Fate/ I Am Humanity Last Hope!?

On that day, on the brink of an instant - the fate of Fuyuki became ephemeral.

The genuine article required the souls of seven heroic spirits, the Holy Grail, and that year everything was properly prepared for this bloody ritual.

Surely, everything was going according to plan. The trigger was pulled beautifully.

That is, until the Heroic Spirit, Saber, was summoned.

... ...

The fires of hell burned the very ground of a lifeless, ruined city, covered in dirt that could only be described as contaminated. The skeletal remains of once-tall skyscrapers were now twisted and bowed, consumed by the fires that licked at their foundations below.

In a specific part of the city, a place that once had a magnificent forest. But now all that remained were the charred remains of trees and scorched grass...

The boy slowly opened his eyes, discovering that he was sprawled out on the ground, but he quickly propped himself up on his hands and stood up, his eyes darting from side to side in an attempt to better understand his situation.

His pupils dilated upon seeing the apocalyptic scenery.

The sky was as dark as pitch, filled with murky dark clouds.

A thick, heavy fog broke all the way up to those black clouds, and in the distance, he could see the city of Fuyuki, but it was a desolate place, not a single light in sight, only a vast ruin of destroyed buildings and furious flames raging all around the city...

Some were so tall that they burned above buildings and skyscrapers.

It took only a second or two to understand his situation.

Singularity F, the City of Fuyuki in 2004, the director had mentioned this during the briefing, an alteration in the proper timeline of humanity that needed to be corrected. Something he already knew due to the organization providing the details.

So, was this the place? It seemed as if hell had swallowed everything.

Ryusei couldn't feel a trace of life within miles, knowing that he would have to solve the problem in this timeline to return to Chaldea, he hammered away at his questions and decided to act; he was not the type to linger in thought for too long. But he also had no rush; this was not something that could be resolved in a matter of minutes.

He looked around, his eyes landed on a German architecture mansion a few hundred meters away, feeling a certain shiver go through his body as he recalled the incident with the Nazi mages from a few years back.

He tried to ignore those horrible memories, focusing on the German mansion-castle. The flames had not reached this building; he understood why upon noticing the [Boundary Field] around it.

"Then, I can assume that places with Boundary Fields in the city are safe, but since there are no signs of life as far as I can feel. All the inhabitants must have been killed… This means I can enter the vaults of some mage families in the area and take their things for myself..."

He pondered as he walked toward the castle. He had adopted a simple life philosophy; do unto others before they do unto you, steal and kill before you are stolen from and killed, and he adhered to it faithfully.

After a few minutes of walking, he stepped inside the mansion-castle. It was easy to bypass the traps set within the [Boundary Field], being able to see the flow of Magical Energy was a huge advantage.

Ryusei walked through the corridors while peering through the walls to find something interesting. He halted his steps and raised an eyebrow upon seeing something a little further ahead. Resuming his steps, he slowly approached. He descended the stairs until he was in a sort of large, empty room filled with debris.

He stopped abruptly; in front of him, the corpse of a little girl was sprawled on the floor. She had white hair and inhuman features, with no imperfections, making it clear that she was some sort of homunculus, an artificial human, or a descendant of one. He had seen a few in the past, so it was easy to recognize...

The important thing he noted was a slightly worn tattoo on the girl's hand. The seal took the shape of intertwined chains and served as proof that she had been selected as a master in this Holy Grail War. It granted three absolute claims over a servant, the crystallization of a great magic that compelled a Heroic Spirit to obey three orders.

In other words, the little girl was a master of the bloody ritual of 2004; it seemed that this singularity had something to do with that. He remembered that one of his teachers at the Clock Tower had participated in the War preceding this year's.

He was an instructor at the association, the most noble educational institution in the magical world, and above all known as Lord El-Melloi II. Apparently, that was not his real name, but everyone who knew him referred to him as Lord El-Melloi II out of respect.

Although still young, he was considered the best mentor at the Clock Tower. All students who had him as a mentor became first-class mages. His students became famous among the mages of the world for their feats.

As such, he earned the respect of many mages, who assigned him various nicknames, such as "Charisma Mentor," "Master V," and "Great Big Ben ✰ Star of London."

