The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

With a look of guilt on her face, Irisviel lowered her head, not daring to look Artoria in the eye.

"I see! I understand!"

Although she was currently at a disadvantage, Artoria had no choice but to obey since it was her master who had given the order.

Taking a deep breath, Artoria carefully observed the enemy's situation before charging towards the man.

Meanwhile, on a high platform in the harbor, Kiritsugu Emiya raised his sniper rifle and brought Kenneth, who was hiding in the shadow of the chimney, into his attack range.

Suddenly, a warning came through the earpiece from his subordinate, Hisayu Maiya, saying that he had seen a Servant resembling Assassin at the six o'clock position.

Kiritsugu Emiya quickly shifted his target, moving his sniper rifle to search for Assassin's trail.

Just then, a feeling of being locked on suddenly enveloped his entire body, followed by a whooshing sound as it attacked him from the side.

"Time-limited control, four times the speed!"

Just as the doomed yellow rose was about to hit Kiritsugu Emiya, Kiritsugu's speed suddenly increased, and he jumped off the platform to dodge the attack thrown from a distance.

"what?!"

As they watched the explosion on the high platform, the forces hidden around the harbor simultaneously showed expressions of astonishment.

"Kiritsugu!"

Upon realizing that the person being attacked might be Kiritsugu Emiya, Irisviel couldn't help but cry out in worry.

"No need to worry, Irisviel. Kiritsugu Emiya is still connected to me. He will be fine."

After speaking to calm Irisviel, who was feeling a bit agitated, Artoria looked at the man in front of her again with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

How did he know that Kiritsugu Emiya was hiding in that place?

And even at the risk of injury, he was determined to throw a weapon just before her attack arrived...

A thick fog of mystery swirled in Artoria's mind, and she desperately wanted to know the answer.

................

"It's clear that the Servant really dislikes guys who take sniper shots."

On a hilltop outside the harbor, Hachiman Hikigaya, watching what had just happened, smiled and spoke to Karna beside him.

"It's natural."

Karna nodded in agreement.

Although the Servant shrouded in black mist seemed to be acting strangely, he was at least adhering to the code of chivalry and engaging in a fair one-on-one duel with Artoria.

Conversely, hiding in the shadows and trying to kill the opponent's Master with firearms to win is far too low a tactic.

If Hachiman Hikigaya hadn't stopped Karna from appearing in time, Karna would already be standing in front of that despicable man, making him pay the price!

During their conversation, another unexpected event occurred in the harbor.

A bullock cart descended from the sky amidst thunder, followed by a tall, robust man who called himself the Conqueror King, who then led out another heroic spirit who liked to stand on streetlights, with an arrogant expression and covered in golden glitter.

Adding to the Assassin who was secretly observing the situation from a high place, and Hachiman Hikigaya and the others, the number of contestants has reached six out of seven!

Just as Hachiman Hikigaya thought that a major battle might break out at the harbor today, Gilgamesh was the first to leave, accompanied by the Conqueror King's bold but completely unrealistic speech.

Kenneth then, feeling it was no longer appropriate for him to continue fighting, summoned his Servant back.

Finally, after Artoria revealed his identity as king, the Conqueror King, feeling bored, drove his oxcart away again.

In less than a few minutes.

The once tense harbor was suddenly left with only Artoria, Hachiman Hikigaya, and Assassin, who were secretly working together.

Karna

As Irisviel and Artoria ran towards the spot where the sniper rifleman had fallen, Hachiman Hikigaya, who was about to leave, called out the name of his Servant.

"Yes, I'll take care of it right away!"

Upon receiving Hachiman Hikigaya's order, Karna nodded, then vanished from their sight.

"Brother, where did Karna go?"

Seeing Karna suddenly disappear, Sakura asked curiously.

"Plop" sound.

Suddenly, a corpse wearing a cloak and a strange mask was thrown to the ground behind the two of them, and then Karna, who had been invisible, reappeared in front of them.

"It's just about taking care of the spying henchmen."

Chapter 215 Psychopathic Serial Killer

"Is this an assassin?"

Looking at the masked man's corpse gradually disintegrating on the ground, Hachiman Hikigaya frowned. He pulled Sakura behind him and then looked up at Karna.

