he has a blessing but If Yue were to walk in this, her figure would disappear. Then came the reason for their escaping through this grass.
""""""""""""Shaa!!""""""""""""
There were nearly 200 demons chasing them.
After Shirou had finished resupplying, they had advanced 10 levels. Shirou's equipment and skills were useful in their journey, and Yue's magic was also a big factor in their progress.
Yue could use any magic, and Shirou supported her with his skills. Granted, her barrier and recovery magic were not that great. Since she had "Auto Regen", she probably thought it was unnecessary. Shirou had no problem because he had his "natures blessing".
That is how they advanced to their current level. The floor had an appearance of an extensive forest. Lush and dense trees over 10 m tall lined the forest, and the atmosphere was damp. Shirou was glad it wasn't hot, like the tropical forest level he encountered previously.
While Shirou and Yue were searching for the stairs to the lower floor, they felt a rumbling below the ground occur. A demon that reminded Shirou of a huge reptile appeared in front of them. It look like a Tyrannosaurus rex, but there was a flower on its head. Sharp tusks thirsting for blood surged from the powerful beast, and the sunflower-like flower fluttered on top.
What an odd creature.
Tyrannosaurus rex gave out a roar and rushed at them.
Shirou started to take out Kanshou Alternative…but before that, Yue raised her hand.
"Scarlet Spear!"
A flame appeared at Yue's hand that spiraled into a spear form. The spear shot pierced through the T-Rex's mouth, and penetrated out the back. Its life ended as the surroundings melted. A rumble sounded as the T-Rex fell sideways onto the ground, and the flower on its head plopped onto the ground.
"…"
Shirou stayed silent for a bit. Yue seemed to be incomparably intense these days. In the beginning, she would devote herself to covering Shirou. On their journey she started to instantly kill any monsters that opposed Shirou. He started to feel depressed about being useless. Is it because he dragged his feet and it was over before he could do anything? His mind was seized with anxiety. If such a thing was true, he was going to have a blow to his confidence.
He addressed Yue with a forced smile as he kept Kanshou Alternative in his hands.
"Ah, Yue? It's good to be enthusiastic but… Recently, I feel like I haven't done much…"
Yue turned to look at Shirou, and Shirou could see a slight proud look on her expressionless face.
"….I just wanted to be useful… because I'm your partner…."
Seems like she wasn't content with just covering Shirou. He did think that since they were going to travel together from now on as partners, they should rely on each other. Immediately after, Yue collapsed due to using up all her magic. Shirou had said it to comfort her after she was released… it seems to have remained deep in her mind. She had wanted to show her worth as his partner.
"Haha, no. You've already helped me so much. Yue's magic is very powerful, so please take the rear; close combat isn't your strong suit. The frontlines are for me."
"…Shirou… okay…"
Yue fell silent at Shirou's advice. He smiled at Yue, who was trying too hard to be helpful to Shirou. To show he didn't dislike her, he stroked her soft hair. Yue's expression returned to her usual mood. Shirou couldn't say anything.
Because he didn't want to become overly reliant, he had to be cautious…While he thought that, he inadvertently spoiled himself. Shirou was amazed at that.
Then , Shirou caught a demon signature on his "Perception". Approximately 10 enemies were coming towards them. From the movements of the leader, it seemed to be a two-tailed wolf. He wanted to check it out, and urged Yue to move. Shirou wanted to move into an advantageous place because of their numbers.
When the beasts were trying to encircle him, Shirou rushed at one of them. Before he could finish, a 2 m reptile dropped from the overgrowth in the trees. The reptile's appearance was similar to a raptor. There was a tulip blooming on its head.
"…Cute…"
"…what?"
Yue muttered unintentionally as she felt unwinded. Shirou turned his eyes towards her, questioning her definition of cute.
The raptor and T-rex both had these unknown flowers! It seemed to scatter its bloodlust as it growled. War preparation. The flower sways and flutters…
"Shaaa!!"
Looking at Shirou, who was occupied with the Yue, the Raptor pounced. There were 20 cm talons attached to its tough legs. A heinous light glinted off of those talons. Shirou and Yue stepped back, but parted left and right. Shirou stepped above the raptor with his 'Aerodynamic', then shot at the tulip to test it.
All parts of the flower scattered with the sound of gunfire. The raptor seemed to twitch for a moment, then rolled as it failed its landing. It somersaulted into a tree and stopped moving. Silence filled the scene. Yue came up behind Shirou and looked at the raptor and the scattered tulip.
"…Dead?"
"No, it seems like it's still alive…"
Just as Shirou said that, the body started to twitch. The raptor got up and looked around. It saw its fallen tulip on the ground and continued to stomp it, not giving a glance at its enemies.
"Eh? What's up with that reaction?"
"…Prank."
"….No, it's not a schoolchild that put a paper on its back."
When it was satisfied, it looked to the heavens like it was saying: "Phew, Good job!" and raised a cry. The raptor faced Shirou and got startled.
"Did you notice it? It was in a trance."
"…Bullying afterall."
Shirou tsukkomi'd, and Yue looked at it with sympathy. The raptor stiffened for a while. Eventually it took a low posture, exposed its fangs and leapt. Shirou shot Kanshou Alternative at the raptor's open mouth.
The bullet pierced through the mouth of the raptor, exited out of the back of its head, and then disappeared into the forest behind.
With the momentum of its jump, the raptor slid on the ground. Shirou and Yue looked at the corpse of the raptor without saying anything.
"Really, what on earth?"
"…It was bullied. To be beaten… pity."
"No, it wasn't bullying, it definitely wasn't."
Shirou stopped trying to figure it out since he didn't understand how demons think. They continued to move to an advantageous position because the encircling monsters were getting closer.
Countless thick trees, over 5m in diameter, stretched on and on in the new area they were in. Neighboring trees' branches were intertwined with each other. Shirou used his "Aerodynamics" and Yue used wind magic to jump above the branches. Due to the area there, Shirou was going to exterminate the demons by sniping at them from overhead.
Less than 5 minutes later, raptors began to appear under them. While Shirou had intended to throw a reinforced sword, he froze. Yue had also hardened with her hand ready to unleash her magic. Shirou spoke first.
"Why do all these guys have flowers?"
"Flower garden…"
There were more than 10 raptors and all of them had flowers on their heads. A variety of flowers too.
