Shirou's Return from the Fae Kingdom

Shirou spoke as he drank his hot cocoa.

Loli Hassan sat beside him, intently watching a magical girl anime broadcast late at night.

As for Hundred-Faced Hassan, her back was pressed against the wall, and she still exuded an atmosphere of resistance and hostility.

"Don't get me wrong, the only ones willing to be your companions are 'I' and that child. The other 'I's will not accept you."

Unlike the previous eighteen generations of Old Man of the Mountain, Hundred-Faced Hassan had not undergone any physical modifications, nor could it be said that there was any need for it.

Her Noble Phantasm, Delusional Illusions (Zabaniya)--

It was an ability formed by splitting her own soul into countless parts.

Each soul possessed independent thought and personality, totaling eighty-eight individuals.

With this ability, in her lifetime, Hundred-Faced Hassan used the knowledge and skills of eighty-eight individuals to manipulate enemies through various means, break through security nets, and hunt targets in ways no one could have anticipated.

Since it was not a mechanism where a "superior" "original" produced "inferior" "clones," each Hundred-Faced Hassan was an equal existence.

If a divided individual died, that individual would not revert to the Assassin as a whole but would be directly eliminated.

This also meant--among the eighty-eight Hundred-Faced Hassans, none was the absolute ruler.

Including the elder sister with purple hair before him, she merely held the position of collective leader based on ability and personality.

She could not fully control the other eighty-plus "I"s, which was why she said: only she and that child were willing to cooperate with Shirou.

On the other hand, because the individuals could not directly communicate mentally or exchange information, the Hassans currently spread throughout Fuyuki were unaware that she was conversing with the enemy Master.

After listening to the explanation, Shirou mused, "So, it's a kind of dissociative identity disorder..."

"What?"

Seeing Hundred-Faced Hassan's confused expression, Shirou explained what multiple personalities were.

"Is that so? This is a disease...?" Hundred-Faced Hassan said blankly.

The mystery that had troubled her heart for a long time was solved, and she suddenly felt much lighter.

"No, the term 'disease' varies from person to person. I don't think it's an illness. On the contrary, Assassin sister possesses a mental fortitude far beyond that of ordinary people."

Hundred-Faced Hassan remained noncommittal to Shirou's praise and turned her gaze to Loli Hassan in the room.

"Who is this child?" Shirou asked.

Hundred-Faced Hassan explained, "She is an 'I' born to withstand torture... a personality that is weak, powerless, and knows nothing."

"I see. If she knows nothing, then there's no need to worry about her leaking information when captured by the enemy. And in the form of a little girl... that's quite a twisted taste."

"Delusional Illusions (Zabaniya)" was a Noble Phantasm formed by the sublimation of Hundred-Faced Hassan's life.

In her life, she did not possess the power to create clones; she was merely a super-excellent assassin with countless personalities.

So, if she could switch to an ignorant personality when captured by an enemy, it would indeed be very useful.

However, after becoming a Servant, Hundred-Faced Hassan gained the ability to freely manifest physical bodies, rendering Loli Hassan completely meaningless.

She knew nothing, claimed to be hiding her tracks, and couldn't even take care of herself, thus becoming a burden to the team.

Shirou nodded, "Don't worry, I won't let her get into danger."

Whatever. Hundred-Faced Hassan snorted.

The reason she accepted Shirou's invitation was, on one hand, her genuine dissatisfaction with her current situation, and on the other hand, Loli Hassan's attitude--

When Hundred-Faced Hassan entered the room, Shirou had asked, "Did Mr. Assassin return?"

The Loli, who was supposed to remain silent for interrogation purposes, had easily admitted it.

Although they had only spent a few hours together, Shirou had clearly already gained Loli Hassan's trust.

"Well then, next..."

Shirou turned to Hundred-Faced Hassan, "Please tell me all the information you know, Assassin sister. What kind of person is your Master, Kirei Kotomine? What kind of relationship do he and Tokiomi Tohsaka have?"

The red-haired youth paused.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Fuyuki Church is also in league with you, aren't they?"

At this point, no matter how astonishing the words Shirou spoke, Hundred-Faced Hassan would not be surprised.

Hundred-Faced Hassan revealed all the inside stories of the Tohsaka family.

Kirei Kotomine and Tokiomi Tohsaka had only parted ways on the surface.

Kirei Kotomine and his father, Risei, had both become members of the Tohsaka faction three years ago.

"This is too shameless! Tokiomi Tohsaka, that guy, looks like a gentleman, but I never expected him to be so dishonorable in private!" Shirou exclaimed indignantly.

Hundred-Faced Hassan said, "The Tohsaka Family not only controls the best spiritual land in Fuyuki, but even the supervisor, who should be neutral, is their man.

Of course, my Master is also just his puppet."

Hundred-Faced Hassan was well aware: to the Tohsaka faction, both she and Kirei Kotomine were merely pawns.

No matter what, Assassin could never be the final winner.

