Chapter 75. The True Awakening of "Senji Muramasa"!
The Dungeon, 52nd Floor.
If the Upper Floors are trials for newcomers, the Middle Floors a threshold for adventurers, and the Deep Floors a graveyard for the strong, then the area from the 50th floor downward can only be described as a concentrated manifestation of Divine Malice.
The air here is no longer transparent; it presents as a thick, dark purple mana haze. With every breath, one can feel minute magic stone dust scraping against the lungs. In this environment, an adventurer below Lv. 4 without protection would likely suffocate from mana poisoning within ten minutes.
The Loki Familia expedition army was advancing rapidly through this domain known as the "Barren Labyrinth."
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Gareth, wielding his massive shield, moved with impacts like miniature earthquakes. Before him, several "Hell Worms" the size of houses were forcibly crushed into meat paste.
"Captain, the spawn rate on the 52nd floor is wrong." Bete leaped back from the flank like a silver lightning bolt. His war boots were stained with dark green corrosive liquid. "These monsters' health bars are absurdly thick, and they seem to be consciously herding us into a dead end."
Finn, sitting atop the lead Colosso (a large pack beast), felt his thumb throbbing violently. That needle-like pain told him that the upcoming path—due to the presence of a certain individual (yes, the red-haired protagonist)—had caused the Dungeon's immune response to escalate to a "Hellish" level.
"Everyone, tighten the formation! Riveria, prepare wide-range defense magic. Ais, protect the logistics group." Finn issued orders calmly. Finally, his gaze fell upon the figure wrapped in bandages, looking somewhat thin in the center of the team. "Emiya, can your right hand hold out?"
Shirou Emiya was carrying a supply pack larger than himself, his left hand steadily gripping a heavy iron box. As for his right hand... it currently emitted an eerie, semi-transparent golden glow. Through the thin bandages, one could even see the flowing mana circuits within, like a work of art that had not yet been fully forged.
"No problem, Captain. Although I can't grasp physical objects, it's more sensitive than before for sensing mana flow." Shirou smiled, his amber eyes shimmering with a calm light. "I can warn you of traps in advance."
Just as he finished speaking, Shirou's brow twitched violently.
[Mind's Eye - Extreme — Prediction Start.]
"Directly above at three o'clock, Gravity Collapse trap! Everyone, stop!" Boosted by mana, Shirou's voice instantly reached every member of the team.
CRASH!
Exactly 0.5 seconds after the team halted, the ceiling ahead suddenly collapsed. But it wasn't a normal collapse; all the rock was instantly compressed into a sphere by a massive, invisible gravitational force. The once-flat path turned into a bottomless, pitch-black pit, its edges radiating ripples of distorted space.
"That was close!" Tiona patted her chest, looking at the pit with lingering fear. "If we had rushed forward, we'd be compressed biscuits by now." This was the nature of the Deep Floors: no sportsmanship, no reaction time given.
Shirou looked at the gravity pit, feeling the Protection of Artemis within him pulsing frantically. His semi-transparent right hand grew even more dazzling.
Is this the rejection response Hermes mentioned? Because I don't belong to this world, the Dungeon wants to completely erase me as a 'virus'. Shirou mocked himself internally.
.
.
.
Two hours later, the expedition reached the 58th Floor.
This is the final checkpoint before the "Abyss of Emptiness," also known as the "Gravity Labyrinth." Here, the direction of gravity is chaotic. One moment you might be walking on the floor; the next, you find yourself upside down on the ceiling.
This environment was a nightmare for Lefiya, who needed precise aiming, and Gareth, who consumed massive amounts of stamina.
"Ah! I hate this floor! My skirt... no, my sense of gravity is all messed up!" Lefiya waved her staff wildly in the air, looking like a cat drowning in a zero-gravity chamber.
"Lefiya, stay calm!" Though Riveria looked slightly disheveled, she maintained her royal elegance, using mana to adhere her soles to the surface.
Shirou, however, appeared exceptionally light. Because his right hand was semi-conceptualized, he was less bound by physical constraints. He was like an astronaut walking in space; holding his sword in his left hand, he performed a graceful mid-air roll, catching Haruhime who was about to float away.
"Hold onto me, Haruhime," Shirou said gently.
"Yes! Shirou-sama!" Haruhime's face was flushed red, her golden fox tail wagging wildly in the air. This was likely the most thrilling roller coaster of her life.
Just as everyone was trying to adapt to this chaotic gravity...
HUM—
An extremely heavy killing intent, enough to crush bone marrow, erupted from the depths of the labyrinth.
