'In the last two years I feel like I've changed in some way or another'
From deep in the forest, Toru observed a certain scene between a diabolical maniac and the maiden who was named King of Great Britain. Next to her was Irisviel, who was confused by that strange man with bulging eyes and extravagant robe who appeared in the middle of the road.
'I've been overthinking a lot of things. Even now I still think about things too much. I guess I'm the kind of person who takes too much importance to the slightest thing...'
It's about time this dumb kid realized. The fact of thinking about things too much was what led him to have dark and depressing thoughts. However, after his stay with the Tōsaka family, Toru understood many things about himself. Looking into his own memories, when Sakura left... looking at himself he wondered:
'Was that really me?'
An idiot who got depressed very easily. Well, he still continues to get depressed easily, but now one thing has changed.
'I needed to see myself to realize who I am, I guess...'
His wish at first was basically death, but now that he came to his senses, that he managed to see himself, he felt ashamed of his twisted personality. True, only he could understand himself, but it is because he could understand himself that he was able to think carefully about things.
'Only I can choose what's best for me. To revive and return to the Shinobi World. That's what I should do... what I really want...'
To know happiness. Have a better future and leave all that suffering in the past.
To finish, he watched as Saber attacked the man, who turned out to be the Caster class Servant. Toru narrowed his eyes when he saw Caster disappear into the shadows.
'That's all for today. I've already spent a lot of mana'
***
On top of a building in the center of Fuyuki, Toru, hidden in his dematerialized form, raised two fingers in front of his face and opened his eyes with the Shigan activated. He felt the currents of mana in the air to make sure no one is watching him and finally…
"Everyone come back"
Some images were projected in his mind after that. He sent clones to different places in Fuyuki and spied on all the Masters he found. He was watching Irisviel and Saber drive the car at full speed on the asphalt. He managed to see something horrible in Caster's lair. He saw Waver living in the house of a couple of old people next to the eccentric Rider, and right now, he is watching the renowned Lord El-Melloi, Keyneth Archibald.
It is approximately two streets away. The building is full of traps, magical barriers, evil spirits. Basically, for someone who has no talent for stealth, going into that building would be suicide.
"Even if I manage to infiltrate that place, Lancer will still be in there with his Master."
Applying the basic tactics of a stealth assassin was what Toru wanted to do, but this was also taking too many chances. Also, at the moment, another enemy is moving in the shadows.
'To all this...'
He carefully observed the scene and sharpened his gaze. The windows were tinted, so it was a problem to know what is going on inside there. However, from one moment to the next…
"I never expected that the enemy would be capable of committing such an atrocity. But if I think about it carefully, I'm not the right person to say that...'
He looked across the Shigan as suddenly dozens of explosives started detonating in the building, where Lord El-Melloi is supposed to be. His eyes surveyed the entire scene at superhuman speed. It seemed that all the people in the building were evacuated before the explosion.
'Whoever the person who did this is, thought of the innocent people who could die in this attack on the Lord'
He let out a tired sigh and loosened his scarf a little from his neck.
"What a pious and pure soul..."
Under his hood, a calm smile formed. His words were full of irony. He thought that surely the enemy, who made the people of the building leave before the explosion, has the necessary knowledge to do this kind of thing, that is, he has already killed many people and has been in different scenarios involving his experience.
'What a disaster...'
Half of the building fell into the ruins, and half of what once was, remained on the ground. Toru for some reason connected this event with the destruction of Konohagakure.
"It seems that the enemy and I are not so different. Now my question here is: Are you the same guy who was pointing a gun straight at my head? If so, then there is a great chance that you are the real Master of Saber and not the woman with the silver hair'
Irisviel was too fragile to be a Master, but Toru was only seeing this from his point of view. None of the other Masters were that weak except for Waver Velvet. The odds, just like at that time in the Port of Fuyuki, are too many.
'I'd better not rule anything out yet. I have to keep watching'
With this, even if no one could see him, he disappeared from the scene wrapped in the dark veil of night.
***
"Kirei-sama. I have important information"
He suddenly appeared behind Kirei, who had just confronted one of the people involved in the explosion of the building who, unfortunately, managed to escape by the sudden interruption of an unknown person who seemed to be involved in this.
Kirei thanked the fact that Assassin has not materialized to speak to his. It was better this way. That way no one will be able to see them.
Toru then I whisper:
"I found the other Masters, but the one who deserves the most attention right now for being a potential danger to the war is Caster and his Master. Those two have been kidnapping and killing children. They don't take the trouble to hide anything. It's like they want to be found."
Kirei frowned.
"I see... we have nothing to do here. Let's go back for now. You'll give me the remaining details later."
"Understood"
-Fuyuki Church-
"Welcome back, jester"
As he passed dematerialized through the door, Toru immediately heard Archer's annoying voice. This materialized again only to look at this guy with disgust.
