…Well, I'll be damned…

It actually worked.

I thought for sure Lancer was a goner when he didn't move for a full minute. But just like the rest of us, confusion also set in for me. I'd seen Caster, well… die, I guess would be the best way to put it. A shower of golden light and sparkles should have claimed Lancer were he actually dead.

Poor kid though. Saber may have agreed with the decision, but he was going to blame this loss entirely on himself. I didn't think it was the wrong play either; done the same thing myself were I in that position. Saving a last command spell for use against Assassin, while arguably greedy, surely had to be the correct, optimal play. Who would have guessed Lancer would be so good at playing dead, so to speak. Or so quick to pull a spear from his chest and stab another Heroic Spirit with it.

Speaking of Lancer though, he seemed perfectly fine now. At least, no different that he'd been before taking Saber's Noble Phantasm dead on. Made me wonder if such a move was self-sustaining? Repeatable? …Provided you went up against someone who wasn't aware about it all in the first place.

There was so much on my mind I actually felt a bit overwhelmed. I still needed to fully digest what I'd just witnessed, namely Saber's ridiculous Noble Phantasm. I mean, really, a freaking lightning dragon?! Ok my guy, that shit might just be dope enough to rival some of Caster's lesser works, I'll admit.

I also should probably say something to the kid. Sortiara had wandered over and was trying to console him, but… Well, it just doesn't feel right when its coming from your opponent. At least, it never did for me. Sudden defeat in the face of what seemed like certain victory was one thing. Losing a friend though, assuming the kid had that kind of a relationship with Saber in the first place, that was something else. Especially since he'd already lost one friend in this war, I suppose, with the death of Berserker's master.

But all that could wait. The kids could look after one another, and Lancer may need a moment to adjust to everything again after… whatever you call what happened to him from his Noble Phantasm.

We were not done yet though.

Keeping my focus on the tree line, I kept watch to see is anyone, or anything, decided to emerge. …Not that I had any idea if it was actually worthwhile, mind you. Don't really see how someone like me would see Assassin coming unless Assassin wanted that, and if that was the case, we were dealing with a very interesting Assassin.

Perhaps it's needless to say, then, that I was surprised to see a lone figure emerge from the tree line in plain sight. Now I'd met Assassin's master, even if only briefly. I couldn't claim to know the man well, but I did remember what he looked like. The man emerging from the tree line was most certainly not him, which could only mean one thing.

Assassin was making his move.

But ignoring the fact he wasn't acting like a competent assassin by revealing himself so brazenly, he didn't look like an assassin either. Or even a Heroic Spirit, honestly. The man was wearing a business suit and carrying a briefcase, for crying out loud. If I had passed him on the street, I'd have just considered him to be another late working businessman, or perhaps a lawyer.

At least I knew I wasn't just seeing things though. From the corner of my eye, I could see Lancer turn his focus away from the kids, and towards Assassin. If he was noticing him, then that was a good sign; how could someone like Lancer lose to Assassin in a straight confrontation? Especially this Assassin. Like, what was he going to do? Try to beat Lancer to death with the briefcase? Hand him a cease-and-desist order?

…Though, now that I think about it, Assassin wouldn't look out of place among Capitol Hill politicians either, with that look. Could be a member of the house, or even a senator.

…

…Senator… Assassin…

…

…Oh shit!

"Lancer, get out-"

I tried to warn him. Truly, if I couldn't win, I wanted at least one of the kids to win. It's why I was still trying to help them as much as I could, at least partially.

My suspicions as to who we were dealing with just dawned on me too late this time.

"Sic semper tyrannis!"

And to my horror, Assassin's shout would confirm them.

The kids and I couldn't do anything besides sit back and watch. Watch as Lancer seemingly froze in place. Watch as Assassin gained a burst of speed, rushing right for Lancer. Watch as he changed before our eyes, the suit and briefcase changing for white robes and a dagger.

No, not robes… Unlike with Caster, I could tell right away: that was a toga.

One, two, three, four, five…

Five seconds. That was all it took. Five seconds, in which occurred tens of stabbings, each penetrating Lancer's armor as if it didn't even exist. Five seconds, in which Lancer seemingly could not move.

…Five seconds, until Lancer disappeared in a shower of golden sparks and light.

Five seconds, in which the war came to it conclusion.

Those five seconds seemingly gave birth to an eternity as Assassin turned to face the three of us, and the whole world fell silent.

Until, finally, a new voice rang out from the tree line.

"You three might just be the most stupid people I've ever had the displeasure of needing to deal with!"

