Chaldea...
Looking at Hel standing in front of him, Shirou asked, "So you want to take action against Chaldea?"
"Yes," she nodded.
Sigurd frowned. "I don't get it. In this fake world, you're already invincible. Why go after those outsiders?"
Hel stood and slowly walked to the entrance of the Great Temple. Pointing at the thick snow piled up on Asgard. "They're like this layer of snow - an eyesore. They need to be cleaned up!"
"I see, so they're in the way of some plan of yours," Shirou raised his eyebrows.
"That's right. So I'll leave it to you guys to take care of them," she nodded.
"We can do it, but I have two questions," Shirou said, looking at her without averting his eyes. "The Beast is still lurking in Asgard. Aren't you going to smoke it out first?"
"Since that Evil of Humanity was summoned by Father, there is no meaning in searching for it," she shook her head, then looked at him. "What's the next question?"
"You want me and Sigurd to handle Chaldea. Do you really trust me?" he asked bluntly.
She smiled, "Isn't this your chance to earn my trust, Eternal King? You want to get rid of that Alter Saint Graph as much as I want to remove this Divine Core."
He nodded, understanding her intention.
"If there's no problems, then get ready and go," she said.
Sigurd and Shirou turned and left.
Hel sat on the throne, watching their retreating backs. "Don't disappoint me, Sigurd, Eternal King," she murmured.
She stood and walked to the Great Temple's entrance. A glowing wheel floated up her body. With a whiz, the Golden Eagle emerged from it, standing atop Yggdrasil. Its eyes shone with brilliant light like the sun as it overlooked the world.
Using Hræsvelgr's global vision, she overlooked the entire world as Skadi once did.
Skadi's divine power still lingered. Snowy whiteness covered the sky and ground.
"This world needs freedom and spring," Hel murmured.
She raised her hand and pressed the silver bracelet on her wrist. With a "shu," a virtual screen appeared. With a short "du" sound, a blue-haired kid popped up on the display.
She looked at the blue-haired brat. "Caster, get the giants ready. Prepare to occupy the Gate!"
"Understood, Master," Andersen replied.
She turned off the virtual screen and took another look at the snow-covered world, then turned and left. She believed that the next time she overlooked this world, the last protection Skadi had given to it would also be gone.
The winter of this world would end and welcome the spring she intended to bestow.
However, she still had one thing to do now.
"Ogelmir, I want to see what tricks you are playing with me!"
Hel walked into the depths of the Great Temple.
She knew Skadi's secret, and she also knew the secret of this world.
...
Shirou left the Great Temple with Salter and Adam.
They were surrounded by wandering Valkyries.
The reactivated Valkyries were no longer Skadi's subordinates, but had been made Hel's staunch supporters by Thrud and Hildr through some unknown means.
Although the Valkyries wandering around looked plain and simple, Shirou was very clear that this was undoubtedly a form of surveillance.
However, while this surveillance was effective for others, it was completely useless against Shirou, the holder of black mud.
The black mud had many uses, even he didn't know its full capabilities. But after meeting the Valkyries, he discovered a new use—networking and calling through the black mud using himself as a host.
He hadn't considered this idea at first. Yet, after seeing the Valkyries' network, the notion popped into his head. If their network was the Valkyrie Network, then his could be the Black Network or Shirou Network.
By applying the black mud this way, he successfully invited Adam and Salter into a private chatroom. With the Valkyries patrolling around them, he used the chat to brief Adam and Salter on Hel's previous order.
"You mean...Hel wants to make a move on Chaldea?" Salter asked.
"That's right."
Adam chimed in, "Then Mr. Assassin, we could meet up with Chaldea! I kinda miss my friends and Miss Mash. Hope they're doing okay and not being mistreated."
"No. Not yet," he said. "We can't join up with them yet."
Adam looked puzzled. "Why not?"
"Someone needs my help. I can't leave this world yet."
Adam and Salter exchanged quizzical looks.
"But we should start taking action soon." Shirou said uncertainly. "For some reason, since Hel beat Skadi, I've had an uneasy feeling. I'm not sure why."
"Now that you mention it, I feel it too," Salter said. "Like a weight pressing down that makes it hard to breathe. Not even facing Vortigern or my kingdom's collapse gave me this feeling."
Shirou glanced at her. "If even you feel uneasy, then Hel must be planning something."
After a moment, he added, "Saber, come with me on this mission. I need to tell you something."
"I can, but won't that seem suspicious to Hel?"
"Hel is ungrateful and treacherous as a viper," Shirou commented. "She uses others if they're useful then discards them when they're not. She trusts no one. We just happen to be useful for now, so she hasn't acted. Once that ends, she'll discard us like Svadilfari."
The mention of Svadilfari silenced Adam and Salter, who had witnessed Hel's dealings with him after he helped suppress Asgard's barriers. Unlike Shirou, they hadn't seen through Hel's true nature.
"I understand. I'll go with you," Salter finally said.
Shirou nodded. "I'll go find Sigurd. You get ready."
He left the room after speaking.
Salter also stood up, but didn't leave. Instead, she asked a Valkyrie for a large sack.
"What are you doing, Lady Artoria?" Adam was puzzled.
"Packing food so I don't get hungry on the road," Salter replied while nimbly packing blueberries.
Shirou left to find Sigurd, who was also going to be on the same mission as him.
After searching half a day, he finally spotted Sigurd not far from Valhalla. Gripping a demonic sword, Sigurd stared at Valhalla, his body exuding a murderous aura yet filled with doubt.
Shirou walked over and called out in greeting.
Sigurd turned his head and nodded. "Eternal King."
They chatted for a while. Then Shirou asked, "What are you doing at Valhalla?"
At that, Sigurd's smile disappeared. He faced Valhalla again, tightening his grip on the sword. "I want to destroy it."
"I advise against it," Shirou said. "Hel won't forgive you. And even so, you may not succeed in destroying it."
Sigurd nodded. "I understand. Still, she's promised to eventually let me destroy Valhalla."
Shirou nodded back, then was silent a moment before asking, "Why are you so obsessed with destroying it? Don't most Northern heroes yearn for that famed hall?"
At that, Sigurd's smile vanished again. He glared at Valhalla, eyes flickering with hatred. "Because they don't know what Valhalla truly is! To be honest...I came to this false world as an Alter to destroy it. Even if it's only the Valhalla of a mere fake world!"
Shirou frowned. "Why do you call this a fake world?"
"You don't know?" Sigurd asked in puzzlement.
He shook his head. "No, I don't even understand what you're talking about."
Sigurd frowned at him a moment before nodding in realization. "I see. You aren't Nordic, so you may not sense it as clearly. But as a Northern European hero, I can clearly perceive this is a false world."
"This isn't the real world," Sigurd said. "It's a wasteful branch, discarded resources that the Planet should have pruned and destroyed. But somehow, due to an intervention, it was spared."
Shirou frowned. "Can I understand it as a Pan-Human History and world pruning?"
"Yes, that's the standard term."
"You're saying this is a pruned world?" Shirou was astonished.
"That's right." Sigurd nodded. "Being from Northern Europe, I can sense that this is clearly a pruned world."