DanMachi: The Epic of the Heroic Spirits of Emiya Shirou

The gods do not make empty promises.

Emiya's "Divine Grace" had long since expired, but Hephaestus's contract with him had never been broken from beginning to end.

·

The labyrinthine city, the mansion of the goddess Tiamat.

This is an Eastern-style building, standing quietly in a corner of the city. The courtyard is filled with the sound of flowing water all year round, and the cherry trees that bloom in all seasons sway gently in the wind, reflecting a simple and ancient atmosphere.

Tiamat, the goddess of creation, has no faction or followers, yet for some reason, she has a close relationship with many goddesses in Orario. She lives in a large, Far Eastern-style mansion in the labyrinth city.

Her mansion is one of the most mysterious places in the city. Not long ago, after several goddesses disappeared for several months, there were rumors that they had been spotted in the vicinity.

"Are you looking for me, Tiamat?" Loki asked from the courtyard of the mansion.

Tiamat tossed an object to him: "Here, take this."

Loki instinctively reached out and caught it, then looked down and saw it was an antique key.

"What is this?" Loki raised an eyebrow and asked.

“The key,” the goddess Tiamat said calmly, “the key to the Emiya residence.”

Loki was taken aback for a moment, then his eyes lit up: "Oh, that's great!"

Now, to make it easier for Tiamat to help take care of them, Riveria and the children are temporarily staying here, which makes Loki look for all sorts of excuses to come here.

With this key, she won't need to knock on the door anymore if she wants to come here again.

“Furthermore, it is also the ‘key’ to that door,” Tiamat continued.

"Oh," Loki replied casually. She twirled the key between her fingers, about to say something more, when she suddenly realized something was wrong. Her gaze sharpened, and she looked at Tiamat with a puzzled expression.

"Which gate?" Loki asked.

“The one on the seventy-first floor of the dungeon,” Tiamat replied calmly.

Before returning to the past, Emiya considered the possibility of his failure and set a seal on the "hole" connecting the Imaginary Sea to this world that could only be opened from the outside—that is, the gate—a fact known only to the goddess Tiamat.

At that moment, a breeze swept through the courtyard, and cherry blossoms fell silently, tracing a pale pink arc in the tranquil air.

Loki's expression froze, and after a moment of silence...

"......What?"

Final Chapter: Meal at the Emiya House Today

The residence of the Loki clan, the Mansion of Dusk.

Riveria stared at the key to the Emiya residence in Loki's hand, speechless for a moment.

"You mean, this is the key to the door on the seventy-first floor?" Riveria asked, her tone unusually subtle.

“Yes.” Loki nodded.

Riveria paused for a moment, then reached into her pocket and took out a key exactly like the one Loki held.

During their last expedition, they searched almost every corner of the seventy-first floor for the "key" to that door. Meanwhile, the key to the Emiya residence lay quietly in her pocket.

There are many backups of such keys in the city.

Riveria, Ryu, Haruhime, Seele... they all hold the same key in their hands.

“Is this something special that the goddess Tiamat gave you?” Riveria asked.

“No, she said it was a newly made copy.” Loki shook the key in his hand: “It was made by a blacksmith from the Hephaestus Familia, and it cost 200 falies.”

Riveria: "..."

The elven princess remained silent for a long time.

Finally, Riveria's lips twitched slightly: "The price is quite reasonable."

She took back her own key, then reached out and took the new key from Loki's hand.

“In short, with this, we can go to the seventy-second floor,” Riveria said softly.

As for the gate to the 71st floor of the dungeon, why it was opened with the key to the Emiya residence... the Elf Queen decided not to think about that question.

Riveria: "From now on, prepare for the expedition."

·

This expedition involved numerous factions from the city, forming a joint expedition team.

First up is the city's strongest Loki Familia, with all first-class adventurers participating: [Hero] Finn, [Queen of the End] Riveria, [Heavyweight] Grace, [Sword Princess] Ais, [Ice Rose] Alicia, [Flame Rose] Lefia, [Queen Cat] Angel, [Great Severer] Tiona, [Angry Serpent] Tione, [Fierce Wolf] Bert, [Super-Superhuman] Raul...

Freya's Familia also dispatched its strongest forces, including [Fierce Warrior] Ota, [Black and White Knights] Hedin and Hegni, [Golden Saintess] Heiji, and others to join the expedition.

In addition, there are the Ishtar Familia's first-tier adventurers, such as the Phantom Trio, the Wrathful Princess, and the Star Tower, as well as the Amazon warriors of the Kali Familia who joined Orario after the reconstruction of the Labyrinth City.

