Walking in the Question and Answer System of Heroic Spirits

Kenneth: "An underground chamber, huh? Something's definitely wrong."

Weber: "Did that Priest Fernand know about the existence of this passage?"

Kenneth: "Ha, he's here all day, do you think he wouldn't know?"

Meanwhile, over at the square...

Sister Ilumia received a letter addressed to her from the old man who ran the general store, and frowned slightly.

"...Ah, here it comes."

On the other side, Grey's mother was with a frail old woman.

The old woman was the oldest person in the village, probably well over a hundred years old, so everyone respectfully called her "Grandma."

Suddenly, Grandma's withered lips moved.

"There's a sound coming from underground."

[Grey's mother: "From underground?"]

"Yes, it was a very distant sound. I only heard it once when I was a child, and I still can't forget it."

Grandma murmured, "Grey's work is very well done."

Grey's mother smiled and said, "Yes, that child's time has finally come."

Shiki Jieli: "Was a magic alarm left behind? That's not surprising."

Weber: "The village's centenarian? It seems this is the one in charge of the village."

Emiya Kiritsugu: "It seems that the actions of the Second Emperor and the others are all part of someone else's plan."

Kiritsugu Emiya: "I have serious doubts about whether this is actually a past timeline."

The scene returns to the church.

The two carefully descended the stairs, constantly checking themselves to avoid encountering any traps.

The Second Prince walked ahead, casting spells to circulate the air while simultaneously creating a sphere of light for illumination.

[Grey: "Where am I...?"]

[Second Generation: "Even you don't know?"]

[Grey: "This is the first time I've seen this place."]

[Second Generation: "Hmm? There are footprints!"]

The Second Prince stopped, and saw clear footprints on the ground, indicating that he had been trampled many times.

It's obvious that quite a few people were here not long ago.

Kenneth: "Heh, looks like this isn't a secret after all."

Webber: "Everyone in the village knows except Grey, it's really..."

Rin Tohsaka: "So, the entire village is the enemy?"

Weber: "Maybe, but Mr. Belsack probably isn't."

"Is this the main part of the church? Or was the church built to hide this part?"

Thinking about this, Grey couldn't help but feel afraid.

This is her hometown, but she seems to know nothing about its true nature.

Although her unease grew, Grey forced herself to remain calm and followed behind the Second.

"In the past, the underworld was considered equivalent to the netherworld itself in many parts of the world."

The Second Prince also noticed Gray's odd behavior and spoke up to try and distract her.

["Some call the afterlife the underworld or the netherworld, while others call it the Land of Shadows. Regardless of the name, the world of the dead is connected to reality, and can be reached on foot if one so desires."]

Chapter 239: Another Gray, Undercurrents Surge

"By the way, are there any spirits here?"

[Grey: "...No, quite the opposite, it's completely empty..."]

Logically, no matter where she is, she should sense the presence of spirits to some extent, since there are almost no places on Earth where no one has died, but something is very wrong here.

[Not only was there no spiritual energy, but not even a trace of magic could be sensed.]

Logically, with so many footprints on the ground, there should be some lingering spirit attached to them. However, all that remains is empty emptiness.

The Second Prince frowned, but continued walking, quickly leading Gray to the top of the stairs, where a surprisingly spacious area awaited.

The two of them froze on the spot.

[It's not the sheer size of this place that's astonishing, but the sheer number of skeletons scattered throughout.]

The sheer number of these skeletons was overwhelming; as far as the eye could see, the ground was covered in human bones, leaving no room to even stand.

Rin Tohsaka: "Oh my god! Is this a mass grave?!"

Conqueror King: "Good heavens, there must be at least a thousand of them."

Lancelot: "I'm afraid it's more than that."

Sora: "How terrifying! There's such a place hidden under the character 'village'!"

Lion Tribulation Realm: "This is the first time I've seen this quantity. It doesn't seem like something that could be accumulated in a short period of time."

Weber: "Wait a minute, could this be the real cemetery?!"

"...Blackmore's gravesite."

The Second Prince murmured, "So, the main part of the cemetery isn't on the ground, but here."

[Grey: "Huh?!"]

"No, is this really a cemetery?"

The Second Prince frowned and said, "Unlike the surface, there are still some mysterious crystallizations remaining underground. Is it the same here...?"

Just as I was thinking this, something unexpected happened.

The bones, as if manipulated by invisible threads, floated up and assembled, transforming into skeletal soldiers wielding weapons.

Could it be that all the magic here has been absorbed by these skeletal soldiers?

But there was no time for him to think; the skeletal soldiers began their attack.

Ilya: "It's starting to feel like I'm playing a video game."

Kiritsugu Emiya: "Is it necromancy?"

Shiki-kai Kairi: "It looks somewhat like it, but I can't be sure. After all, there's a screen between us. Just looking at it, it does seem like necromancy, but to be able to manipulate so many at once..."

Weber: "It should be something like a puppet."

Weber: "The only thing we can be sure of is that it was man-made, because there was no scenario that triggered the spell."

Rin Tohsaka: "So, there are other people here."

Although Ad was in a deep sleep, his basic abilities were still intact, and Gray immediately rushed forward, wielding her large scythe.

[I just didn't expect that the seemingly frail skeletal soldiers would possess such extraordinary strength.]

[Grey: "These guys aren't spirits!"]

It is fundamentally impossible for the spirit to act in such a unified manner.

[Second Generation: "These are mostly different from pure spirits. They seem to be recording tapes inscribed in space by the surrounding magic, barely forming soldier-like shapes with bones as a medium... Ah, this is simply a failure of the wielder."]

At the same time, they also noticed that there were other people present.

Rin Tohsaka: "What do you mean? I don't understand?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "What I mean is that someone used these corpses to experiment in an attempt to summon Heroic Spirits, but they did not succeed."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "These are all products of failure."

Shishikatsu Kairi: "Trying to summon Heroic Spirits outside of the Holy Grail War? Is this another masterpiece by that Hatteres?"

Kenneth: "No, looking at the numbers, this experiment has definitely been going on for a long time, possibly even before Hartrace was born."

Weber: "Shouldn't we be concerned about the person who launched the attack?"

A figure could be seen hiding behind the skeletal soldiers who were gradually rising, silently observing them.

"Huh?!"

Grey was startled when she saw the figure.

Although the other person was wearing a metal mask, her figure and posture were all too familiar to her.

That's how she sees herself in the mirror every day.

"Why have you come?"

Although the other person didn't speak, Gray somehow sensed that they were asking her the same question.

"It's too early. The future king has not yet awakened. You are on the ground, I am underground. We should wait there."

[Grey looked completely bewildered by the other person's statement, then seemed to understand something.]