Rin's provision for summoning the Heroic Spirit was exceptionally generous, as she converted all the overflowing life force of the Great Source in the entire dragon source hall into End Magic.
"—You, clad in the three great Command Spells, from the Wheel of Inhibition, Guardian of the Scales—!"
With two more short verses in her summoning chant than the other Masters, and concluding her prayer with this same phrase, Rin felt the surging magic power had accelerated to its limit.
Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, winds and clouds swirled, and the summoning magic circle, like the eye of a catastrophic storm, devoured endless magic power, shining with brilliant light.
Finally, the circuits within the magic circle connected to a place beyond the human world—
"Dong!!!"
All light vanished in an instant, all radiance was swallowed up in a flash, and a pitch-black shadow stood in the center of the summoning magic circle.
That's right, it was a shadow. The figure was that of a tall, broad-shouldered man, entirely covered in armor without a single gap. It was neither luxurious nor dazzling; the armor was completely pitch-black, without intricate decorations or polished, shiny colors.
It was an extreme black, like darkness from hell, even his face covered by a helmet. Deep within the helmet's small V-shaped slit, only the chilling glow of eyes burning like a raging fire could be seen.
What kind of Heroic Spirit was that ominous figure?
The Black Knight possessed none of the "radiance" that a Servant should have. Heroes each possessed "nobility," which was something to boast about as a Heroic Spirit. Legends created by the admiration and longing of people, and the honor they brought, were essential elements for them to become "noble phantasms."
However, the Black Knight, who appeared here like a shadow, lacked those elements. He was barely similar in appearance to an Assassin.
The dark mist swirling around the black armor was definitely "negative fluctuation."
In that case, rather than calling him a Heroic Spirit, it would be more appropriate to call him a vengeful spirit or something similar.
Jeanne, who stood by, both guarding and observing the summoning of the Heroic Spirit, gave Rin a mocking smile and said, "Well, my Master, it seems even the Holy Grail has confirmed that you are an evil-doer allied with witches, as even the summoned Heroic Spirit is in such a cursed form."
Rin shot Jeanne an annoyed look. What did she mean by an evil-doer's summoning? This was precisely what Rin needed, and she had deliberately summoned him in this form.
Fourth Holy Grail War, Heroic Spirit of the Mad Seat, Berserker: Lancelot!
Feeling the emotions conveyed by the berserk pitch-Black Knight, who was already in a state of mental confusion—one could say he had basically lost his conscious will to act—yet after suppressing this madness, commands given to him via a Master's authority through a mental link would be executed without resistance, except for the fact that he couldn't easily stop once he started fighting, because he was too confused to know what he wanted to do.
Of course, this was still based on the premise that he hadn't developed any self-driven impulses. If he discovered something he wanted to do, for example: seeing a certain king with an ahoge—
He probably couldn't be pulled back without a command spell... Checking the Lancelot currently contracted with her from her deep consciousness, his overall attributes had risen by a level compared to his contract with Matou Kariya in the original work/canon. Due to the increase in his Madness Enhancement, most of his ability parameters had reached A+, and his Agility had even reached A++. However, this was not the result Rin wanted.
Due to Madness Enhancement, the magic resistance of his Magic Ring decreased, and his noble phantasm, "For Someone Else's Glory," was downgraded. Moreover, the C-rank Madness Enhancement effect was neither good nor bad. Rin could not allow these factors that affected combat power to appear.
Among the skills possessed by Heroic Spirits of all classes, Berserker's Madness Enhancement was undoubtedly the most prominent in effect, but it came with significant side effects.
Madness Enhancement would bring about a qualitative improvement in a Heroic Spirit's strength, but it would also lead to mental confusion, loss of language ability, inability to utilize outstanding techniques, an easy descent into battle frenzy, and difficulty in control. At the same time, due to the increased output, the Master had to expend double the magic power to sustain Berserker's consumption. Furthermore, due to the loss of language ability, he could not shout the true name of his noble phantasm, thus making him unable to unleash his noble phantasm.
Difficult to control, extremely high consumption, inability to fully utilize strength, lack of intelligence, inability to unleash noble phantasms... So many negative factors made Berserker a low-tier Servant that no Master wanted.
