Chapter 112: Chains of Heaven Binding LV7, The True Identity of the Traitor Revealed!
A red-haired woman suddenly appeared, exuding the terrifying pressure only someone at Level 7 could emit. Yet, Shirou showed no signs of panic.
He had sensed that the aura from the red-haired woman wasn't that of a true Lv.7 adventurer.
Rather, she resembled Phryne, who had previously forcefully raised her level by consuming a golden magic stone.
This kind of artificial enhancement may grant temporary power, but it is ultimately rootless and cannot be called true strength.
More importantly, even if she was a genuine Lv.7, Shirou still wouldn't be fazed— He had full confidence in his abilities and believed he could defeat a real Lv.7 without issue.
Still, he had no intention of fighting just yet.
Shirou preferred to keep his abilities hidden for as long as possible—especially the fact that he was the Sword Demon.
Unless he was sure the dark factions couldn't observe him, he wouldn't expose himself.
While Shirou observed the red-haired woman, she too was watching him. She spoke first: "Emiya Shirou, Orario's most dangerous god-slayer... Though I personally think that title is a bit undeserved. Still, I took on a mission from 'Enyo' to eliminate you. Regrettably, today will be your last."
"Enyo? A god from one of the dark factions?" Shirou asked in return. But she clearly had no intention of answering.
Changing tactics, Shirou asked, "Fine. Then can you at least tell me your name? Or the Familia you belong to?"
He was trying to extract intel, figuring that since his identity as the Sword Demon hadn't been exposed, his opponent might let something slip.
"My name is Revis," the red-haired woman replied quietly. "Unlike you humans who rely on divine blessings to fight, I don't need them."
"You don't need Falna?" Shirou was shocked.
Almost every strong person he'd met in this world had been a god's blessed follower. Revis was the first exception—someone not affiliated with a god yet emitting power on par with Lv.7.
In a strange way, that reminded Shirou of himself. After all, he too fought using his own strength without divine aid.
"Humans are like moths, drawn to the flame called the gods... Not realizing that the flame is both light and deadly heat.
The more one relies on the gods' blessings, the more they are bound by divine power—until they're toyed with and turned to ash by those hateful deities," Revis said, almost talking to herself.
"Emiya Shirou, I admire your courage to fight the gods, and I respect your resolve to defy them. But now that you stand in our way, your fate is sealed—you will return everything you have... to death!"
With that, Revis stepped into the room, her aura expanding until it blanketed the entire space. The air grew oppressively heavy, and even the walls trembled.
"So there's no avoiding a fight..." Realizing Revis had no intention of talking further, Shirou gave up on gathering intel. He swiftly drew Caliburn and readied for battle.
But Revis had anticipated his move.
"That's the magic sword mentioned in the reports, right?" she said calmly. "The one that can instantly kill even Lv.6s. Quite unusual, even in Orario. Frankly, it's not your combat ability, but your craftsmanship that people should be wary of."
"You know what happened on the 10th floor just now?" Shirou asked.
"Of course. This is our stronghold—we know everything that happens here."
Shirou gave no reaction, but he was deeply unsettled.
He knew the dark factions had ways to observe what happened inside the dungeon... But no one should've known Caliburn was forged by Shirou himself.
That weapon had been created inside the divine barrier he shared with Kali—no outsiders had been present.
Even when he later let the Hephaestus Familia know, few truly believed him. Only a few members of the Loki Familia he'd spoken to during their recent dungeon expedition even heard him mention it—and only in passing.
So how did Revis know? Unless the dark faction had been monitoring every word and move—
Or... there was a traitor among the Loki Familia, feeding them information.
As the realization struck him, Shirou felt increasingly certain he had identified the spy.
Revis, meanwhile, stared at his sword and spoke again: "Since we already knew about your magic sword, of course we came prepared."
She pulled out a strange, crimson dagger and raised it overhead, chanting an intricate incantation:
"Let the hero's weapon be bound— Cursed Sword!"
In the next instant, a sinister red energy burst from the dagger and struck Shirou's sword.
Within moments, the golden blade showed signs of petrification— It grew heavy, dull, and completely unusable.
"A curse?" Shirou was shocked.
He'd heard of curses in Orario—some could seal magic, blessings, or even abilities. But he never imagined one could seal weapons too.
"Hehe, surprised by this little trick?" Revis smiled. "The dark factions house many evil gods, and over time we've passed down numerous special arts—curse techniques that Orario's lawful factions have never even seen."
"..."
