When the enormous wyvern descended—bathed in the last gold of the setting sun—onto the plaza before Babel, the entire city erupted.
This expedition hadn't been publicly announced, but news of "Hermes Familia and Loki Familia launching a joint operation" still spread through Orario like it had wings.
"They're back! They're back!""That red-haired guy… doesn't he look stronger again?""I heard they went to hunt some legendary monster—no way, right?!"
Amid the roaring chatter, Emiya Shirou was helped down from the wyvern's back—supported on both sides by Ais and Lili.
"Helped" was putting it nicely.
He was basically being carried.
"Whew… finally landed," Shirou said with a helpless grin, cracking his stiff neck. His body felt like it had been through a blender, but the sensation of solid ground beneath his feet still made him exhale in relief.
"Welcome back, Emiya."
Finn Deimne had been waiting with the rest of the stay-behind members. The little Pallum captain swept his gaze over the team—then stopped on Shirou's right arm.
It was wrapped in layers of bandages.
And beneath the gauze, faint golden motes still drifted like embers that refused to die.
Finn's thumb twitched—an unconscious tell—while his eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Looks like it was a brutal battle."
"Yeah," Shirou shrugged. "I… may have done something a little out of line."
"Out of line? You call godslaying 'out of line'?" Hermes hopped down dramatically, throwing both hands wide. "This guy blew the entire ruin into the stratosphere! Literally! If I hadn't run fast enough, I'd be in the Underworld sipping tea with Hades right now!"
"…Godslaying."
Finn's pupils contracted for a heartbeat. Then he gave a long, meaningful smile.
"As expected of 'Senji Muramasa.' It seems our newest member has fully stepped outside the bounds of 'common sense.'"
"Enough talking," Riveria cut in, stepping forward. Her tone was stern, but her eyes held unmistakable concern. "Medical team! Bring the stretcher! His right-side circuits are a complete mess—he needs immediate mana stabilization!"
"Eh? A stretcher? Come on, I'm fine—"
Shirou didn't even finish before Ais and Lili moved in perfect sync and pressed him flat onto the stretcher.
"Denied," Ais said, expression unreadable. "You are severely injured. No resistance permitted."
"Emiya-sama, please have the self-awareness of a patient!" Lili snapped while expertly directing the medics. "Steady! If you jostle and break the future captain—(Hestia-sama's words)—the goddess will explode!"
"Who's the future captain?!" Shirou yelped, but his protest was ignored.
The hero who had just saved the world was carried off like a tightly wrapped rice dumpling—straight back to Twilight Manor.
Riveria's private alchemy lab had been temporarily converted into Shirou's personal hospital suite.
The official reason: "The warding is strongest here."The real reason: "So a certain someone doesn't sneak out at midnight to go forge steel."
"Aaah—open up."
Shirou lay propped against the headboard, staring wearily at the blonde girl seated at his bedside.
"Ais… I can feed myself now."
"No," Ais said, stubbornly lifting the spoon again. The spoon held warm apple puree, carefully cooled by her breath. "Riveria said your right arm cannot move."
"I've still got my left arm!"
"Your left arm is for holding hands."
"…Huh?"
Shirou froze.
Only then did he realize his left hand was locked tightly in Ais's grip—like if she let go, he'd vanish.
Her gaze was calm and focused… but there was something behind it. A faint, quiet fear she couldn't quite hide.
That battle at Elsois—how close he'd been to dying—had left a mark on her.
Shirou's chest softened.
"…Okay," he sighed, giving up. "Aaaah—"
Ais fed him.
"Good," she said, satisfied, and for a moment it felt like pink flowers were blooming in the air.
Knock knock.
The door interrupted their dangerously heart-thumping "treatment time."
Finn entered, holding a document folder.
"Am I interrupting?" he asked with a teasing lilt, then pulled up a chair. "I'd love to let you rest longer, but some matters can't wait."
"About the man-made labyrinth?" Shirou's tone sharpened.
"Correct." Finn's expression turned serious. "You eliminated Antares and removed the external threat, but Orario's internal undercurrent hasn't stopped. Based on what we recovered from the Purple Crystal Palace, and on intelligence provided by Haruhime…"
He tapped the map.
"The man-made labyrinth has more than one entrance."
"More than one?" Shirou frowned.
"Yes. Aside from the entrance you found on the Eighteenth Floor, there may be hidden doors in other corners of the city—even inside certain familias' bases." Finn pointed at several red circles. "The remnants of the Dark Faction are still active. And…"
His voice dropped.
"They're preparing retaliation. Something they're calling the Great Feud."
That name alone carried weight.
Too many tragedies were tied to it. Too much blood.
"We can't sit and wait," Finn continued, closing the folder. "I've contacted Ganesha Familia and Hephaestus Familia. We'll assemble a joint suppression unit. Once we confirm the primary core entrance, we strike immediately."
Then Finn looked straight at Shirou.
"Emiya. Your task is simple."
"Recover. Then…" Finn's eyes narrowed slightly. "…sharpen your 'sword.' We'll need your strength."
"Understood."
Shirou clenched his fist—careful not to jolt the bandaged right arm.
"Next time… I'll wipe out every last rat hiding in the gutters."
"Good." Finn rose, satisfied. "One more thing."
He reached into his pocket and produced a small fragment that shimmered faintly like moonlight.
A shard of—
Orion's Arrow.
"Hermes asked me to deliver this to you," Finn said. "He claims that even though the divine weapon was destroyed, it still carries remnants of a 'goddess's blessing.' It may serve as forging material."
