Otherwise, you can find another savior.

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The solid ice covering the plains and mountains was pierced from below, and countless twisted trees burst forth like thorns, growing wildly along Fenrir's body.

On a branch of one of the trees, Shiomi, wielding the holy sword, pointed the blade at Fenrir's eyes.

"The battle has only just begun, let our powers have a proper dialogue."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Radiance of the Holy Sword

After the battle began, Skadi flew into the sky to observe the changes on the battlefield.

Logically, when faced with a giant opponent hundreds or thousands of times larger than themselves, humans should be on the defensive and avoidant side. However, the current situation has completely reversed Skadi's common sense.

Despite being an opponent whom even she herself doubted she could defeat alone, Shiomi played extremely aggressively. Although he was supposed to be on the defensive, he put Fenrir in a passive position.

and--

"So what exactly... happened?"

From the moment you enter Valhalla until you reach this point, all you see is barren land, devoid of any vegetation. There's not even a speck of moss to be seen, only ice, snow, and rocks.

However, now, this land has grown trees large enough to form a forest, even if the trunks are crooked and twisted.

Because the forest seemed to possess a will, it grew in the direction that bound and entangled Fenrir.

Fenrir can cut down most of the trees with a single swing of its claws, but more branches will climb up with increasing frenzy, trapping Fenrir within them.

Skadi's runes can only revive dying lives, but cannot allow unrelated lives to grow in this barren land.

She is the goddess of ice and snow, and does not possess the power to create life.

"……power?"

Upon realizing this, Skadi was astonished and murmured the word.

Her eyes trembled slightly, but she wouldn't let Xijian disappear from her sight for a moment, staring intently at his figure.

At this moment, Shiomi was weaving through the trees, occasionally landing on Fenrir and attacking its vital parts.

These attacks caused effective damage, but none of them could kill the target instantly.

This is Fenrir's inherent strength. Even with the Holy Sword, Shiomi is not the original wielder and cannot unleash its full power in ordinary attack methods.

Even so, the situation was gradually turning in Shiomi's favor.

At this rate, the only way forward is to unleash the true name of the Holy Sword of the Stars, allowing that holy sword, which once slew the white giant that ravaged the earth millions of years ago, to slay Fenrir before them and break through this trial.

Is it someone who possesses power, or someone who is destined to become a god?

In any case, Skadi gradually came to understand what was special about this man.

No wonder even the goddess of the Holy Lance...

"So troublesome!"

Shiomi swung her sword down heavily, causing Fenrir's head to fall into the woods, where it was quickly wrapped and entangled.

Fenrir kept freezing all of this, while Shiomi kept creating it.

Whoever has the greater authority will be able to control the final outcome of this battle.

Just then, a huge ice spike fell from the sky, spinning and striking Fenrir on the back, crushing the giant wolf so that it could not get up and collapsed to the ground.

"How about I lend you a hand?" Skadi slowly lowered her floating height and asked from behind Shiomi.

He paused his attack, turned back and smiled at her: "Didn't you already make your move?"

“That’s just a flick of the finger.” Skadi chuckled to herself, then suddenly her smile vanished. “Prepare to unleash the true name of the Holy Sword. I will also use my Noble Phantasm.”

Shio was taken aback. Compared to his opponent, he was actually more concerned about what Skadi's Noble Phantasm was.

Whether they are potential future enemies or current allies, they are all aspects that need to be understood.

He leaped up, and after a few bounds, landed on a high point outside the forest, watching Fenrir destroy the ever-regenerating forest while trying to approach Shiomi.

Shiomi suddenly waved her hand, and several clones rushed out from the forest, wielding weapons to interfere with Fenrir.

That guy possesses god-level magic resistance; compared to wasting time with magic, close-quarters combat is far more threatening.

Skadi paused in the air behind and above him, arms outstretched, and began to chant slowly:

"The City of Shadows I knew nothing of, the City of Shadows I possessed. Coming from the sky, arriving here—"

The surrounding space rippled like the surface of a lake, and the presence that emerged from it startled tide Jian.

