Fate: How About a New Savior?

The Assassin girl didn't respond to Shiomi's question. A cruel yet gleeful smile spread across her youthful face.

"Hehe... I'm so happy! Found a good prey. Why are you walking with a man?"

Her attention was entirely fixed on Sakura, clearly displeased that Shiomi was protecting her.

"Am I her target?"

Sakura stayed alert but wasn't panicked. With her father shielding her, she had the space to contemplate the Assassin's true name.

"Well, not that it matters. I'll deal with the nuisance first, then entertain you~"

With a face full of innocent cheer, Assassin stashed her two long daggers and started fumbling behind her small frame.

"Sakura, step back. This one's a Servant who specializes in killing women." Shiomi smoothly moved to shield Sakura behind him.

Suddenly, Assassin crossed her arms. Between each of her fingers, black and red weapons glinted.

Six small but deadly throwing knives shot toward them.

Shiomi swung his spear in a perfect arc, knocking all the projectiles out of the air.

"You slipped, Assassin." Shiomi didn't underestimate her just because she looked like a child—though seeing such a young girl did remind him of Caren as a child. "If you're going to kill, maybe keep your mouth shut first."

"Oh no! How scary, mister..." Assassin widened her eyes, pretending to be frightened, though her gaze betrayed nothing but excitement and murderous intent. "You're amazing!"

Shiomi steadied his breath. In his eyes, she was only a Servant—her identity and appearance didn't matter. In a flash, he lunged forward, his spear aiming straight for the girl's heart.

"Guh—!"

Assassin, built for agility, quickly raised her dagger to parry, managing to divert the thrust meant for her heart—but not before it sliced her arm.

The white-haired girl tumbled across the ground, then gritted her teeth and got back on her feet, face twisted in fury.

"You hurt us! That's just mean!"

"Mean?" Shiomi fixed his eyes on her, looking for his next opening. "You targeted "our" precious daughter without a word. Who's the cruel one here, executioner?"

Sakura covered her mouth, inwardly cringing at Shiomi's choice of words. Despite the tense situation, she couldn't help but giggle.

"Daughter?" The girl's eyes widened with an emotion Shiomi couldn't quite read. "That's not fair! That's so unfair! You even have parents!"

"Huh?" Shiomi blinked, confused.

He had no idea why Assassin was suddenly so agitated—her killing intent had intensified.

"We've been searching for our mother! This is unforgivable!"

Assassin hurled her knives again.

The trajectory was too obvious. This time, Shiomi advanced while deflecting the blades with ease—but Assassin leapt back, retreating into the thick fog.

"She ran?"

Shiomi halted at the spot where she had just stood, puzzled.

Then, the fog thickened until even his own feet were hard to see. Alarmed, he turned back—Sakura's figure had already vanished into the mist.

And it wasn't just the visibility. The fog was now infused with a toxicity far more intense than when they first landed, and a denser concentration of Mana.

Shiomi's instincts screamed that something was wrong. This wasn't just any magical fog—it was Assassin's Noble Phantasm.

For someone who had endured the Land of Shadows, it wasn't much of a threat.

But for Sakura, a Magus, even if it wasn't lethal, it would still inflict serious harm.

Realizing that, Shiomi turned and dashed in her direction—only for an unsettling sound to echo through the thick fog...

"Hell starts here. We are the fire, the rain, the power…"

A childlike voice echoed through the dense fog.

Assassin possessed more than one Noble Phantasm.

The first was a Bounded Field-type that generated the poisonous mist.

The second was a weapon worthy of her title as an Assassin—a Noble Phantasm for assassination.

"…Let the slaughter begin—Maria the Ripper!"

"Divine Saber!"

Assassin wasn't foolish. She quickly realized Shiomi wouldn't be easy to handle. Using the toxic fog from her first Noble Phantasm as cover, she stealthily closed in on Sakura and activated her second Noble Phantasm, aiming to carve the pitiful girl apart on the spot.

But as the sound of her Noble Phantasm rang out and the dagger closed in—its path aided by the fog's intensified toxicity slowing Sakura's movements—lightning suddenly crashed down, striking all around her.

Sakura had unleashed Grand Magecraft.

One bolt hit the approaching Assassin, disrupting her attack. What should've been a fatal strike was reduced to a shallow cut across Sakura's shoulder.

"No way…"

Assassin stumbled back, dodging Shiomi's following thrust. She hadn't expected her Noble Phantasm to be broken so abruptly.

Badly injured, Assassin immediately retreated into the fog.

Shiomi couldn't leave the wounded Sakura behind to give chase.

He crouched beside her, placing his hand near the wound on her shoulder as healing magic lit up the space.

As the pain gradually eased, Sakura's expression relaxed.

"Dad…"

"Don't speak yet. Assassin's Bounded Field hasn't fully lifted. Focus your Mana on resisting the fog's toxicity," Shiomi said gently.

"…No, I mean, I think I've figured out Assassin's true name," Sakura said. "She must be… she must be…"

But to her surprise, Sakura found herself unable to recall Assassin's face. The clues were fading, even the name of the Noble Phantasm was slipping from her mind.

"It's part of Assassin's ability," Shiomi said, also feeling the memory slipping—but he had a countermeasure.

The Fourteenth Primordial Rune: the Rune of Knowledge.

Assassin had used her ability to erase all traces of her identity from their minds. But Shiomi used the Rune to preserve what little information remained.

"…Jack the Ripper."

In unison, Sakura and Shiomi spoke the name.

"This era is exactly when Jack the Ripper was active," Shiomi mused. "But she's a Servant…"

"It seems the Singularity is already starting to distort," Sakura said as her wound continued to heal and her strength returned.

Shiomi supported her by the arm and helped her up.

"Can you stand?"

"I'm still a little dizzy. Maybe Jack the Ripper's weapon was poisoned." Sakura leaned lightly against him.

"If you really can't stand, I'll carry you," Shiomi said with a chuckle. "Don't let growing up make you shy."

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Just as Shiomi lifted Sakura onto his back and was about to look for a safe place to rest, the sound of armored footsteps echoed on the stone pavement through the fog.

"The traces of battle just now came from this direction…"

A knight in white armor emerged from the mist.

All three widened their eyes.