IBHJ Chapter 763

"The Valkyrie's oath lost its meaning two thousand years ago... Make your move, Ortlinde. Either you kill us, or we kill you. Life or death, it all comes down to our own abilities!"

Hildr gripped her spear tightly, her knuckles turning white as she shifted her stance. With a powerful kick against the ground, she rushed towards Ortlinde, her spear aimed directly at her sister's heart. The spear charged forward with incredible speed, the air whistling around its tip.

Ortlinde gritted her teeth, her face a mask of determination as she fought alone against her sisters. She parried Hildr's spear with a deft move of her own weapon, the clash of metal ringing out across the tunnels. Sweat beaded on her brow as she spun and dodged, trying to find an opening to strike back against the relentless assault.

At this point, any remnants of sisterly affection had been completely severed, the bonds between them shattered like the Valkyrie's oath they had once sworn. Life or death, the outcome would be decided by their own strength and the sharpness of their blades.

As the battle raged on, Shirou, with Skadi on his back, made his way directly towards the teleportation circle.

"Wait a moment, Eternal King. Ortlinde's not with us," Skadi reminded him as he carried her towards their escape.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. The important thing is getting you out of here," Shirou replied, not breaking his stride.

Skadi gave a small nod, understanding the situation. With the Valkyrie's oath preventing them from killing each other, even if Thrud and Hildr caught Ortlinde, they wouldn't end her life. At worst, they'd imprison her. Besides, Hel and the Beast were more focused on capturing Skadi and Eternal King anyway.

Skadi knew that in her weakened state, she stood no chance against Hel, let alone the Beast. She had lost most of her power, and although still formidable, she was no longer the all-powerful being she once was, capable of suppressing the entire world and effortlessly capturing the Beast.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you something, Skadi. I hope you don't mind," he said as they ran.

"What is it?"

"Why did you possess Scathach's body? And what happened to her?" Shirou's voice was filled with concern. He had tried to summon Scathach using his Noble Phantasm before, but it had failed, even though he could summon the others. Seeing Skadi with the same body and face as Scathach, along with the strange feeling he got from her, made him worry that something had happened to Scathach.

Skadi replied calmly, "I suppose there's no reason to keep it from you. About thirteen years ago, she answered my summons and allowed me to use her body. Her soul and consciousness are still within me, sleeping."

"But why did you need to borrow her body?"

"My own body had been destroyed by someone. If I didn't find a vessel quickly, I wouldn't have been able to maintain my existence in this world and would have faded away. Scathach responded to my summons. She's a kind person..." she explained.

Shirou smiled. "That she is."

He then turned to her, "But aren't you also a kind person? To be honest, I really can't wrap my head around it. Humans and Gods are two completely different beings, but you went and fed your divinity to humans. It's like cutting off your own flesh to feed others. It's really hard to comprehend."

He found Skadi's thoughts and actions truly incomprehensible. While there were indeed myths of Gods cutting their flesh, for a God to actually do this was unimaginable. It was like an ancient king or emperor cutting their own flesh to feed disaster-stricken commoners, which was simply unthinkable.

Skadi remained silent. If she wanted to do something, she just did it. Why would she need a reason?

Seeing that she wasn't going to answer, he didn't push the matter further. It was just a question born out of curiosity. If she didn't want to talk about it, that was fine. Up ahead, the Valkyries were gathering around the tunnel, making it hard to break through.

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed through the air as an explosion went off at Valhalla, the Valkyries' base of operations. The headquarters had been bombed, instantly grabbing the attention of the Valkyries, who spun around and raced towards their besieged base.

Shirou seized the opportunity to make his escape, darting straight for the teleportation circle hidden in the underground tunnel. The place was located beneath the Great Temple, a Golden Palace where the Norse Gods once held their meetings.

A sneer crossed Shirou's face as he realized that Svadilfari had indeed harbored ill intentions by placing a teleportation circle leading outside in the Golden Palace. If no major incidents had occurred, the Giants would have been able to use this teleportation circle to sneak into the heart of Asgard.

His heart swelled with joy as he gazed at the dust-covered magic circle in the distance. All he had to do was step into that circle and infuse it with mana, and he'd be teleported out of this place.

Just as he was about to make his move, a glowing pale hand suddenly tore through space, reaching out to grab him.

Instinctively, he leaped backward, narrowly dodging the familiar hand. He looked up at the source of the hand, and he couldn't help but frown. The Beast and Svadilfari were staring right at him.

"Well, well, I had a feeling you'd show up here, Mr. Assassin," Demonic Boddhisatva said with a chuckle.

Shirou let out a heavy sigh. "You're way too clingy for your own good."

"Can you blame me? You're just too irresistible, making it impossible not to be tempted. It's only natural for me to be so obsessed with you. After all, I can't let go of a man who makes my heart flutter like this." Her face flushed, and she flashed him a charming smile, her eyes glistening with emotion.

He saw through her blatant advances and responded coldly, "Fool me once, shame on you. But now you're just underestimating my intelligence. If you really wanted to get your hands on me, you would've done it a long time ago. There's no way you'd wait until now. You're trying to capture me for some other reason, aren't you?"

Upon hearing this, the smile on her face slowly faded. "You're truly remarkable, Mr. Assassin. Most people only see me as a pervert, but you managed to see right through me."

"What's your real reason for being so obsessed with me?" Shirou stared intently at her, demanding an answer.

"That's something you'll have to figure out yourself. That lost soul... The Council is offering a hefty price for it," she said with a smile.

Lost soul? Shirou frowned, his mind racing. What could he have possibly done in the past that would make the Council put such a high bounty on his soul? And why were they after his soul in the first place?

She smiled, "Although this kind of bounty mission deviates from my current plan, the price the Council's offering is just too good to pass up. Since we've crossed paths here, I might as well make some extra money."

"Enough of that. What lost soul? Stop spouting nonsense!" He said coldly.

The Demonic Bodhisattva looked at him as if she had just discovered a new continent. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity as she asked, "Could it be that you haven't realized how unique your existence is? Every time a world in Pan-Human History is destroyed, you're born again in a new one. It's like you're going through countless cycles of reincarnation."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "No, actually, it's more accurate to describe it as a 'reset,' don't you think? After all, you're still you. Everything you've experienced is etched into your very being, and only your emotions and memories are reset each time. It's almost like those Homunculi puppets, dying and being reborn over and over again. The only difference is that you manage to retain your sense of self, while they've already lost theirs."

"Meaningless lies," he said coldly.

"You don't believe me? Haven't you ever had any strange dreams about yourself, Mr. Assassin? Or have you ever felt a sense of déjà vu while doing something for the first time, as if you've done it before?" The Demonic Bodhisattva asked, her eyes glinting with curiosity.

Shirou's mind suddenly flashed to his strange dream about Scathach.

No, it couldn't be...