Earlier.
"My resolve is firm—my shadow strikes with the sword!"
Sakura's fingers traced through the void, leaving behind a fleeting flash of light.
A shadowy figure materialized from the Imaginary Numbers space, transforming into a weapon-wielding demon that counterattacked, forcing back the twin Servants who had closed in.
Seizing the moment, Baobhan Sith caught the recoiling Spell Tome with one hand. Its pages fluttered rapidly before freezing on a specific page.
"The surging true intent summons the dewdrop of misfortune! 『Tidal Surge』!"
Channeling magical energy, the prepared Magecraft formula materialized as tangible tidal waves emerging from the void. They engulfed the ice-covered land, sweeping the twin Servants into their grasp and forcing them to wield their weapons against the abrupt surge.
"Not enough!"
Sakura drew her wand from Imaginary Numbers. She exchanged a glance with Baobhan Sith, and together they unleashed a freezing Magecraft. The surging tidal wave froze instantly, its churning spray solidifying into a vast expanse of ice that trapped the twin Servants' movements.
Yet they knew well that against Servants possessing superior Magic Resistance, the lethality of Magecraft was drastically reduced.
Thus, this merely temporarily delayed Saber and her two companions.
"Caren! What's the situation at Valhalla? Any news about Dad?" Seizing this moment, she relayed her inquiry to Caren, who remained on the bridge providing intelligence support.
"Nothing," Caren replied. "The Doctor's been monitoring the radar over that area, but Valhalla's gates still haven't opened."
"I see." Sakura could only conclude that her Father was being held back by some trial within Valhalla.
For now, more pressing matters demanded her attention.
Half a month had passed since Shiomi entered Valhalla.
Valhalla was originally established by Odin to receive the souls of fallen warriors, training and entertaining them within its halls in preparation for Ragnarök.
Consequently, time flowed differently inside compared to the outside world, progressing much more slowly.
Accompanied by Skadi, Shiomi had entered Valhalla to undergo the trials left by Odin. To him, the experience felt like no more than a day.
Outside, however, time had passed differently.
After waiting a day and night in Valhalla, when the Storm Border approached the royal city, Morgan and the others deduced the time discrepancy and temporarily returned to the warship to wait.
Yet just half a day ago, the Crypter and the Alien Apostles launched an assault on the Storm Border.
Now, outside Skadi's royal city, the landscape had transformed into a battlefield.
Sakura gazed upon the flames burning across the frozen land, and upon that flaming giant—surrounded by Morgan and the others, yet beyond their control.
Surtr.
The other soul concealed within Saber-Sigurd's Spirit Origin—Ophelia—had infiltrated Ophelia's Servant summoning procedure. It seized control of the dragon-slaying hero, the flame giant bound by this very Spirit Origin.
As the vanguard Servant, Surtr deceived his own Master. Exploiting their inferiority against Morgan's group, he allowed Scáthach's magic spear to pierce Sigurd's Spirit Core within the Spirit Origin. Thus freed from his bonds, he manifested in his true form within the Scandinavian Lostbelt.
Unlike Ivan the Terrible in the Russian Lostbelt.
Surtr possessed not only a colossal form exceeding a thousand meters in height, but also the divine power to manipulate flames, wielding the world-altering Noble Phantasm named Laevatein.
Even Morgan and her two companions combined could only stave off Surtr's advances, unable to swiftly eliminate him.
Moreover, other Servants were present here.
Caenis was locked in combat with Barghest, while the Twin Sabers charged directly at the battleship, intent on destroying their headquarters.
Under Melusine's guidance, Mash and Gray engaged Rasputin and the Nameless One in battle near the battleship.
"The Twin Sabers are coming out. Prepare to fight," Sakura warned Baobhan Sith.
Yet a chill suddenly shot up Baobhan Sith's spine.
Always be aware of your surroundings.
Remembering her father's teachings, Baobhan Sith reflexively shoved Sakura aside and threw her body in front of her.
Bang—! The sound of a sniper bullet striking armored steel rang out. Melusine raised her twin swords and blocked the shot aimed at the two girls.
"Miss Melusine?" Sakura froze for a moment.
Though the battle zones weren't far apart, Melusine still had the energy to keep an eye on this side... or rather, it was because she had been watching the situation here that the other side was stuck in such a deadlock.
"I knew something was off. It felt like something was missing. Hiding in the shadows, waiting to snipe an easy target..."
Peering through the gap between her swords, Melusine saw Koyanskaya stowing away her sniper rifle.
"Mash, Gray, I will leave this to you two. I'm going after that Servant!"
Before her words had even faded, Melusine launched herself forward like a cannonball, charging toward Koyanskaya, who was hundreds of meters away.
However, her advance was interrupted by a rocket coming toward her, forcing her to crash back to the ground in a fiery explosion. Rasputin, who had pulled a rocket launcher out from somewhere, had predicted Melusine's movement and fired. Though it didn't cause any direct damage, it disrupted her actions, giving Koyanskaya the time she needed to relocate.
Within moments, she vanished from Chaldea's sight, hiding again to prepare for her next sniping opportunity.
"Have you always been fighting battles of this intensity?" Touko Aozaki jumped down from the deck.
Then, a torrential downpour of magic bullets rained down, overwhelming the Twin Sabers, as well as Rasputin and the Nameless One, who were facing Mash and Gray.
"Ms. Aozaki..." Sakura glanced at her with a troubled expression. "Please return to the ship. It's not safe here. If something happens to you, Father..."
"There's no helping it. My curiosity as a Magus has been piqued. I simply have to witness these strange mysteries with my own eyes," Touko said as she raised her hand, inscribing runes in the air.
"But aside from my Noble Phantasm, 'Crystal Mayfly,' and the Sealed Box within me, everything else was lost when I was pulled into this Lostbelt."
For instance, she wasn't even sure if she could summon the Golden Wolf to fight alongside them in this Lostbelt.
Rather than testing uncertain possibilities, it was better to use the power she already had to support Chaldea's fight. Besides, she wasn't confident enough to face the flaming giant Surtr in battle.
"So even so, you can't stop yourself from wanting to fight alongside us...?"
Baobhan Sith stepped forward, joining Sakura to shield Touko from behind, forming a basic defensive formation.
"Then how about giving these twins a shot from the Runes Cannon?" Touko suggested. "You both know how to use it."
She was referring to the Magecraft that Shiomi had come up with. An attack of such magnitude, powered by immense magical energy, was a strike of almost dimensional proportions for human magi.
"Understood."
With the runes inscribed by Touko as their focus, the three of them gathered their magical energy.
Having just escaped from the frozen Grand Magecraft, the Twin Sabers saw the incoming magic cannon bearing down on them.