Chapter 529

Rin Tohsaka: "Why not meet the attack head-on?"

Waver: "Probably because his condition makes it impossible for him to withstand the attack of the opponent's Holy Spear. After all, the Holy Spear is highly lethal to spiritual bodies, and his Spirit Origin is incomplete."

【Gray attempts to step forward to help, but is stopped by the voice of the Second.】

【"I say, you came here to see her, didn't you?"】

【"Yes!"】

【Gray understands the Second's meaning; she didn't meet the masked girl for the sake of fighting.】

【"Um, my name is Gray! What is your name?"】

【"... I have no name. I am the King's spirit, just as you are the King's flesh."】

【The masked girl continues her unhurried assault on Kay while answering Gray's question.】

【"Your proper name is meaningless; I exist with you so that we may eventually become one."】

【"Of course, if you feel it inconvenient to have no name, you may call me the King of Bones. I am but one-third of myself, and cannot be mentioned in the same breath as the king of old, but I am undoubtedly their king, at the very least."】

Kayneth: "King of Bones, the king of the skeleton soldiers? A name that is quite self-evident."

Mordred: "Tch, just a phantasm, yet daring to call oneself a king."

【Gray: "King of Bones, I came to ask you a question. If I say that I was in that village and you are here, I believe I must ask you this question."】

【"You, do you really want King Arthur to be resurrected?"】

Rin Tohsaka: "Huh? That's it?"

Waver: "No, this should be Gray's own question; it wasn't the future me who told her to ask it."

Kairi Sisigou: "Indeed, a question like that isn't enough to invite a fatal disaster."

【On the other hand, sparks continue to fly between Bersac and Ilumia.】

【The Gravedigger and the nun were originally existences that helped each other in the village. Whenever a villager passed away, one was responsible for presiding over the memorial service and the other for the burial; the two had plenty of contact.】

【Bersac had eaten pastries baked by Ilumia herself, and Ilumia had also used firewood brought by Bersac to start a fire and keep warm.】

【Had they ever thought that things would turn out like this one day?】

【Did they live peaceful lives even though they had long anticipated they would kill each other?】

【Ilumia: "What a surprise. I thought you simply chose that girl based on aptitude; I didn't expect your feelings to be deep enough to help her at such a time."】

【Bersac: "... Gravediggers have the ways of a Gravedigger."】

【Ilumia: "Hmph! Then, do you have a connection with this country? Ah, the country refers to YG, not Wales."】

【Bersac: "Hm? You know?"】

【Ilumia: "Needless to say, what do you think the Holy Church is?"】

【Although they were talking to each other, neither side's body paused for even an instant.】

【Ilumia approached the opponent like lightning, using both hands in tandem, her body spinning as she smashed the skeleton soldiers approaching from the surroundings to pieces.】

【Bersac was no simpleton either, using his giant axe to accurately parry the opponent's attacks while constantly keeping an eye on the changing distance, never letting Ilumia gain an advantageous position.】

【The two's battle was thus in a state of deadlock.】

Waver: "I didn't expect this old gentleman's strength to be so formidable."

Kayneth: "It has long been little known that the Gravedigger's strength is formidable. If he couldn't even manage a battle like this, he wouldn't be worthy of such a great reputation."

【"There is also this move."】

【Bersac took the initiative to break the deadlock, holding his giant axe horizontally to rotate it for defense while taking the opportunity to cast magic.】

【"Quoth the raven!"】

【As the incantation fell, a raven suddenly appeared on the axe.】

【Ilumia could tell that this raven was not a physical entity, but most likely a low-level spirit summoned through something like Clock Tower summoning magic.】

【However, what is the point of summoning a low-level spirit at this time?】

【"■■■■■■"】

【The raven suddenly let out a cry, a sound that the human ear could not understand at all. Waves of magical power scattered, directly striking the skeleton soldiers attempting to surge in from the side.】

【"Tch!"】

【Watching the skeleton soldiers collapse in the blink of an eye, Ilumia quickly leaped backward to open up the distance.】

【Purple lightning tore through the darkness of the underground, and the shockwave emitted by the raven was neutralized before the shield of purple lightning.】

【Even so, a large tear appeared on the Gray Lock on one of Ilumia's hands.】

【The power of the cry of the raven summoned by Bersac was unexpectedly so fierce.】

Rin Tohsaka: "Does this count as calling for backup?"

Waver: "What kind of cry was that? It definitely wasn't the sound of a raven!"

Waver: "No, it's hard to say if this creature is even a real raven."

Illya: "Amazing! What was that? A sonic attack?"

Emiya Kiritsugu: "More or less, and the power is not small either."

Risei Kotomine: "To think it actually cracked the Gray Lock, and it wasn't even specifically attacking Ilumia."

Kairi Sisigou: "Finally using magic? I thought this Gravedigger old man only excelled at hand-to-hand combat."

【Ilumia: "Is this magic passed down by word of mouth?"】

【Bersac: "According to your understanding, that is the case."】

【The spirit raven landed on his shoulder, ready to face the developments to come.】

【"Yi!"】

【On the other side, Fernand, who had no protection from Ilumia, was fleeing in all directions.】

【The startup time for the Baptism Rite was too long, and with no one to guard him, he could only dodge the pursuit of the skeleton soldiers while chanting, displaying speed and agility that did not belong to his physique.】

【After not knowing how many times he had finished chanting the Baptism Rite, Fernand finally stopped his footsteps.】

【Because at this moment, he had unknowingly been driven near the dirt wall of the underground cavity, with nowhere left to go.】

【However, just at this moment, he discovered that a strange sound seemed to be emanating from within the dirt wall.】

Illya: "I didn't expect this fat priest to be quite agile."

Waver: "Being able to perform the Baptism Rite while running is quite impressive."

Waver: "He heard movement inside the wall; could it be that it's empty there? Or is someone approaching?"

Rin Tohsaka: "It wouldn't be those crazy villagers, would it?"

Waver: "If it really is them, then we're in trouble."

【"You, do you really want King Arthur to be resurrected?"】

【Facing this question, the King of Bones gave an answer without hesitation.】

【"That is a matter of course; I was reproduced and preserved for this very purpose."】

【"I am the spirit of that king of old, something that has been correctly digitized and correctly given form."】