Shirou accepted the fragment.
It was cold to the touch, yet somehow warm—like a familiar voice was still there, whispering softly:
The moonlight is beautiful tonight.
"…Thank you." Shirou closed his fingers around it. "I'll… make good use of it."
Ais had been forcibly dragged off by Riveria.
Reason given: "Dark circles under the eyes damage the Sword Princess's image."
Lili and Haruhime had returned to their rooms.
Shirou lay alone, staring at the moon outside the window.
"Moon goddess… huh."
He lifted the fragment to the moonlight, turning it slowly.
The story had ended, but the traces hadn't.
The Blessing of the Moon on his back.The divine shard in his hand.And the heavy promise lodged in his chest.
"…My 'fate' is getting kind of ridiculous," he muttered with a bitter laugh, reaching to put out the light and sleep.
Then—
Rustle.
A sound so faint a normal person would've dismissed it as wind.
But to Shirou—whose Mind's Eye (True) never fully slept—it was as loud as a hammer striking steel.
Someone was outside.
A master.
No killing intent. Presence suppression bordering on perfect.
Without sitting up, Shirou spoke calmly.
"Since you're here, you might as well come in."
He glanced toward the window.
"It's the third floor, but for 'Gale,' that shouldn't be much of a challenge, right?"
The window eased open.
A green figure slipped inside like a falling leaf—silent, weightless.
A hood. A mask. The signature green ranger garb.
Ryuu Lion.
Once a Level 4 adventurer. Now a tavern waitress. And—currently—a wanted "masked vigilante."
"…So you noticed," Ryuu said, removing her mask. Her face was as cold and beautiful as ever, though fatigue lingered around the edges. Her sky-blue eyes remained sharp as blades.
"Your awareness is higher than before," she added quietly.
"I've been through a few things," Shirou said, then nodded toward his bandaged right arm. "But you, Ryuu… breaking into a guy's hospital room at night—if Syr hears about this, it's going to get ugly."
"…Don't say that name." Ryuu stiffened, as if she'd recalled something truly terrifying.
Then, after a pause, she said, "I… came to see you."
"To see me?"
Ryuu's gaze swept over his injuries. Something complicated flickered through her eyes.
"I heard you used forbidden power to save a goddess," she said softly. "That you nearly destroyed your circuits."
"News travels fast." Shirou sighed. "Yeah. More or less. But if it leads to a happy ending… it's worth it."
"Happy ending…"
Ryuu repeated the words as if tasting something bitter. A self-mocking curve tugged at her lips.
"Does something like that really exist… in this world?"
There was deep sorrow in her voice—the kind carried by someone who'd lost everything and kept living anyway.
"It does," Shirou said, looking at her steadily. "As long as you don't give up."
"As long as you can still raise your blade."
Ryuu fell silent for a long time.
Then she pulled out a long, cloth-wrapped bundle from inside her cloak and placed it on the bedside table.
"What's this?"
"…For you." She turned her face away. "Last time, you repaired my knife. This is payment."
Shirou unwrapped it.
Inside was a block of wood that glowed with deep, emerald light.
Fairy Wood.
A rare material found only in the depths of the elven forests—top-tier for crafting staffs and bows.
"This is too valuable—"
"Take it," Ryuu cut him off. "In your current condition, you can't fight close-range at full power. I thought…"
Her voice lowered.
"This wood… might help you make a bow suited to you."
Ryuu looked at him—eyes carrying a quiet expectation.
"Your archery is strong," she said. "If you had a proper weapon… you might be able to pierce things that hide in the shadows."
Shirou didn't answer right away.
He looked at the wood. Then at her.
He understood.
This wasn't just repayment.
It was a request.
Or rather—
a plea.
"Ryuu," Shirou said slowly, tapping a finger against the Fairy Wood. "Are you… in trouble?"
Ryuu's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
She turned her back to him, as if refusing to let him see her expression.
"…No. It's nothing." She pulled the hood back up and re-fastened the mask. "It's just that… Orario's wind has changed."
"Some 'dead things'… are starting to stir."
Dead things.
The Dark Faction.
And the shadow of the disaster that had once wiped out the Astrea Familia—
the Juggernaut.
"Emiya Shirou."
Ryuu stepped onto the windowsill, her voice turning strangely airy.
"If one day… I become nothing but a vengeful beast that only knows slaughter…"
"If I lose my way on the road of justice…"
She turned her head slightly, fixing him with a look so intense it felt like it carved into his soul.
"Then… use your sword."
"Stop me."
And with that, she leapt—vanishing into the night like a gust of wind.
Only the cold night air remained.
And the Fairy Wood, glowing faintly on the table.
"…Stop you, huh."
Shirou lifted the wood, feeling the pure magic sleeping inside it.
He could sense the struggle within Ryuu's heart.
The "strong" elf was already buckling beneath the weight of her nightmares.
"Idiot," he murmured.
He set the Fairy Wood beside the moonlit shard of Orion's Arrow.
A confident smile tugged at his lips.
"I'm 'Unlimited,' you know."
"No matter what—vengeance, despair, fate…"
"I'll cut it all down."
"And since you gave me the materials…"
He closed his eyes.
"In return, I'll forge you… the best future."
Under the moonlight, a new blueprint took shape in his mind.
A weapon born from the fusion of the Moon Goddess's lingering divinity and the blessing of the elves—
A bow made to pierce darkness itself.
The Annihilation Bow.
And when "Gale" faced her greatest crisis—
that bow would become her only salvation.
....
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