Walking in the Question and Answer System of Heroic Spirits

[Grey: "The operation on the eve of the incident?"]

[Second King: "It was the first round. Belsac said that someone broke a few rules on the first day. It was Hartres who approached the village at night. He probably went to check on the setup or something at the very end, and then left the village without paying homage to the Black-faced Our Lady."]

[Grey: "Leaving the village...?"]

Indeed, doing so would violate two rules.

[Grey: "But what about when he arrives?"]

[Second Prince: "That hut is built on the other side of the swamp, most likely outside the village's magic alarm zone. Even so, he might have broken the rules before. Belsac himself has said that occasionally someone breaks the rule, including going out late at night, so Hartres probably doesn't care too much about breaking the rules."]

"Hartles wasn't directly involved in the cases, but aside from his financial investments in Twin Towers Izeruma, he was likely indirectly involved in several other cases, most of which were dealt with discreetly."

"Hartles must always be targeting these kinds of cases. Otherwise, who knows when or what unpredictable individuals might be eyeing him."

"I just happened to break that."

[Kay: "I see. So that thing called the Affinity Diagram was abandoned halfway through. The catalyst for this case is..."]

[Second Generation: "Yes, the catalyst for this case was me."]

[Grey: "The teacher is the catalyst, what does that mean?"]

[Second King: "That's why the Holy Church acted at this particular time. With the Clock Tower's ruler entering the village, the Holy Church could no longer stand idly by. At least that's what Hatres concluded, and that's why they hastily left."]

"From Hartles' perspective, my entry into the village at this stage must have been unexpected."

Lion Jie Li: "Hmm, I see."

Rin Tohsaka: "What do you mean?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "The villagers, the gravediggers, and the church had always maintained a certain balance in the village, but the arrival of the Second Prince disrupted that balance."

Lion's Tribulation: "After all, they don't know the purpose of the Second Prince's visit; they only know that the Clock Tower also wants to get involved."

Rin Tohsaka: "So, Hartres was scared away by the Second Prince."

Weber: "Well, you can interpret it that way if you want."

[Trimmau: "Everyone, we'll be there soon."]

They had now emerged from the forest; the soft morning light stimulated their eyes, and the swamp lay ahead.

[Dawn had broken, and the moment when the Skeleton King was presumed dead was fast approaching.]

As if prophesied, a familiar building rose from the swamp—the very temple they had seen underground.

Part of the rising temple overlapped with the edge of the swamp, almost like a bridge.

[Grey: "That temple...it's floating up from the water?"]

[Kai gritted his teeth and said, "That's... Afaron!"]

Rin Tohsaka: "Aphalon? What's that?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "It is the land where the dead King Arthur was transported. Moreover, it is said to be the place where he is destined to be resurrected one day. It is no exaggeration to say that it is the most sacred place in Britain."

Shiki Jieli: "This is not something that modern magic can do; it is probably a creation from the mysterious era."

Kenneth: "The land of resurrection, huh? So that's how it is. Are you planning to complete the ritual there?"

Meanwhile, outside...

[Flat: "What...what is this? Why is the temple floating up?"]

[Tsbia: "You yourself said there's something unnatural about the terrain, right? And the terrain itself is unnatural in terms of structure... Uh, so outsiders can interfere with this place that resembles the past, right?"]

"It takes several steps to officially raise the temple, and I went to great lengths to skip that process and get it running. However, it seems that the mechanism to dispel the barrier was also triggered at the same time the temple rose."

[Sphinx: "So you mean you retaliated against me using the same methods I used? Because I interfered, and you took advantage of that?"]

[Zsbia: "Your teacher probably isn't an expert and couldn't possibly teach you this. There are all sorts of styles and techniques for interfering with the exercise of magic; skill isn't limited to improperly using normally functioning circuits. Although this rarely happens, there are tactics that only apply when magician and hacker meet."]

"For me, this is a rare opportunity to showcase abilities I had long forgotten."