"Do you dare to look at me like that? You should know your place, jester. You gave me a good show last time, but not because you've made my boredom subside will I give you the right to act at your leisure when you're in front of me, your king."
Toru just twisted his eyes away to avoid looking at him. When he did this, a bottle of wine entered his field of vision. Toru looked at the bottle with relaxed eyes, and before he could think about it, he took it in his hands. Archer looked at this, for he was relaxing on the sofa appreciating his jester's performance.
"In the current era, it would be illegal for you to take this kind of drinks"
Toru sighed before answering.
"What an irony. Where I came from was also illegal. Although I like sake better than wine. This is too soft for my taste."
"Hm... you don't know anything about wine. The wine Tokiomi has is pretty bad, unlike the one Kirei keeps here, which is quite better in my opinion. Although in the many treasures I have a wine that not even the gods themselves are worthy to taste"
"Hm..."
Toru opened the bottle and poured himself a glass of wine. After that, he looked at Archer with his typical expressionless face and said:
"A wine that even the gods cannot taste. It sounds like something dangerous. I'm not interested."
Returning to the door with the wine bottle in one hand and the glass in the other, Toru simply wanted to get away from this guy.
"Are you angry about Berserker? Huh... there was no better way to increase the fun of the scene. Otherwise it would have been pretty boring."
Toru stopped.
"I don't know what game you're playing, Gilgamesh, but I don't want to be involved. I have my own goals and none of my goals involve you."
Gilgamesh mocked Toru with a smile. Before Toru disappeared, he simply mentioned something interesting to her.
"It's a pity. Those eyes if they are inside my world of fun"
A king who gave himself completely to the pleasures of his reign. Toru knew better than anyone how the story of King Gilgamesh ended. This guy, despite knowing his own history, did not learn anything about himself and this is something that clashed with Toru's new ideals.
The Assassin shook his head. Arguing with Archer is like arguing with a golden wall. In order not to get involved anymore, he changed his location inside the church.
"Kirei-sama..."
"Assassin"
But on the way, Toru met his Master. Kirei nodded his head. He had already received all the information he needed from his Servant and was already planning the next move together with Tokiomi. So neither of us had anything else to say. Kirei kept moving forward and Toru stood staring at him in the hallway wondering what it is that makes this man participate in this war.
To make sure…
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu..."
From the darkness of a cloud of smoke, a clone of Toru appeared, who dematerialized and approached the door. The original Toru just kept advancing until he was left alone somewhere in the church, all while his dematerialized clone absorbs Kirei's mana. This way you can also make sure that Gilgamesh doesn't do anything stupid.
-Somewhere-
It was a gloomy castle surrounded by a large dark forest. Inside one of the rooms of this castle, Saber carefully remembered the encounter she had with Assassin. When his hood fell off, she could see a boy of the same age, or that's how he looked in the eyes of this girl, with a strangely fierce look.
"I do whatever it takes to win. I don't care if they call me a coward."
She remembered those words. He is an Assassin, the kind of Servant who has no honor when it comes to fighting. He uses cheap tricks, attacks from behind and takes advantage of his enemies' weaknesses. Even this class can act as scavengers, because Saber theorized that Assassin was already there from the beginning, waiting to attack the one left between her duel with Lancer.
That kind of person is one of the things that bothers Saber the most. As one of the Knights of the Round Table, she was instructed as such, with the honor of a knight. Someone who does not defend his honor in battle is nothing but a mediocre coward. In fact, she wasn't the only one who thought this way about Assassin. The other Masters and Servants had the same idea about Assassin.
But who could blame them? That's the Assassin stereotype.
"Having so much potential and wasting it like that..."
She is completely wrong. It's true that Assassin is an expert in hand-to-hand combat, that's what she saw when she was attacked, but he had no choice but to use the old ninja tricks due to the limitation of his abilities. No one could really know this, so to think like this of someone like Assassin was normal.
Saber looked through the window and remembered Assassin's eyes. Bright Mystical Eyes of the color of the rainbow, the most special and rare eyes in this world of magic.
"He is dangerous..."
Someone with the 'Mystical Eyes of the Perception of Death' is extremely dangerous, much more someone as skilled and fast as Assassin is.
'It is very likely that he is investigating all the other Masters. If I'm not careful, Irisviel may die. We were lucky the last time the other Masters and Servants were on the scene, otherwise, Assassin surely...'
Surely Assassin at that moment would have murdered Irisviel. Saber thought that the situation helped a lot to make that not happen.
"It's okay... I'll be more attentive this time..."
Somewhere in the past, a girl who was an acclaimed king by all was surrounded by the corpses of other knights. That war she won, that war she lost. All the chaos that was created. The fall of her nation.
'I have to... be more attentive'
Act 1 - The End