Miracle Summoner

".....!"

In that instant, a terrifying killing intent radiated from Tristan.

Though he wore a melancholy smile, resembling a sensitive poet who evoked pity and tenderness, the sheer intensity of his killing intent was pure and utterly unfathomable.

Rozen understood what was happening.

"This is the blessing of Reversal, isn't it?"

A blessing that reverses everything, including one's personality.

With this blessing, the sorrowful knight who had a poignant love story in the legend of King Arthur had long been distorted.

In the legend, Tristan was a knight filled with compassion and understanding for others, always empathetic and considerate. This was why, when King Arthur decided to dismantle certain villages to consolidate resources, Tristan stood up for the suffering people and criticized Arthur's decision as unjust.

However, to overcome the resource crisis, King Arthur had no choice but to dismantle the villages. Failing to do so would lead to the downfall of the kingdom, causing immense suffering—a scenario he could not permit.

In essence, King Arthur sacrificed the few for the greater good.

Tristan grew increasingly dissatisfied with this approach over time, and his discontent eventually culminated in his decision to leave the Round Table.

On the day he left, he uttered the fateful words: "The King does not understand the hearts of men."

This statement caused King Arthur to lose the people's trust, indirectly leading to the collapse of Britain.

Perhaps Tristan himself deeply regretted his actions afterward.

But now, everything had been reversed by the blessing of Reversal. It turned Tristan into someone cruel and cold-blooded. On the surface, he still appeared as a melancholic, beautiful man, but inside, he had become a fearsome demon.

This was precisely why Rozen and the others had repeatedly felt that Tristan was the most dangerous member of the Round Table.

Here, Tristan was utterly devoid of humanity, naturally making him the most threatening. He had abandoned his two companions and come to assassinate Rozen without any semblance of the knightly honor mentioned in legends.

Of course, Tristan hadn't come recklessly.

He knew Rozen was strong enough to face the Lion King, possibly even stronger than him.

Thus...

"Before coming here, I played my melody to my heart's content."

Tristan said this with a smile.

"By now, it should be enough to kill you."

This was the strengthened effect of Unblessed Birth: as long as Tristan continued to play, his power would keep increasing.

At this moment, the aura emanating from Tristan was overwhelmingly powerful, surpassing even Lancelot and Mordred.

Hassan of Serenity also sensed the threat.

As another Servant, she was undoubtedly far weaker than Tristan.

As an Assassin-class Servant, Serenity excelled in infiltration, reconnaissance, and assassination. Although she prided herself on high agility, her other parameters were not particularly high. She couldn't compare to the Saber, Lancer, or Archer classes in combat. Even against Riders or Berserkers, she had no advantage. She could even be suppressed in direct combat by Casters. This was the nature of most Assassins, with few exceptions.

The Assassin's strength lay in assassination and ambush, areas where they could unleash terrifying capabilities.

Take Serenity, for example. She could transform her appearance into anyone of a similar build, making her nearly impossible to guard against. She also possessed the Presence Concealment skill, capable of evading detection even from other Servants. The higher the skill level, the harder it was to notice her. This made her stealth assassinations nearly impossible to defend against.

But the true terror of Assassins wasn't their ability to assassinate Servants; it was their capacity to assassinate Masters.

Against Servants, even a successful ambush wouldn't necessarily kill the resilient Heroic Spirits. But against human Masters, a single attack was often fatal.

After all, no matter how weak, a Servant like Assassin was still stronger than a human Master.

For this reason, Masters often feared Assassins the most during a Holy Grail War. Many would keep their Servant constantly by their side for protection, which could backfire by limiting their mobility and making it harder to act freely. Such situations made it difficult to win any battle.

Thus, during the Holy Grail War, there was a common saying:

"Fear Assassins, for when used properly, they can become the strongest Heroic Spirits."

This was the case here.

As a member of the Old Man of the Mountain, the origin of the term Assassin, Serenity's assassination abilities were unparalleled. Combined with her Shapeshift skill and her Noble Phantasm Delusional Poison Body (Zabaniya), she could take the form of someone close to her target, approach them openly, and kill them with a mere touch. Who could survive that?

However, the threat of an Assassin was limited to assassination.

Now, Serenity had no choice but to face Tristan in direct combat to protect Rozen.

Could she win?

Of course not.

In direct combat, an Assassin-class Servant, who would struggle even against average Servants, stood no chance against Tristan, a knight ranked among the best in the Round Table. Strengthened by three blessings from the Holy Grail, his power exceeded that of standard Servants, even surpassing the realm of extraordinary ones.

At this moment, Serenity had only one thought.

No mistake, no hesitation, only resolve.

That was...

"Please make a contract with me, Master."

Serenity softly pleaded with Rozen.

"Grant me the power to stop that knight, and escape while you can."

This was Serenity's intention.

By forming a contract with Rozen, she could grow stronger, gaining the power to hold off Tristan.

However, an Assassin was still an Assassin. Even if Serenity contracted with Rozen, she would not gain enough combat prowess to surpass Tristan.

Her plan was to stall Tristan as much as possible, giving Rozen time to escape. Afterward, she would rely on her high agility as an Assassin to retreat. If escape proved impossible, she was prepared to sacrifice her life to ensure Tristan did not leave the battlefield alive.

Yes.

Serenity was already prepared to lay down her life.

Ever since Rozen touched her without succumbing to her poison—behaving as calmly and normally as any other person—Serenity had made this decision.

As a Hassan, her sole mission upon manifesting in this world was to protect the Mountain People.

The Mountain People were the foundation of the Assassin Order. Nearly all Hassans had risen from their ranks, and thus, protecting them was paramount.

Now, Serenity had gained another purpose.

That was to dedicate everything she had to this Master.

Even though they had only truly met a few hours ago, it did not matter.

Serenity burned with unwavering resolve.

Unfortunately...

"There's no need to worry."

Rozen placed a hand on Serenity's shoulder. As she looked at him in astonishment, he stepped forward, facing Tristan.

"Enough to kill me?"

Rozen extended a hand toward Tristan, beckoning with a cocky smirk.

"Go ahead. Try me."