However, Rin, who understood the inner workings, knew that Berserker was actually a very powerful existence, and whether Berserker's power could be displayed depended on whether there was a sufficiently excellent Master.
Berserker's Madness Enhancement skill actually had stronger effects and fewer side effects the higher its rank. When Madness Enhancement reached EX rank, Berserker could even regain language ability and the wisdom to think, though his personality would be a bit impulsive.
At the same time, Berserker from the Fourth Holy Grail War: Lancelot was a very special existence among Berserkers, because he was the only known existence in the Holy Grail War who, after becoming mad, did not affect his own combat power in the slightest!
Coincidentally, all three of Lancelot's noble phantasms were time-limited noble phantasms, which could be activated without calling out their true names. At the same time, he also possessed a god-like skill among close-combat Heroic Spirits: Unlimited Martial Prowess!
Unlimited Martial Prowess A+: A skill that can only be possessed by those who were praised as unparalleled martial artists in a certain era. It is not due to their own training during their lifetime, but an ability bestowed by the counter force from the praise of the world. It is the complete unity of mind, technique, and body, allowing the user to display full combat capabilities even under any restrictive circumstances.
Just as only great Heroic Spirits who pushed the turning points of human history could possess "Pioneer of the Stars," Unlimited Martial Prowess was the same; it had to be possessed by a Heroic Spirit who was once praised as the world's greatest martial artist.
Forty-eighth: Ding! Lancelot Enhancement +20 Successful!
Was Lancelot's martial arts unparalleled? Of course not. The reason he possessed Unlimited Martial Prowess could be said to be due to the legend of King Arthur.
King Arthur was a god-like existence in Britain at the time, an absolute mythical legend of unparalleled wisdom and bravery. However, Lancelot was praised as: a brave knight whose martial arts surpassed King Arthur.
Therefore, in the subconscious perception of people at that time, Lancelot became the greatest martial artist in the world... With this skill, if other Heroic Spirits, after going mad, could only exert less than fifty percent of their power if they didn't reach A-rank Madness Enhancement, then Lancelot could exert one hundred and twenty percent of his combat power with the C-rank Madness Enhancement, which had the maximum side effects.
Of course, Rin would not be satisfied with Lancelot going into battle with such an awkward, C-rank Madness Enhancement with maximum side effects (if it were E-rank Madness Enhancement, it would basically not increase attributes, but sanity could be restored, though he would be unable to speak). Rin, possessing End Magic that corrected all flaws, would inevitably push Lancelot's combat power to its peak!
After the Heroic Spirit's arrival and the completion of the summoning, Rin did not stop. She continued to control her magic power to flow along the magic circle towards the pitch-black Berserker knight. Feeling the abundance and correction of the magic power, the Black Knight's eyes instantly blazed with red light—
"Woo—!!!"
The Black Knight, like a humanoid vengeful spirit, began to appear incredibly agitated, as if he wanted to burst out of the magic circle. However, after Rin gave the command "Do not move," and before he found something he "really wanted to do," the Berserker, having lost his ability to think, would not disobey the will of a sufficiently excellent Master.
"Woo!!!"
The infusion of magic power broke through a certain limit, and Lancelot's body erupted with an even stronger aura than before. A pure black cape of night unfurled from the armor behind Lancelot, flapping loudly in the strong wind stirred by the magic power.
Rin, backed by a dragon source, had absolutely endless magic power. End Magic, like a heavenly river pouring down, was injected into Lancelot's body. Lancelot, who was originally an extremely powerful Heroic Spirit, broke through his limits again and again!
The red light shooting from the V-shaped slit in his helmet was captivating and dazzling. The plain and unremarkable pitch-black armor had become ferocious and terrifying. A pitch-Black Knight's sword appeared at Lancelot's waist, and Lancelot himself seemed to have grown considerably taller under the infusion of magic power!
The magic power infusion had reached its final stage. The maddened Lancelot had reached his limit of endurance. Rin had changed from commanding him to using chains materialized by magic power to suppress him within the summoning magic circle. There was only one chance; if he left and the link with the magic circle was broken, she would no longer be able to directly inject the corrected magic power into the summoned Heroic Spirit's core.
"Boom!"