It was a pressure that surpassed Lv. 6.
"Something... is coming." Ais drew Desperate, her golden wind barrier spinning frantically around the blade, attempting to counteract the chaotic gravitational pull.
From the shadows of the labyrinth, a pair of massive, silver-glowing eyes slowly opened. Then, a creature with a slender, lizard-like body, six feathered wings, and silver metallic scales stepped out.
[Deep Floor Guardian — Gravity Dragon]. [Potential Level: Lv. 7 Tier]. lzoxK
This was a killing machine specifically birthed by the Dungeon to execute illegal intruders who ventured too deep. Every one of its scales was engraved with gravity magic circles; where it appeared, even light would bend.
"Gareth, hold the line! Riveria, chant high-tier magic!" Finn roared.
However, the Gravity Dragon merely let out a silent roar.
BOOM!
The gravity of the entire floor increased a hundredfold in an instant.
THUD! THUD!
Most supporters below Lv. 4 were flattened directly against the ground, making even moving a finger a luxury. Even the strong like Finn and Riveria were forced onto one knee, the rocks beneath them shattering.
This was a total gap in raw stats. Before pure physical laws, level and technique seemed so pale.
"Damn it... can't move..." Bete gritted his teeth, trying to activate his magic, but his mana circuits were nearly stagnant under such high pressure.
At the moment the entire expedition fell into a desperate situation...
A crisp footstep rang out.
In this silent high-gravity field where even dust could not fall...
Shirou Emiya stood.
His right hand emitted a golden brilliance as dazzling as a star. The moment that heavy pressure touched this golden light, it melted away like snow before a scorching sun.
[Causality Interference — Because the right hand does not belong to the current world, physical laws are judged invalid.]
Shirou walked slowly toward the massive Gravity Dragon. His simple leather armor flapped violently under the surge of mana.
Even if only his left hand was usable. Even if his mana was overextended. Even if his body was screaming.
He still stepped forward.
"Are you trying to tell me I'm not welcome in this world?" Shirou looked directly into those silver pupils, the corners of his mouth curling into an arc of courage. "Unfortunately... I'm best at giving a gift called 'Correction' to hosts who don't welcome me."
Trace On
This time, Shirou did not project an ordinary sword. He reached out his left hand, gripping the void.
The phantom of the spear bearing Artemis's aura, which had been destroyed in the ruins of Elsos, actually overlapped with his semi-transparent right hand under the drive of his will.
'Is this... the final protection left by Artemis? Since it has no physical form, I will forge it with my soul!'
"Analyzing structural components—Stardust Steel, Lunar Divine Fluid. Determining basic frame—Spine that Pierces Causality. Granting true attribute—Severer of Emptiness."
A longsword, entirely transparent and emitting a dreamlike moonlight, slowly condensed in Shirou's hand.
[True Name: Blade of the End - Moonlight First Draft.]
It was his unfinished work, and the Truth he was about to engrave upon this world.
The Gravity Dragon sensed a power from this human that defied the common sense of the Dungeon. It opened its bloody maw, and a black energy sphere condensing extreme gravity formed at its throat.
[Black Hole Cannon]!
It was a strike capable of crushing a Lv. 6 adventurer along with their soul.
"Emiya! Get away!" Finn screamed, but he couldn't move an inch. lzoxK
Shirou did not dodge. He raised the moonlit longsword.
"Since you are the incarnation of gravity... then I will fill you up with 'Infinity'."
Blade Works — Partial Release.
The moment the Gravity Dragon fired the energy sphere, thousands of swords did not appear behind Shirou. Instead, a miniature, constantly rotating phantom of a gear appeared.
[Broken Phantasm Custom].
Shirou directly stuffed dozens of magic sword projections with gravity-resistance attributes into that moonlit sword wave.
"SLASH!"
A crescent-like arc of light sliced through the dark purple mist. lzoxK
There was no violent explosion. Only a sound like paper being torn apart.
The gravity cannon capable of destroying everything was actually sliced neatly in half the moment it contacted the moonlit sword wave. Subsequently, the two halves of the energy sphere exploded beside Shirou, turning the rock walls on both sides into nothingness without harming a single member of the expedition.
ROAR! The Gravity Dragon let out a terrified hiss. Its instinct told it that the human before it wasn't just fighting, but rewriting the rules of the battlefield.
"It's not over yet." Shirou's figure vanished instantly.
Using the moonlit sword's minute slicing of space, he achieved movement similar to teleportation.