[Flatter: "Haha! This is amazing! Magic can even be used like this?! Atlas Academy is as deep as a card game that has been developed over decades!"]

[Sphen: "Okay, calm down."]

[Tsbia: "So, can you touch the mystery you are meant to unravel, El-Melloi II?"]

Kenneth: "So this was Tsbia's doing, retaliating in kind."

Weber: "I must say, he truly lives up to his title as Dean of the Atlas Institute."

[The scene returns to the crystal ball.]

[Second King: "That shouldn't be Avalon itself, but rather a product built based on the legend of Avalon. The analogy Sir Kay just mentioned is very important in magic."]

[Kai: "Ha! It's amazing they managed to gather so much stuff."]

[Second Generation: "According to that diagram of affinity, the body, spirit, and soul will unite as one within that temple."]

[Kay said impatiently, "The villagers probably entered the temple through that bridge-like structure too. I don't know if they knew about the mechanism beforehand, but they're holding hands with that Masked King, all lovey-dovey, eagerly waiting for you to come to them."]

"Charging straight in would just be repeating the same mistake. If she swings that black holy lance again, not only us, but the entire mountain will be blasted to dust. Dying without pain might be easy, but I think that kind of ending is ridiculous."

[Second Generation: "No, I'm afraid that won't be the case."]

Despite this, they did not back down and headed straight for the temple.

The "ending" of this second round is about to be revealed.

Lion's Tribulation: "It's finally time for the final showdown."

Weber: "Hopefully, nothing else goes wrong."

Feng Xi: "You're doomed. Saying that will definitely cause trouble. This is called setting a flag."

Weber: "???"

A large group of people gathered at the temple entrance, with villagers on one side, numbering about a dozen, each holding an old axe or hoe, staring at the Second King and his entourage.

"King Arthur's...body..."

Hearing those listless murmurs, Grey couldn't help but lower her eyes.

[Are they no longer hiding it? Is no one calling for Grey anymore?]

Standing behind the villagers were two people: Grandma and Magdalena, who served as their representatives.

[Grey: "Mommy, Grandma."]

【"..."】

Magdalena remained silent, her eyes reflecting Grey's image without any emotion.

On the other side, confronting them, was Sister Ilumia.

Although she was facing the villagers alone, her combat abilities, demonstrated underground, allowed her to easily defeat these ordinary villagers without breaking a sweat.

[There are also skeletal troops maintaining an equal distance from both sides, silently observing them.]

The three parties remained deadlocked.

Rin Tohsaka: "Is this considered a three-way standoff?"

Feng Xi: "No, if you include the Second Generation, they are four-legged."

Waver: "It seems like the Skeleton King isn't planning on helping the villagers."

Irumia: "You guys are so slow."

[Second Generation: "You didn't fight?"]

[Irumia: Yeah, how could a fight possibly break out under these circumstances? I discovered the trap in the swamp and planned to get there first, but this is how it turned out when I arrived... By the way, this means I was the first person to discover the scene, so I can't trust anyone, right?]

"Why...why is this happening..."

Grandma murmured, as if she had lost all her enthusiasm. Because the very reason they should have fought so desperately had been taken away.

[Kai: "Hey, hey, hey, how did things turn out like this?"]

Their gazes were fixed further back on the skeletal army.

[At the feet of the statue of the Black-faced Virgin Mary inside the temple. A figure is leaning against it.]

Lion Jie Li: "Hey, this is getting interesting."

Weber: "Am I still too late?"

Upon seeing this scene, Grey's pupils contracted, and long-buried memories began to surface.

When a severe headache strikes, the first thing that comes to mind is the sense of smell.

The smell of rotting weeds and water made my throat feel like it was about to rot.

Then came the sound—the piercing cries of dozens, even hundreds of crows.

"You... you... me..."

The ending is now revealed here.

Chapter 257 The Truth Behind the Death of the Skeleton King

The Skeleton King is dead.

Behind the skeletal soldiers, the fallen masked girl lay motionless, her neck stained with blood.