"Níðhöggr!"
"In these lands, the only dragon with such enormous mana that I know of is Níðhöggr," he explained. "It's a dragon that gnaws at the roots of the world tree, Yggdrasil."
Salter was quite astonished at the mention of Níðhöggr.
But what caught Shirou's attention was the battle unfolding in the sky - fifteen goddesses, appearing no older than fifteen or sixteen years, with petite or curvaceous figures, were tangled in combat against a giant black dragon. Donned in flowing white robes and mounted on winged pegasi, the goddesses wielded spears which crackled with terrifying magical energy in one hand, and gleaming golden shields in the other.
One goddess in particular stood out as she directed the others in their attack against the black beast. With a curvy but delicate figure wrapped in flowing divine robes, her waist-length golden hair fluttered freely behind her. Clutched in her hand was a spear of pure light, greatly resembling his own Holy Lance. Even in the face of the terrifying dragon, her lovely and tranquil features remained composed as she calmly issued commands to her sisters in arms.
Unlike the aloof and indifferent goddesses he knew of, these sisters operated in seamless coordination like a seasoned battle troop.
The dragon roared, emanating a rotten odor. Suddenly, it whipped its tail with lightning speed at the commanding blonde goddess.
Unfazed, she leapt gracefully from her pegasus, dodging the strike midair. Her noble steed, however, was smashed to a bloody pulp by the blow, flesh and gore raining down from the sky.
The blonde goddess' expression remained unchanged. Pointing her spear at the dragon, she commanded, "Leave Midgard, Níðhöggr!"
Facing her reprimand, the black dragon Níðhöggr unleashed deafening, earth-shattering roars - violent enough to disintegrate all snow falling within a ten kilometer radius.
"Raaawwrrr!"
The blonde goddess was unfazed by Níðhöggr's roars. She calmly hovered in the air, an aura of divinity and nobility on her beautiful yet stoic face.
"Execute the final plan. Release the divine will, Valkyries!"
As she spoke, the other goddesses who had been attacking Nidhogg gathered neatly around her in a row.
The blonde goddess raised the spear in her hand and shouted: "May Odin be with us!"
"May Odin be with us!" the others chorused devotedly. Their spears began to emit a faint glow, like the first gentle rays of dawn piercing through this icy, snow-laden land.
"Is this the power of Divine Spirits? S-such powerful magical energy..." Salter looked astonished.
"No," Shirou shook his head, gazing at the glowing spears in the goddesses' hands. "It's because of the spears. They aren't ordinary Noble Phantasms. They're Divine Constructs."
"May Odin be with us, by the words of the Great God!"
"By the words of the Great God!" the others echoed.
They unleashed their shining spears. The fifteen spears of light turned into meteors blazing across the sky, unleashing endless torrents of magical energy that bombarded the black dragon Níðhöggr.
Sensing the impending danger as the glowing spears rained down, a sharp glint flashed in the decaying eyes of Níðhöggr.
The black dragon let out a deafening, muffled roar, and its whole body emanated an abyssal darkness like the death itself. From its giant maw spewed a massive dark breath, surging towards the fused fifteen spears of light.
Two objects with extremely terrifying mana fluctuations collided in the air like lightning.
At that moment of collision, space seemed to freeze.
Then, "Boom!" The breath and spears collided intensely, madly releasing dreadful power. Space itself seemed to ripple where they met.
"Pop!" After deadlocking briefly, the breath and spears finally dissipated, vanishing with a resonating, muffled boom.
As the black dragon's breath and spears of light faded away, the goddesses hovering motionlessly in the sky moved again. Under the blonde goddess's command, they rode their pegasi, charging at Níðhöggr once more.
With a wave of their hands, the spears returned. Wielding them, the goddesses thrust swiftly. Blazing halos of light formed at each spear tip.
"Ding, ding..." The spears stabbed and slashed against the black dragon's body. A series of clear chimes rang out in the air. However, their sharp spears only left fading white streaks on the black crystalline layer, quickly buried by the swirling black miasma.
Indifferent to the attacks, Níðhöggr's body shook once. Dark beams shot out from its black crystal scales, riddling the lightly-armored pegasi.
"Cha, cha, cha..." Although the winged horses could fly, their defenses were lacking. Struck by the dark beams, they fell from the sky like sieves.
But the divine bodies of the goddesses protected them from being pierced through. Seeing this, the blonde goddess calmly commanded, "Regroup and trace runes of fire and destruction!"
The goddesses reassembled and took positions, sketching strange runes in the air with their hands or spears.
Shirou recognized the primordial runes right away.
They symbolized "Fire" and "Destruction" - he was certain because Scáthach had taught him some primordial runes before, though his knowledge was superficial.
As the goddesses constructed the runes, dreadful flames with a destructive aura sprouted out from the clustered runic formation.
However, this did not frighten the black dragon. Instead, it unleashed a long roar, spreading its scaly, black crystal wings. Under the winter sunlight, they emanated a desolate aura.
In the next moment -
"Boom!" With a deafening blast, countless dark beams erupted from the dragon's wings, bombarding every direction indiscriminately like a bomber plane. Moreover, their might exceeded the beams released from its scales.
The land razed by these beams was left in utter ruins, nothing but flames of destruction. The goddesses were also caught up in the barrage.
Some dark beams even shot towards Shirou over a hundred meters away.
Seeing this, he calmly took out Avalon to block the rain of destruction.
When the bombardment stopped, he lowered Avalon and glanced at Salter beside him, asking, "Are you okay?"
She shook her head. "I'm fine."
He nodded and looked back towards the aerial battle.
After the black dragon's intense bombardment, the unprepared goddesses suffered devastating losses. Of the fifteen, only nine remained in the sky, appearing somewhat disheveled but still staring calmly at Níðhöggr. The others were nowhere to be seen.
Hearing a sudden noise, he reflexively glanced up. A body fell from the sky, landing right in front of him and Salter. It was one of the missing six goddesses.
She had a delicate, exquisite frame and beautiful red hair. Her lower half was gone, the stump dripping black blood. Moreover, her upper body was shattered like glass.
Peering closer, he saw the goddess' eyes were hollow and colorless.
"Reporting in. Valkyrie model C11757 critically damaged beyond repair," she droned in an empty tone. "Officially retired on July 4th, 2012."
Her Divine Core then shattered. The light in her eyes completely died out.
After downing six goddesses, the black dragon reared back and unleashed a bone-rattling roar.
"Raaawwrrr!"
The thunderous cry rippled outwards like a tidal wave, making even space tremble slightly. Below, the iron trees shattered under the fearsome bellow.
Yet the blonde goddess didn't cower before the beast. Calm and composed, her expression remained unchanged even as her comrades fell. Gripping the spear of light, she shouted: "Drive back Níðhöggr! Defend Midgard!"
"Defend Midgard!" the other Valkyries echoed, raising their own spears high.