In addition, the girls from the [Abundant Mistress] tavern—[Golden Chariot] Anya, [Iron Fist] Lunova, and [Phantom Black Cat] Chloe—will also participate in the battle.

Also, there are Tsubaki, the One-Eyed Craftsman, and Sanjou Haruhime, the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, from the Hephaestus Familia.

And, the leader of the Astrea Familia, the strongest adventurer in the city—[Starry Sky] Ryu Rion.

Other adventurers from different clans also joined the expedition, including Yamato Mikoto of the Takemikazuchi clan ("Shadow"), Amid of the Deankait clan ("Battle Maiden"), and Shakti of the Ganesha clan ("Staff of Ganesha"), among others.

Moreover, Winnie and Phil, the heretics, will also provide support.

Besides these veteran adventurers, there is also an adventurer from a newly emerging clan in this expedition team, who is one of the few non-first-level members in the entire team.

【Heroic Remnant】Belle Crane, Lv.4, Leader of the Hestia Familia.

The Hestia Familia is a newly formed faction established just a year before the Black Dragon War.

Currently, the clan has only five members, but all of them are at least Lv.2 – in addition to the leader Bell Crane, there is the blacksmith Welf Crozzo, and three young adventurers recruited from the school district.

In just one year, Bell Craney, the leader of the Hestia Familia, rapidly grew from Lv.1 to Lv.4, becoming a legendary newcomer whose leveling speed was second only to "someone".

However, besides her official title of "Heroic Remnant," this girl has another, less pleasant nickname in the labyrinth city—"Unlucky Rabbit."

Even though the dungeon is now relatively stable, Belle still encounters several "abnormal events" within a short year, plunging into crises and dangerous situations time and time again.

In addition, she was once targeted by the dangerous god of love and sorrow, Apollo. The god wanted Belle and sent his subordinates to cause trouble for Hestia's Familia, thus creating conflict and demanding that they participate in the War Games.

Fortunately, Artemis, the goddess of the moon, was also in the labyrinth city at that time. Without saying a word, the goddess gave Apollo a good beating and changed his mind through physical means.

"I was wrong."

These are the words of repentance that Apollo uttered with difficulty when Artemis trampled him barefoot on the ground, his face covered in bruises and swelling.

Currently, the girl's level is Lv.4, but her combat power has long surpassed this level, and she is recognized in Orario as having the strength of "Level 1".

Belle's magic, "Heroic Echo," grants her the ability to borrow the magic and skills of members of the Hera Familia. This ability is considered to be second only to "cheating-level" abilities such as "Magic Hammer" and "Star Summoning."

This expedition's target is the seventy-second floor of the dungeon—a true "unknown realm" that neither Hera nor Zeus's Familia have ever set foot in.

Moreover, and more importantly, they might find clues about "that person" there.

·

"No one knows what the seventy-second floor holds. In any case, be careful and make sure you return safely." After receiving this farewell from the goddesses, the expedition set off.

In today's labyrinthine city, even the Black Dragon has been successfully defeated. In comparison, the difficulty of the dungeons up to the seventy-first floor seems rather insignificant.

The strongest monster in the dungeon right now is the "Lone King of the Labyrinth" on the 70th floor, whose potential is only Lv.9, while the Black Dragon, as the "Dark End," is a limit existence at Lv.10. The two are far apart in terms of threat level.

The Hera Familia and Zeus Familia, who had previously failed to defeat the Black Dragon, had also successfully conquered up to the seventy-first floor.

However, as the goddesses said, the seventy-second floor of the dungeon is completely unknown, and no one knows what is inside.

There might be beings among them that are even more powerful than the Black Dragon; such a possibility is not zero.

However, the adventurers did not hesitate at all; they resolutely chose to challenge the unknown.

When the labyrinth city was destroyed, the fast passage that once ran through the underground city also collapsed.

Originally, the guild had successfully constructed a passage leading directly to the thirty-ninth floor, allowing adventurers to quickly delve deeper into the dungeon. However, in that disaster, this passage was completely destroyed, collapsing into ruins.

Because of insufficient reserves of Orichalco, the tunnel has not yet begun reconstruction.

However, even advancing by ground, this expedition team still moved at an astonishing speed.

Until they reached the fiftieth floor, not a single monster could hinder their progress.

