Shirou blurred past the trees, each stride shaking loose droplets of dew. His grip tightened on Ashbringer as his eyes darted forward.
"Just a bit more… Just be alive."
His voice was low, carried away by the wind as he ran.
"Mana Detection."
The world shifted. His senses sharpened, and faint pulses of light filled his vision—mana signatures scattered across the forest. His eyes narrowed.
"…That's a lot. Twenty-two beasts?"
His speed didn't falter. If the children were still alive, they had to be among those signatures. But something was off. As he neared the thick wall of mist curling between the trees, the hairs on his neck prickled.
He stepped inside.
The fog swallowed him whole, so dense he could barely see his own outstretched hand. All he had now were the faint, beating glows of mana cores around him.
"…Too thick. Can't see anything. Only the cores." His teeth clenched. "Some of these… they might be the kids.I hope."
He pressed forward. Then suddenly, his eyes sharpened. Several mana signatures appeared far too close together, overlapping unnaturally in one cluster.
"Strange."
He took a step, then froze.
The mist around him thinned. Not gradually. It tore apart like cloth, shredded by an invisible hand. In the span of a heartbeat, the choking white veil dropped to a quarter of its density.
"The hell—"
Shirou didn't even finish the thought. His instincts screamed. A presence surged from the left. Ashbringer igniting in a fiery blaze as he swung.
Steel met steel. Sparks exploded, and the world lit red.
The enemy's blade shattered in half as Shirou's strike carried through. A cry died in the mist, replaced by a heavy thud.
Shirou turned and froze.
A man. Not a beast.
The lifeless body sprawled across the ground, sword still clenched in pale fingers. The flames of Ashbringer flickered across the man's slack face.
"Human… what?"
[You have defeated the opponent]
The words blinked into his vision, emotionless and cold.
He deactivated his mana detection; the fog had completely lifted.
"…Don't tell me—"
His thoughts cut off as shadows rushed him from all sides.
Shirou didn't hesitate.
"Ashbringer-Inferno Surge!"
Flames roared into a vortex, swallowing several men whole. Their screams ended in silence as their bodies hit the ground.
[You have defeated the opponent]
[You have defeated the opponent]
[You have defeated the opponent]
The notifications chimed in rapid succession. Shirou barely spared them a glance.
A rush of water slammed toward him from the left, spinning into a whirlpool.
"Crimson Arc!"
Ashbringer carved through the wave, flames splitting water into steam before cutting down the wielder behind it.
[You have defeated the opponent]
He pivoted, blade flashing, cutting another two men before they could even reach him.
[You have defeated the opponent]
[You have defeated the opponent]
Bodies fell. The forest floor hissed as blood and flame mingled. Still, Shirou's mind wasn't fully on the fight.
"Human? Then… were there no beasts to begin with? No, that can't be right. Oswyn already killed one, and the survivor also confirmed the beast's existence."
His blade burned hotter.
"Ashbringer-Flame Edge!"
He cut through another attacker, watching the body fall.
[You have defeated the opponent]
His eyes narrowed. The thought clicked into place.
"…Don't tell me. The humans are controlling the beasts."
A sword whistled from above. Shirou ducked low, spun, and cleaved the man in two clean movements.
[You have defeated the opponent]
"If that's the case, then who made the mist? And why did it vanish?" His gaze sharpened as he cut down the next wave. "One explanation—these men can't see through the fog either. To fight me, they had to cancel it."
The last thug lunged clumsily. Shirou sidestepped, sliced, and ended it in a single stroke.
[You have defeated the opponent]
He exhaled slowly, scanning the blood-stained clearing.
"…Either the fog came from a controlled beast… or one of them."
He closed his eyes.
"Mana Detection."
The forest lit up again in his vision. Ahead, beyond the trees, he sensed clustered mana signatures bound tightly together. Around that cluster were more signatures forming a rough circle.
"…Tied together? That has to be the kids."
He frowned. The pieces lined up too cleanly.
"A bait."
He dashed forward, weaving through trunks until the scene opened before him.
Six children. Tied to a tree. Terrified eyes widened as they spotted him. Among them, Math's two children, alive but bruised.
Shirou's expression hardened.
"…So that's it."
"They had lured me here. But not me exactly.
…No. This was meant for Oswyn."
He gripped his sword tighter.
"These thugs are weak. Whatever they planned, they knew Oswyn was a threat. But they miscalculated." His eyes darkened. "Oswyn wasn't in the village. I was."
Shirou stepped into the clearing, his voice carrying cold authority.
"You can come out."
The trees rustled. A single figure emerged. His face was hidden behind a red mask, his body shrouded in dark cloth.
Shirou's eyes locked on him.
"…I guess you're the leader."
The man said nothing. He tilted his head to the side, silent mockery dripping from the gesture.
Shirou's tone hardened.
"If I'm right, the ones I killed earlier… you sent them to test me. You don't know who I am."
Still, no response.
"What do you want?" Shirou asked coldly.
The masked man tilted his head again, like a bird watching prey.
"Tch. Not gonna talk? Fine. I know how to make you." Flames burst brighter along Ashbringer's blade. "But you won't like it."
The forest shivered. Thick mist began to spill out once more, rolling like waves around them.
Shirou didn't wait. He launched forward, slashing before the fog could fully form.
Steel met claws.
The man's hands had transformed, fingers stretched into long, jagged claws that caught the blade. Sparks flew, but Shirou's assault didn't end. He twisted his body mid-swing, pivoting on his left leg, and drove the sword at the man's right side.
The claws barely intercepted, but the force still shoved the masked man back. He leapt away, widening the distance as the mist thickened again.
Shirou narrowed his eyes. "He is buying time, waiting for the mist to thicken and cut off my vision. I can still make out the figure, but not for long. "
Lightning sparked beneath his boots. The earth lifted slightly beneath his heels, giving him traction.
The mist swallowed them whole.
"Mana Detection."
The masked man's core pulsed faintly through the fog.
The blade ignited again.
"Ashbringer-Flame Edge!"
The man tried to raise his claws to block, but Shirou's strike carried more force than he expected. The impact blasted him off his feet, sending him crashing several meters away.
Shirou straightened, scanning the surroundings. The mist had thickened again—far denser than before. This time it stretched over an even larger area, swallowing the forest in a suffocating white veil.
For most, this would mean total blindness. But Shirou wasn't most.
With Mana Detection active, he could see the faint glow of the man's core flickering in the fog. That was his edge. Still, it came with a flaw—he could sense the core's position, but not the movements of the man's limbs.
A lesser fighter might have hesitated. Instead, a smirk tugged at Shirou's lips.
"…I've got the advantage. He doesn't know I can see through this. As long as I finish this before he realizes it… this fight is mine."