Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Shirou gave her a meaningful look.

At that moment, the scene inside the crystal ball changed—

Golden splendor filled the entire night sky.

Countless and numerous weapons appeared behind the Gold Servant, truly making the stars pale in comparison.

Shirou: "...(surprised)"

Ms. Avalon: "...(glancing furtively)"

The next instant, the swords, spears, and halberds behind the golden servant rained down on Assassin on the ground!

"boom------!!!"

The light and power of the Big Bang could be felt even through the crystal ball.

In the blink of an eye, the black servants on the ground vanished without a trace.

The initial clashes in the Holy Grail War were not battles, but rather one-sided massacres and executions.

"Master! Master!"

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

"Ah, um..." Shirou responded absentmindedly.

"Did you notice? The dozens of magical artifacts he fired in that instant were all genuine!!!"

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

Ms. Avalon spoke in a noticeably deliberate and uplifting tone.

"Considering your unique magical abilities, Master, the two of you might become arch-enemies!"

"Is that so... I guess so."

I don't think I've ever shown you projection magic before.

While Shirou was trying to appease the excited female magician, his eyes were fixed on the huge crater inside the crystal ball.

To be honest, aside from being slightly surprised at first, he didn't pay much attention to the Gold Saints.

"That" is indeed very powerful, more powerful than imagined.

If "that" is the standard performance of a Servant, Shirou would now want to go to the Fuyuki Church to give up his Master status and accept the protection of the Overseer.

however--

"That" is simply powerful.

They can neither be Shirou's strength nor his obstacle; they are fundamentally incompatible.

Shirou Amamiya would not touch anything that was too hot and dazzling to be touched, nor would he linger his gaze on it for long.

Seeing the red-haired boy's attitude, Ms. Avalon's eyes held a complex expression.

She thought to herself, "The only one in human history who would disregard the glory of the 'King of Heroes' is probably Master."

then.

In this one-sided war of devastation, what truly entered the vision of the "Eye of the End" was—

"Assassin is not dead yet."

The red-haired boy put on his coat, quickly got up, and went out.

"He might become our ally."

……

……

As the intruders were annihilated by the Gold Servant, Tokiomi Tohsaka was comfortably reclining in his rocking chair in his room.

"Very good... things are progressing smoothly."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Golden Servant who had instantly killed Assassin appeared in the room with an unhappy expression.

"You actually troubled me, Tokiomi, with such trivial matters."

Tokiomi Tohsaka immediately rose from his chair and gave a respectful and elegant bow.

“How dare I, King of Kings, Gilgamesh. Tonight’s events are merely a warning to others, to prevent future complications.”

Having demonstrated your overwhelming power, surely no more brainless cowards will dare to attack.

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

Gilgamesh disliked arrogant people, but he also disliked sycophants.

Therefore, he is currently satisfied with Tokiomi's attitude and has reluctantly forgiven the offense of tonight.

"Your Majesty... are you still satisfied with the world as it is now?"

The King of Gold dismissed Tokiomi's question with disdain:

"Boring. No matter how indescribably ugly the world becomes, all land will eventually return to my garden, and all treasures will return to my hands."

"So, the Holy Grail..."

"I have no interest in things like the Holy Grail."

Gilgamesh looked proud.

"The bastards have started a fight in the courtyard, which could have been ignored... but if they're after my treasure, that's a different story."

That being said, no matter how many times such a despicable person is punished, it will not dispel their frustration.

Tokiomi, I hope these so-called strongmen you speak of can offer me even the slightest comfort, otherwise…

"The sin of making me make a wasted trip is quite grave, isn't it?"

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

"..."

Tokiomi Tohsaka, who was bowing his head, was already covered in sweat.

Why Archer of all people...?

Gilgamesh's personality is already self-centered, and now he has gained the class skill "Act Alone".

The oldest hero, Lord King, spends his days loitering around Fuyuki City in a leather jacket, and Tokiomi Tohsaka is completely unable to contact him.

I have no idea where my servant is or what he is doing, let alone expect him to listen to my advice.

