Suddenly, Artemis grabbed the collar of Emiya's shirt, "I messed up."
The goddess's voice trembled.
"It's fine, it's just that my clothes are wet. A little fire will dry them up in no time," As Emiya spoke, he was about to project [Higanbana]/[Alise's Sword].
"No, no, it's not that... it's not about this matter...", Goddess Artemis whispered.
Emiya fell silent for a moment. A few seconds later, he slowly spoke, "If you're talking about this afternoon, Ryuu and Mr. Hogni weren't injured..."
"It's not that," The goddess buried her head into Emiya's chest, "It's all because of me that 'Antares' has become so uncontrollable. It's all my fault. I killed them... I killed everyone..."
The goddess's body and voice trembled constantly, and crystal-clear tears kept sliding down her cheeks.
Emiya let out a soft sigh. He wanted to say something to comfort her, but the next words from the goddess made his heart tighten.
"The children of the lower world, they were so beautiful... and this world is so beautiful... but because of me..."
"Wait—"
Emiya's heart pounded violently. Not just him, but Hedin, who was hiding behind a tree, also broke out in a cold sweat.
They realized that when the goddess said "everyone," she wasn't referring to a specific group, like all the members of the Artemis Familia.
She meant—literally 'everyone'.
Countless faces flashed through Emiya's mind: Ryuu, Syr, Goddess Hephaestus...
As for Hedin, in an instant, he thought of his most important goddess, Freya.
"Antares... has absorbed my divine power," Artemis spoke in a low voice, "Now, it can unleash one of my arrows. That arrow... will destroy this world."
"This is all my fault... because I violated the most important rule of the gods in the lower world... I used divine power..."
"Goddess Artemis..."
Emiya remained silent for a long time, "That spear—can it kill Antares?"
Artemis clenched her hand tightly, "Yes... and no... That spear is a god-slaying weapon designed to end the lives of gods. It is strong enough to kill Antares, who has absorbed my divine power. However..."
Her voice trembled, "You can forcefully use that spear. But that method won't unlock its true power. Even if you drive it with an enormous amount of magic, the result will be the same..."
Before, Artemis still had some hope, believing that as long as someone could pull it out, even if they couldn't fully unleash its power, it would still be enough to end Antares.
But now, after truly entering [The Great Tree Sea] and sensing the divine power within Antares, Artemis finally recognized the reality.
To kill Antares, who possesses divine power, the true strength of that weapon must be unlocked.
And the [Spear of Artemis], or rather, [Orion's Arrow], is a weapon of the gods. To truly wield it, one must meet its requirements.
Skills, magic—before true [Divine Power], they are all insignificant. Like fireflies before the radiant moon, like mayflies before the vast heavens.
[Orion's Arrow]—it belongs solely to [Orion].
Unless—
Emiya silently grabbed the goddess's hands. He pressed both of her shoulders with his hands and gazed into her eyes seriously.
Looking into the boy's eyes, the goddess's gaze trembled. Her heartbeat quickened, and her breathing became heavier.
"Wait... what is he trying to do? This distance... it's too close... Could it be...", The goddess remembered the stories the members of her Familia had shared with her.
Artemis was a goddess who upheld chastity. Love, marriage, even interacting with men. These were things she had always rejected.
However, after coming to the lower world, she met those adorable children whom she adored the most, and they told her—
That love was a beautiful thing.
"Goddess Artemis," Emiya spoke in a low voice.
"Yes...", Artemis's voice trembled with nervousness.
Emiya asked, "Is there really no way?"
Artemis fell silent. She pursed her lips. "No... To use Orion's Ar—"
As she spoke, the goddess suddenly froze.
In that moment, she recalled the first conversation she had with Emiya.
("Can you become... my [Orion]?")
("Nice to meet you, Goddess Artemis... My name is Emiya Shirou.")
Artemis's lips parted slightly, "There is... there is a way. I just thought of it..."
She extended her arms and wrapped them around Emiya's neck.
The goddess gazed into Emiya's eyes and softly whispered the method.
[Reforge 'Orion's Arrow'—forge it into a new divine weapon.]
Hearing the goddess's words, Emiya was stunned. Meanwhile, Artemis gently leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the young man's.
"Go ahead and do it, Shirou... This is the meaning of 'my' existence."
Before Emiya, the [Goddess] displayed a long-lost, yet most beautiful, smile.
———
"Be careful, the arrow rain is coming," Riveria raised her head and warned.
