Chapter 56: Bad News
A black figure raced down the street, and a few seconds later, another figure flashed past.
Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces) was puzzled as he fled, wondering how his enemy could track him and pursue him this far. He had clearly used Presence Concealment.
Chased through several blocks, Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces) was helpless. He had witnessed Su Xiao's close-combat prowess, and being caught now meant certain death. Compared to fighting Su Xiao up close, Hundred Faces would rather assassinate the King of Heroes.
As a Servant, Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces) didn't even have the ability to face Su Xiao head-on. Though embarrassing, there was no helping it.
Su Xiao was a Berserker-class Servant—a fake one, yes, but that meant his physical attributes rivaled those of a true Berserker.
Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces), on the other hand, was an Assassin-class Servant, skilled in stealth and assassination. Now that Su Xiao had locked onto him with the Apostle's Eye, his predicament was only natural.
While running, Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces) split off a personality clone, which closely resembled his original form.
After the clone appeared, the two fled in opposite directions. Though this might mislead Su Xiao, Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces)'s speed noticeably dropped.
Su Xiao, in pursuit, immediately sensed the change ahead. The red figure split from one into two, and their speed plummeted.
This wasn't the first time this had happened. Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces)'s speed wasn't slow, but against Su Xiao's A+ Agility attribute, he had only escaped this far by sacrificing his personality clones.
Su Xiao quickly chased after one Hundred Faces. When about a dozen meters away, he slashed out a pale blue blade aura.
*Clang.*
The blade aura struck the back of that Hundred Faces. If it were a clone, it would stop to block Su Xiao, buying time.
Unexpectedly, that Hundred Faces suddenly accelerated and leaped to dodge the blade aura. This was the original. When a personality clone was dismissed, the original experienced a sudden burst of speed.
Su Xiao stomped the ground, creating a large crater beneath his foot.
*Whoosh~*
Su Xiao's figure vanished. His speed wasn't usually this fast, but using Shave made all the difference.
In an instant, Su Xiao was behind Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces).
"Such astonishing speed again..."
The expression under Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces)'s skull mask was helpless. At this moment, he couldn't even sense where his enemy was.
*Pfft.*
Blood splattered. Hundred Faces only felt a numbness in his thigh, then his body pitched forward, and with a thud, he fell face-first.
A severed leg rolled far across the road. Dragon-Slaying Flash had some difficulty cutting through a top-tier third-rank main tank's body, but against an enemy of the same rank, it was like slicing through vegetables.
"Why aren't you running anymore?"
Su Xiao stopped not far from Hundred Faces, and as he spoke, he slashed out another blade aura. *Pfft.* Hundred Faces' remaining leg was severed, leaving him sprawled on the ground.
"You..."
Hundred Faces propped himself up with one hand, trying to rise. Without a word, Su Xiao slashed off the arm supporting him.
Hundred Faces grunted in pain. With his supporting arm severed, his skull mask hit the ground, cracks spreading across the white surface.
"If you're going to kill me, do it. This pointless torture..."
*Pfft.*
Su Xiao severed Hundred Faces' other arm. Having been an assassin in life, Hundred Faces had a high pain tolerance.
One was hacking off limbs like cutting vegetables, the other enduring the loss without flinching. It was a brutal scene, yet it held a violent beauty. This was real combat—no mercy between enemies.
Behind a second-floor window of a luxurious house across the street, a little girl witnessed this.
With twin ponytails, she peeked through the curtain gap. About to sleep, she wore only panties and a tank top. The gruesome scene on the street clearly terrified her; tears welled in her eyes, and her thin legs trembled uncontrollably.
Her mother quietly entered the room. A beautiful young woman, she had also seen the scene from the first floor and hurried upstairs to check on her daughter, fearing an accident.
The mother covered her daughter's mouth and eyes from behind. The little girl, terrified, struggled, tears streaming uncontrollably.
"Mmph~"
The mother quickly whispered in her daughter's ear, "Rin, don't make a sound. Whatever you do, don't."
