The scattered sparks now had another path to follow, and their journey was no longer aimless.
Rovi brought Skadi to a place where people lived.
It was his first time setting foot in a Norse town, and the sight before him was an architectural style entirely unlike Greece or Mesopotamia.
As though carrying on the Norse spirit of boldness and reverence for martial valor, every building on the Scandinavian Peninsula—homes, markets, arenas, and even shrines to the gods—was built especially tall and grand. Even the most ordinary cattle and horse pastures were far broader than usual.
That, too, was only natural. Just as the tale of "the primordial giant Ymir creating the world" had always been passed down across this land, reverence for the enormous had always been a trait shared by gods and humans alike.
Perhaps it was precisely because of that that, in ancient times, Odin had chosen to cut down a remnant of the Vanguard of the Umbral Star and cultivate it into the World Tree that supported the Nine Realms.
After all, the Vanguard of the Umbral Star that had invaded the earth back then had been called a "Giant God," and the form it manifested was unimaginably vast...
Rovi led the heavenly horse, which had withdrawn all its wondrous divinity, and walked slowly down the crowded street.
Winter had passed and spring had come. The wind and snow were gradually receding, and the brief, warm sunlight of this land had finally arrived.
Skadi, however, lay lazily across the horse's back, her hands pillowed under her chin, her cheeks slightly puffed out. Her legs were crossed to one side, dangling in the air.
The girl's face was full of languor. The Ski Goddess was a god of winter, and the arrival of spring was no good thing for her. It was like a "beast" leaving its own territory; she always felt uncomfortable, unable to muster any strength.
"Are we not there yet..." Skadi asked, swaying.
"Where?" Rovi paused and glanced sideways. Beside his feet, the hyena transformed from Fafnir wagged its tail and let out yowling cries.
The armored young man and the gorgeously dressed girl looked like a knight and princess from a fairy tale who had eloped on a journey. They drew no small amount of attention along the way, but Skadi had always been the focus of countless gazes, while Rovi had once existed as the leader of a nation. Neither of them paid such scenes any mind.
"An inn, a temple... anywhere is fine," Skadi mumbled. "I'm tired. I want to sleep."
Rovi raised an eyebrow. "An inn?"
"Ah... don't misunderstand. I really do want to sleep." Skadi yawned.
"I didn't misunderstand anything," Rovi replied. "Looks like you really are tired."
"Mm... every year around this time, I usually sleep through it." A winter goddess sleeping through spring was only natural. "Don't bother me..."
But don't leave me either.
Rovi glanced aside at Skadi's dangling hand, lightly clutching the corner of his cloak.
Was it because she was afraid?
Afraid that the gods would act against her again...
The Ski Goddess seemed to be growing more and more used to exposing her weakness in front of Rovi.
And judging by her appearance, she truly was exhausted. She did not even have the strength to fuss with Rovi a little.
"Then let's go." Rovi tugged the reins and said, "We'll rest at the Ski Goddess's temple."
He was not about to go looking for trouble at some inn or hotel.
Skadi answered softly.
However, the exhausted Ski Goddess did not know that Rovi was currently dividing his attention in several directions.
The wind had brought him more and more news.
On this land, a sect named after "Ymir" was running rampant under his name, seizing the opportunity to expand its own influence.
Rovi knew, but he did not stop them. He merely listened quietly to the calls of people from all directions and used the opportunity... to expand his own "seed" in return.
Someone had chased a fleeing evil dragon to the edge of a deep valley, only to be stopped by an old missionary, who explained the supposed subordinate relationship between Ymir and the Wild Hunt.
Then the one who had obtained the seed rebuked him sharply and refused.
Someone raced across the sea, only to see storm giants sweeping up wind and rain, drowning everything in their path. Countless souls pursued the giants' figures from behind, gathering into terrifying vortices of air.
"Heroes run through every corner of the world. The legions of the Wild Hunt spread across every corner of the world, gathering their strength. Jormungandr at the edge of the world lets out a roar. In Niflheim beneath the World Tree, Nidhogg has already sensed the arrival of twilight."
"The curtain of myth's end seems already to have risen. All things look back in terror."
In a certain sense... there was indeed terror.
