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The sedan rolled through patches of forest before finally coming to a stop in an open clearing.
"Lord Shirou, there's no road ahead."
"Then we'll walk from here."
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
Shirou Emiya shivered slightly and immediately let go of his hands.
After stepping out of the car, he began to examine the surroundings, deliberately avoiding conversation. However, the cold gaze fixed firmly on his back made it impossible for him to focus.
"...Damn it."
"I went too far."
"Shuna is genuinely angry."
"No. I need to do something."
Shirou Emiya turned around and faced the three girls standing by the car. His expression was serious.
"Alright. Enough dwelling on negative emotions."
"Next, we're exploring the ruins."
"Unlike before, I have a feeling this time we've finally found the right place."
His words worked immediately.
The girls snapped out of their thoughts.
Even Little Rimuru, who had been held in Shuna's arms, transformed back into her human form and jumped down.
"...Is this really the place we're looking for?"
It was Shuna who spoke.
On her face, Shirou Emiya could see both joy and worry.
That reaction was understandable.
After all, Shirou Emiya had said similar things many times before.
And every time-
They had failed to encounter the Disobedient Hephaestus.
Since Shirou Emiya's goal was to slay the Disobedient Hephaestus, the first step was always the same.
Find a way to make him descend.
And to do that, they needed ruins capable of facilitating a god's descent.
Before slaying Verethragna, Shirou Emiya had entrusted the search for Hephaestus-related ruins to the Seven Sisters.
All of them had been sent out.
What followed was an overwhelming flood of information.
Far too much.
Before anything could be delivered to Shirou Emiya, its authenticity had to be verified first.
As a result, the entire European magic society had been mobilized.
This was also the reason the King of Swords, Tony, had been able to track Shirou Emiya so easily.
Even so-
Only one-tenth of the information that reached Shirou Emiya was actually usable.
Most of it referred to ruins belonging to other gods.
Some had already lost all divine power and were completely useless.
Among the remaining leads, Shirou Emiya had sensed similar auras several times.
But each time, the ruins had already decayed beyond use.
Time eroded everything.
Ruins left unattended for thousands of years were no exception.
Because of that, they had spent nearly a month traveling around the world without results.
That was why Shuna felt conflicted.
Hope.
And fear.
She was happy they might have found the right place again.
But she was also afraid it would end in disappointment once more.
"Don't worry, Shuna."
Shirou Emiya spoke gently.
"Searching is always full of twists and turns."
"But that's exactly why finding the answer feels so satisfying."
"You all agree, right?"
"Right!"
Shuna, Little Rimuru, Erica, and Liliana answered together.
"Then let's go."
With that, Shirou Emiya led the four of them into the forest, heading toward the location he had sensed.
...
They pushed through dense jungle.
They crossed overgrown land with no paths.
Shirou Emiya walked at the front.
Behind him, Erica, Liliana, and the others had already regained their serious expressions, carefully watching their surroundings.
"An undeveloped primeval forest..."
Shirou Emiya observed quietly.
"...If that's the case, we might really find something this time."
From previous searches, he had learned one thing.
Among the countless ruined sites, only a very small portion had faded naturally.
Most had been destroyed by human hands.
Especially in areas easily accessed by humans.
Aside from ruins secretly protected by magic societies, nearly all others had been erased during forest development and urban expansion.
Some places had even triggered the birth of Heretic Gods because of this destruction.
Preserving ruins in such regions was nearly impossible.
However-
In places inaccessible to humans, many ruins had survived to the present day.
"I hope we find something..."
After passing through the forest, the ruins of a shrine appeared before them.
A broken structure.
Collapsed walls.
Crumbling stone.
It was a shrine dedicated to Hephaestus.
The moment Shirou Emiya saw it, the slight tension in his chest cooled instantly.
Because within those ruins-
He could clearly see traces of conflict.
"...This place was destroyed hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago."
"That's why it looks so desolate."
"It gives the illusion that no one ever touched it."
Erica spoke after examining the site carefully.
"Now that I think about it, that makes sense."
"Besides modern development, ancient wars also destroyed countless shrines."
"In the past, divine authority often surpassed royal authority."
"When countries went to war, it wasn't just conquest."
"They destroyed each other's sacred sites as well."
She looked around and sighed.
"Many ruined locations are like this."
"It's just that this one happened to be hidden in an undeveloped forest."
"That's what gave us hope."
"...But it seems we've failed again."
After hearing her conclusion, everyone's expression darkened.
Disappointment settled heavily in the air.
Only Shirou Emiya remained still.
His gaze never left the ruins.
His expression was solemn.
Not defeated.
Liliana noticed.
"Lord Shirou... is something wrong?"
"I just feel like something isn't right."
"...Isn't right?"
At those words, everyone focused on the ruins again, carefully probing the area.
"That's right."
Shirou Emiya jumped down from a higher spot and began walking along the outer wall of the ruined shrine.
Slowly.
Carefully.
As if he were engraving every blade of grass and every broken stone into his memory.
He circled the ruins several times.
Then-
Suddenly-
He accelerated and returned to the edge of the site.
"Erica. Liliana. Little Rimuru."
"Come back. Now."
"Yes!"
Without hesitation, the three retreated from the ruins.
Shuna stepped forward anxiously.
"Did you find something, Lord Shirou?"
"...A little."
Shirou Emiya raised his hand toward the sky.
"But I need to test it."
The moment his hand lifted-
The sky rumbled.
Clouds churned violently.
A flash of light split the heavens.
Divine lightning descended.
It struck straight down.
The ruined shrine was swallowed instantly, engulfed in thunderous light, as if the heavens themselves intended to erase it completely.
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