Shirou narrowed his eyes as he saw the frontline being pushed back by the advancing monsters. Ais and Finn were cutting their way forward, but the flow seemed endless. For every beast slain, two more emerged from the collapsing walls.
His eyes shone with determination.
"It's not enough… if I keep this pace, they won't hold out!"
With a sharp movement, Shirou raised the already-projected bow. The magical circuits within him began to pulse, and the formula for his magic arrow echoed in his mind.
Muspelflamme.
A crimson arrow formed in his hand, its tip glowing like a burning ember, radiating faint heat. He released it into the crowd of monsters.
BOOOOM!
The controlled explosion devoured three black rhinoceroses at once.
But Shirou didn't stop. He drew a deep breath, forcing his circuits to work even faster. A second arrow was projected almost immediately after the first. Then a third.
BOOM! BOOM!
Each shot was an explosion that felled another beast.
"He… he's increasing his firing rate!" Riveria murmured in surprise as she maintained her protective barrier for Lefiya.
Indeed, the speed at which Shirou projected magical arrows kept rising. He no longer needed intervals between shots; it was as if his body had already adapted to the insane flow of power.
"Trace… on!"
His words echoed through the narrow passage, and three more blazing arrows were released in near succession.
The explosions carved a path through the monsters, giving Finn and Ais more breathing room to advance.
"Good work, Shirou!" Finn shouted, narrowly dodging a corrosive jet that melted part of the wall beside him. Wielding one of the projected Desperate swords, he pushed forward into the monsters.
Ais, cloaked in Ariel's storm, cast a quick glance backward—her golden eyes reflected the explosions of Shirou's arrows.
The monster flow seemed to weaken for a moment, but soon the dungeon raged. More walls began to shake, and another horde of black rhinoceroses burst through, swelling the enemy's numbers once again.
Lefiya's face paled. "They… they just won't stop coming!"
"Keep chanting, Lefiya!" Riveria ordered firmly. "Shirou's support is only to clear the way for your finishing strike!"
Breathing heavily, Shirou felt sweat dripping down his forehead. His entire body burned with pain from the nonstop overuse of mana, but he didn't stop.
His eyes narrowed, calculating the density of the swarm.
(If I focus only on support… they'll be swallowed before Lefiya finishes her spell. I need to push harder… I need every arrow to count!)
He raised his bow once more.
Muspelflamme!
Five arrows appeared at once in his hand, projected in a seamless chain.
He loosed them one after the other.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The heat of the explosions swept across the corridor, reducing dozens of monsters to ashes before they could approach Riveria's barrier or interrupt Lefiya's chant.
Finn arched a brow, impressed even amid the battle.
"That boy… he's no longer just providing support. He's holding the rear all on his own!"
But Shirou grit his teeth. His body was already showing signs of exhaustion; veins pulsed along his arms, and his ragged breath betrayed the weight of his effort.
Yet when he looked at Lefiya, still chanting with a trembling but courageous voice, something inside his heart ignited.
(She believes in me… so I don't have the right to stop.)
Gripping his bow tightly, Shirou smiled—exhausted, but confident.
"I'll clear the way, Lefiya! Finish this with everything you've got!"
And once again, a wave of flaming arrows tore through the air, lighting the dungeon's darkness like falling stars burning with pure determination.
The successive blasts made the air tremble, and the corridor had become a battlefield ablaze. Yet the monsters didn't stop. More and more black rhinoceroses charged, tearing through the walls as if the dungeon itself was determined to swallow the party whole.
Shirou was already gasping, his chest heaving violently. His circuits burned like molten iron, each vein pulsing as though about to burst. But his mind never wavered. His choice had already been made.
(If that's the case… then I won't limit myself to one arrow at a time… I'll turn this battlefield into an arsenal!)
He clenched his teeth, gathered every ounce of energy he could muster, and thrust his arm toward the blood- and dust-stained ground.
"Trace… on!"
