I do not own TYPE-MOON, Fate/Zero, Fairy Tail, or anything to do with any of the fields.

KARIYA MATOU

Chaos wasn't the right word to describe what was ripping into me at that moment.

It didn't even come close to describing the sheer pandemonium I was experiencing.

Every one of my senses were being completely overloaded. Pain wracked my body in constant, repetitive shockwaves, every fibre of my body feeling like they were being torn from each other on a cellular level; the worms that remained in my body writhed, tearing through my system, their bodies burning, torching me with prana like superheated rods of steel that had been sewn under my skin that made me want to scream but put me in so much agony that I couldn't...

But that wasn't what I was focused on.

Neither was the unholy mixture of bodily fluids that ran down my body and pooled on the floor, the stench of blood, puss, sweat and rot weaving its way into my nostrils and causing me to wretch.

Neither was the constant mix of clashing steel, pained screams, crackle of magics, and the buzzing of countless insectoid wings that all mixed into a mind-numbing vortex of meaningless sounds.

No.

My sole focus was on what I was seeing.

I could see it. Even though my eyes were screwed shut and brimming with tears of pain, frustration and rage, I could still see all of it. Hundreds of different viewpoints, all at once being shoved into my head, like entire terabytes of data being forced through a cable that could only progress a single megabyte every minute. All with the same spectrum of light, a spectrum the human brain wasn't supposed to be able to make sense of - a spectrum that the human brain wasn't even designed to recognize, with thousands of different shades of crimson, black and white through the eyes of the worms.

It wasn't something I should have been able to use.

And yet, I found myself using it as clear as day, forcing as many of my normal functions down in favour of controlling the worms as best I could, directing them, urging them, somehow processing the incessant crimson tides that poured themselves into my psyche as though they were from my eyes, rather than the disgusting familiars I had disgorged mere moments before.

'Find him,' I urged, and I could literally feel the wingbeats of the worms, every one of their jerky movements as they soared through the halls, and I found myself wondering if that was what it was like to truly fly.

I squashed that thought, refocusing myself.

'Find him.'

The worms universally gave an excited sound, like the mix of a metallic squeal and a shrill chatter, and then redoubled their pace, seeking... Seeking...

'FIND HIM.'

Soon after, I found myself being shaken, dragging my conscious mind back to my body.

"-Kariya!"

Groggily, I opened my eyes, and the hazy image of Erza hovered over me, her breath heavy, her expression beyond concern and bordering on an expression I would never have thought I would ever see on her face.

Panic.

After taking a moment to remind myself how to breathe, I glanced about at our surroundings. Every member of the Dark Guild that had once been present was either bloody, beaten, or both, not a single one among them conscious. The concrete was cracked in more places than I could be bothered to count; rivers of crimson flowed along the earth in streams, as testament to whatever had transpired. Erza herself was on her knees, a hand propped beneath my head, the other on my stomach, holding me up in a sitting position, of sorts. The others - Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Happy - were all gone.

I groaned weakly, trying to force myself into a sitting position, "E... Erza...?"

"Don't move," she spoke, her voice quivering slightly, but from what, I couldn't tell, "You're in no condition to move. Not after..."

She trailed off.

That was fine.

She didn't need to finish for me to know what she was talking about.

"W... What happened?" I managed, pain and breath alike breaking up everything I said in harsh wheezes, "Where are... the others?"

"I took advantage of the confusion your... magic... provided," her voice was slowly losing its quaver, and I hoped that meant she was starting to calm herself, "Most of Eisenwald has been taken down. As far as I know, there are only three members we haven't taken care of. Two of them, Rayule and Kage, fled almost immediately after those... things ripped themselves out of you."

"And... the last one... is Erigor..." I stated grimly.

She simply nodded, "I've sent Natsu and Gray after Erigor, Kage and Rayule. Even if Erigor gets away, we still might be able to get an idea of where he might have gone out of those two."

"And Lucy?"

"She's gone to try and shut down the PA system permanently before Erigor can reach it. Happy went with her," she gave a shuddering sigh, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they had regained their steely edge, "But... there's still one more thing we need to deal with."

I bit my lip slightly. I already knew what she wanted, "My magic... right?"