On the 52nd floor, in the Dragon Pot, the cannon dragon below unleashed a Roar that pierced through the entire floor. Then, a slender figure transformed into a golden lightning bolt and leaped down from the collapsed opening.

【Fiora】Ais Wallenstein, she plunged into the depths of the dragon's nest alone and killed all the cannon dragons on the 58th floor in just half a minute.

After passing through the Dragon's Pot, the expedition continued. Before the adventurers stepped into the fifty-ninth floor, they quickly changed into equipment to resist the low temperature and cast protective magic to prepare for the icy plains they were about to enter.

The Lone King of the Labyrinth on the 60th and 70th floors was defeated in Loki's last expedition and has not yet been resurrected.

Beyond the Lone King of the Labyrinth, the monsters born in the icy plains have an average potential of around Lv.6, making them utterly unable to withstand these all-out adventurers.

Their steps forward never faltered for a moment.

Ultimately, in just seven days since they set out, the adventurers reached the seventy-first floor, the deepest dungeon expedition to date.

Like the eighteenth and fiftieth floors of the dungeon, the seventy-first floor is a safe zone where no monsters will spawn.

Moreover, what's shocking is that the environment here is completely different from that on the seventieth floor.

Just across a passage, the next level is an endless ice field with howling winds and covered in snow, where the temperature is extremely low and storms rage, like a land of divine punishment at the end of the world.

However, upon entering the seventy-first floor, the scene before one's eyes suddenly changed.

The sky was clear, a gentle breeze was blowing, the warm sun shone on the earth, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers and grass.

The scenery here is similar to the labyrinthine amusement park on the eighteenth floor: a vast plain covered with lush shrubs, babbling streams flowing through it, forests and lakes scattered throughout, and endless fields of flowers in the distance.

The ice monsters on the 70th floor cannot adapt to the warm environment here, while the 72nd floor is isolated outside the gate. Therefore, this area does not even have monsters wandering in from other floors, making it one of the few truly absolute "safe floors" in the dungeon.

Before opening the gate, the adventurers decided to rest on the seventy-first floor.

After seven days of forced marching, even first-level adventurers would inevitably feel somewhat tired and need to rest and recuperate before facing unknown challenges.

In a corner of the expedition camp, Ais was sitting on a rock, munching on a potato ball that had fallen from the ground.

The originally fragrant and delicious fried potato balls had long been frozen solid in the icy plains. Even though she thawed and heated them with the magic stone pot, the taste was still far inferior to when they were freshly fried.

"I want to eat... Master's cooking," Ais murmured softly.

Rivera, sitting next to her, sighed softly, raised her hand, and gently ruffled the girl's golden hair.

Ais looked up at Riveria, opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she just took Riveria's hand.

At the edge of the camp, Liu stood silently, gazing into the distance.

Her gaze traveled across the paradise-like landscape and into the depths—towards the location of the gate.

After resting here for half a day, the adventurers set off again towards the silent, towering gate.

The scenery on the seventy-first floor is like a paradise on earth. Adventurers walk on the sun-drenched grassland, with flowers swaying at their feet, streams meandering through the plains, and the distant forests are quiet and peaceful.

At the edge of the forest, on the very edge of the seventy-first floor, the gate stands silently and solemnly like a solitary monument left behind in the long river of time.

The expedition team stopped in front of the gate.

There were no marks on the door, only a deep and ancient pressure silently enveloped the entire area.

Riveria, standing at the front of the line, took a deep breath, reached into her clothes, and pulled out a "key" from under her inner lapel.

Unlike her staff and crown, this key had no magical fluctuations or divine aura; its metallic luster was even somewhat dull.

There was no keyhole on the door. Riveria stepped forward and gently touched the door with her "key".

·

The Sea of ​​Imaginary Numbers: Emiya's Residence

The once tranquil mansion was now unusually noisy.

"Oh, is it today? Why didn't you say so sooner, Chloe!" Ilya rushed down the stairs.

The other girl standing downstairs was Chloe, with bronze skin and an appearance that bore a striking resemblance to Illya.

Seeing the other person's flustered state, she said, "I already said that, I said it ten years ago... or something?"

Chloe tilted her head, trying to recall: "I can't remember the exact time, but I'm sure I told you."

"How could I remember so clearly from ten years ago? At least five years... no, remind me again from two years ago!" Ilya complained.

"Speaking of which, should I wake Miyu up now?" the girl suddenly thought, glancing towards the room upstairs.

Chloe: "Don't rush, Miyu is still a 'human,' her concept of time is different from ours."