Dungeon — Floor 13, the "Rock Labyrinth."
From this level onward, the Dungeon was classified as the Mid Floors—not only because the monsters grew dramatically stronger, but because the terrain itself became cruelly complex. Dim passageways twisted and folded like a true maze. Jagged stone vaulted overhead. The air carried a suffocating, earthy stench that clung to the throat.
"Lord Emiya… up ahead is the Grand Corridor. Monsters tend to gather there—should we detour?"
Lili studied the map in her hands and asked carefully. Even with her new equipment, the instincts of a supporter still urged her toward caution.
"No need. We'll go straight through."
Shirou walked ahead, expression relaxed.
"Perfect chance to test a new tactic."
But just as the two of them were about to step into the corridor—
"Rumble… rumble…"
A heavy vibration rolled through the stone. Pebbles on the ground hopped and rattled. Then came chaotic footfalls, and—human voices.
"Run! Don't look back!"
"Damn it—there are too many!"
A party of five adventurers burst from around the corner. Their faces were white with terror, their armor damaged and torn. They were clearly being chased.
When the leader spotted Shirou and Lili ahead, something sharp and ugly flashed in his eyes.
"Hey! You two—move!"
He shouted the warning, but his hands did the opposite.
From his cloak he yanked a small bottle filled with red liquid and hurled it straight at their feet.
Smash!
The bottle shattered, and a violently pungent, sickly-sweet stench exploded outward.
"That's… Monster Lure?!" Lili's face drained of color. "Lord Emiya—they're using Pass Parade on us!"
"Pass Parade"—the most despised filth in the Dungeon. A team that had drawn a horde would deliberately transfer the monsters onto a different, innocent party using scent tools and positioning… and then flee.
"Sorry, kid! Buy us some time!"
The group sprinted past Shirou with grim, triumphant smiles. To them, the lone boy and his petite supporter looked like fresh meat.
Then—
"ROAR—!!"
"SSSS—!!"
The gates of hell opened.
A red tide surged into the passage: Hellhounds, Orcs, Almiraj—thirty, forty monsters at least, driven into frenzy by the scent, eyes bloodshot as they charged Shirou and Lili.
This wasn't a fight.
It was a flood.
"L-Lord Emiya! Retreat!" Lili shrieked. "That number—there's no way we can hold them!"
"Retreat?"
Shirou didn't move.
He looked toward the corridor's far end—where the malicious adventurers disappeared—and his amber eyes turned to ice.
"Being thrown away like trash… and running with my tail between my legs."
His voice was calm.
"That isn't my style."
He inhaled once, deeply, and did not take a single step back.
"Steel is my body…"
A pulse of emerald circuits flickered beneath his skin. The concept of flesh shifted—replaced by steel.
As the monster wave crashed toward them, Shirou simply raised his right hand.
"Trace—On."
Mana gathered.
This time it wasn't an ordinary blade.
A black longsword appeared—twisted like a drill, spiraling with ominous pressure.
Caladbolg II (Broken Projection).
"Since they were kind enough to deliver a 'gift'…"
Shirou set the spiral sword across his left arm, adopting the posture of drawing a bow.
There was no bowstring—only pure mana compressed to the limit.
"Broken Phantasm."
"BOOM—!!"
The spiral sword became a crimson meteor and slammed into the very center of the horde.
In the narrow passage, the blast chained into a catastrophic shockwave—fire, pressure, shattered stone. The front line of Hellhounds simply ceased to exist, torn into fragments without even time to scream.
But Shirou didn't stop.
He burst through the smoke, and in his hands appeared twin blades—black and white.
Kanshou and Bakuya.
"Crane Wing—Triple Strike!"
He moved like a blade drawn through water.
Every swing ended a monster.
Claws raked his body and sparked like metal striking metal. Under reinforcement, he was less a man than a walking fortress.
An orc's axe came down—Shirou caught it barehanded, then severed its head in a single reverse cut.
An Almiraj charged—he kicked it sideways so hard it smashed into the wall and collapsed into meat and bone.
Three minutes.
That was all.
The corridor became a slaughterhouse—monster bodies piled high as black ash drifted down like snow.
"T-This is… Lord Emiya's… strength…"
Lili sat frozen on the ground, her hand crossbow still unfired. She stared at the red-haired figure standing amid a mountain of corpses and felt her understanding of "power" break and rebuild itself all at once.
If those adventurers could see this, they'd wet themselves on the spot.
"Haa… that was a little tiring."
Shirou let the reinforcement fade, shook the dark blood from his blades, and glanced back.
"Lili. Clean up. Those magic stones are worth a fortune. We can't waste their 'kindness.'"
"Y-Yes!"
Lili scrambled up and began extracting magic stones with the speed of long practice.
Then—just as Shirou started to relax—
A faint ripple ran through him.
Mind's Eye (True).
"…There's still something."
Shirou frowned and looked toward a pile of broken rocks near the corner.
There, trembling in the shadows, was a smaller Almiraj curled into itself. Its leg was injured—blood staining its white fur a harsh red.
"Found one!"
Lili raised her crossbow, ready to finish it.
"It's wounded—perfect—"
"Wait."
Shirou pressed a hand down on the crossbow.
"Don't shoot."
"Eh? Why? A monster is still a monster—"
"Look at its eyes."
Lili hesitated, then leaned closer.
The Almiraj wasn't baring fangs.
It wasn't snarling.
It was shaking violently, shrinking into the cracks, letting out a thin, broken sound—like a sob.
Its eyes weren't hungry.
They were begging.
"…It's… crying?" Lili whispered, absurdity crawling up her spine. "Monsters… can cry?"
Shirou didn't answer.
He dissolved the twin blades into light and crouched slowly, keeping his movements gentle. From his pocket he took a bottle of low-grade healing potion.
The Almiraj quivered, trying to retreat, but the injured leg wouldn't obey.
"Don't be afraid."
Shirou poured the potion over the wound. It wasn't enough to fully heal—but it stopped the bleeding.
Then he pointed toward a narrow crack behind the stones.
"Go. And don't let humans find you again."
The Almiraj froze.
It stared at him for a long moment—its red eyes flickering with something that looked disturbingly close to understanding.
Then it dragged its wounded leg and slipped into the crevice, vanishing into the dark.
"Lord Emiya…" Lili's voice turned complicated. "Is it really okay… to do that?"
"Who knows."
Shirou stood, eyes lingering on the crack.
"But I feel like… if I didn't, I'd regret it."
For that single moment, what he had sensed wasn't killing intent.
It was the trembling of something called life.
They finished collecting the spoils and left the blood-soaked corridor behind.
And above them—within the deepest shadow of the rock wall—
A pair of massive hands, covered in skin hard as stone, slowly loosened from clenched fists.
"…A strange human."
A low murmur followed, rough as grinding rock.
"He… saved… his 'kin'?"
The towering silhouette watched the red-haired's back for a long time—
Then sank soundlessly into darkness.
Deep within the Dungeon, something was brewing—something that could overturn Orario's common sense.
And without realizing it, Emiya Shirou had brushed against the core secret of this world.
-------
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