She crouched down with a smile. "My joke was funny, wasn't it?"
Skadi just stared back coldly without responding.
Hel's gaze turned threateningly to Ortlinde behind Scathach, making the threat clear.
Seeing this, Skadi understood Hel's intention. She pressed her lips together and lowered her head, muttering softly, "Ha ha...so funny."
Hearing this, Hel burst into loud laughter, as if she just won a championship, gloating loudly.
After she finished laughing, she grinned over at Ortlinde behind Skadi. "Very useful. A handy pawn indeed."
Ortlinde gritted her teeth as tears streamed down her face. She knew she had become Skadi's weakness.
Thrud turned away, unable to keep watching.
Just then, Shirou reminded her, "Hel, don't forget about the Beast. Your plans aren't finished yet."
Hel's laughter was cut short at the mention of the Beast. Though a smug grin still played on her lips, she nodded. "True enough."
She turned to Skadi. "So how exactly did that Beast get here anyway?"
Hearing this, Skadi gritted her teeth. But with Hel exploiting her weakness, she could no longer act defiant. After a lengthy silence, she finally ground out, "It was...summoned here."
"By whom?" Hel pressed.
"My Master - Ogelmir," Skadi answered.
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Hel's smile instantly froze. Svadilfari cried out in disbelief, "Impossible!"
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Hel's face fell as she said solemnly, "Father summoned a Beast, to do what?"
So this so-called Father was Ogelmir?
Shirou raised an eyebrow. He had never heard that name before.
"Isn't it obvious?" Skadi said bitterly. "To get rid of me."
Submitting to Hel's demands had clearly wounded her pride.
Hel went silent, her thoughts unreadable. But the contemplative look on her face was plain for all to see.
She made no attempt to hide the fact that she was deep in thought.
Shirou considered this before saying, "When I escaped from the prison before, I damaged the floor and there were some passages underground. The Beast probably used that to get out."
"Impossible!" Svadilfari exclaimed. "There's no way a passage could appear inside the prison without the power of someone like Father. A breach couldn't just show up out of nowhere!"
"And what makes you so sure of that?" Shirou asked.
"Because I built Asgard myself," Svadilfari replied. "How could I not be clear on this?"
"You constructed it yourself?" he looked at Svadilfari's horse head in surprise, then asked, "So the underground tunnels beneath Asgard were also built by you?"
"Of course!" Svadilfari proudly raised his head. "Those tunnels were prepared by my Giant clan for our counterattack. Unfortunately, before we could sound the horn, the gods were already eaten - how ridiculous!"
Eaten? Shirou noticed this word. Whether it was Thrud or the other Valkyries, they always said the gods had "disappeared" two thousand years ago. Clearly this horse knew the inside story of what really happened to the vanished gods!
Still, he was surprised to learn that all of Asgard had been constructed by Svadilfari alone. If the Asgard in the Panhuman History had also been built entirely by Giants, he wouldn't be surprised that the famed Ragnarok incident from Norse myths had happened.
It made sense - wouldn't disaster be inevitable with their home built by enemies?
Shirou didn't argue further with Svadilfari, but instead led Hel to the breach that Salter had smashed open.
After examining the breach closely, Hel turned to Svadilfari and asked, "Then how do you explain this, Svadilfari?"
"Impossible, impossible!" Svadilfari's face contorted in shock. "I definitely never built any passage inside the prison!"
Hel narrowed her eyes dangerously, giving off an ominous aura. "Then how could such a weak point appear here? Father or not, anyone who hinders my freedom - I will kill without hesitation. You understand how desperately I yearn to be free, no?"
"Someone must have tampered with Asgard!" Svadilfari screamed. He burrowed into the tunnels, wiping cold sweat from his face. "I'll investigate the cause of this and report back quickly!"
"I see...then I'll leave it to you," Hel smiled.
Svadilfari nodded hurriedly. After enduring terrible torment from Hel, he now felt both fearful and resentful towards her volatile temperament. But at the same time, he didn't dare offend her now.
Hel interrogated Skadi about the underground tunnels for a while, but Skadi was just as clueless about the prison's interior. She hadn't even known about the Giant clan tunnels beneath Asgard, making her unable to provide any explanations.
After mercilessly tormenting Skadi through Ortlinde to satisfy herself, Hel left in high spirits.
Shirou followed Hel out, passing by Skadi's cell. Softly parting her lips, Skadi uttered two faint words: "Thank you."
Shirou took in her pitiful state before turning to leave without response.
...
"Lady Skadi, Lady Skadi...I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Once alone, Ortlinde hugged Skadi's slender waist, weeping bitterly.
"Ortlinde..."
Lifting her head to meet Skadi's crimson eyes, Ortlinde was enraptured by her composure even now. "I'm here. What is it, my lady?"
"You can still accurately judge time using the Valkyrie Network, right?" Skadi asked.
"Yes, my lady," Ortlinde nodded. "Although Thrud and Hildr cut me off, I can calculate time precisely."
"Then starting now, make a mark on the wall for every 24 hours that passes in Chaldea. Keep going until you reach ten marks," Skadi instructed.
"What is this for?" Ortlinde was puzzled.
"Just do as I say,"
"Understood!" Ortlinde nodded hurriedly.
Skadi extended a finger, focusing her mind. A delicate icy needle formed at the tip, which she lightly scraped along the ground.
Seemingly tired, she leaned back against the wall. Instead of invigorating from its icy chill, she grew increasingly drowsy, soon drifting off to sleep.
Etched on the ground before her was the swirling vortex pattern she had drawn just moments ago.
...
After leaving Hel, Shirou gathered with the other Servants including Salter.
It seemed Hel had only brought Sigurd and Adam this time. He didn't see those two other Servants Adam had mentioned before.
He was intrigued by this name "Ogelmir," especially its link to the "Father" figure Hel and the others kept referencing. His interest was piqued.
This wasn't the first time he had heard the name Ogelmir. The great wall surrounding Asgard was called Ogelmir, and according to Svadilfari, his initial purpose in summoning Shirou was to provide a vessel for the existence known as "Ogelmir."
So what exactly was this Ogelmir?
Shirou felt he was closing in on the truth behind this Connection Point, but this name Ogelmir seemed to block his path to the answer.
He wasn't very familiar with Norse mythology, so he had never heard of any being called Ogelmir before.
Of course, that could also be because the name was just too obscure, combined with the gaps in his own knowledge of Norse mythology.
That was normal too. He could barely keep track of all the convoluted names in Japanese mythology, let alone foreign myths. So he relayed the name Ogelmir to Adam and Salter to see if they had any impressions of it.
However, they both shook their heads, indicating complete unfamiliarity with the name.
Shirou even asked the great Norse hero Sigurd about it.
"Ogelmir? Never heard of it," Sigurd said, shaking his head.
Shirou racked his brains. Even Sigurd didn't know Ogelmir? As a pure-blooded Norseman and famed hero, how was he ignorant about this Ogelmir?
Could Ogelmir have been summoned from elsewhere too?
But that didn't seem to fit. If Ogelmir was summoned here, why name Asgard's wall after him? This clearly indicated he was a god or famous Norse mythological figure.
Yet what kind of being would make Hel and Svadilfari address him as Father? And have a seat on the Council?
Loki?
Shirou contemplated.
Just then, Hel summoned Shirou and Sigurd to the grand temple. Seated atop her throne, she looked at them and said, "I have a task for you two."
"What is it?"
"Chaldea!" she uttered coldly.