Her voice trembled. She was scared too—scared of the violent man a few dozen meters away who hacked off limbs without a second thought. But for her daughter, she had to be strong. Hearing her mother's voice, the blindfolded little girl stopped struggling.
...
Hundred Faces, now a limbless torso, lay on the road. Su Xiao wasn't torturing him intentionally; he needed to devour the Servant's energy. Before that, he had to ensure the target couldn't resist.
Blue smoke wafted from Su Xiao's left arm as he reached for Hundred Faces' head.
Lifting Hundred Faces with one hand, the blue smoke gradually enveloped him.
"So... this is why... devouring..."
Before Hundred Faces could finish his final words, the Devouring Core's blue smoke fully engulfed him. A dozen seconds later, a notification from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[You have killed Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces).]
[Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces) was one of the seven Servants in this Holy Grail War. Obtained World Source 7.3%. Total World Source now 77.5%.]
[Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has activated. Permanently increased Mana by 26 points. Current Mana: 2274 points.]
[You have obtained Servant Box: Dark Purple (Servant Box: Can randomly draw one skill or Noble Phantasm from this Servant).]
...
Under the Devouring Core's decomposition, Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces) vanished, transforming into Servant energy. The golden Servant energy sank into Su Xiao's palm, traveled through his arm, and entered the Devouring Core near his heart.
The intricately constructed Devouring Core activated, purifying and refining this Servant energy, ultimately converting it into a colorless energy.
When the first wisp of colorless energy emerged from the Devouring Core, the Azure Steel Shadow energy within Su Xiao surged forward, absorbing it completely.
Minutes later, Su Xiao opened his eyes. The Servant energy had been fully converted and absorbed.
[Azure Steel Shadow has been upgraded to LV.29.]
Devouring Hundred Faces hadn't pushed Azure Steel Shadow to LV.30, but it was close. Devouring one Servant raised the skill by about 1.5 levels.
Various values of Azure Steel Shadow had slightly increased. Mana consumption rose, but so did the amount of enemy Mana burned and the True Damage dealt.
Just as Su Xiao was about to close the skill list, he noticed that Azure Shadow King's awakening had increased from 2% to 3%.
Though the increase was small, it was a good sign, as he had no clue how to awaken Azure Shadow King.
Su Xiao speculated that ultimate skills like Azure Shadow King, once awakened, would become independent skills rather than subsidiary abilities of Azure Steel Shadow. Its current placement in Azure Steel Shadow's skill tree was likely because Azure Steel Shadow was a prerequisite for mastering Azure Shadow King.
He picked up the dark purple Servant Box from the ground. It looked like a small drawer, exquisitely crafted.
After eliminating Hassan-i Sabbah (Hundred Faces), four Servants remained alive, not counting Su Xiao himself.
The Berserker-class Servant Lancelot had been killed by Su Xiao long ago. That meant three Servant souls were already in the Holy Grail.
When about five Servant souls were in the Grail, it would begin to manifest. That would be Su Xiao's chance to complete his main mission—he only needed to touch the Grail, not obtain it.
Finding heroes wasn't easy. Opportunities like today were rare. What troubled Su Xiao was that among the remaining four Servants, two Masters were old foxes—Emiya Kiritsugu and Tohsaka Tokiomi—neither of whom would show themselves openly.
Speaking of Tohsaka Tokiomi, Su Xiao suddenly wondered where Matou Kariya had gone. Had he gone to beat up Tokiomi? Unlikely. Tokiomi was hiding in the shadows, and with Kariya's current intelligence, finding him was improbable.
Just as Su Xiao was pondering, his phone rang. Only one person knew this number, so he answered directly.
"Father, I'm a bit busy right now..."
"The time... I can hold on... is running out. Come to... the chu..."
*Click.* The other end fell silent.
"Father? Father?"
No answer. Su Xiao's eyes narrowed. Father was likely in trouble. He had once given Su Xiao a weapon that had saved his life at a critical moment.
Father's last words were "come to... the chu..."—likely meaning the church.