Fate: The Holy Grail

[3rd POV]

Holding his twitching left hand, Kariya Matou limped along the damp road. He could only hear the faint sound of the wind in this dirty alley.

After looking around, there were piles of filthy trash everywhere along the roadside. 

This place... was the dirtiest corner of the city.

Kariya trembled as he pulled a small locket from his pocket. His entire body was messy, like a rat that had crawled out of the sewers. 

However, this locket was the only thing he kept deeply hidden in his chest, and it was polished to a shining brightness.

He opened the locket's cover, revealing a photo of Sakura Tohsaka… no, now it should be Sakura Matou.

Looking at the sweet smile of the black-haired girl in the photo, Kariya recalled the memories of the past.

There were happy moments and sorrow.

This photo was taken on a cool summer day at the park, capturing the innocent moment of this black-haired girl.

Everything seemed so perfect, and Kariya had even sworn to protect this child forever.

After looking back, Sakura's surname had changed from Tohsaka to Matou, and her once-black hair had turned purple.

Sakura had fallen into hell, pushed into the abyss by a man named Tokiomi Tohsaka. 

Kariya decided to save her, and he was willing to step into hell himself.

After slowly closing the locket, he carefully hid it away. He forced himself to stop thinking about the good memories from the past and instead focused on the present.

The cold night air was filled with the dirty dust from the alley, floating everywhere, but his rotten body no longer felt the temperature.

Tokiomi... Tokiomi...

"It's all your fault!"

Kariya screamed hysterically into the night sky.

This all happened because Tokiomi gave his daughter away to the Matou family, making this once-innocent girl suffer unimaginable torment.

Kariya only wanted to save her… He was even willing to descend into the abyss himself and sacrifice his body to the worms, all for her sake.

Suddenly, he bent over, laughing wildly, and the decaying side of his mouth pulled open, spilling a splash of blood!

"Ugh!" 

He suddenly screamed in pain, covering his mouth, and then he spat out a line of bloody worms writhing onto the ground.

Despite this horrifying state, Kariya laughed even harder. This decaying body was the price he had willingly paid to summon a powerful Servant—Berserker.

He searched Fuyuki City tonight through the eyes of Berserker for the other participants in the Holy Grail War.

Then, the huge explosion in the library caught Kariya's attention, and soon Rider, Archer, and Assassin appeared before his eyes.

"Who among them is Tohsaka Tokiomi's Servant?" 

He murmured to himself, his bloodshot eyes.

Kariya scrutinized every Servant carefully and decided that Tokiomi would have to pay for what he had done.

The torment Kariya endured, both physical and mental, had eroded not only his body but also his very soul. 

He continuously cursed him during his time in the sea of worms, and his hatred for the man had peaked. He had even forgotten his original goal—to win the Holy Grail War.

This Holy Grail War, due to Assassin's influence, not many people were willing to reveal their presence.

Kariya could only guess which Servant belonged to Tokiomi Tohsaka.

"You, who consider yourself to be noble, surely wouldn't summon an Assassin, did you?" 

Kariya could only see the battlefield with one eye, and his vision was still blurry.

He knew that summoning Servants in the Holy Grail War required specific incantations. For instance, his own Servant, Berserker, had been summoned this way. 

Assassin could be summoned similarly, but he was sure Tokiomi wouldn't do that.

Rider's master was right below, and Saber's master had already revealed their identity the day before. 

They were from the Einzbern family, one of the three major families, and even created Homunculus.

"It's not Rider... Saber isn't it either... Archer is the most likely!" 

He laughed crazily, but he didn't give any orders to Berserker before confirming.

However, just as Archer was leaving, Kiraya caught a sharp comment from Archer... 

"You really have some nerves, Tohsaka."

Tohsaka's name struck him like a knife straight into his heart.

"Berserker, retreat! Go after Archer!" 

Kariya immediately issued the command, but the entire Servant did not move.

"Berserker?!" 

He froze as his Servant seemed to reject his command, its gaze locked firmly on Assassin instead.

"Berserker, chase after him, now!" 

He shouted angrily, but Berserker still didn't move.

Archer was about to leave! He wouldn't be able to catch up! Damn it, Servant, move!

He noticed Berserker's gaze was fixed firmly on Assassin with no intention of looking away.

"You damn servant! I gave you power! I brought you into this world! I'm your master! I command you... I command you to kill Archer!!!" 

Kariya roared in anger, and immediately, Berserker finally lost control.

"Ahhhhhh!... Arthur!" 

Berserker instantly appeared, ignoring everything, and charged straight toward the exhausted Assassin who had just entered rest mode.

He tore a pillar from the nearby library and, with a curse of rage, the crimson markings on it seemed to imbue the pillar with an angry, cursed energy.

The Berserker ignored Kariya's orders, charging toward the exhausted Assassin who had never been seen before.

The massive pillar in Berserker's hand was swung with such force that it cut through the air like a fierce gust of wind!

With a deafening roar, Berserker swung the pillar toward Assassin!

At that moment, Berserker's violent power clashed with Assassin's agile body.

To be continued...