DanMachi: The Epic of the Heroic Spirits of Emiya Shirou

In short, underground organizations are "villains" in the traditional sense, while the Dark Faction are "madmen" who have completely lost their minds.

The Five Fingers' goal is to acquire money and power, while the Dark Faction wants to destroy the world and drag everyone down with them.

Therefore, when the Dark Faction's power was at its zenith, these five clear-headed underground gangs were not easily lured, recruited, or absorbed like many other gangs. Instead, they stood firmly in the city's camp, providing valuable intelligence and even direct material support to Ganesha and other righteous clans.

The guild's current tacit approval of them is, in a way, a reward for their firm stance back then.

Because of the ambiguous relationship between "Five Fingers" and the guild and the Ganesha Familia, the more extreme underground forces, who are at odds with the city's administrators, look down on them and call them "Shakti's dogs."

Now, the leaders of these gangs have gathered together for their most important routine activity—sharing intelligence and updating the lists.

The list they had covered almost all the high-level adventurers in the entire labyrinth city, including all adventurers of Lv.4 and above who were publicly known in the city, as well as some Lv.3 and Lv.2 adventurers.

Of course, this is not a so-called "assassination list" or "bounty list." Even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to get involved in such a thing.

This is a "danger level" list, indicating the level of danger these high-level adventurers pose.

In other words, this "danger level" actually reflects the level of adventurers that these gangs cannot afford to mess with.

In a labyrinthine city, the most troublesome thing about running a gang is often not committing any major crimes, but rather those seemingly insignificant little things that can be enough to destroy the gang.

For example, if gang members don't recognize someone's identity, they might try to spit on the "fierce warrior's" new clothes (a birthday gift from a goddess)...

Or, a member unknowingly attempts to drug and force themselves on a seemingly seductive Amazon, only to discover that the other party is actually [Angry Serpent]...

In this situation, if all gang members quickly surrender to the Ganesha Familia, they might have a relatively better outcome.

The danger level of adventurers on this "forbidden list" is indicated by color, with red representing "extremely dangerous," and all level 1 adventurers automatically receive this label.

Above red, there is an even more terrifying level—black, which symbolizes "extreme danger".

Those who received the black mark were all heavyweights in the Labyrinth City, such as [The Mighty One], [Goddess's Chariot], [Nine Demon Princesses], and [Swift Wind].

The danger level of these individuals depends not only on their strength, but also on their identity and style of doing things.

For example, Finn the Brave, despite his great strength, is only classified as "Red" and extremely dangerous because he is more lenient about matters that do not involve the interests of the Loki Familia.

As for [Nine Demon Princesses] Riveria, although she has a gentle personality, her identity easily triggers high vigilance and overreaction from the Elven race, and therefore she is marked as "black" and extremely dangerous.

As for [Swift Wind], the adventurer's lethality is beyond doubt.

Today, another person has been added to the black "extremely dangerous" list: Shirou Emiya of the Hephaestus Familia.

Furthermore, the leaders of the five major underground gangs bestowed upon him an unofficial title—the "Sword Demon King."

The so-called "informal titles," as the name suggests, refer to nicknames that are not officially bestowed by the Council of Gods, but rather circulated privately.

Examples include Alicia's "Disciplinary Committee Member," Lunova's "Black Fist," Chloe's "Black Cat," and Ais's "Battle Princess."

The nickname "Sword Demon King" was a conclusion reached by members of the underground gang based on their analysis of information about Shirou Emiya.

"The Adventurers' Guild's publicly released information shows that Shirou Emiya advanced from Lv.1 to Lv.2 in just three months. His talent is beyond doubt, but what is even more chilling is his character and style of doing things."

The strong dwarf male said in a low voice:

"I would call him a born 'demon king'!"

"First of all, according to intelligence, Shirou Emiya lives with the legendary bounty hunter 'Black Fist,' the top assassin 'Black Cat,' and the notorious 'Hurricane,' who has killed countless people. Their relationship is extremely close. This alone is enough to prove that he is also an extremely dangerous person!"

As the saying goes, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black." Although Emiya is still young and only at level 2, the people he comes into contact with every day are terrifying.

[Black Fist] and [Black Cat] – How can someone who can get along well with these two legends of the underworld be a good person?!

And then there's [Swift Wind], who's an even bigger heavyweight.

In the eyes of these gang leaders, [Swift] has absolutely nothing to do with justice. Only someone like Shakti, the [Staff of Elephant God], can barely be called justice. People like [Swift] are generally referred to as "madmen".

She's just as terrifying a madwoman as the Dark Faction, and the fact that [Gale] could almost wipe out all the madmen from the Dark Faction shows that she's even more insane.