Shirou's unintentional Tsukkomi had attracted the attention of all the raptors. The raptors then took stances to leap into attack. Shirou's strategy was to stay out of their range, then snipe them with Kanshou Alternative and follow up with a reinforced sword or bullet to start off. Shots were fired in succession, and a white flash precedes each death. One by one the raptors died with their heads blown off. Yue was busy using her "Scarlet Spear" to kill the surrounding raptors.
Three seconds later, the stabbed reinforced sword detonated in the middle of the raptor group. Shirou heaved a sigh of relief after he saw that his weapons worked on the monsters of this level. Seems like that scorpion was special.
Less than 10 seconds later, all the enemies had been cleared. However, Shirou had a dull look. Yue noticed this and tilted her head as she walked towards him.
"…Shirou?"
"…Yue, isn't it weird?"
"?"
"They were too weak."
Yue took notice after his words. That was true, the T-rex and raptors were easily exterminated because they made such easy movements and normal attacks. Their unnatural movement was almost mechanical and even their blood lust. After watching the scene where the raptor trampled the flower in anger, he felt that the flowers were not supposed to be on them.
The moment when Shirou was going to tell Yue to advance carefully, his "Perception" caught more approaching demons. A vast amount of demons were gathering from all directions. His "Perception" range was at a 20 m radius, and all the demons he sensed were coming straight for them.
"Yue, this is bad. I'm picking up 30, no, 40 or more monsters coming our way. Someone seems to be ordering them to surround us in all directions."
"…Do we run?"
"…No, we can't with this many. Better to exterminate them from on top of the tallest tree."
"Unn… we should get high up."
"let's do that."
Moving at high speed, they quickly went to find the highest tree in the area. They destroyed the branches that could help the demons, and climbed upwards.
Shirou waited calmly while holding both Kanshou and Bakuya Alternative. Yue understood and gently grabbed the hem of his clothes. His hand was occupied so he used his body as a substitute. Her grip became a little stronger.
Then the first batch arrived. Not just raptors, but also T-rexes. The T-rexes were ramming the tree, while the raptors were using their talons to climb it.
Shirou pulled the trigger on Kanshou. He shot with Bakuya towards the earth to hit the climbing raptors. When Kanshou's chambers were exhausted, Shirou dismissed the bullet shells, and with projection he replaced them with new projected bullets. During that time, he shot with Bakuya alternating between Kanshou and Bakuya, when some managed to come close, he projected swords and dropped them below, the swords he dropped before shooting were reinforced and blew up, covering the monsters with shrapnel. Flames scattered around the area. Kanshou and Bakuya was blazing again after it was reloaded. 20 of the monsters already fell, but that was not enough.
Soon, an additional 30 raptors and 4 T-rexes had gathered under their eyes. They were attempting to smash the tree Shirou was on, or climb up to attack him.
"Shirou?"
"Not yet… A little more."
Shirou answered Yue, while he was shooting down at the raptors. She continued to concentrate on her magic barrage, as she believed in him.
Finally, more than 50 monsters gathered below them. This was just a guess since it was hard to distinguish now. He sent a signal to Yue to say that the monsters he sensed with "Perception" were accounted for.
"Yue!"
"Okay! "Freezing Hell"!"
When Yue triggered her magic, underneath them an area was frozen and it was spreading. The area was covered in blue ice. When the ice touched the demons, the ice covered them like a coffin. There wasn't even a moment to resist. Monsters lost the light in their eyes after they were encased in ice. A radius of 50m was frozen from the spell. It was worthy of being called "Extermination Magic".
"Haa… Haa…"
"Good job. Indeed a "Vampire Princess"."
"…Kuhuhu…"
Shirou gave Yue praise at the spectacle before them. Just like the spell's name, it truly looked like a frozen hell in the surrounding area. Yue ran out of magic after using that superlative magic. She gasped for breath. She was probably having a case of magic fatigue. He could have done it himself by projecting gae bolg and using its, feature of shooting countless thorns or using Caladbolg to blow them up… but, he was sure it would once again make Yue think she's not helping.
He sat down beside her and placed a hand on her hips to support her, and presented his nape for her to recover from his blood. Although she does recover from the "Elixir", it takes a longer time for a vampire to recover with it than it does for Shirou. Blood seemed the best.
Yue was embarrassed, in spite of her deadpan look, at Shirou's praise and just laughed. She blushed as she placed her mouth against his neck.
While she was feeding, Shirou stood up with a grim expression. He was sensing more than 100 demons.
"Yue, there are several times more."
"!?"
"If it is this many, there is definitely something going on. We just eliminated them all right now. Yet, another suicide attack… like they were compelled to that flower… maybe."
"…Parasite."
"Yue thinks so too?"
She nodded to affirm his guess.
"…There should be a main body."
"Seems that as long as those flowers are on them, they are puppets. We are up against all the monsters on this floor."
Before Shirou is crushed by the amount, he should look for the main body. Looking for the lower floor would be hard if they didn't take care of them. Though they could find it along the way.
There wasn't time to let Yue suck his blood, so he tried to pass her the sacred water, but Yue refused it. She stretched both her hands out towards the confused Shirou and says…
"Shirou… Carry…"
"How old are you? Are you trying to suck my blood while we move?"
Shirou was correct. Yue nodded her head to answer his question. Magic power recovery was slow for Yue with the sacred water, and they should keep a contingency plan for recovery. While he was desperately busying himself, he eventually felt a little resistance, but necessity knows no laws.
Although it would get in the way, he consented to carry her. She hopped on his back, and they began the search for the main body.
And this is how we end up with the current situation.
They were being chased by close to 200 demons. The thicket was troublesome. Yue had already finished her meal but she didn't want to get off his back.
The monsters were closing in.
Dododododododo
The monsters were approaching them while making that noise. Raptors traveled side by side while hiding in the tall grass, and pouncing from all directions. Shirou ran towards the place he considered most suspicious while he counterattacked. Yue didn't allow the siege to overwhelm them by using her magic.
Kapu, Chu~
The two glared at the exit of the forest ahead. On the other side was the wall of the labyrinth. It looked like a cave with crack spreading from the center. What, was this place the objective? The attacking demons were consistent in their movements. Shirou countered while they advanced. Their movements became violent when they attempted to escape in a certain direction. It was as if they were trying to lead them away from there. They decided to rush in that direction because the demons were increasing in number and they couldn't stay in this situation.
Apparently, hiding in the grass had already made it fail. Shirou jumps ahead with "Aerodynamics" and "Ground shrink".
Kapu, Chu~
"Yue-san!? Can you stop sucking my blood at this point?"
"…Inevitable."
"Lies! You aren't exhausted anymore."
