Shirou's Return from the Fae Kingdom

Shirou glanced at her meaningfully.

Just then, the scene in the crystal ball changed—

Brilliant gold filled the entire night sky.

Countless, massive armaments materialized behind the golden Servant, truly dimming the stars this time.

Shirou: "... (Surprised)"

Lady Avalon: "... (Peeking)"

The next instant, the swords, spears, and halberds behind the golden Servant rained down like a storm upon the Assassin on the ground!

"BOOM------!!!"

The light and power of the massive explosion could be felt even through the crystal ball.

In a flash, the black Servant on the ground vanished without a trace.

The first clash of the Holy Grail War was not a battle, but a one-sided slaughter, an execution.

"Master! Master!"

Lady Avalon excitedly grabbed the boy's arm and shook him left and right: "That golden Heroic Spirit is so strong! He's undoubtedly the strongest in this Holy Grail War!"

"Ah, yeah..." Shirou responded absentmindedly.

"Did you notice? The dozens of Noble Phantasms he fired in that instant... they were all genuine!!!

It's not unusual for a Servant to possess multiple Noble Phantasms, but for him to have so many! This is an abnormal situation, truly abnormal!"

Lady Avalon spoke with a clearly, deliberately elevated tone.

"Considering your unique Magic attribute, Master, you two might just become destined rivals!"

"Is that so... I suppose."

I don't think I've shown her my Projection Magic, have I?

While placating the excited female Magus, Shirou's eyes remained fixed on the massive crater in the crystal ball.

To be honest, aside from a brief moment of surprise at the very beginning, he hadn't paid much attention to the golden Heroic Spirit.

"That" was indeed powerful, unimaginably powerful.

If "that" was the standard performance of a Servant, Shirou would want to abandon his Master status at the Fuyuki Church right now and accept protection from the overseers.

However—

"That" was merely powerful.

It could neither become Shirou's strength nor his obstacle; they were fundamentally incompatible.

Shirou Amamiya would not covet things that burned too brightly to touch, nor would he linger his gaze upon them for too long.

Seeing the red-haired youth's attitude, Lady Avalon's expression grew complex.

To disregard the brilliance of the "King of Heroes"... one would probably have to search through all of human history to find anyone other than you, Master, she thought wistfully.

Then.

In this one-sided battle of annihilation, what truly entered the scope of the "Boundless Mage's Eye" was—

"Assassin isn't dead."

The red-haired youth put on his jacket and quickly got up to leave.

"He might become our ally."

As the intruder was eliminated by the golden Heroic Spirit, Tokiomi Tohsaka leaned back comfortably in his rocking chair in his study.

"Excellent... things are proceeding smoothly."

As soon as he spoke, the golden Heroic Spirit who had instantly killed Assassin appeared in the room with a displeased expression.

"You actually bothered this King for such a trivial matter, Tohsaka."

Tokiomi Tohsaka immediately rose from his chair and bowed respectfully and elegantly.

"How could I dare, King of Kings Gilgamesh. Tonight's event was meant to make an example of them, to prevent future complications.

After demonstrating your overwhelming power, I doubt any brainless rats would dare to provoke us again."

Tokiomi Tohsaka explained in a tone that was as deferential as possible without being overly humble.

While Gilgamesh disliked arrogant individuals, he also disliked sycophantic ones.

Therefore, he was currently somewhat satisfied with Tohsaka's attitude, grudgingly forgiving the offense of the night.

"My King... are you pleased with the current world?"

The Golden King dismissed Tohsaka's question with disdain:

"Boring. No matter how inexplicably ugly the world becomes, all lands will eventually return to this King's Garden, and all treasures will return to this King's hands."

"So, the Holy Grail..."

"This King is not interested in things like the Holy Grail."

Gilgamesh's expression was arrogant.

"The mongrels started a dispute in the garden on their own, and I could have ignored it... but if they target this King's treasure, that's another matter.

Speaking of which, no matter how many of these rats are punished, it won't alleviate my boredom.

Tokiomi, I hope the strong individuals you mentioned can bring this King even a sliver of solace, otherwise...

The sin of making this King make a wasted trip is quite grave, don't you think?"

After saying this, the golden Archer vanished into the darkness.

"..."

Tokiomi Tohsaka, who had been bowing his head, was already drenched in sweat.

Why did it have to be Archer...

Gilgamesh was naturally arrogant, and now he also possessed the Servant skill "Independent Action."

The King of Heroes, the oldest of heroes, spent his days wandering around Fuyuki City in a leather jacket, and Tokiomi Tohsaka couldn't get in touch with him at all.

