Intermission
"The Lightning Swordsman"
Ryoudou Temple was a sacred place in Fuyuki City.
It is said to be the heart of the place. Located approximately forty minutes by foot from the Emiya Residence, it acts as the keystone of the Fuyuki leylines. A renowned place of worship, no one bothers to assault that place out of sheer respect. But someone like Fiamma of the Right, the leader of the most powerful Christian organization of his world, God's Right Seat, had no concern for such a thing. It could burn for all he cared. It could burn for all he cared.
The way up was long. But someone like him had all the time in the world.
The magician made his way up the stairs. Step. Step. Step. Logically, if the Survivors had somehow managed to escape from Einzbern Castle, they'd have to find somewhere else to reside. They'd have to find a place for shelter.
In a Murder Game, the game would be "lost" if the players all died for good, right? Unlike the other fools that were as expendable as the very air they breathed, like Aku and that annoying Ghirahim, Fiamma of the Right was not about to idly sit by in the back and let others do his dirty work for him. Not anymore. He was going to do his own work, and his own work would entail wiping out the participants. That was how he would win the Murder Game this time around. And in the process, maybe even kill
that annoying man.
Step. Step. Step.
Crunch.
Someone else was here. Though Fiamma of the Right was by no means a superhuman when it came to perception and awareness of other physical presences, a foreign crunch was something even he could detect.
...
Silence assaulted the stairs of the temple. Someone else was definitely here, and there was definitely going to be something done about it. But the question remained... who was going to make the first move?
...
"You have an awful lot of confidence in yourself to walk as nonchalantly as you do," a voice said, the source continuing to make himself unknown to Fiamma of the Right.
"If you are going to try to kill me, do it now. I have little time to waste with insects," the mastermind spoke irritably.
Suddenly, the leaves of the trees ruffled ever so slightly, and before the magician knew it, a man resembling a samurai had appeared at the top of the stairs.
He was a Servant. To be more specific, he was the Assassin.
"State your name and business here."
"You need not concern yourself with that. Dead men tell no tales, as they say."
"Hmph, it's just as I thought. You really are quite full of yourself," Assassin replied,
"But... you are a strange existence. I can feel mana emanating from your body, and yet, even though it is of a different nature than a standard mage's, like you are from a different world, I do not find that to be the strangest thing about your existence, but rather, the strange evil aura I can sense from you."
"Hooh? I only act in the name of God. Someone like me could not possibly be evil," the man responded sharply with an eerie smile, tilting his head a little,
"In fact, you are the evil one for obstructing the will of God. Now begone before I invoke His judgment upon you."
...
Well, at least he was forward. But someone like him... Assassin had to be careful. This man didn't exactly seem right in the head, and more than that, he seemed like someone who was certainly dangerous. Granted, many people existed out there with barks worse than their bite, but this man... He truly was something else. It was unnatural. It was weird. So much so... it was almost funny.
"Very well. Far be it from me to decline a battle. You will regret your choice!"
With that, the samurai-like Servant drew his blade, Monohoshi Zao. An irregularly long sword roughly 150 centimeters long. The length defied common sense, and even its name roughly translated to "The Laundry-Drying Pole" as a derogatory testament to that fact. In the hands of normal people, it would be absolutely useless if how difficult it would be to handle.
But a Servant was not like a human.
Despite the confident air that Assassin attempted to put up, it was all a facade. Truth be told, Fiamma of the Right made him quite wary. He would need to end this fight as quickly as possible. If he couldn't beat him, there was no telling how Caster would be able to...
"Tsubame Gaeshi! Swallow Reversal!" He exclaimed, preparing his Noble Phantasm right from the get-go. His Noble Phantasm, his ultimate technique that was allowed to him and only him; the legendary swordsman that only existed within fiction, Kojirou Sasaki.
With this unbeatable attack that defied fate and cracked dimensions, surely, he would--
"The Strike That Ends Everything It Touches."
BWOOOM!
Before the samurai could possibly react, his body had been sent flying at speeds so fast that he hadn't even realized he had been attacked until his body collided into the stairs above, caving into the concrete. It was as though a building had slammed into him at relativistic speeds. He couldn't even begin to process what had just happened before it was too late. Blood spurted out from Assassin's body. How could he be beaten so easily just like that?
The Holy Right was the weapon granted to Fiamma of the Right. If everyone else were characters in RPGs with choices in fights like "attack, magic, item," and so on, then the only choice that would be given to him would be "defeat." It was as convenient as that.
"That was all it took? How annoying," he sighed, nonchalantly walking past the disabled body of Assassin.
"For someone who spoke of how confident I looked, you didn't look so scared yourself. But I suppose cold feet afflicts the best of us."
"You... koff koff... What are you?"
Fiamma of the Right simply smiled coldly, and continued walking.
"I am he who can save the world."
And so he went into Ryoudou Temple, in search of Survivors who were not there.
As his life steadily came to an end, Assassin could only look up at the night sky as his body slowly dissipated. The moon... it was shining so brightly tonight. What a beautiful night to die on...
And with that, two Servants had fallen. Five remained.
Berserker and Assassin had fallen. Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, and Caster remained.
It was only a matter of time until the Holy Grail would appear now.
