A few hours later.
Fuyuki Church stood on a small hill on the outskirts of Shinto.
This was the only neutral ground in the Holy Grail War, and tonight, it welcomed a guest who had arranged his visit in advance.
"In accordance with the rules of the Holy Grail War, Kirei Kotomine requests that the Holy Church protect his personal safety."
"I accept. In accordance with my duties as Overseer, Risei Kotomine will guarantee your safety. Come, please enter."
Even at the church entrance, Magi might have spies or familiars hidden nearby, so the Kotomine father and son put on a convincing little performance.
To outside observers, Kirei Kotomine had overestimated himself, sent Assassin to attack the Tohsaka residence, lost, and then hastily withdrawn from the Holy Grail War.
But in truth, his fight was only beginning now.
Kirei Kotomine would move from the surface into the shadows and continue carrying out reconnaissance and assassination work for the Tohsaka faction.
What made that possible was his Servant, Hassan-i-Sabbah.
At that moment, a figure emerged from the shadows in a corner of the church.
A black robe wrapped around the slender, shapely body of a woman, and her face was hidden behind the signature skull mask.
Assassin, who should already have been dead, appeared once more.
Although even the build and gender had changed, there was no doubt that she was Kirei Kotomine's Servant, Assassin.
She was the final leader of the Order of Assassins, the Hassan-i-Sabbah known by the title "Hundred Faces."
Just as the name implied, she was an Assassin with nearly a hundred faces.
The truth behind her seeming immortality was simple. This Hassan had split her own soul apart, dividing herself by personality into eighty eight actual, independent individuals.
The one the King of Heroes had just killed was only one of many Hassan-i-Sabbahs.
There were still eighty seven more black human figures like that.
Though they formed a group of nearly a hundred, Hassan-i-Sabbah possessed only a single Spirit Origin, and her total amount of magical energy had not changed.
The more she divided herself, the weaker each individual became, but the Personal Skill Presence Concealment did not decline.
By making full use of that trait, Hassan of the Hundred Faces had become a perfect intelligence organization.
With a full range of skills, abundant knowledge, and an unpredictable mentality that no one could ever truly grasp, she could be called the perfect Assassin and infiltrator.
Relying on this divine art, Zabaniya, she won the election for leadership of the Order, defeating a genius girl who had mastered all eighteen divine arts passed down through the previous leaders.
Throughout the entire conversation between the Kotomine father and son, the female Assassin remained silent.
"Father, has the Spiritron Disk still failed to identify the class of that mysterious Servant?"
"Yes, still no result. But we have already confirmed the classes of the other six."
Risei Kotomine explained, "All the Servants except Berserker have already manifested. That means the only remaining possibility is Berserker."
"Is that so..."
Kirei Kotomine had his doubts, but he did not voice them.
In his view, once a special case like a Servant that the Spiritron Disk could not observe had already appeared, why keep clinging to the conventional assumption of the seven standard classes?
The seventh Servant... was not necessarily guaranteed to be Berserker, Father.
Just to be safe, Kirei Kotomine asked Assassin about the familiars surrounding the Tohsaka mansion.
"There are four distinct presences among the familiars present. At least four Masters must have witnessed what happened."
The purple-haired female Assassin added, "Anyone who wouldn't even think to send familiars to monitor the strongholds of the Three Founding Families would never be capable of guarding against 'us.' Judging from the outcome, there shouldn't be any issues."
"Mm."
Kirei Kotomine nodded, then suddenly asked, "Do you find it a pity that man was sent to his death?"
The woman behind the skeletal mask shook her head coldly.
"Even among 'us,' Zayd was merely an average individual in every aspect.
Losing him won't have much impact on the group as a whole, but…"
"But what?"
"Even if the impact is small, a loss is still a loss.
It's like losing a finger. I only hope his sacrifice wasn't meaningless."
Kirei Kotomine keenly picked up on the fact that beneath her respectful tone lay a strong dissatisfaction.
"I understand. You may withdraw."
He ordered Hassan of the Hundred Faces to continue her intelligence work, especially the investigation into the unknown Servant and their Master.
Although he sensed her discontent, Kirei Kotomine made no effort to console her.
The reason was simple.
He was tired. Exhausted.
He had believed the Holy Grail War would awaken something within him, but it hadn't.
The Command Spells were not divine salvation. If anything, they only deepened his confusion.
Even now, after the true start of the war tonight, the pain and emptiness within him remained unchanged.
A Fourth Holy Grail War without the one he was fated to meet, Kiritsugu Emiya, was simply too dull for him.
...
...
After finishing her exchange with her Master, Hassan of the Hundred Faces returned to her base in Miyama Town.
Among the eighty eight individuals, she was the one who existed as the leader, the one who governed them all.
Because of that, she rarely carried out reconnaissance herself. Her role was to receive and compile information, and relay her Master's orders.
Perhaps for the sake of easier communication, she was also one of the very few Hassan-i-Sabbah who had not had her face removed, retaining her original appearance.
Assassin's base was located in a luxury hotel in Miyama Town.
Hassan of the Hundred Faces had no particular requirements for her living conditions.
In life, she had undergone training beyond what ordinary people could imagine to become the leader, the Old Man of the Mountain. After death, she had even less interest in material comfort.
The reason she chose a luxury hotel instead of somewhere hidden like the sewers was something she could not bring herself to say.
She arrived at the door of the hotel room being used as their temporary base.
At that moment, voices came from inside the room, which should have been completely silent.
"!?"
Her entire body tensed instantly.
My hiding place has been discovered?
No, that's impossible.
Her pride as the leader of the Assassins would not allow her to accept such a possibility.
And yet, the noise coming from the other side of the door was undeniable.
Hassan of the Hundred Faces frowned slightly.
Could it be that "that one" was causing trouble again?
"..."
To be safe, she shifted into spirit form.
Silently, she passed through the wall and entered the room.
Then, she saw a scene so strange it defied belief.
The one she had locked inside the room...
A small girl with purple hair and tanned skin was sitting side by side with an unfamiliar red-haired boy, watching a late-night magical girl anime.
"What's wrong?"
Shirou looked toward the small purple-haired girl.
The Little Hassan, who had been completely absorbed in the anime, suddenly turned her head and stared silently at the wall behind her.
There was clearly nothing there.
Shirou reacted at once.
"Ah... could it be that Assassin has come back?"