Chapter 257: Counter Guardian
"So..."
Arkhan glanced at the lifeless body of the old priest on the ground, whose widened eyes still held a deep sense of astonishment.
"What's going on?"
"It's Assassin!" Kayneth's expression turned slightly serious. "Right after the priest handed me the command spell, Assassin suddenly appeared and shot him dead with just one bullet."
"One bullet?" Arkhan squinted his eyes. "You mean, Assassin used a gun?"
"Yeah, but I'm not sure if it's a disguise or a Noble Phantasm."
"Hmm..." Arkhan pondered.
No wonder Kayneth urgently summoned him with a command spell. Facing Assassin, who possessed the ability to conceal their presence, even a Lord of the Clock Tower would feel uneasy.
Arkhan looked around but couldn't sense any Servant's presence.
But he couldn't be sure. If Assassin was the one he suspected, then not being able to sense him was normal.
After a moment of contemplation, Arkhan turned to Kayneth.
"Help me retrieve the bullet from the priest's body."
"What's with that tone? I'm your Master. When did you start giving me orders?" Kayneth protested.
"This is to deal with Assassin, or, you don't want to deal with them?"
"..."
Reluctantly, Kayneth squatted down, pressed his hands to the wound on Risei's body, and using gravity magecraft, extracted the bullet from his heart, handing it to Arkhan.
Arkhan stared at the bloodstained bullet in his hand for a moment, then turned to Kayneth.
"Kayneth, do you remember what kind of gun Assassin used?"
"It was just a regular handgun. Why do you ask?" Kayneth was puzzled.
"No reason." Arkhan held the bullet in his palm. "I'm just about certain of Assassin's identity."
"What?" Kayneth was bewildered. Could Lancer really deduce Assassin's identity with just a mere bullet?
"Do you know, Kayneth, generally speaking, handgun bullets are about 3 millimeters in length, but this bullet..." Arkhan showed the slender brass bullet to Kayneth. "Is a 7-millimeter sniper rifle bullet."
"This..." Kayneth was momentarily stunned.
"Wait here for a moment; I'll track down Assassin." Arkhan said without looking back. "If Assassin didn't attack you again, it means you're not his target. So, you're safe."
With that Assassin's personality, he wouldn't let any target in front of him go.
Exiting the church, Arkhan used the bullet as a medium to trace using 'Rune - Search'.
Soon, a straight green line extended into the distance.
To save time, he transformed himself into a spiritual form and followed the traces of the rune.
He crossed the entire city and arrived at Miyama, stopping in front of an abandoned house located in the center of the old city.
It was unimaginable that in this valuable old city, there would be such an unused big house. If those real estate developers knew, they would rush to grab it like vultures smelling carrion, using all means to acquire this piece of land.
But that was only if they could see the sun the next day.
Arkhan shifted from a spiritual form to a material form, looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar building.
"He's really here..." Arkhan couldn't help but sigh softly.
Yes, for that 'man', besides here, where else could he go?
Shaking his head, he extended his hands and pushed open the colorful, old wooden door in front of him.
*Creak—*
The decaying door produced a harsh sound as it scraped against the threshold.
Assassin, who hid inside the house, immediately sensed the arrival of an uninvited guest and ran towards the distance without hesitation.
"Tied him up, Judah."
Arkhan snapped his fingers, and thirteen golden spears, each with a trailing chain, whistled through the air like dragons with extended claws, heading straight for Assassin.
Despite Assassin's agile movements, under the relentless siege from the Oath of Judah, he felt the pressure. His maneuvering area kept shrinking, clearly showing signs of struggling to hold on.
"Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May! Chronos Rose!"
As a deep voice echoed, the scale of time instantly stretched infinitely. The swiftly moving golden spears seemed to slow down to a crawl in Assassin's eyes, giving him a chance to sprint toward the outskirts of the spears' encirclement.
However, at that moment, a cascade of crimson feathers suddenly fell from the void, catching his eyes.
Assassin's mind went blank in an instant, his gaze becoming lost and vacant as if he had completely forgotten who he was and what he should do next.
His uncontrolled Noble Phantasm immediately ceased, and time returned to its normal flow. The golden spears of Oath of Judah quickly whistled upward, tightly binding Assassin's body and delivering him to Arkhan.
Without delay, Arkhan approached and lifted Assassin's mask, looking at the familiar face. A slight curve instantly appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"You really made it easy for me to find you, Assassin, or should I call you—"
"Counter Guardian EMIYA?"
Although his true name was exposed in one breath, there was still no expression on the face of EMIYA.
His ashen-black eyes seemed more like a dead silence, devoid of any emotions, making it impossible for anyone, even in a face-to-face situation, to feel that this was a living person. Instead, he resembled a cold, lifeless war machine.
This was Emiya Kiritsugu, an 'Imitation Heroic Spirit' that did not exist in proper human history.
Having not experienced the separation and death of Irisviel, he did not undergo the setbacks that came with such partings. His iron-hearted determination as a 'Mage Killer' persisted until the end, and after death, his soul was absorbed and used by the Counter Force, becoming their agent.
"Lancer, since you know my identity, you should understand that there is no conflict of interest between us."
EMIYA's voice mirrored Kiritsugu's voice but lacked variation, maintaining a consistent and tranquil tone, as calm as his unchanging gaze.
As an agent of the Counter Force, EMIYA's code of conduct was to restore human order, with no personal motives. In other words, though he took on the role of Assassin in this Holy Grail War, he had no desire for the Holy Grail.
"Heh, about that, I'm well aware." Arkhan chuckled. "But unfortunately, my purpose for descending into this world is not the Holy Grail. Rather, I'd say our goals are quite similar."
As he spoke, Arkhan simultaneously released the power of 'Savior', and a mysterious aura soon spread from him.
EMIYA's eyes, like stagnant water, widened slightly. After carefully sensing this aura, he nodded slightly.
"I see... So, that's how it is."
From this aura, EMIYA felt a flavor similar yet distinct from the Counter Force—a power possessed only by those who bear the weight of the world.
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