The envoy greedily eyed the slabs. "Hand them over then. That would complete half the plan."
"Oh, you want them?" She narrowed her eyes lazily, exuding a coquettish aura.
"Of course!" The envoy nodded.
"Hehehe..." She laughed. Her previously coquettish aura instantly turned cold as frost. "I refuse!"
Hearing this, the Council member was stunned.
"These are my spoils of war. Don't even think about touching them!" She said coldly.
The Council member's expression changed as he demanded, "You've betrayed Father?"
"Of course not. I revere Father deeply, how could I ever betray him? Besides, betraying Father would make it impossible for me to escape this world. However, the origin wheels are my spoils of war! I was the one who hunted Garmr, while Hræsvelgr and Ratatoskr I obtained by subduing Scathach. They're mine. Father summoned me and I executed the plan. Who are you to interfere in my affairs?" she asked icily.
"You—!" He pointed at her and said sternly, "I am of the Council..."
His words had barely left his mouth when with a "crunch," a flash of cold light directly chopped off his outstretched arm in a spray of blood.
"Ahhh...!"
He screamed in agony, grasping at the stump.
"If you don't understand your position, I'd be happy to educate you on exactly what it is, my dear Svadilfari," Hel revealed a delighted smile.
"I am of the Council, I am of the Council..." the one called Svadilfari howled.
"It seems you still don't know your place," she smiled. Another flash sliced off Svadilfari's right leg with a nasty "crunch."
Blood gushed out as he crashed heavily to the ground with a boom, the gust of wind blowing open his cloak to reveal a white horse's head.
Svadilfari crawled on the ground towards Shirou. "Eternal King, Eternal King... I am your Master, I am the one who summoned you..."
Looking at Svadilfari crawling desperately towards him, there was no doubt the Council member wanted help against Hel. But Shirou shook his head. "Unfortunately, there is no contract between us."
Svadilfari looked at him incredulously. Hel licked her lips and with another flash, chopped off his other leg too with a sickening crack.
Svadilfari let out a wretched shriek.
"Still wish for me to teach you your place, dear Svadilfari?" Hel asked. "You were foolish enough in life to disguise yourself and build Asgard's walls, not knowing your limits, throwing away your life. Even after Father revived you, you still don't understand. The Council, the Council... How did you even get into the Council? Can you not see your own limitations?"
Hel rose and walked toward Svadilfari.
"Don't come over, don't come over...!" Svadilfari shouted in terror.
"Why do you think I've been indulging you until now?" Hel asked. "It's because you still had uses. But now that Asgard is under my control, you've lost all value. Yet you still dare to put on airs before me?"
She squatted down, looking at Svadilfari's horse head with a smile. "Do you understand your place now?"
"I do...I do..." Svadilfari hurriedly nodded.
She laughed softly, scooped up some blood from the floor with her palm, then patted Svadilfari's horse head, saying with a smile: "That's good, as long as you know. After all, I can't kill you, right? How would I explain that to Father later?"
Svadilfari shuddered as he looked at her with fear in his eyes. He finally understood why Father would choose to summon this goddess.
As Hel walked back toward the throne, she stopped next to Skadi, a smile playing on her lips. "What's the matter? I didn't actually scare you, did I?"
Skadi just stared back coldly.
Hel's smile faded. "Ugh, I hate that expression on your face. I want to see you cry!"
She flung herself lazily back onto the throne and pointed at Skadi and Ortlinde. "Thrud, take those two and lock them up. There's some underground prison here that used to hold Fenrir, right? The inescapable one? Toss them in there."
Shirou stepped forward without hesitation. "Hel that place isn't secure. I broke out of there myself not long ago. If someone tries to save Skadi, it would be easy for her to get away."
"Even that happened?" She looked surprised.
Thrud approached. "That's right. Eternal King was locked in that supposedly inescapable prison but managed to break out shortly after."
"Well then, where should we imprison them instead?" Hel scowled in frustration. Then a sly smile formed as she turned to Skadi. "Any suggestions, Scathach dear?"
Skadi met her gaze coldly, not bothering to respond.
"There are interconnected cells," Thrud offered. "The one next door used to be prepared by Odin for Loki. That should do the trick."
"Fine, take them there then," Hel nodded.
Shirou and the others nodded as well.
"Eternal King, you stay here," she added.
Shirou hesitated briefly before nodding.
—Has she seen through something?
Salter gave him a worried look.
—Don't worry, it's fine. Also, don't do anything rash for now - just go along with her plans.
Shirou responded.
—I know that already, don't treat me like an idiot!
—I'll do that, Mr. Assassin.
The two responded in turn.
Thrud took Skadi away, leading her toward the prison.
As Thrud passed by Shirou, her eyes met his for a brief moment before she moved along.
As Skadi was escorted away, he turned to face Hel, perched atop her throne. "Since you've had me stay behind, is there anything specific you wanted me to do?"
"I'd given up long ago, but with you here, I won't beat around the bush," her narrowed eyes glinting. "Return my horse to me, Eternal King."
Puzzled, he stared back at her.
"Playing dumb?" She glared sharply, her icy gaze growing dangerous.
"You've lost me. When exactly did I owe you a horse?" He was baffled.
"Dun Stallion! Surely you know that name," she insisted. "During your glory days, your wicked witch of a sister Morgan stole him! Don't claim ignorance about this."
Hel's eyes narrowed dangerously, the freshly spilled blood on the ground reflecting a crimson light—proof this was no virtuous woman.
Shirou remembered Dun Stallion, the famed Irish steed Morgan once brought as a gift meant for him. For strategic reasons, he'd gifted it to Artoria instead.
But why bring up that horse now?
"Dun Stallion is my horse!" Hel seethed, fury and killing intent rising at the mention of Morgan's name. "That wretch stole him while I slept!" She shot him a sidelong glare. "Don't play dumb. I know she passed my horse to you as a gift. Now give him back!"
So she's here to collect a debt... He realized silently.
Hel claimed to be Aife—Scathach's archnemesis. She even called Skadi "Scathach." Shirou suspected Hel and Aife shared a similar connection as Scathach and Skadi.
And Morgan was certainly capable of stealing a horse. With that woman, nothing surprised him anymore.
"I'm afraid I don't have Dun Stallion," Shirou said, shaking his head. "I passed it on to someone else. So there's no record of it in my Saint Graph."
What Hel wanted was like Gilles and Prelati—for him to return Dun Stallion on a spiritual level. But unfortunately, that horse now belonged to Artoria.
While Shirou could access Artoria's records, he couldn't alter them. If Hel wanted that horse, she'd have to ask Artoria herself.
"I see," Hel frowned, clearly unhappy yet no longer insisting. Still, murder lingered in her gaze. "Then what should I do with you, Eternal King?"
"I don't understand what you mean."
"I plan to destroy this world. And I suspect you'll betray me eventually, just like Thrud and Hildr did."
"You're right to be concerned," he replied mildly. "I do still have my own will. However, as an Alter, the destruction of this world doesn't really bother me."
"Who knows what you truly think," Hel said, eyeing him sharply. "It's questionable if Alterization even works on the likes of you. Besides, Thrud mentioned your ability to alter your own Spirit Graph. Keeping you around poses too great a danger." Her murderous aura intensified. "So tell me, Eternal King - what should I do with you?"
Sensing the rich killing intent weighing down along with Asgard's immense pressure, Shirou understood - Hel fully intended to kill him.
...
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