"Eh... the seventh Servant had already descended? Didn't they say... that they had definitely eliminated a Master?"
Somewhere, sometime.
A girl's bright voice echoed through the dark room. Judging from the words themselves, she should have sounded angry, or at least teasing. Yet the voice reverberating through the room was filled with a cheerful lilt, as though several girls were discussing nail polish colors.
Assassin had already come to terms with the fact that his Master was mentally unsound.
Leaving aside the fact that killing a Master who had yet to summon a Servant was rather superfluous—or perhaps completely backwards.
Just her tastes alone were enough. The heavy silver-gray blackout curtains, the things writhing around the room like chunks of flesh, and the warm, steaming scent of mana hanging in the air... even Ninja trained under harsh conditions found the thick, sour stench hard to endure. He could understand that the atmosphere was meant to fill the room with fluctuations of mana... but anyone who could sit in such a room and still giggle happily had to be out of her mind!
In the pitch darkness, the Heroic Spirit could barely make out that his Master was not wearing much. Large stretches of fair skin gave off a hazy beauty even in the dim light. She sat with one leg crossed over the other, her right hand resting on it while her left held a tiny brush, applying nail polish.
That was why Assassin had used nail polish as an example earlier.
As her Master's colorless nails took on a mysterious violet hue, she seemed pleased as she extended her foot. Her long, fair skin was exposed to the air, swaying lightly as the violet traced a beautiful arc.
As though admiring herself, or perhaps showing it off to Assassin.
Assassin spoke quietly. "My poison is not particularly potent. However, its greatest advantage is that it takes effect immediately. It was my miscalculation. I thought that after delaying for so long, the venom would have spread to a point beyond remedy."
"Oh—"
The woman replied absently, repeatedly turning her toes this way and that, inspecting them from both sides to see whether her technique was perfect.
Perhaps she was satisfied. Her rosy lips split into an exaggerated smile. She lowered her leg and moved the brush toward her other bare foot.
"—So that Archer possessed some degree of healing magecraft, or at least the ability to neutralize poison?"
"That is highly likely."
Assassin's voice was thick with confusion.
His Master was absolutely not a foolish person. Assassin knew that better than anyone.
For example, she had swiftly inferred Archer's abilities from the clues before her. A fool could not have done that.
But why had she ordered him to kill Masters before they summoned Servants?
It clearly did not serve their interests.
The proper use of ASSASSIN was to silently track the enemy, discover their location, then wait for an opening and kill in a single strike.
Yet under her previous strategy, the Holy Grail would simply choose new Masters, rendering Assassin's preparations meaningless.
Granted, Assassin had used his own special methods to scatter watchers throughout the entire city... but that was still far too wasteful.
"Say, let me guess. Were you just thinking..."
The girl narrowed her eyes. Assassin knew this was the prelude to her teasing him again.
"...Were you thinking of using my nail polish? Hehe, it's designer stuff, super, super expensive! I'm not giving it to you! Hahahahaha."
"Master, forgive my bluntness."
"Mhm, mhm, you are forgiven, you are forgiven! Go on, go on!"
"Master, why did you order me to eliminate Masters before they summoned Servants?"
"Hm? You're curious about that? Oh dear, oh dear~ You mustn't pry into a maiden's secrets! Creepy old man! Idiot! Moron! Pervert! Just kidding~"
With that, the girl began giggling again. Even though her voice was pleasant,
such aimless laughter could only make one uneasy.
"Well, fine. Since you asked so sincerely, I shall graciously tell you. To prevent the World Cup from being destroyed—actually, it's not that impressive. Ahem... Of course, it was... to hunt Masters, you know?"
From the girl's playful lips came a purpose saturated with killing intent, one that could not be ignored.
"Hunt... Masters?"
"Yep! Hehe, I... I love killing people the most, you know? I, Matou Aya, love killing people more than anything! Beheading, dismemberment, burning, burial, drowning—I love all of it! My purpose in joining the Holy Grail War is to hunt Masters! Normally, all those Magi hide away in their workshops, so hunting them is such a pain, such a pain. But the Holy Grail War is different! Everyone has to gather in this place called Asakawa! Since it's a recently built city, neither the Church nor the Association has anyone stationed here! In other words, it's a law-less-zone?"
As Matou Aya made that crazed confession, her delicate brows rose in blissful delight, and her eyes curved into lovely slits. She was incomparably beautiful.
Though she displayed no overt signs, her intoxicated expression and earnest tone made it clear that the girl was not joking. For a moment, Assassin felt as though romantic, scorching roses of blood had bloomed behind her. At the center of those lovely flowers lay not sweetly rotting pistils, but a massive, sinister skull.
"So I thought, why not hunt Masters? As long as we kill a few, the Holy Grail won't be able to fill itself with Heroic Spirit blood, and it'll summon new Masters again. Naturally, those new Masters will come here, and we can keep hunting them! Endlessly, endlessly. Ah, but don't blame yourself too much, A-kun. Since the Holy Grail War has already begun, there's no use in me complaining about you, right? So let's enjoy ourselves. As long as we win in the end, we can just make a wish with the Holy Grail! Hehehe..."
Even a famous Ninja who had committed countless killings in life, a man without blood or tears, could not help trembling at her mad words. His Master truly was something else...
A killer, then...
And the most unforgivable kind... a pleasure killer. Someone who regarded bloodshed as entertainment and reveled in the thrill of taking lives...
So this was my lord...
Ninjas could not choose their masters. What a sorrowful thing that was.
Assassin found himself thinking so.
He quickly dismissed the thought.
No. Loyalty to one's lord was a Ninja's duty. Correcting one's lord's conduct was the responsibility of an adviser.
Besides... perhaps only a killer like this could bring the Assassin class—unbound by morality and willing to use any means necessary—to its fullest potential. If Assassin had any regret, it was that in life, his lord had been too upright, while his comrades had valued a warrior's honor far too highly...
Since he had been summoned by the Holy Grail, it would be far too tragic to exit the stage now.
"I understand, Master. Assassin shall surely present the Holy Grail to you. Every enemy who stands in your way shall meet a silent and miserable death."
"Mhm! I'm looking forward to it! Please take care of me, A-kun!"
Sometime, somewhere.
"All seven Servants had manifested, then... Judging by these parameters, only Lancer and Rider were qualified to fight my strongest Saber... Assassin's abilities were impressive, but... heh, with only C-rank Endurance... Saber's flames would probably burn him to ash before he could even get close, wouldn't they?"
In an unknown space, someone's voice carried absolute confidence.
It was as though he knew the parameters of all seven Heroic Spirits by heart. Yet considering the special nature of the Sixth Holy Grail War, that was not impossible.
This person was like someone who had drawn a royal flush at the start of a card game.
That nearly overflowing confidence could only mean that his trump card—his Servant—was truly powerful.
No one answered him. The only response was the crackling sound of burning in the air, like scraps of wood not yet consumed in a grand bonfire.
Volume One — The Flames of War Begin — END