Was Zayd's sacrifice in vain? Could it be exchanged for longer-term benefits?

Yes, but those benefits were for Tokiomi Tohsaka, not for Assassin!

It was Shirou Amamiya who made Hundred-Faced Hassan have a sudden realization, finally understanding this most basic truth.

At the same time, she also completely understood that her Master was a mediocre person with no desire for the Holy Grail, just going with the flow.

"What about Kirei Kotomine?" Shirou asked.

Hundred-Faced Hassan truthfully shared her thoughts, "His abilities might be outstanding, but he lacks passion, like a walking corpse. The ones truly worth paying attention to in this Holy Grail War are indeed Tokiomi Tohsaka and Risei Kotomine."

Then, she explained the situations of the other Masters and Servants to Shirou, revealing all the information she had gathered over the past few days.

For example, Lancer's Master.

One of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower, Kaineth Archbold, came to Japan with his fiancée to participate in the Holy Grail War.

The female assassin sighed and said self-deprecatingly, "Now you should understand how formidable the enemies you are facing truly are."

The Twelve Lords... Were they very powerful?

Shirou had no concept of this, as Makiri hadn't had time to lecture him yet, so he could only nod in agreement, "Yeah, luckily I have Assassin-nee-san."

"..."

Hundred-Faced Hassan's cheeks beneath her mask flushed slightly, "Let's stop with the flattery."

"It's not flattery, I genuinely mean it," Shirou said with a serious expression.

"...Enough."

Hundred-Faced Hassan brushed her long hair aside with her hand and turned her face to continue, "However, the greatest enemy is still Tohsaka.

It would be one thing if Tokiomi Tohsaka was just cheating within the rules.

More importantly, they also have Archer—the golden Heroic Spirit who appeared tonight.

His true name is King of Heroes Gilgamesh, the demigod king who once ruled Mesopotamia in the Age of Gods.

He was both a hero who accomplished many great deeds and achievements, and a tyrant whose arbitrary actions led to the destruction of his kingdom.

It is said that during his lifetime, he collected all the treasures on earth, and his treasury stored all the weapons and precious items created by humanity, all of which became the original forms of Noble Phantasms used by later heroes."

As she spoke, the woman clenched her trembling fist.

"When Zayd was killed, I was at the scene, closely monitoring the surroundings.

That Archer, you could tell just by looking...

That guy is invincible. There is no Heroic Spirit in this world that can defeat him.

In this Holy Grail War, appearing as an Archer, he can fight with an endless supply of Noble Phantasms, incomparable to any Servant.

Regrettably, as that guy said, we are nothing but lowly mongrels in front of him."

"That one's name is King of Heroes Gilgamesh, the tyrannical ruler of the Age of Gods with infinite Noble Phantasms and the Eye of Clairvoyance..."

Shirou's mind conjured the proud image of the golden Archer and he said in deep agreement, "Yeah, that's definitely quite abnormal. There's absolutely no Heroic Spirit who can defeat him, it wouldn't be strange even if he fought the other six Servants alone.

But there's no need to worry, I'll take responsibility for making him withdraw."

The hotel room fell into absolute silence.

After a long while, Hundred-Faced Hassan let out a stunned "Ah?".

"So, I'll personally take care of Archer."

Shirou said with an expression that was clearly not joking, "Since there's no Heroic Spirit who can defeat him, then I, who am not a Heroic Spirit, will defeat him.

Alright, alright, next topic, Assassin-nee-san, tell me some other inside information."

Hundred-Faced Hassan was dumbfounded: Does this kid even grasp the situation?

How do you plan to defeat a monster that even Heroic Spirits cannot overcome?

The boy's statement was too fantastical, it only made one want to laugh.

But why...

Hundred-Faced Hassan observed Shirou's expression and felt that the young man wasn't talking nonsense, but had some kind of confident basis.

What was I even expecting, how stupid...

Hundred-Faced Hassan gave a bitter, slight smile. "I've already said so much, isn't it your turn now?

Boy, who is your Servant? What class are they? You can tell me that much, right?"

Shirou hesitated for a moment before replying, "That... I can't say."

"..."

The female assassin froze.

After a moment of stunned silence, she suddenly punched the hotel wall.

"...To think I actually believed you, I'm the biggest idiot."

"No, it's not like that, I believe you, Big Sister Assassin."

Shirou explained innocently, "I really don't know my Servant's specific class or their stats.

I only know that she claims to be a Servant belonging to the Extra class."

"What?"

Hundred-Faced Hassan was about to retort, but then she remembered the recent conversation between Father and Son Kotomine and asked in astonishment.

"Are you perhaps the Master of that mysterious Servant who cannot be detected!"

"Mysterious Servant?"

Hundred-Faced Hassan nodded and began to explain the "Spiritron Dresser" to Shirou, a magic tool held by the Church that can observe a Servant's stats.

"There's actually something like that..."

"Yeah, Tokiomi Tohsaka is searching everywhere for information about you. Thanks to you, 'we' are all swamped right now."