Swoosh—
The blade cleaved through the neck. The black-clad body toppled backward.
The seventh one.
In just a few minutes, Tenkei Shiomi had already slain seven Assassins—or rather, seven different bodies.
n, won, the elderly, teenagers.
Muscular, frail, overweight.
So moved with the grace of swallows, others struck with brute force.
No matter how you categorized them, it was impossible to fully define them.
But they were all undeniably Assassins—and all far weaker than expected.
Individually, each one was far beyond an ordinary human. But as Servants, their stats were so low they couldn't even be compared to other classes.
They fell within a few exchanges.
If they were all the sa, Shiomi might have finished them even faster.
But each ti, they were slightly different. Every Assassin had a similar, yet subtly distinct, fighting style. That ant he had to read their moves from scratch and find an opening each ti before landing the kill.
Even after losing seven, the Assassins showed no fear. One after another, they sprang from the treetops with weapons drawn, launching a suicidal assault on Shiomi.
And yet, throughout all their attacks, Shiomi hadn't taken a single step back.
While fending them off, he analyzed them calmly in his mind.
To prepare for the Holy Grail War, Shiomi had researched the Assassin class known for the highest risk of identity exposure—the various incarnations of Hassan-i-Sabbah.
Unlike public records, the Mage's Association possessed far more detailed information.
Among the many Hassans, one stood out in his mory—a figure infamous for multiple independent personalities, each mastering knowledge and skills beyond normal human reach.
So excelled in strategy, others in foreign tongues. So used poison, so were masters of traps. A few could even exhibit strength or speed their bodies shouldn't have been capable of.
They could alter their appearances flawlessly—man, woman, old, young—so seamlessly that even their personalities shifted to fit the role.
Hassan of the Hundred Faces.
It was the only answer that fit.
"How's my weapon?" Morgan asked casually, still facing away from him as she sat on a tree trunk, idly prodding the fire with a stick she'd picked up.
She didn't even glance his way. With such a one-sided fight, it was only a matter of ti before it ended.
The Assassins had ruined her peaceful mont with Shiomi—a sin beyond forgiveness.
Since Shiomi had chosen to deal with them himself, Morgan was more than happy to let him.
"Works like a charm!"
Shiomi raised his voice in reply, throwing in an archaic turn of phrase to make Morgan smile.
He hadn't expected Morgan's weapon to shift forms so freely, transforming into a two-handed longsword.
While he hadn't formally studied swordsmanship, under Scáthach's doctrine of mastering all martial disciplines, he'd gained considerable proficiency.
The forest was too cramped to fight freely, and he hated the thought of damaging such a pristine natural space. Morgan's weapon transforming into a sword spared him a lot of hassle.
Though his sword skills weren't as polished as his spearwork, they were more than enough to deal with these weakened Assassin clones.
Silently, he set a rule for himself—if even a single one of them got past him and laid a hand on Morgan, it would be proof of his own failure.
The eighth.
With a swing, the sword fell. The Assassin's body tumbled backward and lay still.
Shiomi flicked the blood from his blade and scanned the remaining movent.
Then a surprised voice rang out behind him.
Turning, he saw Morgan holding a hand to her forehead, as if sensing sothing.
Alard, Shiomi imdiately leapt back, landing at her side and crouching.
"What is it? More intruders?"
"It's not that serious," Morgan said with a shake of her head. "I just didn't expect the Garden of Lost Will to be breached."
Shiomi looked stunned. "Breached? I thought you said that even if soone made it through, it wouldn't affect you."
"Normally, yes. Anyone who enters the Garden is forced to confront their innermost self. Even if they manage to endure it, their heart should be worn down to nearly nothing." Morgan frowned thoughtfully. "But this... this is the first ti I've seen anything like it. It's as if the person has no heart at all."
"No heart?" Shiomi narrowed his eyes.
The Assassins were still lurking in the forest, continuing their suicidal attempts to stall them. Which ant the one who had entered the castle and survived the Garden could only be Kirei Kotomine.
"Yeah... seems my Magecraft isn't flawless after all." Morgan looked unbothered. "Didn't think I'd run into soone it couldn't affect."
"...That might not be the Magecraft's fault," Shiomi replied with a wry smile, gently taking her arm.
When it ca to Kirei Kotomine, Shiomi didn't have strong personal feelings. He just thought of him as soone you could still have a normal conversation with.
Still, he'd always had a vague sense that, while Kirei might not be evil, sothing inside him was... broken.
There was sothing absent in that Executor—so human quality that simply wasn't there.
Shiomi had t many priests of the Holy Church before, but none like Kirei. Even the coldest Magus didn't fall into the sa category.
"Sounds like my husband knows what's going on," Morgan said softly.
Her breath carried a faint sweetness that made Shiomi realize he'd leaned in a little too close in his concern—it was brushing his face.
"No, I wouldn't say I know," he said as he helped her to her feet, brows furrowed. "It's just that when it cos to soone like Kirei Kotomine, you can only approach it from a very specific angle. No matter how much of a failure he might seem, he's still Caren's biological father. I don't want to speak too harshly about him."
Morgan shook her head. "But that doesn't change reality."
Shiomi released her arm and stamped out the fire.
The Assassins around them seed to receive a signal—they began retreating, one after another.
"Co to think of it, they kept rushing at us even knowing they'd die..." Shiomi narrowed his eyes. "Must've been Command Spells."
Morgan rested a hand on her hip and looked toward the castle. "So their role was to delay us with these relentless attacks. Looks like we underestimated them."
"This isn't good. We should move out," Shiomi said.
"Didn't you say we'd flatten the castle along with them? It's not too late," Morgan teased, flashing him a playful smile.
He blinked. "If you've changed your mind, then fine. We can stay—I'll start prepping a Grand Magecraft."
"You're hopeless," Morgan said with a laugh.
Shiomi gave a resigned wave, ending the exchange. In an instant, a storm of crows filled the air, circling around them.
"We can go straight to the castle," Morgan reminded him. "I've already begun lifting the Garden of Lost Will."
"Got it."
Reviews
All reviews (0)