Chapter 278

【This is a Conceptual Weapon capable of striking mysterious existences, which is also the reason why those skeleton soldiers could not regenerate before.】

【Ilumia's smile grew more intense, because the moment of shattering heresy is the meaning of her existence and the moment she feels satisfied.】

Waver: "This woman is a battle maniac."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "Are all executors like this?"

Kirei Kotomine: "No, she is not qualified. Executors cut down evil to save, and a mindset like this, fighting for self-satisfaction, is absolutely unqualified."

Amakusa Emiya Emiya Shirou: "It seems the training is not enough."

【"Although it would be nice to get rid of Gray, changing the target to you is also fine. Even if this village really intends to do some stupid ritual to summon King Arthur back, as long as you or Gray are eliminated, the matter will be solved, right?"】

【Ilumia declared and licked her red lips as if to attack the masked girl, but before she could act, her footsteps paused. She suddenly stopped and threw a heavy backhand punch, shattering a skeleton soldier attacking from behind, her face showing some astonishment.】

【Ilumia: "Wait, what is this?"】

【I saw those defeated skeleton soldiers crawling up again, and the parts that had just been shattered were instantly repaired, feeling like watching a movie played in reverse.】

【This is not right; the skeleton soldiers destroyed by her gray chains in the passage clearly lost their ability to revive, so why is it not working here?】

【"The Mana in this underground is unusually thin for some reason, but why is the magic power of even the small fries so high? Does this mean I have to deliver a fatal blow?"】

【Ilumia swung an uppercut again to shatter the enemy soldier's jaw and pulled away to avoid being chased.】

【"Sister Ilumia! This is, from the ground..."】

【The panicked Fernand's eyes shifted up and down, hinting at the reason.】

【"Sure enough, is it supplied by those villagers?"】

【Ilumia immediately understood what he meant.】

【At this very moment, many villagers are praying in front of the Black Madonna statue on the ground.】

【The villagers are offering their own magic power, allowing this underground space to continuously produce skeleton soldiers.】

【It is precisely because they accepted the will and prayers of the living that the dead can leave new footprints on this land and wield sharp weapons.】

Rin Tohsaka: "Absorbing magic power through prayer? What is the principle behind this?"

Feng Xi: "You can understand it as something like the power of faith."

Waver: "It should be that some kind of magic circle was laid out."

Shishigou Kairi: "But these two are in danger now; these skeleton soldiers can't be killed at all."

【"Endless!"】

【Ilumia dodged the enemy's continuous offensive and clicked her tongue lightly.】

【"No, there will be an end."】

【The thought echoed hollowly, and the masked girl who had been observing the battle situation took action.】

【"!!!"】

【Suddenly, Ilumia fell to her knees, as if she had lost her strength.】

【Something seemed to be draining her essence.】

【That form manifested from the spiritual body was devouring the villagers' essence, the thinning Great Source, and all power. Instead, it seemed to be forcibly moving the surrounding air, creating a storm that shouldn't have appeared underground.】

【She had felt that the Great Source underground was abnormally thin since just now; could the reason be...】

【Ilumia: "Because of that existence?"】

【She looked at the masked girl's hand.】

Rin Tohsaka: "What is that thing?"

Waver: "It looks like... a spear!"

Rin Tohsaka: "It couldn't be the Holy Spear, could it?"

Kayneth: "Impossible, there is only one Holy Spear, isn't it in Gray's hands!"

Kayneth: "And that spear is black, although I don't know if it's because the surroundings are too dark that it appears this color."

Shishigou Kairi: "Could it be a replica of the Holy Spear?"

Emiya Kiritsugu: "Indeed, it wouldn't be surprising if this village could create a replica of King Arthur, and then create another replica of the Holy Spear."

Lancelot: "I'm afraid it's another masterpiece of Morgan."