The next second, he appeared above the Dragon's head.
"This strike is for the future of Alise and the others."
PFFFT!
The moonlit sword stabbed deep into the Gravity Dragon's core magic stone. Those indestructible silver metallic scales were softer than tofu at this moment.
"Now... BEGONE!"
Shirou's transparent right hand slammed onto the hilt. At that moment, a massive purifying power belonging to Artemis poured out through Shirou's body.
BOOM!
White brilliance instantly filled the entire 58th floor. The gravity vanished. The killing intent vanished. The overbearing Gravity Dragon turned into silver dust that filled the air within that warm light.
.
.
.
A long time later, the light faded.
The expedition members slumped to the ground, panting heavily.
"We won?" Gareth wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling as though he had just crawled out of a meat grinder.
"That Emiya... that strike just now already 'touched that domain,' didn't it?" Finn stood up leaning on his spear, looking at the red-haired silhouette standing in the center of the ruins with his back to them.
Shirou's condition was not good. His moonlit sword had dissipated, and his semi-transparent right hand had become even more illusory; even the lines at his shoulder were starting to blur.
"Emiya!" Ais was the first to rush forward, hugging Shirou from behind.
This time, she felt a sense of physical reality. Though only a little.
"Don't move," Ais's voice carried a hint of a sob. "Your hand... it's almost gone."
"Sorry, Ais. I went a bit too hard." Shirou turned his head, his face pale to the point of being transparent, but he was still smiling. "However, it looks like we've arrived."
Everyone followed Shirou's gaze.
At the end of the 58th floor, where the Gravity Dragon had been guarding. A massive cave, looking like the entrance to an abyss, stood there. What came from that cave was not a monster's roar, but an absolute, extreme silence.
That was—the 60th Floor, the "Abyss of Emptiness." And supposedly, where the heart of the Dungeon resides.
Meanwhile. Far away on the Field of War at the top of Babel.
Freya was holding a golden wine glass, watching this scene through the Divine Mirror. Her eyes were hazy, and her cheeks were flushed with an abnormal fever of excitement. In those silver eyes, every moment of Shirou swinging his sword was reflected.
"Ah... that's the light. The light that can still slice through rules amidst despair. Shirou Emiya... you truly are the only treasure of this era."
Freya reached out her pale finger, gently touching Shirou's semi-transparent face in the mirror, her lips curling into a morbid expression of love.
"Faster. A little faster. At the end of that abyss, I have already prepared for you... the best territory."
The Goddess turned her head toward Ottar standing in the shadows.
"Ottar, is it ready? That thing... it should be unable to wait to devour that brilliance, right?"
"Everything is prepared, Goddess." Ottar bowed, his voice heavy as thunder.
"Very good."
Freya sat back on her couch, her long silver hair fluttering in the wind.
"Let us see. Whether the 'Emptiness' of this world is stronger, or the 'Infinity' of that man is more resilient."
.
.
.
Entrance to the 60th Floor.
Finn looked at the pitch-black cave. The throbbing of his thumb had stopped, replaced by a chill called "hanging by a thread."
"Emiya, what you said earlier. The Dungeon is rejecting you." Finn walked to Shirou's side, his gaze deep.
"Yes, Captain. It wants to kill me." Shirou admitted frankly.
"In that case..."
Finn looked at the companions behind him. Ais gripped her sword, Riveria began the final distribution of potions, Bete was doing chest stretches, and Haruhime and Lili gripped their supply packs tightly.
"Since the Dungeon hates you, then we must definitely bring you back."
Finn revealed the smile that earned the trust of all Orario.
"It is our home, but we are its masters. Everyone, pay attention! The final stretch! Target: 60th Floor!"
"Bring back our own chef, and while we're at it... let's go blow away that so-called 'Emptiness'!"
"OHHHHHHHH!"
Amidst a roar of responses, the Loki Familia expedition stepped into the abyss that had been forbidden for a thousand years.
And in the depths of that pitch-black abyss. A pair of massive, red compound eyes. And... a man in a black cloak with a mask on his face (a remnant of Thanatos? Or a deeper darkness?). He was quietly waiting for their arrival.
This was not just to find Artemis's legacy. This was also Shirou Emiya's first formal dialogue as a "Hero Candidate" with the "Truth" of this world.
The wind stopped in the abyss. But in Shirou's heart, that wasteland of Infinite Blade Works was expanding at an unprecedented speed.
The true awakening of "Senji Muramasa" was about to explode completely in the darkness of the 60th floor.
Read ahead (40 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting