BCloud
patreon
IBHJ Chapter 723
🕑 Added 2024-02-22 04:28:06 +0000 UTCA heavy silence hung over the group as they returned to the now desolate Village 46. Shirou's forces simmered with righteous fury, memories stirred of their own ravaged homelands - entire villages massacred, wives widowed, children orphaned. Seeing the devastation here, they could not help but sympathize and rage.
The sole surviving villager boy was quiet in his mourning, using snow and ice to bury his family's remains without shedding a tear.
Sigurd's behavior seemed oddly out of character. He approached the boy awkwardly, attempting to offer some comfort before asking his name.
"I'm Vali," the boy replied dully.
Sigurd asked about his plans next.
"I'm going to find the Spring Goddess," Vali declared.
A-146 looked puzzled. "Spring Goddess? Lady Skadi and Lady Hel are the only gods left in this world, there aren't any others."
Vali explained the situation to clear up their confusion:
Not long ago, two strange women had passed through the village. No one knew their identities, but they had foretold disaster and urged the villagers to flee with them.
The locals dismissed it at first, yet the women soon displayed amazing miracles. Only then did the villagers agree to leave.
Vali had journeyed with them. But after being attacked by sea monsters, their party was scattered and Vali was the only survivor from his village.
"Do you know which direction they were headed?" Sigurd asked intently.
Vali nodded. "South to Village 74."
"Very well, I'll take you there," Sigurd stated without hesitation.
Salter shot him a bewildered look. Why was he acting so strange?
She held her tongue, but A-146 took issue as the envoy of Hel's will.
"You are to travel to the Gate and kill the Chaldean. Those are Lady Hel's orders," the Valkyrie said flatly.
Hearing that, Sigurd's gaze toward A-146 turned murderous. "If you want to force me against my will, then let Hel use a Command Spell!" he hissed.
Having no relevant data on how to respond, A-146 wordlessly relayed the exchange through the Valkyrie Network.
Shortly after, Sigurd’s expression warped violently. He spun to glare in the direction of Asgard. “She actually used a Command Spell! Wait...this is...!”
Sigurd’s face contorted in horror. Grasping his sword in a quivering grip, he leveled the blade toward Vali.
“Damn... To force my hand like this... Me, Sigurd, to do such a thing!”
He ground his teeth, half-crazed. Understandably so, for having learned of the situation, Hel was using her Command Spell to make Sigurd kill Vali—clearly against the swordsman's own wishes.
Just as Sigurd moved to strike, Shirou and Salter caught his arms.
“My...thanks...Eternal King, King Arthur,” Sigurd bit out through gritted teeth.
But the Command Spell still compelled him. Helpless, he could only beg Shirou and Salter to restrain him until it wore off.
Shirou nodded and promptly bound Sigurd with black mud, immobilizing him.
Their journey would now be delayed in the abandoned Village 46.
Shirou didn't mind, though Sigurd's situation did pique his interest. By all accounts, even those who retained sanity after Alterization would be consumed by bloodlust and cruelty - their heroic natures warped into those of carnage.
In other words, the Alterization process amplified negative emotions while eroding righteousness and reason. It twisted victims into embodiments of extremism and fanaticism. Yet Sigurd still fought to protect Vali. Such an anomaly warranted investigation.
Meanwhile, Salter stepped out of the house, wandering into the open where Shirou’s five hundred soldiers were setting up camp. Seeing her, they quickly jumped to attention. Armor clanking, they stood upright and loudly saluted in unison:
“Greetings, Second Majesty!”
Bewildered, Salter froze. "?????"
Just what was going on here?
"Second Majesty, it's wonderful to see you here!" one soldier said enthusiastically.
"After being apart for a thousand years, meeting you again brings me such happiness!" another chimed in.
"To fight under your command again truly inspires me!" a third soldier added.
Looking at their eager faces, Salter realized what was happening. They had mistaken her for "her" - the other Artoria from another Camelot!