"Now that your only magic sword is sealed, give up. Don't make this more painful than it needs to be."
She looked at him calmly, as if victory was already certain.
But Shirou didn't react. He simply put the petrified sword away and looked straight at Revis.
"Normally, if you kill the spellcaster, the curse ends, right?"
"What?"
Revis froze, then gave a begrudgingly impressed smile.
"I see... I underestimated you. Even cornered, you're still willing to fight. That must be how you keep winning against gods. Too bad no one will ever know. Everything that happens here will remain hidden—you'll die unsung."
"No one will ever know what happens here?"
Shirou immediately caught the implication.
"Exactly," Revis sneered. "You're too much trouble. Loki and Freya both treat you like a treasure. Eyes across Orario are on you. If we didn't deal with you in secret, we'd be hunted down ourselves."
"I see." At those words, a smile crept across Shirou's face.
He'd been ready to expose his true power if needed—but now, the enemy had provided the perfect sealed-off battlefield.
Which meant... if he killed Revis, no one would know what happened next.
The corners of his mouth curled up.
Seeing this smile, Revis's expression changed instantly.
She hadn't expected Shirou to smile at a time like this. Instead of despairing, he looked like a beast freed from its chains. Her body instinctively tensed, a wave of unease washing over her.
"You... what are you?" she muttered, frowning.
Now wary, Revis chose not to waste any more time. She drew a massive crimson greatsword, its color like congealed blood, emanating overwhelming pressure.
Without hesitation, she lunged at Shirou.
Her Lv.7 physique propelled her like a gust of wind. "One strike is all it takes!"
Revis appeared behind Shirou in an instant, her blade already mid-swing. She was confident that Shirou wouldn't even have time to react—he'd be cleaved in half before he could blink.
But—
To her shock, Shirou dodged easily. Then, with a casual motion, he summoned two pairs of black and white short swords, parrying her attack.
"!?"
The impact of the clash stunned Revis. Not only had her full-powered Lv.7 strike been blocked, but she could feel the strength from Shirou's twin swords— Power that rivaled, or even surpassed her own.
"How... how is that possible?"
Revis was already a Level 7. To possess physical capabilities beyond hers—what kind of terrifying monster would that be? Level 8? Or even Level 9?
Retreat!
Or perhaps…
While Revis stood stunned, Shirou handled all her attacks with ease and even found the opportunity to counterattack.
"Projection Reinforcement!" "Kanshou & Bakuya: Overedge!"
As Shirou's voice rang out, the twin short swords in his hands suddenly changed form. Originally ordinary short swords, they transformed into massive greatsword-like weapons.
With that, Shirou's body surged with strength. With a force and speed beyond Revis's imagination, he cut straight through the sword technique she had unleashed as a Level 7—and struck her down instantly.
"Impossible… What are you…? Emiya Shirou, you're no low-level adventurer!"
"No, no, I really am just a Level 3," Shirou responded calmly with a quiet smile.
Then, without hesitation, he raised his right hand.
"Trace On!"
Suddenly, countless swords appeared behind Shirou—forming a vortex of blades that completely engulfed Revis.
Even as a Level 7, Revis struggled immensely against the endless barrage of weapons suddenly appearing in mid-air. Her body was soon pierced by the flying swords, causing golden blood to gush out.
"Golden blood…?" Shirou's expression wavered at the sight.
He soon noticed a golden magic stone embedded in her chest.
She wasn't human—more like a mutated lifeform, powered by the golden magic stone, much like a parasitic plant.
"So you're not even human."
Though Shirou had suspected it, he now had confirmation.
Revis, however, showed no visible reaction. Even though her body was impaled by countless swords, she began healing at an unnatural speed, her golden stone sustaining her like a Mutated Monster.
Yet even with that regeneration, her healing speed couldn't match the injuries Shirou inflicted. The endless projection of weapons overwhelmed her recovery—her life force quickly drained away.
But Revis didn't care about her wounds. She stared seriously at Shirou and asked:
"This method of attack… You're the Sword Demon, aren't you?"
"So you've heard the name too." Shirou didn't deny it—his projection magic was far too distinct to conceal.
Revis suddenly seemed to recall something. Her eyes widened in realization, and she muttered:
"So that's it… You are the Sword Demon… You're the one that he has been watching. In that case, it all makes sense. Everything… all of it connects!"
"What are you talking about?" Shirou questioned, sensing that Revis knew something deeper.
She gave no clear answer, but still spoke:
"I won't tell you more than necessary. But know this: You and I… we are the same. We bear the same mission."