Assassin's master emerged from the tree line and began wandering over towards the rest of us, finally gracing us with his presence. By the sound of his voice, he was not a happy camper.

"I mean, seriously, are any of you even trying to keep magecraft secret at this point?! Having a servant like Saber fire of his Noble Phantasm in such a brazen way! Count your blessings that I have no desire of having killing children on my conscious, or none of you would even be alive right now!"

"W-What the hell was that" Sortiara shouted back, though I could tell it was directed more at Assassin, rather than his master.

Honestly, judging by the fact there wasn't even a hint of anger in her voice, just pure shock, I don't think she'd even really registered what Assassin's master had just said.

Johnathan looked to be very much in the same boat, but unlike his counterpart he remained completely silent.

"…That" I took a breath, trying to settle everything running through my mind. "That was the two of you not having a hope in hell of winning this war."

"If you realize that much, why did you even bother with this farce" Assassin's master turned his focus squarely onto me.

"Well, in all fairness, I only had a guess at who Assassin was the moment before he used what I assume is his Noble Phantasm" I admitted with a slight grin. "Until that point, the plan does actually make sense, if you look at it from our standpoint, you have to admit. And yes, if you didn't show, we were about to become the world of magecraft's most wanted."

"…Oh, if you didn't have that file…"

"Speaking of which, you can let your Association buddies know that if they try any funny business against the kids, I will release the file."

"…Yeah, will do" Assassin's master spat into the dirt. "Fuck. Interesting, yes, but a right pain in the ass all the same…"

"You know who Assassin is then" Johnathan finally spoke up, looking to me.

"I mean, yeah? Kinda obvious at this point, I have to imagine. And an excellent pick too, coincidentally."

""Yeah, well, we're not you" Sortiara growled. "So, stop lording over us with your fucking knowledge and tell us who the hell just walked all over someone as powerful as Lancer!"

Ah, there was the anger. Welcome back to the world of the living, girl.

"Ok, but… come on now, you two! The shout! The toga! Assassin is clearly Marcus Junius Brutus! You know, Brutus!? One of the guys who murdered Caesar!"

"…Hmph, master wasn't lying when he said it would be dangerous to act in front of you" Assassin sighed. "Though I can't say I appreciate the description…"

"Ok, him being an assassin class servant makes sense, but-" Johnathan began to question.

"But why do I think he's an excellent pick" I finished the thought for him, knowing him well enough to know exactly what he was trying to ask. "I mean, just think about it. In this war specifically, four of the seven Heroic Spirits summoned were kings: Saber, Lancer, Rider and Berserker. Who better to have in a war of kings than arguably history's most famous king slayer?"

"Yes, but he couldn't have planned for that" Sortiara protested, pointed at Assassin's master. "So, what, Lancer just lost because our opponent was stupidly lucky with the catalyst he got from the Association?!"

"Ha, you think the Association gave me anything besides orders and a paycheck" Assassin's master laughed. "No, girly, they gave me jack shit to work with! I didn't even summon my servant till I got to America. If anything, your parents shot themselves in the foot, using catalysts for those kinds of servants after setting the war up in Virginia."

"Then how did you just happen to get-"

"He didn't just happen to get Assassin" I interrupted, the gears in my head spinning. "It's just like how Rider was the Heroic Spirit most likely to be summoned by the priest, given the circumstances surrounding the summoning."

"Ugh! Just explain it all up front, damnit!"

"What's the state motto of Virginia, you two" I asked both the kids.

As I suspected, neither of them could answer.

"It's sic semper tyrannis" I answered for them after a moment. "Latin for thus always to tyrants. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but this whole time I've been working under the assumption that catalysts are objects with ties to whatever Heroic Spirit you're trying to summon. However, so much of magecraft is tied not to objects or beings, but to the land itself. So, is it not possible that, if one forgoes or lacks an object catalyst, one could use the land in which they're summoning in to influence the summoning process, in a similar fashion to a catalyst?"

"I mean, I suppose so…" Sortiara hesitated, but didn't outright deny the possibility.

"Then if we're to talk about the… the spirit of the land, let's say" I continued. "The spirit of the land can basically be described by the motto of the state. Now, while it is largely accepted nowadays that Brutus wouldn't have had much time to say anything during the act itself, and even if he had, certainly wouldn't have been heard, but the phrase sic semper tyrannis was and is still famously attributed to him. So, if one was to use the spirit of the land itself as a means to influence the summoning, and they do that in Virginia, where the motto is literally the saying he's tied to, then yeah, not a surprise he'd be summoned."

