The swiftness and decisiveness of Brynhildr's attack left Sigurd terrified. He hastily raised his sword in a defensive cross, the two weapons clashing together with a resounding "clang." The blades remained locked, neither able to overpower the other.
"Enough, Brynhildr! You need to stop this, now!" Sigurd gripped his demonic sword tightly as he struggled against Brynhildr's divine spear. However, his words fell on deaf ears; she had no intention of stopping.
"Why, Sigurd? Why do you reject my love?" She questioned, her voice tinged with a mix of confusion and longing.
With her A-rank strength, she steadily pushed the spear down, its gleaming blade inching closer to Sigurd's face. Death loomed over him like an ominous shadow. Yet, even as she threatened to take his life, Brynhildr seemed oblivious to the gravity of her actions. A delicate blush colored her cheeks, and a soft smile played on her lips. Her eyes, filled with a loving gaze, never left Sigurd, who lay pinned beneath her. To an outside observer, she would have appeared as a gentle, lovestruck maiden, were it not for the deadly act she was in the midst of committing.
As the blade of death inched closer and closer, beads of cold sweat formed on Sigurd's forehead. In a panic, he shouted, "Eternal King, give me a hand here!"
However, Shirou sat nearby, observing the scene with an amused expression, showing no inclination to intervene.
"What are you doing, Eternal King? Why are you just sitting there? Come on, help me out! I'll owe you one!" Sigurd yelled, his voice growing more desperate.
Shirou remained unmoved by Sigurd's plea. Seeing this, Salter asked with a perplexed expression, "What in the world are they doing?"
"Well, this is what romance between a man and a woman looks like. It's not something you'd understand," he replied, glancing at her with a wry smile.
Salter narrowed her eyes. "Why do I always get the feeling you're treating me like some clueless idiot? Even I know that this so-called romance between a man and a woman involves physical contact and producing offspring."
She added skeptically. "No matter how you spin it, this looks more like cold-blooded murder than anything else."
"What you're referring to is just the basic form of human mating to continue the bloodline. This, on the other hand, the advanced form of romance between a man and a woman." He clapped his hands and stood up. "Come on, let's not be third wheels and ruin their moment. Couldn't you see the blissful look on Sigurd's face, soaking up all that love?"
Salter turned to study Sigurd, whose veins bulged and face flushed a deep red as he struggled against Brynhildr's immense strength. Despite his words, doubt nagged at her mind - was that really the expression of a man enjoying himself?
Sigurd was livid, Shirou's words nearly making him spit blood. If this was supposed to be enjoyment, why didn't he come over and give it a try himself? This was simply dancing on the edge of death!
Shirou's nonchalant attitude only fueled Sigurd's fury. However, as he watched Shirou and Salter turn to leave, panic seized him. "Don't you dare abandon me!" he shouted desperately.
Salter spared him a sympathetic glance, but Shirou didn't even bother to look back. Sigurd's voice took on a pitiful, pleading tone as he cried out again, "Don't abandon me!"
"My dear Sigurd, I've never abandoned you, and I never will. Come, accept my love, just as we did when we were alive," Brynhildr panted, pouring even more strength into her attack.
"Help!" Sigurd cried out in desperation.
After a period of intense struggle, the two finally settled down. Of course, this calm was far from natural. Just as Brynhildr was about to recreate their legendary tale, Illya, her Master, arrived in the nick of time. With her authority, she forcibly pulled Brynhildr out of her love-induced frenzy, effectively saving Sigurd's life.
While Sigurd was immensely grateful to Illya, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of resentment towards Shirou. This feeling only intensified as he watched him sit cross-legged, a safe distance away from Brynhildr. Sigurd's eyes narrowed, and his jaw clenched as he gave Shirou a bitter, accusatory glare, leaving no doubt about the anger he harbored towards him.
Shirou shifted uncomfortably under Sigurd's gaze. "Hey, is this really necessary?" he asked, trying to diffuse the tension.