"…Those guys' flowers…I'm also…Ku."
"Why are you groaning unnaturally? Don't try to shift the blame, hey!"
In spite of the situation, Yue was obsessed with sucking Shirou's blood. It wasn't odd that a former royalty couldn't control their guts. Although he was playing, he properly countered putting Kanshou and Bakuya on his hip holsters, he began projecting his bow, and then Caladbolg. Shirou jumped into the cracks, and the 200 monsters followed.
The cave's cracks were narrow enough for two average adults to be standing side by side. Of course, the T-rex couldn't fit through it, and the raptors could only enter one by one. One of the raptors that entered tried to slash at Shirou with its extended claws. Before it could attack, Shirou altered Caladbolg to be more streamline, then shot it. It was convenient because they were coming at a straight line, without confirming how many had died, he went deeper inside and used reinforcement to alter and block the crack.
"well, We'll be okay for a bit with this."
"…Good job."
"If you feel like that then get down."
"…Mu…no choice."
Yue reluctantly descends with Shirou's words. His back seemed to be very comfortable.
"Those guys were acting pretty desperate, so this has gotta be the place right? Don't relax your guard."
"Okay."
Since the entrance was closed with transmutation, the two continued deeper into the cave.
They arrived at a big hall after traveling for a while. Cracks were still continuing into the depths of the halls. Perhaps it was the stairs to the lower level. Shirou observed the area. He didn't sense anything, but he kept his guard up because of an unpleasant feeling. After all, there were a lot of demons in this dungeon that could hide from his senses.
It was when they arrived in the center of the room that it happened. From all directions, an innumerable amount of green spheres flew in. Yue and Shirou were instantly back to back, intercepting the flying objects. Shirou was forced to create a wall of swords because the number of spheres exceeded 100. The wall was strong enough to prevent the balls from piercing it. Seems like the balls didn't have that much power. Yue was able to intercept the balls with her wind magic and excellent speed, without a problem.
"Yue, it's probably an attack from the main body. Do you know where it is?"
"…"
"Yue?"
Shirou asked her if she knew of its location. Yue didn't have a searching skill like "perception", but as a vampire she had sharper senses than Shirou. However, she still hadn't answered his question. Suspicious, Shirou called out to her, but his answer…
"…Run Shirou!"
Before anyone knew it, her hand faced Shirou. Wind converged onto her hand. Instinct warned violently, and Shirou jumped aside with full power. A blade of strong wind passes the place where Shirou used to be and bisects the cliff in the back.
"Yue!?"
Shirou wanted to raise his voice at the surprise attack, but he understood when he saw what was on her head. There was a flower blooming there. Did it match Yue? It was a crimson rose that matched her well.
"tch! Was it those green balls!?"
He wanted to beat himself for his carelessness. Shirou continued to avoid the wind attacks from Yue.
"Shirou…Uhh…"
Yue broke her deadpan expression for a sorrowful one. When he shot the raptor's flower, it stomped on the flower. That would mean that the victim's consciousness is still there while being manipulated. Only deprived the body of its freedom.
But then he already knew how to free her. Shirou tried to draw the trigger as he aimed at the flower. However, the controller knew of Shirou's firearm that shot down the previous flower. Yue's body moved to cover the flower. She was moving around a lot, and there was a chance the shot would blow her face away. Shirou closed in to cut it, but Yue hit her own head.
"…this has become difficult…"
It was warning Shirou to stay away, Yue would be the target of the magic if he didn't. Yue surely was almost immortal. However, he couldn't deny that she might have a spell that could disintegrate her and prevent her regen. Yue would be able to fire it at an instant too. He wanted to avoid the gamble of a suicide attack.
The monster appeared from the dark cracks as it understood Shirou's hesitation.
A demon that was the mix of a woman and a plant came out. It was similar to a dryad or aruraune from legends. The demon appeared before Shirou. There is a legend that dryads bring good luck, if not hostile, and that they were beautiful women. The one in front of him did not give that impression at all. Indeed, it looked like a human woman, but it had an ugly face like its inner ugliness was overflowing. It also had countless vines waving around, and it felt creepy. "Her" mouth was laughing and grinning at something.
Shirou pointed Kanshou and Bakuya Alternative at once. However, Yue entered his line of fire.
"Shirou…Sorry…"
Yue grit her teeth with a mortified expression. Being unable to control herself was probably intolerable. She should still be resisting it desperately. Blood dripped from her lips as she moved her mouth to apologize. Her sharp fangs were probably the cause. Was she frustrated with herself, or the curse, or both?
The aruraune fired a green ball into Shirou while using Yue as a shield. Shirou knocked it aside with Kanshou. It was destroyed, though not visible, and probably scattered spores around. There was no sign of a flower blooming on Shirou. Laughter stopped coming from the demon and it looked confused. Spores did not seem to work on Shirou.
Most likely, it is because of nature's blessing and resistance he gained.
Just as Shirou guessed, the spores were a kind of neurotoxin. His "Poison Resist" allowed him to resist it and his body adapted to it. It was sheer luck for Shirou, Yue can't be blamed for anything. She shouldn't feel heartbreak.
Realizing that the spores were useless against Shirou, the demon grumply ordered Yue to cast her spell. Again, a blade of wind was formed. Shirou thought it wasn't able to demonstrate the full capability of the victims. The raptors movements were evidence of this.
That's a blessing in disguise
If he tried to avoid the blade of wind, the aruraune would just threaten to hurt Yue. Using his armor made of Taur ore and using reinforcement, as well as Vajra which he obtained from a cyclops, to endure the blades. This skill solidifies and expands magic to cover the whole body pretty much like his reinforcement, but, with Vajra, the effects had stacked. It was a very reliable skill that demonstrates defensive power equivalent to its name. Because he was already experienced with reinforcement, Shirou could display 7/10 of its original strength. The blades had no power even if they were sharp, so he was able to endure it.
There is a method to settle this immediately once… though the aftereffects would be scary… I guess I'll have to apologize to her later.
As Shirou was pondering the situation, Yue raised a sorrowful cry.
"Shirou!…I'll be fine…just shoot!"
Yue had prepared herself for this. If she couldn't control herself then she would rather have Shirou shoot her. She put that kind of will into her eyes as she watched Shirou.
There was no way he could do that. For sure he would save her. But, he needed something to distract it, and with Yue's words, an absurd plan came up.
"...Yue, I'm sorry." he aimed, preparing to pull the trigger, the demon, seeing him aim, positioned Yue In Front. Then.
