Fate: How About a New Savior?

"What a splendid show."

Zepia, standing in the shade to avoid the sunlight, spoke to Shiomi and his group.

They were now at the foot of a mountain, far from Blackmore Village. The sun had already sunk about eighty percent below the horizon. Even so, the remaining light still caused considerable trouble for the director of the Atlas Institute.

He wore the same cloak from the windmill and had pulled up a hood that covered most of his face.

"Don't make it sound like we were just following a script. Even if things did go more or less the way you expected." Shiomi voiced his displeasure in a half-joking tone.

Zepia smiled. "No, I meant the final revelation in the village."

Surrounded by a flock of crows, Shiomi and Aesc had teleported from the underground temple to the surface village. There, Aesc unleashed a Grand Magecraft, lifting the enchantments carved across the entire village.

Those enchantments had been left by the Black Madonna to facilitate King Arthur's resurrection.

No one had ever attempted to undo them, and no one in the village was capable of doing so. The Holy Church, which had monitored the place for years, was no different.

After all, the Black Madonna wasn't purely a matter of faith, and no one knew if Morgan, the Witch of Britannia, still existed. If they recklessly took action and ended up provoking her, it would be just as troublesome for the Church.

Of course, after the fabricated divine revelation ended, everything Shiomi told the Holy Church's Executor—Sister Ilumia—was a complete performance.

Naturally, Sister Ilumia had no concern about what might happen to the Clock Tower's Magus if the witch were to come knocking.

They had done the work, and the Church merely benefited.

—Of course, in her report, the nun would surely describe the Church as having exercised restraint and rationality, but that was another matter entirely.

"As I said before, the one who tied the bell must untie it," Shiomi simply remarked.

Aesc, too, was a bit surprised that lifting the spell hadn't triggered any backlash—and Morgan hadn't shown up at all.

She had braced herself for a confrontation with her "other self," but in the end, it wasn't necessary.

"More importantly, how's 'Logos React' holding up?" Shiomi casually asked Zepia while glancing at Aesc, who was sitting on a roadside stone talking with Gray. "It took a direct hit from a Noble Phantasm—it must've taken serious damage, right?"

Zepia closed his eyes, answering calmly, "No need to worry. This level of damage will heal on its own with some time. It just won't be able to activate again for a few years."

But more than the damage to Logos React, what truly mattered was that the ritual to resurrect King Arthur had been completely nullified.

Unless the real Black Madonna returned, no one could ever reconstruct that complex Age of Gods Magecraft ritual.

As a result, Arthur's resurrection was now impossible. The Atlas Institute's contract at this site was finished. Zepia would be able to retrieve the contract as planned and leave with Logos React.

Perhaps he would return to Blackmore Village someday, but whatever purpose he had then would likely have nothing to do with the recent events.

"In any case, allow me to thank you on behalf of the Atlas Institute," Zepia said, giving Shiomi a deeply formal bow. "Though we cannot say so publicly, the Atlas Institute owes you a debt. Your actions helped us move forward with a task that has spanned two thousand years."

The Atlas Institute couldn't unilaterally terminate the contract, which was why Zepia had gone to such lengths to collect data on the village and ensure everything was under his control, giving him a way to...

"Don't worry about it. Just remember what you promised me." Shiomi shook his head.

Zepia nodded deeply. "Of course. Whether it's what happened here or Lady Aesc's identity, the Atlas Institute won't say a word to outsiders."

With that, he turned and disappeared into the shadows at the base of the mountain.

Shiomi glanced back—Aesc and Gray were still talking—then looked over at El-Melloi II.

After everything in the village was settled, Shiomi had remembered that El-Melloi II was still on the roof of the temple. He'd quietly returned to bring him down. His belongings had been packed by members of the Church and secretly smuggled out by Bersac, who then reunited with the group at the foot of the mountain.

"How did it go? Is Mr. Bersac willing to leave the village and help you in the Fifth Holy Grail War?" Shiomi asked.

El-Melloi II lit a cigar, took a drag, and shook his head. Bersac stepped forward to explain.

"I'm the gravekeeper here. I can't just leave the village. Besides, everything that happened has completely changed this place. I have a duty to stay and keep an eye on what follows."

"Fair enough." Shiomi looked helplessly at El-Melloi II, indicating there was nothing he could do either.

Not that El-Melloi II expected much—he hadn't come to Blackmore Village with high hopes of persuading the gravekeeper.

"There's one more thing I'd like to ask of you both," Bersac said. "Gray can no longer stay here. Please take her away from the village."

Before Shiomi could react, Gray had already run over, visibly anxious.

"I really have to leave?"

"You don't have a choice," Bersac replied.

At the end of the ritual that lifted the village's enchantment, Gray had been taken away by the Black Madonna in front of everyone.

Whatever the intent behind it, that kind of power—far beyond anything the villagers could comprehend—made it clear that it was the Black Madonna's decision.

And the sudden end of a thousand-year-old faith, just as it was about to bear fruit, wasn't something the villagers could easily accept.

There were surely still those who wanted to carry on with the resurrection ritual. If Gray returned, she'd only be turned into a vessel and a sacrifice all over again.

"I told you before—you'd have to leave the village one day and see the world," said Bersac. "That day is today. You've spent fifteen years in a place with barely a hundred people. It's time to open your eyes to the world outside."

"Mr. Bersac..." Gray was filled with gratitude and sorrow.

She remembered what her teacher had told her and understood his intentions.

This wasn't just about finding refuge—it was about stepping out into the world of her own accord.

"I understand."

Gray gripped the latch of the cage tightly. Bersac didn't take Add back—another sign of how much this decision meant.