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The night deepened.
Minato and the others had already stepped outside.
The cold air grew even more biting under the pitch-black sky.
Figures began to emerge from the shadows—some standing on the walls, others crouched on rooftops.
Their eyes were cold and sharp, as if they were one with the night itself.
"That aura… they're likely Assassin-class Servants," Artoria said, standing beside Minato. "But why are they showing themselves so openly?"
"They are good at hiding their presence."
Minato chuckled. "If they hadn't come out on purpose, we probably wouldn't have even noticed them."
"So they're doing it intentionally?"
Artoria's eyes lit up in realization. "They want to draw our attention... which means their real target must be the Master?"
Her expression turned strange.
It was a solid plan, no doubt.
With her and Minato here, attacking the Master would seem like the logical choice.
But these guys… completely misunderstood who they were dealing with from the start.
BOOM!
A distant building suddenly exploded.
A chained dagger shot through the air, pinning one of the Assassins directly to the roof beam—dead on impact.
"What?!"
All the Hassans were shocked.
Yes, all of them.
Even though there were many figures present, they were all just different personalities of the same person.
They stared blankly at their fallen counterpart, looking totally confused.
Weren't they the one assigned to eliminate the demon's Master?
And now they're dead?!
"Tch…"
A tall figure stepped out through the hole in the wall—one hand holding a ladle, the other pulling back the chain.
"I was in the middle of cooking for my Master, you know."
"You guys almost ruined a perfectly good pot of soup."
Medusa's long purple hair flowed without wind, and her overwhelming aura made the very air ripple with tension.
"Medusa, you just focus on cooking."
Minato said casually, "These small fry won't take much time."
"Yes, Master!"
Medusa was about to head back when a magic circle suddenly lit up in front of Minato.
A wave of icy energy began to spread through the air.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The sharp sound of high heels echoed as a woman in a white military uniform stepped through the portal with long, graceful strides.
"Master, you finally remembered me for battle?"
Esdeath's beautiful eyes sparkled playfully as she teased, "You really kept me waiting."
"These ones are all yours."
Minato grinned. "There's a reward in it for you, by the way."
"Well, now I'm definitely looking forward to it."
Esdeath's long hair danced in the wind, and in the blink of an eye, she vanished—reappearing right in the middle of the enemy crowd.
Whoom—
A terrifying chill spread outward, and frost began forming in the air.
All the Assassins around her froze in place—literally. Their blood felt like it had turned to ice.
"Master, is she one of your familiars too? She looks strong."
Artoria's ahoge twitched, then she muttered in frustration, "Still, I am your Servant. I can fight too, you know."
"You'll get your chance."
Minato waved her off casually—but his eyes flicked over toward Medusa.
Yeah right!
Letting you fight wouldn't get nearly as much reaction out of the quiet one over there.
If Irisviel's not enough... time to crank up the pressure.
"By my Master's command…"
Esdeath pulled her hands apart with a vicious grin. "You may all go to hell now."
WHOOM—
Invisible cold swept across the battlefield.
The ground in all directions began to freeze, fast enough to be seen with the naked eye.
Several Assassins were instantly turned into frozen statues.
Shhhk! Shhhk! Shhhk!
In the next instant, dozens of ice spikes tore through the air and shattered the frozen enemies into bloody shards.
The earth cracked beneath the force, shaking the entire courtyard violently.
In just a few moments...
The ground was covered in craters—and over a dozen corpses.
The remaining Assassins flinched. Their eyes widened in fear.
"You reek of fear," came a cold voice that rang through their minds.
They turned instinctively—but Esdeath had vanished.
"Tch. What a bunch of weaklings," she muttered with disgust, her voice laced with murderous intent.
Zing!
A white blur shot forward like lightning toward the remaining Assassins.
Esdeath's hand now held an icy saber. Every slash of her blade shattered enemies into pieces—splinters of ice and crimson crystals flying everywhere.
As her figure moved through them, not a single assassin could react in time—they were frozen in place before they even realized what had happened.
Under the moonlight, which was now as calm as water, the battle had somehow already ended.
Esdeath casually dropped the blood-stained ice blade, her presence now chilling and deadly—like a grim reaper.
"Esdeath's getting stronger and stronger,"
Minato sighed as he looked at her.
It hadn't been that long since they last saw each other, but her power had skyrocketed.
"Looks like Master really likes this type, huh."
Medusa glanced at the tall Esdeath, twirling a strand of her hair around one finger. "So 023 wasn't lying after all."
Wait, no—hold on.
Shouldn't the main issue right now be this new familiar?
Her gaze behind the blindfold sharpened as she eyed those long, curvy legs under Esdeath's short shorts.
This woman… looks way too much like me. She's a serious threat.
And more importantly—
She's probably not the only one.
Instinctively—
Medusa bit her lip gently.
Alice-Philia had already gotten the jump on her.
Now there were even more of these "senpai" types showing up...
The thought made her feelings complicated.
To be honest, ever since the day she agreed to become Minato's familiar, she'd already accepted certain... realities.
After all, Minato was strong, handsome, and liked her even though she wasn't some tiny, cutesy girl.
She'd just always wondered—Was this all happening too fast? It had only been a few days.
But now…
At the very least, she couldn't afford to fall behind.
"Mhm. Not bad."
Minato nodded to himself as he looked at Medusa.
Yup, that's it. Keep conquering yourself, one step at a time.
Tap, tap, tap.
Esdeath turned around and walked up to Minato, her pale, jade-like hands gently resting on his neck.
"You promised me a reward, remember, Master?"
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
"Mana replenishment?"
"Mhm!"
"....."