Morgan had reaped a truly unexpected reward.
When she allied with Gilgamesh over the Holy Grail, a great imbalance arose in the Fourth Holy Grail War. A future where one of the two would claim the Holy Grail with a 99% probability became a certainty.
Such an absurdity was not what the Human Order desired.
For the Holy Grail War to end at the hands of Morgan and Gilgamesh, with all the fierce struggles and necessary variables suppressed, was to create a false parallel world.
The malevolence of the Holy Grail being controlled by a Servant would pose a grave danger to the Human Order.
Therefore, the Human Order would dispatch a Guardian. This much, Morgan had anticipated.
She had also expected Chaldea to be dispatched, but an unexpected Servant had arrived with them.
"Open your eyes, Assassin."
"...Ugh... I'm sorry, Ms. Sakiko. Did I trouble you again... hmm?"
Ms. Sakiko? Morgan etched the name that flowed from his lips into her memory. It became something she would absolutely need to verify later.
Morgan, who had neatly arranged her hair, calmly met his gaze and spoke.
"I am not Ms. Sakiko."
"...So it would seem. Where is this place? And where are my Master and Ms. Johanna?"
"The two of them should be safe."
"'Should be safe'... which means they might not be."
Morgan did not lie. But neither did she reveal the whole truth.
She observed. She watched intently to see what judgment this Assassin would make, to see what differences there were between the Kyle of his first life and the Kyle in her memory.
Assassin's first action was to look around.
White concrete walls. A window made of a single pane of glass. The smell of disinfectant hung in the air; this was a hospital.
It was an ordinary hospital, save for the fact that it was protected by a bounded field that sent a tingling sensation through anyone just by being inside.
Ah. It was also a perfect prison for confining someone.
"If you've taken me hostage, it was not a wise choice. I am the most incompetent of Servants."
"A hostage, you say? Why would you think that?"
"For someone with immense magical energy and magecraft skills superior to any magus I know to abduct a weakling like me... I can only think of one reason."
Indeed. Morgan nodded. He wasn't entirely wrong.
No matter how weak, a Servant was still a Servant. By holding Assassin here, she could chip away at Chaldea's strength by even 0.1%.
However, he hadn't realized the true reason Morgan had abducted him. Morgan felt a pang of disappointment but quickly let go of her expectation. It was a matter he couldn't possibly understand right now.
"Just as I expected. You are intelligent."
"Hearing that from you, it's hard to take it as a compliment. Still... thank you."
He bowed his head slightly.
He was absurdly composed. Wasn't he adapting far too quickly?
"Are you not afraid of me? You can't know what tortures I might inflict to extract information from you."
"...If you intended to torture me, you would have no reason to heal my fingers. Likewise, you wouldn't be asking such a question."
Assassin raised his left hand. The ring and little fingers that had been severed were perfectly reattached.
"And if my limited insight is to be trusted... you seem to be a kinder person than you let on."
Morgan's expression hardened as she summoned her spear. The moment she struck the floor with it, the entire hospital trembled.
The tranquil hospital was stained crimson. It was all magical circles. The crimson, dangerous-looking sigils were all aimed at Assassin.
In the frozen atmosphere, where the very air seemed to have solidified, Morgan slowly began to speak.
"Do I still seem like a kind person? You are far too naive for a Servant of the last Master of humanity."
Morgan sat upon a throne. A brilliant throne summoned by her magic.
In an instant, the hospital transformed into a royal court. Before the queen, the bland and colorless Servant was on his knees.
"...I don't understand why you are doing this."
"Because I find a hostage's prattling to be irritating."
"No. That's a lie."
Morgan's eyebrow rose. It was a sign for him to continue.
"I have a rather keen intuition. It was so during my life, and now that I have manifested as a Servant, it is even registered as a skill."
"It's merely B-rank at best."
"Even so, my intuition has never been wrong. And right now, it is telling me that you are doing something wrong."
Am I wrong?
Assassin looked up at Morgan. Instead of answering, Morgan struck the floor once more.
