Fate: I Will Eventually Become the Hero of Justice

Sigurd was powerful, though far below Eternal King's level, but still quite formidable - at least in dealing with these Valkyries, he seemed extremely at ease.

But there was a question on Shirou's mind. Earlier, Adam had mentioned being summoned alongside a Saber named Sigurd. If this was the same Sigurd...would Adam be here as well?

More importantly, how did Alter Sigurd enter Asgard under Skadi's watch, and even reach Valhalla? Shirou glanced over at Salter beside him. The answer was clear - Asgard had been infiltrated by enemies with a method of entry that even Skadi didn't know about. Salter had simply hitched a ride unknowingly with them into Asgard!

Inside Valhalla, Sigurd had dealt with the Valkyries trying to obstruct him. He didn't hold back, but he avoided killing them. After neutralizing them, he slowly walked towards the furnace.

The green-haired Valkyrie staggered to her feet. Though her expression was blank, she stood firmly in Sigurd's path.

Sigurd frowned. "Get out of the way. I'm not interested in consumables!"

"Defend Valhalla!"

"The gods may be gone, but it seems the Valkyries' curse still plagues Asgard," Sigurd scoffed coldly.

"Alert sent to Valkyrie Network. Backup is coming. You cannot invade Valhalla." The green-haired Valkyrie said tonelessly.

"You think I'm the only invader?" Sigurd retorted. "Naive as always, Valkyrie!"

As he finished speaking, a loud boom sounded. Flames flashed in Valhalla's windows, illuminating Sigurd's and the Valkyrie's faces.

Hearing the explosion, Salter turned to Shirou in surprise. "Eternal King..."

"Ah..." He nodded, absently stroking his chin. "As expected - enemies have invaded Asgard."

"But how? Didn't Hildr guard the entrance?"

"If you could sneak in, others can too. Also..."

He stroked his chin again.

"Also what?" she pressed.

"Oh, nothing." He shook his head.

Salter puffed her cheeks unhappily. He had clearly realized something but refused to tell her!

Glancing at Salter's puffed cheeks, Shirou looked away.

And also...this aura of black mud - it should be Adam?

His gaze penetrated the window, as if seeing into the outside world. From the previous explosion, he had sensed it - the black mud within him had reacted.

Other than Ritsuka, the only one who could elicit such a reaction was Adam.

"You test my patience, Valkyrie," Sigurd said coldly. "I cannot tolerate this hatred and sorrow. So hate me!"

Beneath his black-framed glasses, his eyes emitted a terrifying chill.

"This is bad," Shirou said with arms crossed. "He's getting serious."

Salter raised her sword with a solemn expression. "I'll stop him!"

But before she could move, a hand grabbed her braid from behind.

"Ow!" She winced, covering her hair protectively before spinning around to glare at him. "What was that for?"

Shirou sighed, arms still crossed. "I should ask what you were about to do - charging out would expose us."

"So we just watch them die?" she retorted.

"Isn't that common in war?"

She nodded. "It's expected in war. I've done something similar to protect my people, knowing it meant harming others. A king bears that heavy responsibility. But don't we stand with Asgard now?"

"My stand is with Chaldea," he said, closing an eye. "If we expose ourselves, Skadi will turn on us after."

"How could that be? We're helping Asgard..."

He interrupted, "As a king, would you allow unpredictable factors in Camelot?"

"If they aided the kingdom..."

"Let me rephrase then. As a king, would you allow elements that could destroy Camelot to remain?"

Hearing this, she opened and closed her mouth wordlessly.

"Do you see now why I stopped you?" he asked gently.

"I...I understand..." She lowered her head slightly. "As expected, I still don't understand people's hearts."

"Well, not exactly. On the contrary, I find this side of you quite cute."

Salter raised her head and glared at him angrily. "Cute? Eternal King, are you trying to insult me like Gilgamesh did?"

"No, I mean it sincerely. Isn't someone as sincere as you cute? But..." He smiled slightly, then stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers.

...

"Die and be destroyed with Valhalla!" Sigurd roared loudly. His demonic sword flared with intense mana, emitting an ominous deep blue glow. He slashed the sword fiercely toward the green-haired Valkyrie.

It was clear he no longer intended to hold back. Or rather, it was already quite rare for an Alter to still retain any intention of holding back. 

Sigurd's demonic blade radiated intense mana that was visible to the naked eye, causing the very air to tremble. This strike was meant to take the Valkyrie's life with full certainty that she couldn't block it.

However, just before the demonic sword struck, there was the faint "snap" of a finger being snapped. Though extremely soft, Sigurd caught the sound with his sharp hearing.

He didn't know which Valkyrie had made it. But it was meaningless - he would kill this one and then destroy Valhalla.

Yet suddenly, the green-haired Valkyrie erupted with a horrifying aura. With a sharp "clang," her horizontally-placed spear managed to block Sigurd's deadly strike.

It was far more than a simple block - Sigurd smelled something strange in the Valkyrie's aura. Something that was...his natural enemy!

How was this possible? The thought had just formed when Sigurd suddenly retreated several steps back, eyeing the green-haired Valkyrie with astonishment and uncertainty.

The Valkyrie tilted her head: "?"

"She actually blocked it?" Salter looked astonished. She turned to Shirou, unable to stop herself from asking, "What did you do?"

"What did I do?" He smiled. "Don't you know already? Compared to a warrior, I'm better at support."

Recalling their previous war in Romania, she understood. "You amplified her power?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"But the difference between them is too great! Just relying on your amplifications from before, she shouldn't be able to overpower him."

"For a normal buff, yes. But with natural enemies, it's different." He smiled knowingly. "To deal with divinity, use God Slayer. And to deal with Dragon..."

"D-Don't tell me... Dragon slayer...!"

Looking at his smile, she couldn't help but say, "I remember you said in Romania you can only amplify skills you already have. And last time, you showed over seven skills, right? Now you have Dragon Slayer too? Just how many skills do you have?!"

"Well, do you get bored enough to count the hairs on your head?" he chuckled.

This guy...! She was at a loss for words.

Seeing Salter speechless, he scratched his head, a bit sheepish. "Actually there's not that many...at least over a hundred kinds."

"At least?!"

"Mm. But it keeps increasing...Don't worry though, I only use a few regularly." He smiled reassuringly.

I'd rather you not say that! 

Salter felt like crying. The more time she spent with him, the more unattainable her goal seemed. It wasn't that she was inadequate, but he was just too much of a monster!

Noticing Salter's dejection, he smiled.

He did that on purpose.. Otherwise, this girl would definitely try copying his answers in her notebook again!