The mont the words left her mouth, Aesc vanished.
A split-second later, a sonic boom rang out, making Gray's ears throb.
In the blink of an eye, Aesc had already broken through the skeletal formation and charged straight at the masked girl. The skeletons in her way were flung into the air, shattering apart.
Her magic spear clashed with the masked girl's pitch-black Rhongomyniad. The two weapons locked in a deadlock.
Skeleton soldiers not hit in the initial assault rushed in to flank Aesc and support the masked girl—but were instantly skewered by mana spikes erupting from the ground.
"Why have you co?" the masked girl growled, her voice tight with tension.
"To see you," Aesc answered calmly.
"And now, what do you intend to do?"
"Put an end to this."
"I can't allow that. I am the 'pointing will' of the once-existent king—her remnants, her afterimage, and the 'sequence' preserved for the future!" Her voice grew louder, sounding eerily like Artoria's. "Even you, Morgan, have no right to end this of your own accord!"
Her voice carried through the revived ranks of skeletons and reached Gray's ears.
Stunned, Gray clutched Add—now in scythe form—and stood speechless.
Morgan.
Morgan le Fay.
The Witch of Britain. The dark queen of legends.
It was real...
"The Black Madonna will co to us and undo the fate she once set in motion."
That was what her mother had said yesterday, after Gray ca ho to find Aesc gone.
At the ti, Gray thought it was just another one of the village's old prophecies. She'd grown tired and numb from hearing so many of them, and hadn't thought much of it.
"Do you truly believe that?" Aesc suddenly asked softly.
The masked girl's attacks weakened.
"Artoria has already returned to Avalon, taking the scabbard with her," Aesc repeated. "No matter how perfectly you prepare body and mind, her soul will never co back."
With those words, Morgan's voice hardened. She swung her magic spear, and the masked girl was blown backward.
The blast from the swing cleared everything around her.
This ti, Shiomi leapt into action—one hand gripping Aesc's cloak, the other carrying Lord El-lloi II—as he soared upward to avoid the shockwave.
Gray, though not as strong as the others, still far outmatched El-lloi II. She followed Shiomi's lead, jumping to evade the attack.
"Ten years ago, Artoria Pendragon responded to the Holy Grail War's call and appeared in the Far East," Aesc said, almost like she was giving a sermon, her spear moving in rhythmic arcs that kept the masked girl completely on the defensive. "With her soul's descent ca not only the awakening of her body—but her spirit as well."
Aesc laid out the facts, and the masked girl had no rebuttal.
"But when a faith passed down for a thousand years finally bore fruit, not everyone greeted it with joy." Her tone turned cold as she raised her spear high and brought it crashing down. The masked girl barely blocked with her armored hands. "At that mont, soone who couldn't accept it interfered with the ritual."
Gray and El-lloi II were both stunned.
Soone had interfered with a thousand-year-old ritual? Just how many secrets did this village hold?
"So you really think you're the spirit prepared for Artoria's resurrection?" Aesc's voice dripped with scorn. "The entire ritual went off course from the very beginning. Even if Artoria Pendragon appeared here and now, she wouldn't be able to use the body and spirit you've prepared. Her resurrection is impossible."
Like a herald of final judgnt, Aesc coldly delivered the harsh truth.
The masked girl's defenses began to falter. Gray couldn't tell if it was because she was reeling from the truth, or if she was simply overwheld by Aesc's power.
"It's ti you showed your true face."
With a final, decisive blow, the black Rhongomyniad was knocked away. A strange spell briefly appeared over the masked girl's body before vanishing. She dropped to her knees, powerless, while the surrounding skeletons crumbled into dust.
Shiomi, Gray, and El-lloi II approached Aesc as she reached out and grasped the golden mask.
Slowly, she removed it.
Instinctively, Gray braced herself to see a face identical to her own.
But what she saw made her gasp and cover her mouth in shock.
"...Mother?"
The face beneath the mask was neither Artoria nor Gray—it was Magdalena.
"This is your answer," Aesc said, gazing at the now lifeless girl. "Nine years ago, when Artoria's manifestation triggered your transformation, she found a way to interfere with the ritual. Through the resonance of bloodline and daily habits, she synchronized the spirit here to herself."
That was the truth Magdalena had confessed to Aesc.
To that mother, as long as her wish could be fulfilled, Aesc was the Black Madonna.
No—it had to be the Black Madonna.
She was fortunate to encounter Aesc before taking the final step. She laid bare everything she had done and left the decision to Aesc.
If even the Black Madonna refused to show rcy, then Magdalena was prepared to end it all with her own life.
"Your mother already possessed traits similar to Artoria," Aesc explained to Gray. "She was not only your mother, but also one of many outcos cultivated through the village's legacy. The thod of interference was actually simple—since you were the one most compatible with the village's rituals and the first successful case, it only had to begin with you."
Gray suddenly rembered.
After her father passed away, her mother beca obsessively involved in every aspect of her life. Not just bedti and prayer—she even dictated the order she ate her als and how she dressed. Everyone around them gradually accepted it as part of the ritual.
And now, Gray finally realized—it had all been a disguise.
Her mother had pretended to be the most devoted follower while secretly preparing a way to save her beloved daughter from becoming a vessel.
"...Thank goodness... thank goodness..."
Gray broke down in tears, kneeling before the "spirit" that bore her mother's face.
Her mother had never stopped loving her. In fact, she loved her even more than before.
No one could persist for nine years—repeating the sa actions, day after day—without imnse love and unwavering resolve.
The spirit's face and body began to blur, its form starting to fade.
But then, the Great Cavern and the temple began to tremble.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake
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