Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

"Thank you for your advice... I will keep it in mind."

Shirou bowed deeply to her.

"It's okay if you show them your true self."

Zhou Seiyu spoke softly to the boy's retreating figure.

Because you possess an incomparably noble soul.

On the night Shirou was abducted back to church by Ritsuka, the blind nun saw it clearly.

The boy named Amamiya Shirou has something he can't hide no matter how hard he tries to close his heart.

The fairy from another world's paradise was deeply fascinated by it and decided to offer up the holy sword—

He saved the soul of the young female knight king, who was repeatedly tormented by guilt.

To quell all strife and despair, to never yield to any injustice, and to continually shine as an undying guide for the lost souls—this is it.

The blind nun witnessed the noble stars shining brightly in the dark night.

……

……

After finishing the preparations and saying goodbye to Aoko, it was already close to evening.

After confirming that the church's trio was nearby and staying behind, Shirou entered the "Fog Barrier" alone.

The forest was very quiet at night.

In the world of magicians, there seems to be a saying that magic works better at night.

Aside from some anecdotes related to mythological traditions, the more important reason is that magicians don't have to consider the principle of concealment at night.

This is similar to an athlete who has suffered a serious injury. Even after the body has healed, the brain will still react when the injured area exerts force, and subconsciously the force will be withdrawn.

Magicians are the same; once night falls, their subconscious switches automatically turn on, making them even more powerful than during the day.

Unfortunately, Arisu is an exception—the witch is the type that truly becomes even more powerful once night falls.

Shirou is now forced to face off against Arisu on her home turf.

Continue upwards along the mountain path.

Even with magic to enhance his eyesight, he could only barely make out his surroundings.

Soon, enemies appeared and blocked their way.

The first creature Shirou encountered.

It was a giant dragon with a pure white body and bright red claws and teeth.

He exuded an eerie aura that would send a chill down anyone's spine upon seeing him.

Rather than calling it a fantasy species, it's more like a chimera—not the monster from Greek mythology, but a synthetic monster in the modern sense.

Upon seeing the boy appear before him, the monster let out a loud snort through its nose.

"Could you take me to meet your master?" Shirou asked.

The white monster did not answer, but instead roared to the sky and launched an attack.

Flames spewed from its mouth, dispersing the thick fog, and Asashiro's body lunged forward—

"There's really no other way, I'll just have to compensate Yuzhu later."

Shirou remained unhurried.

A futuristic, jet-black longbow appeared in his left hand, and a longsword appeared in his right.

The sword's inscription is "Dawn of Destruction (Gram)".

In German Norse mythology, the "Sword of Victory" is a magical sword wielded by Sigurd, the warrior king.

Originally a gift from Odin, the chief god, to Sigmund, the father of Sigurd, it was forged by the dwarves using iron from the underworld, and shines with the glory of heroic victory and represents his magnificent life.

It was once shattered by Odin's divine spear, but was reforged after Sigmund's death.

At the same time, this sword is also the prototype of the sword in the stone in the Arthurian legend, "Caliburn" (the sword in the tree).

It is hailed as the strongest demonic sword, comparable to the strongest holy sword, Excalibur, and is also the strongest sword in Gilgamesh's treasure trove, second only to Ea.

During his battle with Archer in the Fourth Holy Grail War, Shirou analyzed this sword and now uses it as an arrow, its greatest feature being its overwhelming firepower.

The magic sword transformed into the shape of a jet-black arrow between the boy's fingers, and was then nocked onto the bowstring.

The monster's breath was almost upon them, and the heatwave blocked Shirou's vision.

But he casually nocked his arrow and aimed, the arrow pointing directly at the monster's magic core (heart).

A sudden gust of wind.

The arrow, once released, transformed into a beam of light, like a fully unleashed demonic sword, piercing directly through the flames spewed by the monster.

Not only was the flame pierced through, but a large hole was also punched in the monster several meters away, so badly damaged that its original appearance was unrecognizable.

Shirou's arms hung naturally at his sides, maintaining the pose of Zanshin, while the black bow in his hand and the white monster in the distance turned into particles and dissipated.

Just then, a sudden sound came from outside.

"Wow, this is incredible! There's actually a human besides me who can defeat this guy in one blow."

Shirou turned to the side expressionlessly.

A blond boy, about the same age as Shirou, slowly emerged from the dense fog-shrouded forest.

The blond-haired, green-eyed boy seemed to have a very arrogant personality...

Is it "Rugo Beowulf" that matches the familiar characteristics of Aozaki Touko described in "Future Aoko"?

According to "Future Aoko," this boy who appears as a child is actually a mysterious fantasy species with over 2000 years of history...