Inside the Ski Goddess's temple in the mortal world, within a hall decorated in silver-white, Rovi looked at the figure before him, who had just fallen down only to instantly flip back to her feet.
"Oh my, we finally meet!" She still had Skadi's earlier appearance, but both her expression and attire had undergone an earth-shattering change.
Her loose purple hair bore no decoration at all. Her lithe, graceful body was outlined and wrapped in a dark-purple bodysuit. The spear in her hand glowed with a dark-red stream of light even indoors, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at her raised red lips.
Though it was the same body, there was no doubt that this "person" before him was not the Ski Goddess whose nature was pure and pristine.
Rather...
"The Queen of the Land of Shadows, Scathach?" Another being of the same origin as Skadi, a "non-divine" transcendent from the region neighboring the Norse lands.
Rovi looked at the sharp spear pointed at him and said, "Are you provoking me?"
"Not provoking. Just sparring."
Hearing this, Scathach retreated instead of advancing, her steps sending out silent ripples. "King of the Wild Hunt, I'm very curious about your martial skill."
"I had to wait patiently for that girl to fall asleep, and such chances are rare, you know? Only then could I take the opportunity to occupy this goddess's body and come meet you."
"I suppose this counts as... a secret rendezvous?" The spear tip tilted slightly, no longer aimed directly at Rovi. Scathach brushed back the hair at her forehead with her other hand, her delicate face and thin lips lifted, her expression carrying both heroic bearing and seductive charm.
If Skadi tried hard to make herself seem mature, yet could never conceal the girlishness at her core no matter what, then every movement of the figure before Rovi carried the aura of a mature woman.
"I've never seen anyone bring a spear to a secret rendezvous." An ordinary young man might have panicked when faced with such a scene, but Rovi would not.
He would only turn the tables.
In an instant, his outstretched hand touched Scathach's chin. He lifted that exquisite face, beautiful and valiant and alluring all at once, and smiled. "Or do you truly admire me?"
"I do admire you. I admire you so much I can hardly wait to decide the victor between us." Scathach's smile grew even brighter.
The atmosphere seemed ambiguous, but in truth, there was only confrontation between them.
Both had crossed long journeys and experienced countless battles. Naturally, neither would let their mind waver so easily.
And so, in that instant, light flashed, and behind Scathach, a dark "rift" appeared, opening like a pair of eyes.
Scathach stepped back, her figure fading into it as though sinking beneath the surface of water.
"Would Your Excellency be interested in visiting the Land of Shadows?"
Was he interested?
Of course he was.
The Queen of the Land of Shadows named Scathach was an extremely special existence to Rovi.
Because much like himself, this Queen of the Land of Shadows had also been "seeking death" all along.
Of course, Scathach did not possess power engraved upon the Throne of Heroes as he did. It was merely that, as a transcendent, Scathach had already surpassed the boundary between life and death, yet had not completely surpassed the world itself. As a result, she could only remain trapped in the layer between the inside and outside of the world, feeling the passage of time through endless years.
Given enough time, she would naturally lose all interest in life and death.
That was why she longed to be killed, and why she constantly trained all manner of powerful heroes, hoping to die by the hand of a hero she had cultivated herself.
However, that was Scathach of later ages. The Scathach of the present had been born only a thousand years ago, and the brilliant, chaotic Age of Gods had not yet made her lose her desire to live.
The current Scathach was simply a martial maniac.
A battle fanatic delighted by worthy prey.
Rovi knew that her invitation to the Land of Shadows was, in truth, for the sake of "sparring."
Scathach wanted to test his strength, and why would he not want the same?
She did not want to die yet.
But Rovi had wanted to die for a very long time.
As the thought moved through his mind, Rovi's steps followed. The instant he passed through the Gate of the Magic Mirror, light and shadow flowed through his vision. In only a blink, he appeared within a deep, dark valley. As far as he could see, apart from rocks, there were only silent, standing shadows.
This was the Land of Shadows.
In Celtic mythology, it was a region similar to the Underworld, but in essence, it was the "reflection" of the present world, a plane located on the outer side of the world.
There was no wind, yet the hems of their clothes lifted. Opposite him, Scathach stood with both feet planted firmly, the lithe body wrapped in a dark-purple bodysuit slightly taut. The spear she raised glimmered for an instant.
