Chapter 130: Projection, the Bloodstained Demon King! Shirou VS Filvis Challia!
Deep in the bottomless underground, the sense of time almost completely disappears in such an environment.
Shirou found it nearly impossible to gain a normal sense of time, but he didn't care how much time had passed—he was more concerned about whether his body was recovering.
Unfortunately, due to the severity of his injuries and lacking an excellent healer like Naaza to treat him, Shirou's wounds healed very slowly. Even after a long stretch of time, he felt he had only recovered about 20% of his strength.
It seemed unwilling to give Shirou much time, Dionysus's side had already officially started taking action.
"Clack." Footsteps and faint glimmers of elven magic appeared again from outside the cave.
Dionysus and his loyal servant Filvis Challia slowly appeared before Shirou.
"Eh, it's been so long, and you haven't changed at all." Dionysus looked at Shirou in surprise. "Normally, any human would go insane after spending just a few minutes in such a pitch-dark, hopeless environment, but you've stayed so long without any sign of collapse. Your inner strength is truly unbelievably strong."
"It's an honor to receive your praise." Shirou responded with unwavering humor.
His attitude seemed to irritate Dionysus. The male god gave him a cold glance and slowly said, "Hmph, but no matter how strong one is, when facing that presence directly, they will inevitably feel genuine despair and fear, eventually merging with her. Your fate will be no different."
Saying this, Dionysus had Filvis Challia lift Shirou, seemingly to move him elsewhere. But before that, Dionysus took a bottle of wine out from his bosom.
"Oh right, although I don't think you can struggle much in your current state, I still need to add some restrictions on you to prevent you from running away." Dionysus looked at Shirou. "I heard you once drank the divine wine of the wine god Soma and resisted its temptation.
But actually, that was only because Soma's nature is too kind and he didn't specifically strengthen the controlling power of his divine wine."
"Controlling power of divine wine?"
"The same divine wine, but different brewing focuses result in different effects. Soma simply wanted to make delicious wine, so his divine wine focused on enhancing flavor and taste.
Though that wine is delicious enough to cause irrationality, it won't make the drinker controlled by the wine itself."
Dionysus smiled at Shirou. "But my divine wine is different.
From the very start, my divine wine was specialized to control the mind and distort the will.
Even gods who drink my wine lose all rationality and become puppets completely under my control.
Because of this, the fact that Dionysus, the wine god, is actually the city destroyer Enyo remains unknown to everyone."
"Wine that can control even gods…"
"Yes, exactly. And now, I'm going to make you drink this divine wine!" Dionysus showed a cold expression. "I admit your willpower is strong, Emiya Shirou, but no matter how strong you are, can you resist the temptation of this specialized divine wine? Hehe, I'm really looking forward to seeing that!"
Dionysus handed the bottle to Filvis Challia.
Filvis Challia was silent for a moment, then murmured, "One sip should be enough."
"That's impossible. This man is a freak who can even resist Soma's divine wine." Dionysus shook his head. "He must drink the whole bottle! Only then will even the great Emiya Shirou, the legendary sword demon, become my puppet in a short time!"
"..." Hearing Dionysus's words, Filvis Challia was silent for a moment and then nodded somewhat helplessly.
She then took the bottle to Shirou and mercilessly forced the wine into his mouth.
But knowing the divine wine had strong controlling effects, Shirou obviously would not drink it casually. If he wanted to maintain his ability to resist later, he had to keep his mind clear.
"What a foolish man…"
Filvis Challia glanced at Shirou, who was unwilling to drink the wine. After a brief hesitation, she unexpectedly poured the wine into her own mouth and held it there.
Then, the elven girl kissed Shirou on the mouth and forcibly poured the divine wine down his throat.
"Ugh!"
The moment the divine wine surged into his throat, Shirou's consciousness was sharply stimulated, his body temperature rapidly rising, and his thoughts suddenly becoming extremely sluggish.
Just as Dionysus had said, the destructive power of this divine wine on the mind was far more exaggerated than Soma's.
It almost instantly shattered the user's thoughts. In the blink of an eye, the body began to lose control, completely overtaken by violent hallucinations.
"Well then, enjoy the world of illusions."
Seeing Shirou's consciousness become completely blurred, Filvis Challia poured the rest of the divine wine into his mouth.
The power of the divine wine nearly blocked all brain signals, making Shirou unable to control his body anymore.
The connection between his consciousness and body was completely severed.
"Stand up."
Dionysus sneered and commanded Shirou.
In confusion, Shirou slowly stood, like a puppet obeying instructions.
