Chapter 604
"..."
Shirou's forehead veins twitched: This guy...
The assassin girl glared at him and continued, "Unlike you heretics, my inner beliefs forbid me from killing children."
"Alright, even if you intend to let the young Magecraft go... wouldn't protecting her interfere with your plans to slaughter the other Master?"
Shirou asked, "Ultimately, what good does doing this do you?"
The True Assassin said without batting an eye, "The salvation of immature children is the 'supreme benefit'."
"You pass."
Shirou's expression softened, and he deactivated the Projection longsword.
Image: "~~~", Location: "Images/1768256777-100430532-114335414. jpg"
Volume 8: Chapter 378 Zealot: How do you have the First Generation's sword?
"... Aren't you going to kill me?"
The assassin girl, who had already prepared herself to leave, looked confused when Shirou dispelled the Projection Magic.
"As I've said, I have no intention of starting a fight in the hospital, especially not with someone who shares my goal."
"The same goal...?"
Assassin frowned suspiciously. "Does Servant like you, who can unleash Noble Phantasm capable of vaporizing an entire city in a densely populated area, really have the conscience to protect young children?"
Believe it or not, I'll tear you to pieces right now!
Shirou rolled his eyes. "If we're talking about causing a ruckus in the city, you're probably not much better off, are you?"
I've heard rumors about you... You're the guy who stormed into a police station alone and launched a random terrorist attack, aren't you?"
Assassin turned his face, which was covered by a veil. "It wasn't a terrorist attack. The police chief... is involved in the Holy Grail War."
"In the world, this kind of behavior is called a terrorist attack."
"The prejudices in this world are too deep..." The girl in the hooded robe lowered her long eyelashes.
Whose actions do you think caused this situation?
Shirou sighed and reached out his hand to Assassin, who was slumped on the ground in silence.
"In short, if you want to change public opinion, the first thing you must learn is to listen carefully to what others have to say."
"Ugh...!"
The assassin girl, looking unwilling and humiliated, was pulled up by Shirou.
Shirou introduced himself.
"I am... Oh right, just call me Intruder. It seems that when I made a contract with Tiné- chan, I was arbitrarily designated as a new special class by Human Order."
Personally, I prefer the Archer class, but since I've already gained the "Independent Action EX" skill, I have no complaints.
Perhaps the impression Shirou left on the world by overwhelming Vortex Sword with the Sword of Victory was too profound, so he failed to inherit the Archer class of the King of Heroes and instead received a strange special class.
Fortunately, this special class retains the "Independent Action" skill that Shirou values most.
"Independent Action?" the assassin girl asked curiously.
Shirou explained, "This is a skill that allows you to remain active for a period of time even after losing your Master."
From my perspective as a seasoned participant in the Holy Grail War, this is the most useful of all class skills, bar none.
"If one learns this skill, can one continue fighting for a period of time even without Magecraft's magic?"
"Yes."
After receiving an affirmative answer, the True Assassin fell into deep thought.
Seeing her reaction, Shirou asked, "Do you really hate your Master that much? You even claimed before that you didn't have a Master..."
I don't have Master.
The assassin girl frowned and emphasized again.
Shirou: "... Okay, okay."
Although he's usually quite aggressive, he gets overly stressed whenever his Master is mentioned.
Assassin began, "I'm going to protect young children next. What are you planning to do?"
Shirou said, "Yes, I'll come too. Do you know which room it is?"
"I refuse. I don't fully trust you yet. I can handle the rest myself."
Shirou shrugged and answered the girl who was staring at him with sharp eyes from under the hood.
"That's true. Unpopular people should just leave here."
"If I stay here, your companion seems too scared to come out."
"!!"
Assassin narrowed his eyes. "Did you notice...?"
"This isn't a matter of noticing or not noticing."
That being said, I actually want to ask you...
Didn't you notice it? That thing, soaring triumphantly through the sky...
"???"
The assassin wore an expression of utter confusion.
So, I'm the only one who can see "that thing"... Shirou muttered to himself.
Shirou was about to leave the hospital, but he still wanted to check one last time.
"The child you are about to save will definitely not follow the same path of faith as you in the future. Not only will they not become your compatriots, but they may even worship pagan gods... Is that alright?"
If the goal was to increase the number of followers of the same denomination, then it would be understandable why the assassin would do such a thing.
But is it something that should be saved even at the cost of one's own life?
"I've been asked the same question before..."
