His answer left the three of them silent for a moment.
"Could it be someone disguising themselves as Morgan, deliberately appearing like this to drive a wedge between you two?" Artoria said anxiously. "After all—"
"Hard to say. Maybe the one standing in front of us right now is the fake." Scáthach joked calmly.
"My husband would never fail to recognize an impostor pretending to be me," Morgan said dismissively. "Otherwise, he would have said 'someone disguising themselves as Morgan,' not simply 'Morgan.'"
"Then—" Artoria began to press further, but suddenly stopped, freezing where she stood.
Morgan and Scáthach also paused a moment later, both arriving at the same answer.
Shiomi then showed a troubled smile.
"Looks like you finally noticed. The one who took part of my authority is Morgan from Proper Human History, the elder sister of the King of Knights, Artoria Pendragon."
"Why… would she appear at a time like this?"
Artoria felt both confused and troubled.
"That, I don't know." Shiomi shook his head. "But at the very least, she must have had her own objective. After finding some way to manifest in this world, she deliberately came here to interfere."
"For example, because Artoria is helping Chaldea, she deliberately chose to stand against us?" Morgan asked.
"Hey, hey…" Shiomi couldn't help but complain.
Scáthach burst out laughing.
"Perhaps she learned that the 'herself' in the Lostbelt not only helped Chaldea, but also gets along quite well with His Majesty the King of Knights… even sharing a man, and felt uncomfortable about it."
"There is no sharing," Morgan said with a faintly smug expression. "I simply know with certainty that, no matter what happens, my husband will eventually return to me. That is his 'destiny.'"
"That isn't the important part right now," Artoria said urgently.
But Scáthach suddenly shoved Shiomi into her arms.
Holding the larval Shiomi, the King of Knights immediately calmed down.
"Regardless, this interference definitely wasn't done without purpose," Shiomi said. "If the authority that was taken isn't reclaimed in the end, it will be devoured and digested by the one who stole it."
"In that case, my husband would become a weakened god stripped of his authority," Morgan said thoughtfully. "And at the same time, a new god would appear within this Lostbelt. If 'Morgan of Proper Human History' obtained my husband's authority, she might truly become the 'Black Madonna.'"
"And that wouldn't be the end of it. Possessing only one third of the authority isn't the final goal. After digesting that portion, Morgan of Proper Human History may eventually find a way to seize the remaining parts as well."
"To claim all the authority and become a god herself."
"And in the end, if she could also devour Shiomi, the original source…"
"But what meaning would there be for my sister to become a god?" Artoria said, unable to understand. "Britain has already fallen. Even if it started over again, it would only create a new Lostbelt or Singularity…"
"Wasn't your sister the 'True King' of Britain?" Morgan said. "Unlike you, the 'King of Men,' she inherited the Mystery of Britain. I once visited the village that intended to revive you in the modern era. I only dealt with a small matter there at the time, but even now I still don't understand what 'myself from Proper Human History' intended to accomplish by resurrecting you."
"Gray's matter…" Artoria shook her head. "I already removed the factor linking her to me, freeing that girl from the fate of becoming my vessel."
Scáthach suddenly spoke.
"Perhaps that's exactly where the problem lies. Morgan of the Lostbelt—"
"Considering the existence on the Proper Human History side, from now on, when discussing matters related to that side, call me by my former name for the time being," Morgan reminded. "Otherwise it will get confusing."
"Then, Aesc," Scáthach said, accepting it easily. "Because you and Artoria interfered, Morgan's original plan to resurrect King Arthur collapsed. That's why she now has to intervene personally."
"But what exactly—" Artoria still looked puzzled.
"Don't forget," Shiomi added, "even though you've regained your human heart, you are still the divine spirit Artoria, the Holy Lance goddess, Rhongomyniad."
"Looking at it now, the plan in Blackmore Village to revive King Arthur wasn't simply about bringing you back. Otherwise Morgan would not have left behind the imitation Holy Lance, Add, instead of the Holy Sword."
Artoria immediately understood.
Her sister had deliberately used the Atlas Institute's contract to obtain one of the Seven Great Weapons, Logos React.
Most likely, the plan was to simulate the Holy Lance and use it to erode the resurrected King Arthur, transforming him into a divine spirit.
But the Incineration of Humanity changed everything, bringing over an Artoria from a history where she had not died.
She indeed became the Holy Lance goddess.
Yet she had no intention of restoring Britain's Mystery. Instead, she devoted herself to preserving humanity and ensuring it would be passed down to the future.
And now, a new variable had appeared.
Shiomi.
Morgan most likely came here personally for this authority and divinity.
If she succeeded, all the better.
If she failed, she would lose nothing.
Since the Divine Spirit Artoria could not fulfill Morgan's plan, then in the end, it would be better for her to do it herself.
"Honestly, the idea of a Divine Spirit Morgan really isn't something to laugh about…" Shiomi muttered.
Morgan... Aesc tilted her head slightly, watching Shiomi with a gentle smile.
"My husband isn't really in a position to say that. Compared to something like 'Divine Spirit Morgan,' don't you think 'Unity God Morgan' sounds even less amusing?"
After all, if she wished, she could take Shiomi's divinity and authority far more easily than the Morgan of Proper Human History.
The whole process would require almost no effort at all.
"Ah…" Shiomi found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
Aesc's smile grew even brighter.
"In any case, unexpected developments just keep piling up. I never imagined that one day I'd end up fighting my own counterpart from a parallel world."
"Don't say it like that," Artoria corrected softly, a hint of apology in her voice. "You're not alone. Tenkei has always been by your side. And besides, you have all of us as well."
"That's not the issue." Aesc flicked her hair with slight irritation. "The fact that my husband's authority was stolen is already unforgivable. But the one who came to take it being Morgan makes it even more unacceptable."
"So you can lose to anyone except yourself," Scáthach said, easily reading Aesc's thoughts.
Aesc nodded.
"That's why, if possible, once we find Morgan of Proper Human History, I want to defeat her myself and take back what belongs to me."
"Don't force yourself too much. When necessary, rely on us as well. That's the difference between you and her."
Shiomi reached out and took the hand Morgan offered him.
"Aesc, you were never alone."
"I know. I've known that ever since I was fifteen."
A radiant smile bloomed across Aesc's face, bright and vivid like flowers in full summer bloom.