After Guinevere successfully obtained the divine artifact from Erica, although Sayanomiya Kaoru and Ena did not voice their objections on the spot, both Satsuki and Erica could clearly see the deep dissatisfaction in them as representatives of the History Compilation Committee and the Netherworld Recluses.
It was only human nature. Whether it was the History Compilation Committee or the Netherworld Recluses, both subconsciously regarded this divine artifact as something that belonged to Japan. And yet it had just been taken away so easily, practically handed over for nothing. No matter how one looked at it, it was a losing deal.
Moreover, this divine artifact was directly connected to the awakening of the Last King. Because of Erica's decision, in the future it was very possible that thousands, even tens of thousands, of ordinary people might die in unforeseen disasters. They simply could not understand how Erica had agreed to it.
However, the authority of a Demon King could not be challenged. Though dissatisfied, they could only report the matter back to their superiors. To try to stop it face-to-face was beyond their capabilities.
Sayanomiya Kaoru might have guessed that Erica and Satsuki had deeper intentions behind their actions. But as for Ena Seishuuin, her thoughts could probably be summed up in one sentence: The ministers are ready to fight to the death—why has Your Majesty surrendered first?
On the way back, the straightforward Ena could not hold back any longer.
"Are we really just going to let her leave like that?"
"Three reasons."
Satsuki looked out at the seascape rushing past the car window.
"I once traveled to Sardinia in Italy and paid a visit to Lucretia, who is known as the Witch of Sardinia. In her collection of magical texts, I saw records concerning this Divine Ancestor Guinevere. The records describe her as elusive and scheming, a descendant of a serpent deity, a witch who possesses power beyond human comprehension. She is indeed formidable—but none of that is the most important point. The most important detail recorded there was her possession of the Holy Grail of Sorcery."
"The Holy Grail of Sorcery... I recall hearing about that magical tool while organizing some ancient documents in the archives," Sayanomiya Kaoru, seated in the driver's seat, said thoughtfully. "But those were merely records. The existence of the Holy Grail of Sorcery has always been treated as a legend. Aside from the Black Prince who relentlessly pursues the Grail, no one truly knows whether such a treasure exists."
"That is precisely why I deliberately made a move to test her—to confirm whether the Holy Grail of Sorcery truly exists."
Satsuki's voice remained distant and calm.
"Luo Hao once mentioned that Divine Ancestor Guinevere keeps a god at her side as a guardian spirit. To invite a god to serve as one's personal bodyguard is no simple matter. Even as a Divine Ancestor with deep mythological ties to the being in question, she would inevitably have to pay an immense price. Ena should understand this very well."
As the only person in Japan currently capable of performing Divine Possession, Ena indeed had the authority to speak on the matter.
"Her method is somewhat similar to mine. I combine the power of the Ama-no-Murakumo with my own curse power, and with my grandfather's assistance, I can summon the sword spirit of Ama-no-Murakumo to possess me. In doing so, I gain immense power—but my rationality is gradually replaced by that of the divine sword. If I remain in the state of Divine Possession for too long, my personal consciousness will eventually be erased, and I will become nothing more than a weapon that knows only how to fight."
"Compared to my method, Guinevere's is far more complex. She uses powerful sorcery to bind that god to her side in the form of a guardian spirit and fix it into a state of constant presence. Once the preset conditions of the spell are triggered, the bound god can descend directly in the form of a guardian spirit to interfere with the present world. In terms of combat effectiveness, it is slightly inferior to Divine Possession, but it causes no negative effects to the summoner herself."
"Binding a lofty god to one's side as a guardian spirit—can magecraft really achieve that level? I'm starting to feel that choosing to become a ninja, aside from making it easier to run away, might not have much of a future."
Amakasu clicked his tongue in disbelief.
"Within the modern magical system, such a thing would be impossible," Sayanomiya Kaoru interjected steadily as he drove. "But she is a Divine Ancestor who transcends the modern system. As a reincarnation of a god, it is not strange that she would possess sorcery capable of such effects. However, even if she commands a spell of that level, maintaining it would require an enormous and continuous supply of curse power. Even a Divine Ancestor cannot sustain such output for long."
Only then did Sayanomiya Kaoru suddenly realize something.
"So that was why, at the time, Lady Satsuki forced Guinevere to summon the god?"
"Exactly. Once I confirmed that she truly had a guardian spirit modeled after a god, it could be inferred that she possessed a magical tool capable of sustaining such massive curse power output. Combined with the earlier records, it is reasonable to conclude that what she possesses is the legendary Holy Grail of Sorcery. That was my first objective."
"My second objective was to determine the specific location of the Holy Grail of Sorcery."