Sching!
A Slicing sound echoed in the hall. When he heard Yue's words, he projected a sword diagonally above her. The hall was filled with cold air and silence. Rose petals were dancing in the air and fell onto the ground.
Yue was blinking her eyes with surprise. Aruraune was linking its eyes with surprise. To confirm it was gone, Yue placed both her hands on her head. There was blond hair that had frizzled or but wasn't torn off. Aruraune also understood the situation. It stared at the sword stabbed at its chest then at Shirou with accusing eyes.
"...sorry."
Bang!
He discharged his gun with his apology. The aruraune's head exploded into green liquid. It fell down to the ground while convulsing.
"So, Yue, are you fine? Are you hurt somewhere?"
Shirou confirms Yue's safety with a concerned expression. However, Yue was glaring at Shirou while stroking her head.
"…Sword."
"Ah? Well shooting the gun might have been dangerous so."
"…You , about to shoot…"
"That… was a way to distract its attention. I had confidence in my aim. As expected, Yue is upset. From now on I'll put that into consideration. I'm sorry."
"…My scalp was shaved a little…maybe…"
"sorry..Well, if it's that much you'll regen it right?" he said with a wry smile while patting her hair.
"Uhh~…"
Yue started to hit Shirou's stomach repeatedly with a face that said "That is certainly true, but…" Indeed, she told him to shoot, and she had prepared herself. But Yue is a woman. She had some dreams. And he didn't disappoint, but why did she feel somehow wronged.
Shirou didn't worry for Yue after he found out that a manipulated Yue wouldn't be able to use high-level magic. There were few spells that could overcome her immortality, and he felt unpleasant at aiming his gun at someone who he cared about. It brings about some of his recent dreams about him pointing his gun at his surrogate sister.
Shirou sighed inwardly, Yue still burying her face into his stomach in embarrassment, which he misunderstood as her being upset, he then wondered how he was going to fix the mood. This would be harder than beating the Aruraune.
Although there was no question that the Aruraune was dead, Yue was still embarrassed about the recent happenings which added to her black history. After that event, she sucked Shirou's blood until he fainted. That was successful enough to put her back into a good mood, so they continued their journey.
Their journey continued until they had descended 100 levels from where Shirou first started. Before each level, he would check his equipment and supplies. As always, whenever Shirou would work, Yue would stare at him. She was really watching Shirou rather than the work. Even now she was watching him work from his right side while relaxing. Her expression did not suit the atmosphere of the dungeon.
They lost track of how many days had passed since they met, because there was no sense of time underground. Recently, Yue was displaying a more comfortable expression. She was even acting a little spoiled.
Whenever they were resting at the base, she would especially get glued to him. If he laid down, she would cling to his arm while they slept near each other. Yue would embrace him from the back when he sat down. When she fed on his blood, she would cuddle him from the front. She would stay there even after she was done with the feeding. With a content expression, she would rub her face on his chest.
Shirou is a man. Yue with her 12 years old appearance was charming and should not easily invoke lust, but she was older than that. Since Shirou was the one being bewitched from that glimpse, it was troublesome. Still, they were in the dungeon, the tension in there and the thought that it was because he was the only other person she met after a long time that she was acting like that, which helped him bear with it. When they returned to the surface, she would be able to interact with other people, and with that, she might be able to find someone whom she would truly love. There may not be the meaning to impart…
"Shirou…as careful as usual…"
"Hmm? Ah, because it's the 100th floor next. I thought there might be something there. The upper dungeon is believed to have 100 floors… just in case."
When Shirou passed the 80th floor of this place, he thought there was a possibility that the place they were in was no longer the usual "Orcus Dungeon". He had the same feeling as when he fell into the abyss. Judging from what he sensed as he traversed this level, this was certainly a basement a way off from the usual labyrinth.
Firearms, martial arts, inherent magic, weapons, Reinforcement, and Projection. After polishing these skills, Shirou had confidence in himself. He wouldn't be taken down easily. However, this place was scary enough to kill him even with his abilities.
That is why he prepared as much as possible. Shirou's current status…
Emiya Shirou 17 (???) Year old. Male
Class: Archer Level: 80
Strength: 2080. Vitality: 2,090
Resistance: 2,060. Agility: 2,450
Magic Power: ???? Magic Resistance: 4, 780
Skills:
Projection • Reinforcement [Structural Analysis] [Precision Alteration] [ Mineral Analysis]• [Mineral Processing] • Spirit magic [sealed] • Blessing of Nature[body adaptation] • Magic Manipulation • Magic Perception • Magic Emission • Magic Compression • Remote Control • Iron Stomach • Lightning Clad • Divine Step [Aerodynamic] [Ground Shrink] [Grand Legs] • Air Claw • Night Vision • Far Sight • Presence Perception • Heat Perception • Hide Presence • Poison Resist • Paralysis Resist • Petrification Resistance • Varja • Magic Penetration • Coercion • Telepathic Communication • Language Comprehension
His status has continuously climbed after consuming his first demon meat, though he had not received much inherent Magic. The stats did not increase anymore from normal monsters, but the boss or high-level monsters still did. Just like the other demons that didn't get inherent magic from eating other demons, and his stats were getting harder to raise in his state.
When Shirou and Yue finished all their preparations, they went to the staircase that led them down.
The level they stumbled upon, was a very large space supported by a vast number of pillars. Each of the pillars was 5m in diameter, and each had spiral designs and vine patterns engraved onto them. The arrangement of each row of pillars was very uniform, and was even spaced out evenly. There was about 30m to the ceiling. Unlike the usual rough ground in the dungeon, this place had beautiful flat ground, and the room gave off a solemn atmosphere.
They stepped into the room while they admired it. All the pillars started to shine faintly then. This got them to regain their caution. Pillars lit up sequentially towards the back of the room.
Shirou was vigilant for a while, but they decided to advance because nothing was happening. They advanced while making full use of their senses and perception skills. After they progressed 200m, they found a dead end ahead. No, not a dead end, but a huge door. The double door was 10m tall and had extravagant sculptures engraved onto it. Particularly, some of the patterns drawn were the same as the ones on top of the octagon system.
"…This looks amazing. By any chance…"
"Abode of Traitors?"
He had a feeling this was the room with the last boss. Shirou's instincts were sending him warnings, while there was no reaction from his perception skills. The fight ahead would definitely be a troublesome one. Yue seemed to feel it too because there was sweat on her forehead.
"Isn't this fine? We finally reached our goal."