However, he did not have great deeds to his name. But he knew that he had participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War; despite losing, he was quite knowledgeable about the ritual. He had some private lessons on it while seeking his guidance on more 'rituals' to learn. That was one of the reasons he knew so much about the Holy Grail War.

Well, he had heard a little bit during his childhood and during his time traveling the world, so it would be more accurate to say that he learned the 'details' during the year he spent at the Clock Tower. Recognizing a command seal was easy...

It didn't take long to understand why the little girl had no injuries but was still dead. This city was basically the well of all 'corruption' in the world; the mages were more resilient than normal people to resist it, but they still died nonetheless.

That was what he felt happened to the girl before his eyes, and he could feel his insides churning. His unicorn side made him quite sensitive to everything that was tainted in the world. Probably, she would disappear in a few hours too. He could already feel her existence decomposing at a tremendous speed; perhaps that was what had happened to the civilians of this city. Only 'bones' of them remained by now.

"You are pathetic, huh..." Ryusei commented, squatting down and looking at the little girl. He glanced at her command seals and spoke indifferently, "I'll take this for myself..."

Activating his Magic Circuits and enveloping his Magical Energy around the Command Seals of the girl, he used the [Flash Air] on her hand. In a flash of blue light, the Command Seals that were on the girl's right hand had already migrated to his own right hand. He wouldn't waste something so good just out of respect for a corpse.

He stood up again and looked at his Command Seals, contemplating performing a ritual to summon a servant for himself. It would be a great help for future battles, especially if this singularity was related to the Holy Grail ritual, which was highly probable.

He set that aside for now and searched for anything else useful in the castle.

After half an hour, he found nothing and decided to leave the mansion-castle. He was a bit disappointed, but it wasn't like it was a loss; he never thought he would get any Command Seals.

After walking a few dozen meters from the scorched forest towards the City, he stopped...

"I think it's time to start working..."

He turned around and looked at the 'company' he had felt coming towards him like a cannonball and landing right in front of him.

Crash!

Not a second later, a loud noise echoed through the area, and a crater formed with a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, a grotesque entity could be seen emerging from the crater.

It was a giant over two meters tall. He was carrying a stone axe-sword. It was a crude sword, more like a piece of rock than a proper axe. Even if one couldn't see its face, they would feel the madness piercing their skin from its crazed eyes, ready to attack at any moment.

It stood a few meters in front of him. He felt no fear or any kind of emotion from sensing the power contained in the giant before him, having immediately known it was one of those servants used in the Holy Grail War ritual.

It was the Berserker Class Servant!

Each Heroic Spirit summoned for the Holy Grail War is placed into one of the seven classes.

Saber.

Archer.

Lancer.

Rider.

Caster.

Assassin.

Berserker.

The Heroic Spirits are summoned in classes that fit their various special characteristics, further enhancing their abilities. A sword hero can be summoned as Saber. A hero skilled with the spear as Lancer.

Revealing one's true name is tantamount to transmitting weaknesses and special abilities. Thus, Servants are usually referred to by their class names. Each class also possesses abilities, each capable of influencing combat in distinct ways.

For example, Caster has the power of [Limited Field Creation], while Assassin has the ability [Presence Concealment].

In a sense, the various classes are like chess pieces, each with a distinct ability.

But each player has only one piece. The chessboard is irregular, designed for a real battle. And each piece has a chance to control the board, as long as its player—its Master—is strong enough.

This was the fundamental principle of the Holy Grail War.

And the current enemy in front of him was a monster in every sense. A Berserker has a skill called [Mad Enhancement], in exchange for losing sanity, they receive a power boost.

"I hope you are strong; I will make you my experiment..."

Ryusei murmured while observing the magical energy fluctuations of his enemy.

He was curious to know the extent of a legendary hero's power, so he decided to face it...

Snapping his fingers, he prepared for the fight.

The moment he got ready to fight, he was approached by a powerful blow. By sheer instinct, he managed to maneuver, performing a backflip while pushing off his hands.

Crash!

His backflip allowed him to gain a certain distance, landing on his feet a few meters away; he then took two steps back as he visualized what the next attack from his opponent would be based on how the magical energy flowed through its body. His vision was covered by an attempt to cleave his head with a horizontal strike.