That place, deeply etched in his mind, is the very origin of his millions of years and countless journeys.

The heart of the Land of Shadows, the royal city ruled by Scáthach—the City of Shadows.

Unexpectedly, Skadi, who has infiltrated the existence of "Scáthach," possesses this Noble Phantasm.

“Gate of Skye, the gate to a realm overflowing with death, bring me victory.”

With the release of the Noble Phantasm's true name, what appeared was not a gate to the land of death that would drag all life into it, but rather the City of Shadows that contained them within.

“This is…” Shio felt the increase in her own power.

“I don’t know why I can use this Noble Phantasm. Perhaps it is a blessing from the Norse gods to me who was left behind,” Skadi said calmly. “Those who are within this Noble Phantasm and are recognized by me will receive great blessings.”

But in fact, Shiomi was already under the protection of the Noble Phantasm without even Skadi's approval.

It wasn't that she had already accepted Shio, but rather that he was loved by the master of this city.

The love from Queen Scáthach of the Land of Shadows has always protected Shiomi within the Land of Shadows.

This fact made Skadi feel a little lonely.

A fierce wind swept in, carrying a chilling killing intent. Skadi suddenly looked up and saw Fenrir summoning the winds of Niflheim once again.

With both enemies within sight, making this choice was inevitable.

“How about this!” Skadi pointed her wand at Fenrir.

The winds of the Land of Mist could not immediately engulf the two.

Despite the reduced power due to the duration of the Noble Phantasm, Skadi still felt the absolute zero cold creeping up her fingers along her wand.

This is the consequence of enduring all attacks with all one's might; if one only focuses on protecting oneself, this would not happen.

She was about to remind Xijian when she saw him already raising the holy sword.

“My name, the king’s name, the name of the holy sword. This light is the breath of the stars, the hope of victory—” Shiomi poured all her strength and magic into the holy sword, “‘Excalibur’!”

The voice he forced from the deepest part of his body called out the true name of the holy sword.

Even with the original owner's permission, Shiomi could feel her body being torn apart by the fact that she was not the chosen one using this power.

But the right to life also compensates for this burden.

Fenrir opened its massive maw and spewed out a torrent of cold magic powerful enough to freeze the entire continent of Northern Europe, clashing with the light of the holy sword.

A collision that nearly tore the heavens and earth apart.

until--

The golden light cut through the icy blue light with unstoppable force.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Goddess Bride

When breaking through Fenrir, who served as a trial, Skadi, in order to support Shiomi in unleashing the Holy Sword and destroying the giant wolf in one blow, bore the full pressure from Fenrir's power while releasing her Noble Phantasm.

Once the giant wolf was destroyed, Skadi's entire arm was corroded by the icy power, freezing her so that she could not move.

As the goddess of winter, her powers are of the same type as Fenrir's, so the one who is stronger has overwhelming power.

Even after the battle ends, the traces left by the power will not disappear. Skadi should have used rune magic to slowly heal the damage left by Fenrir.

But she didn't do that, because Shiomi was healing her from the damage caused by Fenrir's power.

Having crossed the wilderness where Fenrir was, they arrived once again at the temple built inside the mountains. Before entering, Shiomi and Skadi stopped to rest for a while.

He held Skadi's arm, and the power of spring returning to the earth wrapped around her arm, which had been frozen and unable to move. Skadi could feel her arm regaining feeling.

It's very warm.

Skadi looked at Shiomi, who was holding her hand, with a complicated expression. He lowered his eyes, remained silent, and quietly did his healing work.

He looked completely different from the man who had fought Fenrir to the death just moments before.

“What exactly is this…” Skadi felt the answer was already obvious.

“The power of life,” Shiomi said softly. “It’s something only the Earth Mother Goddess, who created countless lives on Earth, possesses. I don’t know why I’m able to come into contact with this power, even if it’s just a tiny fragment…”

"really……"

Skadi didn't find it surprising.

