IBHJ Chapter 799

"Phantasm Summon: King Hassan!" As the class card activated, Chloe's red attire instantly transformed into the skeletal armor of a sword master. Her eyes glowing red, she stepped forward swiftly, swinging the sword in her hand.

Jörmungandr let out a long howl, lowering its head to glare at the mortal who had injured it, eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty light.

Suddenly, on its massive serpentine body that had broken free from the ice, the semicircular scales flipped open, revealing countless tiny holes, similar to a fly's compound eyes, densely packed enough to terrify someone with trypophobia. With a "whoosh," icy blue gas spewed out from the holes, forming a patch of icy blue nebula that rapidly spread in all directions.

Brynhildr took one look and was horrified. "It's Jörmungandr's poison! Run, Master! Even gods can't withstand that poison!"

She shouted, but when she turned her head, Illya and Chloe had already sprinted far away. In their line of work, who hadn't armed their brain with knowledge and common sense? Who didn't know the legends and myths of various countries and regions inside out? Jörmungandr's poison could easily poison and kill even the mightiest Norse war god. Of course they ran!

"So disloyal, Master!" Brynhildr cried as she ran quickly. Her Master had no feelings! Okay, just kidding! In reality, Brynhildr was a few beats slower. Illya planned to run far away and then use a Command Spell to summon Brynhildr if her servant couldn't avoid the poison.

Seeing Illya and the others flee, Jörmungandr's eyes flashed with a faint light, unwilling to let its prey escape so easily. The giant serpent's body pulsed with terrifying mana, brewing a devastating attack within its very being.

In the next moment, a thunderous "boom" shook the air as two beams of black light erupted from Jörmungandr's eyes, streaking towards Illya and the others with blinding speed. Illya's heart sank as she realized the imminent danger, her mind crying out, "Not good."

With a movement of her mind, Illya commanded the Hebrew runes surrounding her to surge upward, their light flashing and pulsing as they began to form a massive illusory temple in the path of the oncoming black beam. The ethereal structure shimmered and wavered, a last-ditch effort to intercept the deadly beams.

Another deafening "boom" rent the air as the black beam collided with the illusory temple, piercing through its translucent walls with terrifying ease and shot towards them.

"Chloe!" Illya shouted.

"I know." Chloe twisted her heel, spinning her body. Facing the oncoming black beam, a faint light flashed in her eyes. In a fluid motion, she raised her sword to meet the attack head-on, the blade emanating an otherworldly gleam.

As matter and energy collided, the outcome should have been obvious, the sheer force of the impact enough to obliterate anything in its path. But somehow, Chloe's sword seemed to have sliced right through the very fabric of reality.

To everyone's amazement, the black beam that had shot out with such destructive power suddenly vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed at all. Even Jörmungandr seemed stunned by this unexpected turn of events, its massive form momentarily frozen in shock. Seizing this opportunity, Illya and the others hurriedly ran away as the pale blue, highly toxic fog drifted closer.

"Can't you just 'kill' that poisonous fog, Chloe?" Illya asked anxiously.

"No can do. Hassan's death only targets individuals. Me being able to 'kill' that beam is already stretching it," Chloe replied, her words rushed.

"What about Shiki's?"

"Nope. Her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception might be able to kill the fog, but the version recorded on the Class Card isn't nearly as powerful. It just can't match up to the original. That's the downside of Class Cards." Chloe said helplessly.

Illya was at a loss for words. All she could do was keep running. If that poisonous fog, capable of killing even gods, caught up to them, it would be game over. And she definitely didn't want to end up as a Heroic Spirit! The thought of being summoned by Miyu in that state was just too embarrassing to bear!

"Why don't we let her handle this?"

"You mean Sitonai? Okay, let's have her deal with the aftermath. But you know how she gets whenever we wake her up to deal with these messes. I just hope she doesn't lose her temper this time. But anyway, let's bring her out first!"