Once more, she gave a curt nod, "I don't know what those things were, Kariya. And I don't know why you have them to begin with. Let alone why they were inside your body," I could feel her body tense slightly. "I want to know exactly what they are, and why you have them. As well as what kind of threat they pose."

I closed my eyes, cursing myself for being so reckless. And yet somehow, I felt relieved. So utterly relieved...

Then I froze.

"Kariya...?"

I felt my face become grim once more, "Found... him..."

Her expression darkened, "Erigor?"

I nodded, "Explanation... will need... to wait," I managed, "Go... evacuate... the square. They shouldn't... need to... see..."

Upon her confirming nod, I let the shrill shrieks of my familiars take me away again, falling into the blackness as the spectrums of crimson once again invaded my mind.

There was a silhouette of white and black against the backdrop of red, thick with prana with a skinny physical frame, a large, prana-infused construct slung over one shoulder, and a small, but absolutely dense one clutched loosely in one stick-figure limb.

'Found you,' I thought, then mustered every ounce of control I had over the worms, directing them, only one word ringing in my mind.

'Kill.'

Again, I heard the worms chatter excitedly as they eagerly obeyed the command, mustering into a swarm before exploding from nearly every orifice of the station. Though I couldn't see his expressions, I knew Erigor was bewildered - the colour and shade of his prana shifted, and I knew he was in shock of the mighty thunderstorm of parasites that was ascending to reach him.

Good.

Let his shock contribute to his death.

As soon as the first few came within reach, he gave an experimental swing of his scythe, his colour shifting from surprise, to intrigue, to satisfaction as the insects were cleaved apart, falling to the earth far below.

Almost immediately afterwards, however, his prana shifted into something akin to sweet desperation as the swarm came upon him, a sandstorm of jagged teeth, claws and wings, the constant chittering of the worms becoming a high-pitched squeal as they flew into a frenzy. Again and again, he swung his scythe, his wind magic flaring and just barely keeping them at bay-

-and then the first one got through, tearing into his shoulder.

His shout of pain was muffled beneath the excited hisses of the parasites, and they swarmed him as his defenses faltered; for every one his magic drove back, another broke through. For every one his scythe cleaved apart, another took its place.

It wasn't long before he found himself on the run, his prana oozing with pain and fear as he struggled to pull several of the creatures from his body - one of which had buried itself in his shoulder, another in his thigh, and two more beginning to burrow their way into his chest. The swarm chased after him with a vengeance, eager for a taste of his flesh and blood...

And then Erigor did something strange.

He circled back, and charged the swarm, his prana converting itself into blazing bright rage.

Perplexed, I nonetheless let the worms charge forwards, jaws gaping and claws at the ready.

As soon as he came within five feet of the swarm, he unleashed a massive burst of prana, his wind magic blasting a hole in the center of the cloud of insects and propelling him through it, sending him back towards the station and utterly obliterating about a full fifth of the remaining worms. They hovered in confusion for a moment, then returned to squealing with rage, resuming the chase after their quarry once more, determined to bring him down.

Erigor now hovered near the station front, grinning even as blood dripped from his wounds, his colours bright with triumph as he scanned the skies. Before him, another figure stood, prana blazing with raw fury...

Erza.

And from the look of the square, there was no one left.

Good.

Time to end this.

The worms came screaming down from the top of the station, all aimed at the murderous wind mage.

Immediately, he took the massive scythe from his wounded shoulder, spun it once, and then brought it down in a mighty slash.

Immediately, the world erupted with prana bright enough to blind the worms to everything else. Colourless, but mighty, it encircled everything, blocking Erigor and the everything beyond the edges of the station from view.

The worms simply kept charging forth-

-only to be ground apart upon contact with the violent winds that had been conjured up, unnatural currents of immense power that had been infused with gargantuan amounts of prana.

'A barrier,' I realized - too late, 'That bastard erected a Goddamn barrier!'

Still blinded by rage and prana, the worms continued to throw themselves against the wind, one after the other.

It wasn't long before they were all dead - torn to shreds like insects against the blades of a combine - and my vision went dark.

The feel of the concrete beneath my back confirmed that I was conscious in my body again.

Groaning, I tried to force myself to my feet, choking slightly as I struggled to catch my breath, blood seeping from between my teeth.

Chills ran down my spine as a familiar, but utterly cold voice rang in my ears, "Don't move."

I craned my neck as best as I could to look Gray in the eye as he brought a closed fist down upon his empty palm, his face grim and his eyes like glass. Then, starting from beneath his feet, the floor began to coat itself with a thick layer of reflective ice, slowly, cautiously.

"What... are you... doing... Gray?" I wheezed.

"Making sure you don't become a threat," he intoned, his breath like steam in the air, "I don't know what those things were, Kariya, and I'm not sure I want to know. But that was clearly some kind of forbidden magic," he huffed, "I don't have a reason to do anything beyond play guard dog to you right now, but if I even get the slightest hint that you're a threat, I'll freeze you solid, right here, right now. You got it?"

I shifted as best I could onto my front, pushing myself onto my knees, "Gray," I started, my breathing still harsh, forcing me to pause between words, the occasional cough breaking through my speech as well, "I know... what I did... didn't earn me... any favours... in the... trust department... but this... really isn't... the time... to treat me... like an enemy," I struggled to get to my feet, keeping my gaze even with the ice mage's, "We have... to find... Natsu... Erza... Lucy... and Happy. Erigor's... erected... a barrier... around... the station... to keep us in."

Slowly beginning to regain my breath in spite of the razors that tore at the inside of my lungs with each gasp for air that I made, I watched as Gray's cold eyes widened, the slightest hints of anger beginning to break through, "You mean we're already locked in?" breaking his stance, he started towards me, grabbing my hoodie and dragging me down so we stood face to face, "How the hell do you know this!?"

I gestured towards the corpse of one of the worms that lay on the floor, "I can... see through their eyes. They're familiars... essentially."

"Are you telling me you watched him put a barrier around the station and didn't do anything about it!?" his hands began to grow cold, and I could see frost beginning to take form on the fabric of my jacket.

"No," I maintained, "I had them attack... Erigor in a swarm. Even managed... to wound him... a couple of times. But he was too fast... and too crafty," I could feel Gray's hands begin to tremble as his expression slowly began to return to neutral, "My control... over these familiars... is limited. On top of it... they're not the brightest familiars... a mage could ask for. By the time I had reached him... it was too late. He'd already set... the thing up."

After a few seconds, the black haired mage cursed, releasing his grasp on my hoodie as he began swearing under his breath, "Perfect," he spat bitterly, "Now, not only is Erigor on his way to Clover to kill off the Guildmasters with Lullaby, we're all stuck in here with no way out."

I blinked, a cold chill of dread running up and down my spine, "You mean... none of you know how to undo barriers? And what was that about the Guildmasters?"

"Not something large enough to cover this entire station, if what you're telling me is true," he spoke, "I don't know about Lucy, but if her experience as a wizard is anything to go by, we're sunk. Natsu's a fire-breathing meathead who has no idea how barriers even work, I only studied it briefly during my apprenticeship, and Erza's magic is almost universally based around magic tools - none of which can dispel barriers, unless she's gotten her hands on something new recently," he shoved his hands in his pockets, "As for the Guildmasters... This station was just a trap. It was never Eisenwald's real goal. They were targeting the meeting in Clover all along."

I blinked, pulled at by several different emotions - exhaustion and pain from using the worms, anger at Eisenwald, relief that the people of Clover were safe, and the growing dread that was growing from the pit of my stomach. As Makarov's kindly face came to mind, along with his aged enthusiasm, strange wisdom, and the kindness he showed me, I could feel both my anger and my dread beginning to grow, my fists clenching.

"There has to be a way," I breathed, staggering forwards slightly, "There has to be something we can do," I grabbed onto Gray's arms, "You said you studied barriers briefly, right!? There has to be something we can do about this!"

He met my gaze, all the cold having drained away, then sighed, gently pushing me off, "No," he murmured, "I didn't study them long enough to really learn anything about them, let alone how to actually dispel them. There's nothing I can do about this."

I felt my breath begin to rise again, and the remaining worms in my body began to writhe once more.

