Assassin wasn't as great a fighter as Heracles, possessing much inferior battle prowess than the latter.
Hassan, as the Assassin-Class Servant, shone in ambushes, using his innate Presence Concealment ability, just like Berserker had shone using his Mad Enhancement one.
With even Black's Observation Haki not picking up on the Assassin before it moved, such an ability could be listed among the most formidable ones across the Multiverse.
However, such a tremendous ability, combined with Assassin's monstrous agility, came at the cost of attack power as well.
Booms and bangs rang out as the Bronze Titan attacked the Assassin.
Even after using the Solution of Reinforcement, as Kai called it, Petyr was having trouble landing blows on the Assassin, though.
Letting out a growl as the Kaiju Blue corrupted his existence from within, Petyr hacked at the Assassin.
Suddenly, the skull-masked Servant twisted its body in such an impossible manner that the devastating attack brushed past the Heroic Spirit without even touching it.
With a deafening bang, the entire right side of the Matou Mansion exploded.
And, with a muffled squelch, two black daggers plunged deep into Petyr's bronze helmet, making him blur out of existence.
Huh?! Zouken, after seeing Petyr disappear, finally picked up on the oddity. It was not a Servant?! Haaaaaaaa!
Raging because of the trickery, Zouken rushed to confront Black upstairs, commanding the Assassin simultaneously.
However, the moment he and Assassin moved, with a hiss, the entire Matou Mansion — disintegrated.
…
A few moments before,
Black walked up to a sobbing Sakura, Shinji cowering in one corner behind him.
Hollow Spike Balls kept appearing around him, dozens of spikes exploding out of them, puncturing Black's flesh.
However, as his Mysteries weren't out in the open, it only affected him physically.
If Kai had been in Black's place, then it would have been a different matter altogether.
At this moment, Kai had borrowed Berserker's Fate. As the Imaginary Element was highly effective against Spirits, these Spike Balls could have really injured Kai.
"Sakura…" Black said, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Suddenly, an apparition blurred into existence right in front of Black, taking the shape of Rider.
"KILL HIM, RIDER!" Shinji roared, holding a small book. "KILL THEM BOTH!!"
Rider took a stance, holding the needle-like weapons.
Crack!
Before she could even move, though, the window to their left shattered, and a figure flew in.
Redness traced a bloody path in their sight as Lancer flashed the spear in his hands. He spun around and kicked the Rider at her waist before she could even retaliate.
Boom!
Rider's entire body hit the left wall, broke it, and then went flying.
Flicking the spear in his hand to block a Spike Ball, Lancer disappeared behind her.
Shinji watched as the entire thing played out, gobsmacked. The book fell out of his shaking hand, his pale face becoming entirely white.
On the other hand, Black approached Sakura and put his hand on her shoulder.
"… No!" She slid back. "… Don't… Don't touch me!"
Sakura's cheeks were flushed red.
Not only did her eyes carry lust, but they carried shame and helplessness even more.
Her own existence repulsed her — disgusted her — tormented her. She hated herself — for what she had become.
"… and how is that your fault?" Black asked.
Stunned, Sakura lifted her head and saw him smiling at her.
"Why should you hate yourself when there are people whom you can hate instead?" Black asked, blood drops falling from his chin. "Why should you despise yourself, when the true despicable ones still live… Why should you feel disgusted… when you are so beautiful…"
Sakura's hands trembled. She couldn't see or think properly, but every word said by Black entered right into her mind.
Black put his hand on Sakura's face, wiping her tears. "Why should you kill yourself, when there are people in this world who deserve to die first?"
Shinji's body was lifted by an invisible force as he kicked vainly. He flew toward Black and Sakura, throwing his hands like a drowning man.
"Ahhhhhhh!" One of the Hollow spikes punctured his thigh, making him scream.
Black held Sakura's hand and turned around on the bed, now both looking at Shinji.
"… Tell me, Sakura," he asked as they eyed Shinji, "… why do people like him get away with these things?"
Blood foamed in Shinji's mouth.
Grinding his teeth, he looked outside and noticed the Lancer piercing Rider's stomach.
"… Haha…" Shinji laughed, something snapping within him. "Hahaha… I will tell you why! Because Sakura is my…"
It didn't matter what Shinji was going to say.
A piece of red and black cloth blurred and hacked off his head.
BOOM!!!
…
The entire Matou Mansion disintegrated with a massive explosion.
On one side, insects buzzed as Zouken materialized next to the Assassin, both surrounded by debris.
On the other side, Lancer and Rider had been thrown off as well, the latter disappearing as Shinji died.
And, in the middle of everyone was Sakura, levitating midair.
Over her head, terrifying magical fluctuations bent the space as hundreds of long strips of red-black cloth took the shape of a dress.
Right in front of her, on the ground, Black was losing his mind, his entire body covered in black veins of corruption.
As Sakura also contained pieces of the Holy Grail, she had always remained susceptible to Angra Mainyu's influence.
However, because of not using Mana, it had remained in a dormant condition.
Now, killing Shinji seemed to have pushed her sanity beyond the boundary of control.
Unlike Black, who had sealed the Evil Will right after detecting it, Sakura couldn't do such a thing. The moment it was unleashed, it began taking shape of a Boundary Layer in the form of a dress called — The Shadow.
Not only that, as it fully materialized over Sakura's head, it also detected it's sealed part within Black, making it erupt.
If something wasn't done soon, then both Black and Sakura would become hosts for Angra Mainyu's incarnation.
Despite the horrifying possibility, and despite the Ad Infinitum losing control over the Evil Will, a smile surfaced on Black's lips because — things had happened exactly as planned.
"Kirei… Caster…" Black said, coughing out black blood. "… Let it — begin!"
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