"What the hell is going on here?" Bete exclaimed in surprise as he looked around.
The cave was filled with traces of battle and countless corpses. On the quartz pillar at the center of the cavern, three massive Violas were coiled tightly around it.
The ceiling and surrounding stone walls were covered in large flower buds.
Inside those buds, countless Violas were incubating.
As time passed, new Violas emerged one after another from the buds.
"Bete, over here!"
Hearing Shirou's voice, Bete couldn't help but show a look of disdain, but he didn't stop — he rushed straight toward where Shirou was.
As Bete approached, Shirou quickly said, "You can see the situation for yourself. The Violas just keep spawning endlessly."
"Also, those robed guys are remnants of Evilus. They're carrying Fire Stones and blow themselves up when they're losing," Shirou explained.
"Of course, that's the smaller problem. The real threat is the masked man and the three Violas beside him," Shirou continued.
"He's probably Level 5, maybe even Level 6 — and those three Violas are at least Level 6," Shirou concluded.
Bete couldn't help but grow cautious after hearing Shirou's explanation.
According to him, the situation here was extremely complicated!
"Where's Ais?"
Bete asked urgently, looking around but seeing no sign of her.
"Ais is fighting the red-haired woman. They're both Level 6, but Ais won't lose," Shirou replied.
"I see." Bete nodded.
Trusting the Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein, was a fundamental principle shared by every member of the Loki Familia.
"Lefiya, go help the Hermes Familia deal with the Violas and Evilus. Be careful of their self-destruction!" Shirou ordered.
"Yes!" Lefiya nodded firmly.
After instructing her, Shirou turned to Asfi.
"Asfi, can you stand now?"
"Yes, my wounds are nearly healed," she replied.
"Then go back and take command of your Familia. They'll fight better with you leading them," Shirou said.
"Understood!"
Watching Asfi head back, Shirou turned to Bete. "Looks like the hard part's on us, Bete."
"Hmph, obviously," the werewolf grunted.
Shirou smiled slightly and said, facing the white-haired werewolf, "They'll probably keep summoning more Violas to back them up. Attack however you want — I'll support from the rear."
"Fine by me!" Bete barked, immediately charging forward.
"Go to hell, masked bastard!" Bete roared as he rushed toward the masked man.
"Violas!" the masked man shouted, summoning even more of the creatures.
"Just as I thought…" Shirou muttered, projecting his bow and arrows, quickly taking aim at the enemies ahead.
He fired relentlessly, arrows whistling through the air, striking down any Viola that appeared before him.
Bete dashed ahead, wielding his Dual Rolan — twin swords forged by Tsubaki, each bearing the Durandal attribute.
He saw several Violas blocking his path and was about to change direction when several arrows struck their magic stones.
"I'll clear the way for you!" Shirou shouted from a distance.
"Stop bragging! I don't need your help!"
Ignoring the werewolf's words — which Shirou automatically translated in his mind as, 'Thank you, Emiya-sama, for your assistance' — he smiled and replied, "You're welcome!"
"Who the hell's thanking you?!" Bete roared back.
Having carved his way through a swarm of Violas, he finally reached the masked man and launched a direct attack.
At the same time, the masked man — nearly recovered from his wounds — counterattacked.
For a moment, the two were evenly matched.
In close combat, Bete and the masked man exchanged blows at incredible speed, their movements so fast that even their allies couldn't keep up.
"Are high-level adventurers really that strong?"
Alicia, who had arrived with Bete and Lefiya, flinched sharply.
The members of the Hermes Familia, who had almost finished off the nearby monsters, were also stunned.
They couldn't interfere in such a battle.
After finishing off the last nearby creature, Shirou finally had a brief moment to breathe — and immediately aimed an arrow at the masked man, firing without hesitation.
"What—?" The masked man, struggling desperately to defend himself from Bete's assault, suddenly felt a wave of killing intent.
Seeing the arrow flying straight for his head, he barely managed to block with his left arm.
The arrow pierced through his arm and continued forward, grazing his face before stopping.
Reeling backward, he ripped the arrow out of his arm, his expression filled with fear as cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
He had almost been shot in the head.
Though his face now had a gaping wound from the arrow, he didn't seem to care.
As long as he wasn't dead, it would heal quickly.
Watching that, Shirou couldn't help feeling disappointed.
The man's body was unbelievably tough — any other adventurer would've died instantly from that shot.
Losing the moment and surrounded by monsters again, Shirou turned his focus back to his own fight, though his peripheral vision remained locked on Bete, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Throwing the broken arrow aside, the masked man glared at the charging werewolf, uncertainty flickering in his eyes.
Shirou was too dangerous.
He couldn't afford to let that archer live.
"Come forth, Demi-Spirit!"
At the masked man's shout, one of the three Violas coiled around the quartz pillar suddenly unwrapped its tendrils and crashed down from above.
The enormous body of the giant plant slammed into the ground, sending a wave of dust into the air.
Nearby Hermes Familia members quickly raised their arms to shield their faces.
The ground where the massive plant landed was completely shattered.
Under normal circumstances, everyone would've felt nauseated just looking at that monster.
But now, seeing a creature that dwarfed even a Floor Boss in size, their eyes were filled with disbelief.
How could they possibly fight such a thing?
This was practically a Floor Boss itself!
And there were still two more of those monsters coiled around the quartz pillar!
The very thought filled everyone with despair.
"Devour that red-haired archer!" the masked man commanded.
At his words, the colossal monster lunged toward Shirou with terrifying speed.
---
(End of chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."