Sigurd remained silent, his eyes burning with resentment as he wiped his demonic sword. He even went so far as to draw a small curse circle for Shirou in the snow, resembling a bullied maiden. Shirou felt a headache coming on. Wasn't it natural for him to stay out of it? As an outsider, why should he meddle in a couple's affair?
At that moment, Illya spoke up with a smile, "I really didn't expect to run into you here, Shirou-niisan."
"I'm just as surprised to see all of you here," Shirou replied, looking at Illya with a mix of emotions. Time had truly played a cruel joke on him. While his journey through the dimensional rift had felt like a mere instant, thirteen long years had passed in the real world. It was as if a lifetime had gone by since they last met.
He'd experienced this feeling before when he met Mash at the Romania and learned about the time discrepancy. However, now that he was face-to-face with Illya at this Nordic connection point, the feeling of a lifetime having passed was nowhere to be found.
The reason for this was clear as he glanced at Illya, who stood at a mere 1.4 meters tall. Her petite figure, adorned in a purple dress, and her pretty, doll-like face made it impossible to believe she was approaching 30 years old.
Suddenly, Illya's eyes narrowed as she stared at him, her voice stern. "Shirou-niisan, are you thinking something rude?"
"Do I seem like that kind of person, Illya?" He replied calmly.
"That's true. Shirou-niisan isn't that kind of person." Illya's expression gradually softened. It seemed her feeling of being thought of as an old lady just moments ago was probably a misconception.
Illya thought to herself, "Geez, I'm getting more and more sensitive about this as I get older. No wonder mom always said that age is a woman's best-kept secret."
"By the way, is it just you and Chloe who came to this connection point?" Shirou asked.
"Actually, there are four of us, including Brynhildr," Illya replied, glancing at the woman, who was staring intensely at Sigurd. "And Brynhildr, stop staring at Sigurd like that. You're making him uncomfortable."
"I understand, Master. I'll try my best to suppress this burning love in my heart... Huff, huff... I have to endure it." Brynhildr gripped her spear, her body trembling. It was obvious she was struggling to restrain her overwhelming desire to kill Sigurd out of love.
Shirou wasn't too surprised by Brynhildr's behavior. After all, Sigurd didn't have Harem EX, and he wasn't exactly lucky with women. The only yandere-type characters he had dealt with, like Sakura and Morgan le Fay, were pretty normal compared to this.
"This connection point isn't as safe as it seems. I think you should head back to Chaldea or call for backup," Shirou warned. The Demonic Bodhisattva he ran into in prison, Hel and the Father behind her, and those well-trained Fire Giants all pointed to this connection point being a bigger deal than they thought. It could be even more dangerous than the one in Romania. Shirou felt like he had to warn them, for their own safety.
"I know. I mean, this connection point... it must be old, one of the first ones ever made by the Council," Illya said.
"Old connection point?" He raised his eyebrows, "I ran into Mash and Gray at Romania before. They mentioned Ritsuka had already taken care of the First Connection Point, right?"
"The First Connection Point - that ranking is based on the order Chaldea discovered the connection points. But only the Council knows which one actually came first. I mean, this connection point has been around for over 2,000 years," Illya explained.
"I see. You think it might be one of the old ones?" Shirou asked, Illya nodded, and he thought it made sense.
Usually, you'd need the Second Magic to jump between parallel worlds, but the Council found a special way to connect them using Shirou's world as the foundation. That's what a connection point is. Chaldea's main goal in dealing with the connection points was to get their hands on the Council's Grails and cut off the connection or link between the worlds.
"Let's not worry about that now," Illya said, standing up with a smile. "The magical beasts are starting to wake up. I'll take you to our base first. It's safer there."
Shirou nodded as he listened. Just then, Chloe tugged on Illya's sleeve, staring at Sigurd while whispering in Illya's ear, "Illya, that Sigurd guy is with Hel. We can't let him see our base."