He was one of the seven participating Servants, so how could Assassin be so easily defeated by Karna?

Could it be that Karna's strength far surpasses Assassin's?

"In a way, I did kill Assassin just now."

Karna nodded, then looked up at a corner of the harbor.

Hachiman Hikigaya also turned his gaze in that direction, and saw a black figure wearing a mask flash past a pile of containers.

"Two assassins?"

Hachiman Hikigaya was somewhat taken aback.

Isn't it said that you can only summon one Heroic Spirit for the same class?

Why would the Assassin's Master summon two Servants? And judging from the masks they're wearing, they should be Servants from the same organization or faction...

"No, it should be said that Assassin possesses an ability similar to creating clones, Master."

Karna spoke up and corrected the error in Hachiman Hikigaya's conjecture.

In each Holy Grail War, only one Servant of the same class can be summoned; this is an ironclad rule.

The only explanation for the existence of multiple Assassins is that Assassins possess the ability to create clones.

"Fighting an Assassin means facing a gang up on him..."

Upon hearing Karna's words, Hachiman Hikigaya showed a hint of worry.

Heroic Spirits are all top warriors of their era. Karna easily defeated one of the opponent's clones, but what if ten or twenty Assassins came together...?

"Don't worry, even if there are fifty or more of these kinds of people, I can handle them."

Karna, sensing Hachiman's worry from his facial expression, signaled him to relax.

"?"

“Once a Heroic Spirit reaches a certain level of strength, quantity alone cannot compensate for it. Based on our exchange just now, I can determine that the strength of these Assassin clones is roughly equivalent to yours in your normal state, Master. Just give me some time…”

"......"

Hachiman Hikigaya looked at Karna with a somewhat subtle expression on his face.

Being recognized by Karna as having reached the level of a Heroic Spirit, even if it sounds like only the lowest-ranking Heroic Spirit, should be a happy thing, right?

But why can't he be happy?

..................

The first morning of the Holy Grail War.

When Hachiman Hikigaya opened his eyes in bed, it was already broad daylight outside.

"Good morning, brother, are you ready to get up?"

As soon as he got out of bed, Sakura, who had been waiting at the table, jumped down from her seat and ran to greet him.

"Ah, good morning, Sakura... Karna?"

Because he had discussed the current situation of the various factions with Karna after returning last night, Hachiman Hikigaya still felt dizzy despite taking a nap.

Looking around the hotel room, he suddenly realized that Karna had disappeared.

"Ah, Karna, I asked him to buy breakfast for me..."

Sakura originally planned to go out to buy breakfast herself, but Karna stopped her, saying that Hachiman Hikigaya would be worried. Then he transformed into a modern person and left the hotel.

"Is that so?"

After getting out of bed and yawning, Hachiman Hikigaya went to the bathroom mirror, tidied his disheveled hair, closed the door, and began to change his clothes.

A short while later, Hachiman Hikigaya, having changed out of his pajamas into casual clothes, reopened the bathroom door and came out.

As soon as he stepped outside, he heard the news on TV about the Fuyuki City psychopathic killer.

"A psychopathic killer?"

A sense of worry arose in his heart, and Hachiman Hikigaya sat down next to Sakura, listening to the news commentary together.

After seeing the series of magic circles made entirely of blood left at the crime scene, he became even more certain of his guess.

"Was that done by Caster's gang?"

After all, all the contestants except Caster had already gathered at the harbor yesterday.

Rider, Saber, Archer, and Berserker don't seem like the type to do such perverted and pointless things.

As for Assassin, his clones should be running around Fuyuki City gathering intelligence, and they wouldn't be so bored as to draw magic circles everywhere.

Therefore, the only remaining culprit is the caster.

"But why would Caster kill ordinary people for no reason? And why did he target only children..."

Thinking this, Hachiman Hikigaya glanced at Sakura beside him.

Yes, it's decided. No matter where he goes, he will definitely keep Sakura by his side at all times!

"Master, I've brought back breakfast."

Just as Hachiman Hikigaya was pondering Caster's motives for his serial killings, Karna walked into the room carrying a plastic bag.

"Ah, Karna, you've come back just in time!"