You call this a projection?

Though he didn’t truly care, Matou Zouken sometimes felt that the Matou family—or rather, the Zolgen lineage—had truly fallen into ruin.

Matou Shinji, the sole descendant of the Matou family, lacked even the slightest magical aptitude. Had it not been for the fact that Shinji provided him with a fair amount of entertainment, Zouken would have abandoned him long ago.

As for Matou Sakura, who had been adopted from the Tohsaka family... it was likely because the initial remodeling had been too severe. Despite being a girl with excellent magical potential, her personality caused her to stall at the very last step.

But the fact that these people were unreliable didn’t mean Zouken lacked the ability to intervene in the Holy Grail War and proceed with his plans.

When Kotomine Kirei sent Lancer out to scout for information, Zouken—who had been watching Kirei’s every move—became equally familiar with the participants of this war. He knew that in this conflict, there was a Servant whom he countered perfectly!

”What is it, Assassin?”

Before the gates of Ryudou Temple, facing the guardian Assassin, Zouken reconstructed his body once more. ”Going to call Caster for help?”

”You may. This old man is very magnanimous!”

Sword skills that had reached the realm of [Infinity]? Touching the domain of the Second Magic through swordsmanship alone? Even if his base parameters were dragged down by the Assassin class, could he use superlative technique to compensate for his lack of strength and endurance—even taking a life from a stat-monster like Berserker?

Despite all those exaggerated settings and descriptions, Assassin was, in the end, merely a nameless swordsman who possessed the techniques of Sasaki Kojiro—at best, a man whose skills surpassed the original. He had no ”beams,” no magecraft...

Facing Matou Zouken—whose true core wasn’t even present—Assassin’s situation was dire. Even if Zouken was ”injured,” he could simply summon more Crest Worms to reform his body or disperse into a swarm to evade the flashes of the blade.

Assassin’s swordsmanship was as naive as trying to cut through a stream with a sword while expecting the water never to join back together. Aside from killing a few Crest Worms, Assassin dealt almost zero actual damage to Zouken.

Furthermore, aside from the Crest Worms, even smaller familiars resembling mosquitoes had already bitten Assassin under Zouken’s command. Faced with an overwhelming swarm, no matter how brilliantly Assassin wielded his sword or how high his technique, he could not intercept every single insect.

At the same time, it only took one bite from Zouken’s bugs.

Zouken, who was intimately familiar with the Servants summoned by the Holy Grail and had even developed the Command Spell system specifically to target them, had prepared a specialized curse for Assassin. It would spread through Assassin’s body in an instant.

The suggestion that Assassin could flee or seek help from Caster was a joke. Zouken would never give him that chance. If Assassin chose to run, he would be consumed by the curse and death the moment he thought he had escaped, providing Zouken with a delightful show of hope turning into despair.

”So, make your choice, Assassin,” Zouken laughed triumphantly, his mouth splitting wide. ”Will you continue your futile challenge against me? Or will you seek aid from Caster?

Decide quickly. My patience is quite limited.”

After all, if he waited until the curse fully took effect, he wouldn’t get to see that interesting spectacle, would he?

”You certainly talk big, you monster,” Assassin said, holding his sword ready. ”While I’m not fond of that vixen, I must say your style is far more nauseating than hers.

What ’choice’?

Haven’t you already completed your ’Curse-Slaying’ on me? This ’choice’ is nothing more than your ugly desire to see me bow my head to that vixen before falling into the abyss of despair!”

Mind’s Eye (Fake): A, Vitrification: B+, Knowledge of Respect and Harmony: B++.

With so many skills at his disposal, Assassin had long realized his situation was critical. If it weren’t for the fact that he lacked a large-scale attack to clear the swarm, he wouldn’t even be in a struggle.

That said... his hand gripping the sword was growing weaker by the second. At this point, Assassin could really only offer defiant words.

”As expected, one shouldn’t be too arrogant.

I practiced that Secret Sword—capable of three slashes in a single moment—out of sheer boredom, just to strike down a swallow in flight. Faced with an enemy of this scale, it becomes powerless.

Back then, if I had imagined a summer mosquito as my opponent, or poked a hornet’s nest to see if I could strike down every vengeful bee with my blade, perhaps things would be different...

Well, it doesn’t seem too late to try now.”

Was his body losing strength under the curse? It didn’t matter! He was never one who relied on strength anyway. Pushing his body slightly beyond its limits under the pressure of death to glimpse a new realm didn’t seem so bad.

”A single thought reaching the Divine”—that was likely the feeling. Though his body was overburdened, Assassin’s spirit still commanded his frame as he settled into a sword stance.

However, regardless of whether Assassin achieved such a breakthrough, his end was already decided. He would die. And Matou Zouken would suffer no damage at all. The Crest Worm housing Zouken’s core wasn’t there. Even if Assassin cut down every bug Zouken brought, he couldn’t hurt the man.

Or so it should have been.

But...

”Kenaz!”

Runes symbolizing fire began to manifest near Ryudou Temple. Driven by magical energy, they transformed into a towering wave of heat, engulfing Zouken’s swarm!

”Wh-What!?”

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