The rustling of footsteps, heavy breathing, and the crackling of flames filled the air...
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha..."
From the port area to Central Park, dark figures sped through the shadows of the night.
"Ah!!!"
Amidst the gasping for breath, a sudden, piercing scream rang out, signaling the death of yet another clone. The rest of the shadows fled even faster.
'Damn it, that guy is still chasing me!'
This thought echoed in every shadow's mind.
There's no escape, no way to shake him off.
The one pursuing them was terrifyingly relentless. Despite their large numbers, they couldn't break free from his hunt. Even when they scattered in different directions, that figure would catch up and kill them one by one with terrifying speed. There was no chance to put distance between them before being hunted down. But why? Why couldn't they even hide from him with A-rank Presence Concealment?!
There was some confusion, but far more fear. When Assassin's prideful concealment proved useless, a sense of helplessness welled up from the depths of their hearts, leaving their limbs cold. The precision and lethality they once prided themselves on had already been lost in the panic of their flight.
Upon closer inspection, these fleeing shadows differed in height, build, and even gender.
Their only common trait was the night-suited tight clothing that blended seamlessly into the darkness, and the distinctive, eerie white bone masks they wore, marking their origin.
Assassin - Hassan of the Cursed Arm.
Those who bore this mask were undoubtedly members of the Hassan, and the only role they were suited for was that of Assassin, the legendary origin of all Assassins.
As expected, they were all different facets of a single Assassin - Hundred-Faced Hassan.
Each shadow represented one of Hassan's numerous personalities. Some specialized in assassination, survival, or even daily life skills. Together, these diverse personas made up the whole, one hundred but also one.
During her lifetime, Hundred-Faced Hassan split her mind into over a hundred personalities for assassination, allowing her to adapt to any situation and complete her mission. As a Servant, these personalities could now manifest independently, allowing her to truly become a hundred.
According to tonight's plan, one of the weakest clones was supposed to infiltrate the Tohsaka residence, sacrificing itself as a display for all the Masters to see. The goal was to make everyone believe Assassin had been eliminated, allowing her Master to hide in the shadows and form an alliance with Archer's Master, turning the tide in their favor.
But...
After hearing the plan, the arrogant King's eyes flashed with anger. Ignoring the alliance, he easily killed the clone sent to inform him, then vanished into spirit form.
And so, the perfect performance ended before it could even begin.
Though the pointless loss of a clone annoyed Hundred-Faced Hassan, this was the duty of a Servant. After reporting the situation to her Master, she diligently resumed her role in the Holy Grail War.
They were then ordered to gather intel in the port area, observe the powers and characteristics of each Servant, and, if possible, identify and kill their hidden Masters.
At first, everything was going smoothly. The Servants engaged in battle didn't seem to notice their presence, and they were able to observe the Servants' extraordinary powers and specialties.
But where did it all go wrong?
How did we get discovered?!
"Ah!"
In a fleeting moment of thought, another scream pierced the night as a hand wreathed in black flames effortlessly pierced the slowest Assassin.
*Splat!*
The shadow, slain mid-air, dissolved into spirit particles, carried away by the wind.
"Three left."
The King of the Cavern coldly watched the three fleeing shadows ahead, his golden eyes flashing with a glint of light, devoid of any emotion.
Tonight, he was indeed a bit angry.
These scum, who only lurk in dark corners, actually dared to use such petty tricks to lure him away from his Master.
As expected, these annoying Assassins had already mistaken him for the supposedly dead Caster. Although they didn't know his true power, they assumed his combat ability and basic explosive power were far inferior to the other Servants.
As a Caster, he wasn't in his workshop, and his Master was nearby.
With such a significant advantage, the Assassins naturally couldn't resist.
Even though they were weak, Caster was weak too. Since he wasn't in his workshop and his Master was close by, they had the upper hand. Why wouldn't they dare to attack? Even if the assassination failed, they could easily escape.
So, taking advantage of this opportunity, the Assassins sent out several duplicates to draw him away. If that didn't work, they would tie him down, while others would sneak off to assassinate his Master.
The plan was solid, even calculating Caster's lack of explosiveness and weakness when fighting outside his workshop. But unfortunately for them, they seemed to have misunderstood something.
When did he ever say he was a Caster? He was a vengeful wraith from hell, and these souls, filthier than frog urine, dared to scheme against him?
In the astonished gazes of the Assassins, the Count exploded with immense speed, piercing through the spiritual cores of the Assassins sent to restrain him at the speed of light, before turning back to aid his Master.
