"Is it really okay with the battle outside being so intense?"
Remaining in the courtyard, Kariya Matou watched as Sakura ran happily before him, his voice filled with concern as he addressed the "figure" at his side.
Clad in pitch-black armor with a dual-horned helmet that completely obscured his features, the Servant was an enigma. It was impossible to tell which legend or nation he hailed from; rather than a noble hero, he resembled the formidable Demon King from a dark fairy tale.
Even standing in silence, the invisible pressure radiating from him was palpable. Kariya felt a heavy weight on his chest, instinctively lowering his voice whenever he spoke.
"..."
The Servant merely shook his head, offering no verbal reply. He seemed utterly indifferent, a silent sentinel in the encroaching gloom.
"Is that so? I suppose I can only trust your judgment now."
Kariya sighed, his gaze softening as he looked at Sakura. "I only hope she can grow up healthy and safe... getting involved in a conflict like this is far too dangerous."
Whether the Servant was simply refusing to answer or was rendered mute by the influence of "Mad Enhancement," Kariya couldn't say. He could only accept the silence.
After that elder—Zouken—had been captured and killed by this Servant at a critical moment, Kariya felt a profound sense of relief. Watching Sakura regain her freedom was all he had ever wanted; he had no further regrets.
His only wish now was for her to emerge from this war unscathed. If a sacrifice was required, he was more than willing to offer himself in her place.
In peaceful moments, things seemed manageable, but the reality of war was different. A Servant of Berserker's caliber was clearly beyond the control of a child like Sakura. The massive magical energy consumption alone would normally be fatal. Kariya had planned to use his own limited magical capacity to supplement the supply, but Berserker seemed strangely unaffected by the strain.
Despite his previous silence, the Servant appeared to possess a unique method of managing his magical needs. Sakura showed no signs of the physical or mental exhaustion that typically plagued Masters of such powerful beings.
"Berserker!"
Sakura came trotting over, a bright smile lighting up her face as she held up a beautiful flower. "Look! I found it!"
She shouted with pure, childish joy toward the intimidating figure Kariya thought of as the "Demon King."
"..."
In response, the armored giant gently stroked the little girl's head. Despite the cold steel of his gauntlet, the gesture was unmistakably tender. Kariya watched the interaction, feeling a strange, unsettling mixture of hope and unease.
"Over there?"
Berserker pointed in a different direction with a subtle gesture. Sakura turned and ran off happily toward the new spot he indicated.
"This is for the best..."
Kariya felt a brief moment of gratification seeing Sakura so relaxed, but his relief was short-lived. He noticed Berserker's posture shift instantly. The Servant stared intensely in another direction, his focus absolute. In the blink of an eye, the black-clad figure vanished.
"!"
"Is there an enemy?"
Kariya realized immediately that Berserker had deliberately sent Sakura away to protect her. Panic flared in his chest as he became alert.
...
"To think you could discover my presence so quickly... you are certainly no ordinary man."
Himura Kenshin stood with his hand poised on the hilt of his blade, his voice steady as he addressed the opponent before him. The moment he had approached, the mysterious Servant had detected him. Such keen perception surpassed even that of Saber.
'The scent of blood...'
Berserker could sense the true nature of the swordsman in front of him. Kenshin was an executioner, a man whose hands were stained with the blood of countless victims. Even without active killing intent, the aura of death clung to him—a scent that Berserker recognized all too well.
Dark gray vision flickered as Berserker activated his ability, reaching into the past...
"!"
In that instant, Kenshin noticed the armored figure stiffen. He didn't attack rashly; the presence before him was saturated with an ominous energy that warned him this was no easy foe. Even without a direct clash, his instincts as a slayer told him this opponent was a master on par with Saber.
Assassin... Himura Kenshin... The manslayer who sought to protect the people...
Berserker saw more than just a name or a class; he saw the soul's history. This was not the standard "True Name Discernment" or "Clairvoyance" of the Grail. This was his own innate power: The Echo.
By coming into contact with certain individuals, Berserker could witness the fragments of their past lives. For him, concealment was a futile endeavor.
'A truly contradictory individual...'
Drawing his own conclusion about the slayer, a massive greatsword materialized in Berserker's hand.
"!?"
"This... this evil aura?"
An appalling surge of momentum erupted. Kenshin was taken aback by the sheer weight of resentment radiating from the blade. Pitch-black energy swirled around the steel, and for a fleeting second, the ghostly image of a dragon's eye seemed to glare from the metal.
Setting aside the blade's dark origin, the ease with which the Servant wielded such a massive weapon with a single hand was enough to trigger Kenshin's highest state of alert. Subconsciously, he drew his sword, deciding to test the opponent's strength.
Though it went against his Master's orders, Kenshin knew that as a Servant, a confrontation was inevitable. He would probe for a weakness; if the odds were too great, he was confident in his ability to escape.
"!"
But he quickly realized his mistake. The heavy armor did nothing to slow the giant's agility. Berserker moved with a speed that rivaled Saber, closing the gap in a heartbeat.
"Not good!"
Kenshin moved to counter, but the greatsword emitted a dark, pulsing brilliance.
Dragon Eye's Power!
This was the "Dark Knight Greatsword," forged from the remains of the fallen evil dragon, Nidhogg. The blade held the dragon's immense resentment, which Berserker tapped into to suppress his foe.
The spiritual erosion slammed into Kenshin, locking his movements in a split second of paralysis. In that moment of vulnerability, the greatsword descended.
Slash!
...
"Sakura, wait here a moment. Berserker went to get something."
"Liar."
"Ugh..."
"I know... more hateful people came, didn't they?"
Kariya had tried to offer a clumsy excuse, but Sakura's cold, knowing expression caught him off guard. She wasn't the same girl from before.
"But if it's Berserker, there's no problem."
"No matter who he faces, he will win."
Holding her white flower tightly, the purple-haired girl spoke with a chilling level of confidence. Kariya felt a shiver run down his spine at the change in her demeanor, but his guilt and devotion to her well-being clouded his judgment.
Just then, the pitch-black figure reappeared at their side. Berserker acted as if he had merely performed a trivial errand, offering no explanation—though his silence was expected.
...
"Hah... whew..."
"My Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu... it was completely useless against him."
"Who... what exactly is he?"
Leaning against a tree and gasping for air, Kenshin felt a terror unlike anything he had encountered before. It was like facing his master, Hiko Seijuro—only more formidable.
'No... he is even stronger than Master...'
He looked down at his sword, now broken into two useless pieces, his mind a whirlwind of disbelief. Ignoring the shallow graze on his chest, he remembered the feeling of his blade striking the Servant's armor; it had produced sparks but seemingly no damage. The giant hadn't even bothered to parry his most powerful strikes.
Despite the heavy plating, the opponent's speed was terrifying, and his fighting style was like nothing Kenshin had ever seen. For the current Kenshin, facing an opponent of this caliber was an insurmountable challenge.
"Is this what they mean by 'there is always a higher heaven'?"
Using the hilt of his broken sword to push himself up, Kenshin felt the weight of his own inadequacy. He had entered this war with a philosophy of protection, but the enemies here were monsters beyond comprehension. Compared to these titans, his skills from the era of the Shogunate seemed like children's play.