She said, "Are you prepared, Lord Rovi?"
She could obtain the same information Skadi knew, so Scathach naturally knew Rovi's name.
With a metallic ring, the storm lance condensed in his palm. A cold mask covered his face, his cloak flew, and Rovi gripped the shaft of the spear, raising it slightly.
He said, "Do not disappoint me, Queen of the Land of Shadows, Scathach."
"Ahaha, Your Excellency actually knows who I am?" Scathach was somewhat surprised.
"Just as you possess the wisdom of the Magic Mirror, is it not normal that I possess a similar power?" Rovi lied smoothly.
Scathach, however, found it very reasonable. "With how deeply scheming you are, it would indeed not be strange for you to have such an ability."
"Deeply scheming? You might as well just call me underhanded."
"Are you not? Otherwise, why would that little girl have such a good impression of you?"
"Calling another version of yourself a little girl... you really are a strange one."
"Not as strange as you, clearly a god, yet always pretending to be an ordinary mortal."
"..."
They were clearly about to fight, yet somehow began a verbal "clash" instead.
But both sides also knew this was not mere conversation. It was a probe.
As for how strong Rovi was, Scathach already had a basic understanding.
Someone capable of matching the strongest god of the Norse was, without question, above her in raw power.
No amount of caution would be excessive.
As for Rovi, he also very much wanted to know how strong this Queen of the Land of Shadows, born only a thousand years ago, truly was.
Whether she had reached the scale of later ages, when she could descend at will, freely manipulate and create, and alter the strength of the "Saint Graph" that carried her power.
And so, once their verbal exchange fell away, spear and spear collided in the blink of an eye. Scathach lightly turned Gae Bolg. After the weapons crossed and power surged, she deftly flicked the spear tip aside by an inch, slipped past the obstruction, and thrust straight at Rovi.
Faint light flowed over the spear tip. The aura of magical energy and concept gathered upon it at the same time.
The concepts of sure-hit and sure-kill manifested.
That was the effect of the Noble Phantasm formed from Mystery, Gae Bolg Alternative, which replicated Odin's Declaration of the Great God.
Opening with a killing move—compared to Skadi, it had to be said that Scathach was far, far more mature.
She knew very well that a so-called trump card could only be called a trump card if it could actually be used.
Techniques were meant to be used.
If they could not be used, they were nothing but wasted moves.
And so Rovi raised his foot. Without applying force through his hands, he kicked up the spear tip with his leg. As it rippled, air currents gathered like a hammer.
With a heavy impact, it smashed into Gae Bolg.
Strike Air: Hammer of the Wind King, unleashed with the flow.
As though it had met Mjolnir in Thor's hands, the sure-hit concept on Scathach's spear was directly crushed.
After that hammer blow, the air current at the spear tip condensed into a single point and violently pierced forward—turning a smash into a thrust.
Scathach withdrew her spear and shifted her stance, narrowly avoiding it. Several inches of her scattered dark-purple hair were sliced away.
Within the deep, dark valley of the Land of Shadows, after only a single exchange, the Queen of the Land of Shadows could not help tensing all over and breathing hard.
"Is this all?" Rovi... was somewhat disappointed.
Was it still too much to ask?
After all, this was Scathach only just beginning her path.
Even though she had already reached the manifested scale of a regional chief god, she was still far too distant from the scenery Rovi now occupied.
Then there was no need to continue this battle.
Even with another thousand years, Scathach would not be able to kill him.
She could not break through his defense.
"It's over... hm?" The words left his mouth, only to cut off halfway. Rovi looked at Scathach before him. After retreating, that lithe figure did not look discouraged at all. Instead, she became even more excited.
He saw her raise the Gae Bolg in her hand. Brilliant dark-purple light manifested, and invisible ripples spread as though wavering outward. As the ground trembled faintly, it drew more Gae Bolgs nailed throughout this dark realm, gathering above her head.
Like a storm. Like a flood. Even more like a majestic "palace" rising atop a towering mountain.
Though different, it was similar enough to give Rovi a strange illusion.
That was...
"Eresh's Fever Temple!?"