"Given the importance of the Ama-no-Sakahoko to gods of Steel, Guinevere would certainly bring it to the place she considers safest and conceal it there. That location is also highly likely to be where she hides the Grail. Therefore, as long as we can locate the Ama-no-Sakahoko, we will eventually be able to track down the hiding place of the Holy Grail of Sorcery as well."
At this point, Ena suddenly spoke up anxiously.
"Wait, Lady Satsuki—none of us has the means to track something under a Divine Ancestor's watchful eye. Even Yuri's spirit vision cannot guarantee twenty-four-hour surveillance of a divine artifact's movements. And in the worst-case scenario, she might directly transfer the artifact into another dimension—like the Netherworld. What would we do then?"
"For shrine maidens or ordinary magi, continuously tracking a divine artifact of Steel under a Divine Ancestor's protection would indeed be difficult. However, you seem to have overlooked a key point."
Satsuki's tone remained composed.
"From the conditions required to lift the seal of Bimawen of the Western Heavenly Palace, it can be deduced that the descendants of the Earth Mother goddesses and the Steel gods who slew dragons and serpents have been entangled in a fated enmity since the mythological age. Beings who possess a Dragon-Serpent Divinity are also highly sensitive to the attribute of Steel. That is why Guinevere, despite being a foreigner, was able to lock onto the location of the Ama-no-Sakahoko."
"So Satsuki intends to have that girl named Candle Nine Yin track the Ama-no-Sakahoko?"
Erica, who had personally witnessed the overwhelming divine might and sky-covering true form of the dragon deity girl at Satsuki's side, suddenly understood.
"She is not the most suitable candidate," Satsuki shook her head. "Although she possesses the body of a Dragon God, she is not a descendant of the Earth Mother. Her own rank does not lie beneath that being."
"If not her, then who could it be?"
Satsuki offered only a riddle.
"Someone who can follow our orders. Someone who is a descendant of an Earth Mother goddess, who also carries the attribute of Dragon-Serpent Divinity. Most importantly, someone powerful enough to track the Grail and seize it from a Divine Ancestor. Think about it—who among us fits those conditions?"
Erica's eyes lit up.
"I think I know who it is. If that person makes a move, even a Divine Ancestor would be no match for her."
After this explanation, Sayanomiya Kaoru and Ena finally realized that what had seemed like a simple act of going with the flow was in fact a carefully calculated response. For the first time, they gained a direct appreciation of Satsuki's wisdom.
Ena, who already revered Satsuki's swordsmanship to an extreme degree, now gazed at her with sparkling eyes.
"Lady Satsuki, what is your third reason?"
"As for the third reason—" Satsuki replied calmly, "that is a personal matter. I have no intention of explaining it."
...
Half a month passed—
On the Thracian Plain in southwestern Bulgaria.
Aside from the suburban outskirts of a few cities, this was a land of beautiful open fields. Gazing across the plain at the foot of the majestic Balkan Mountains, one could see nothing but vast grasslands and farmland stretching to the horizon.
The figure of Divine Ancestor Guinevere slowly descended from the sky onto this land. For the fifteenth time, she formed the same hand seal, converting her curse power into a detection spell that radiated outward in waves. Just like the previous fourteen attempts, she found no trace of being followed.
Only then did she let out a breath of relief.
To speak honestly, even she had not been certain she could successfully obtain the Ama-no-Sakahoko from such a dangerous group of people. She had sounded confident and composed at the time, but in truth, the final decision had rested entirely in the other party's hands. She had no way of knowing whether they would truly hand over a creation-class divine artifact from Japanese mythology merely out of their craving to battle a god.
Fortunately, the outcome had satisfied her. Though a faint unease still lingered in her heart, she no longer had the luxury to worry about it.
Taking a deep breath, she lowered her sapphire-like gaze toward the plain below. Powerful curse power began to surge around her.
Without any incantation, her power activated the spell formula she had long prepared in this region. Layer upon layer of magic circles unfolded upward like overlapping petals. The immense curse power linked with the ley lines, prying at the earth's crust and forcing it to shift. As the sorcery progressed, the terrain below began to change violently.
Rumble—
Amid thunderous reverberations, a semi-circular structure emerged, formed from white stone and damp, shadowy soil. From the outside, the building was neither particularly magnificent nor especially large. Yet this was the mobile magic workshop Guinevere had spent an enormous amount of time constructing.
A workshop was the culmination of a magus's efforts over years, decades, sometimes even generations—a localized termination of natural law.
Compared to the orthodox workshops created by traditional magi, hers might not appear splendid, but it was no less formidable: thirty layers of fully encompassing barriers, four magical furnaces, dozens of high-level familiars and malevolent spirits, and countless traps capable of exorcising both magical and physical intruders.
