Chapter 466: Assassin?

She let out a single syllable full of doubt.

Then she lowered her head to look at herself—no hair was harmed.

She looked up again at San Yue Qi—still holding the bow‑drawing stance, her chest heaving violently, and a lingering sharpness still in her eyes.

Finally she glanced at that wall—cracks like a spider's web, a fist‑sized dent in the center, its edges covered with melting ice crystals.

"... Eh eh eh?!"

Lin's tone rose an octave.

"S‑San Yue Jie?! What just happened?!"

Her question bombarded San Yue Qi like a rapid‑fire cannon, and she forgot to retract the gem in her hand.

San Yue Qi slowly lowered the bow and took a deep breath.

"... Someone ambushed."

Her voice was still a bit tense, but she was trying to calm it, "It should be... Heroic Spirit."

Lin instantly went on alert, gripping the gem tightly and scanning the surroundings at speed.

The street remained empty, quiet as a tomb.

"Where? Is there any other—"

"It's already dealt with," San Yue Qi said, pointing at the wall, "Just now, I nailed it to the wall with an arrow, and then it was gone."

Lin followed her finger and looked.

There was indeed a dent on the wall.

But nothing was inside the dent.

"... Gone?" Lin's voice carried uncertainty.

"Hmm, it dissipated," San Yue Qi nodded, "It was probably just a Clone; the main body isn't here."

Lin was silent for a few seconds.

She stared at the wall, her brows furrowing tighter.

Then she lowered her head to look at the bright red Command Spell on the back of her hand—three lines emitting a steady magical glow, with no abnormal fluctuations.

"... What on earth is happening," Lin's voice was soft, tinged with suppressed dread, "It was close... if you hadn't reacted just now, San Yue Jie..."

She didn't finish the sentence.

San Yue Qi walked over, patted her shoulder, and in an unusually steady tone said, "It's fine, you discovered it in time. And you weren't injured, right?"

Lin took a deep breath and nodded.

When she lifted her head again, her expression had returned to calm—though the base of her ears were still a bit flushed.

"Thank you, San Yue Jie."

"Ah, why are you saying that!"

San Yue Qi waved her hand, a carefree smile returning to her face, "Protecting the Master is a Servant's duty! Though my Assassin class might not match perfectly, bows and arrows—long‑range sniping—is a classic Assassin move, right?"

Lin: "... A bowman isn't the Archer class?"

San Yue Qi: "That doesn't matter!"

Lin: "..."

She decided not to dwell on the issue any longer.

The two kept watch in place for about a minute, and after confirming nothing moved around, Lin finally relaxed a little.

She walked toward the marked wall, crouched, and examined the melting frost traces carefully.

"San Yue Jie," she said without turning her head, "You said that was a Heroic Spirit... did you see clearly what it looked like?"

San Yue Qi came over and crouched by the wall as well.

"Hmm... how should I put it,"

she scratched her face, "It's vague, but that outline, that hunched posture, and that—it's like many faces stacked together—I feel like I've seen it somewhere."

She paused, her voice a bit uncertain:

"Kind of like... Assassin?"

Lin snapped her head around, "Assassin? But San Yue Jie, aren't you—"

"Ah, I'm not talking about me!" San Yue Qi waved her hand, "I mean the Assassin from the Fourth Holy Grail War. Do you still remember?"

Lin's expression turned subtle.

Fourth Holy Grail War. Ten years ago.

Back then she was still a child, inexplicably swept into that absurd war, meeting Sister Chang Ye Yue, Sister San Yue Qi, and many people and events that still seem unbelievable when recalled now.

That BaiMaoHasan—an Assassin serving Yan Feng Qili—she naturally remembered.

"But,"

Lin furrowed her brows, "It's been ten years."

San Yue Qi said, "That Assassin felt as if splashed with ink, and had strange red markings—just looking at it was ominous."

Lin fell silent.

She thought for a moment, then slowly stood up.

"... You mean, maybe someone used some method to reactivate the remnants of past Heroic Spirits and turned them into this?"

San Yue Qi blinked.

Ah, what are you talking about?

How did you think of this?

