Fate: Holy Grail

[3rd POV]

"It's good to be alive."

This was the first day Assassin had returned as a Servant. 

After a long time, he breathed in the fresh air again. His body was still in a mental state, but it had become solid and was no longer dissipating. 

"I just don't know what happened to my previous body, and it probably must have been buried." 

He thought about the past.

The air entered his spiritual body, and he could feel the wind through him.

The rustling leaves of the forest reached his ears, and the babbling of a creek outside moved him deeply.

This feels amazing. 

Assassin was sure he would have shed tears of joy in this moment if he had a body.

After being summoned and looking at Kirei, Assassin's joy turned to cold and calculating detachment.

He yearned for the Holy Grail, hungered for combat, and craved victory, but he knew his Master could not be trusted.

He could not allow someone who did not want the Holy Grail to be the final winner of the Holy Grail War. 

Moreover, he knew very well he might be the weakest of all the summoned Servants. 

Thinking about it, Assasin's chances of victory were almost insignificant.

The most important thing for him right now was to kill one Servant so that he could participate in the next Holy Grail War.

"It's better not to expose Kirei and Tokiomi's conspiracy for now, as Kirei's objective is to help Tokiomi claim the Holy Grail." 

Assassin's thoughts were clear. He shifted his goal from winning to eliminating another Servant. 

This way, he wouldn't fight with Kirei's objectives as his Master.

He had already abandoned the idea of successfully claiming the Holy Grail in this Holy Grail War. He was focused solely on taking down another Servant and surviving.

There was no way he could avoid dying or winning the Holy Grail War, and he wasn't sure if he believed the promise that killing one Servant would let him participate in the next Holy Grail War.

"Do I need to win to be resurrected? Does it mean claiming the Holy Grail, or is any form of victory sufficient? Is it enough for my Master to win, or do I have to claim the Holy Grail personally?" 

He couldn't risk dying, no matter how much he was sure he could return.

Kirei had asked for Assassin's name but most of his memories had already faded, and even his name had been lost. 

He could clearly see his class, class, skills, and Noble Phantasm on his status screen, but his name remained hidden. 

True Name: (Shrouded by Mist)

To hide this truth, Assassin resorted to lies, and Kirei believed him without hesitation. 

After listening to Kirei's words, it became clear that he intended to bring him to meet Tokiomi.

"Follow me, but make sure no one sees you." 

Kirei reminded him.

"I understand." 

Assassin replied, turning into spirit form and trailing silently behind him.

The nights in Fuyuki City were far from quiet. This city was built at the mouth of the Mion River, and the streets were full of people.

Kirei's priestly attire attracted plenty of attention as he walked through the lively urban crowd.

The people around him were unaware of Assassin's presence in his spirit form. They only saw a strikingly dressed priest moving with purpose through the city.

"We've arrived." 

Kirei announced.

He appeared to be talking to himself to passersby. In fact, he was signaling to Assassin, who remained unseen, hidden in the veil of the night.

There's a luxurious villa in the suburbs of Fuyuki City, located precisely at one of the city's few leyline nodes.

As the overseers of Fuyuki City, the Tohsaka family utilizes the geographical advantages of these leyline points to guard the city. 

Unlike in other places, where magicians and the Church frequently dispute, the Tohsaka family maintains an exceptionally harmonious relationship with the Church. 

Assassin made sure that no one could feel his presence here by using his B-rank Presence Concealment. 

The head of the house, Tokiomi, is unable to detect the Assassin's existence. He seems perfectly hidden within the room.

In fact, Assassin didn't use advanced concealment techniques and simply relied on his skill and remained in spirit form, motionless—nothing more.

"Reveal yourself, Assassin. There's no need to hide here." 

Kirei reminded him. Suddenly, a strange ripple appeared behind Kirei, and a black mist emerged and drifted in the air.

"Kirei, you've joined the Holy Grail War?!" 

A man's astonished voice came from beyond the redwood door, which had just been pushed open.

"That's right." 

As soon as Kirei finished speaking, they shifted their full attention to Assassin.

At this moment, Assassin unexpectedly "opened" a pair of nonexistent eyes, and the original dark shadow unexpectedly opened a pair of scarlet eyes.

These scarlet eyes fixed on Tokiomi with a gaze so oppressive that it felt like a thousand-pound weight pressing down on him, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

Even though Tokiomi had emotionally prepared for this encounter, the pressure of being with a Servant far exceeded his expectations.

Before Kirei Kotomine arrived, Tokiomi had already received information about Assassin, sent in advance by Kirei himself. 

This meeting was nothing more than an act, and an orchestrated act meant to deceive the Assassin Kirei had summoned.

Although Tokiomi maintained his usual calm and composed demeanor, however, the subtle, repeated tapping of his thumb on the head of his staff betrayed his internal unease.

"Looks like a powerful assassin..." 

Tokiomi remarked, "Kirei, I assume no one else knows that you've summoned your Servant yet?"

"No," 

Kirei replied with a shake of his head.

The two of them had been acting, but in fact, they had already discussed their plan.

They were now merely putting on a show in front of Assassin to make him think everything was normal.

This was to prevent the mysterious Assassin from straying from their plan or, worse, betraying Kirei.

Initially, Kirei had been against the idea. He believed that direct orders would be enough since he had the Command Spells.

Afterwards, there was another quarrel.

Observing from the side, Assassin couldn't help but feel these two men were overacting. 

With a sudden and resounding bang, Kirei slammed the door behind him as he stormed out of the mansion, Assassin following close behind.

Kirei angrily severed ties with his mentor and entered the Holy Grail War with his Servant. This wasn't just for Assassin to see, but it was even more for the other Masters to witness.

Due to the Command Spells, if the Servant disobeyed orders, the Master could still use them to issue a forced command.

They could get a bigger advantage in the Holy Grail War by making the other Masters believe the bond between Master and Servant has been broken.

At this point, the Holy Grail War had not officially begun, and Assassin was the only Servant Kirei summoned.

Kirei had been testing Assassin but hadn't earned their loyalty. In fact, they could barely communicate, and little progress was being made. 

This Servant was impossible to control.

Kirei had all the patience in the world, but Tokiomi Ensaka couldn't help it.

To be continued...