Shirou's Return from the Fae Kingdom

Shirou gazed into the distance toward the warehouse district illuminated by purple lightning, clenching his fists:

Morgan, is it really you there? Have you come to Pan-Human History?

"Beep, beep, beep..."

Hearing the sudden beeping sound, Lady Avalon looked curiously at the boy in her arms.

"What's that noise... Eek! Master, don't touch things randomly~ You can't do that here~?"

Shirou reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small electronic device.

This was a miniature communicator he used to secretly contact Hundred-Faced Hassan, a product Shirou had previously ordered from overseas through Tsuruno Matou.

The communicator came in a set of two, one for Shirou and one for big sister Assassin.

Besides being used to communicate while avoiding the eyes and ears of the Tohsaka Family and Kirei Kotomine, the communicator also had a positioning function, allowing them to easily know each other's coordinates.

"It's me."

Shirou spoke to the small communicator, whose lights were blinking continuously.

"..."

There was no response.

"Big sister Assassin?"

"..."

Still no response.

Shirou pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze to the distant end of the pier in another direction, issuing an order to Lady Avalon.

"Go there."

Lady Avalon froze.

"Huh? But... we're almost at the warehouse district! We'll be able to see Saber soon!"

"...Let's go."

Shirou said with unwavering resolve.

Volume 1, Chapter 047: Confrontation in the Darkness (3/5)

The location Hundred-Faced Hassan sent was the pier shore, 500 meters away from the warehouse district.

A gantry crane stood here, and by visual estimation alone, its driver's seat was forty meters high, making it the highest point in the vicinity.

If one could climb to the top silently, they would have an excellent vantage point to overlook the situation below.

And there, Hundred-Faced Hassan lay quietly on the open ground beneath the crane's boom, a small pool of blood already forming around her body.

"..."

Shirou had just arrived and, with a single glance, immediately grasped the general situation that had occurred here.

Presumably, Assassin had been ambushed by an enemy while monitoring the battle in the warehouse district from atop the crane's boom.

"..."

After confirming there were no other presences nearby, Shirou walked directly towards Hundred-Faced Hassan.

"Huh? Wait! Master, how long are you going to stay here? Hurry up, we'll miss the show!"

Lady Avalon, now in Spiritualization, urged him on from behind.

"Be quiet."

Shirou ordered her to shut up and then knelt beside Hundred-Faced Hassan.

"...She's still breathing."

Shirou breathed a sigh of relief; Assassin was alive.

He unfastened her black robe, revealing Hundred-Faced Hassan's curvaceous, well-built physique and her blood-stained brown skin.

On Assassin's chest, a few centimeters away from her heart (Spirit Core), a hole had been made.

"..."

Shirou frowned slightly, detecting the strong smell of gunpowder.

The enemy's weapon was a gun.

A long-range sniper shot, taking her down in one hit.

Without Assassin's awareness, it had nearly cost her life.

Perfect and exquisite assassination technique.

This was the pier shore, 500 meters from the warehouse district.

Only a Servant with vision far exceeding that of a human could monitor Saber and Lancer's battle from such a distance.

Assassin must have been standing at the highest point of the crane's boom at the time, and she had deactivated her Spiritualization.

This was because a Servant in Spiritualized form could only possess the perception of "Spirit Vision" and could not observe the battlefield effectively.

Even so, Hundred-Faced Hassan should possess a high-level "Presence Concealment" skill, making it impossible to detect normally.

Unless--

The enemy had also discovered this well-situated observation point beforehand.

But instead of occupying it, he chose to monitor it.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."

This idiom popped into Shirou's mind, and he felt a sliver of awe towards the unidentified enemy.

The enemy who attacked Assassin--

First, Saber and Lancer, who were engaged in a heated battle, could be ruled out. Rider, who had barged into the fight, could also basically be excluded.

That left only Archer or Ryunosuke Uryu's Servant.

Ryunosuke Uryu seemed highly unlikely.

Archer... Shirou didn't think that given his penchant for grand displays, he would only cause such minor destruction.

