The sight of feathers filling the air, the towering figure, and the final tolling of the bell could only be seen by Darius III's Master, who was nearing death. Araya, standing just three meters away, merely sensed something slicing through the air before the man's head flew upward. The unrestrained blood, under pressure, sprayed out like a fountain, falling to the ground alongside the spinning head, both landing at Araya's feet.
"Hmm, a direct decapitation, huh."
Even Araya, despite his century-long life and familiarity with death, was slightly moved by the sheer brutality of the execution. It wasn't often he saw such a clean and decisive beheading. Typically, slashing the throat or severing the carotid artery would suffice.
"Just a personal preference."
Assassin's response was calm as if he had done something insignificant.
"That kind of preference doesn't seem very fitting for an assassin—it's far too noisy. Still, with such excellent stealth skills, I suppose a bit of noise doesn't matter."
As Araya noted, his Servant possessed exceptional stealth abilities. Since the moment of summoning, Assassin had never revealed his true form, moving like a mist. Araya had expected him to appear when killing someone, but even then, nothing could be seen.
If not for the palpable link of their contract, Araya might have thought he was under some sort of illusion. The fact that Assassin's voice sounded so much like his own didn't help. Roa and Nrvnqsr Chaos being involved was coincidence enough—another coincidence would be too much. Araya preferred to believe that Assassin was using a special vocal technique. There was no reason a perfect assassin, capable of complete invisibility, would leave such an obvious clue as his voice.
"I appreciate your understanding, Master."
Assassin's voice remained steady, indifferent to the praise, neither pleased nor defensive.
Araya wasn't offended by this; on the contrary, he was quite satisfied. He had never been one for flair, and Assassin's style was exactly what he wanted—obedient, reserved, and highly skilled. The fact that Assassin didn't reveal himself? Even better. An assassin that even Araya couldn't see was one the enemy would be even less likely to.
It seemed Roa hadn't lied when he recommended this Servant so earnestly. This assassin was indeed well-suited to him. Araya could only speculate which generation of Hassan-i-Sabbah this was. Information about the mysterious order of assassins was scarce, and his Servant was a textbook mystic. Not willing to waste a Command Spell on such a trivial matter, Araya could only make educated guesses based on the limited information he had.
Of course, while speculating, he didn't forget his primary task. After the blood from the severed neck stopped spurting, he cut off the body's left hand, taking the severed limb along with the Command Spells on it back to Roa.
By this time, the battle of the undead was nearing its end. With his Master's death, Darius III had lost his source of magical energy and his foundation. His strength had drastically diminished. Not only could he no longer maintain his prized Noble Phantasm, but even lifting his battle-axe had become increasingly difficult.
It wasn't long before Nrvnqsr Chaos's chaos engulfed him, binding him like a massive black statue.
A gigantic fantastical beast opened its maw, seemingly intending to swallow the giant who had crushed so many of its kin. Yet, before its jaws could close, it was cleaved in two—by Roa.
"Fabro, I've already told you. If your familiars go out of control, don't blame me for what happens."
"And I've already said, do as you please."
Nrvnqsr Chaos didn't even glance at the slain beast. The black tide surged back, reclaiming the corpses and the remnants of the beast horde into the chaos, leaving only the fading Darius III.
Roa shrugged and walked up to Darius III, looking up at the towering Persian king, who stood a full 345 centimeters tall.
"Sorry, Berserker, for treating you this way."
"Defeat is defeat. My life ended in defeat, so one more loss makes no difference."
With the contract between Master and Servant dissolved, the effects of Madness Enhancement faded, allowing Darius III to regain his ability to speak.
"Give me a swift end, powerful undead. It is the victor's right."
"Unfortunately, that's not possible. If I had wanted to kill you, I would have done so long ago. Why wait until now? King Darius III, losing once is nothing. As long as you're alive, there's always hope. You should understand that better than anyone."
Darius III's later life had been a series of defeats, continually losing to Iskandar. Yet, despite this, he had repeatedly rallied his forces, standing against the King of Conquerors' army until his death. That was why Roa said what he did.
"You want me to form a contract?"
"Not form a contract—just transfer the current one," Roa said, taking the severed arm from Araya.
"I will be your new Master."
"I refuse!"
Darius III declared without hesitation.
"Oh? Are you willing to disappear like this?"
Roa's eyes flashed, a half-smile on his face.
"Of course, I'm not willing."
"Then why refuse? As a Master, I'm far more capable than that corpse over there."
"It's not about capability. I am a king of humanity. I will never serve a monster!"
This was Darius III's pride, the pride of a human hero.
"Too bad, your opinion doesn't matter!"
Roa's lips curled into a twisted smile, his eyes filled with cruelty.
"This is the true right of the victor—the victor rules everything."
"You—!"
Darius III began to struggle, "You despicable monster!"
Roa laughed heartily.
"Go on, insult me! The more you insult me, the more powerless you appear. Without a Master to anchor you, you're less than a monster."
"It's useless. You can't break free from the Soil of Genesis I forged with the lives of 300 people."
Nero Chaos spoke calmly, but his words only caused Darius III to struggle more violently.
"Assassin, end it quickly. For the sake of our shared status as Heroic Spirits."
" … "
Nothing happened. The hidden Assassin remained silent and unresponsive.
"Will you truly stand with monsters? Don't you have any pride as a hero?"
"Don't waste your breath. An assassin who murders from the shadows has no pride as a hero. Everything is under my control. Whether summoning Assassin or choosing to contract with Berserker, I hold all the cards. Assassin has no pride, and Berserker is robbed of reason by Madness Enhancement—there's no pride left in you either. You can keep talking for now, but in a few minutes, you won't even be able to speak!"
As Roa spoke, he placed his hand over the severed limb's Command Spells. With the infusion of magical energy, the dull red markings immediately brightened.
"Drink from the contents of this cup, and your sins shall be forgiven. This is the blood I have shed for all, the blood of the covenant..."
Ps: Gramps, Araya, Kotomine and Nrvnqsr Chaos VA: Jouji Nakata