Seeing this, Dionysus showed a satisfied expression and quietly glanced at Filvis Challia returning beside him.
"Was it necessary to feed him the wine like that just now?" Dionysus asked Filvis Challia. "There are plenty of other ways to make him drink the wine, right?"
"It's nothing. I just chose the most efficient method." Filvis Challia answered quietly, showing no sign of wavering from the kiss moments ago.
"I'm no longer human—just a monster wearing human skin. You don't have to worry about me having any unnecessary feelings."
"A monster… huh?" Dionysus looked at Filvis Challia. "I know your thoughts, Filvis Challia. After experiencing death in the dungeon and becoming a monster, you've been searching for kindred spirits, others like you.
That's a biological instinct—seeking group identity as an individual.
I don't blame you.
But unfortunately, Revis was not the companion you sought; she was a fanatic who gave her spirit completely to the corrupted Spirit. That's why you're chasing after Emiya Shirou, hoping to find kinship from his strong will."
"I don't have such complicated feelings."
"Hehe, just pretend you don't." Dionysus said, gently stroking the black-haired girl's hair. "But I have complicated feelings toward you, Filvis Challia.
You are the most beautiful work I've ever seen, the perfect artwork I've pursued.
Don't fall into despair because of weak thoughts.
Always maintain your beauty, so that both of our wishes can come true. Remember, you belong to me forever!"
"..."
Filvis Challia silently nodded at Dionysus's words. Her expression seemed to return to that of a cold, unfeeling machine, unmoved by anything.
Because of this, she didn't even glance at Shirou anymore and silently followed Dionysus.
Neither Filvis Challia nor Dionysus noticed that, though Shirou appeared fully controlled by the divine wine and trapped in hallucinations, deep within the chaotic eyes there remained a faint glimmer of rational light.
.
.
.
Dungeon, Floor 27.
This floor, formed by many underground rivers, was where Shirou had once killed the Monster Rex, the two-headed dragon Amphisbia, gaining the materials to forge Avalon.
Now he returned here, but as a controlled puppet.
After Dionysus brought the divine wine-controlled Shirou to this floor, he carefully selected a suitable place and slowly took a seed from his body, planting it into the earth.
"Clatter."
The moment the seed was buried, a huge man-eating flower burst out of the ground, rapidly spreading across the entire floor.
Yes, the enormous plant that once dominated an entire floor deep in the dungeon—Shirou had seen it on the 20th floor—originated from the Corrupt Spirit seed used by Dionysus.
Once planted, the Corrupt Spirit seed immediately births a monster that covers the entire floor and becomes an all-consuming devourer!
"Alright, Filvis Challia, go kill Emiya." Dionysus said with a smile. "As long as he dies completely, and like you before, becomes possessed by the corrupted Spirit, he will thoroughly become one of us. Then Revis's death won't be a problem anymore—we will regain supplementary power, even enough to utterly destroy the dungeon city!"
Filvis Challia silently nodded at Dionysus's words. Her expression was unwavering, like an icy blade. She slowly aimed her elven longsword at the divine wine-controlled Shirou and drew it from her waist.
One step, two steps, three steps...
Meanwhile, Shirou's expression remained as confused as a puppet's.
It was obvious he was still under the control of the divine wine's power; his thoughts couldn't proceed clearly. Yet, perhaps sensing the approach of death, his body muscles began to tremble with a 'crackling' sound like a zombie's.
Filvis noticed that this was Shirou's consciousness struggling, so she unusually took the initiative to speak:
"Why not just give up? Although death is painful, isn't living itself also pain?
Why keep resisting?
Is it vanity?
Pride?
What meaning do those things have? In the end, everyone succumbs, including me.
Before unavoidable despair, we can only yield to fear, accept cruel reality — and what's wrong with that? There's nothing wrong with just accepting it!"
Filvis seemed to be expressing her own thoughts. But clearly, Shirou couldn't possibly respond. His gaze remained confused and murky, showing no sign of reason.
Filvis knew all this well, so she was essentially talking to an empty doll.
Finally, she slowly raised her long sword and said, "Come, I'll grant you release. Then, come with me, become one of my kind. Give up everything you had in life, and fall completely into what comes after death. But don't worry, from now on, I will be by your side — you will lose nothing."
With a kind of prayer, Filvis slowly thrust her sword toward Shirou's heart.
Her movements were swift and precise, without hesitation. Just one strike, and it would all be over.
But what Filvis didn't expect was that just as her sword was about to pierce the man, a weak yet determined hand suddenly grabbed the hilt of her sword.