Shirou disregarded his instinct and put his bold smile on. He had no choice but to keep going, no matter what was behind there.
Yue eyed the door with an expression that told him she was prepared for it.
The two finally walked past the last of pillars and advanced towards the door.
At that moment, a huge magic formation nearly 30 meters wide appeared between them and the door. Crimson light emitted from the magic, and it pulsated.
Shirou recognized this magic. He couldn't forget it, since it was the same magic that triggered the trap that day and caused him to fall into the abyss. But the magic formation for the Behemoth is measly 10 m in diameter. Compared to the magic formation from last time, this was 3 times larger than that, a lot more complex and detailed.
"Hey hey, what's with this size? Is it really the last boss?"
"…It's fine…I'll..no, we won't lose…"
As expected, Shirou smiled. Yue tugged on one of his arms tightly with a determined expression on her face.
Shirou nodded at Yue's words, and glared at the magic formation. Seems like they wouldn't be able to advance if they didn't defeat the monster that came out of that magic formation.
The formation shone more and more until it finally burst. Shirou and Yue both held up their arms to prevent the light from blinding them. When the light disappeared, the boss awaited them.
A monster over 30 m in length, 9 heads with long necks, sharp fangs, and dark red eyes. Comparable to the Hydra of the myths.
""""""Kuruuaan!""""""
Those nine pair of eyes stared at Shirou as it gave off a strange roar. It seemed to want to bring judgment upon the intruders who didn't know their place. A fierce thirst for blood, that would have stopped an ordinary man's heart, was flung at Shirou.
One of the heads with a Red Crest on it opened its mouth as flames emitted from it. The flames were already on the scale of a massive wall.
Shirou and Yue jumped to the right and left to start their counterattack. Shirou fired a reinforced bullet with Kanshou at the Red Head, and the bullet sent it flying.
When Shirou pumped his fist in the air at his victory, one head with a white pattern shouted. White light wrapped around the crimson head and restored it fully, like time had been reversed. The white head appeared to be able to use healing magic.
Yue had launched an ice shard at a Green Head and blew it away. However, the result was the same as the Red one, the white head cast its spell and healed it.
Shirou started to speak with Yue through the "Telepathic Communication", while he tsked.
("Yue! Aim for that white head! Or it's endless!")
("Okay!")
The head with a blue pattern shot out a gravel of ice from its mouth. Shirou and Yue were aiming for the white head while they avoided the shot.
Bang!
"Scarlet Spear!"
A flash of light and a blazing spear shot towards the white head. However, the moment when it was about to hit, the yellow head quickly went into the line of fire and bloated. The head shone yellow and took both of the attacks head-ons. After the attack settled, there was an unscathed yellow head glaring at them.
"Tsk! A shield. That head shields the healing head, a nice balance."
Shirou projected several massive explosive swords over the heads. At the same time, he fired Kanshou and Bakuya at the White Head with full power. Yue helped by firing off her "Scarlet Spear" in rapid succession. Her "Azure Sky" may have surpassed the yellow head and hit the white head, but she would be easy prey after using such a strong spell that would exhaust her. She may be able to recover fast if she drank blood, but the heads were probably not going to allow the chance. Unless the number of heads could be halved, she couldn't use her best spells.
The yellow head was taking all their attacks. But soon it was showing signs of damage in its previously flawless head.
"Kuruan!"
The white head took to healing the yellow head at once. The head performed its healer role perfectly. However, at that moment a sword exploded over the white head. A pouch of Tar tied to it burned at 3000 degree centigrade scattered around. When it poured onto the white head, it screamed in pain.
Don't miss this chance! Shirou sent this message telepathically. They planned for a simultaneous attack, but before they could execute it, a scream sounded. Yue's scream.
"Noooo!!"
"!? Yue!"
He quickly tried to rush over to her, but was intercepted by wind blades and fireballs fired by the green head and red head respectively. Yue was still screaming, Shirou wondered what was going on with his teeth clenched. The black head, he realized it had done nothing this whole time.
No that's wrong, it had already done something.
Shirou fired Kanshou and Bakuya Alternative at the black head, while he dodged around with "Ground shrink" and "Aerodynamics". With the sound of his firearm, the black head that was staring at Yue was blown away. Yue collapsed at the same time. He could see that her face was pale even from a distance. The blue head opened its big mouth and stretched its head towards Yue to swallow her.
"Like I'll let you!!"
Shirou prepared himself to get damaged in the storm of wind blades and fireballs as he used his "Ground shrink". A potentially fatal attack was avoided with the use of "Vajra" and "Reinforcement". At the last moment, Shirou arrived between the blue head and Yue. But there was no time to counter, so he quickly projected swords in front and reinforcing them. Shirou could not escape with Yue on time. That's why he stood before Yue to block that attack. the swords appeared in front acted as a wall before the head tore through it and bit him.
"Kururu!"
"Guu!"
While raising a low growl, the blue head swallowed Shirou whole. When it tried to close its jaws, Shirou leaned forward and braced his legs to prevent it from closing. He pushed Kanshou against the head's upper jaw and pulled the trigger.
The blue head erupted from the blast and bits of its brain flew off. Shirou used his "Grand Kick" on the motionless head. Then he shot a reinforced bullet with Kanshou and Bakuya at the Hydra.
Those two shots covered the Hydra in intense light and explosive waves. Shirou carried Yue and hid behind the pillars with the chance those explosions provided.
"Hey! Yue! Get it together!"
"…"
She didn't react to his words with her paling expression and trembling body. What the heck did the black head do to her? While he cursed, he slapped Yue's cheeks. Shirou called out for her telepathically and gave her some sacred water. After a while, light began to dwell in her hollow eyes.
"Yue!"
"…Shirou"
"Yeah, it's me. Are you alright? What happened?"
Yue confirmed Shirou's existence with blinking eyes. She extends out her small hands and touched his face. A relieved sigh escaped her lips as she realized that Shirou was really in front of her, and tears began to collect at the edge of her eyes.
"…What a relief… I thought I was abandoned… alone in the dark again…"
"Ah? What are you talking about?"
Shirou was perplexed at her state. Yue said she saw a scene play out where Shirou had abandoned her and resealed her. When she saw that, a strong sense of insecurity struck her. She became bound by fear then it paralyzed her body and mind.
"Tsk! A debuff spell? Seems like the black head can induce panic into its opponent. that monster has a good balance of skills!"
"…Shirou."