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...

"Gray!" my ear twitched as Erza's voice echoed throughout the room, "Kariya!"

I turned to face her as best I could to witness her running alongside a clearly panicked Lucy, and Happy, who looked like he was on the verge of tears. Slung over her shoulder, beaten and bloody, was one of the Eisenwald guild members - Kage, I think.

"Erza! Lucy!" I shouted back, staggering forwards and nearly slipping on the ice, "Please tell me there's some way for you to dispel the barrier!"

Lucy simply shook her head as the armoured mage lay the unconscious man on the floor, tearing what was left of his shirt into strips and beginning to work on closing the wound.

"No," Erza spoke, "Nothing I have is meant to dispel a barrier of that size or strength. But Kage here was strong enough to undo all the seals on Lullaby; he should be strong enough to break the one Erigor has on the station."

"Where's Natsu?" Gray cut in, eyes narrowed.

"He's at the barrier!" Happy all but sobbed, "He won't stop throwing himself against it! No matter what we do, he won't stop trying to break it down!"

Swallowing harshly, I hobbled forwards to inspect the man. Though I truly wanted to believe that this man would be able to help us, what I saw all but confirmed that he wouldn't be helping anyone anytime soon; the wound in his chest was easily the size of a small bowling ball, having gone straight through his back all the way out his front and having taken a good chunk of his right lung with it.

As much as I didn't want to believe it, I couldn't stop myself from speaking, "He's not going to be able to help us..."

"He has to!" Lucy blurted, "He's the only one who can break the barrier!"

"He'll be lucky if he survives," I managed, "Even if he makes it, if he tries to undo that barrier, he'll kill himself... and then we'll still be stuck here..."

"Then what do you suggest we do!?" Erza snapped, though she never looked up from her patient, "If Kage can't break the barrier, then...!"

She trailed off, but she didn't need to finish that sentence for me to know what she was going to say.

All at once, cold dread overcame me in a tidal wave.

Was there really nothing we could do...?

Was there really nothing I could do?

Once again, I saw Sakura's blank expression rise to the surface in my mind's eye, and I choked...

Then it clicked.

My eyes widened before I stuffed my hand into my pocket, digging for a moment before pulling forth my relic. The splinter of the Round Table.

I felt my heartbeats begin to quicken.

There was something I could do about this.

I turned by gaze to Erza, swallowing slightly before working up my courage to speak, "I think I have an idea."

Finally, she looked up from kage, her intense gaze settling on me, her hands falling still.

"Y... You do...?" Lucy spoke, her voice apprehensive, torn between hesitant horror and desperate hope.

I nodded, "My other magic. It's not meant for breaking barriers, per se, but if I can summon the proper spirit like last time, it should be able to tear through that thing like sandpaper-"

"Hold up," Gray cut me off, his eyes cold once again as he rounded to face me, "You're not doing anything else involving magic until you explain what the hell those things were," he pointed at one of the worm corpses that littered the floor, "And not without an explanation as to whatever the hell you're gonna do next."

I grated my teeth. I really should have guessed that Gray wasn't just going to go along with whatever I had planned after what he'd seen.

I opened my mouth to speak when the crimson-haired wizard interjected, "Gray, Kariya's magic might be our only shot at getting out of this barrier to save the guildmasters. Though I do understand your... apprehensiveness, we don't have the time to argue about this," she once again turned to look at me, "You said that you'll be summoning something?"

I nodded, and she continued, "And it won't be anything like those... things?"

I shook my head, "No. What I'll be summoning will be human."

'Or at least, as human as an insane black knight can be...'

She nodded, "Then get started. We don't have much time."

I nodded grimly once again, dragging myself over to a pool of blood from Erza's battle that had not yet dried and dipping my crutch in it before hobbling over to a more clear space of concrete, "An explanation as to what those were is still due, right?

"You can bet your ass that an explanation's due," I heard Gray snort as I began drawing the outer edge of the circle.

After a few seconds, I resumed eye contact with each of the other mages present, and sighed, "Those things... they're literally what make up one of the magics I know," I continued dragging my bloodied crutch across the ground, leaving a thin trail of crimson behind it, "They're the magic of the Matous... my family. They're familiars that were completely polluted with my grandfather's magic."

