It was a sharp dagger with a curved blade, and in the dim light of the underground cavern, illuminated only by a few illumination spells, it gleamed with a dazzling golden brilliance.
If one had to compare it, it resembled the kind of exquisite artifact you'd expect to find in the treasury of the Heroic King, Gilgamesh.
"What is that?" asked Lord El-Melloi II.
Aesc twirled the golden dagger lightly in her hand. "Erosion: Penetrating Blade of Gold. Though it's not the one kept by this village."
Lord El-Melloi II could tell at a glance—the magical energy radiating from Erosion: Golden Fang was unmistakably that of a Noble Phantasm.
Judging by Aesc's demeanor, it must've been something that hadn't seen much use in the Holy Grail War—likely because it wasn't suited for battlefield deployment.
Each time she turned the blade, light refracted off it with a blinding flash. The sight sent a chill down Gray's spine. Something deep inside her warned her to keep her distance from that dagger.
Even knowing that Aesc had no intention of pointing it at the vessel meant for King Arthur, Gray couldn't suppress the instinctive fear.
"To be honest, when I spoke with Bersac Blackmore today about what we were planning to do, he told me something rather shocking," Shiomi said flatly. "This village has secretly been divided into two factions for a very long time."
"Huh?" Gray blinked, stunned.
"These two sides hold completely different beliefs and missions," Shiomi continued, crouching to examine the bones scattered across the floor. "One side is the Blackmore family, descended from Bersac himself. They're Magus whose role is to guide souls. They've lived here since before the Common Era. That's also where the village's name comes from."
He turned to Gray and offered a bitter smile.
"The other faction has long prayed for the resurrection of King Arthur. They worship both King Arthur and the Black Madonna."
Gray's heart sank a little.
She had lived in this village for fifteen years. The villagers had always been kind to her. She'd never imagined that this place—with fewer than a hundred people—wasn't unified.
"Ah, but don't let it get to you, Gray," Shiomi added. "While there are two factions, most villagers don't belong to either. Even though many are now working toward reviving King Arthur, the gravekeepers still choose successors from among them. And there are also devout believers in the Black Madonna within the village. The goals of the gravekeepers and those who seek Arthur's return aren't fundamentally opposed. That's why the two sides have coexisted—distant, suspicious of each other, but living side by side."
He let out a sigh.
"As for the Holy Church, once they discovered the Black Madonna's worship here, they connected her with their own Virgin Mary and used that link to establish a presence in the village."
So, in truth, there weren't just two sides—but three.
Three factions, each watching the others, each using that balance to remain embedded in the village.
"Impressive that you managed to gain the support of two of them," Lord El-Melloi II said with a sigh. Political maneuvering wasn't his strength—those responsibilities had always fallen to Reines, despite her youth.
Compared to him, Kayneth, who could handle multiple disciplines and navigate politics, was someone he couldn't help but admire more and more.
"At its core, politics is just building allies and reducing enemies," Shiomi said with a small smile. "Given our current objective, the gravekeepers and the Church are both willing to let it happen. Only that last faction won't accept it under any circumstances."
He glanced back at the dagger in Aesc's hand.
"Still, nothing I heard from Bersac or the Church ever mentioned that dagger," Shiomi added.
Aesc pulled back her hood and slipped the blade beneath her cloak. "I learned of it from someone else."
As she said this, she cast a glance at Gray—and Shiomi immediately understood. Earlier that day, Aesc had stopped by Gray's house. Whatever she'd learned, it must've come from there.
In truth, the village elder—head of the community—did keep a similar dagger, one left by the Black Madonna for use in the resurrection ritual when the time came.
But the one in Aesc's hand was her own.
Perhaps it was a relic that mirrored its counterpart—two versions of the same thing, passed down in different hands by two people who were alike, but not the same.
No matter the side, they each held something nearly identical.
"Erosion was originally forged to sever 'mistletoe.' It can cut not just flesh, but the very seams between body, spirit, and soul," Aesc explained. "The dagger kept in the village is meant to be used once Gray's body fully synchronizes with Artoria's—stab it into her, and forcibly extract the soul and spirit."
That way, only an empty vessel would remain, ready to receive the artificial spirit already prepared. Once Artoria's soul came into contact with that vessel, incarnation would occur naturally—revival, complete.
But at that moment, the girl named Gray would vanish from the world.
"What a twisted plan. Honestly, they'd be better off just using the Holy Grail to wish Arthur back to life," Shiomi muttered, clicking his tongue. "I really wonder how Artoria would react if she saw this."
"She'd reject it outright, of course. That woman gave up on saving Britannia and walked away quietly to Avalon," Aesc said, lifting the hem of her cloak to check for any dirt. "Why would she want such a hollow second life?"
As Gray listened to the exchange, she felt something strange.
Whenever they spoke of King Arthur, they referred to her directly as Artoria.
True, there had always been rumors in the village that King Arthur was actually a woman.
But… the way these two spoke of her, it wasn't like a historical legend. It was like they were talking about someone they'd fought beside—an old comrade.
It was surreal. Gray couldn't help but think so.
"Still, now that things have come this far, it's up to you to bring it to an end," Shiomi said, rising to his feet and looking at Aesc. "The only thing we know for certain is that the Black Madonna legend passed down in this village is about the witch Morgan. And since she's the one who started this, it falls to her to end it."
Aesc let out a quiet sigh. "That was always the plan. The masked girl who bears Artoria's spirit has gone deeper inside. Once we move forward, there's no turning back without settling this. Gray, are you ready?"
"To end it…"
Gray took a deep breath.
By now, she had a clear sense of why Mr. Bersac had asked her to follow these guests.
They were here to bring closure—to end something that had been passed down in this village for a thousand years.
Which meant—
"I'll do my best… and see it through to the end."
And with that, Gray gave her answer.