Yue watched Shirou curse at the troublesome enemy with her anxious eyes. It was a frightening scene, being abandoned by Shirou. He was the person to risk his own life at unsealing her after 300 years. He, who didn't treat her differently after she told him she was a vampire, and allow her to feed off of him day-by-day. It was unavoidable that her heart yielded.
The only place for Yue was beside Shirou. How nice it was when they promised to return to Shirou's hometown together. She didn't even want to imagine being alone again. Therefore the planted nightmare was stuck in her head and ate her up. Shirou stands up at the sign of the Hydra recovering from the confusion. Yue detained him involuntarily when she grabbed his clothes.
"…I…"
She was shaking with an uneasy expression that was close to crying. Shirou finally understood what nightmare she saw and what she was currently thinking. In his usual manner, he was able to perceive her feelings, but, at the back of his mind, he couldn't shake off the thought that he would have done that. Either way, he had promised to take her back to earth. There was no reason to pretend not to know.
He would probably be able to comfort her with words, but there was no time for that. If he said some half-hearted words, she would still fall prey to the black head's magic. There was a possibility that Shirou would mess up, but at that time he would follow Yue. While he thought of that excuse, Shirou scratched his head and squatted in front of Yue to meet her eyes.
And then…
"?…!?"
Shirou inclined his head and kissed Yue.
Their lips only touched a bit, but Yue had a dramatic reaction. She just seriously stared at Shirou.
He averted his eyes, not showing his inner turmoil and guilt, guilt that he could only think of giving her a kiss to bring her out of her state. He then held out his hand and led her to stand.
"We will defeat that beast and survive. Then, we will reach the surface and return home… all of us."
Yue stared at Shirou in utter amazement, then her usual deadpan expression broke down to gently display a beautiful smile.
"Yes!"
Shirou cleared his throat to gather himself and informed Yue of the strategy.
"Yue, I'm going to use something. I need time to prepare it, so please cover me."
"…Leave it to me!"
Yue was suddenly full of motivation. Her quiet mutters were gone, and in place was a voice full of ambition. All the anxiety before vanished completely.
It seems like there had been a breakthrough in various ways. Shirou recalled his usual lack of independence, and when he thought about the future, maybe he acted rashly. However, the Hydra performed an explosion. The beast roared as it pelted the area Shirou and Yue were at with fireballs, wind blades, lightning, and ice shards.
The two jumped out of the shadow of the pillar and started their counterattack.
"Scarlet Spear! Imperial Cannon! Frozen Rain!"
The trigger for the magic was activated rapidly, and the magic built up at an impossible speed. An ice tornado accompanied a spiraling spear, with vacuum blades whirling around it, and a sharp needle pelted the Hydra all at once. She had aimed for the gap when they attacked and launched it towards the red, green, and blue head to force the yellow head to act. But the yellow head didn't move as it noticed Shirou aiming for the white head and raised a roar.
"Kuruuan!"
Then a nearby pillar waved and it transformed into an impromptu shield. This yellow head seems to be able to use a skill similar to the scorpion's, though the scale was smaller. While the purple head was crackling with lighting.
Yue's magic hit the stone walls, blasting through the vanguard of walls. The magic directly hit three of the heads.
"""Guruuuu!!"""
Three of the heads screamed and wriggled. When the black head's eyes caught Yue's it started to use its debuff magic.
Uneasiness welled up in Yue again. However, Yue remembered her kiss with Shirou before she was crushed by the uneasiness. Then, her body got a passionate feeling and it washed away her anxiety.
"…It doesn't work anymore!"
In order to cover Shirou, Yue was casting spells rapidly and was emphasizing the number of spells rather than the power.
While the red head received healing, blue head and green head resumed their attacks, and Yue contended with them by herself. They tried to counter each other.
While the three heads were occupied with Yue, Shirou approached the beast with a dash. He was going for a single killing blow, because it would be troublesome if the beast had emergency measures it had yet to use. When the black head realized its magic didn't work on Yue, it looked for Shirou. The pain, hunger, and anxiety of his time in the abyss rose inside his chest. But…
"...it's useless, I already know."
It was past the time that he endured long ago. Feelings from those days still marked a scar within his soul, the fire in which he was reborn. Shirou blew away the black head with reinforced bullets from Kanshou Alternative.
The white head tried to recover the head in a split second, but before it could Shirou jumped into the air using his skills and aimed Bakuya.
Just as he had assumed, the yellow head stood in the way of the shot for the white head.
"Then break together! TRACE, ON!"
Shirou's Circuits light up with a spark. From the original 27, there were now 36, glowing with purplish black, but, slightly, slight golden light appeared, following the outline of his circuits, like cracks.
And with a flash, a massive stone sword appeared on his now free left hand originally holding bakuya.
Ancient, and lined with jagged black shards shaped like teeth, it was massive in size and still appeared to be a one-handed weapon. The sheer bulkiness of its body denoted just how heavy it was.
The hydra stilled, and was confused not knowing why it felt a sense of fear from the sword, and the fact that its body began to tremble as if instinctively knowing what was to come.
The myth of one man against a beast,
And a technique that was able to slay it.
The hydra readied, its nine pairs of Reptilian eyes all narrowing and observing all his moves, and its fangs bared in defiance.
"Ordinary attacks will not hurt you," Shirou began again, his body springing forward. "But this will."
All nine pairs of eyes glared at Shirou, but their previous opponent was not someone to lightly take their eyes off of.
"Scorching Heaven!"
Once the Vampire Princess —an existence which caused her own people to fear her due to her talents and ultimately sealed her— poured her power into the spell, it was like turning Heaven's vengeance against the hydra.
When the globe burst, it rained down lightning of great power within the confines of the 6 smaller spheres. The three heads tried to run, but the surrounding lightning spheres were acting like walls. As the wrath of God poured down from the sky, flashes and thunder filled the room.
Helpless, the nine heads screamed in agony as it's back was charred by the superlative magic that lasted more than 10 seconds.
Like always, Yue collapsed into a sitting position after using that strong of a spell. She was breathing heavily as her magic power was exhausted and on her expressionless face were the eyes that conveyed satisfaction; she gave Shirou a thumbs up to show her satisfaction. Shirou returned the gesture with a smile.
He appeared in front of the hydra in an instant, sword drawn.
Nine strikes to kill.
Nine vitals to pummel.
The images flashed though his mind, the power of Godspeed propelling the actualization of the power of a myth. A Noble Phantasm created by drawing out the maximum potential of a weapon alone.
The skill of the Hero at the pinnacle of weapon mastery unleashed.
