Chapter 606

"Yeah?"

"Hundred-Faced Hassan" turned to the girl. "Actually, I've always believed that you are more suitable to be the leader than I am."

"... Why?"

The girl's eyes widened. "Why... why would you say something like that...?"

"Hundred-Faced Hassan" gave a helpless smile, "I'm an incompetent leader, and in the end, I'm just like everyone else in the order..."

I was terrified of your existence, blind to your suffering. If only I had known sooner...

If I had looked after you more back then, would the cult have met such a tragic end...?

"Leader...!"

The girl was about to say something, but for some reason, Hundred Faces suddenly stared into the void, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"First generation... sama...!"

"Hundred-Faced Hassan" looked at the empty space, which was clearly empty, and cried out in a mixture of fear and joy.

Was it a hallucination during my deathbed?

No, it can't be.

The great man who founded the Order is right there—

The only problem is that the girl who didn't become Hassan al-Sabah can't see anything.

As expected of the leader...

He did not die at the hands of his enemies, but was honored to receive the execution by that very person.

The girl picked up the severed head that had fallen to the ground, feeling both happy for the Old Man of the Hundred Faces's fate and inwardly lamenting her own.

I'm still immature...

I realize I still lack faith...

That's probably why I couldn't see that person.

Just as she was thinking this...

"!!!"

An old man, as if he were the valley itself, stood there.

His entire body was covered in black, and his hands rested on an ancient, large sword.

Within the skull mask, two ghostly flames flickered and burned.

"First... First-sama...?"

The girl immediately knelt down on the ground.

Within the cult, this is an act of offering one's head to the supreme being, who is equivalent to the embodiment of fear.

However, the first generation of Weng didn't even glance at the girl before turning away and disappearing into the darkness.

He left no words and accepted her head, yet he was willing to reveal his true form to her. What does this mean?

"Although you have failed to become one of us, immature assassin, I will make an exception and acknowledge your faith."

The girl did not meet the Old Man of the Death as Hassan al-Sabah, but rather as the most devout believer who would meet the angel who would guide her destiny; nothing more.

Unfortunately, the girl ultimately failed to grasp such a simple truth.

"..."

The True Assassin awoke from his dream with a start, and upon opening his eyes, found himself lying in the courtyard of a private residence.

She remembers being engulfed by the "black mist" erupting from the hospital, at which point her consciousness ended.

When I woke up again, I was somewhere far away from the hospital.

Looking into the distance, she could see the towering casino buildings in the city center, and the girl judged that this must be a residential area far away from the hospital.

Her gaze returned to herself, and she noticed that she was covered with a blanket, and a pillow had been placed where her head had been lying.

--Who... made me sleep here?

"!"

The True Assassin sensed a gaze and quickly turned around.

You're awake.

"Don't scare me."

Upon discovering that it was Shirou, who was also covered with a blanket, she breathed a sigh of relief, pressing her hand to her chest.

Even the girl herself didn't realize that she had let her guard down around the boy she had only known for less than an hour.

What's going on here?

The girl found it strange because she, as a Heroic Spirit, did not need sleep.

Was it done by Jester Katore (that monster)?

The girl made a sound of clenching her teeth from beneath her veil.

However, I couldn't sense the presence of that vampire.

"I don't know, I just woke up too."

Upon hearing the boy's words, the assassin girl showed a surprised and disdainful expression:

"Even a superhero like you needs sleep?"

Even a fool like me, Wang, can die suddenly from overwork and lack of sleep.

Shirou stretched and said, "My situation is a bit special because I manifest as Heroic Spirit while still alive, so I still need to sleep."

I haven't slept for days, haha~~~ Plus, I'm currently under the blessing of a certain goddess...

Unfortunately, she was a goddess who had repeatedly challenged the Underworld and suffered crushing defeats, causing my Spirit Origin to lose its resistance to things like sleep that are connected to the Underworld.

Don't mention other gods in front of me.

The assassin girl frowned in displeasure.

This boy is incredibly strong, like a monster, but he's a living, breathing human being... It's unbelievable, she thought.