Magical power roared through his circuits. The ground beneath his feet shook as thirty flaming arrows materialized at once, planted in neat rows in the earth like fiery spears freshly driven into hell. Each one glowed a searing crimson, infused with perfectly measured magic.
The sight left everyone momentarily speechless. Even Finn, long used to prodigies, widened his eyes.
"He… he projected them all at once!?"
The heat from the thirty Muspelflamme arrows lit the passage like a sea of embers.
Shirou staggered slightly, but forced himself to kneel, bringing his body closer to the arrows. His eyes were unwavering, even as rivers of sweat poured down his face.
"From this point on… I can't miss a single shot."
Bow in hand, he lowered his body, seized the first arrow lodged in the ground, and nocked it with quick, almost instinctive motion.
SWISH! BOOOOM!
The arrow flew straight, striking a group of monsters preparing to flank Finn. The explosion blasted a hole in the enemy's line, scattering burning debris everywhere.
Without pause, Shirou had already grabbed another arrow, firing it almost instantly.
BOOM!
Another wave of monsters fell to flames.
Then another.
BOOM!
And another.
The arrows were drawn from the ground in a near-mechanical rhythm, as though he were a war machine built for endless fire. Each shot was a falling star exploding in the dungeon's darkness, illuminating Ais as she charged forward with Ariel, and Finn as he fought amid the swarm.
Riveria couldn't hide her astonishment. "He's turned the entire battlefield into his personal arsenal… he's wielding his magic like a true war mage."
The cadence was relentless: draw, nock, fire. Draw, nock, fire.
Shirou's body screamed in pain, but his gaze stayed fixed, carried only by conviction.
Finn, cleaving a black rhinoceros in half, couldn't help but smile at Shirou's effort.
With each explosion, Lefiya felt her resolve harden further. The heat of the arrows ignited the air around her, as if Shirou were clearing the way with fire so she could finish her chant.
Shirou, however, already felt his arms grow heavy, each shot draining his vitality. But he did not stop.
(If I falter now… they'll be overrun. I have to… fire all thirty!)
The explosions roared one after another, like a rolling storm of thunder shaking the narrow passage.
Kneeling, Shirou loosed arrows in a frenzied rhythm. Every time his hand touched a Muspelflamme arrow, his skin burned, yet he didn't allow a single groan to escape.
SWISH! BOOOOM!
Twenty-fourth.
SWISH! BOOOOM!
Twenty-fifth.
SWISH! BOOOOM!
Twenty-sixth.
His hands trembled so violently it seemed impossible to hold the bow, yet his will turned that weakness into motion.
(More… more! I can still go further!)
Eyes blazing with determination, he seized the last four arrows buried in the ground. The flames reflected in his irises made him look almost mythical—a legendary archer within a hell of fire.
The final four arrows flew in succession, each one streaking through the air like a falling star in the dungeon's eternal night.
BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
The blasts carved massive clearings among the monsters, consuming dozens in a searing flash.
The battlefield shook. The entire passage glowed crimson, lit as though a sun had been born underground.
And then—silence.
The bow slipped from Shirou's hand. He collapsed to his knees, his body spent, chest heaving as though to tear itself apart. His arms no longer obeyed him, held upright only by sheer will.
But he smiled.
"Now… it's your turn, Lefiya…"
Behind him, Lefiya finally completed her chant.
[Falling like rain, burn the wild ones.]
"Everyone, fall back!"
At Finn's roar, the Loki Familia members quickly retreated to Lefiya's side.
Finn grabbed Shirou and pulled him toward the rear.
At that moment, Lefiya's spell was complete.
[Fusillade Fallarica!]
A storm of fiery projectiles rained down upon the monsters.
Her magic annihilated every beast that dared approach.
Only the shattered ground and scattered magic stones remained, silent witnesses to what had occurred.
Gazing at the results before her, Lefiya let out a sigh of relief.
She had finally lived up to everyone's trust.
"I did it!"
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."