---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Holy Grail that is being filled by the girl.
What does the Heroic Spirit who serves Manaka desire―――?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a Certain Day in February, 1991.
Midnight.
Close to JR Ikebukuro Station, Toshima Ward in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
???: “My fellow people who are similar to my master, won’t you reciprocate and share your power to me?”
Assassin, mused over the words as she was standing still in the darkness of the city.
They were the words that Caster emitted when he manifested as a Servant like herself.
There was a quiet reverberation.
If she had heard and surmised the proper context of it, then it was telling her as if to give her guidance, if it had detestable contents then ordinary people would frown their face.
Her way of telling which had the composure of a great scholar who had studied for a long time, made her bad habits all the more prominent.
But, Assassin felt nothing.
She accepted her master’s orders.
If so, then she’d only move into action later.
For the sake of her noble master who she would win her way through the Holy Grail War for――――for that person Manaka Sajyou, truly, until she exhausted her power……
Until the time when she’d change into a piece of aether after her temporary body crumbled away, she’d just continue to add to the prana that remained in her body.
If it was necessary, she wouldn’t care even if her spiritual core would offer her foolish soul.
Assassin: “Lady Manaka. My Master.”
She treaded one step from the darkness.
In the Tokyo night where starlight did not make much sense, the moonlight that can become an exceptional light source lit up her face.
It wasn’t her true face.
It was a mask.
It was something that she wore to cover her face from when she had her life as a human, before she was engraved as a Heroic Spirit on the throne, it was a white skull that was made to look very well like something that the successive heads of the Assassin Order wore once.
A mask that imitated death.
More than her dark brown body and her black clothes that suited the night, it was looked like, there was a single floating skull there, in the shadows that were raised by the countless buildings built by the city.
A black stagehand and a white skeleton, it suited the image of a reaper told about in West European stories, was it the proper result of it, or was it hugely ironic?
Without knowing if there was another head, if she had to say it herself, Assassin thought that if it was certainly the latter surely……
It was currently the 14
th day since she manifested――――or rather she should say that it was the 14
th day of the Holy Grail War――――even now, the “11 p.m.
[1]. Death Mary” that was rightly spoken on late night radio, was finally changing into the form of modern reapers.
It started only the day before yesterday, but it had already, reached how many.
Assassin: “I’ll offer myself as much as you like. For you, who are more nobler than the moon at night.”
It wasn’t a prayer spilling from her lips.
It was just nothing but a declaration, just to show her infinite gratitude.
At the time it was past 2 am late at night.
If she was searching for humans for the purpose of devouring their souls, or rather securing her Prana supply, it was an avoidable time slot, but she had decided to not completely limit her activities as a reaper.
She couldn’t move by using the city transportation network which were the buses and trains, but it wasn’t a problem now in this time slot because the crowds had already disappeared.
If the likelihood of encountering the yakuza who operate in the shopping districts at night had risen, right, it didn’t concern her anymore.
But more than having received her master’s orders, she was just earnestly fulfilling her duty.
For example, even if a group that were secretly armed and using unlawful means were her opponent――――
???: “……………..!”
Ahh, she heard a voice.
One feeble voice, was being raised seeking help.
The voice that said it was coming from this side.
This city at night, and especially this back alley resembled a natural forest somewhere.
The herbivorous animals that misfortunately and foolishly lose their way, are attacked by groups of carnivorous beasts who spill their drool and bare their fangs, and then torn up, ripped up to be eaten, and then greedily devoured.
Even in this modern era called the 20
th century, the ways of the darkness weren’t so different from when Assassin was alive.
Were there enough differences for a percentage?
Just one breath remained in that spot, as Assassin’s figure disappeared.
Complete transparency.
It was different from the spiritualisation where obtains the invisibility trait by utilising and configuring a Servant’s body with the aether in it, and it was also different from the transparency used by optical means.
To be precise, it was her Presence Concealment skill.
It was a supernatural skill that her body was endowed with when she manifested as Assassin.
Even if she were to proceed boldly through the streets like this, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to see Assassin’s form whose presence was severed to an extreme degree.
The staggering drunkards that were passing by, weren’t even able to stupidly notice a cat capable of using night vision, much less her.
Even in her lifetime she could acquire all kinds of concealment skills, that varied to some extent in theory and details.
Rather, was it close to the magic handled by Mages?
Without anyone else seeing her, without knowing, Assassin had reached her destination.
Without anyone else seeing her, without knowing, Assassin had reached her destination.
As expected a back alley.
It was gloomy.
――――There they are.
One young woman, and 5 males.
Male 1: “This is the one that boss Gondou said was a fine woman.”
Male 2: “Brats walking around our turf at this time in an Itabashi girls’ uniform is enough of a tale for him.”
Male 3: “You're surprisingly well-informed.”
Male 4: “Heh, well look what we got here. Ain’t she a cute little cuttlefish! She’s just my type!”
Male 5: “Aww she’s trembling how cute. It’s a bonus, a bonus. Let’s have some fun with her before we give her to the boss.”
The males’ physiques as they crowded around the woman who was sitting on the ground were sufficient enough.
The contents of their statements comprised of expressions unique to the Yakuza, but they were probably youths who controlled the illegal prostitution rings and aimlessly wandered the streets around the vicinity of the JR Ikebukuro station.
It was some rule of this city’s darkness, and they were its subcontractors or so to speak.
Their speaking style was saying that that they were wannabees even if it wasn’t absolutely all of them.
[1] For some reason it said in the Japanese version 午前 (A.M.) instead of 午後 (P.M.). So I corrected it based on previous chapters. It’s probably just a typo.
Originally Posted by asterism42
Reply With Quote