The girl said without wavering, "I'm not mature enough. Those who are truly devout wouldn't even consider whether there are any benefits or not."
Just like breathing, it's simply about surviving in this world and following the guidance of a great voice to choose the path to take.
"The fact that you have this intention is enough to prove your faith."
Upon hearing Shirou's words, the girl calmly shook her head.
"I cannot relinquish my anger towards heretics, nor can I be tolerant of them."
The path I'm on now is the same. As long as I still harbor the desire to save others, I am belittling fate—that is arrogance, not devout faith.
Perhaps it is because of this immaturity that I am not allowed to embark on the road leading into the mountains.
But that kind of thing doesn't matter at all. My immaturity is not a reason for me to give up on saving the child.
"..."
Shirou said nothing more, waved to her with his back turned, and disappeared at the end of the hospital corridor.
After the red-haired boy's aura completely disappeared, a young boy's figure appeared in the hospital.
He was the companion of the True Assassin Shirou, named Σ (Sigma).
This is not a name, just a code.
The name did not reflect the namer's wishes; it was merely one of the Greece letters assigned to identify twenty-four "similar individuals."
Today, most of those "similar individuals" have been lost, and even the meaning that needed to be identified has vanished without a trace.
As a mercenary capable of using a little Magecraft, he was dispatched by his employer Francesca, to Snowfield to participate in the Holy Grail War.
Although no expectations were initially placed on them, they unexpectedly entered into a contract with the special class of Watcher.
This Greater Grail underwent a complete overhaul before being brought to United States by Francesca, so anything that defies common sense is possible.
After the Watcher was summoned, multiple "Shadow" appeared around Sigma.
An old captain with prosthetic legs, a boy wielding a serpent staff, a young man with mechanical wings, a woman dressed as a pilot, a middle-aged Japan samurai, and a young man who appears to be a crusader.
According to these "Shadow," they are not true Heroic Spirit but shadow personalities created by the Watcher to assist Sigma in becoming the true Lancer.
Even the young Master doesn't know the truth about Watchers.
Sigma gazed out the window at the vast, bright night sky, as clear as the deep sea.
The "that" Shirou mentioned, the Watcher, is right there.
"Let's go."
"Ahhh..."
Sigma kept up with the assassin's light footsteps.
"You might end up fighting Servant possessed by Tsubaki Kuruoka. Are you sure you're okay with that?"
"No problem, don't worry. If anything happens, I'll carry her away."
"That girl's physical condition probably can't withstand your actions. A body that's been in a prolonged state of unconsciousness will suffer cardiac arrest even from such intense exertion..."
Sigma was speaking when the assassin girl suddenly grabbed his collar and pulled him to the side in one swift motion.
"!"
What are you doing?
--Even faster than Sigma's questioning, objects had already fallen where he had just walked.
Numerous metal plates were stuck in the ground.
Those were all weapons that were already crooked and twisted.
It is an assembly of many semi-fused scalpels and scissors fused together, forming a spear-shaped blade.
The two looked in the opposite direction of the blade's trajectory.
On the ceiling of the corridor, there was a man's figure standing upside down, defying the laws of gravity.
"... Ugh!"
Sigma felt a chill run down his spine; his Magic Circuits suddenly became unstable.
Although the assassin's magic also became chaotic, --
The allure of a smiling man surpasses even that of an assassin.
Or perhaps it's not just a feeling detected by magical perception, but rather an instinct honed through long battles as Magus.
That guy is dangerous.
--Although I've heard Shadow mention the existence of vampires here, that guy is a high-ranking one even among vampires.
--Although not the "highest level", it is a completely different dimension from ordinary monsters.
That guy was never meant to be an enemy of humanity.
Sigma had only one experience with this; he had fought something similar before.
At that time, it took the combined efforts of other famous Magecraft and soldiers who used Magecraft to finally defeat him, but--
The creature standing before him now was far more dangerous than anything he had ever defeated.
As Magus, Sigma's accumulated survival instincts are constantly sounding alarm bells.
The vampire said to Sigma, who was momentarily frozen—not from terror, but from being overwhelmed by his magic:
"... You made the right judgment, kid."
"?"
Sigma was puzzled by this statement.
The vampire continued speaking as he slowly clapped his hands.
"If you had done something like abandoning her and leaving her behind, I would have ripped out your heart, ground it into a pulp, mixed it with sand, and scattered it into the pigsty's feed bins."