---o---
[Just as the comment section was blazing with activity due to the appearance of Elysia from the Elysian Realm, the light screen projection continued.
As Gilgamesh's words fell, Elysia felt goosebumps rise all over her body. With that tone and that style of speaking, are you sure you're the King of Heroes and not some street-side hoodlum?
However, Elysia didn't get the chance to retort, because... something unexpected happened...
A raging torrent of dark energy suddenly burst forth from the other side of the warehouse, sweeping toward Elysia and Gilgamesh—or more accurately, toward Gilgamesh, with Elysia merely caught in the crossfire.
The style of the light screen projection abruptly changed.
The camera shifted to a monstrous insect perched on an overpass, its compound eyes reflecting the situation with the King of Heroes.
Then, the scene shifted again, revealing a man in the shadows. He wore a hood, his face mostly hidden, with only the lower half visible.
The viewers could clearly see that the visible part of the man's face was very pale. On his left cheek, down to his neck, blue veins bulged menacingly, looking terrifying and grotesque. The veins even seemed to be slowly writhing, a sight that sent a chill down one's spine.
Then, the man revealed a very villainous, savage grin. "Kill him! Berserker!"
His voice was filled with malice and hatred, as if the King of Heroes had stolen his wife.
In the next moment, as Elysia and the King of Heroes were talking, a black shadow emerged from the other side of the warehouse.
He was a tall, broad-shouldered man, his entire body covered in armor. But it was different from Saber's tightly-fitted silver armor and Archer's luxurious golden armor.
This man's armor was black. It had no intricate decorations, no polished sheen.
It was a blackness like the dark, an extreme blackness like hell itself. Even his face was covered by a helmet. Deep within the helmet's narrow visor, one could only see the eerie glint of eyes that burned like raging fire.
A Servant, there was no mistaking it. But even for a Servant, what kind of Heroic Spirit possessed such an ominous form?
This black knight lacked any of the "brilliance" that the other manifested Servants possessed. Artoria, Diarmuid, the King of Conquerors Iskandar, and the golden Archer standing on the lamppost—each possessed a "magnificence." This was a point of pride for a Heroic Spirit, an essential element born from the legends and honors created by the praise and admiration of the masses, making them "Noble Phantasms" in their own right.
But this newly appeared black knight had none of those elements. On the contrary, his appearance was more akin to that of an Assassin.
The darkness coiling around his black armor was undoubtedly "negative magical energy."
In that case, it would be more fitting to call him a resentful spirit rather than a Heroic Spirit...
"...King of Conquerors, did you invite him too?"
Lancer stared at the black knight, not letting his guard down for a second, yet still managing a lighthearted quip at Rider. Rider frowned upon hearing this.
"Invite him? Well, I don't think there was ever any room for negotiation with that guy from the start."
The black knight emanated nothing but unadulterated killing intent. Even the whirlwind of magical energy he generated sounded like a groan of resentment, utterly bone-chilling.
Berserker. Everyone knew of this class. Such a wave of dangerous, murderous intent could only belong to a frenzied Heroic Spirit.
Although Berserker's appearance was somewhat surprising, the first order of business was to gauge his strength. Thinking this, the King of Conquerors turned to Waver beside him and asked, "Boy, just how powerful is that Servant? What's the level of his magical energy?"
Questioned by Rider, the short Master simply shook his head blankly.
"...Unable to determine. I can't determine it at all."
"What? You're a Master, aren't you? You should be able to see things like where he's strong or where he's weak, right?"
Once a contract is formed with a Heroic Spirit, a Master is granted the ability to see through to the parameters of other Servants. The Holy Grail War invites Heroic Spirits to participate and grants only Masters this special ability. A proxy Master like Irisviel would not possess such a skill.
Rider's official Master, Waver, should be able to compare the abilities of Rider and other Servants, then formulate a strategy to turn the battle in their favor. By now, Waver had already grasped the capabilities of Saber, Lancer, and Archer, but—
"I can't see them! That black fellow is definitely a Servant, no doubt about it. But I can't see his status or anything else at all!"
Hearing Waver's flustered explanation, Rider frowned and stared at the black knight once more.
The black armor showed no distinguishing features or personality, nothing that could hint at the identity of the person wearing it—no, it was worse than that. The more one looked, the less clear he became, the more his form blurred.
It wasn't just Rider who felt this. Saber, Lancer, and the observing Irisviel all noticed it as well. No matter how intently they focused their gaze, they could not accurately perceive his form.
Watching Saber stand protectively in front of her, Irisviel grew worried. Compared to previous Holy Grail Wars, the Servants appearing this time were far beyond expectations.
At this moment, however, Saber felt that the Berserker before her was somehow familiar, as if he were an acquaintance. But since Berserker had yet to reveal any Noble Phantasm or ability, Saber could only silently observe the situation. She needed to protect Irisviel.
Berserker. Why had this exceptionally strange black knight appeared here? No one could say for sure. The only certainty was that the situation had descended into irredeemable chaos. A prudent Master would never let their Servant fight recklessly in such a confused state of affairs.]
---o---
The appearance of yet another Servant made the comment section lively once more. Speaking of which, so many Servants had already appeared so early in this Holy Grail War, and most of them had already revealed their True Names. Who was it that said Servants in the Holy Grail War had to conceal their identities?
It seemed like no one was following that rule at all. Among the five Servants present, only this newly arrived Berserker had yet to expose his True Name.
Tokiomi Tohsaka: "Impossible to see through... is it a Noble Phantasm that conceals his abilities or his True Name?"
Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "So this is a Berserker? He doesn't look like someone you can communicate with at all."
Conan Edogawa: "This is too absurd. The moment he appeared, his entire visual style clashes with his surroundings."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Is it a problem with the light screen projection? Perhaps because they're in a completely different world, the... signal is a bit weak?"
L: "No, it's not an issue with the projection. He was like that from the start. Perhaps it has something to do with his identity."
Kurumi Tokisaki: "It's getting more and more exciting. At this rate, five Servants have already appeared on the very first night. Now only Assassin and Caster are left, aren't they?"