"Kirei, are the catalysts ready?"
"Yes, Father."
Inside the dimly lit church, two men dressed as priests were conversing. One looked quite old, clearly advanced in years, while the other was a young man. However, the younger man's pupils were unfocused, his eyes devoid of any spark or light, as if he were in a daze.
"Then let us proceed with the summoning. Well, although the Assassin class will definitely summon a Hassan, according to records, each generation of Hassan possesses different abilities and techniques. I wonder which one you will summon."
The elderly priest spoke while looking at the magic circle already drawn on the floor with mercury.
The young priest with dull eyes stepped forward to the array and began to recite the incantation he had long memorized.
"Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the Archduke of Contracts to the ancestor. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg. The wind rises as a wall. The gates in the four directions shut, coming from the crown, let the three-forked road leading to the kingdom circulate."
"Declare."
"Your self is under my command, my fate shall be with your sword."
"If you abide by the Holy Grail's beckoning, and if you will accede to this will and this reason, then answer me."
"I hereby swear."
"I am the one who shall attain all virtues of the world."
"I am the one who shall spread all evils of the world."
"You, clad in a trilogy of the seven heavens, come forth from the circle of deterrence, O Guardian of the Scales!"
Light burst from the magic circle, followed by a gust of wild wind. The two priests stood calmly without swaying, staring directly at the array where the wind blew and the light shone. Once the light and wind subsided, a figure was seen standing in the center of the circle.
"Servant. Assassin."
The man spoke in an extremely calm, toneless voice. His appearance left both priests stunned. The man standing in the array wore a black overcoat over a white long-sleeved shirt. He was a youth who did not look like an ancient figure at all.
The youth looked at the two priests with golden eyes that were completely hollow and devoid of light, and said, "True Name, Caelus."
"Not a Hassan?"
The elderly priest could not help but show surprise at this scene. Setting aside why this Heroic Spirit was dressed like a modern person, the mere fact that an Assassin-class Servant was not an Old Man of the Mountain was astonishing.
Throughout human history, Assassins have been countless. Although the Old Men of the Mountain were not the earliest recorded Assassins in history, they were indeed the ones who thoroughly spread the concept of "Assassin" and gained immense fame.
With enough fame and historical depth in this world, one would naturally become a Heroic Spirit.
And since Hassan-i-Sabbah, as a multi-generational Assassin organization, is strongly bound to the Assassin class itself, even without a catalyst, the summoned Servant would basically be one of the Hassans.
In a situation where a catalyst was used, there should have been even fewer exceptions. Yet, with a nearly ninety-nine percent probability, they had summoned something else?
"Caelus... I have never heard of any famous historical figure or character from myth or legend with this name, let alone one associated with assassination. Kirei, as a Master chosen by the Holy Grail, you should be able to see the Servant's specific status. How is this Assassin?"
Kirei Kotomine looked toward Caelus.
---
Servant: Assassin
True Name: Caelus
Gender: Male
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 50 kg
Alignment: True Neutral
Strength: B
Endurance: B
Agility: B
Mana: EX
Luck: E
Noble Phantasm: A
[Class Skills]
◇ Presence Concealment A: Extremely low sense of presence.
◇ Path of Nihility EX: Does not require any energy to sustain his own existence, and at the same time cannot be affected by the vast majority of energy. Whether it be Command Spells, Noble Phantasms, or energy attributes brought by Magecraft, none can affect him.
◇ Beyond Fate EX: Cannot be targeted by fate or causality-type abilities.
[Noble Phantasm: Nihilistic Vortex of Futility]
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Army / Interference
Range: 3 to 50
Maximum Targets: 100 people
Noble Phantasm Effect: The Servant completely unleashes his internal core of IX, eroding and assimilating everything in the surroundings, plunging all things in the world into meaningless nothingness. All living beings within the domain will question the meaning of their own existence, the logic of their own thoughts, and the value of their own being. They will fall into inescapable doubt, gradually being eroded and assimilated during their contemplation, finally losing all characteristic colors and existence as they fall into IX. Non-living entities, under the effect of IX, will also lose their colors at an extremely rapid pace.
---
Kirei looked at the attribute panel in front of him with a bewildered expression. Is this really an Assassin?
"Father, although it exceeds our expectations, it seems better than the original plan."
After learning the Servant's attributes from Kirei, Risei's expression was also slightly surprised. However, he soon composed himself and began to think. All the characteristics of this Servant seemed to be related to nihilism. Could he be Nietzsche?
No, he clearly has an Asian appearance, so he definitely is not Nietzsche. He must be some obscure Servant with a strong connection to nihilism. No wonder he is wearing modern clothes.
Caelus ignored the two priests who were whispering to each other and looked at the blue screen in front of him, the only splash of color in this gray world.
[Main quest issued...]
[Objective: Obtain the Holy Grail]
[Reward: 10,000 System Currency]
Simple and clear. Win this so-called Holy Grail War and obtain the final reward.
Caelus looked at the two priests who had finished their conversation. The young priest stepped forward and said to him, "Assassin, I am your Master, Kotomine Kirei."
"Mm."
Caelus gave a simple grunt in response. The scene was quite eerie, as neither the Servant nor his Master had any light in their eyes.
[System: "Great, it looks like you can trigger quests normally. It seems my self-coded program has no bugs. Cough. Do not mind what just happened, Host. I have secured a local residency for you. Although others descend as clones to fight, you are here in your true body. But it does not really matter. With your Tier 3 life status and energy system, dealing with these Heroic Spirit clones should not be a problem. Treat this as your beginner tutorial. Use this chance to experience what a normal human life is like."]
"Assassin, what is your wish for participating in the Holy Grail War?"
Risei had already left, leaving only Kirei and Caelus. Perhaps to break the silence between them, Kirei, as the Master, asked first.
"To be able to see color in my eyes."
"Color?"
"Yes. The world in my eyes is only gray and white. I can understand the existence of colors, and I know what other colors should look like, but I cannot see them. If possible, I want to be able to see color again."
After finishing speaking, Caelus stared with his own eyes at his Master, whose eyes also lacked light, and asked, "Then, what is your wish?"
Kirei's eyes were full of bewilderment.
"I... do not know."
If it were the original Kirei, although he would be bewildered inside, he would likely put on a front of having no wishes. But for some reason, he spoke his inner thoughts directly.
It was as if the person in front of him could make him confess everything.
(To be continued.)