The Assassins who attempted to assassinate his Master immediately sensed something was wrong and chose to retreat, but it was already too late. The vengeful spirit had already locked onto them.
The vengeful spirit had memorized the scent of their souls; no matter how many bodies they split into, they could not escape.
"Two."
After confirming that the Hassan corpse he had shattered had turned into spiritual particles, the Count, with his A-ranked agility, randomly chose a direction and once again hunted down the remaining Hassans.
Run, faster! Even faster!
They could already see the light! As long as they could get through here, as long as they could leave this area, as long as they could reach that place!!
*Boom!*
In that fleeting moment, just as they were about to reach the light, the last two Hassans once again heard it... the familiar toll of the evening bell.
Just like the sound they heard at the end of their lives.
*Boom!* *Boom!*
*Swish* *Swish* *Swish*
Accompanied by the sharp sounds of something slicing through the air, six silver projectiles, seemingly from nowhere, precisely pierced their vital points.
And then… they dissipated.
The vengeful spirit chasing after them stopped in his tracks as he sensed a new presence.
Standing ahead of him was a young man with slightly dark skin, wearing the robes of a saint, his white hair slightly tousled. The boy faced him, extending a friendly hand in greeting.
"Would you come down to meet me, Mr. Avenger?"
"…"
The Count simply gazed at him calmly for a moment, did not respond, and after confirming something, swiftly turned and left.
"Oh dear, not coming down? Are you afraid of an ambush? Or perhaps you still don't trust me…"
Seeing the Count leave so decisively, Amakusa didn't seem surprised. After all, the timing of his appearance was indeed a bit suspicious.
But it didn't matter. From the first moment they met, he had already seen through the other's identity, Avenger, though his true name was still shrouded in flames and couldn't be seen.
An Avenger-class Servant, huh? It seemed that he was the other chosen one selected by the world.
But, something still felt a bit off.
"Let's hope there won't be any problems."
The boy turned and left.
...
[I'll chase after the Assassin. You find a safe place to hide, and if there's any trouble, use a Command Seal to call me back.]
"Is that really how a Command Seal should be used?"
Seeing the message from the Count, Roy glanced at the Command Seal on the back of his hand and shook his head.
Still, he replied to the Count.
[Got it.]
Roy didn't return to the base.
His identity had already been known by Kotomine Kirei before the Holy Grail War even started, and naturally, Tohsaka Tokiomi knew it just as well. Given their morals and the way magi operate, it would be strange if they didn't send Assassin to stake out his house.
Fortunately, aside from some memories left behind over the past few years, there wasn't anything particularly important in that house he'd lived in for so long. Plus, its location was ridiculously remote, with only a few houses in the surrounding suburbs. Abandoning it wasn't a big deal.
In this situation, he could still make clear decisions.
Tonight, there would inevitably be visitors. But they'd only be unwelcome guests, and for such visitors, he had thoughtfully left behind some carefully prepared gifts inside the house for the intruders who were sure to come.
By his calculations, it should be activating around now.
The night was cool and quiet, the world at peace.
To ordinary people, this might have seemed like a calm night, no different from any other.
But for him, this night, and the days that followed, were destined to be anything but peaceful.
And the act of shattering that peace would begin with the rapid combustion of a blue butterfly that hovered beside him...
Watching the burning familiar, a burst of dazzling flames erupted in the distance... precisely in the direction of his home.
In the next moment...
*Boom!*
The explosion roared like a clap of thunder, accompanied by bright firelight, painting half the night sky red. A raging sea of fire surged forth, blossoming into a fiery spectacle in the night sky.
Burning, boiling, forming a firestorm fierce enough to strike fear into the hearts of men.
"It really is quite beautiful…"
Watching the sea of fire ignited by the chain explosion of dozens of specially rigged gas canisters, Roy removed the cigarette from his mouth and stamped it out underfoot.
He didn't have Emiya Kiritsugu's expertise to acquire C4, but he had his own makeshift method.
All it took was getting a few gas canisters ahead of time, infusing them with some magical energy, filling the house with them, and then rigging a small device that would ignite upon detecting magical energy. Once triggered, it created this effect.
The chain reaction of a gas explosion is a simple principle.
But the effect seemed decent enough.
As he gazed at the towering flames and listened to the panicked shouting around him, he calmly pulled up his hood and slipped unnoticed into the crowd.
As if none of it had anything to do with him.
The sound of flames burning, the night wind blowing, and the noise within his heart all roared.
[Regroup at the new base, Count.]
Under the cover of night, he walked away into the distance.
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