IBHJ Chapter 768

Shirou carried Skadi on his back as he returned to the Chaldea mountain base. People were thrilled to see her. "Great, Lady Skadi is here!" "Lady Skadi is safe and sound, that's wonderful news!"

Everyone was overjoyed to see Shirou bring Skadi back, but their reactions were mixed. Some people couldn't stand her, thinking of her as nothing more than an Ice Witch, while others practically worshipped her as their Goddess. Most of the people at the base acknowledged Skadi, though, and recognized her importance because they knew how crucial it was to have options during these difficult times.

As Shirou carried Skadi, he asked, "Can you fix this? Her hands and feet are all messed up. Can you heal her?"

"Of course."

Unlike Morgan le Fay, Morrigan had this really soft and easy-to-bully vibe about her, but at the same time, she also had a deep appreciation for life and was known throughout Chaldea as a talented healer.

Suddenly, Brynhildr approached Shirou, her face etched with worry. "Brother?"

Hearing this, he was caught off guard and looked at Brynhildr with confusion on his face. Illya quickly stepped in to stop Brynhildr with one hand, while the other awkwardly explained to him, "Don't worry about it. She does this all the time, even called Jeanne 'sister' back in Chaldea. It's just one of her quirks."

Shirou gave them a weird look but ultimately nodded in acceptance. It wasn't like it was the strangest thing he'd seen. From a normal person's perspective, she was a yandere head over heels in love with a twisted idea of love, so sometimes the way she acted seemed pretty bizarre to onlookers.

"What about Sigurd? Why haven't I seen him? He must understand my feelings by now," Brynhildr said, her voice laced with anxiety and exhaustion. "He better not have left on his own! How could he? I haven't killed him yet."

Shirou thought to himself that it was indeed wise to keep his distance from this type of yandere. Seeing Brynhildr's behavior, he couldn't help but want to avoid interacting with her if possible. As he watched her sink into despair over not being able to kill Sigurd, he spoke up in an attempt to comfort her, "Don't worry. He's already escaped and is on his way here."

This wasn't a lie. Shirou had been in contact with Sigurd earlier. With some unexpected assistance, Sigurd had informed him that he'd also managed to escape and was currently making his way to their location.

"That's really wonderful," Brynhildr said, breathing a sigh of relief. She then started thinking about how she could better show Sigurd how much she loved him.

As Brynhildr got lost in her own thoughts, Shirou smiled to himself. He absentmindedly rubbed the back of his hand before glancing over at Illya beside him. "Illya, do we have any fruits left?"

"Well, there are still some left. Why do you ask? Saber was supposed to be keeping an eye on them."

Shirou: "..."

He was speechless. Wasn't this the same as letting a fox guard the henhouse? Sure, Saber had a big appetite, but as an alternate version of Artoria and an Alter, she might be more cold and distant, which could mean she definitely wouldn't eat the villagers' last remaining stockpile of food. Then again, being an Alter also meant she could do whatever she wanted and eat the fruits anyway.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she won't eat the villagers' food. Remember, she's an Alter..." Shirou said with a smile, but he couldn't hide his flustered expression, causing Illya to become flustered as well. Before they knew it, the two of them were rushing to the warehouse.

When they arrived, they saw Salter drooling uncontrollably, her mouth watering as she kept swallowing. Despite her obvious desire, she hadn't touched the fruits. Her eyes were glued to the delicious fruits in front of her as she paced back and forth.

"I can't believe this is happening! Just because I'm an Alter doesn't mean I'm not still myself. I'm so angry I really want beat you..." Salter was furious when she found out that Shirou and Illya had doubted her and thought she would eat the fruits. She was seething, leaving Shirou and Illya with no choice but to apologize over and over again.

"Hmph, I'll let you off the hook this time," Salter said, pardoning them. Of course, this was also because no matter if they were in Northern Europe or Romania, she had received a lot of care from Shirou and couldn't really stay mad at him.

As Shirou picked up a fruit from the pile, Salter raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought you hated this fruit and found it disgusting. How come you're now drooling over this delicious treat? Can't resist anymore, huh?"

He gave her a sideways glance. "I'm not like you, who can be happy just by eating something."

"I usually have this weird dream whenever I eat this fruit. That's why I've been avoiding it. But now, I want to explore that dreamscape and see what I can find," Shirou explained with a bitter smile. "After I eat this and fall asleep, don't bother me unless it's something important, okay?"

Illya and Salter nodded. Shirou picked up the fruit, ready to take a bite, but halfway through, he hesitated. His gaze shifted between Salter and Illya for a moment before finally settling on Salter.

"What's wrong? Why are you staring at me?" Salter asked, puzzled by his behavior.

"I don't think I want to eat it myself," Shirou confessed. "Here, you do it. Make me eat it."

Salter: "..."

She stared at him blankly.

"Come on, hurry," he urged her.

Left with no choice, Salter picked up the fruit. As she moved to feed it to him, a strange sensation washed over her. She felt an odd mix of shyness and hesitation, but before she could make sense of it, he had already half-forcibly swallowed the fruit.

"Remember, don't disturb me unless it's something important," he reminded them again, and they both nodded. Shirou found a clean spot to lie down and closed his eyes. Even though he'd initially been reluctant to experience the strange dream, he now found himself eager to enter the dreamscape as quickly as possible.

He couldn't get the Beast's words out of his head—the idea that he was similar to those Valkyries. The only thing setting him apart was that he still held onto his sense of self, while they'd lost theirs from constantly dying and being reborn. The more he thought about it, the more it bothered him. He absently rubbed the back of his right hand, where his Command Spell was hidden beneath his gauntlet. That's why he had to return to the dreamscape. There was something he desperately needed to confirm!

...

"What do you know about 'reset'?" God King asked.

"What are you talking about?" Shirou frowned.

"Hmm... this is something you shouldn't know at this point," Odin frowned, eyeing him curiously. "Looks like in countless resets, a Lost Soul will always be bound by causality..."

Shirou frowned, a sudden feeling of unease washing over him as Odin brought up the resets. The bizarre nightmare that had been plaguing him flashed through his mind, more vivid than ever. Before, the meaning of these dreams had always eluded him, but it all started to make sense now, especially after Odin started explaining about it. According to him, it was like a tree's main branch—when it grew too long, the gardener would cut it off and nurture a new one in its place. Shirou's bizarre nightmares were the cut branches, discarded remnants of a world that had been pruned away. As a transmigrator, he was familiar with these terms.

Well, he had a general idea of his current situation, but the more pressing matter was how to deal with this nightmare that was trying to drive him insane. Shirou frowned, "Since you were pretending to be the Mother of Mifune, does that mean you're the one who killed her?"

Odin's expression turned regretful as he shook his head. "No, she was killed by a Calamity..."

Scathach's brow furrowed. "Are you talking about a Beast? The Evil of Humanity?"

With a heavy nod, Odin confirmed her suspicions. "Yes, that old woman with precognition was killed by the Beast. Not only that, but the Beast is also the one connecting my pruned world with the Pan-Human History."

Shirou and Scathach felt their hearts sink at the revelation. Whether it was the Celtic Queen of the Land of Shadows or Shirou himself, they both knew the gravity of the situation when it came to the Beasts. Among them were unimaginably powerful enemies, including cosmic-level threats that didn't take Servants seriously.

Odin noticed their reactions and tried to ease their concerns. "There's no need to be so alarmed. It's also the reason I appeared here," he explained. "You'll inevitably encounter them sooner or later. But before that, what you need to be more wary of right now aren't those Beasts, but the giants that will rush into this world!"