A magic circle manifested from the shield, enveloping Chloe's entire body. Then, her black Gothic Lolita dress transformed into gleaming silver armor. She shouted, and the shield glimmered faintly, conjuring the image of a castle enclosing her.
The surrounding soldiers grew restless, trading glances before looking to their commander. Seeing Shirou's lack of reaction, the commander signaled for the soldiers to stand down and wait.
Sigurd's demonic sword smashed against Chloe's shimmering castle walls. Web-like cracks spread across its surface before it shattered completely with a resounding crack. As the shards fell around her, cloaked in dust, Chloe took the opportunity to slip away.
The soldiers stared fiercely at Sigurd, gritting their teeth. One soldier muttered, "If the king himself used that Noble Phantasm, it definitely wouldn't have ended like that..."
Chloe had escaped, but a smile spread across Shirou's face. Using his class card to unleash even a fraction of that Noble Phantasm's power wasn't bad.
Although her success was only thanks to his authorization to use his class cards, it was still progress. Glancing at the seething soldiers around him, Shirou sighed inwardly, feeling a bit guilty for letting them witness such a sight.
After Chloe had fled, Sigurd sheathed his demonic sword and glanced wordlessly at Shirou.
A-46 had no plans to leave either. Stationing herself in the village, calculations from the Valkyrie Network showed high odds some Chaldea members still remained hidden in this village.
Later around the campfire, the indignant soldiers said to Shirou, "If that shield was summoned by you, my king, or the Third, that swordsman's demonic blade wouldn't have destroyed our Camelot..."
"Yes, yes," Shirou comforted these cute fellows with a smile. Once their emotions stabilized, he stood up and headed into the village.
Recalling their earlier words, Salter felt puzzled and turned to the soldiers. "Did Mordred have a shield Noble Phantasm?"
"Oh no," the Commander casually replied. "That was the Third's Noble Phantasm."
Salter asked curiously, "Shouldn't Mordred be the Third of the Eternal Kingdom?"
"Oh no, that's not the case."
"Then who is this 'Third' you speak of?" she was confused.
"It's King Galahad," the Commander said, his eyes dimming slightly. "While Mordred wields the sword of kingship, possesses royal blood, and is an exceptional knight... she is not our king."
"Why not?" she was puzzled, but no one seemed willing to explain.
"Let's not talk about this." the Commander shook his head.
Salter looked around to see everyone had lowered their heads, sorrow and grief written on their faces. She realized she had likely broached a taboo subject.
On the way back into the village, Sigurd called out to Shirou walking ahead. Shirou gazed back and asked, "Did you need something, Sigurd?"
"That girl from Chaldea - you know her, yes, Eternal King?"
He nodded, smiling. "We have a bit of history."
"I suspected as much, since she could use your class card. I thought I was facing another you - it made my heart skip, and I can't help but expect to lose the battle."
"You overthink, Sigurd. I'm a support Heroic Spirit, nowhere near as powerful as you," Shirou dismissed.
"Is that so? Why does facing you make me sense the end of my life itself, then?" Sigurd asked pointedly.
Shirou smiled disarmingly. "Just an illusion, I assure you. Besides, as we both serve Lady Hel, why would we ever oppose one another?"
"A fair point," Sigurd chuckled and left.
Shirou watched Sigurd's departing back. The smile on his face gradually faded away. He returned to the house allocated to him in the village.
With a "creak" sound, Shirou pushed the door open and gazed inside. He couldn't help but stare blankly at the sight.
He saw Chloe sitting on his bed, swinging her legs while waving to him: "Yo onii-chan. Good evening!"
Looking at her cheery smile, he responded drily, "So you just let yourself in, hmm? This would be the perfect chance for me to restrain and deliver you to the great Lady Hel." As he spoke, he approached her.
However, Chloe didn't seem nervous at all. Instead, she laughed, "Oh come on, don't keep pretending, onii-chan! Even though we haven't seen each other in years, this whole villain act just doesn't suit you!"
Still laughing, she didn't put up any resistance when Shirou tied her up. He made sure she was properly bound and said coldly, "I will be offering you as a sacrifice to Lady Hel."
"Sure! Go right ahead then!" She responded, still smiling.
Shirou dragged her towards A-46's room.
"Wait wait, I changed my mind onii-chan!"
Seeing that he truly intended to offer her to Hel, Chloe began to panic. However, he ignored her pleas and brought her directly to A-46.
Even an artificial intelligence like A-46 couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when Chloe was delivered to her doorstep. She turned stiffly to Shirou and asked, "Eternal King, did she really just show up here herself?"
Shirou nodded, "Right, she came knocking on our door all on her own."
A bunch of veins popped up on Chloe's forehead. She tried to curse and rage at Shirou, "I can't believe it... Throughout all of human history, you..." But before Chloe could finish, Shirou promptly sealed her mouth shut with duct tape.
"Wonderful. This is wonderful. I must inform Lady Hel about this right away. She will surely praise you, Eternal King." A-46 said.
"No problem, happy to help," he replied with a smile.
Chloe struggled furiously, tears of regret streaming down her face. She had made such a stupid mistake, trusting that Shirou had not been altered or controlled by Hel, believing he was on Chaldea's side. Then she had delivered herself right to him without any wariness. It was utterly retarded.
She really cried from anger at her own idiocy. But regrets were useless now. Shirou had already offered her up to Hel. I'm sorry, Director, Chloe cried in her heart.
When news came that the Eternal King had truly captured someone from Chaldea, Hel, seated on her divine throne, began to doubt her previous judgment of him. She had thought Shirou harbored dissent in his heart, and had only submitted to her under duress. She believed he wouldn't capture Chaldeans - that he was just trying to protect himself somewhat by going along with her. But now he had actually caught a Chaldean, which made Hel question her own assessment.
"Could I have been overthinking this?" Hel doubted herself, feeling somewhat apologetic toward Shirou. Perhaps she had been too suspicious of him.
But could Alterization truly influence someone so greatly? Even the legendary Eternal King, famed throughout human history, would have such a drastic change in character that he submitted to me? She felt puzzled inwardly.
At that moment, Adam entered the hall. He addressed Hel respectfully, "Lady Hel, the magic circles have been set up beneath Asgard, as you requested."
"Excellent!" She set aside her thoughts about Shirou, her face lighting up joyfully as she stood. "With this, Asgard will be the first to welcome the arrival of spring!"
She gazed at Adam with satisfaction. Although she harbored some lingering suspicions about Eternal King's loyalty, she didn't doubt Adam at all. Indeed, this earnest, hardworking yet naive Adam gave her tremendous peace of mind.
"Well done, Adam!" She praised.
Adam began to slowly withdraw.
"Wait a moment," Hel called, stopping him. She then handed him a jug of wine. "This is Asgardian nectar, Asgard's finest product. Be sure to savor it properly."
Adam happily accepted the nectar and then withdrew.
Hel smiled. Naive people had such simple hearts, so unsuspecting, easy for her to control. She sat back on her throne, slender fingers tapping the armrests rhythmically - she was clearly in an good mood. With the Eternal King's loyalty no longer in question, she could now focus completely on her own goals.
Sitting atop her divine throne, she tilted her head up slightly, gazing at the hazy skies with anticipation.
She wasn't far from freedom now.