"Roarrr!"
The Minotaurs wielding stone axes kept roaring at Shirou Emiya.
One after another, their roars echoed throughout the area.
But they had no effect whatsoever on Shirou Emiya's focused mind. Holding a greatsword, Shirou Emiya was brimming with battle intent.
The girl's trust echoed in his heart.
When facing someone he wanted to protect, Shirou Emiya was never careless.
He would give everything he had.
"Come on. Let the slaughter begin."
"Roarrr!"
Provoked by Shirou Emiya, the Minotaurs no longer merely tried to intimidate him. They transformed into wild bulls and began their charge.
At the same time, the girl's beautiful, rhythmic voice rang out through the space.
It was the incantation of a mage.
[Proud warriors, archers of the forest.]
[The advancing marauders stand before you. Take up your bows.]
[Answer the voices of your comrades. Nock your arrows.]
As the incantation continued, a crimson Magic Circle gradually unfolded, and countless streams of mana converged toward Lefia.
At that moment, she was like a light shining in the darkness, revealing undisguised killing intent toward every monster present.
Affected by this, many of the Minotaurs charging at Shirou Emiya changed direction and rushed toward Lefia.
"Where do you think you're going? This is where you belong."
His greatsword cleaved apart the enemies beside him. Seeing the Minotaur attempting to charge toward Lefia, Shirou Emiya hurled the greatsword in his hand, piercing straight through it.
[Kindle the flames, lantern of the forest.]
Abandoning the enemies before him, he leaped to Lefia's side in the center and slaughtered every Minotaur that approached her.
Watching the enemies rapidly close in, Shirou Emiya shouted, "Come on!"
"Let's see who survives this slaughter in the end."
[I command you to fire, flaming arrows of the elves.]
"Roarrr!"
Another charge. And then another.
The Minotaurs lowered their upper bodies and, having gathered their strength, charged toward Shirou Emiya in dense waves.
The response awaiting them was a storm of sharp blades.
Weapons brought forth through Projection appeared around Shirou Emiya, then transformed into unstoppable arrows that flew toward the Minotaurs.
[Descend like a sudden rain, burn the barbarian hordes.]
"Looks like I've completed my task."
The elf's incantation had reached its most impassioned moment, and the final lines of the spell had arrived.
The staff in Lefia's hand began to swing.
The mana had finished gathering.
All that remained was the final word of judgment, which would pronounce death upon the Minotaurs.
[Volley Fire Javelin]
The sky began to glitter, and countless fiery rainfalls descended from above.
Countless golden bolts of light came down as densely as rain.
They scattered across the Human World like a meteor shower, like a calamity bestowed upon the Human World by the heavens, seeking to destroy every living thing on the land.
The blazing, arrowhead-shaped bolts of mana traced arcs through the air before rapidly crashing into the ground.
The attack descending from the sky covered everything around them, leaving untouched only the small patch of ground where Lefia and Shirou Emiya stood.
The blazing bolts of light pierced through the monsters and blasted apart the ground, wiping out every Minotaur around the two of them.
There had been dozens of Minotaurs.
And just like that, they were erased from the ground in an instant. That was the might of magic.
"Although this is my first time seeing it, its power really is astonishing."
Feeling the power of Lefia's wide-area annihilation magic, Shirou Emiya deeply understood the terrifying destructive force of mages.
Every bolt of light Lefia fired was no weaker than Shirou Emiya's Illusionary Collapse.
In an environment like this, let alone dozens of Minotaurs—even ten times that number could be annihilated in a single strike by Lefia's magic, as long as they were inside the dungeon chamber.
That was something Shirou Emiya's Illusionary Collapse could not accomplish.
When all was said and done, his Illusionary Collapse was merely a secondary application of Projection Magic, a unique technique rather than an independent spell.
Therefore, even if Shirou Emiya's Unlimited Blade Works continued to grow stronger, the power of Illusionary Collapse would not increase.
The only things that could affect the power of Illusionary Collapse were the amount of mana used to form the weapon and Shirou Emiya's efficiency in utilizing mana.
Perhaps under the influence of Unlimited Blade Works, Shirou Emiya's Projection Magic would gradually grow stronger as well.
But the direction of that enhancement should be the completeness of the projected weapons, making the projected objects more similar to their originals.
It might even reduce the mana consumed by Projection Magic.
But it absolutely could not increase the power of the weapon's explosion.
That would be far too strange.
"Mr. Shirou, I did it."
Looking at the cleared-out monsters around them and the densely scattered Magic Stones on the ground,
Lefia happily leaped into Shirou Emiya's arms, held onto his arm, and shared her joy with him.
Just now, when the Minotaur's charge had come closest to her, it had missed her by no more than a finger's width. Yet she had not panicked at all.
That was not only because she trusted Shirou Emiya, but also because she trusted herself.
Even if Shirou Emiya had not arrived in time, she could still have evaded its attack before being injured.
That was the result of her training during this period.
"Looks like all that suffering you endured during this time wasn't in vain."
Gently rubbing Lefia's head, Shirou Emiya shared in her joy.
"Mm. And thank you too, Mr. Shirou, for taking care of me during this time."
As she spoke, Lefia stepped back several paces and bowed deeply to Shirou Emiya.
She had seen all the care Shirou Emiya had given her during this time.
Whether it was the armor and weapons he had painstakingly crafted for her or the Martial Arts he had taught her, Shirou Emiya had devoted tremendous effort to her.
She was immensely grateful for such care.
Shirou Emiya hurriedly helped Lefia up. He had never intended to ask for anything in return for taking care of her.
More than anything, it was simply a habit.
A habit of helping others, a habit of taking care of others.
Especially girls younger than himself. Whenever he saw them working hard, Shirou Emiya would think of his little sister, Miyu.
She should be fighting to resist her fate as well.
Even though he was not by her side.
Looking at Shirou Emiya, who was as tolerant as ever and took such wholehearted care of her, countless thoughts suddenly arose in Lefia's mind.
She had joined the Familia earlier than he had, and her level was also higher than his. Yet whenever she was in front of Shirou Emiya, it felt as though she were the junior instead.
"Whenever I look at you, Mr. Shirou, I feel like I've gained an older brother."
Seeing Lefia's smiling face, Shirou Emiya's entire body trembled.
An older brother?
It seemed like it had been a long time since he had heard someone call him that.
After all, this was another world. Alone and without a single relative around, where would he get a younger brother or sister?
Aside from Miyu, who else would call him that?
Shirou Emiya was overcome with emotion.
Unaware of what was going on inside Shirou Emiya, Lefia suddenly smiled and muttered to herself, "Could it be that Mr. Shirou thinks of me as his little sister too?"
"Come to think of it, I've never asked about your family, Mr. Shirou. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Faced with Lefia's question, Shirou Emiya suddenly said seriously, "Can you?"
"Huh? Can I do what?"
Lefia was completely confused by Shirou Emiya's irrelevant response.
"Of course. Be my sister!"
Shirou Emiya said it seriously.
Before you continue