The two decided to do a simple cleanup of the current situation.

"This isn't the world we used to live in."

"? What's the meaning?"

Assassin blinked, then looked up at the sky with Shirou.

All that could be heard was the red-haired boy saying—

"The Watcher is missing."

The girl had heard from Shirou that the Watcher seemed to be a colossal Heroic Spirit that lingered above Snowfield.

Even its Master Sigma cannot see it; only Shirou can see its true form.

Now that "that thing" has disappeared from the sky, Shirou concludes that they were transported to a seemingly different city (world) while they were asleep.

Since Assassin can't see anything, it's hard to believe what he says.

The girl frowned. "That monster said something that sounded very dangerous at the end..."

Upon hearing the assassin's words, Shirou tried to recall what the vampire who called himself Jester had said.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing that beautiful scenery... utterly defiled and filthy by your own hands."

What does that mean exactly?

Shirou appeared nonchalant, but the True Assassin were deeply uneasy.

She closed her eyes and began to sense the flow of all energy around her—wind, water, electricity, magic.

"----"Zabaniyah (Meditative Sensitivity)."

"Oh, is it a new special technique (Zabaniyah)? How many do you know?"

"Be quiet."

"Meditative Sensitivity" is indeed one of the amazing techniques developed by great minds.

The girl can sense the flow of energy around her to understand the terrain she is in.

Every time she used this move, she was imprisoned by a strange sense of incongruity.

It is said that this unique skill was used by a certain "Old Man of the Mountain," but she was unable to accurately determine which era the leader was from.

Not only her, but also her compatriots and mentors, and even the "Old Man of the Hundred Faces," were the same.

Only the legend of the "Old Man of the Mountain," who possessed such a unique skill, has been passed down, and she has used this as a basis to try to recreate the skill.

Is "Meditative Sensitivity" really such an ability?

No, does an "Old Man of the Mountain" truly exist who possesses this unique skill?

Even the girl, who was known as True Assassin, held this question.

No, perhaps it is precisely because she dedicated everything to imitating these extraordinary skills that she has such doubts.

I have a feeling... there's something going on.

The "Old Man of the Mountain" who uses "Zabaniyah" (Meditative Sensitivity) really exists.

She shook her head, forcibly stopping her thinking, and ended the release of her Noble Phantasm.

"We are indeed in Snowfield now, which is an upscale residential area in the city."

The girl stood up from the grass. "Let's get out of here first."

By the way, I have something I want to ask you.

Just as she was about to ask Shirou why he possessed "that person's" sword, the mansion gate opened.

"Oh, you're awake?"

A kind-looking East Asian man emerged from the mansion.

Assassin immediately assumed a fighting stance, reaching into her robe to search for her weapon, but Shirou stopped her.

"Excuse me, did you take us in?"

The man smiled gently, "No, it was my daughter who found you. She saw you two lying in the garden this morning."

I was just discussing with my wife whether we should move to the bed to rest."

"Oh, is it your daughter who covered us with the blanket?"

"Yeah, that kid, really. I saw her bring out the blanket, and I thought she'd found another puppy that'd wandered into the house... who knew it was a person instead."

A woman appeared behind the man, and she responded to Shirou's question with a kind smile.

The man introduced himself, "Hello, my name is Kuruoka, and I work as the librarian of a private library in this area. This is my wife."

"?"

Listening to Shirou's conversation with the Kuruoka couple, Assassin felt a strong sense of unease.

What's going on? It's inexplicably strange...

Regardless of Shirou, she was completely wrapped in a black robe and her face was covered, yet the other party did not suspect anything at all.

At this moment, Shirou leaned close to the girl and whispered, "They were given a hint, which is why they acted that way."

"By the way, isn't 'Kuruoka' the surname of the little girl we're looking for?"

The assassin nodded, then asked in a low voice, "What exactly is going on?"

Shirou roughly understood what was going on, but he didn't make a fuss—because the person in charge would soon appear.

"Big brother, big sister... are you all alright?"

Seemingly shy, a young girl peeked out hesitantly from behind her mother.