"What…?"
"Sword Demon—Emiya Shirou— One day, you'll understand the truth of this city, and the meaning of the mission we carry."
With that, Revis completely gave up her will to fight.
She charged forward, attempting to force her way out of the storm of swords with the Mutated Monster-tier vitality granted by the golden magic stone.
Naturally, Shirou wasn't going to let her escape. But with the Caliburn still sealed, he couldn't unleash a single blow strong enough to destroy her outright.
And as long as he couldn't finish her in one strike, her immense vitality would let her regenerate and keep coming.
As Revis neared escape, Shirou remembered something from his fight with Phryne— He had used Enkidu, the Chains of Heaven to bind her when she consumed the golden magic stone.
Because the golden stone contained divine essence, a form of divine power, it could be bound by Enkidu—an artifact that suppressed divinity.
And clearly, Revis also had one of those golden stones.
Shirou seized the moment and pulled Enkidu from his cloak.
"Bind her Enkidu—Chains of Heaven!"
The golden chains flew from Shirou's hand like a serpent—or a divine dragon—pursuing the staggering Revis as she tried to flee the sword storm.
Snap!
The golden chains wrapped tightly around Revis, and in that instant, her Labyrinth Monarch-level regeneration vanished. Her Level 7 strength rapidly collapsed, and she lost all ability to move.
"W-What… what is this?!" Revis stared in shock at the golden chains now binding her.
Enkidu's ability to suppress divine power clearly exceeded anything she had imagined— It was a force she never thought could exist in this world.
On the other side, Shirou exhaled in relief seeing her restrained, just as with Phryne. He approached immediately, hoping to extract more information.
But Revis had no intention of being captured. Realizing she could not break free from the Chains of Heaven, she chose to self-destruct, detonating the magic stone within her!
"What?!"
Shirou had no time to react—he couldn't stop her.
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion, Revis's body burst into fragments—flesh and blood scattering across the room.
As the dust settled, Shirou rushed to where she had stood, only to find her completely and utterly annihilated.
All that remained—aside from the chunks of flesh—was a single golden magic stone lying on the floor. It was noticeably larger than the one left behind by Phryne, confirming that her power came from the divine energy stored inside.
"Divine essence… mutated organism… A special being driven by a golden magic stone…"
Shirou silently pieced together all the clues he had gathered.
He could feel it—he was getting closer to the true nature of the dark factions, and even closer to the truth behind this city.
Still, before uncovering Orario's secrets, his top priority was to reunite with the Loki Familia. If he was right, the traitor in the team had already started to move!
.
.
.
In the depths of the shifting labyrinth—
After parting ways with Shirou, Ais and the other members of the Loki Familia had been trying to find an exit.
But they soon discovered something odd: No matter what they did, they couldn't leave the maze. Even retracing their steps led them nowhere—the layout was the same, but the exits had changed.
"What's going on?" "Are we trapped?" "Is this that guy Barca's doing?"
The members of the Loki Familia looked around in suspicion, suspecting the labyrinth's creator, Barca.
Ais didn't think it was him—but couldn't find another explanation either. The bizarre situation caused tension and despair to rise among the group, even making Bete visibly frustrated.
Just then, Tiona, the younger of the Amazonian twins, suddenly spoke up:
"Come to think of it, on the way here, I saw a room that looked kinda different. Don't know if it's an exit, but maybe it has clues!"
"A different room?"
Surprised, the group followed Tiona to the room she'd mentioned.
Sure enough, it looked distinct from the rest of the maze— Dimly lit, the darkness inside made it nearly impossible to see the path forward.
"This place just screams danger..." Raul frowned, clearly uncomfortable.
But Tiona grinned innocently and said:
"Well, since we've got no other way to go, let's try it! Maybe it really is the way out."
"..."
Everyone gave her wry smiles. They were used to Tiona's reckless optimism—but her confidence lightened the mood, and the group started to follow her suggestion.
But then—
Ais suddenly drew her sword and pointed it directly at Tiona's throat, coldly demanding:
"Tell me… who are you really?!"
"W-What?!"
Chaos erupted.
No one had expected Ais to act so suddenly and aggressively.
Among them, only Ais, Bete, and Tione—three adventurers above Level 5—remained calm.
That was because Shirou had already revealed the traitor's identity to them beforehand.
Although they had been skeptical at first—perhaps more than half in disbelief— Now that things were unfolding exactly as Shirou had predicted, even they had to acknowledge it:
This "Tiona" was the traitor in the Loki Familia.
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