Emiya was chatting and laughing with Black Fist and Black Cat, and had a close relationship with Hayate, which was enough to show that he was no ordinary person.

"In addition to this, there are some events orchestrated by the [Sword Demon King], the first of which is the destruction of the Soma Familia."

"The trigger for the destruction of the Soma Familia was that one of their members was hired to participate in the attack on [Hayate] and the others, which angered the [Demon King], and the result was..."

The male of the Lilliputian tribe whispered, "The Soma Familia, expel them from the clan immediately!"

Because the guild has not disclosed specific information about the Soma Familia's "divine wine" or their transactions with the Dark Faction, the guild leaders are now making "reasonable" guesses about what is happening with the Soma Familia.

Relying on their own logic and understanding, they pieced together the whole picture from scattered and limited information.

"Within a single day, the Soma Familia's stronghold was breached, and all the adventurers were defeated by Emiya Shirou. According to the survivors, he was extremely powerful and decisive in his actions..."

"Not only that, but even more terrifying is that after this incident, Shirou Emiya, who recklessly used violence to breach the Soma Familia, received no punishment whatsoever. Instead, the Soma Familia was disbanded, all its assets were confiscated, the gods were imprisoned, the captain was jailed, and the attackers even received a portion of the Soma Familia's assets as compensation..."

Everyone present, including the leaders of the underground gangs, thought of one phrase: "having connections to the highest levels!"

"Hehe, what's even more terrifying is that the leader of the Soma Familia, Charislustra, died mysteriously in prison that very night, supposedly by suicide out of fear of punishment."

"【Wine Keeper】Chanis, everyone here knows what kind of person he is. He is a guy who values ​​himself more than anything else. He would never 'commit suicide out of guilt'."

"But he is dead, and his body has not been found."

"More likely, he will die a gruesome death."

In response, these gang leaders reached a consensus:

"It's likely that the Ganesha Familia made the move, or even Shakti, the Staff of Ganesha, who took care of Zanice for that man."

The one who spoke was the leader of "Little Finger," an Amazon who ran several brothels and casinos, and she described the scene as follows:

[The Demon King of the Sword] Shirou Emiya, dressed in a black haori, sat by the window, the night breeze gently blowing and the candlelight flickering. His left hand casually swirled a sake cup, the crystal-clear liquid rippling slightly within, while his right hand toyed with the sword that once belonged to Zanis, his fingertips lightly tracing the blade.

At this moment, Shakti, clad in her banner and wearing the Staff of Ganesha, gracefully approached, her skirt silently swaying across the ground. She quietly walked to Emiya's side, bowed her head, and smiled gently, her voice soft and submissive: "Everything has been taken care of. I will make the Soma Familia's matter an ironclad case, ensuring they can never recover..."

Emiya raised his eyelids slightly, his gaze somewhat indifferent, and interrupted her: "Don't bother me with these trivial matters. You can handle them yourself."

Shakti bowed slightly and said softly, "Understood."

She slowly knelt beside Emiya and poured him a full glass of sake. The sake flowed from the bottle like ribbons, swirling at the bottom of the glass with a soft murmur.

Emiya reached out, his palm touching Shakti's smooth, white back, gently stroking her exposed skin. Shakti's breathing quickened for a moment, and she couldn't help but let out a barely audible moan.

"When you're confiscating the Soma Familia's assets this time, be a little more discreet and leave some for the guild."

Emiya said, "Don't take this small amount of money too seriously. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

"Yes."

Shakti nodded somewhat embarrassedly, then asked, "What should I do with that [wine keeper]?"

"【The Wine Keeper】? Oh, who is that…"

Emiya swirled his wine glass, his tone cold: "He's actually quite talented, but unfortunately, I don't like the way he talks to me. Let him kill himself."

I'll make the arrangements tonight.

Shakti spoke with her head down, when Emiya pressed his hand against the back of her head.

"Good girl, here's a reward for you..."

The Amazonian chieftain cupped her face, her gaze unfocused, her voice like silken threads, stirring the hearts of her listeners: "Shakti's face flushed slightly, and she obediently lowered her body. Then, the [Sword Demon King] Emiya grabbed Shakti's hair fiercely, forcing her to kneel before him..."

"and many more!"

The others called off Amazon's delusions: "What have you done to us? Is this still the labyrinth city?"

"You Amazon people have such a rich imagination."

"Isn't Shakti's character too out of character? Did you add your own personal touches because your shop was punished by the Ganesha Familia?"

"To be honest, this plot is really fake, but I quite like it."