【On the other Reverse Reverse Reverse Reverse Side, as if guided by the stars, the Second and others entered an open space.】

【There was some kind of building in the space; that solemn stone structure was a religious temple, already very old.】

【Gray: "Underground, there is a temple?"】

【The Second: "This might be the grave."】

【Gray was very confused. Is this the village's secret? It wasn't told to the Gravekeeper of Blackmore. At least it's a part of the knowledge not yet told to me.】

【The Second: "How about it, Bersac, do you have any insights?"】

【Bersac shook his head and said: "No, I've heard that there seems to be such a building underground, but this is also my first time seeing it with my own eyes."】

【Seeing this, the Second stopped asking, and the group stepped directly into the temple.】

【As soon as they crossed the entrance, a new figure came into view.】

【Oh, that's not a person, but a statue resembling a human body placed in the temple.】

【That is a statue they are already very familiar with, after all, they have seen it countless times in the village on the ground, and it is currently placed in a corner of the temple.】

【Gray: "Is there a Black Madonna here too?"】

Rin Tohsaka: "Another Black Madonna? What exactly is this statue..."】

Feng Xi: "Haven't you seen it yet? This is not a Black Madonna at all, but that woman."】

Mordred: "Mother..."

Artoria: "Sister..."

Everyone now understands that this is not a statue of the Black Madonna at all, but Morgan's.】

【"When I visited the village before, I made a hypothesis about this Madonna."】

【The Second looked up at the Madonna and said: "Black Madonnas can be seen all over Europe, but there are several different patterns, most of which are mixed with local Earth Mother Goddesses."】

【Gray: "Earth Mother Goddess?"】

【The Second: "Many patron saints are also like this. Even a vast religion must have a certain degree of flexibility. When going to new areas to preach, they won't just impose doctrines on the people, but will also reserve space for absorbing local myths and legends. The Black Madonna is one such manifestation."】

【"And among these derivatives of Earth Mother Goddesses, there exists a witch, a witch who appears in multiple legends across different times and locations, mostly a mixture of several figures."】

【"Yes, 'Morgan le Fay,' a very familiar name in the King Arthur legends you appear in, right, Sir Kay?"】

【Kay shrugged and said: "... hat a headache-inducing master."】

【However, rather than saying he actually felt a headache, it felt more like he wanted to be sarcastic.】

【The Second: "Not to mention the King Arthur legends, in Celtic mythology, the witch Morgan often appears, sometimes as the Queen of Succubi, sometimes as a Goddess of War, and sometimes as one of the Three Fates. It is said that she travels with ravens and prefers to transform into a raven."】

【Kay smiled bitterly: "Ha! Regrettably, I don't know much about Morgan; after all, she is a very complex woman. No, most women are like that."】

【"It's just that this village should indeed have had something to do with Morgan. This Black Madonna statue vaguely has some of her shadow. Hmph, that's why they chose this village."】

【The Second shook his head and said: "I don't know what Morgan expected at the time. Since you don't know, it's impossible for me to know. However, regardless of whether Morgan hoped for it at the time, she left a spark. That spark has been passed down through generations, and after more than a thousand years, it produced a certain result."】

【"In other words, is that Gray?"】

Waver: "Sir Kay seems to think that the village's actions were not led by Morgan."

Kayneth: "That's just his guess."

【"Bersac, what is your opinion?"】

【The Second's gaze slowly turned to Bersac.】

【Bersac: "The previous generation of Gravekeepers only told me information about the rules. Those rules, which are also related to the Black Madonna, are passed down to the Gravekeepers of Blackmore generation after generation."】

【The Second: "That would be those four rules, right?"】

【Bersac nodded with a serious expression.】

【"That's right, the Magic Crest passed down by the Gravekeepers will only sense how many rules have been broken; this part has not yet been transplanted to Gray."】

【"Rules... there are four..."】

【The Second murmured, pressing his brow.】

【"First, you must worship the Black Madonna when entering the village, so..."】

【He drew a circle on the ground with his finger; the slight depression matched the village on the map.】

【"Not approaching the graveyard alone, and having to go with the Gravekeeper, mean the same thing, right?"】

【Bersac: "Yes, that's right."】

【"Since when... no, in this situation, for whom..."】

【The Second lowered his head and fell into deep thought, while Bersac and Kay also remained silent on the Reverse Reverse Reverse Reverse Side.】