"Not satisfied. Not satisfied at all."
Walking through the narrow cave, Tiona had both hands clasped behind her head, her complaints spilling out nonstop.
After listening to her the entire way, Tione's patience finally snapped.
"You're so annoying. Can you calm down already?"
She shot her sister an exasperated look and tried to reason with her.
"No one could do anything about the New Species attack. The Dungeon never lets adventurers act however they want. Without supplies, how were we supposed to fight properly?"
"And don't forget," Tione added sharply, "your Great Double-Bladed Axe is gone. You're using a weapon projected by Shirou right now."
Hearing the Amazon sisters' argument, Shirou couldn't help but join in, smiling faintly.
"Exactly. That was a Great Double-Bladed Axe worth one hundred twenty million Valis."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Tiona, do you even have enough Valis to forge another one?"
As soon as Shirou finished speaking, Tiona's face crumpled again.
"Can you please stop bringing up my Great Double-Bladed Axe?"
"I'm already miserable enough!"
"Hahaha!"
Laughter erupted.
The loudest came from Bete, who was practically doubled over, clutching his stomach.
"Bete, you jerk!"
Enraged by his blatant mockery, Tiona charged straight at him.
"Bastard!"
"You're the bastard, you foul-mouthed gorilla!"
Listening to their bickering, Shirou smiled quietly to himself.
A few days had already passed since the New Species incident.
After a full day of damage control, the Loki Familia had finally begun their return to the surface. Thanks to that effort, the expedition had avoided casualties.
That alone was worth celebrating.
It was also worth noting-
When Shirou's group fought on the Fifty-First Floor, they had once again encountered traces of the New Species.
This time, Shirou hadn't used Unlimited Blade Works.
With his increasingly refined archery, he had successfully suppressed the monster's attacks. Everyone else, unwilling to fall behind, also went all out.
Tiona, in particular, had been terrifying.
Ignoring the pain of the corrosive fluid, she had thrust her hand straight into the monster's body and ripped out its magic stone.
That ferocity had made even Shirou click his tongue.
In the end, that magic stone became the only New Species drop the Loki Familia obtained.
"This color is really strange."
"Yeah. Definitely not normal."
Shirou glanced at the magic stone in Tione's hand, his thoughts turning inward.
This expedition to the fiftieth floor had already diverged significantly from what he remembered.
Which meant-
Future events could no longer be treated as fixed outcomes.
At best, they were references.
Relying on them as absolute truths would only get him killed.
After all, no one knew how many details had been altered or omitted.
-
Just as Shirou was thinking ahead, the Loki Familia entered another cavern.
And suddenly-
"Look! An Anomalous State!"
"Oh-MinOttarurs!"
"There are a lot of them. Are we surrounded?"
On the Seventeenth Floor, the returning Loki Familia encountered a large group of MinOttarurs.
Yet surprisingly, the expressions of the Familia members remained calm.
After all, this was only the Seventeenth Floor.
LV.2 monsters.
Against the elites of the Loki Familia, there was nothing to fear.
And more importantly-
They weren't New Species.
"Since they're here," someone said eagerly, "let's finish this quickly!"
"Already ready. Just waiting for Finn's order."
At Finn's command, Tiona and the others surged forward, unable to hold themselves back any longer.
They crashed into the MinOttarur group like a storm.
In moments, more than half of the monsters were wiped out.
Then-
Something unexpected happened.
Perhaps overwhelmed by the sheer difference in strength, fear finally took hold.
One MinOttarur, facing Ais head-on, suddenly turned and fled.
That single action became the fuse.
Panic spread instantly.
The remaining MinOttarurs broke formation and scattered, fleeing deeper into the passage.
"Eh?"
"Hey, aren't you guys monsters?"
Tiona and Bete both froze in surprise.
The MinOttarurs scrambled out of the cavern in a chaotic rush, vanishing into the darkness.
Everyone stared, stunned.
"Chase them!"
Finn's voice cut through the confusion.
"That passage leads to the Sixteenth Floor!"
Instantly, everyone understood the danger.
If LV.2 MinOttarurs reached the upper floors, the damage would be catastrophic.
If civilians died because of this-
The Loki Familia would never forgive themselves.
Without hesitation, everyone gave chase.
Shirou moved with the group, sprinting upward.
-
The appearance of fleeing MinOttarurs was sudden.
But Shirou accepted it almost immediately.
He already knew what this meant.
Even though the Loki Familia had stayed an extra day on the Fiftieth Floor, their return speed-with his weapon support-was still faster than before.
And yet-
Encountering MinOttarurs that fled in panic was extremely rare.
Shirou had no intention of stopping them.
Because this battle was important.
This was the battle that gave birth to the true protagonist.
Bell Cranel.
Shirou held genuine respect for him.
Bell was someone who could truly be called a hero.
Just like Shirou Emiya, he was willing to stake his life to save others.
Shirou had too many reasons to support Bell's emergence.
Without Bell, Shirou's understanding of this world would collapse.
He would lose his greatest advantage.
There was also another reason-
The gaze of Freya.
Even now, Shirou could sometimes feel it from above Babel.
That suffocating attention.
Frankly, he couldn't endure it forever.
He needed someone else to bear it.
A Bell who hadn't experienced this event would never attract Freya.
Even Zeus, who raised Bell, had once called him talentless.
This event was the trigger.
Shirou would not interfere.
Looking further ahead-
Bell would one day possess something Shirou needed.
The Hestia Knife.
A dagger forged personally by Goddess Hephaestus.
It lacked divine power, yet embodied divine craftsmanship.
That knife was crucial.
And finally-
Responsibility.
Shirou did not belong to this world.
He had someone he needed to save.
Miyu Sakatsuki.
To gain strength, he would have to move between worlds.
He couldn't remain here forever.
No one knew when-or if-he would return.
Or what this world would look like then.
Which was why-
This world needed its hero.
And that hero needed to be born today.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter