"Get up, Kariya," said a voice.

Kariya Matou moaned. He had just finished his training - 'torture' would be a better description - in the Crest Worm pit in his family's basement, and was now lying semi-conscious on the floor outside the pit. He'd been lying like this for days, reality nothing more than a fever dream to him. No food or water had passed his lips, and he began to worry if Zouken had simply forgot about him. Would all the suffering he had endured till now be meaningless? Go through that simply to die of starvation. God, he needed to eat.

A shooting pain in his stomach. "Hahaha," the voice laughed. Did he recognize it? It... it seemed like Zouken's. Yes, it was. So the bastard had remembered him. Fine, so be it, as long as his torment was over. He'd go through anything just to save Sakura, even consort with his decrepit vampire of a father. He opened his eyes, and saw his father's walking stick buried in his stomach, not drawing blood externally. He felt, though, like there was massive internal bleeding. One or two of his organs were probably ruptured. He moaned again.

"Oh?" Zouken said. "Don't worry, Kariya. The Crest Worms inside you will ensure your regenerative ability is strong enough to withstand a light injury like this." As if to prove his point, he drove the staff in further, twisting it as he did so. This time it punctured the skin, and drew thick red blood. Kariya was finally jolted to reality, and screamed.

"Ahh, music to my ears." Zouken removed the staff, and immediately Crest Worms appeared and began filling the hole of the wound, like a scab forming. Within seconds, the wound was covered by a bandage of worms, and this only brought more pain. Kariya's screaming grew louder, as the worms knit the wound together. He writhed.

When the regeneration was complete, he was in the fetal position, panting and sweating.

"See? I told you," Zouken said with a smile. "You should survive this War, at least long enough to win the Grail. If you lose, you have only yourself to blame for the violation of Sakura's chastity. The tools you've been given are quite sufficient to the task."

Zouken drew something from a gym bag, and threw it at Kariya's feet. The cellar was dark, but... what? What was this? Could it be-

"An arm. Now, don't eat it. You must be hungry, but if you want some prey you'll have to catch your own. Pick it up, and come with me. I have a job for you."

XXXXX

Kariya stood before a summoning circle. Zouken had prepared this room, adjacent to the Crest Worm pit, for the invocation of his Servant. Kariya held the severed arm in his hand. He could see it better in the light given off by the candles spread around the room. The arm was roughly cut, not by a saw. It was more animal. As if to confirm this, he could see teeth marks on various places. It reeked of alcohol; it must have been preserved. This arm must be months old at the least... what sort of Servant would have something like this as a summoning relic?

"Zouken," Kariya said. "Tell me the identity of my Servant."

"No need, Kariya, no need. It will be quite obvious when he is summoned; that is, his Class and Noble Phantasm will be known to you. His name is unimportant. He is just a tool for use in the Holy Grail War, not unlike yourself." Zouken laughed. "Now, I will have you make a slight modification to the ordinary summoning chant. I trust you know the standard form?"

Kariya nodded.

"Excellent. I wish you to add the following lines..." Zouken ran up to Kariya with a speed uncanny for his age. He whispered in Kariya's ear. Kariya listened, with eyes dead save for a weak light of determination. Zouken finished whispering, and gave Kariya a quick whack in the back with his staff before slowly walking back to his previous position.

Kariya winced at the blow, and his mind burned with rage. He briefly fantasized about ordering his Servant to attack Zouken immediately after summoning him, but he reminded himself that Zouken's knowledge of Magecraft would mean he would be far too powerful to defeat like that. Besides, Zouken probably had defensive runes placed around the room to ensure his safety - and Kariya's humiliation - in exactly such a situation. What a fucking worm.

He walked to the summoning circle. The mercury and blood had already been poured. The patterns drawn on the circle reminded Kariya of his struggles through life; the spirals and whorls, spinning down into the center of the circle, made him think of himself. Just spiraling down - or up? - to death, pain all the way, but perhaps with the chance of saving Sakura on the way. Huh. He hadn't noticed before, but the six points of the star inscribed within the circle might stand for the six Servants that fall during the War. The last surviving Master and his Servant, then, must stand in the center; surrounded on all sides by the corpses of their foes. What a strange idea. Standing in the middle of a bloody battleground, severed limbs strewn around you; torsos impaled by blades, their blood flow already ceased. No life anywhere. In such an environment, even the sole survivor in the center must feel nothing but death. Rather than the supreme exultation of life winning against all odds, he must look around at his surroundings and want nothing more than to join his fellows in eternal slumber. That sort of longing would be born in anyone exposed to death for even a moment; it must be magnified a thousandfold in the winner of the Holy Grail War.

So it seems, that even after victory, there is no pleasure. The pain, the pain never ends.

He sighed, and took a deep breath. He held out his arm, holding the severed arm within it, over the circle. His voice was raised to a clear tone, as he focused on his goal above all else.

"Fill, fill, fill, fill. As each is filled, let it be destroyed." The room began to glow in the light of the circle.

"Let silver and steel be the essence, and let the rotting flesh found it in perpetual chaos." Kariya felt the worms inside him wriggle, trying to break forth from his skin, but only undulating within him.

"Let the All-Devourer be the Ancestor." The room buzzed with audible power, a chaotic strength threatening to consume the world in its maw.

"Raise a wall of life against the death that shall assault it, and close the four paths of Earth, Air, Sea, and the Realm of Divinity." There were roars in the room, rushes of wind, the bubbling of a stream, and a still small voice.

"Enter the Mouth, and follow the winding road to the Rot." A fetid stench attacked his nostrils. It was all Kariya could do to resist vomiting.

