"L-Lord…?"
Maso Mayu's eyes widened in shock and confusion. She stared blankly at the small girl before her, an indescribable emotion welling up in her chest. This girl was no ordinary person—
Just moments ago, she had hidden within the shadows, moving so fast she was nearly invisible. Though small in stature, she was clearly a precisely trained and formidable assassin…
The only thing Maso Mayu couldn't understand was why this girl was calling her "lord." Had she been transported back to the Sengoku era to become some kind of female protagonist? Ridiculous thoughts flashed through her mind.
"My lord, that is not the case. We are currently in the Holy Grail War. My class is Assassin, and I am the sword that will defeat your enemies and secure victory for you. You are the master whom I serve."
The girl who called herself "Assassin Paraiso" gave a slight bow, her gaze sharp as a hawk's, sweeping the surroundings quickly. "It seems you have none of the common knowledge of this event. You are an ordinary person accidentally drawn into the war."
"Holy Grail War…?"
After hearing Paraiso's explanation, Maso Mayu's confusion only grew. What exactly was the Holy Grail War? Who was she supposed to fight? Did the others also have warriors like this serving them? And what did she stand to gain from this war? Countless questions flooded her mind with no answers.
"Right… how should I address you? Assassin? Paraiso? Those don't sound like normal names."
Nervously shifting her gaze, Maso Mayu suddenly noticed the crimson mark on the back of her hand had changed, forming a strange, incomprehensible pattern.
"My lord, during the Holy Grail War, a Servant's true name must remain hidden. If our opponents discover it, they can use that information to target us," Paraiso said, lowering her eyes.
"Also… I seem to be unaware of my true name and origins, perhaps due to an irregularity in my summoning. In short, you may call me Assassin."
"True name hidden? Summoning irregularity?" Another wave of strange terms gave Maso Mayu a headache. She rubbed her forehead, silently complaining: Couldn't someone just give her a straightforward explanation?
"There's no time to explain, my lord—stay alert!"
With a swift leap, Paraiso shot forward like lightning. Her ninja blade flashed coldly, cutting down a rushing shadow in an instant. Twisting midair to dodge an incoming arrow, she slipped into the shadows, causing the attacker to lose sight of her.
In the next moment, she emerged from below, driving her blade upward through another enemy in a seamless assassination.
Maso Mayu stood frozen, heart pounding.
This hit-and-run fighting style among multiple foes was nothing like the passionate scenes of shounen manga—it was cold and terrifying. If Paraiso made one wrong move, she would be swarmed and killed.
Not that Maso Mayu herself was safe—
"My lord, look out!"
At the warning, she hurriedly dodged to the side, but was still a fraction too slow. A strand of her long hair was sliced away, drifting in the air.
Not good! The enemy was already too close, and Paraiso was too far to reach her in time!
Her heart pounded like a drum. She tried to run, but her legs trembled uncontrollably as the black, miasma-covered demon's blade came within inches. Forcing an ordinary high school girl into such a deadly fight was absurd! She wasn't the protagonist—she was the kind of background character who died in a few chapters!
"Haaah!"
Paraiso's shout rang from afar. Maso Mayu didn't understand its meaning—until a strange sight unfolded.
A serpent-shaped phantom, covered in black and crimson scales, erupted from beneath her feet, jaws wide, swallowing the enemy whole in one bite!
And more followed—dozens of snake phantoms slithered through the shadows, coiling around the black-tinged enemies, dragging them toward the underworld.
Silence quickly returned. Maso Mayu gawked at the scene. Was this Paraiso's ability? If she could unleash something this overwhelming, why not use it from the start?
"My lord, the snakes are a curse technique of mine. They require preparation… This place is unsafe. We must move quickly."
Maso Mayu could only nod blankly, too overwhelmed to question further.
"Where do we go?" She had no idea where she was—running randomly might lead straight into more enemies.
Fortunately, Paraiso had already scouted ahead. "The snakes' senses tell me there are living beings both ahead and behind. Far to the rear, there's the presence of an unknown Servant—possibly hostile. We should avoid that direction and go forward."
"…Alright."
—
"Here we go again!"
Shirou swung two gleaming long swords in alternating arcs. Blade light flowed like water, his movements like the wind. His fierce sword aura combined with masterful technique to unleash a storm of cutting force, felling the shadow Servants like wheat before a scythe.
Once again, he and Eriyi had accidentally stumbled into this strange world.