Watching the Berserker's club nearly shatter his head, he felt only the purest indifference; he was not afraid of death. The sweet embrace of it would be the best thing that could happen to him, but something pushed him to constantly get stronger, his origin was the only logical answer he found to this.

It was like walking on a tightrope where one side wanted death and the other sought something he wasn't even sure was worth it or not...

Dodging various blows from the Berserker, he began to get bored; he didn't use [Mugen] and his other magical abilities because he wanted to discern how strong he was in comparison to a Heroic Spirit, which was commonly known to be dozens or hundreds of times stronger than a mage, physically speaking. Especially a Berserker, who was a monster in that aspect.

Even without using [Mugen] to speed himself up and slow the Berserker down, he was slow as a snail in his perspective...

The Berserker grew increasingly furious, and in an incredible display of flexibility, when his axe-sword attack missed, he spun around and delivered a powerful kick to the giant's chest.

At that opportune moment, Ryusei allowed the blow to hit him. He merely slid backward as he felt a pain in his chest, confirming that his durability was greater than the Berserker's strength.

"Not bad, big guy... My turn now."

After saying this while massaging his shoulder, he vanished and appeared in front of the Berserker like a ghost. He landed a solid punch into the giant's chest, sending him flying backward like a bullet.

The Berserker roared in pain as his immense body crashed against the previously mentioned mansion-castle.

Ryusei briefly touched the tip of his middle finger against the tip of his thumb while keeping the other three fingers straight and relaxed, using a mudra to activate [Limitless] and teleport in front of the Berserker.

He looked at the crater formed by the giant's enormous body, feeling the ground tremble as his enemy emerged from it like lightning coming towards him.

He simply stood still with [Mugen] activated, and when the axe struck him, he remained indifferent, as it didn't even touch him. He paused in midair as if he had encountered an unbreakable barrier.

Deciding to end this, he used his hand to form a claw from below, applying [Cleave] with all his power wrapped in a devastating upward claw strike.

Crash!

The Berserker instinctively raised his axe-sword to defend himself, but it was useless. He was cut like a fish on a chopping board into three parts. It wasn't just him; the mansion-castle behind him was also sliced and destroyed in that blow.

Watching the building collapse, he stared at the three parts of the servant falling to the ground. He raised his hand towards them, and a dark mist emerged from it, enveloping the remnants of the Berserker and making it disappear.

"It seems it worked..." One of the reasons he faced the Berserker, aside from testing how strong he was in comparison to a servant, was because he wanted to devour its body and refine it to become stronger.

This was his Witchcraft Trait called [Consume] that allowed him to consume sentient beings and transform them into raw energy, absorb that energy, and use it to refine his body and make it stronger in every aspect. It was one of the reasons he was so strong, besides the beast parts he had transplanted into his body; he learned about this witchcraft trait in his travels around the world.

It was clear that the body he inhabited was from a descendant of some possibly extinct family of mages...

Apparently, his witchcraft trait had not been discovered by Fraldeus at that time, but it explained why he survived so many experiments. When he came close to death, he consumed what negatively affected him and grew stronger through it. Although it had an adverse effect as well...

After a few minutes, he could feel his whole body being plunged into a sea of pain! The body refinement was always the same way; it gave the sensation of being cut... ground down... cut... ground down again and again... This was undoubtedly inhumane torture.

It was a pain that brought him to the limits of tolerance.

On his forehead, drops of sweat the size of beans rolled down at a terrifying speed... It was impossible to imagine how much pain was needed to make the body react in such a shocking way.

However, he didn't let out a single sound of pain; not even a single trace!

He was obviously suffering a pain sufficient to wish for death to escape.... But after everything he had been through in this world, it was just a casual pain on a Tuesday from his perspective.

This was the adverse effect; consuming something inflicted a pain beyond what words could describe. That's why the experiments were hundreds of times more painful than they normally should have been...

After the pain passed, he felt an indescribable sensation coursing through his entire body; he could sense that he had become twice as strong in every aspect.

Ryusei wiped the sweat rolling down his forehead. He looked towards the City of Fuyuki; before heading into the city to search for the cause of the singularity, he thought about summoning a Servant for himself.

He needed to confirm some theories and take advantage of the Command Seals he had obtained.