"Nine Lives, Blade Works!"
An immense pressure weighed down, and for a moment, all heads were left stunned as what seemed like nine strikes simultaneously struck down on every single one of its necks.
Just before the final slash, there was a flash of light and an explosion.
"Shirou!"
Yue's desperate voice sounded out. Shirou standing in front of the now stunned single headed hydra now has several wounds covering him. The stone sword clattering in the ground before disappearing into motes of light.
" D–Damn, I, was.. careless."
With that, he fell face first, as he blacked out, he could hear Yue's desperate cry of worry. He wished he could tell her to run and don't worry about him, but he couldn't hold on to his fading consciousness.
…
The moment he was about to slash the final head the silver head turned to Yue, Shirou stilled for a split second as his body was attacked by chills, that split second was all it take for everything to go wrong.
Just like with the blue head earlier, Shirou was able to jump into the line of fire to save Yue. This time the results were different. The moment he attacked, it did the same, and as he was reenacting the legend of the hydra slaying hero, he could only follow through the motions, at the last moment was the only time he gained control, so noticing the silver heads aim, he have no choice but to take the attack with his body in order to protect Yue. The aurora Swallowed Shirou whole. Yue's body was blown away by the aftereffects of the hit, even if it wasn't a direct hit.
Soon the aurora calmed down, and Yue sat herself up as her whole body was in pain. She searched for the figure of Shirou, as he had been swallowed by the aurora after he forced his way through to take the attack.
Shirou had not moved from the place he blocked the attack. He was in an imposing stance as smoke blew from his whole body. On the floor was the now dissolving stone sword.
"H-Shirou?"
"…"
He was unresponsive. His body just shook and fell forward.
"Shirou!"
Yue quickly rushed over to him, ignoring her aching body as she was driven by uneasiness. Because of her magic drain, she couldn't gather any strength and fell. With a suppressed impatient feeling, she took out her sacred water and drank. Her vitality returned slowly and she rushed to Shirou this time.
Blood gradually began to puddle under Shirou's stomach. The attack had penetrated Shirou's Armor made with Taur ore and his Vajra and did a lot of damage. If he had not used reinforcement prior, he most likely would have died. Luckily, his body had been more sturdy than before.
When she turned him on his back, Shirou's condition was severe. His left arm, fingers, shoulder, and flank were burned and festering. Some of the parts even had bone exposed; the bones on his left arm looked as if it had been crushed by a boulder. The right side of his face was burned and his right eye was bleeding. There wasn't much damage to his legs, thanks to the Armor made from the scorpion.
Yue was going to give him sacred water, but then she saw something disturbing, the golden cracks made a flash of light, covering her eyes at the sudden radiance, she then looked at Shirou's body with worry, her eyes then widened as she saw that tiny swords were sprouting and connecting, appearing to mend or cover all wounded areas of his body.
Coming to her senses She quickly held Shirou and exerted all her strength to hide behind the pillars. Balls of light were shot one after another at the pillars, and caused the pillars to be shaved down. They had less than a minute left. Each of the light balls was loaded with terrifying energy.
Yue quickly dropped the sacred water onto Shirou's wound, and tried to get him to drink one. However, Shirou didn't have the power to swallow it, so he choked on it and spit some out. To get Shirou to drink it, Yue placed it in her mouth and kissed him. She forcibly made him drink it.
But the sacred water was not able to restore the wounds. Usually, the restoration began immediately, it seemed like something was inhibiting it.
"Why!?"
Yue took out all the sacred water on hand as she began to panic.
The factor that was inhibiting the restoration was the poison in hydra's aurora; the poison melted his flesh. It usually would have melted a being without resistance. However, the the nature's blessing adaptation was faster than the dissolution speed of the poison. The speed was slow, but with Shirou's enhanced body and the 'elixir' it would just take time to heal, but the right eye had evaporated with the aurora light. He would not be able to get it back because the sacred water, and the blessing only made his body could only restore and adapt not regenerate.
Soon the pillar will be crushed, and it did not seem Shirou will be able to move until then. Yue stared at Shirou with a determined expression as she kissed him. She took Bakuya and stood up.
"…This time, I'll save you…"
After her words of determination, she jumped out from behind the pillar. She only had a little magic and the sacred water was used up. With the body of a vampire that relied on body strengthening, she could only use Bakuya and her unreliable "Auto Regen".
The silver head glared at Yue. who had jumped out of the pillar it was bombarding. Since her magic reserve was low, she employed a hit and run strategy rather than fighting it with magic. That was because she couldn't fire Bakuya as skillfully as Shirou. Yue was originally not good with close quarter combat, so she was instantly driven into a corner.
Finally, one of the balls hit Yue on the shoulder.
"Agh!"
Groaning in pain, she endured it and resumed running after regaining her momentum. The moment she stopped because of the pain would be the time she collapsed. Her "Auto Regen" began, but it was slower than usual. The poison seemed to be effective against her regen. The vampiress' magic reverse was cut again. In this situation, the magical power used to enforce her body would disappear soon.
Yue tried to approach the Hydra but the density of the barrage prevented her from going forward. She wouldn't be able to shoot Bakuya if she couldn't get closer. A plan was needed to close the distance between her and the beast. However, the barrage was merciless and it finally cornered her.
In desperation, With the final Bullet in the chamber she pulled Bakuya's trigger to try to break the situation. Yue used a lightning spell to substitute the need for "Lightning Clad" acceleration. Count it as beginner's luck, but the bullet went through the gaps of the barrage and hit the silver head's temple.
However…
"Eh?"
Her voice leaked unintentionally. The blow should have some power even if she didn't have sufficient acceleration, but the silver head did not suffer much damage. Shadows of despair fell over her expression, but her defeat meant Shirou's death. She gritted her teeth and prepared to evade again.
However, such a pattern couldn't continue on forever. The silver head's eyes shined and another aurora was shot that jarred the surrounding space. Yue's evasion route was limited by the light ball barrage so she chose to get blown away by jumping into the light bullets. This allowed her to avoid the aurora.
The price for that was a light bullet to the abdomen and a slam into the ground.
"Uu…Uu…"
Her body couldn't move, but if she didn't move, she would be hit by a barrage of light bullets. Yue knew this and struggled desperately, but her body didn't listen. Her regeneration was too slow. She started to shed tears, unaware. It was mortifying, so unbelievably mortifying. Can she not protect Shirou by herself?
After the head had confirmed its victory over Yue, it roared and shot a barrage of light bullets.