Almost as soon as her words fell, a storm of light arrows tore through the sky, descending from the heavens.
The magnificent rain of arrows reminded Emiya of a certain Heroic Spirit's Noble Phantasm—[Phoebus Catastrophe].
A Noble Phantasm materializing the concept of "drawing and releasing an arrow."
With the [Tauropolos: Bow of Heaven] bestowed by Guardian Goddess Artemis, arrows were fired as a plea for the blessing of the Moon Goddess.
The Moon Goddess responded to this request, granting the "hero" her blessing in the form of a disaster upon her enemies. Causing a torrential downpour of light arrows across a wide area.
The size of the area could be adjusted. The smaller the range, the more concentrated the light arrows would be, increasing their destructive power.
The wielder of [Phoebus Catastrophe] was the famous huntress of Greek mythology, Atalanta. Renowned for being the first to strike the Calydonian Boar.
"Projection start (Trace, on)."
A heavy, giant longbow appeared in Emiya's hands.
The longbow was pitch black, exuding a cold and mysterious aura. The bow seemed to be forged from an unknown metal, its dark luster gleaming in the sunlight.
[Nine Lives]
This was the third wave of arrow rain they had encountered since setting out today.
At their first encounter, the rain of light arrows had targeted Goddess Artemis directly. Hedin had promptly cast a lightning spell to intercept them, but those arrows seemed to have a special resistance to adventurers' magic. They even pierced through the lightning net and Friana's barrier magic, nearly hitting the goddess.
To protect Artemis, Ryuu had taken an arrow in the shoulder. Fortunately, the light arrows' damage to adventurers' bodies was limited—each single arrow was only about as strong as a Level 2 or Level 3 mage's attack.
By now, they had grasped the pattern of the arrow rain.
Welcoming the descending arrows was an upward shot from below—[Nine Lives] released a powerful shot that tore through the sky, its roar resembling an enraged dragon.
The arrow from [Nine Lives] clashed with [Phoebus Catastrophe] in midair, producing a deafening explosion.
The devastating shot pierced the sky, obliterating the arrow storm in an instant. Those arrows, symbols of destruction, were completely devoured by [Nine Lives].
"...That shot... definitely wasn't from a Level 2," After a brief silence, Friana whispered.
Riveria reached out and caught the falling Shirou Emiya. She directly carried the temporarily exhausted boy on her back, completely ignoring Ryuu, who was eagerly watching from the side.
"Let's keep moving forward. It should be unable to attack for the time being."
"We can give up on the flying dragon. The distance isn't too far, and now our walking speed is faster."
Shirou Emiya: "Sister Riveria, I can walk by myself..."
"If it's just you, can you keep up with our speed?"
Riveria did not put him down. On the other side, Hedin and Ryuu also carried Hermes and Artemis, respectively.
Ryuu stared at Riveria's side, seemingly wanting to swap partners, but Riveria completely ignored her.
As they went deeper into the [Great Tree Sea], the once lush and green forest was gradually replaced by withered yellow trees, and the fertile black earth turned pale white.
'Antares is absorbing the life force of this land,' Looking at the lifeless forest, Riveria felt both heartache and anger.
The speed of the first-tier adventurers running at full strength far surpassed that of the flying dragon. Before long, they were approaching the frontline camp.
Shouts came from the camp.
"Wait, don't attack! It's reinforcements! It's Lady Riveria!"
"And also [White Fairy's Magic Wand], [Black Fairy's Demon Sword]!"
"[Gale] is here too!"
"This lineup is way too luxurious!"
The adventurers in the frontline camp cheered in excitement, but among the cheers, there were also some other voices.
"LORD HERMES! HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME HERE!"
A blue figure dashed out from the camp. Upon seeing the person, Hedin decisively threw Hermes down.
[White Fairy's Magic Wand] looked utterly disgusted. If it weren't for the fact that that guy Hogni was completely useless, he would absolutely refuse to have any contact with any gods other than Lady Freya.
"Asfi, long time no see. You've really had a tough time~"
"Honestly, you're such an idiot..."
However, in the face of Hermes' smile, Asfi surprisingly forgave him quite easily, making even Riveria secretly shake her head.
"This place... is the frontmost line facing the Elsos Ruins, huh."
Under the incredulous gazes of several elven girls, Riveria directly carried Shirou Emiya into the camp before belatedly realizing and putting him down.
Before the girls of the same race could make a sound, Riveria stiffly changed the topic.
"Asfi, please tell me the current situation."
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