"Hm, not a bad deduction" Assassin's master shrugged. "I admit, I did try to use the land itself to influence the summoning process, but more so along the lines of trying to summon a servant that was actually from America. Though, all things considered, I certainly have no complaints with Assassin."

I expected Assassin to say something at this point, but when I looked, he wasn't even there. Or, he was likely still around, but just in spirit form.

"…So, our parents picked a bad place for the war in yet another way, is what you're saying" Johnathan muttered.

"…Basically, yeah" I shrugged. "They got catalyst for kings to fight a war where the spiritual essence of the land they would be fighting on is basically just... fuck tyrants."

"B-But Saber and Lancer weren't evil" Sortiara protested. "How the hell would either of them qualify as tyrants?!"

"Evil is subjective" I sighed. "Arguably Caesar wasn't a tyrant either. In fact, going by the civilian revolt that took place in the wake of Caesar's assassination, I at least would say it was the guys like Brutus that were in the wrong, but I'm sure all the senate loyalist would disagree with me on that. Really, who can say which side is right, objectively speaking?"

"I- That's-"

"At the end of the day, it's likely that everyone with some kind of authority has been viewed by at least one person as a tyrant. Might as well just equate the word tyrant to king, pharaoh, emperor, president… y'know?"

"…"

"…Right, anyways" Assassin's master sighed. "Now that this disaster is over with, I'm off to claim my reward. You three are free to go and do whatever, for all I care, but if you value your lives, don't try to follow me."

"So, you already know where the grail will form" I asked.

"It already began forming after I dealt with Rider. Just needed Saber and Lancer gone so I could use it."

"Wait, please" Sortiara shouted out, which surprised me.

Must have surprised Assassin's master too, for he also stopped.

"I… I have to know" Sortiara continued. "Our parents always talked about the grail, but that was it. Just the grail. A grail. But the notes on the Holy Grail War ritual by the Einzberns, they mention both a Lesser and Greater grail. So then-"

"You know the Einzberns are skilled in the creation of homunculi, yes" Assassin's master interjected.

"R-Right, so-"

"So then do as he constantly says and think about it, but it seems obvious to me you already understand the truth of the matter. Something had to take the place of the Lesser grail for this war, considering the lack of a homunculus. Or, in this case, multiple things. Likely didn't realize that until there was simply no time to offer up another substitute."

Sortiara fell silent, looking as though she was trying her best to hold back tears.

"…As I said, don't try to follow me" Assassin's master repeated, but this time it sounded less like a threat and more like a request, for the kids' sakes more than anything.

With that, Assassin's master stepped into the shadows of the trees and sunk into the ground, disappearing.

"…Well" I broke the silence, turning to face two kids who shared the look of people who just couldn't deal with anything else tonight. "Come on you two. Let's get you home."

A/N

And with this post, we have the end of the war, and out winner: Assassin!

…Really, with how I presented Tristan's outlook of how the different classes should work throughout the story, this result shouldn't have come as a surprise.

What might come as a surprise is who Assassin ended up being though... I admit, when I said in a post a while back now that Assassin's identity should have been obvious, I had forgotten about John Wilkes Booth, which... yeah, that one's on me...

But that blunder aside, if anyone was wondering as to why I set the war in Virginia, of all places, now you know why: the state of Virginia itself (it's state motto) was a clue to Assassin's identity from the very beginning, because while, yes, John Wilkes Booth did shout that during the assassination of Lincoln, the origin of the saying is most famously attributed to Brutus, one of the major players behind Caesar's assassination.

…I want to say it's Shakespeare who made the connection of the saying to Brutus famous, but I confess, I actually don't know for certain. A bit of a gap in my Roman 'history' knowledge (even if, historically speaking, Brutus likely never said anything of the sort at all during the assassination).

For those of you wondering why Lancer couldn't move, and was basically one shot, well... I designed Assassin's Noble Phantasm to be both anti-evil, and anti-king. I also designed it to apply a powerful 'stun' effect on king targets (coming from the famous supposed last words of Caesar being 'Et tu, Brute?', and him essentially just accepting his death). …Really, that's actually a better way to describe it: king targets basically accept their death at the hands of Assassin's Noble Phantasm, so they don't move; more of a mental stun than physical stun.

Anyways, one more post tomorrow, serving as an epilogue for Tristan, and this work is finished, after 13ish months! Hard to believe the end is actually in sight.

See y'all in the last post tomorrow o7