The bullets of light approached Yue, but she did not close her eyes. To show that at least it hadn't defeated her heart, she glared at the head. Soon, her whole vision was being taken by the flash of the bullet. If it hit directly, death was a certainty. She tried to apologize to Shirou for failing to protect him, as she said that she would go first.
For an instant… a gust of wind blew.
"Eh?"
Yue realized that she was in someone's arms and the bullet struck to the side. When she looked at the person, she couldn't believe her sight. It was unmistakably Shirou. He was breathing heavily from his wounds and one of his eyes was shut, but he gave Yue a tight hug.
"Don't cry, Yue. It's your win."
"Shirou!"
She embraced Shirou filled with emotions. Most of his injuries had not healed, the pain from the tiny swords trying to stitch his body back threatened to snuff his consciousness once more. He was only standing with pure willpower.
Shirou gazed at the silver head. The head glared back while making a bullet of light float in the surrounding. It threw the bullet so there would be no more discussion about who escaped death.
"So slow…"
Shirou did not move until the last moment, he fell down and evaded the bullet.
The head narrowed its eyes and started to attack with numerous light balls.
"Shirou, run away!"
Yue told Shirou with a desperate expression, but Shirou was indifferent. He even embraced and danced in rotations with Yue. They unsteady fell and avoided the bullets of light. When a light ball avoided Shirou, she seemed to have misunderstood.
Her eyes widened.
"Yue, Everything will be fine."
His silent eye, slight smile and His strong words dwell within her, and she nodded. She believed in him and buried her face into his Chest. After a moment of silence, she then nodded.
"…Okay!"
Ruffling her hair, he then turned back to the Last head of the Hydra.
"now… Time for a rematch."
Shirou Evaded, The two of them were dancing around and avoiding the storm of light bullets while in each other's embrace.
Now, the world grew dull in color from his view. In the monochrome world, all things moved slowly. Only Shirou was moving as usual.
Shirou looked. The scene of Yue fighting by herself while his returning consciousness tried to hold on. She was fighting desperately with Bakuya in one of her hands. When she fell on the ground and the beast started to emit the aurora to finish her off.
Fierce anger filled Shirou. What does he have to do? Would he be satisfied just sleeping here? To permit such unreasonableness to take his partner in such a place? Was he going to yield to such a beast? Was he…going to just watch as someone he cared for die again?
Nay! Absolutely not! Everything is different now! What use having power when he couldn't use it to protect the ones in front of him!
"I am, The bone of my sword!"
At that moment, Shirou felt a spark run through his head and all his circuits blazed into light once more, though, different from the Purplish black from before, they now emit a strong golden light. Using as much magical energy as he can from Aesirs, he tried something he didn't think of before, reinforcing the spells within the Circuit containing one of the innate spells he incorporated after eating demonic beast.
The result? The awakening of the final derivation of "Divine Step", [Light Speed]. By expanding the cognitive functions, it increased the efficiency of all the skills associated with "Divine Step" dramatically. Shirou had once again, "exceeded the wall".
Shirou arrived next to Yue in an instant with this skill and gently dodged the bullets of light.
After the relentless attack, they managed to obtain a few seconds of opportunity, to which Shirou did not let pass.
"Trace, On!" Once more, the Stone sword of the Greek hero materialized. It floated in front of him with the use of his skill [remote control]. Holding up Kanshou, he once again altered the bullets within, combining the remaining 3 into a singular dense bullet.
It didn't end there, an idea appeared in his mind, but this impulsive idea might be the way to end everything. Altering the stone sword, it broke down into motes of light, but instead of dispersing, the lights entered the Barrel and the bullet within.
Slightly surprised that his idea worked, his eyes widened before a massive grin appeared on his face.
"Heh."
"…Shirou?" Yue called out to him, but his mind is preoccupied with concentrating on maintaining the several spells and skills that he invoked that he didn't respond to her.
"This Body is made of blades"
Hearing his chant She Shuddered unconsciously, feeling the words that he spoke with Magic.
Shirou then continued to evade the Hydra's attack that became more erratic and faster than before, likely sensing it's imminent death.
He dodged the incoming barrage of light using "Ground shrink" while continuing his aria.
"My Blood is of Iron, and My heart is of glass."
Shirou kept changing the area he appeared, A taunting glint was apparent in the silver head's eyes. Yue was becoming uneasy but she believed in him. She waited for the signal to cast her spell.
He jumped into the air with "Aerodynamics". His delicate steps which had not been possible before were now possible after awakening "Light Speed". Shirou jumped around in the air near the ceiling, dodging the barrage.
Irritated, the silver head gave off an aurora attack carelessly. Naturally, Shirou dodged it easily with a grin. Shirou got ready to play his cards. The head became stiff while it did its aurora attack. Then he Aimed Kanshou Alternative.
"Nine Lives: Shooting the hundred heads Alternative!" He pulled the trigger.
A pale sun appeared streaming towards the Hydra like a shooting star. The attack caught the Hydra unprepared, melting the silver head and entering it's body. There was a chain explosion inside, and the power broke through its defense. The damage the silver head had suffered was not negligible.
"Guuruaaa!!"
The silver head let out a death throes. It tried to violently run away and shot off light bullets randomly. But The attack made itself immobile. The Hydra tried to use its aurora attack but the silver head melted in the high heat and was unable to shoot it.
Shirou's perception could no longer sense the hydra, as it disappeared from his senses. This time he was convinced of its death and collapsed backward.
"Shirou!"
Yue crawled to him as her body had lost all its energy.
"Indeed… I'm spent…"
Shirou let consciousness slowly fade away as he felt Yue embracing him.
And ~ done! I hope it ain't too shabby.
...can I rant for a bit? ... anyways, does therapy really help? damn, I wanna die. I thought, I managed to get over it, but with my aunt returning from overseas, it also fucking returned. it's understandable that she felt that way, considering the unforgivable sin I did to her daughter 3 years ago (Ie, my cousin, 28 F) when I was dead drunk. and no, I didn't rape, I would have killed myself long ago if I did. when I thought I could finish my uni and having a job before facing everything, regardless of the consequences. broken relationship, trust, image. I won't care less if it was just only me. turns out, she hates my guts more than I thought and thinking of resorting to taking half our property. the worst part? she didn't say it to me face to face. it was my cousin who told me, Damn!
sorry bout that.. just needed to vent. I need to release this before I did something I would really regret.
anyways~ don't make my rant affect your reading. stay safe and I pray for you to always have a loving and understanding family.