Illya and Chloe decided to summon Sitonai. Or rather, the true Illya. After the Fourth Holy Grail War, Emiya Kiritsugu had sent the real Illya to Aozaki Touko at the cost of the Emiya family's Magic Crest. Her personality was split, giving birth to the current Illya and Chloe. As for why they referred to that original, complete personality as Sitonai, it was because she was created by combining multiple Norse goddesses and was sleeping within their bodies. Their situation was somewhat similar to the three-in-one personality of [Ryougi Shiki], [Shiki], and [SHIKI]. But unlike Ryougi Shiki, Illya and Chloe were separated from one body and became two individuals.

To bring out Sitonai, the only way was for the two of them to merge their minds and wake her up. Sitonai was the original, complete Illya. Like Skadi, she had multiple Norse divinities and was also a Holy Grail, giving her an immense amount of mana and making her incredibly powerful. So, over the years, whenever Illya and Chloe, as the Master of Chaldea, ran into trouble they couldn't handle, they would summon Sitonai.

But maybe because she was always treated like a convenient tool, Sitonai had been in a bit of a bad mood lately. Last time, when they summoned her at the gate of Muspelheim to face the Fire Giants, after repelling them, she had fiercely scolded Illya and Chloe before going back to sleep inside their bodies. So, Illya and Chloe had been somewhat afraid of Sitonai lately. But given the situation, they didn't have much choice. They had to summon her.

Just as Illya and Chloe were about to reveal their trump card and manifest Sitonai, a dazzling starlight suddenly shone in the distance.

"Shine, Rhongomyniad!"

From afar, a brilliant starlight rushed over like a meteor, its trajectory locked onto Jörmungandr. The serpent, momentarily distracted by the new threat, turned its massive head towards the approaching light. Illya and Chloe watched in awe as the starlight closed the distance.

With a deafening boom, the starlight collided with Jörmungandr's scaly hide. The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air, causing the ground to tremble beneath their feet. Jörmungandr let out a wail, its body recoiling from the devastating blow.

"Thank goodness you're all okay." A relieved voice sounded in their ears. Illya and Chloe turned to see Shirou holding the holy lance Rhongomyniad, walking over with measured steps.

"Shirou-niisan!" "Oniichan!"

Illya and Chloe called out to him, and Shirou had a smile on his face. But when Brynhildr also called him "Oniichan," Shirou suddenly felt his heart twitch.

"Please don't joke around like that, Brynhildr. My heart can't handle it," he said, rubbing his chest and giving Brynhildr a helpless look.

"Huh? Why?" Brynhildr was confused.

Patting Illya's shoulder, he said, "You guys go on ahead. Leave this place to me."

"No, nissan," Illya shook her head and pointed to the poisonous fog surrounding Jörmungandr. "We should stick together. You won't be able to get past that poisonous fog on your own."

Shirou remained silent. With a reassuring pat on her shoulder, he strode forward.

"Wait, niisan!" Illya cried out, her voice filled with concern. "That poisonous fog is Jörmungandr's poison! It's known as one of the few god-slaying poisons in all mythologies! It's not just some third-rate minor gods that have fallen victim to it, but major gods too! In terms of attack power, it's the strongest..."

Halfway through her warning, Illya suddenly fell silent, stunned. She wasn't alone in her shock; Chloe, Brynhildr, and even Jörmungandr itself wore similar looks of disbelief on their faces. Shirou had fearlessly stepped into the god-slaying poisonous fog, yet he was unscathed. Even more incredible was the sacred rainbow light emanating from his body, which seemed to disperse the poisonous fog surrounding him.

"How... how is this possible?" Brynhildr stammered, her face filled with surprise. "To freely move through Jörmungandr's poisonous fog, even Odin himself couldn't accomplish such a feat." A smile slowly spread across her face as she added, "As expected of oniichan!"

Shirou alone knew that this wasn't his own ability. If he relied on his own strength and entered this poisonous fog, even with [Indomitable Will], he would undoubtedly be poisoned to death. This was a highly toxic poison that even Thor couldn't resist. It was one of the few extremely potent poisons not only in Norse mythology but in world mythology as a whole!

Yet Shirou could easily pass through this poisonous fog and even disperse it.

It wasn't due to anything else, but because of a goddess's concern for him, so she blessed him...

[Skadi's Blessing - Baldr: Dispel all negative states with the exception of Primordial Curses!]