Fate: Hero of Justice Takeover

Opening the door with a key—just this simple action took nearly three minutes. For Kariya Matou, already utterly exhausted, this small task was a heavy burden that was as difficult as climbing a mountain, even if he strained every last bit of his energy.

Like a small employee returning home after a long day of socializing, Kariya dragged his weary feet, not even bothering to turn on the lights. He threw himself onto the sofa and let out a long sigh that was half relief and half helplessness.

Although he had prepared himself for it, the amount of mana consumed by supporting Berserker's actions was truly excessive. Thinking back to the magic-infused bugs he had exhausted, Kariya couldn't help but sigh once more.

He was unlike other Masters; he was a self-taught magus. Carelessness, arrogance, and other such attitudes had no place with him. Even though he, like others, fought alongside his Servant on the battlefield, he didn't have the confidence to battle other magus. Moreover, his Servant was Berserker, and even if Kariya wanted to issue strategic commands, Berserker would never follow them.

So, he simply "threw" Berserker into the enemy's camp after releasing him, allowing him to rampage uncontrollably. Kariya figured that his priority was to stay safe and watch the battle from a secure location.

It really shouldn't have drained this much mana… But when Berserker saw Saber, he completely lost control. The chaotic emotions from the contract still made Kariya shiver as he recalled them.

That blonde, seemingly delicate girl knight, who was she to Berserker, who was she to the original Lancelot, one of the Knights of the Round Table?

He silently suppressed the question deep inside his heart and began to consider another pressing matter.

That golden, arrogant Archer, the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.

Could Berserker defeat him? How far was the road to defeat Tokiomi Tohsaka? And after that, how far would it be to defeat all the enemies... and reach the Holy Grail? But for the sake of his own pursuit, of his dreams, Kariya had no choice but to keep moving forward. He could not afford to be eliminated. Even if it meant burning the last bit of flesh and blood, he would achieve his goal. Otherwise, everything would have been in vain.

Moreover, the Holy Grail had another purpose for him...

As Kariya pondered, a glowing sphere of moonlight-tinged mana drifted into the room, casting a soft light on his dazed face.

Seeing Miyu and Lancer enjoying their meal on the screen, Kariya stared at it for a long time, feeling the emptiness in his stomach.

He had been tracking Lancer's presence since early morning, so he hadn't eaten all day...

"Grrr...!"

His empty stomach protested.

"Sakura... sigh~"

Kariya started to call out but stopped himself. It was already this late, and he didn't want to wake Sakura.

Hungry, Kariya turned his head to look at Berserker, who was silently standing.

The black-armoured knight said nothing, only the red glow inside his helmet flickered like a signal light, and he subtly tilted his head.

Berserker: "What are you staring at?"

Matou Kariya: "..."

You can't expect a Berserker to cook dinner.

Kariya closed his eyes in disappointment, a resentment building inside him, as intense as Berserker's.

"Sakatsuki, you little shit..."

***

Kirei Kotomine sat in the church's underground, quietly observing the two small creatures laid out in front of him.

One was a bat corpse with its head twisted off, and a palm-sized electronic device was tied to its abdomen. The device had a circular battery—it was a wireless pinhole camera.

The other had no proper form, appearing like a floating shadow, clearly a product of imaginary number magecraft.

After Assassin was exposed by Berserker, and the alliance with Archer was revealed, Kirei immediately sent out another Assassin to the scene. At the same time, he ordered periodic patrols around the church.

That's when he discovered these two familiars with their master's signature.

Without a doubt, the bat was the familiar of that "ruthless, utterly unscrupulous" Magus Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya.

As for the imaginary number, so far only Caster's Master, Sakatsuki, had mastered it.

Did he suspect me from the very beginning? Was this unusual attention because I'm Assassin's Master, or... because of me?

Kirei spent a long time staring at these two familiar corpses. Compared to the chaos among the Servants tonight, these bodies held much deeper significance and occupied a place in his mind.

What he didn't realize was that a golden king was sitting on the sofa opposite him, not materialized but hidden, quietly observing his troubled expression with an intrigued smile.

In Archer's hands, the light balls Sakatsuki sent were crushed in an instant.

"Master of Caster, Sakatsuki, huh? Interesting. This round of Masters, aside from Tokiomi, all seem quite intriguing... It's worth the trouble for this king to come here."

***

"Hey, hey Master, I want this!"

"No matter how you call me, it won't help!"

Waver was helplessly lifted by Rider, but he stubbornly clutched his wallet.

"Even if you sell me, you won't be able to afford such expensive food! That's something only a star chef can make!"

"Sakatsuki is that skilled?"

Rider seemed shocked but quickly thought of a solution.

"We could ask him for it!"

"No, I don't want to go there!"

Waver immediately struggled.

"Let go of me, Rider! If this goes on, I'll have to use a command spell."

"Ugh, so boring..."

Muttered Iskandar as he released Waver.

"It's just a slightly stronger magus, what's there to be afraid of?"

Weber adjusted his dishevelled clothes and shot a glare at the red-haired giant.

"Although I am scared, since I did steal the relics used to summon you from my teacher, that's not the reason we shouldn't go."

After walking through the line between life and death, the once naive student of Clock Tower now seemed to have a different demeanour.

"Don't forget, Sakatsuki publicly announced that he's going to challenge professor's magecraft, and whether it's for intelligence gathering or muddying the waters, other Masters with ideas are probably already on their way."

"Strictly in terms of mana capacity, I'm definitely inferior to most Masters. And with all the intelligence to analyze and future strategies to plan, I can't afford to waste energy tonight."

Waver frowned, looking every bit like the future second-generation heir.

"We won't join this disturbance, just send familiars to gather information."

This time, Rider didn't argue but instead smiled slightly as he looked at the flustered yet calm Waver.

"Alright, we'll do it your way, kid."

"Servants obeying the orders of their Master is natural, right?"

Waver sighed, though as he looked out the window, he couldn't help but feel some anticipation for the upcoming battle.

"How will it all end, professor, and Sakatsuki?"

***

Meanwhile, the guests of the Hyatt Hotel had finally been dispersed.

Sakatsuki tossed his empty cup into his imaginary number space, then stood up and stretched his limbs.

"Alright, it's time for me to go."

"Good luck, Onii-chan."

"May victory be yours."

With the blessings of the two Servants, Sakatsuki smiled slightly and began his journey to the magecraft workshop.

"I, Sakatsuki, an unremarkable magus, challenge the Lord of the Department of Mineralogy. Please grant me your guidance!"

***

Hey readers!

Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.

🔹patreon.com/aarvan🔹

Thanks for being awesome! ❤️