What Zealot sought was validation—proof that she was a true servant of God. In her early years, she trained relentlessly to earn the title "Old Man of the Mountain." To receive the name Hassan, which identified one as the leader of the faithful, one had to acquire abilities that seemed almost divine.
The assassin group was essentially a collection of zealots. Yet even within this group of extremists, she was looked down upon as an obsessive fanatic.
Despite this, she accomplished something no one had done before.
It was so extraordinary that no one could believe it at first.
This young woman had actually managed to master all the miraculous techniques of the eighteen previous "Old Men of the Mountain" within herself.
Delusional Heartbeat [Zabaniya], Dead Heartbeat Melody [Zabaniya], Cyber Phantasy [Zabaniya], Delusional Illusion [Zabaniya], Delusional Poison Body [Zabaniya], and many others.
Mastering all eighteen techniques was clear evidence of her dedicated training. Yet the cult elders still refused to acknowledge her. They claimed it was because she hadn't created an original ultimate technique of her own.
"What have you accomplished? You've simply copied past miracles, like someone transcribing old scriptures. You cannot create your own miracle because there remains immaturity within you."
Though their observation was accurate, their reasoning was merely an excuse. The truth was that the cult elders feared her abilities. Techniques that even the greatest Hassans in history had spent lifetimes perfecting, she had mastered in just a few months. She possessed both unwavering resolve—the kind that would face any danger without hesitation—and talent seen perhaps once in ten generations.
History had shown time and again that those who stood too far apart from others often faced only jealousy and hatred.
"You are still not ready. Someone like you cannot inherit the leader's name."
Confronted with this completely unreasonable judgment, she accepted it without the slightest doubt.
"I understand. My faith must not be strong enough."
"How immature I am, to have disrespected the sacred work of the past leaders."
She harbored no resentment and simply continued perfecting her skills. In the end, she never received any recognition and vanished from history as an unnamed fanatic.
That should have been the end of her story—but she was summoned to this distant eastern land by Ryuunosuke Uryuu, as the Hassan who never became Hassan.
The Zealot had only one wish for the Holy Grail: to completely destroy it. She had learned that several past leaders had also sought this Holy Grail—and regarding this, she felt nothing but sorrow.
She never intended to hate those leaders or think poorly of them. They deserved her respect. What deserved hatred was the blasphemous ritual of the "Holy Grail War" itself that had led them astray. The No Name Assassin was firmly committed to standing against the entire Holy Grail War.
Several days had passed since her Master's death, and her mana supply had long since ceased. The only reason she could remain in this world without possessing [Independent Action] was by sustaining herself through the [Zealotry A] skill.
Until her final moment in this world, even if this body was merely a temporary form, it made no difference—she would eliminate as many participants in the Holy Grail War as possible.
…
"Watch carefully, Zealot... this is how you use [Delusional Heartbeat]."
The boy's voice drew Assassin's thoughts back to the present moment. The heretical boy who should have died by her hand still stood before her. Had her technique been inadequate?
No, that wasn't it. For the first time, she didn't doubt herself. Faced with such overwhelming power, she clearly recognized her own capabilities.
'Standing on the shoulders of my great ancestors, my killing technique is flawless. He is simply beyond normal.'
The boy raised his slender, delicate right arm. It seemed impossible that this fragile, childlike limb had so easily shattered her cursed arm moments ago.
[Delusional Heartbeat]. To master this skill, she had paid an agonizing price.
She had endured unbearable pain, cutting apart her own body to fuse with the arm of an evil spirit, summoned through ancient Middle Eastern curse rituals. When activated, the technique created a duplicate of the target in a mirror, then destroyed the mirror heart, causing the enemy's actual heart to be destroyed through resonance. It was truly a technique of the fallen angel—Satan's arm.
This arm should have been the curse itself, something that couldn't be physically touched. How could someone simply grab it? She had been wondering about this, but immediately understood after taking a closer look at Ryuuto.
This person is—
"...Delusional Heartbeat - Zabaniya," Ryuuto whispered.
"!"
The moonlight filtering through the cracked stained glass windows briefly intensified, casting prismatic colors across Assassin's shocked face. With a faint sound like paper tearing, a hole opened in her chest. The air around the wound distorted, as if reality itself had been punctured. Looking down, she saw a perfect cylinder where her flesh should be, as if a portion of space had been completely removed. When she looked up again, she found her heart beating visibly in his hand, droplets of crimson falling between his fingers to stain the wooden floor.
Despite her exceptional vision, she couldn't see clearly or understand how the boy had struck. There was no check against magic resistance or curse resistance, and no extension of his arm.
Of course, because what he had used wasn't actually Delusional Heartbeat at all.
"...You're such a liar," Morgan said, staring at his back while brushing bits of flesh from her body.
Having regained her composure, she now understood that her Master had just used the Holy Grail. Just as [Delusional Heartbeat] targets a mirror projection, Ryuuto's real target wasn't the enemy standing before him. He had simply rewritten the Assassin servant data in the Fuyuki Holy Grail—which functioned essentially like a game server—to a state where she had lost her heart. With this ability that worked like a game cheat, the seven servants created by the Holy Grail could never stand against him.
"...Cough, cough."
As she stared at the boy holding her heart, a dazed expression showed in the amber eyes beneath her black robe. She didn't understand all those technical details, but somehow felt that everything happening now was perfectly natural. Because this person was the true fallen angel [Zabaniya].
With a sound that sent chills down the spine, the nameless girl's heart was crushed in his grip.
Her body collapsed to the ground with a dull thud.
"...Angel... my lord..." Assassin whispered hoarsely with her final breath, bringing an end to her misguided mission to challenge all participants of the Holy Grail War.