My Foster Mother, Scathach

Over the next two days, Scathach had been dealing with the aftermath of the battle and in the process, thoroughly inspected various potential risks. Once she confirmed there were no lingering issues, she sought out Cu Chulainn.

"Arkhan ran into trouble outside, and I need to help him. During this time, the Land of Shadows is temporarily under your care. If anything unexpected happens, immediately use the Rune to contact me, understand?"

"Yes, Master!" Cu Chulainn responded loudly with determination, but then leaned in and whispered, "Um... Master, could you bring back some local specialties for me when you go out?"

"You're a ghost now, neither hungry nor with a sense of taste. Why would you need those things?" Scathach asked with a puzzled tone.

"Well, I used to be alive, after all." Cu Chulainn scratched his head. "Even if I can't taste anything, I still want to reminisce about the sensation of eating."

*Whoosh—*

A large hole tore open in the void, and various foods such as wine, meat, desserts, and bread continuously fell from it, covering the ground in an instant.

Cu Chulainn was dumbfounded, pointing at various foods on the ground while staring at Arkhan.

"Th-These are..."

"I happen to have a habit of stocking up on supplies regularly. These are all for you." Arkhan said with a smile.

Ever since the corruption incident of Artoria, he had developed a habit of always being prepared with sufficient supplies, regardless of the situation.

"Arkhan, you truly are my best bro! It's not in vain that I've always looked out for you. You never disappoint me!" Cu Chulainn moved and patted Arkhan's shoulder happily.

Originally, it would have been fine not to bring this up, but as soon as Cu Chulainn mentioned 'best bro', Arkhan involuntarily recalled the incident a few days ago when this guy deserted him.

"...Indeed, leaving so much for a ghost is a bit too wasteful. Maybe I should have left only one-fifth—no, one-tenth."

"What?! No, don't!"

===

Camelot, Royal Palace.

The void twisted slightly, and two figures materialized out of thin air.

"Is this where you usually live?" Scathach pinched her chin with a thoughtful expression. "Hmm, these auras... Fairy, Dragon, Dead Apostle, Valkyrie, and Wielder of the Sword of the Planet. You've got quite the diverse group around you..."

"Of course, your son is a king now!" Arkhan grinned proudly, but then his expression froze as if he remembered something. "Wait a minute, did you just... use magecraft to probe?"

"Umu, any problem with that?" Despite the questioning tone, Scathach looked entirely unapologetic.

As the Queen of the Land of Shadows, she never saw anything wrong with casually probing others, especially considering she was in her son's kingdom, where she felt even less psychological burden.

However, she completely overlooked the fact that an unfamiliar power emanated from the king's room, and what that might imply.

*BOOM!*

The walls suddenly exploded.

Artoria, wielding Excalibur, emerged from the dust without hesitation and swung her holy sword at Scathach.

Seeing this, Scathach raised an eyebrow, and summoned Gae Bolg. With a nonchalant flick, she created a dazzling display of afterimages, effortlessly parrying Artoria's strike without even moving from her position.

'What just happened?!' Artoria's azure eyes widened as she felt a momentary blur and her attack got dissolved like nothing. Such extraordinary spearmanship was unheard of!

"Very impressive swordsmanship. I can't find any flaws, looks like you must have a decent teacher."

A calm voice reached Artoria's ears, evoking an inexplicable sense of shame.

"Breaking into the royal palace, lecturing my sister with such an arrogant attitude... You've got some nerve..."

Morgan's voice suddenly resounded from nearby and her magical energy surged like molten lava. Her face turned slightly cold, and magic circles around her erupted into dazzling beams of energy, hurtling towards Scathach.

With a snap of her fingers, Scathach summoned an emerald-colored rune, seemingly containing all the truths of the world, swallowing the oncoming magical onslaught effortlessly.

"Primordial Rune..." Morgan's pupils shrank to pinpricks.

"What's happening?!" Drawn by the commotion, Nidhogg rushed in and asked in panic.

"Be careful, Lady Nidhogg..." Artoria gripped her sword tightly, her delicate face filled with seriousness. "A very powerful enemy has entered the palace and is standing right next to the king!"

"What?!"

Nidhogg's face turned cold, her pupils became merciless vertical slits. Sinister black bone wings unfurled behind her, and her waist-length black hair danced wildly without wind. The heavy aura crushed the surrounding rubble to dust.

She looked ahead and fixed her gaze on the tall, slender woman with purple hair. However, she couldn't help but be stunned for a moment after seeing the woman figure.

"I-It's you...?" Nidhogg stuttered.

Morgan and Artoria, who were about to take action, instantly stopped, exchanging a glance and looking at Nidhogg with confusion.

"Lady Nidhogg, do you know this person?" Artoria asked with confusion.

The unusual tension on Nidhogg's body disappeared instantly. Her pretty face turned bright red while her body tensed and trembled slightly.

"I-I don't know—I mean, I do know..."

"Are you Nidhogg?" Scathach dismissed her spear and sizing up Nidhogg up and down with a pensive expression. "So, this is the type Arkhan fancies, huh..."

Nidhogg quickly bowed to Scathach.

"Hello! Nice to meet you! I am Arkhan's wi-wife, Nidhogg..."

"It seems like it's not our first meeting, though that time doesn't really count as a proper one..." Scathach smiled. "I never expected you to reach this point with him. I initially thought that after waking up, you would try to kill him and take over his body or something."

"Ahahaha..." Nidhogg awkwardly chuckled and her eyes darting around nervously.

Morgan raised an eyebrow slightly. For some reason, Nidhogg's reaction reminded her of how young girls looked when meeting their lover's parents for the first time.

Artoria also started to come to her senses. 'This purple-haired woman... doesn't seem to be an enemy?'

*Cough!*

Arkhan cleared his throat and took a step forward.

"Everyone, let me introduce her properly."

"This lady is, in fact, my foster mother, the Queen of the Land of Shadows, Scathach."