On the surface, in the village...
Although today marked the arrival of traveling merchants, bringing unusual bustle to Blackmore Village, only one person sensed the disturbance underground.
The village elder, revered by the villagers as "Grandmother" and custodian of the "Erosion," heard the rumble below. This hunched old woman, who had lived for more than a century, immediately recognized it not as ordinary noise, but as a shift from the temple.
Under her lead, a group of fanatical believers—unmoved by the market festivities—rushed into the Holy Church.
Though Sister Ilumia had vowed to stop anyone from intruding, the sheer force of numbers overwhelmed the resistance. The executor, the priests, and the messengers had already vanished from the church interior.
The elder paid no mind to the Church personnel hiding in the shadows to observe. Her focus was on the temple's tremor.
"Where is Magdalena?"
Her voice rang clear. The crowd surrounding her parted in response.
Gray's mother, Magdalena, was brought forward.
"Grandmother…" Magdalena knelt.
"Where is Gray?" asked the old woman.
Though pinned down by village women, Magdalena remained composed.
"She went where she was meant to go."
"You've betrayed your duty, letting the vessel of the King roam freely," the old woman said, slamming her cane into the floor with fury. "Confess now, and there may still be mercy."
Magdalena kept her head low, eyes on the floor just before her, and spoke softly.
"The Black Madonna will descend upon this village again and deliver a new revelation."
The villagers erupted in murmurs and gasps.
The Black Madonna—an ancient legend none had ever witnessed firsthand. They had only passed down ancestral teachings, protecting the true secret buried beneath the temple.
"You speak of the Black Madonna?" The elder's sunken eyes gleamed with fanatic light. "If that is true—"
She turned, lifting both arms high as she gazed up at the statue of the Black Madonna.
"If the Black Madonna is truly here, then the time has come! From this moment on, the Holy Church is our enemy! Cast them out, as we once fought for our independence! Roar, for this land is our sacred ground, untouchable! Yes! Now we may sing without restraint—we who, since the age of legend, have awaited the return of the King!"
Her voice then softened, reverent.
"Swear before the Black Madonna. Please—guide us once more."
The villagers responded with a unified chant.
Only the statue of the Black Madonna watched them, expression unchanged.
...
Following the trail left by the girl in the golden mask, the group pressed forward.
Beyond the far end of the Great Cavern lay a twisting path of forked roads and illusionary barriers meant to disorient. But neither Shiomi nor Aesc faltered.
After turning through those maze-like tunnels, an even more expansive space came into view.
Faint silhouettes of structures loomed ahead. Shiomi raised his hand, summoning several lights that soared to the cavern ceiling, casting a radiant glow.
Before them stood a stone temple—ancient and imposing.
"There's a tomb underground?" Lord El-Melloi II was stunned by the scene before him. He muttered as he stepped forward, "Or... is this the real graveyard?"
Everything before had just been a defense mechanism.
The skeletal army, the labyrinthine tunnels—none of it was real. It was all just a deterrent to keep intruders out.
"Bersac mentioned an underground shrine too, but he'd never seen it himself," Shiomi said. Then he noticed something odd about Aesc and lowered his voice. "What is it?"
"It's strange. My mana affinity is rising," Aesc replied, staring at her hand. "Is this... a blessing granted through faith?"
From the moment Aesc entered the village, she could sense a deep affinity with the Greater Source here.
The reason was simple: the villagers worshipped the Black Madonna—Morgan.
No matter her origin, Aesc was undeniably Morgan. Naturally, the villagers' faith would unconsciously channel back to her—as long as they continued to worship the Black Madonna.
However, this sudden and intense surge in mana was abnormal.
"Could it be—" Shiomi looked up toward the ceiling of the vast cavern.
They couldn't see the outside, but they could feel the flow of the Greater Source.
"The villagers are praying to the Black Madonna," Aesc concluded as well.
Gray turned around in surprise. "But today... isn't Sunday. The church should be closed."
What puzzled her even more was what Aesc had said—that the villagers' faith had been passed to her.
She was just an outsider. Why would she benefit from their faith?
"That can only mean—" Shiomi suddenly extended his hand. A rope of mana shot out, wrapping around Lord El-Melloi II's waist. "The village knows we're here!"
With a pull, he yanked Lord El-Melloi II backward.
Before he could even ask why, a skeleton soldier crashed down from above, its longsword slamming into the ground and carving a deep gash into the stone.
"What is that...?"
Despite being dragged, Lord El-Melloi II didn't tumble. He flipped mid-air and landed steadily.
It wasn't his own doing, but Shiomi's technique.
Behind the skeleton, dozens more emerged from the temple. At the top of the steps stood a girl in a golden mask, clad in solid armor and gripping a spear wreathed in dark mana, its shaft bristling with jagged spikes.
"The black... Rhongomyniad..." Gray murmured. She knew exactly what that spear was.
Suddenly, Aesc spoke.
"Hold my coat. I'm the one best suited for this." She reached out, unfastened her cloak, and tossed it cleanly to Shiomi.
A glow of mana wrapped around her body. As the magic spear returned to her hand, Morgan's attire transformed.
She reappeared in the world for the first time in nine years—her presence both regal and cold.
"There are three who wield Rhongomyniad, yet none of them are the original," Aesc said, aiming the spear at the masked girl. "Quite the clever trick."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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