The magic power infusion reached its final critical point. Even Lancelot's unconscious struggles directly snapped the magic chains materialized by Rin! Failure was absolutely not allowed at the last moment. Rin directly raised her left hand, which bore a command spell, and shouted:
"By the name of the command spells, I order you! Lancelot, do not move!"
Three horn-shaped command spells shone brightly. After the command was given, one of the command spells disappeared.
Each command spells represents an absolute command over a Servant by a Master; the higher the Master's qualifications, the smaller the command's scope, and the stronger the binding force of the command spells.
At this moment, Rin's qualifications as a Master were beyond doubt, absolutely the most qualified Master throughout history, and the command "Don't move" was as small in scope as it could possibly be.
Therefore, under the coercive effect of the command spells, the Berserker, who had just been about to go berserk, instantly became motionless like an iron statue.
"Ping!"
With a sound like shattering glass, the final barrier was broken, and the furious crimson V-shape on Lancelot's helmet transformed into a rational lake-blue!
A mental message, in line with this contractual link, resonated deep within Rin's consciousness:
"First of the Knights of the Round Table under King Arthur, Lancelot, reporting for duty, Master..."
Rin once again opened Lancelot's parameter panel from deep within her consciousness:
Servant: knight of the lake
True Name: Lancelot
Gender: Male
Height: 191cm
Weight: 81 kg
Class: Berserker
Attribute: Lawful Evil
Source: Arthurian Legend
Region: Britain
Ability Parameters:
Strength A++
Endurance A++
Agility EX
Magic A+
Luck A
noble phantasm A++
Class Skills:
Mad Enhancement: A++
All ability parameters increase by two ranks, sanity is essentially restored to normal, allowing for normal thought, but language ability is lost.
Personal Skills:
Magic Resistance B: Possesses Magic Resistance due to carrying a ring for exorcism.
Protection of the Fairies A+: A blessing from the fairies.
The ability to preferentially summon good fortune in dangerous situations, which can be activated in any battle.
Eternal Arms Mastership EX: A skill that can only be possessed by those who were praised as peerless martial artists in a certain era; it is not the result of their own training during their lifetime, but an ability bestowed by the counter force from the world's praise.
It is the complete unity of mind, technique, and body, allowing for full combat capability even under any restrictive influences.
noble phantasms:
Arondight (Undying Lake Light)
Rank: A++
Type: Anti-Unit noble phantasm
Range: 1~2
Maximum Targets: 1 person
Description: Along with Excalibur, it is a treasured sword entrusted to humanity by the Lady of the Lake.
Because they share the same origin, its "toughness" can rival Excalibur.
Both swords have engravings of fairy script.
This sword's characteristic is its blade, which shines like lake water under the moon and will never be destroyed.
However, because Lancelot once used this sword to slay a Knight of the Round Table, it lost its qualification as a holy sword and was classified as a demonic sword.
When using this sword, all of Lancelot's parameter values are increased by one rank.
Due to the story of him having defeated a dragon, he can deal additional damage to Servants with "Dragon attribute".
A Knight Does Not Die Empty-Handed
Rank: EX
Type: Anti-Unit noble phantasm
Range: 1
Maximum Targets: 30 people
Description: One of Berserker's noble phantasm.
It can imbue weapons in his hand with noble phantasm attributes and allow him to wield them.
Lancelot can forcibly assign the concept of "weapon" to anything he touches.
When Lancelot picks up a "weapon", it becomes an equivalent of a B-rank noble phantasm.
noble phantasms below A-rank will be raised by one rank when they fall into Lancelot's hands.
noble phantasms that are already above that rank will fall under Lancelot's control at their original rank, with complete ownership forcibly seized.
This noble phantasm is the manifestation of the anecdote where, due to Philot's strategy, Lancelot, in the predicament of fighting without a sword, defeated Philot with a tree branch.
For Someone Else's Glory
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Unit noble phantasm
Range: 0
Maximum Capture: 1 person
The ability to conceal one's stats. Berserker can transform into any other warrior capable of achieving great deeds. The black smoke that usually envelops Berserker is one manifestation of this ability, though its true physical form is the cape he wears on his back.
Lancelot's past, where he frequently disguised himself to embark on adventures and achieve victorious honors, is also materialized through this legend.
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