She actually hadn't thought that deeply.

"Um, maybe? Anyway, I think it doesn't seem like a normally summoned Servant."

Lin nodded, "And also, there's another problem."

She looked up at the gloomy sky.

"It's daytime now."

San Yue Qi was startled for a moment.

"The iron rule of the Holy Grail War is—Servants act at night, Daytime Ceasefire. This is a Rule‑level constraint; although one can't say it's absolutely unbreakable, those who dare to launch an outright attack during the day…"

"It shows the opponent has no intention of obeying the Rule," San Yue Qi continued.

Lin nodded, his expression solemn.

"…Now that's troublesome."

San Yue Qi, however, wasn't as weighed down as Lin.

She scratched her head, suddenly remembered something, and her eyes lit up:

"By the way, Lin! Didn't you just ask me why I reacted so quickly?"

Lin looked at her.

"Because I just used—Time Stop!"

When San Yue Qi said this, her face bore a look that seemed to say, "Praise me, praise me quickly."

Lin: "..."

Lin: "... Huh?"

She thought she had misheard.

"Time Stop? San Yue Jie, are you talking about that ability—making time cease to flow? The kind that only exists in theory, is practically almost impossible to achieve, and even the old monsters of the Clock Tower can't figure out?"

San Yue Qi nodded vigorously.

"Um um um! It can stop for about…5, 6, 7 seconds? I'm not really sure, but it's enough!"

Lin was silent for three seconds.

"…San Yue Jie, didn't you sleep well last night?"

"I'm serious!"

San Yue Qi grew anxious, looking left and right—unfortunately Lin couldn't see Clockboy, so she couldn't have this living alarm clock testify for her.

She had to resort to the simplest method:

"When that assassin ambushed you earlier, he was just a hair's breadth from stabbing you, right? But you see, you're fine because before it could touch you, I had already shot the arrow—yet you didn't even see me draw the bow, did you?"

Lin recalled for a moment.

Indeed, she only remembered feeling a slight oddity, and the next second the Black Shadow flew away, while San Yue Qi remained standing in the bow‑drawing stance beside her.

The intervening process… was a complete blank.

"…So you really…" Lin's voice was a bit wavering.

"Really, really! I shouted it with that slogan!"

San Yue Qi nodded earnestly, "Zawa Rudo! As long as I shout that, Time Stop!"

Lin: "..."

Lin felt her brain needed a reboot.

A Fen Mao girl who looked nothing like a powerhouse and occasionally acted foolishly suddenly told her:

I, can, Time, Stop.

And it was shouted as a slogan.

And the slogan was "Zawa Rudo".

Lin took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"…San Yue Jie,"

her voice a bit weary, "How many secrets do you actually still have?"

San Yue Qi tilted her head, thinking:

"Actually I don't know either; I've had amnesia, maybe I don't remember everything… but it's fine! Anyway, I'm now your Servant, and I'll definitely protect you!"

She said it as if it were obvious, and the gradually shifting teal eyes showed unmasked sincerity.

Lin stared at her.

A few seconds later, she averted her gaze, the area behind her ears reddening slightly.

"…In any case, having this ability is good. It can decide the outcome on the battlefield enough."

She paused, "But don't misuse it; the sooner the ability is exposed, the easier it is to be targeted."

"Got it, got it!" San Yue Qi nodded repeatedly, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, that slogan—"

"No need to teach me." Lin said expressionlessly, "I don't want to learn."

"Eh? I thought you'd be very interested…"

"Not interested."

"But it's so fun!"

"I, say, not, interested."

"Oh…"

The two of them unknowingly walked past two streets.

San Yue Qi stopped first.

"…Lin." Her voice wavering, "Do you feel… like it's gotten stranger?"

Lin also stopped.

She looked around.

The streets are still those streets, the buildings are still those buildings.

Convenience stores, bookstores, cafés, drug‑cosmetics shops, every door is closed, every window is dark.

But something… is different.

Lin's gaze fell on the sign of a convenience store.

It was a chain convenience store, its sign in the orange‑green colors she was familiar with, with the store name and business hours written in standard characters.

But that character—

was written backwards.