Within the royal city forged from snow and ice, the queen seated upon her throne wore an amused expression.
"Someone has breached the barrier I erected and entered this place. They must be the group from Chaldea you mentioned earlier, Ophelia?"
"As you say, Your Majesty." Ophelia gazed solemnly at the queen upon the throne. Scáthach-Skadi, Queen of the Scandinavian Lostbelt.
"Your expression suggests you have something to tell me about these 'guests'?" Skadi's lips curved slightly, her tone calm and gentle, as though conversing with Ophelia as an equal. "Feel free to speak freely."
Of course, Ophelia Phamrsolone wouldn't think this way, maintaining her cautious demeanor before Skadi.
"With all due respect, Your Majesty, it is imperative that you respond promptly. The Chaldea expedition is undoubtedly our enemy," Ophelia stated.
"Enemies, huh." Skadi chewed on the word.
In the Scandinavian Lostbelt, she was the absolute goddess and ruler. No life form existed that could truly oppose her, so she had reservations about Ophelia's assessment.
"Not long ago, they destroyed all of Russia, excising the Fantasy Tree there," Ophelia added.
During the Crypter conference, Kadoc, the Servant of the Russian Lostbelt, was ambushed and subsequently vanished. Reports from Kirei Kotomine, one of the Alien Apostles, confirmed that Shiomi had led the Chaldea team to execute this "decapitation operation."
Caster Anastasia, Kadoc's Servant, fell in direct combat against Shiomi.
As these reports reached the Crypter across the Lostbelt, Ophelia knew not how others reacted, but genuine dread gripped her heart.
The Clock Tower's rumors were true—Tenkei Shiomi was far more than a mere former Sealing Designation Executor.
The "child prodigy" of the past, the former sovereign El-Melloi, had died a just death.
Ophelia surmised that the only Crypter capable of opposing Shiomi were likely Kirschtaria and Daybit.
Thus, she had remained constantly by Skadi's side these past days. When the Scandinavian barrier detected the presence of an anomaly, she immediately reported it to Skadi.
"If they're enemies, then just kill them all."
At that moment, Ophelia's Servant, Saber Sigurd, voiced his opinion.
"Stop!" Ophelia immediately halted him. "…No, you can't. You're no match for them. While the situation at the rest of Chaldea is unclear, the one leading them, Tenkei Shiomi… that man is absolutely not a target you can kill."
In fact, Saber would surely die.
That would only make things more troublesome for Ophelia.
The Saber before her wasn't the real Sigurd, but a demonic being who had usurped the soul of the dragon-slaying hero during his summoning process, now imprisoned within this body.
"Hey, hey, already getting cold feet, Ophelia?" Another booming voice rang out, tinged with mockery. "You're just a person who got chased off by an Alien Apostle—do you really need to be this afraid?"
"It's not what you think, Divine Spirit Caenis," Ophelia said solemnly. "I don't know what Lord Kirschtaria sent you here to do, and I can't stop you if you want to fight. But if you die here, I'll have a hard time explaining it to Lord Kirschtaria."
"Oh?" Caenis didn't seem provoked by her words. Instead, she appeared even more excited. "Since you put it that way, I'll test that man's worth and see if he's really as formidable as you say!" With that, Caenis turned and strode toward the palace exit, clearly intending to intercept the Chaldea team, who had just completed their Imaginary Numbers submersion and landed in the Scandinavian Lostbelt.
In Kirschtaria's view, one major reason for Kadoc's failure was his inability to detect Chaldea's landing, leaving him caught off guard.
Thus, he sent Caenis through the Anomaly Zone to reach the Scandinavian Lostbelt—partly to observe the situation, partly because this area had a barrier capable of monitoring personnel movements.
"Interesting. A man who frightens Ophelia to this extent—I'd like to see him for myself." Saber replied coldly, "If you want to stop me, use your Command Spell. If you're too late, the prey will all belong to that divine spirit."
With that, Sigurd turned and left, ignoring Ophelia's warning.
Faced with two disobedient Servants, Ophelia felt deeply anxious.
"Just giving up on stopping them, Ophelia?" Skadi, however, was unconcerned by the commotion.
She knew this Lostbelt inside out. She sensed that after the Chaldea team arrived, they hadn't rampaged openly. Instead, they had set up a barrier to prevent Jotunheim giants from attacking and were preparing to establish a logistics base for exploration.
"...No, I just think this might be a good opportunity," Ophelia mused. Back when she trained in combat at Chaldea, that man... Instructor Shiomi had said that for unruly Servants, one must either sever the contract outright and dismiss them, or seize the moment to make them realize the consequences of defying their Master.
Now, the situation clearly matched what Shiomi had described as a combat instructor.
She had already used one Command Spell to stop Saber from killing himself; she couldn't waste another on this.
If Saber died before Chaldea, it wouldn't be entirely bad—it would force Chaldea to confront the true form within Saber.
"From the way you speak, you seem both afraid and in awe of that man's power. Even from behind, you still address him as 'Master'?" Skadi inquired.
"Yes. That man is said to not only excel in Rune Magecraft, but even wield Primordial Runes," Ophelia replied.
Skadi raised an eyebrow slightly. "Primordial Runes? The caster imprisoned in the dungeon also knew how to use all the Primordial Runes. Yet he still became my prisoner."
"My knowledge of Teacher Shiomi is quite limited, and I'm even less certain of his true capabilities," Ophelia bowed apologetically. "Reports only state that the crisis of Incineration of Humanity triggered by the previous King of Magecraft was resolved smoothly under his leadership."
"Heh, that's interesting," Skadi chuckled to herself. "Though I've never met him, hearing you speak of him piques my curiosity. If they survived the combined assault of Sigurd and Caenis, I'd like to meet them myself."
"Allowing them into the royal capital might be too—" Ophelia began to caution.
Skadi raised a hand to silence her.
The decision was final, leaving no room for further debate.