Salter rubbed her temples, feeling a slight headache coming on. This wasn't the first time she'd been confused for that alternate version of herself. She didn't harbor any ill will, even after being altered, only feeling resentment towards her own powerlessness. Still, when Mordred had mistaken her for "her" in Romania, it definitely wasn't a pleasant experience.
And now it was happening again.
She couldn't tolerate the mistaken identity. Salter wouldn't allow herself to impersonate someone else. She quickly clarified who she was, clearly differentiating herself from "her."
"So you're another version of her then?" The soldiers' eyes darkened slightly, but they didn't seem bothered. They still greeted her enthusiastically: "Second Majesty!"
The other soldiers chimed in, "Second Majesty!"
Salter felt a headache coming on. Why did they insist on calling the other version of herself the Second Majesty?
One soldier explained, "Because she's the successor to the king - the second monarch of our kingdom. When the king himself isn't around, we might call her the King, but since he's here, we should call her the Second Majesty. Otherwise it would get confusing."
The soldiers had stated it plainly and directly, worsening Salter's headache. She wasn't in the habit of impersonating others, but at the same time, it didn't really bother her either. And since the soldiers didn't seem to mind even after she clarified her identity, there was no real issue.
Salter quickly blended in among the troops. With a decade of military experience herself, she had no trouble conversing with them. Besides, coming from alternate versions of the same world, their situations were quite similar.
Just as Salter was intrigued by their Camelot, the soldiers were fascinated by hers. As they listened to each other's tales of their respective homelands, the stories took on quite different flavors.
However, there was one detail the soldiers struggled to accept:
"So in your Camelot, Mordred also ended up destroying your kingdom?" Hearing that Salter's Camelot had fallen at Mordred's hands made nearly all the soldiers extremely upset. One by one they lowered their heads, shadows of rage flickering across their faces.
Though socially awkward, Salter understood she'd touched on a painful subject. She quickly changed the topic to discussing the alternate "her."
"The Second Majesty? Her glorious achievements are too many to count. She is the King of Knights, a legend! Alongside the king, she defeated Vortigern, killed the Crimson Moon, conquered Rome, and routed Attila the Hun! Undefeated in hundreds of battles without a single major defeat in life." When it came to the alternate Artoria, the soldiers' morale rose again as they sang "her" praises tirelessly.
"And in our Camelot's legends about the Second Majesty, the most famous is the journey of the lilies," one soldier added.
The soldiers were like proud elders, boasting about beloved family back home. They chattered on, recounting the entire tale of Shirou and Artoria's famed journey from long ago.
Of course, the events of that past quest had been artistically embellished and exaggerated over time without limit - slaying dragons, defeating evil gods, and other feats spoken of casually, almost elevating Shirou's group to godly status. Salter listened, amazed at the grandeur of the tellings.
In truth, the reason Salter had asked about the alternate Artoria was to understand what kind of person this other "her" was really like.
Salter has an easygoing personality and doesn't judge others. But the legendary deeds of the other "her" made Salter feel rather inadequate. However, listening to the soldiers boast and extol Shirou's group to near sainthood - with such carefully chosen, glowing words - even made the stoic Salter blush a bit out of secondhand embarrassment.
Salter clearly understood that the soldiers were boasting - touting the greatness of their King and Second Majesty to impress her. While likely based in truth, their tales must have been artistically exaggerated.
Nonetheless, it did make Salter quite curious as to what kind of person this other "her" truly was. She'd learned firsthand from Mordred about her origins. So if that Artoria was so loyal, why had she done such scandalous things? Yet if she was evil like Morgan le Fay, why follow the Eternal King to the bitter end?
These contradictions sparked Salter's curiosity immensely.
Comments
Sable Knight
I rather doubt they'd acknowledge Morgan who dipped on them in less than a year.
Azelios Rosemile
I thought the second Majesty Is Morgan? Artoria is the third Majesty, right?
JeanMartin Freites
And now Salter has quite a lot to think about.
