"She wanted to see the legendary Yeti Squad, so I brought her here."
Hoshino explained.
"Can you accept this power now and fight me?"
Hoshino turned around, a lance in her right hand while a mysterious yellow greatsword appeared in her other. An omnipresent sense of weight hung around the blade; one could imagine just how heavy it was.
With a backhanded motion, Hoshino plunged the Xuanyuan Sword into a rock. The entire blade sank in, leaving only the hilt exposed.
"As long as you pull out this sword..."
"Didn't you ask whether I wanted power?"
Surtr was thoroughly bewildered. "Why do I have to pull out a sword, then?"
"This is a trial. Believe in yourself. Though I bestowed it upon you, you still need to earn its recognition. Its name is Xuanyuan; it was once the sword of a celestial immortal, and it has pride of its own."
"Why did you choose me?"
"This is fate. Or rather, it was all decided long ago."
Hoshino coaxed Surtr into pulling out the sword, just as Merlin had coaxed Artoria. But unlike the latter, Surtr did not possess the broad-mindedness of a king. She was merely an adventurer who traveled everywhere.
Surtr did not know how to spell the word responsibility.
"Besides, are they really the Yeti Squad? I heard the Yeti Squad are all ferocious mutated Sarkaz, each one five meters tall, all white-furred yetis..."
These were all exaggerated rumors spread through Ursus. When faced with an enemy they could not defeat, demonizing them was standard practice.
"We're about to destroy a mine. If you can lend a hand, it'll make things easier for me." FrostNova scattered the blackish-gray ice blossoms floating around her and stared directly into Hoshino's eyes.
She was not angry. Slander and demonization only made