Be my little sister

"Roooar!"

The Minotaur wielding a stone axe roared incessantly at Shirou Emiya.

One after another, their bellows echoed through the space.

But this did not affect Shirou Emiya's focused spirit in the slightest. Gripping his greatsword, he burned with fighting intent.

The girl's trust resonated within his heart.

Facing those he wished to protect, Shirou Emiya never let his guard down.

He would give everything he had.

"Come on, let's start the slaughter."

"Roooar!"

In response to Shirou Emiya's provocation, the Minotaurs ceased their intimidation and charged like mad bulls.

At the same time, a girl's beautiful, melodic voice rang out through the space.

It was the incantation of a mage.

[Proud warriors, archers of the forest.]

[The plundering invaders are before you; take up your bows.]

[Answer the call of your kin, nock your arrows.]

As the chant progressed, a crimson Magic Circle gradually unfolded, and vast amounts of magical power converged toward Lefia's location.

She was like a beacon of light in the darkness, exposing her killing intent blatantly to every monster present.

Affected by this, many of the Minotaurs charging at Shirou Emiya shifted direction and rushed toward Lefia.

"Where do you think you're going? Your place is here."

Swinging his greatsword, he cut down the enemies around him. Seeing the Minotaurs heading for Lefia, Shirou Emiya hurled his blade, impaling one through.

[Ignite the flames, torches of the forest.]

Abandoning the foes before him, he leaped to Lefia's side at the center, cutting down every Minotaur that drew near.

As the enemies closed in swiftly, Shirou Emiya shouted loudly, "Come on!"

"Let's see who survives this slaughter in the end."

[Order you to loose your arrows, spirit fire bolts.]

"Roooar!"

Charge, and again charge.

Lowering their upper bodies, the Minotaurs built up momentum and surged toward Shirou Emiya in waves.

What answered them were sharp blades.

Projected armaments materialized around Shirou Emiya, then flew like unstoppable arrows toward the Minotaurs.

[Fall like rain, burn the barbarians.]

"Looks like my part is done."

The elf's chant had reached its most fervent moment; the final verse was upon them.

Lefia's staff swung through the air.

The accumulation of magical power was complete.

Only the final words of judgment remained to pronounce death upon the Minotaurs.

[Volley Fire Javelin]

The sky began to flash, and countless volleys of fire rained down from above.

Countless golden arrows of light descended as densely as raindrops.

They scattered like a meteor shower upon the Human World, as if a calamity sent from heaven to destroy all life on this land.

Blazing arrow-shaped bolts of magic arced through the air and plummeted swiftly to the ground.

The attack from above covered everything around, leaving only the small patch of ground where Lefia and Shirou Emiya stood untouched.

The blazing arrows pierced the monsters, blasted the earth, and swept away every Minotaur around them in one fell swoop.

There were dozens of Minotaurs.

Wiped clean from the ground in an instant—such was the power of magic.

"Though it's my first time seeing it, the power is truly astonishing."

Feeling the force of Lefia's wide-area annihilation magic, Shirou Emiya deeply understood the terrifying destructive capability of a mage.

Every arrow Lefia fired was no less potent than Shirou Emiya's Illusionary Collapse.

In such an environment, even if the number of Minotaurs were multiplied tenfold, as long as they were in this chamber, Lefia's magic could annihilate them in a single strike.

This was something Shirou Emiya's Illusionary Collapse could never achieve.

After all, his Illusionary Collapse was merely a secondary use of Projection Magic—a unique technique, not a separate spell in its own right.

Therefore, even as Shirou Emiya's Unlimited Blade Works grew stronger, the power of Illusionary Collapse would not increase.

The only factors that could affect the power of Illusionary Collapse were the amount of magical energy used to construct the weapon and Shirou Emiya's efficiency in utilizing that energy.

Perhaps under the influence of Unlimited Blade Works, Shirou Emiya's Projection Magic would gradually become stronger.

But the direction of that strengthening should be toward the completeness of the projected weapon, making the projected item closer to the original.

It might even reduce the magical energy consumption of Projection Magic.

But it would never, under any circumstances, enhance the explosive power of the weapon after it was destroyed.

That would be far too strange.

"Mr. Shirou, I succeeded."

Looking at the cleared horde of monsters around her and the Magic Stones densely scattered on the ground, Lefia cheerfully jumped into Shirou Emiya's arms, pulling on his sleeve as she narrated her joy.

Just now, when the Minotaur's charge had been closest to her—only a finger's breadth away—she hadn't panicked at all.

Not only because of her trust in Shirou Emiya, but also because of her trust in herself.

Even if Shirou Emiya hadn't arrived in time, she could have dodged the attack before getting hurt.

And that was the result of her training during this period.

"It looks like your hard work during this time hasn't been wasted."

Gently stroking Lefia's head, Shirou Emiya shared in her joy.

"Mm, and thank you, Mr. Shirou, for taking care of me all this time."

With that, Lefia stepped back a few paces and bowed deeply to Shirou Emiya.

Lefia had seen all the care Shirou Emiya had given her during this period.

Whether it was the carefully crafted armor and weapons he made for her, or the Martial Arts he taught her, Shirou Emiya had invested a great deal of effort into her.

Such care filled her with endless gratitude.

Shirou Emiya quickly helped Lefia up. He had no intention of asking for anything in return for looking after her.

It was more of a habit.

A habit of helping others, a habit of taking care of others.

Especially girls younger than himself—every time he saw them striving hard, it reminded Shirou Emiya of his own sister, Miyu.

She should be fighting against her own fate right now, too.

Even if he wasn't by her side.

Watching Shirou Emiya, who was as always full of tolerance and devoted to taking care of her, countless thoughts surged in Lefia's heart.

Even though she had joined the Familia before him and her level was higher than his, every time she was in front of Shirou Emiya, it felt like she was the junior instead.

"Looking at you, Mr. Shirou, I feel like I've gained a Brother."

Seeing Lefia's smiling face, Shirou Emiya's whole body trembled.

Brother?

It seemed like it had been a long time since he'd heard that form of address.

After all, this was another world. Alone and without any relatives, how could he have younger siblings?

Other than Miyu, who else would call him that?

Shirou Emiya was filled with emotion.

Unaware of what was going on in Shirou Emiya's heart at that moment, Lefia suddenly smiled and muttered to herself, "Does Mr. Shirou think of me as a little sister too?"

"Come to think of it, I've never asked about Mr. Shirou's family situation. Do you have any siblings, Mr. Shirou?"

Faced with Lefia's question, Shirou Emiya suddenly said seriously, "May I?"

"Huh? May you what?"

Confused by Shirou Emiya's non-sequitur, Lefia was puzzled.

"Of course—be my little sister!"

Shirou Emiya said earnestly.