I paused, waiting for a response. When I received none, I continued, "They're called Crest Worms. They're implanted in the body of the heir to the family, and act as makeshift magic circuits. They're designed to give their host a power boost at the expense of their physical health. Of course, as you all just saw, they have other uses."

"So you're the heir to your family's magic," Gray guessed.

"Was the heir," I huffed, "The Matou bloodline has thinned immensely over the years. Ever since my grandfather, there's been next to no children with any magical potential. I was the first one to actually be capable of learning magic in generations. Therefore, I was to be the next heir. But when I learned what the Matou family magic was..." I gave a bitter chuckle, finishing the outer edge of the circle and dipping my crutch into the puddle once more to begin drawing the inner sigils, "I ran. I ran as far and as fast as I could, and never once looked back. Not even when it cost me everything..."

"... But that doesn't make any sense," Lucy piped up, "If you ran away from your family... if you left their magic behind... why do you have it now?"

I grated my teeth as the men I hated with every fibre of my being came to the forefront of my mind, bringing my blood to a boil and causing the worms to dig through my flesh greedily as my magic circuits flared, nearly screwing up the next set of sigils that I inscribed on the ground. One in a crimson suit, with light skin, green eyes, brown hair, a devil's goatee and a jewel-tipped cane. The other, a shriveled old man dressed in blackened robes, with pale skin, no hair, rotting teeth, a demon's grin, and the eyes of a creature so foul that the depths of hell would have spat him back out.

"Tokiomi Tohsaka happened," I grumbled, trying to focus on the summoning circle.

"... And who is Tokiomi Tohsaka?" the armoured wizard asked.

"The pompous ass of a head of the Tohsaka family, another magus clan, and the man who took the woman I loved as his bride," I spat.

"Are you telling me that you seriously went and filled yourself with those disgusting things over some kind of rivalry with this guy!?"

It was Gray's question that finally made me snap.

I whirled, teeth bared and every nerve in my body taut, my veins bulging, writhing with the worms beneath my skin, "Rivalry," I hissed, my voice low, "has absolutely nothing to do with it! Not family rivalry, and most certainly not some sick lover's quarrel! You understand me?!" I jabbed my good hand at him, "I would never go back to the Matous over something so petty!"

I returned my attention to the circle, still fuming, finishing up one section of the sigils before moving onto the next. When I had finally simmered down a bit, I began speaking once again, "Tokiomi Tohsaka married the woman I loved... Aoi Zenjou. As the head of a magus clan, he didn't have time for his family a lot of the time, so..." I swallowed, trying to maintain my focus, "I spent a lot of my time with his twin daughters... Rin and Sakura. They might not have been my children, but... but they may as well have been," my voice had nearly lowered to a whisper, "We spent so many days, playing in that park together... just like the family I always wanted..."

Shaking my head and returning myself to the real world, I continued with the circle. It was nearly complete now, "But... A magus family can only have one heir to its magics. At least, that's how it works where I'm from. I don't know how it works here, but that's the reality where I'm from. That meant Tokiomi would have to choose between Rin and Sakura, both of whom had immense magical potential. The problem was, Tokiomi cared more about his daughters being important than he did about them being happy, so he agonized over the decision. That is... until the Matous approached him with a proposal," I paused, hands shaking with rage, "They promised to adopt one of his children as the heir to the Matou family magics. As you can imagine, Tokiomi was absolutely delighted by this, and happily agreed, taking Rin under his wing, and giving Sakura over to the Matous for 'training'."

I turned to face them as I inscribed one of the last remaining sigils, and was unsurprised to see the looks of utter disgust on each of their faces.

"Y... You can't be serious," Gray spoke, "That has to be some kind of sick joke!"

I shook my head, then looked down at the circle once more, working at inscribing the last few symbols, "By the time I found out what had happened, Sakura had already gone through three weeks of the Matou family training. Literally just lying in a writhing mass of Crest Worms the size of a swimming pool as they invade every orifice your body has to offer," as I finished, I met each of their gazes evenly, carefully setting my relic in the center of the circle before hobbling off the circle, careful not to disrupt anything I had previously drawn, "Sakura was deflowered by an overgrown, prana-infested worm by the time she was six years old."

Disgust and horror became more and more prominent with every word I offered them, though Lucy seemed particularly disturbed by the concept, her hands held over her mouth as though she were about to puke and her eyes nearly brimming with tears.

"So that's why you infested yourself with those," Erza whispered, "You were trying to spare Sakura from having to undergo anymore pain."

I nodded, mouth curled downwards as I frowned bitterly, "Unfortunately, I'm not sure I succeeded," I murmured, "I underwent this training to get something for my vampire of a grandfather. Something he coveted so greatly, it was the reason he took Sakura to begin with," I turned to face the circle, carefully laying down my crutch, calling forth the summoning aria's lyrics to mind, "The creature I'm about to summon was brought forth specifically to fight for that item. He's immensely strong, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to control him properly."

I felt Erza's armoured hand clap down on one of my shoulders, followed by Gray's cold one on my other shoulder, and Lucy's softer one on my arm.

"Don't worry, Kariya," the crimson haired wizard spoke, "We'll be right behind you. Just don't do anything your body won't be able to withstand.

Once again, I nodded wordlessly, then raised my right hand, breathing deeply before beginning the ritual.

Immediately, I could tell that something was different. Not necessarily wrong, but definitely unfamiliar.

"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill, fill, fill.

Repeat seven times, and when each is filled, empty it into the basin of the earth's land.

With a base of stone and ash, and the Celestials and Kings as the witnesses,

Break down the walls that hold back the wind to further open the gates to the kingdom."

The circle began to take on a light blue glow, and I felt it begin to tug on my prana, sparks of bright blue lightning arcing across the concrete as an unnatural, but not malign wind began to blow. Bringing the great black form of Berserker into the focus of my mind's eye, I grasped my arm with my free hand as I continued.

"Hear me now; my spirit creates your body, and your sword carves out our freedom!

If you hear my call from the Throne, and recognize my will and reason, then answer my summoning!"

Free of the heavens and hells and the mighty abyss, clad in the power of your tale, come forth from the circle!

Guardian of the scales!"

At first, when I realized that something was different about the aria, and that I had forgotten the lines that would enforce a Madness Enhancement, I panicked, terrified that the summoning would fail and rebound onto me. But the circle erupted, consuming the world in an immensely bright light and momentarily blinding me. Screwing my eyes shut, grit my teeth, wondering if I had blinded myself...

It was only when Lucy spoke that I opened my eyes once more.

"Is... Is that it, Kariya?"

I felt chills run up and down my spine as I laid eyes on the being that I had brought forth into existence.

Clad in black armour from head to toe and shrouded in a black fog, the figure easily towered over everyone present. A single crimson slit in its helm marked where its eyes would have been on any regular human, and a single plume of fur extended from the back of its helm. Though I couldn't make out any details from behind the fog, I could tell the figure was powerful, with a lean build that allowed it ease of movement, but clearly boasted immense power.

"Yeah," I murmured, feeling my Command Seals burn, "That's it."

For a moment, no one spoke as the being in question glanced about, flexing its fingers experimentally. Then I stepped forwards, "Berserker," I spoke, an unfamiliar, but confident authority making itself present in my voice, "I need you to go outside and destroy the barrier surrounding the building."

The being was silent for a moment before he in turn stepped forwards, easily stepping past me while throwing one of my arms over his shoulder with grace that he had never once shown during the Grail War. Then he sped off towards the entrance, everything becoming a mere blur. In mere moments, I was once again standing outside the building, my eardrums nearly bursting from the intense pressure and the noise given off by the immense wall of gales and clouds that stood before me, blowing everything that wasn't over five pounds clean into the air and lifting everything that was less than ten off the ground. Dust and stone alike were eaten away and lifted by the raging storm...

And above it all, I could hear a certain fire mage screaming his lungs out as he smashed himself against the wind barrier.

