Kotomine Kirei, who had been chosen by the Holy Grail three years prior, had carefully concealed the crest on his right hand according to Tohsaka Tokiomi's orders. He only publicly revealed that he possessed Command Spells this month. From that moment on, he broke with his master, Tokiomi, as a rival competing for the Grail.

But that was all just for show.

It was just an act.

In a seven-way war, if two parties were to ally beforehand, they would undoubtedly become the target of the other five magi. Among those five, four were magi whose skills had reached the level of Color-rank, and the last was a magus who would stop at nothing. If the opposing Servants managed to hold back their own, and a direct battle between the magi broke out, their side would most likely die a very undignified death.

This was also why Kirei had chosen to summon a Berserker. If his alliance with his teacher were exposed and Tokiomi's Wild Dad, Gilgamesh, was held up, an Assassin would not be able to protect both him and Tohsaka Tokiomi.

Kirei's plan was to wait until the war was halfway through and all sides were exhausted before showing his hand and joining Tokiomi's camp. He sat in the basement of the Fuyuki Church with his eyes closed, meditating in the darkness.

Looking at his profile, an onlooker might think he was simply praying. In reality, however, he was currently using the vision of his familiars to monitor the situation around the Tohsaka residence. What Kirei was using was a result of his training from three years ago: an ability taught to him by Tohsaka Tokiomi called "Shared Perception." It was a magecraft that allowed him to share the sensory organs of a contracted being through a ritualistic connection.

In the Holy Grail War, using a Servant who could enter spirit form to have the Master surveil from a safe distance was an incredibly important task. The only difficulty with this magecraft was that it could not be used if the contracted party did not agree.

Tohsaka Tokiomi's Servant, Archer, was a Wild Dad and would never have accepted such a request.

And as for Berserker...

The Child of Light, who had once caused a massacre across six districts in the Cattle Raid, after descending in his most berserk aspect... was also a Wild Dad.

If Kirei dared to give him any command other than "fight," he would absolutely be tied up with willow branches and twigs into a Wicker Man, becoming an important prop in a Celtic festival to pray for favorable weather and peace for all living things.

Kirei had no desire to receive the same treatment as Miss Jeanne d'Arc, so he could only connect his vision to his familiars.

How will tonight unfold?

Today was the day the Holy Grail War began. The slaughter between magi and Heroic Spirits was about to commence.

Would Berserker be willing to place his status below Archer's?

Kirei began to feel a little uneasy.

Berserker was too strong, and his personality was too violent. He was almost impossible to control. Archer was also an incredibly arrogant character. If they were to meet... the result was unimaginable.

I should minimize their contact as much as possible.

Kirei frowned, feeling that if the two Wild Dads met, they would probably start fighting each other first. He contemplated how to balance Berserker and Archer.

But very quickly, he was forced to abandon his thoughts.

A flash of light ignited outside the church.

A red glint flashed and vanished. Destructive magical energy surged upwards and erupted in a single burst!

"BOOM—!!"

Like lightning tearing through the night sky, a tremendous roar thundered through the clouds.

The walls of the Fuyuki Church instantly crumbled. Shattered glass, rubble, and dust were swept up by a scorching hot gale and blasted outwards.

It was an arrow formed from the Noble Phantasm Hrunting, projected by Assassin using Projection Magecraft. Unleashed in the form of a Broken Phantasm, its destructive power was in no way inferior to a genuine release of its True Name!

What is going on?!

Kotomine Kirei, who was in the basement, felt the building shake, his expression changing drastically.

But before he could react, a strong and powerful hand seized him by the neck, smashed through the basement wall like a charging war chariot, and rushed straight outside.

At that breakneck speed, Kirei felt the air scraping his face like a knife, and breathing became extremely difficult.

It wasn't until several seconds later that the hand gripping his neck finally loosened, tossing him aside like a piece of trash.

Thrown onto the ground, Kirei gasped for air, then struggled to lift his head and survey his surroundings. He saw the aftermath of the surprise attack spreading out like fireworks, a cone-shaped flame condensing as the exploding smoke and dust formed a mushroom cloud, both expanding towards the sky.

In an instant, the entire darkened sky was dyed red.

Everything felt like the end of the world.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

Risei Kotomine, who had not been the target of the attack, also poked his head out from the ruins of the half-demolished church, his expression stunned. He had never imagined that a magus would dare risk offending the Holy Church by attacking the Fuyuki Church.

"Heh heh, is this a provocation?"

A very hoarse voice sounded beside Kirei. The source of the voice was Berserker.

He was the man who stood at the apex of the warrior race of Celts, a man who had abandoned everything but battle, a veritable machine of combat and slaughter, a bloodthirsty monster.

The priest, quickly realizing what all this meant, shouted loudly.

"Magus, you are provoking the authority of the Lord!!"

"Well done, unknown Servant."

Berserker, however, seeing this scene, showed no anger at his side being attacked. His voice even carried a hint of praise.

In the eyes of this Child of Light, who had already given up everything but combat, any Servant who dared to launch an attack on him was undoubtedly a warrior.

He held a long spear that was a dark, blackish-red color, like a branding iron, and was covered in fearsome thorns. He scanned his surroundings with a seemingly casual air. Then, a bestial aura surged from his body. Under the pressure of this aura, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

"What... what kind of monster is that?"

Class: Berserker

Strength: A

Endurance: B+

Agility: A+

Mana: C

Luck: E

Noble Phantasm: A

Emiya Kiritsugu, seeing this through his familiar, used his prerogative as a Master to inspect Berserker's stats, and his teeth began to chatter.

Without a doubt, this man was a beast-like existence even among all Servants. He had already witnessed Assassin's power, which was terrifyingly strong, yet Berserker's stats completely crushed Assassin's in almost every aspect.

This was an existence on the level of being able to compete with the Lancer that Li Zihan had summoned!

There was no possibility of victory for Assassin against him. He would only be slaughtered to death!

"Retreat."

Quickly, Emiya Kiritsugu, who had originally planned to use Assassin to draw fire while he assassinated the Master, changed his plan and issued the command to Assassin.

But it was already too late.

"Found you."

The beast-like man raised the torture instrument-like spear in his hand.

The menacing spear tip radiated the cold of death.

"You in red!"