"Your Majesty, Lady Artoria, you're both allies of Asgard. We'd be happy to guide you to the gate of Muspelheim to reunite with your Masters. But some pressing matters require our attention." Thrúd said apologetically. She raised her hand slightly, pointing south. "If you continue that way, you'll reach the gate. I'm confident you two can manage without us."
Shirou glanced at the vast whiteness stretching to the south, then turned back to her. "Actually, I'm more curious why you'd be out here, Miss Thrud. You said it was to fight that black dragon, but you don't seem to have brought enough soldiers or have enough firepower to achieve that objective."
Salter kept quiet, knowing she wasn't the best at making conversation. Besides, she wanted to observe how Eternal King spoke and interacted with others - perhaps she could learn a thing or two.
Everyone said the King of Knights didn't understand people's hearts. By trying to learn from him, maybe she wouldn't have to keep hearing that anymore. At least, that's what she hoped.
"Yes," Thrud replied to Shirou with a nod. "We were ambushed by Nidhogg out of nowhere. Our original plan was to go to that village over there."
She pointed towards the distant village. Salter recognized it as village 23 they had stopped to rest at previously.
"Earlier, Hel summoned some monsters, but they were str..." Thrud caught herself, recalling it was Lady Skadi's attack that led to their separation from their Masters. "I mean, some unknown force struck down the monsters Hel summoned around this area. Lady Skadi sensed it, so we came here to handle them. But then we ran into Nidhogg."
So it turned out that after Shirou and Salter got summoned by the Council, Skadi mistook them for monsters. She immediately blasted them with her Noble Phantasm and even sent Thrud and the Valkyries to finish them off. But halfway through, Thrud's group ran into Nidhogg trespassing in Midgard. They likely would've been done for if Shirou hadn't lent a hand.
Salter understood the situation, but unlike Shirou, she felt uneasy about it. After all, Thrud and the Valkyries were originally sent by Skadi to kill them!
Thrud pointed to the Village 23. "We still need to complete Lady Skadi's other mission. Your Majesty, you're welcome to head straight to the gate of Muspelheim. I'm sure your masters will meet you there."
He shook his head. "Saber and I enjoyed the hospitality of those villagers before. It would be rude to leave without a word. Besides, you said a monster summoned by Hel is threatening them? Saber and I would be happy to help defeat it."
"We appreciate the offer, Your Majesty, Lady Artoria," Thrúd said joyfully. After the ambush by Nídhogg, their fighting strength had taken a blow. She'd even considered postponing Lady Skadi's mission. But with powerful servants like Shirou and Artoria joining them, there should be no problem.
Salter looked conflicted as she pulled Shirou aside, out of Thrud's earshot. "What are you thinking?" she whispered sharply. "Didn't you hear them? We should be their target."
He nodded calmly. "Yes, it seems so."
Exasperated, she said, "Then we need to slip away before they discover who we really are. Don't forget, we're the heroic spirits summoned by the Council, not Chaldea."
He nodded. Yet oddly, he asked, "But so what if they do find out?"
"Wha- what do you mean, 'so what'?"
He just looked baffled by her concern. "Honestly, even if we're exposed, so what? We can explain the situation later - that's what words are for, right?"
"But explanations can sound like excuses to others... If our true identities come out here, I'm afraid words won't be enough to make things right with these Norse gods," she said with concern.
"So what? We're stronger than them, aren't we? And this could be a good chance to clear our names. And it's not guaranteed we'll be exposed anyway, right?"
"Don't forget, we pretended to be divine envoys back in village 23. While they are the real envoys!"
"Ah, so that's what you're worried about. Don't worry. Just let me do the talking," Shirou said reassuringly as he approached Thrud.
Salter's eyes widened as she stared at him, curious to see how he'd wiggle his way out of their little white lie. After all, pretending to be divine envoys could easily expose who they really were - heroic spirits summoned by the Council.
What would he do? Try to trick these Valkyries again? She watched closely with anticipation.
As Shirou approached Thrúd, he flashed a smile and came right out with the truth about their impersonation of divine envoys. Thrúd's expression hardened and the mood tensed up, making Salter grip her sword tightly, ready to jump in if a fight broke out.
But then...
After admitting they'd pretended to be envoys, he added, "I'm really sorry. We lost contact with our Master all of a sudden and had no idea where we were. We didn't have much choice."
Thrud's face softened. "I see... Impersonating Lady Skaði's envoy is unacceptable. However, you were forced by circumstances. That's understandable."
She nodded, seeming willing to let it slide.
Shirou came back over to Salter and said, "It's all good."
"That was it?" she couldn't help but ask.
"Of course," he said, eyebrow raised. "What kind of bad ending are you hoping for?" He moved closer and whispered: "And don't forget—Skaði and her group are the ones at fault here. Their actions led to us getting separated from 'our Chaldea Master.' They're the ones to blame!"
She turned to look at him, and immediately understood - he had long grasped the whole situation and able to read Thrud and the Valkyries like an open book, which explained his fearlessness. What's more, he was right. Whether in strength or moral high ground, he clearly held the advantage.
...
The Great Temple, Asgard
Skaði awoke with a start, her normally serene face clouded with unease.
Her attendant Valkyrie, Hildr, hurried over in concern. "My lady, what's wrong?"
"Nidhogg has fallen," Skaði said grimly.
"How can this be?" Hildr gasped. "Its mana levels surpassed three million! None now living could defeat it, save yourself, Surtr, and..." Her voice faltered.
"And Hel," finished Skaði with a weary sigh, kneading her temples.
Hildr fell silent and raised her head slightly, gazing at the mural behind Skaði in the Great Temple.
It was a Genesis mural, depicting Odin and the gods slaying the giant progenitor Ymir and using his body to create the world.
Epic and sacred, at first glance one would think this a complete mural. But Hildr noticed two odd hollows marring the artwork.
"Now that Nidhogg has fallen... Jörmungandr is the only one left," Hildr unconsciously chewed on her thumb's nail. "But that's beside the point... If Hel took Nidhogg's origin wheel, the balance maintained for over two thousand years could..."
"Don't worry, Hildr." Skaði shook her head. "If Hel was the one who hunted Níðhöggr, my grand bounded field would probably have already collapsed and the gates would have long been breached by now."
"But if it wasn't Hel who hunted Nidhogg, then it must have been Surtr. That fire giant is a madman who wants to destroy everything - even madder than Hel," Hildr said gravely.
"If Surtr was the one, the fortress guarded by Chaldea would have already fallen to his fire giants," Skaði rubbed her temples. "Let's keep watching for now."
After a pause, she said, "Hraesvelgr, monitor the Nine Realms and see if Hel or Surtr are up to anything."
Despite only Skaði and Hildr being present in the spacious Great Temple, a loud shriek suddenly rang out. The eagle stone tablet embedded in the wall glowed faintly, buzzing. A giant eagle emerged, glanced at Skaði, then flew out of the temple.
...
Get the latest chapters on my Patreon: patreon.com/bcloud