If this continues, can the Tohsaka family really achieve victory?

The gentleman, who had been indulging in a dream of certain victory, has now become much more sober.

And then there's that Servant who can't be detected by the "Spirit Disk".

So many days have passed, and there is still no new information.

What kind of abilities does that mysterious Servant possess?

Who is his Master?

Why didn't you come to the Fuyuki Church to report your identity and receive an explanation? Did you suspect something?

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

Kirei must intensify the search for Assassins and uncover their identities as soon as possible.

------------

Volume 1, Chapter 36: There Are No Bad People Who Like Magical Girls

A few hours later.

The Fuyuki Church is located on a small hill on the outskirts of Xindu.

This is the only neutral zone in the Holy Grail War, and tonight it welcomes guests who made advance reservations.

"—In accordance with the rules of the Holy Grail War, Kirei Kotomine requests the Church of Christ to protect my personal safety."

“I accept. As is my duty as an overseer, Kotomine Risei will ensure your safety. Come in.”

Even at the entrance of a church, there might be spies (familiars) of magicians, and the Kotomine father and son were putting on a show.

From the outside perspective, Kirei Kotomine overestimated his abilities by sending Assassins to attack the Tohsaka mansion and suffering a defeat, thus hastily withdrawing from the Holy Grail War.

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

Kirei Kotomine will move underground to continue the Tohsaka faction's reconnaissance and assassination work.

What enabled him to do this was based on his follower, Hassan al-Sabah.

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

A black robe draped over the slender, curvaceous female body, her face covered by the iconic skull mask.

—Assassin, who should have been dead, has reappeared.

Although her physical appearance and even gender have changed, there is no doubt that she is Kirei Kotomine's Servant, the Assassin.

He was the last leader of the Assassins' Order, known as the Mountain Elder with the nickname "Hundred Faces".

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

The truth behind the mystery of immortality is that Hassan divided his soul, splitting himself into eighty-eight real individuals according to his personality.

The one who was just killed by the Hero King was just one of many Hassan-Sabbahs.

There are eighty-seven more black humanoid figures like that.

Although it was a group of nearly a hundred people, Hassan Sabah only had one Spirit Origin, and his total magical power remained unchanged.

The more it is divided, the weaker its individual performance becomes, but the inherent skill "Aura Concealment" will not decline.

By making the most of this characteristic, Hassan the Hundred-Faced became the perfect intelligence organization.

Possessing comprehensive skills and extensive knowledge, as well as an incredible mental fortitude that makes her unpredictable, she can be considered the most perfect assassin and infiltrator.

Relying on this divine power (Zabaniya), she won the election for the leader of the cult, defeating a genius girl who had mastered all eighteen divine powers of the previous leaders.

The female assassin remained silent throughout the conversation between Kotomine and his son.

"Father, has the 'Spirit Weapon Disc' still failed to determine the class of that mysterious Servant?"

"Hmm, still not, but we can now determine the class of the other six."

Kotomine Risatsu explained, "All Servants except Berserker have manifested, so the only one left is Berserker."

"is that so……"

Kirei Kotomine had doubts, but didn't say anything.

In his view, since the special case of "Servants that cannot be observed by the Spirit Disk" has already occurred, why bother with the regular case of "seven classes"?

The seventh Servant... doesn't necessarily have to be Berserker, Father.

Just to be on the safe side, Kirei Kotomine asked Assassin about the familiars around the Tohsaka Mansion.

"The familiars present had four different auras, suggesting that at least four Masters witnessed the scene."

The purple-haired female assassin added, "If they don't even bother sending familiars to monitor the bases of the three starter families, they're incapable of defending against 'us.' Judging from the outcome, there shouldn't be any problems."

"Ah."

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 indifferently.

Even among "us", Zaid is just an individual with average abilities in all aspects.

Even if we lose him, it won't have a big impact on all of us, except—"

"But what?"

"Although it doesn't have a huge impact, the loss is still a loss."

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

Kirei Kotomine keenly sensed that beneath the woman's outwardly respectful tone lay intense resentment.