After all, Shiomi had already demonstrated her power in the battle against Fenrir.

The giant wolf used ice and snow to freeze and kill all life, but tide Jian awakened endless life from beneath that eternal ice and snow.

It was this power that allowed Skadi's arm to recover at a faster pace.

This is a speed and efficiency that even Rune cannot achieve.

These are powers that do not belong to the goddess Skadi.

As sensation returned to her fingers, Skadi felt the firmness and warmth emanating from Shiomi's hands, and she almost instinctively wanted to pull her hands away.

But this time the strength wasn't enough, and it couldn't completely pull away from his hands.

"Wait a little longer, it's not fully recovered yet," tide Jian reminded her with a wry smile.

“…Hmm, then let’s wait a little longer.” Skadi turned her face slightly away.

tide Jian sighed softly: "It seems you don't really like physical contact with people. I'm sorry to have put you in this situation. If I had realized it sooner, I wouldn't have taken that action."

“You don’t need to worry about it, I’m just…” Skadi turned her eyes slightly, looking at Shiomi, who was still looking down at her arm, “I’m not used to human body temperature.”

"Whether you are a human or a god, have you never come into contact with anything other than yourself?" Shio asked.

“That’s right.” Skadi nodded.

“That’s inevitable.” Shiomi smiled understandingly, slightly adjusting his posture to hold Skadi’s hand more fully. “Humans can learn what warmth is through contact with each other. This is very important; the warmth of skin is never a bad thing. I hope you remember that.”

His voice was as gentle as his power, and Skadi felt her heart race uncontrollably. She frowned and tried to maintain a distant tone as she spoke:

“I am not your master Scáthach. I was merely created as the final goddess, and I became part of the elemental goddess Scáthach, which is why I call myself Scáthach-Scáthach. You don't need to treat me the way you treat Scáthach. Now that the trials of Valhalla are over, we—”

“You’ll turn back into an enemy, right?” tide Jian shook her head, looking sincerely into her eyes. “I know, and I’ve been prepared for that. But I just can’t treat you like a stranger, so I hope that things related to you can have a proper outcome in the end.”

"proper?"

Skadi looked at her hand, but still didn't move.

Her injuries had healed, and she no longer needed to have contact with Shiomi, but she maintained this state.

"We come from different histories, and our respective worlds cannot coexist. How could you, a human who has only lived for about twenty years, possibly understand my determination as a goddess to protect this world alone for over three thousand years?"

That was her pride, and also her reserve.

As the last god in this world, protecting the remaining humans, she never gave up her mission even though this world was destined to disappear.

In Skadi's eyes, Shiomi, who looked to be only in her early twenties, was just like the people in those 100 villages, having reached the age where even if she had raised children, she should leave the village and face death.

“Of course I understand…” Shiomi looked at her and said, word by word, “I spent six thousand years with Morgan in the Lostbelt called Britain. Of course I know how much you, who carried out your mission alone, have sacrificed compared to us who supported each other.”

　 Skadi was speechless.

She suddenly realized that Shiomi, who had touched the power of life, should have an extraordinary lifespan.

But... six thousand years...

"No wonder...no wonder..."

Skadi finally understood why Odin had left behind that prophecy.

She had thought that even if Shiomi, the magician of the Age of Gods, knew how to use the Primal Runes, she could only live a few years longer than ordinary people, at most a few hundred years, before her soul could not withstand the decay of time and she would have to face the proper death.

Through his eyes, the goddess Skadi could see a soul that possessed the weight of millions of years, yet remained youthful and vibrant.

Only another god could make a goddess a bride.

Even if that person has not yet ascended to the throne of God.

"No wonder what? From the very first time we met, you've been hiding something from us. What is it—"

Skadi slowly revealed an elegant and reserved smile:

“You said you wanted to properly resolve matters concerning me. There was another thing mentioned in the prophecy left by the great god Odin.”