Most crucially, its corridors had been altered into an otherworldly configuration. By following the prescribed sequence and steps, one could safely arrive at the fairy realm known as Avalon.
Passing through the magical barriers she had arranged, traversing the complex and shadowed corridors, and completing the password and iris verification at the thirteenth gate, Divine Ancestor Guinevere finally reached her destination.
The girl, delicate as an antique doll, gazed steadily at the surface of the lake before her.
The scenery was identical to the beautiful sight she had once seen in the Forest of Brocéliande.
But unlike that time—when what she saw had been merely a projection formed by divine power—the small lake before her and the lush trees along its banks were genuine living things. Though there were no fairies of legend here, this was indeed the fairy realm of myth—Avalon.
This time, she had come to fully revive her uncle—the Knight of the Lake, Lancelot—as a Heretic God.
To accomplish this, she needed to restore the divine weapon that had once belonged to the Last King—the Steel sacred blade also known as the Sword of Salvation.
It was precisely for this purpose that she had set her sights on the Ama-no-Sakahoko. It was an indispensable material.
Guinevere strode gracefully toward the clear lake, her feet stepping steadily across the surface until she reached its center.
Then she waved her hand before her, and the waters parted.
Three objects manifested above her head—the golden vessel known as the Holy Grail of Sorcery, a rust-covered double-edged sword, and an ordinary-looking staff—the Ama-no-Sakahoko.
She cast the Ama-no-Sakahoko and the rusted sword into the golden vessel. To complete the final step, Guinevere began to chant a Kotodama.
—"More radiant than gold, purer than silver—that is you. Steel that slays dragons, born from the ashes of a dragon's burning corpse—that is you!"
—"Before you, sun, moon, and stars lose their brilliance! Before you, all treasures lose their worth! Therefore, awaken! Allow this maiden who serves you to behold your light once more!"
—"O divine blade of salvation, Steel among Steel, the Witch Queen beseeches your revival! O King's Steel, awaken from your long slumber!"
As the poetic Kotodama resounded, scarlet flames rose from the Holy Grail of Sorcery.
This was no ordinary fire. It was the dragon breath left behind in the world by the Red Dragon of Britain—the essential catalyst required to restore this rust-covered greatsword to the wide blade of white radiance it once had been.
There was a reason she had chosen this location for the blade's revival.
This lake bore deep karmic ties to the sword. And because it was Lancelot—the rebellious knight—who wielded it, awakening him in a place connected to him would make it easier to establish a bond between their souls.
Several hours later, as the dragon breath within the Holy Grail of Sorcery gradually faded, Guinevere raised her hand high.
At once, the surrounding lake water surged forward as coolant, pouring into the blazing vessel.
Sizzle—
The immense heat of the dragon breath instantly vaporized vast amounts of water into steam. The surroundings became shrouded in mist. Within that hazy veil, in the next moment, a streak of golden light shot upward from the lake's center toward the sky. With a sharpness that seemed capable of cleaving the air itself, a platinum-white short blade slowly rose from the golden radiance.
Its blade was approximately fifty centimeters long. The once-corroded divine sword had shed its former shell and, in a shortened form, been reborn.
At last, Guinevere released a long breath of relief.
"Uncle, do you see? Guinevere has finally completed it!"
—"Finally completed? It was worth the half-month I spent tracking you."
The voice that answered was an unexpected intruder.
Recognizing the owner of the voice, Guinevere could not help but freeze in astonishment.
"You have personally graced this place... Please allow Guinevere to offer you her greetings."
Lifting the hem of her black gown like an old noblewoman, she bowed.
Suppressing her shock, she maintained her elegant composure. Yet inwardly, anxiety gnawed at her. She had not expected this goddess to return at this moment—had she not already been eliminated?!
A beauty beyond mortal comparison stood before her. Though slender, her body emanated the majesty of the Primordial Mother Goddess. She was at once the Mother of Earth, the sovereign of the endless underworld, and the goddess of wisdom and war—a trinity in one.
Her name was Athena—or rather, Metis.
The goddess of Greek mythology who had manifested not long ago as a Heretic God.
After obtaining the secret treasure known as the Gorgon Stone, she had reclaimed even the divinity of the ancient Earth Mother. And months ago, it had been Yuri's spirit vision—guided by Guinevere—that led Japan's Godslayer to clash with her...
Her hair shimmered like silver moonlight, and she appeared as an incomparably lovely young girl. She wore a simple black garment in the style of ancient Greece.
Yet no fool who faced her directly would mistake her for a harmless maiden. The fluctuations of power emanating from her body were utterly undisguised.
Even without knowing she was a god, one would never think her an ordinary person. The black wind coiling around her was enough to send any normal human who touched it straight to the underworld in an instant.
And in that moment, Guinevere understood—
The visitor had come with ill intent.