"Look, Lefiya has become incredibly reliable now. Unlike someone who's useless in critical moments!"
Knowing that Tiona was complaining about her inability to use her Caladbolg II, Shirou, lying on the ground, could only say helplessly, "Then blame me for being strong."
"Hahaha!"
Everyone burst into laughter at the banter between the two.
The monsters pressing them had been eliminated, the critical situation resolved, and everyone's mood finally relaxed.
All praised Lefiya, the heroine of this battle.
For a moment, Lefiya blushed shyly.
Seeing everyone's relaxed smiles, Shirou couldn't help but laugh.
But then, suddenly, he noticed Finn still furrowing his brow, lost in thought.
"What's wrong, Captain?"
"Before we escaped to this room, when we were almost surrounded, the monsters came from the front. That path is the main route to the 50th floor."
Hearing Finn's words, Shirou's mind instantly flashed back to the scene of the Loki Family's attack.
"Let's head back now! Our camp could be in danger!"
Finn felt his thumb throb and immediately commanded, "Gather everyone! We move now!"
In the dungeon, the 50th and 51st floors were connected by a slanted rock wall.
At the western edge of the 50th floor, a large hole in the wall revealed a steep slope, almost cliff-like.
Though descending to the 51st floor was easy, climbing back up would require considerable effort.
The yellowish-green liquid along the passage constantly instilled a sense of danger.
Everyone knew the camp had likely been attacked by those caterpillar monsters.
With the elites gone and the camp now empty, the remaining members of the Loki Family, without indestructible weapons, were in grave danger.
A tense atmosphere hung over everyone.
Racing at full speed, they soon reached the end of the fifty-first floor.
Screams echoed as they emerged from the cave.
Without Finn's command, such monsters were simply out of reach for level-3 adventurers.
Watching the camp rise amidst black smoke, Shirou felt a surge of rage.
Though he had been with the Loki Family for only a short time, he already felt a long-lost warmth.
It was a feeling of home, of belonging.
And he would never forgive any enemy that threatened his family.
Seeing the monsters climbing the rock face, ready to strike the camp, Shirou immediately pulled a vial of Elixir from the small pouch at his waist and drank it in a single gulp.
Feeling the dizziness and fatigue he had been experiencing fade away, he charged at top speed toward the camp.
[I am the bone of my sword.]
[Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.]
[I have created over a thousand blades.]
Hearing Shirou's chant, those following him couldn't help but be stunned.
Especially since they didn't know that the little chant Shirou muttered before firing his Caladbolg arrow actually had a continuation.
Though Shirou often used the magic known as "Projection," no one but Loki knew about his Reality Marble.
[Unaware of beginning,]
[Nor aware of the end.]
[Withstood pain with inconsistent weapons, my hands will never hold anything.]
Within seconds, Shirou reached the center of the camp, immediately projecting Kanshou and Bakuya and striking down a nearby lizard monster.
"Look, it's Shirou!" exclaimed the adventurers defending the camp at the sight of him.
This meant the elite members of the family had returned.
Riveria, commanding the magical troops, gasped in surprise as she watched Shirou, overflowing with magical energy.
[Yet, my flame never ends.]
[My whole body was still Unlimited Blade Works.]
As Shirou finished, an illusory fire that emitted no heat spread to form a boundary and walls for the Limited Field.
Bright light filled everyone's vision, revealing a dark winter landscape with blowing snow. The countless embedded swords gave the impression of a mountain of corpses, with no stars or paths, and the only light coming from the moon in the sky, casting a faint glow.
"What is this!"
Even Riveria, the strongest mage in Orario, looked around in horror.
This was no longer the world they had known.
"No way!"
"How is this possible?"
"Where are we?"
Equally horrified were the members of the Loki Family, including Finn and the others. Moments ago, they had been on the fiftieth floor, fighting off the monster invasion.
And in the next instant, they were in a strange world. What the hell was happening?
Standing atop a high slope, bow in hand, Shirou watched the people and the monsters.
"You should stay away from the monsters," he warned, as his magical circuits glowed.
He focused his gaze on the monster at the center.
It was a creature with the upper body of a woman of celestial beauty projecting from a monstrous frame. Her skin was green, her hair green, and her eyes golden, without pupils or irises.
"How can it be this huge!"
Recalling the other monsters exploding upon death, Raul, whose injuries had partially healed, couldn't imagine the volume of corrosive fluid the creature would release when slain.
"With such a body, identifying the location of the magic stone will be difficult."
Even Gareth felt powerless as he faced the new species—a female of enormous size—before him.
"As I said, stay away from the monsters. I'll handle this myself…"
"What is that?"
Tiona swallowed hard, staring at Shirou in horror.
Beside her, all the Loki Family members were in the same state.
They had seen the blue marks appear on Shirou's arms every time he used his Projection magic.
But they had never seen so many appear, nor glow so brightly.
[I am the bone of my sword…] Shirou murmured as he created a Caladbolg II and immediately transformed it into an arrow.
(Let's see how powerful full-force projection will be…)
"Caladbolg!!!" he shouted, firing the arrow.
The arrow was released.
A sky-blue flash tore through the air, spiraling like a hurricane. The impact was instantaneous—the air exploded in shockwaves, swords around them ripped from the ground, flying like cannon shrapnel. The sound of the explosion reverberated like thunder, echoing across the illusory field.
Caladbolg II struck the creature head-on. The spiral expanded into a colossal sphere of energy, engulfing monsters, rocks, and even part of the terrain. The monster's body was shredded, torn into pieces that dissolved into the air. The ground shook as if the world were collapsing, and a wave of energy swept everything in its path, turning monsters to dust before they could even scream.
When the light finally dissipated, there was only silence. The wind once again gently blew among the countless swords embedded in the ground.
Shirou, panting, lowered his bow.
---
(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."