Crack!
A fissure split across the sky.
Crack-crack-crack!!
The fissure spread wider and wider, until—
Crash—shatter!!
Space itself broke apart, and the Chrysalis burst through.
"So this is the Norse realm..."
Plummeting through the air, Kazuki couldn't help but let out an awed sigh at the majestic sight of the colossal tree towering before his eyes—the World Tree, Yggdrasil. The dimensional leap had succeeded. They had slipped through Loki's barrier and arrived in the Norse realm.
The Norse mythology was comprised of nine worlds spread across three layers, all supported by the World Tree, Yggdrasil.
The upper layer was Asgard, the realm of the gods. The middle layer was Midgard, the realm of humans and demi-humans. And the lower layer was Niflheim, the realm of the dead.
Kazuki sent out a thought-wave and brought the Chrysalis in for a landing in Asgard.
After disembarking and deactivating his Guyver armor, he rolled his shoulders, loosening muscles stiff from the journey.
"So, Rossweisse, where do we need to go?"
"First, we shall go meet with Brynhildr-neesama. Let's head to our Valkyrie stronghold—the Hall of the Gods in Valhalla."
Rossweisse answered Artoria's question.
The Valkyries, Rossweisse's order, were tasked with guiding the souls of heroes who fell in battle to their final rest, but ordinarily, they served as Odin's personal guard and made their residence in Valhalla's Hall of the Gods.
"Flying there would be faster, but..."
Serafall cast a sidelong glance at Rossweisse, and Kazuki let out an understanding "Ah, right." He, Serafall, and Artoria were devils and could fly freely through the air, but Rossweisse, as a Valkyrie, lacked that ability. If so—
"How about I carry you?"
"That's not happening."
Kazuki's suggestion was unanimously vetoed by both Artoria and Serafall.
'Why the hell not?'
"Um, I'll be perfectly fine."
Rossweisse spoke up apologetically, then—
Phweeeeeeeeeeeet!!
She let out a piercing whistle with her fingers. The shrill note soared into the sky, and moments later, something hurtled toward them at incredible speed.
Hihihiiiiin!!
With a high-pitched neigh, the figure that appeared before them was a pure-white steed with a pair of wings—a magnificent sight. It was—
"A Pegasus...!"
Yes, the winged heavenly horse straight out of myth—a true Pegasus.
"Scarlet, well done, coming so quickly. Everyone, allow me to introduce you. This is my beloved steed, Scarlet."
Rossweisse stroked the Pegasus affectionately as she made the introduction. Scarlet was a mare with a pure-white coat and a light-brown mane, her most striking feature a pair of deep scarlet eyes—perhaps the very reason for her name.
Valkyries were Pegasus Riders, celestial cavalry who soared across the battlefield astride winged steeds. Each Valkyrie was said to have her own beloved Pegasus. At any rate, this cleared up their transportation problem.
"Alright then, let's move out. Rossweisse, lead the way."
And so they departed, heading for Valhalla.
They made their way through the skies of the Norse realm straight toward Valhalla. It had been a month since Artoria's reincarnation as a devil, and she had grown accustomed to flight, now able to produce enough speed to keep up without falling behind.
"Everyone, if we continue at this pace, we should arrive at Valhalla in roughly ten minutes."
Hearing Rossweisse's update, Kazuki felt his guard beginning to slip at the thought of being so close—when suddenly, multiple distortions in space manifested directly in their path, blocking their advance.
'This is—!'
"Kazuki!?"
"Yeah, I know. Everyone, stay sharp!"
Kazuki and Artoria moved forward, positioning themselves protectively in front of Serafall and Rossweisse, who were Wizard-types. Before long, from the distorted space emerged—
"No way... Fafnirs, Hraesvelgrs, this many of them... And even a Nidhogg..."
Flight-dragons of the Fafnir type, great eagles known as Hraesvelgrs, and one particularly colossal evil dragon—a Nidhogg. There were also Killer Bees, Giant Bats, Gargoyles, and more—altogether, well over a hundred monsters had appeared ahead of them.
'This is... a little, no, incredibly fucking bad.'
"Sera-nee, I hate to ask..."
"I know. I'll fight too, so leave our backs to me."
It gnawed at Kazuki to have Serafall, a Satan herself, join the battle, but in this situation, there was no helping it.
"Sera-nee, Rossweisse, cover us. Let's go, Artoria."
"Understood!"
Just as Kazuki and Artoria prepared to plunge into the monstrous horde—
Boooooom!!
A sudden explosion erupted from the rear of the monster swarm.
"What the—!?"
Caught completely off guard, Kazuki couldn't stifle his exclamation. Following the sudden blast, five shooting stars tore into the enemy ranks, punching holes through their encirclement.
"Those are... Pegasus Riders? Then that means—"
"Yes! It's my sisters!!"
At Serafall's observation, Rossweisse's face lit up—a rare open display of joy from her. In that moment, a shadow suddenly fell over Rossweisse.
Looking up, Kazuki saw a massive Fafnir with crimson scales—far larger than the ones that had attacked them—looming overhead.
"Gerhilde-neesama!!"
A jolt of tension shot through Kazuki at how close it had gotten without them noticing, but upon hearing Rossweisse's delighted cry, he realized it was an ally and let out a relieved sigh. As if responding to her voice, the flight-dragon descended, revealing a beautiful woman upon its back.
"A Dragon Rider..."
Artoria murmured in admiration. The rider—whose hair, eyes, armor, and even the spear in her hand were all a vivid red—surveyed the group before speaking.
"Well returned, Rossweisse. I'd like to hear the full details, but for now, annihilating these beasts takes priority. You of the Biblical Factions, are you in agreement?"
"Absolutely. We appreciate the assist."
At Kazuki's reply, the crimson dragon knight offered a faint, confident smile.
"Good. Rossweisse, I'm sending Helmwige over. Make full use of her."
"Wige!? Understood!"
With that, the dragon knight called Gerhilde leveled her spear and charged into the monster horde. Replacing her, a single Pegasus Rider flew toward them.
"Wige!!"
"Weisse, welcome back~!"
The one who approached was a lovely girl with short black hair, her cheerful, sunny smile entirely out of place on a battlefield. Perched upon her horse, she clasped hands with Rossweisse, the two joyfully celebrating their reunion.
"Allow me to introduce her. One of my elder sisters—"
"I'm Helmwige! Pleased to meet you!"
Kazuki blinked in surprise. 'This girl—Helmwige—looks, by every measure, younger than Rossweisse.'
"Elder sister!? Not younger?"
"Ahh... well, ahem. That's... a matter for later. For now—"
"Yeah, you're right. Let's move, Artoria!"
"Yes!!"
Shaking off his curiosity and refocusing, Kazuki and Artoria plunged into the monster swarm.
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