If it wasn't a Servant, then it could only be a Magus...

A Master defeating a Servant? First of all, is that even possible?

More importantly, would a Magus use a firearm to kill someone?

Putting the enemy's identity aside, saving the person was the priority.

The red-haired youth wordlessly reached out towards the wound.

"Haaah~~~"

Seeing Shirou intend to use healing Magic on Assassin, Lady Avalon sighed helplessly.

"Let me do it, it'll be more efficient this way. She's too badly wounded; she won't survive if this drags on."

Shirou didn't look up, only replying via telepathy, "No, Lady Avalon, continue maintaining your Spiritualization. Absolutely do not reveal yourself."

Lady Avalon could only nod helplessly and turned her gaze towards the warehouse district, beginning her live commentary.

"My, my, Rider said something quite outrageous..."

"He not only mocked the Master of Lancer, who refuses to show himself, but also provoked the other Servants... saying that anyone hiding in the shadows is a coward..."

"Ah, Archer has appeared... Hehehe, he looks so angry~"

Shirou remained silent, focusing all his attention on using healing Magic, transmitting his thoughts to Lady Avalon.

"The one who defeated Assassin, that Master, is highly skilled."

"You can tell just by looking, can't you?" Lady Avalon said. "It's no ordinary person who can assassinate Assassin."

Shirou transmitted via telepathy, "The bullet's landing point was less than five centimeters from Assassin's core, directly taking her consciousness.

The enemy possesses such superb skill, so why didn't they come to check if Assassin was completely dead..."

Lady Avalon tilted her head and analyzed, "It's because the enemy doesn't want to reveal themselves, right?

Because, you see, Assassin, who should have been killed by Archer last night, appearing here would strike anyone as strange.

The enemy must be thinking that there's some conspiracy in this Holy Grail War, and perhaps there are other eyes and ears nearby... Ah."

As if struck by a sudden realization, the Flower Magus's voice trembled.

"Master, could it be..."

Shirou maintained his bowed posture, a drop of cold sweat trickling down his cheek. "That's right, this is a trap.

The enemy deliberately left the half-dead Assassin here to lure in new prey.

Thinking back, perhaps even the shot that missed her heart by five centimeters was a meticulously calculated result, meaning--"

Shirou gasped, "The person who attacked Assassin was monitoring us from somewhere."

...I was careless.

Although Shirou had approached Hundred-Faced Hassan only after thoroughly searching the vicinity for any presence, he had still overlooked a very peculiar situation:

The enemy possessed "Presence Concealment" on a level comparable to, or even higher than, Assassin's.

Though it sounds impossible, and indeed it is.

But when all impossibilities are eliminated, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

Hmm, I think a very famous person from Britain once said that.

"What should we do, Master?" Lady Avalon's voice was anxious.

"Should we pause the treatment and quickly take Assassin and retreat? We can't afford to worry about anything else now!"

The opponent was a powerful enemy capable of sniping Assassin from a distance, and their hiding place was completely unknown. In this situation, killing Shirou would be effortless. If they fled, there might still be a chance.

Shirou subtly shook his head and continued the healing.

"No, I can't run."

"If I show even the slightest hesitation, the enemy will target me.

But if I maintain the current situation, I think the enemy won't attack proactively."

Lady Avalon asked, confused, "Why?"

Shirou glanced at her: Because of you, you silly child.

Volume 1, Chapter 048: The End of the First Battle (4/5)

Why hadn't the enemy attacked Shirou until now?

It couldn't possibly be because he was kind.

There was only one reason—

The enemy judged that Shirou might have a Servant in Spiritualization.

He was half right; Shirou had indeed brought a Servant.

However, this Servant was completely useless in combat.

Even if someone attacked her Master, she could do nothing, and would do nothing.

Based on the information gathered so far, the enemy who attacked the elder sister Assassin had an extremely cautious personality.

He wouldn't risk being discovered by a Servant to attack Shirou.

Therefore, I must remain calm.

Therefore, I absolutely cannot show fear.