He didn't know what his Servant was doing wherever he was, nor could he expect him to listen to his opinions.

If things continued like this, could the Tohsaka family truly achieve victory?

The gentleman who had been immersed in dreams of certain victory was now considerably sobered.

And then there was that Servant who couldn't be detected by the "Spiritron Dresser."

So many days had passed, and still no new information.

What kind of abilities did that mysterious Servant possess?

Who was his Master?

Why didn't they report their identity to the Fuyuki Church and receive instructions? Had they sensed something?

Regardless of the Servant's strength, he and his Master had become Tokiomi Tohsaka's biggest thorn in his side.

He had to have Kirei intensify Assassin's search efforts and uncover their identities as soon as possible.

Volume 1, Chapter 036: No One Who Likes Magical Girls is a Bad Person

Several hours later.

The Fuyuki Church, located on a small mountain on the outskirts of Shinto.

This was the only neutral territory for the Holy Grail War, and tonight it welcomed a pre-booked guest.

"--In accordance with the rules of the Holy Grail War, Kirei Kotomine requests protection for my person from the Holy Church."

"I accept. As per my duty as supervisor, Rin Tohsaka will ensure your safety. Come, please enter."

Even the entrance to the church could be hiding the eyes and ears of a Magus (Familiar), so the Kotomine father and son put on a show.

To the outside world, Kirei Kotomine had foolishly sent Assassin to attack the Tohsaka mansion and was defeated, hastily withdrawing from the Holy Grail War.

But in reality, his battle had only just begun at this moment.

Kirei Kotomine would transition from the surface to underground, continuing the Tohsaka faction's reconnaissance and assassination work.

What allowed him to do this was his Servant—Hassan-i-Sabbah.

At this moment, a figure emerged from the shadows in a corner of the church.

A black robe enveloped a slender, curvaceous female body, and her face was covered by a distinctive skull mask.

--The Assassin, who should have been dead, reappeared.

Although her physique and even her gender had changed, there was no doubt that she was Kirei Kotomine's Servant, Assassin.

She was the last leader of the Assassins' Order, Old Man of the Mountain, who bore the epithet "Hundred Faces."

As the name suggests, an assassin with nearly a hundred faces.

The truth behind her immortality was that this Hassan had divided her soul, cutting herself into eighty-eight actual individuals according to her personalities.

The one killed by the King of Heroes just now was merely one of the many Hassan-i-Sabbahs.

There were eighty-seven more black humanoid figures like her.

Although it was a group of nearly a hundred people, Hassan-i-Sabbah had only one Spirit Origin, and the total amount of magic power had not changed.

The more she divided herself, the weaker her individual performance became, but her innate skill "Presence Concealment" did not decay.

By maximizing this characteristic, Hundred Faces Hassan became the perfect intelligence organization.

Possessing comprehensive skills, extensive knowledge, and an unfathomable spirituality whose movements could not be predicted by anyone, she was arguably the perfect assassin and infiltrator.

Relying on this Zabaniya, she won the election for the leader of the Order, defeating a genius girl who had mastered all eighteen Zabaniyas of the past leaders.

While the Kotomine father and son were talking, the female assassin remained silent the entire time.

"Father," the Spiritron Dresser still hasn't grasped the class of that mysterious Servant?"

"Hmm, not yet, but we can confirm the classes of the other six."

Kirei Kotomine explained, "All Servants except Berserker have already appeared. That leaves only Berserker as a possibility."

"Is that so..."

Shirou Amamiya harbored doubts but didn't say more.

In his opinion, since the special situation of a "Servant unobservable by the Spiritron Dresser" had already occurred, why still fixate on the conventional "seven classes"?

The seventh Servant... might not necessarily be Berserker, Father.

As a precaution, Shirou Amamiya asked Assassin about the familiars around the Tohsaka Mansion.

"There were four different auras among the familiars present, suggesting at least four Masters witnessed the event."

The purple-haired female assassin added, "If someone doesn't even have the sense to send familiars to monitor the three major families' strongholds, they wouldn't have the ability to defend against 'us.' In the end, there should be no problem."

"Mm."

Kirei Kotomine nodded, then suddenly asked, "Do you think it's a pity to send that man to his death?"

The woman with the bone mask shook her head coldly.

"Even among 'us,' Zayd was just an individual with average abilities in all aspects.

Even if he's lost, it won't have a significant impact on all of us, it's just—"

"Just what?"

"While it won't have a significant impact, a loss is still a loss.

It's like losing a finger; I hope his sacrifice won't be in vain."

Kirei Kotomine keenly detected the woman's outwardly respectful tone, but inwardly, she harbored strong dissatisfaction.