The magical circles that had been glowing red vanished without a trace. The hospital was now bathed in the blue glow of moonlight streaming through the window.
The tense air began to ease. Everything was as it was before, yet something had changed.
It was Morgan's expression. She was serious.
"What is this 'wrong' thing I am doing?"
"That, I do not know. However, it would be best for you to stop as soon as possible. It may be presumptuous of me to interfere, but..."
Morgan approached the kneeling Assassin. She took his chin in her hand, forcing their eyes to meet.
Morgan's blue eyes were incredibly clear and beautiful. Assassin could see his own reflection within them.
Old and sick. The image of a man on the verge of death. His appearance was quite shabby.
But Morgan looked even shabbier. Her own innate charm was overlaid with something strange.
What was it? Assassin naturally began to think about Morgan.
But he could not guess the words that would come from her lips.
"You are correct. I am doing something wrong."
"...I see."
"If it were you, how would you scold me?"
In turn, it was Assassin's eyebrow that rose.
What could she mean? Unfortunately, his intuition did not go that far.
Morgan was asking in earnest. This was no jest. Assassin was simply bewildered.
"I do not know."
"...And why is that?"
He didn't know the answer to that either. Assassin struggled to find a better way to phrase it.
Fortunately, a plausible explanation came to mind.
"Because I am not angry. If this were a matter concerning me, I might have been able to think of a way."
"Ha. So that was the issue. Then do not worry. This is a matter that is very deeply connected to you."
"But I have never met you before."
Morgan laughed. It was less a laugh and more a process of forcibly expelling oxygen from her lungs.
"You will understand soon enough. But not now."
"Where are you going?"
"My partner is calling. Stay here quietly. If you move recklessly, it will not end with just your fingers. Of course, the choice is yours."
"...Thank you for your consideration."
Even as he thanked Morgan, Assassin felt a sense of wonder. Was there any reason for me to thank this Servant? The words of gratitude had slipped out by habit.
Hearing them, Morgan's eyes widened. She soon gave a bitter smile.
"Gratitude... How amusing. To think that even now, after coming all this way, I am swayed by your every word."
"...Pardon?"
"It is nothing. It is too late to realize it now. I am..."
Morgan said something more, but Assassin did not hear it. It was due to the sound-proofing magic she had instinctively cast.
After one last look at Assassin, Morgan vanished in an instant.
Assassin was left alone in the hospital. There were no restraints. He didn't feel the piercing pain of the bounded field at all. It seemed he could escape right now if he wanted.
'My intuition says no harm will come to me if I leave.'
Why was Morgan letting him go? What did she mean by 'you will understand soon enough'?
Assassin was confused. His ordinary mind could not speculate any further. At best, he could guess that Morgan wanted him for something, but even that wasn't certain.
After pacing around the same space, Assassin eventually decided to wait for Morgan.
Even if he went outside, it was nighttime. With the Holy Grail War in progress, the outside world was dangerous.
The hospital, protected by countless bounded fields, was safe. It was ironic that the safest place was in the heart of enemy territory.
Assassin worried about the Master and Johanna, who were left behind. Were they alright? He lamented his intuition that failed to activate only at times like these.
"How utterly incompetent."
Incompetence is miserable. Assassin let out a deep sigh.
Just how great was his future self to have been registered on the Throne of Heroes?
He wanted to know, but Johanna, who would know the answer, refused to tell him. She wanted to see the Assassin of the present. He was grateful for her consideration, but at times it was frustrating.
Johanna was certainly a kind and good person, but she didn't know 'me'.
The one who knew 'me', no matter what anyone said, was only one person.
"Mizukume. Tamamo-no-Mae. My only daughter."
The moment he uttered those words, Assassin felt an excruciating pain in his heart. It was a pain as if his very soul was being torn away.
The mysterious pain clouded his mind and finally forced him into unconsciousness.
From his unconscious body, a small shadow slipped out.
The small, human-shaped shadow leisurely exited the hospital.