Night fell deeper, and under the glow of an oil lamp, a middle-aged man casually flipped through documents containing profiles of various women.
He furrowed his brow, a sinister smile appearing on his lips as anticipation filled him for tomorrow's pleasures.
A gentle breeze blew in from the courtyard, quietly drifting through the silent yard.
Seated by the window, he raised an eyebrow, seemingly lost in thought.
Suddenly, the clear and melodious notes of a flute echoed beneath the full moon—a popular tune known throughout the Empire.
Perhaps only villagers from the countryside wouldn't recognize such a familiar melody.
This thought was his very last.
A sudden pain struck his head, as if a heavy object had smashed into his skull, and he collapsed limply onto the floor.
Under the pale moonlight, four silhouettes appeared on the rooftop.
In most cases, rooftops offered the ideal vantage point for stealth missions. It was far easier to evade detection there than navigating the ground and dodging patrols.
Roofs were natural blind spots for most people, making them perfect infiltration routes for assassins. After all, few estates erected watchtowers specifically to monitor their rooftops.
"Everyone's fallen unconscious," Nyau declared confidently, lowering his flute. "Even if someone manages to remain awake, they'll be too weak to resist."
He glanced disdainfully at the unconscious guards scattered across the courtyard.
Shirou took in the entire scene, a disturbing unease rising within him.
Are these men truly fighting for justice and order?
Shirou's doubts had only grown stronger—not only regarding Nyau's earlier story but also their actions now.
Earlier, while wandering the inn, Shirou had witnessed Nyau gleefully tearing apart a stray cat, a twisted excitement coloring his cheeks. Shirou, standing unseen at the doorway, had felt his blood run cold at the sight.
Could such a brutal person genuinely care about a sister?
Shirou couldn't believe it.
"Go down and eliminate the target," Liver commanded Daidara in a cold whisper.
Then, like an embodiment of the assassin's creed, Liver vanished into the darkness below.
His landing was silent, flowing effortlessly.
Had Shirou not been present, those guards likely wouldn't have survived if Daidara happened to be in a foul mood.
Even Night Raid had previously massacred entire estates without leaving survivors.
They could easily slaughter everyone here and frame it on Night Raid without suspicion.
After all, Night Raid had already established such a reputation.
That noble girl who took in Tatsumi—her mansion had been ruthlessly purged by Night Raid, leaving no survivors behind.
Though that particular noble family deserved their fate, many guards had died unaware of their master's true nature, easily slain due to inferior strength compared to Tatsumi.
BOOM—!
A violent crash shook the entire courtyard.
Daidara jumped down heavily from the roof, making no attempt to soften his landing, cracking the stone beneath his feet.
Yet even that noise failed to awaken the guards.
"Target located!"
Gripping his battle axe, Daidara approached the unconscious middle-aged man slumped across the table, a terrifying killing intent radiating from him.
He swung the massive axe violently, the air around him twisting in a whirlpool of raw power.
Whoosh—!
A silver gleam wrapped in a storm-like black vortex descended toward the helpless target.
Clang—!
A harsh metallic clash burst forth.
Sparks erupted wildly, forcing Daidara's axe from his grip, sending it spinning high into the air again.
Shirou stood silently before Daidara, his eyes smoldering with restrained anger, slowly lowering his Nichirin Blade.
"What…the hell are you doing!?" Daidara roared furiously, veins bulging on his arms as he glared murderously at Shirou.
Yet behind Daidara, Liver maintained a calm expression, as if he had anticipated Shirou's reaction all along.
Given that his teammates looked exactly like villains—and one was a psychotic killer—any rational person would become suspicious.
But without the full strength of all three Beasts, they'd be disadvantaged against Night Raid.
"Emiya, you acted too rashly!" Liver scolded Shirou, restraining Daidara with one hand while pointing toward documents on the table with the other.
"These are all his victims!" Liver's voice shook with anger, his contempt for the scum evident.
Following Liver's finger, Shirou indeed saw photographs of several women scattered across the table.
But Shirou found himself unable to decipher the writing.
Only then did he realize clearly he was truly in another world, where not recognizing the written language made sense. Since everyone around him spoke Japanese, Shirou hadn't thought about it until now.
Seeing Shirou's confusion, Liver immediately understood—Shirou, likely from a remote village, had probably never learned to read the Empire's script.
Without another word, Liver kicked open a nearby door.
The scene within was horrifying—blood splattered everywhere, multiple women lying on the floor, struggling feebly, barely clinging to life.
All of this was clearly the work of the man lying unconscious at Shirou's feet.
Liver and his team were eliminating evil on behalf of the people!
Of course, it wasn't that the Three Beasts genuinely cared about justice—Esdeath had specifically instructed Minister Honest to mix worthless degenerates among the real targets.
This was all carefully arranged to lull Shirou into lowering his guard.
If they simply dragged Shirou along without any justification, even an ordinary person would immediately suspect something was amiss, much less Shirou.
Esdeath wanted Shirou firmly under her control as swiftly as possible; by the time he realized what he'd truly done, it would already be too late.
However, neither Liver nor Esdeath anticipated what happened next.
Standing at the bedroom door, Shirou's grip tightened on his Nichirin Blade, veins throbbing visibly on the back of his hand. Fury burned intensely in his gaze.
He couldn't even begin to imagine the suffering these women had endured.
Shirou turned swiftly back toward Daidara, who'd raised his axe again, instantly moving to the unconscious man's side.
Clang—!
Daidara's axe was deflected once more, his hands trembling from the force of Shirou's parry.
Liver stood stunned, completely unable to comprehend.
Why would Shirou still defend this man after seeing the truth?
Even someone as naive as Tatsumi hadn't hesitated to execute that twisted noble girl with his own hands once he discovered her crimes.
The Three Beasts had not fabricated any charges against this man—he truly was absolute scum, a parasite within the Empire.
Yet Shirou still chose to shield him.
Liver simply could not understand.