"You will lose it..." Shirou's lips moved slightly. "Even if the spirit does not die, even if it is only the body that perishes, if you give up, some part will be completely lost."
"Completely lost?"
"I live for justice, I fight for justice. But if even my own self falls, then how can I find true justice?"
Shirou's eyes had completely lost their confusion, breaking free from the divine wine's control.
Seeing this, Filvis said nothing, but Dionysus' expression turned utterly confused and disbelieving: "Ho-How is this possible? With that dosage of divine wine, even gods are completely controlled. Humans can't struggle out of it!"
"Yes, which is why I sweated a lot — almost to the point of drowning myself."
"What?!"
Dionysus looked at Shirou's body and noticed sweat all over the man beneath his clothes.
He expelled the divine wine through sweating?
Is that something humans can do?
Dionysus couldn't help but widen his eyes, staring at Shirou with a look of disbelief, as if something he took pride in was being desecrated.
Finally, his shock turned into anger. Coldly staring at Shirou, he gave an order: "Kill him! Filvis! Even if he's free from the divine wine's control, he's still bound by cursed chains and weak!"
"Yes!"
Although Filvis's expression was somewhat dazed and confused by Shirou's answer, her actions remained sharp and swift.
Her longsword swirled like a storm, aimed directly at Shirou's heart.
"!!!"
Faced with this deadly attack, Shirou's current body condition prevented him from fighting head-on. He decisively broke free from the chains and retreated.
Though Shirou's breaking free was surprising, Filvis moved even faster and was in front of him in the blink of an eye.
Faced with such an impossible move, Shirou hesitated not at all and decisively threw out another golden chain from his body.
"Bind her, Enkidu!"
Because Shirou had been hiding Enkidu inside his body, the enemy hadn't taken them.
Releasing their power now, the chains immediately wrapped around Filvis's ankle.
Because Filvis, like Revis, was essentially powered by divine essence, once her divinity was bound, her power quickly dropped.
That was how Shirou was able to kill Revis instantly before.
Now Filvis faced the same predicament, but she showed no pause or hesitation and immediately cut off her right leg that was bound by the chains.
Although her right leg was severed, thanks to the monster's healing ability rivaling the Monster Rex, her leg soon recovered, freeing her from Enkidu.
"Looks like you were prepared."
Filvis had witnessed Enkidu's power during the Thanatos battle, so she had surely thought of countermeasures.
In haste, Shirou couldn't maximize Enkidu's power. He only managed to create some distance, ensuring Filvis wouldn't close in.
But since Shirou's weakened state hadn't improved, their distance quickly shrank again.
If he didn't do something, his body would be cut apart almost instantly.
So Shirou took a deep breath and used his hard-earned recovered magical energy to unleash his signature magic.
"Projection, begin!"
"Kazikli Bey - Bloodstained Demon King!"
Shirou's projection magic activated—not producing his familiar weapons like Kusanagi or any melee treasure, but projecting the Noble Phantasm of the heroic spirit Vlad III.
Known as the 'Piercing Prince,' Vlad III's Noble Phantasm is a seemingly ordinary lance—but this lance can summon countless stakes from thin air, piercing the enemy from unimaginable angles.
Its attack radius is one kilometer, and the number of stakes can reach up to twenty thousand.
Moreover, with continued attacks, the stakes impose the concept of "already pierced" on the enemy, starting from the heart and expanding outward.
This is a terrifying Noble Phantasm both in effect and visually.
Normally, Shirou wouldn't use such a weapon in battle, since while the Bloodstained Demon King's range is exaggerated, its attack power is not high.
The projected version is weaker than the original, making it difficult for Shirou to defeat opponents with it.
But currently, Shirou was in a weak state, severely lacking mana and stamina. He couldn't project large-scale effects or powerful Noble Phantasms freely.
Among the Noble Phantasms he could project, Bloodstained Demon King was the most suitable weapon he could choose.
"Pierce her!"
Shirou slowly extended the lance forward, and countless stakes erupted from the ground, quickly covering the entire area around Filvis.
Surprised by Shirou's ability to create such an astonishing weapon from nothing, Filvis fully understood the prestige of the so-called 'Sword Demon' and realized what kind of strange existence he was.
She therefore had to keep her distance from Shirou to avoid being pierced by the stakes.
On the other side, Shirou's purpose was not to kill Filvis with this Noble Phantasm—he didn't believe he could win in his current state.
His goal was merely to create a domain that would delay the enemy and buy time for his escape.
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