The two blades in his hands were none other than "Hōki no Kuni Yasutsuna" and "Izumi no Kami Fujiwara Kanesada," once wielded by the sword saint Miyamoto Musashi.
In other words, he was now using the legendary "Niten Ichi-ryu," the two-sword style Musashi had founded—famous among sword users and enthusiasts throughout this land.
Of course, if Uesugi Yue were here, she'd probably glare and refuse to acknowledge Shirou's fantastical, sword-energy-slinging style as real "Niten Ichi-ryu."
Clang—!
Sword energies collided with a shrill explosion of air, heat shimmering in the wake.
"Hm?"
Adjusting his stance, Shirou noticed a figure among the remaining shadows—a black shape with a katana, wings on its back, and an unusually long nose.
"Tengu?"
His brows furrowed. That matched the yokai of Eastern legend—red-faced, long-nosed, winged, often armed with a katana, fan, or mallet, possessing great strength and supernatural powers. The most famous were the great tengu born from Emperor Sutoku's wrath, and Kurama Sōjōbō, teacher of Minamoto no Yoshitsune.
Hissing sharply, the tengu-like shadow Servant beat its wings, rising high. Its katana blurred, unleashing a storm of deadly sword winds from above.
"Eriyi, above you!"
Back-to-back, the two covered each other's blind spots—an effective way to minimize exposure and boost survival.
Shirou wondered why they could step into the Mirror World straight from Shinjuku's streets—was the entrance right there? Pushing the thought aside, he countered with flashing sword energy, while Eriyi followed, her taichi forged by Shirou unleashing a deathly current into the sky.
The tengu fell before it could scream.
Soon, the street was cleared.
"Eriyi, like last time, to find the source, we need to locate the shadow causing the transfer." Shirou sheathed his swords.
Eriyi nodded.
He was about to speak again when he noticed two girls in the distance—one darting like a leopard, the other stumbling after her. On closer look—it was the manga store clerk Maso Mayu.
—
"Assassin, slow down! I can't keep up!" Maso Mayu gasped, sweating. She hadn't expected to be running for her life again so soon.
They had run this way at Paraiso's suggestion, but more yokai had swarmed—tengu, wheel monks, bakeneko carts…
She'd read of such creatures in Toriyama Sekien's Hyakki Yagyō, but never thought they could be real.
The scene behind them was apocalyptic—Paraiso dared not fight head-on, worried for her master's safety.
"My lord, climb on my back!"
"…Is that even possible?"
Paraiso was barely over 1.5 meters tall. Could she carry a high schooler?
"No problem! My strength may not be high among Servants, but it's dozens of times that of a human. Hurry!"
She slowed, ready to hoist Mayu—when her pupils shrank. A flaming claw was already at Mayu's head!
"My lord, wa—!"
Before she could finish, a massive sword aura streaked in, shattering the yokai's body in one strike.
"Move aside!"
Having spotted the danger from afar, Shirou arrived first, twin swords in hand, scattering sword energy with ease.
This power… he's human, not a Servant? Paraiso was stunned, but quickly leapt with Mayu to a nearby rooftop, where Eriyi was cutting down monsters to clear space.
Shirou, meanwhile, faced the surging Hyakki Yagyō. Shadow Servants imitated remnants of true Servants, but these yokai—beings of Gaia's will—shouldn't be here. Yet like the shadows, they were tainted with black miasma.
The swarm roared, wind blades slashing, poison clouds spreading, giant bodies shaking the earth—hundreds of yokai, with more flooding in from afar.
"Noble Phantasm Release! Rikudō Gorin: Kurikara Tenchō!"
Shirou's voice thundered. "Namu, Tenman Daizaiten—Niō Kurikara, Shōtenchū—!"
The yokai froze, sensing an overwhelming presence—an enormous, majestic Fudō Myōō statue with four arms, wielding the mountain-cleaving Kurikara sword, wreathed in flame.
From the rooftop, Paraiso and Mayu gaped. Eriyi simply lowered her blade and smiled, as if this was normal.
"That's… a god?" Mayu whispered, half-ready to pray.
"My lord, that is not a real god," Paraiso said. "It is pure sword pressure—far beyond my skill—manifesting as form."
With each swing, the giant sword smashed through the yokai—crushing, tearing, obliterating entire streets and buildings in a kilometer radius.
Finally—"Ishana: Dai Tenchō!"
The Myōō vanished into a towering beam of white light, condensing into a colossal sword. Shirou brought it down, splitting the street into a deep chasm and erasing the distant black tide.
(End of Chapter)
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