During the war in Misaki City, he defeated Aoko and Arisu in succession, and even the final witch could not contend with him.

However, "Future Aratama" said that she was too young back then, and if she were now (25 years old), she wouldn't have lost.

So that's how it is. An elf, huh? No wonder Aoko and Arisu lost to him.

That Orange guy really came prepared.

Shirou narrowed his eyes: The fact that this guy is here means that the situation is pretty much as I imagined.

Yesterday, after Shirou and Aoko went out, Aozaki Touko attacked the mansion.

Then, during the battle, Yuzhu inexplicably went berserk.

The fairytale monster in the witch's hand must be the "Rosehound," which transformed the entire mountain into a "fairy realm" in a time-space state.

Tsk... Orange, you really know how to cause me trouble!

"By the way...you wouldn't happen to be the kid who lives on this mountain, would you?"

The werewolf boy tilted his head, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "I've heard about you from Orange."

It seems that Touko met with Shirou that day and mentioned him to Beowulf afterward.

Shirou thought for a moment, then said without hiding anything, "That's right, my name is Shirou."

"You must be Beo, right? I know why you're here; you've probably been trapped here since last night, haven't you?"

"........."

Beowulf remained silent.

As Shirou said, he had been trapped on the mountain since last night, and nearly 20 hours had passed.

During these 20 hours, time and space in the forest are constantly being reset—

Even if he kills all the white monsters in the thick fog, even if he kills the mysterious girl deep in the fog, Beowulf will return to the entrance of the forest in an instant.

Unable to leave or break through the thick fog, the werewolf boy repeatedly experienced this cycle.

In addition, Beowulf's extremely simple-minded personality led him to persistently challenge the pearl (?) for 20 hours, eventually experiencing nearly a hundred cycles.

Finally, after this restart, he met Shirou.

"So, even though we're enemies on opposing sides, how about we cooperate and get out together?"

Shirou knew that although the spirit named Beowulf had lived for a very long time, he was still essentially a very simple and innocent child. He tried to talk to him in the way that one would coax a child.

"With your strength and my intelligence, we should be able to get out of this thick fog with ease."

Incidentally, Shirou has no information about the "Rosehounds," but he feels that Beowulf is currently a perfect meat shield for him.

Upon hearing Shirou's words, the werewolf boy frowned slightly.

Rather than the other party's sincere invitation to fight together, he grasped another key point.

……orange?

I feel a bit uneasy.

"Are you close to Orange?" Beowulf asked.

“We’ve only met once, you should know that by now,” Shirou replied.

The werewolf boy muttered, "Hey... you're using such an intimate term after only meeting me once?"

"It seems he has studied human culture quite well," Shirou explained.

"I call her that to distinguish her from my younger sister, Aozaki Aoko. I've only met Touko once so far."

"I see."

Beowulf nodded, accepting Shirou's explanation.

"Oh, but... Orange did invite me to visit her."

"What did you say?" The werewolf boy frowned.

Orange did indeed warn that no one could kill without her permission, but Beowulf had never heard of her accepting any enemies.

Shirou continued, "Touko... even though it was our first meeting, she touched someone else's face and said things like 'I just want you,' 'You're special,' 'I'll treat you differently from everyone else,' 'Come to me'..."

She's so incredibly enthusiastic, it makes me feel a little embarrassed. Is she always like this with you?

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Volume 2, Chapter 140: Shooting Down a Hundred Heads (Nine Lives)

"..."

The werewolf boy frowned slightly: "What exactly are you trying to say? Weren't you going to cooperate with me?"

Even the most innocent of Type-Moon's children could tell that something was off about Shirou's words.

He didn't care what Orange did behind his back... no, not that he didn't care at all, but that's a different story.

The werewolf stared anxiously at the red-haired boy in front of him.

He considers himself a king. He would kill someone simply for being slighted.

If Shirou hadn't been the first living person he'd encountered in so long, he would have bitten Shirou's neck off long ago.

He should have put pressure on the other person, but the human showed no fear whatsoever.

Although it's hard to believe, could he be looking down on me?

Shirou said, "Yes, of course I want to cooperate with you, Beo. If we weren't on opposing sides, I would even like to be your friend."

But... before that, I discovered that Orange's parenting style towards you had problems.

"what?"

Although the werewolf boy appeared calm, his voice sounded extremely agitated, and he was barely able to contain his anger.

Shirou said, "I don't know much about magicians, but I think there should be a clear hierarchy between humans and pets."

No matter how precious or rare a breed is, as long as it is still being cared for and raised by its owner, it should recognize the fact that it is a pet that is subordinate to humans.

However, it seems Orange hasn't properly educated you on this topic; you haven't even put on your collar yet.

A dog that behaves recklessly can really lower its owner's reputation.