"So there's nothing more after that...?"

The werewolf woman slammed her hand on the table, signaling everyone to stay on topic. She looked at Amazon speechlessly: "Such an outrageous story, and you just keep making it up?"

“I didn’t make this up; there’s evidence to back it up.”

Amazon said, "I know more about Emiya Shirou, the Demon King of the Sword, than you do."

"What do you understand?"

"Heh, I have some connections with the Ishtar Familia."

The Amazon who runs a brothel is talking about things that are common knowledge.

The brothels directly under the Ishtar clan operate on a principle of valuing quality over quantity. Their strategy is to carefully cultivate "top courtesans" who can make men willingly hand over large sums of money, while disdaining to exploit the meager income of lower-class prostitutes.

The entertainment district also contains a large number of brothels that do not belong to the Ishtar Familia, but which depend on it for their existence.

Although these brothels must also abide by the rules set by the Ishtar clan, they are, after all, in the sex industry, and inevitably there are some shady practices; their actions are not entirely clean.

This Amazon, who ran her own brothel, became a "liaison" between many brothels and the Ishtar clan because of her friendship with the fighting prostitutes of the Ishtar clan.

On the one hand, she worked for the Ishtar clan, monitoring and managing the brothels they were affiliated with; on the other hand, she also accepted bribes to cover up or mediate for her colleagues who made mistakes or even broke the law.

However, although she has some connections with the Ishtar Familia, her status is not high. She is not yet qualified to know important information such as the [Mega Hammer] and the [Killing Stone].

Therefore, she could only make some "reasonable" guesses based on the information she had.

Amazon paused, then said in a low voice, "[Lijie] Aisabelleka, you know her, right?"

Werewolf woman: "Of course I know. She's the Lv.3 of the Ishtar Familia, and the top courtesan. I don't know why she left the Ishtar Familia. Now, many other Familias are trying to contact her."

"That Aisha was booked by the [Sword Demon King] for a week, and it seems he also gave her a virgin fox girl as a bonus."

"A fox-girl? That's quite rare in Orario. And then?"

"The Sword Demon King messed with Aisha for a week, not only not giving her a single Fali, but also giving her a severe beating on the last day!"

"Huh? This...this is too bad."

The gang leaders couldn't help but marvel.

"Not only that, but when Aisha's sisters came to help her seek justice, they were all beaten to death."

Amazon said:

"They were beaten so badly. Not only were they brutally beaten, but they were also humiliated. The Demon King stepped on their heads and forced them to kneel down and apologize before letting them go... Sigh, I'm so envious... no, so tragic."

"Hiss... As expected of the Demon King, he is so ruthless."

Someone asked, "What about [Man Killer]? She's a Level 5, Level 1 adventurer!"

"He just happened to get beaten down by [Swift Wind] that day, isn't that a coincidence?"

Amazon's eyes were glazed over: "...To support men going to such lengths to enjoy themselves in brothels, [Swift Wind] has been completely tuned."

"Then, that fox-girl was also taken away by the Sword Demon King and is now his little maid."

Amazon shook his head.

Everyone gasped: "This is too much..."

"What happened next was even worse. Even though [Lijie] was treated like this by [Sword Demon King], she still couldn't forget him and was willing to leave her Familia to follow him. But in the end... that man abandoned her completely and didn't even allow her to switch to the Hephaestus Familia."

Amazon sighed.

The gang leaders were filled with righteous indignation: "That despicable [Sword Demon King]!"

"So think about it, how experienced is [Lijie]? The [Sword Demon King] was able to train her to this level, let alone someone like Shakti who is all talk and no action."

"...Now that you mention it, it does seem to make some sense."

"I've heard that the Sword Demon King is an 'Elf Killer,' but I didn't expect that even the Amazons couldn't escape him."

The Lilliputian male spoke.

"What 'Elf Slayer'?"

"This is what the goddess Loki said: 'The Demon King of the Sword,' Shirou Emiya, may have the ability to forcibly make elven women fall in love with him..."

Hypnosis, mind control, forced increase in favorability, personality modification... these are roughly the kinds of skills.

【Swift Wind】is an elf thoroughly trained by the 【Sword Demon King】. Normally, she is a ruthless, obsessive, and insane warrior, but in front of the Demon King, she is as docile as a pet.

"Demon King" and "Evil Female Executive"—that's how Emiya and Ryu are imagined by these dark-hearted gang leaders.

"Hiss, now that you've reminded me, I've also remembered something."

The dwarf male suddenly spoke.

"what?"

"Elaborate."

"I will not admit to anything about this, whether it came from my mouth or you heard it."