Watching the Show
It's been two days since Scathach killed Caster, there have been no signs of anyone noticing this. So all of my plans haven't yet derailed. I want to preserve the plot as much as I can, until a certain point to get something that is really important. Caster was obviously not part of my plans so he has been eliminated. But I don't really need to preserve canon much longer now because in less than a day, I will start moving in earnest.
And for all intents and purposes, Scathach can masquerade as Caster if we ever need to communicate with others in this Holy Grail War. It's a simple plan but that's all you will get from me, at most there will be some improvisations. After all, in the end I am not really a schemer.
But for now Scathach and I will just watch the show that's about to happen from my Shinsu familiar. I am progressing quite well in my magecraft if I do say so myself, I can now share my senses to another person. Scathach may be a Spartan teacher but her methods are very effective if the student is willing to put in the effort.
I remember that Einzberns kind of specialize in magecraft like this too. Of course their main specialty is in alchemy but still.
These types of delicate magecraft is quite hard for me honestly. Somehow only the magecraft that cause destruction come to me like I am a fish in water. So this took quite an effort to learn, and I am not very proficient in it. If the other party resists even a bit, the magecraft wouldn't hold.
Scathach and I are on the sitting and I activate the spell to share senses.
"So how is it?" I ask her.
"It is...passable." She answers.
Yeah I figured that would be the case.
"You should connect your senses with mine. After all you are much better than me at this."
I tell her with a straight face.
"Must we really watch this?" She asks me.
"It is quite important to watch this together, after all I want your thoughts on the event that will happen."
I tell her with a straight face.
"Alright," she says with a sigh and then does the spell.
"Let's watch the show."
I say with a smile adorning my face.
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(Third Person POV)
The saying goes that the hour when even trees sleep doesn't apply to magi and Servants.
The Heroic Spirit of the shadows, Assassin, has a better grasp than anyone on the complexity of being prepared in the darkness of the night.
Especially since the magi gathered in the city of Fuyuki have a double interest. Standing on the hill of Miyama town, neither of the western-styled houses of Matou and Tohsaka were left behind in term of splendor.
Masters aiming for the Grail, the two landlords were using, lately, some low-grade familiars to patrol left and right, day and night around their visible castles. Naturally, the master of the mansion must be ready, and stretched around a multitude of bounded fields for detection and defense even inside the mansion; it must be a stronghold in the magecraft sense of the term.
Stepping unauthorized into the bounded fields is all but safe, all the more for the large mass of magical energy that is a Servant. Essentially, even if it is a spiritual body, it should be just about impossible to slip through the bounded fields of the fortress undetected.
However, the impossible can always be made possible. That is the Presence Concealment skill of the Assassin class. While he does not excel in battle power, Assassin can suppress his magical energy emission until it reaches zero to creep in the shadows and reach his target.
Additionally, for the Assassin of this time, Kotomine Kirei's Servant, this night's infiltration operation was especially easy. The garden he was now sneaking in isn't the one in the Matou mansion that has been considered enemy territory for some time. It is the mansion of Tohsaka Tokiomi, who was his Master Kirei's ally until just yesterday. Of course, Assassin too has agreed with Kirei and Tokiomi to deceive the other Masters and remain undercover. Obeying that secret agreement, he has undertaken the guarding of the Tohsaka mansion on countless occasions. Knowing all about the disposition of the bounded fields, he was naturally aware of the blind spot.
In his spiritual form, Assassin progressed through the many alarm fields without a problem, laughing at the ironic fate of Tohsaka Tokiomi. That arrogant magus has placed a considerable faith in his protégé Kirei, but can't imagine that he might be bitten by his dog.
Kirei's order to murder Tokiomi has reached Assassin not an hour ago. He is unsure of what caused Kirei to change his mind, but Tokiomi's summoning of a Servant a few days ago must be when it began. Tokiomi seems to have summoned the Servant Archer, but apparently, that Heroic Spirit must be weaker than Kirei expected. And as the merit of the cooperation with Tokiomi faded away, he agreed with the decision Kirei made this night.
"Vain prudence is unnecessary. Have no fear of facing Archer. You need to obliterate Tohsaka Tokiomi quickly."
That was the order of his Master Kirei. Against the despised, weakest fighter Assassin, he won't be afraid and won't hurry, it should be easy to betray the miscalculations of the Heroic Spirit Archer summoned by Tōsaka Tokiomi.
Halfway through the garden, the blind spot of the bounded field one could just pass through vanished. From there on, the barrier has to be destroyed by physical mean, and one need to progress while removing it. It is impossible to proceed while invisible in spirit form.
Leaning over the shadow of the vegetation, Assassin returned from spirit form to physical form, exposing his bony mask and tall, lean figure. He can feel many "eyes" all over him from afar, different from the bounded field of the Tohsaka residence. The familiars of other Masters must be observing the Tohsaka residence from outside the barriers. As long as he remains unnoticed from Tokiomi himself, there is no need to worry about any Peeping Toms. Tokiomi's rivals disputing the Grail would never warn him of Assassin's infiltration. If one competitor drops, the others should remain unconcerned spectators.
Snickering without a sound, Assassin extended his hand at the first keystone that binds the barri-
The next instant, that hand was pierced through by a spear flying from above, shining like a flash of lightning.
"...gi!?"
An intense pain, terror, and above all, shock. The simple spear strike was completely unexpected, and Assassin swung his head upward, looking for the thrower.
No, there is no need to search.
On top of the roof of the Tohsaka residence, a golden shadow stands magnificently. That divine radiance even steals the dignity of the starlit sky and puts the moon to shame.
The rage of being wounded made Assassin forget the pain, but he could only fear the overwhelming coercion.
"You, worm crawling on the ground, whose pardon do you seek?"
The golden man asks indifferently to the Assassin hidden on the ground, looking down at him with a pair of disdainful, burning crimson eyes.
"You can't look at me. Worms can only look at the ground when they die, like the worms they are."
Around the golden shadow, even more glows appeared, growing to a countless number. Suddenly sliding out of mid-air were swords, halberds, not one of them were the same, all of them treasured weapons with dazzling ornaments. And all of them were aimed at Assassin.
''I can't win''. Without even thinking, Assassin realized it instinctively.
Winning against him is impossible. It's stupid to even think about facing him.
If he is able to hit Assassin, a Servant, it means that golden shadow is definitely a Servant. And if he is stopping an invasion into the Tohsaka mansion, then the Master is Tokiomi. In other words, he must be the Heroic Spirit Archer.
There's no need to fear that? Are you kidding?!
In his pledge to his Master, Assassin knew there was no contradiction in Kirei's words.
In front of such an overwhelming enemy, there is no place for fear.
There can only be despair and abandon.
Slashing through the air in a howl, an infinity of shining blades started raining down on Assassin.
Assassin felt the eyes. The familiars observing from outside the place. The first Servant to fall in the fourth War of the Holy Grail met an unsightly end without even a retort, witnessed by the other Masters.
Of course, this was because the others didn't know of the unsightly end of Caster. Of course Assassin had no idea of those events. So that is not relevant in this situation.
And at the last moment, Assassin understood. The true intention of his Master, Kotomine Kirei, and...of the leader, Tohsaka Tokiomi.
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(Amar POV)
"So what did you think about that?" I ask Scathach.
"Weak," she answers with a single word.
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So that was the chapter, hope you liked it. See you in the next one.