"With fighting this fierce outside, are we really going to be okay?"
Matou Kariya stood in the courtyard, watching little Sakura run happily in the garden ahead. He directed the question at the "person" beside him.
Clad in pitch-black armor, the horned helmet concealing every feature. There was no telling which nation, which legend this hero hailed from. If anything, he looked less like a hero and more like a demon king from a storybook.
Simply standing next to him, the invisible weight of his presence was enough to press down on Kariya. He didn't dare raise his voice.
"..."
A shake of the head, but no verbal answer. This Servant appeared entirely "unmoved."
"I see. For now, I can only trust your judgment."
"I just want her to grow up safe and healthy..."
"Being dragged into a conflict like this is just too dangerous."
Whether the Servant refused to answer out of disdain or simply couldn't speak due to his "Mad Enhancement," Kariya could only accept it.
After the elder had been hunted down and killed by this Servant, Kariya watched Sakura regain her freedom and felt he had nothing left to regret.
His sole remaining wish was for her to weather this war safely.
If necessary, he would gladly become the "sacrifice" instead.
In peacetime, things were manageable. But once battle erupted, a Berserker-class Servant was clearly beyond young Sakura's ability to control.
The magical energy drain alone could cause serious problems. Kariya intended to serve as a supplementary source, using what little aptitude he possessed.
Yet Berserker himself didn't seem to mind the arrangement. Though he never answered, he apparently had some special means of handling the energy demands. At the very least, Sakura showed no signs of strain in daily upkeep.
"Berserker!"
"Look! I got one!"
Sakura trotted over, beaming, a pretty flower clutched in her small hand, calling out to the towering figure who could pass for a Demon King.
"..."
Through his gauntlet, his large, rough hand gently patted the little girl's head. The gesture was impossibly tender.
Watching from the sidelines, Kariya couldn't quite put the feeling into words.
"Over there?"
Pointing in a certain direction, Berserker gestured with one hand. Sakura turned to look, then happily scampered off.
"That should do."
Relieved to see Sakura so carefree, Kariya allowed himself a moment of peace, until he noticed Berserker's gaze lock onto a different direction. In the next instant, the dark figure vanished.
"!"
"An enemy?"
Realizing that Berserker had deliberately sent Sakura away, Kariya's guard went up.
"You detected my presence that quickly?"
"You're no ordinary opponent."
His hand already rested on the hilt at his waist. Kenshin studied the figure before him and spoke in a low voice.
He had barely approached before being detected.
That level of perception surpassed even Saber's.
The scent of blood...
Unable to speak, Berserker nonetheless read the swordsman before him with perfect clarity. This was a man who had killed more people than could be counted, steeped in more blood than could be measured. A true executioner.
Even without killing intent, the lingering aura of death clinging to his body was precisely what Berserker could sense most acutely.
A grey-tinted vision activated, and the man's past was laid bare.
"!"
For just a fraction of a second, Kenshin caught a moment of rigidity from his opponent.
But he didn't attack recklessly. The figure before him radiated "ominousness" from armor alone, and was absolutely not an easy mark.
Without even clashing blades, simply locking gazes, his killer's instinct screamed the truth: this one was no weaker than Saber.
Assassin.
Himura Kenshin.
An executioner who cared for the people.
More than just the True Name and Class, Berserker could see the man's entire past.
This wasn't something as simple as "True Name Discernment" or "Clairvoyance."
It was his innate ability.
The Echo!
Upon contact with certain individuals, Berserker could witness their entire life's history.
Against him, secrecy was meaningless.
A contradictory existence...
Having assessed the killer before him, a greatsword materialized in Berserker's hand from thin air.
"!?"
"This... malice?"
A terrifying wave of pressure erupted. Staring at the greatsword wreathed in seething resentment, Kenshin recoiled in shock.
Dark energy coiled around the blade, and within it, one could faintly discern the shape of a dragon's eye.
Setting aside the weapon's origin, the sheer ease with which it was held one-handed demanded respect.
Kenshin's hand instinctively drew the katana from his waist. The intent to probe had taken root.
Though this defied his Master's instructions, as a Servant, a confrontation was inevitable. Better to gauge this opponent now. If things turned dire, he could always disengage.
He was confident in his ability to retreat.
"!"
But in the very next moment, he realized how naive that assumption was.
Despite that burly frame, the Berserker's agility was every bit as sharp as the Saber he'd faced before. In the blink of an eye, the figure had closed to point-blank range.
"This is bad!"
He tried to move, but the greatsword raised before him pulsed with a sinister grey light.
The Dragon's Eye!
This "Evil Dragon Greatsword," forged from the slain evil dragon Nidhogg, brimmed with immense grudges. Berserker wielded and suppressed its fury with ease.
A wave of spiritual erosion hammered Kenshin's mind, and his body locked up.
Simultaneously, the greatsword swung.
SLASH!
"Sakura, wait here a moment. Berserker just went to get something."
"Liar."
"Er..."
"I know. Some annoying person came."
Kariya's attempt at a casual cover was seen through instantly. Sakura's flat, cold expression was worlds apart from the cheerful girl of moments ago.
"But if it's Berserker, he'll definitely be fine."
"No matter who he faces, he'll win."
Clutching the white flower, the purple-haired girl declared her confidence.
That look... Kariya found it unfamiliar.
But his guilt toward Sakura and his protective instincts kept him from dwelling on it.
At that very moment, the dark silhouette reappeared beside them.
As though he had merely attended to some trivial errand, Berserker offered no explanation whatsoever.
Then again, he couldn't exactly talk.
"Hah... huff..."
"My Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu was completely useless against him."
"What on earth is he...?"
Leaning against a tree, gasping for air, Kenshin confronted a first: an opponent that "terrifying."
It was like facing his own master, Hiko Seijuro, all over again.
'No... even stronger than Master.'
He stared at the katana in his hand, now snapped cleanly in two. His emotions were in turmoil.
Ignoring the grazing wound across his chest, he replayed the moment he'd struck the enemy's heavy armor, only to produce sparks.
The opponent hadn't even needed to defend or parry. A few slashes in, and his blade simply shattered.
Despite that armor, the Berserker moved no slower than the Saber he'd previously faced.
And his fighting style was of a type Kenshin had never encountered before.
For the Kenshin of now, facing an opponent of that caliber was simply too much.
"So this is what they mean by 'there is always someone better'..."
Propping himself up with the broken blade, Kenshin felt a heavy weight in his chest.
He had entered this war carrying convictions of his own, yet every enemy proved stronger than the last. As a hitokiri, direct confrontation yielded him no advantage.
These opponents were all leagues above the Shogunate's finest warriors.
Against adversaries of this magnitude, he was, perhaps, still lacking in his art.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
The chapter includes an illustration of the Warrior of Light.
His appearance in this period quite suits the "Berserker" aesthetic.