DanMachi: Unlimited Blade Works

In the meat-wall labyrinth, facing a three-pronged encirclement, Shirou stood ready. But just as everyone was about to make a move, a meat wall suddenly appeared, separating Ais from the group.

"Separated?"

Realizing her situation, Ais instantly annihilated the monsters in front of her and then turned to split open the meat wall. But just then, a heavy aura suddenly enveloped her. The trembling killing intent immediately halted Ais's movements as she turned to stare into the darkness. A red figure appeared, and as the footsteps grew clearer, the figure stepped into view. Meeting those piercing green eyes, Ais's vigilance shot up.

"I didn't expect you to come yourself. This is exactly what I wanted!" The woman had arrived. Ais tightened her grip on her sword.

"What are you doing here?"

"Who knows?"

"What is this labyrinth? Did you make it?"

"You don't need to know!" The red-haired woman slowly squatted down, and to Ais's surprise, she pulled a weapon from the ground. The two stood poised for action, continuously observing each other, each ready to strike at any moment.

"Shut up and follow me. Someone wants to see you. I want you to come with me, Aria!"

"I'm not Aria. Aria is my mother!"

"Nonsense! Aria couldn't have children!" Seeing the refusal, the red-haired woman raised the greatsword in her hand, preparing to resolve the issue by force. Unwilling to be captured, Ais raised her own sword, determined to defeat her opponent first and then extract the truth. With their intentions clear, the two engaged in battle without hesitation.

---

Shirou's Struggle

"Ais!" Shirou shouted, watching as Ais was separated. He intended to go rescue her, but the monsters that had already arrived relentlessly tangled with him, preventing his departure.

"Is this the mastermind's objective?" Facing the surging monsters, Shirou wielded his greatswords with precision. To rescue Ais, he first had to defeat the monsters in front of him.

"Get out of the way!" Shirou kicked one monster aside, dodged a Piranha Plant's sweeping attack with a small jump, then threw his two greatswords while mid-air. With immense power, the two reinforced Gé Dearg and Gé Buidhe pinned two monsters firmly to the surrounding walls. Shirou then projected a bow and shot three consecutive arrows while in mid-air, each one empowered by Clairvoyance and Mind's Eye. Every strike aimed for the monsters' vital points. When the magic stones shattered, the monsters perished. This was the most efficient way to kill enemies. With this miraculous archery, Shirou swiftly killed the five monsters in front of him.

After landing, Shirou re-projected his greatswords and charged toward the remaining Piranha Plants. His agile movements constantly evaded enemy attacks as the powerful greatswords tore through the monsters' bodies. Death—endless death—followed Shirou's onslaught, and soon, the monsters were wiped out.

Looking at the black ashes scattered around, Shirou exhaled lightly. He glanced at the meat wall that had separated Ais and then charged toward the Hermes Familia, who were forming a formation to deal with the Piranha Plants on the other side. After a brief exertion, Shirou calmed himself. Ais didn't need his concern right now. The reason everyone was separated was likely due to the red-haired woman's intention to capture Ais alone. But the current Ais was no longer the LV.5 she once was; she was a brand-new LV.6. The sublimated Ais had completely surpassed the red-haired woman. Based on Shirou's memories, he knew that in this encounter, Ais would have continuously pressured the red-haired woman. Ais would have confidently declared that she didn't need magic. Although the events in Shirou's memory diverged from reality in some ways, the main theme should still be reliable—Ais suppressing and eventually defeating the red-haired woman.

The danger now wasn't on Ais's side, but theirs. So, instead of thinking about rescuing Ais, it was better to think about whether Ais could arrive in time to save them during a critical moment.

Shirou quickly ran back into the formation. With his help, the Hermes Familia quickly reorganized and eliminated all the remaining monsters.

---

Reassuring the Team

"How is everyone doing? Are you all alright?"

"We're fine, no casualties," came the reply.

Shirou exchanged a few words with Asfi before hearing Lulune's anxious voice.

"Let's quickly go save the Sword Princess; she's been separated by the enemy!" Hearing Lulune's voice, Shirou comforted her with a calm demeanor, "Don't worry, the one in danger right now isn't Ais; it's us!"

"From these anomalies, we can conclude that the culprits here, and those we encountered on the 18th floor, are likely from the same group, or even the same person."

"In this situation, Ais's opponent should be the red-haired woman from the 18th floor."

"Perhaps the old Ais was not a match for her, but the current Ais is definitely not weaker."

Asfi nodded, understanding.

"The Sword Princess is now one of Orario's rare LV.6s. Don't underestimate the power of an LV.6, Lulune!"

"I understand!" Lulune responded dejectedly.

Seeing this, Shirou continued, "So, during Ais's decisive battle with the enemy BOSS, we need to begin investigating and completing the Guild's request."

"You must know, this is the enemy's stronghold; any danger is possible. It's hard to guarantee there won't be powerhouses on par with the red-haired woman."

"So, don't worry about Ais now; let's focus on our own safety!" Completing the mission was Shirou's top priority. Of course, if Ais needed him to help, he would. But knowing Ais's personality, she wouldn't want him to interfere in her battle. She always preferred to settle her own scores.

"Based on the number of monsters that just appeared, the direction you were defending seems to have more enemies. That's probably the correct route," Shirou suggested.

After discussing with Asfi, the two reached a consensus and continued forward.

---

The Anomaly

Relying on Shirou clearing the way, the group delved deeper into the labyrinth, finally discovering an anomaly.

"It's phosphorescence; we've reached the large cavern with the quartz pillar!"

"Charge through!" Asfi shouted, cutting down the monster in front of her.

As they ran, they quickly broke through the encirclement, passed through the increasingly foul-smelling space, and arrived in the large cavern. But the moment they entered, the scene before them captured everyone's attention. Three gigantic Piranha Plants, more than ten times the size of regular ones, were wrapped around a thirty-meter-high quartz pillar. Tentacle-like vines grew from their bodies, crawling all over the pillar. Under the eerie light of the quartz, these tentacles resembled blood vessels.

"Could it be that they are absorbing nutrients seeping from the Great Main Pillar?" Asfi muttered in horror.

--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!

Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter