"Is this an Assassin?"
Looking at the masked figure's corpse slowly disintegrating on the ground, Hikigaya Hachiman frowned. He pulled Sakura behind him and then looked up at Karna.
After all, this was one of the seven participating Servants, right? How could an Assassin be so easily dealt with by Karna? Could it be that Karna's strength far surpasses that of an Assassin?
"In a sense, that Assassin was indeed already dealt with by ."
Karna nodded, then lifted his gaze toward a corner of the harbor.
Hachiman followed his line of sight, spotting a black figure wearing a mask flicker past a pile of containers.
"Two Assassins?"
Hachiman was taken aback.
Wasn't it said that only one Servant per class can be summoned? Why would the Assassin's Master summon two? And judging by the masks, they seed to belong to the sa organization or faction…
"No. It's more accurate to say that Assassin possesses a skill akin to creating duplicates, Master."
Karna corrected Hachiman's misconception.
The rule that only one Servant of each class can be summoned in a Holy Grail War is ironclad. The only explanation for multiple Assassins is that the Assassin in question has the ability to create clones.
"If we fight that Assassin, it ans we'll face being surrounded…"
Hachiman's expression revealed so concern.
Servants are top warriors of their respective eras. Though Karna had easily dealt with one duplicate, what if ten or twenty Assassins attacked at once…?
"Rest assured. Even if fifty of those show up, I can handle them."
Karna, guessing Hachiman's worries from his expression, signaled for him to relax.
"?"
"Once a Servant's strength reaches a certain level, numbers alone can't compensate. From our recent engagent, I can judge that these Assassin duplicates have strength roughly equivalent to you, Master. I just need a bit of ti…"
"…"
Hachiman looked at Karna, a complex expression on his face.
Being acknowledged by Karna as having strength comparable to a Servant should have been a source of pride. Even if it was just a low-tier Servant level, it should have been sothing to celebrate.
Yet, for so reason, he couldn't bring himself to feel happy.
.
.
.
On the morning of the first day of the Holy Grail War.
When Hachiman opened his eyes from bed, daylight had already filled the room.
"Good morning, Onii-chan. Are you ready to get up?"
Sakura, who had been waiting at the table, imdiately jumped down and ran to him to greet him.
"Ah, good morning, Sakura… Karna?"
Because they had stayed up last night discussing the deploynt of various factions and Servants, Hachiman had allowed himself a bit of a lie-in. Still, his head felt heavy and foggy.
Looking around the hotel room, he suddenly realized Karna was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, I asked Karna to go buy breakfast…"
Sakura had originally intended to go get breakfast herself, but Karna stopped her, saying Hachiman might worry, then took on a modern human form and left the hotel.
"I see…"
Hachiman yawned, went to the bathroom to tidy his ssy hair, then closed the door to change clothes.
Soon, in casual attire, he reopened the bathroom door and stepped out. Imdiately, a news report on the Fuyuki City "perverted killer" caught his attention on the television.
"Perverted killer?"
A hint of concern flickered in his mind. Hachiman sat next to Sakura and listened to the report.
Upon seeing a series of magical circles completely constructed from blood at the cri scene, his suspicions were confird.
"That's Caster's doing, isn't it?"
After all, except for Caster, all the other participants had already gathered at the harbor yesterday.
Rider, Saber, Archer, and Berserker didn't strike him as the types to commit such twisted, pointless acts.
And the Assassin's duplicates were presumably running around gathering intelligence across Fuyuki City, not idly drawing magical circles.
That left only Caster as the likely culprit.
"But why would Caster kill ordinary people? And why all children…"
Hachiman glanced at Sakura beside him.
Yes. It was decided. No matter where he went, he would keep Sakura close at all tis.
"Master, breakfast is here."
While Hachiman was pondering Caster's motive for killing children, Karna returned, carrying a plastic bag.
"Ah, perfect timing, Karna!"
Hachiman's eyes lit up upon seeing him. He waved toward the TV report and asked Karna for his thoughts.
"Just for amusent, I guess."
Seeing Hachiman wonder why Caster was murdering children, Karna replied with his intuition.
"Amusent?"
Just for amusent, over thirty children had already been killed?
Hachiman, who had been considering whether Caster might be preparing so ritual, instantly clenched his fists.
Regardless of motive, Caster was unforgivable. But killing purely for amusent was far worse than killing for a purpose.
"Master, are you planning to deal with Caster yourself?"
Karna noticed Hachiman's tightly clenched hands and asked, sharing the sa thought.
"Ah, if we encounter him…"
The tragic scenes on TV didn't cloud Hachiman's judgnt. He still rembered his ultimate goal in this Holy Grail War.
After instructing Karna to eliminate Caster if they encountered him, Hachiman changed the channel and began eating the slightly cooled breakfast with Sakura and Karna.
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