To say the least, Natsu had made a real mess of himself; with the exception of his scarf, his clothes were in tatters, and his body was bruised at best and bloody at worst, matting down his hair in several places and outlining his musculature. His vest was gone, and his pants had been shredded; his sandals were absent, and his eyes glowed with rage as he howled before hurling himself at the wall of winds once again, trying to punch through it before the scabs on his knuckles were once again torn open and he was thrown back against the building.

After Berserker set me down, I called out, "Natsu!"

I was amazed that he could even hear me, let alone that he acknowledged my presence. Nonetheless, when he turned to look at me, I continued, "Stop smashing yourself against the barrier! I have a better solution!"

He only regarded me for an instant longer before deciding that smashing the barrier with his flames was still the best option, inhaling so much air I thought he was going to burst before unleashing it all in a fire blast that would impress any fire mage back home. Nonetheless, this too dissipated against the barrier, and I sighed, glancing up at the towering warrior by my side, "Would you mind stopping him before he hurts himself anymore than he already has?"

Once again, Berserker wordlessly complied, approaching the screaming fire mage. As he prepared to throw himself at the barrier once more, Berserker grabbed onto his arm, and then approached the barrier, outright ignoring Natsu's protests and attempts to break free, even managing to shrug off the flaming fists of the pink-haired boy when he began attempting to punch his way free of the massive knight's grip.

It was then that the others finally showed up behind me, Kage and something that looked like an old man with a silver cross for a head included.

"So?" Gray asked, clearly breathless from his attempt to keep up with Berserker, "Can it undo the barrier?"

I raised a hand, watching the Servant intently.

He kept his head raised, tilted slightly, as though skeptical of what he was looking at before finally raising his free hand, and putting his palm against the wall of wind.

The effect was nigh instantaneous.

The entire wind wall outright shattered beneath Berserker's touch, the clouds dissipating and the winds falling away as shards of stray prana fell into nothingness. Within mere seconds, the entire barrier had disappeared, and the sky was as clear as any other day. With that done, Berserker released his grip on Natsu, who promptly fell over from the shock of what he'd just seen.

"... I don't think I've ever seen anything like that," Erza breathed, "Kariya... just what is that?"

"That," I spoke, "is Berserker. He's similar to one of Lucy's Celestial Spirits, if how she explained them to me is accurate, but there's several key differences between my contract with Berserker and Lucy's contract with the creatures she can summon with her keys. The overall concept is the same, though."

"... This isn't possible," the cross breathed, eyes wide as he stared at the Servant.

"What do you mean, Crux?" Lucy asked, though she seemed just as disturbed by Berserker's presence as the newcomer.

"T... That thing is a Heroic Spirit... from the Throne of Heroes," the being managed, "Summoning them is supposed to be impossible... so how is it here?" the cross thing shook its head, "The Celestial King needs to know about this!"

With that, he disappeared in a shower of gold, not unlike a Servant.

Another moment of awe passed as the magnitude of Berserker's actions finally began to settle...

... Only for me to be shocked by a voice I had only heard once before, in a nightmare during the Grail War.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, Master."

It took a moment for me to register where the distorted, chilling voice was coming from, and even when I finally had, I couldn't help but stare as Berserker turned to face me. Though his face was still obscured by his helmet, I could still feel his eyes boring into me from that crimson slit as he spoke, "You are correct in every sense but one. You did not summon me as Berserker," he turned away, returning his gaze to the sky.

"You have summoned me as Saber."

And thus the chapter comes to a close. Brought to an end by Berserker. Or should I say... Saber. Either way, my explanation of Lancelot (let's face it, everyone knows who Berserker is at this point) being able to break through the wind barrier is due to absolutely immense Magic Resistance. I know, as Berserker, it wasn't that great due to it being a Personal Skill granted by his ring, but if you remember, the Saber Class' Magic Resistance has a stupidly high base stat. Combine this with his ring, and you pretty much have a mage's worst nightmare brought to life. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this.

P.S. - The main reason behind the differing summoning aria is due to Earthland being immensely different from Earth in terms of how magic works. This, combined with the fact that the Age of Myths could still technically be counted as "in effect" in Earthland, and the differing natures of Earthland's spirit from Gaia in TYPE-MOON would also effect the aria and the mechanics of the summoning ritual overall.