"I call to thee! Thy body, formed of my Will; thy knife, enforcing my dominion! An thou bend to my will, and my hunger, heed the Grail's call and answer me! I swear before thee; I shall become all that preys in the world, and destroy all that is weak. O Seventh Heaven, swirling in the Endless Spiral, I bid thee awaken and kill; O Wrecker of the Scales!"

Blinding light filled the room, and the last thing Kariya saw before he could see no longer was Zouken's smile. After the light dissipated, and Kariya's eyes adjusted to the darkness, there was a human form in the center of the circle. It appeared female - or was it male? - with blond hair, a red jacket, a purple shirt, and a long black skirt. The form was crouching down, so Kariya couldn't see its face through its hair. It panted, like a lion that had just finished hunting an elephant.

"I'm surprised, Kariya," Zouken said, his voice cutting through the silence. "Not only did you survive the ritual, but you managed to summon the desired Servant without any noticeable deformities. I suppose even the weakest of my effluences is worth keeping around for my entertainment. I can see the pain coursing through your body. Are the worms frenzying within you, wanting nothing more than to eat their way out of you and destroy you? Hmm?"

Kariya did not respond.

His Servant's panting intensified, and he finally erected himself somewhat. His hair no longer covering his face, Kariya could see his eyes. Gold, with a beastly aura within them. The Servant was definitely male, that much was apparent now. In his hand he held a knife, its hilt gold with a band of red. The blade gleamed, reflecting every ounce of light in the dark room.

The Servant began to sway, body shifting its weight from right, to left, and back again. Kariya was unsure of his intent, but he steeled himself in preparation.

After swaying for about 30 seconds, the Servant jumped backwards, and planted its feet on the ceiling in the corner of the small room. He then pushed off with his boot-clad feet, and flew at Kariya like an eagle plucking a fish out of water. Kariya was unafraid of his Servant. If he turned out to be the sort that rebels against his Master, then his chances at winning the Holy Grail War were already less than zero. The Command Spells on his hand burned, but he refused to use them. If he died now, at least he would finally have a rest from his work.

The Servant raised his knife mid-air, and Kariya instinctively dropped the relic in his hand. The Servant caught the arm as it fell within its mouth, and bounded back to the center of the summoning circle. He began to chew, and the sound of crunching bone reached Kariya's ears. It was a sickening sound. The Servant appeared to be consuming the arm, holding it in one hand and ripping off large chunks with its teeth. Kariya looked at the scene in astonishment, but could say nothing.

After several minutes, the Servant appeared to have finished eating. Even the bones were no more; it was as if he had swallowed the arm whole. He turned to face Kariya, and grinned widely. His face and clothing were covered in blood and dead tissue, and his white teeth were stained red. He stuck out his thick, powerful tongue, and licked all the blood from his face. He then lapped up whatever was not permanently absorbed into his clothing, before pointing his head skyward and howling at an invisible moon.

"See, Kariya?" Zouken said. "That's what a true hunter looks like; he sees his prey, and immediately attacks. You've been a disappointment to me for years. I named you 'Kariya,' the Hunter. Yet you've been nothing but prey for the strong, like myself. I suppose I can't complain too much, since I've found that watching you suffer has made life worth living... Ahh." Zouken sighs with pleasure, as if waxing nostalgic. "Such a Servant as this one is far more than you deserve, but I predict that his power will be sufficient to make up for your own shortcomings."

"Quiet, old man," Kariya said. "You told me you'd show me his Noble Phantasm. What is it?"

"Worry not. You will find out momentarily."

Zouken struck the ground in front of him with his staff, and the wall behind him glowed. It seemed to have a transitory quality; as if it were a wall, but also not a wall. Kariya couldn't look directly at it; it created a powerful headache that couldn't be suppressed. It felt like his brain would explode if he kept looking at it, so he turned away. He next lifted his eyes to see a young boy, apparently dazed. The boy was no more than eight years of age, and Kariya shuddered with rage at Zouken. There was no way this could end well, and he almost ordered Berserker to attack the old man. If not for the fear of certain death, he would have.

"Now, Kariya, order your Servant to activate his Noble Phantasm. You need not expend a Command Seal; he can draw the mana from you directly."

Kariya, not having a choice in the matter, mentally directed Berserker to activate his Noble Phantasm, whatever it was. His Servant immediately stood erect, just as before. He opened his mouth and his tongue whipped about in front of his face. Then, he bit down on his tongue, and blood began to drip all over the floor. He kept on swinging the tongue around, and soon the walls were flecked with red dots. He put the tongue back in his mouth, as if tasting the blood. Mouth closed, he dashed towards the boy, his jacket glowing a deep vermillion. When he reached the boy, he extended his tongue once more, and licked the boy. He covered his entire body in a bubbling red mixture of blood and saliva, occasionally biting or sucking on isolated parts.

The Servant then jumped back, and Kariya saw the boy's body shimmering in the light reflected off his coating of red saliva. Within seconds, the boy's formerly dazed manner began to change. He started moaning. His eyes, formerly irisless black holes, turned red and bulged. He began frothing at the mouth like a rabid dog, and cried out in pain.

"Mommy, Mommy! AAAAAAAAAA!"

He collapsed to the floor, writhing like a slaughtered ox. Bumps appeared all over his body, like chickenpox. They grew and expanded, some exploding like little bombs of blood. Others grew, then subsided. Every time a bump exploded, the child yelped in pain. Kariya's heart was torn at the sight.

After what seemed like an eternity, the room sprayed with the child's blood, and huge wounds like craters on the child's back, he finally was still. It seemed to Kariya that he might be dead, but Zouken spoke. "Not yet, Kariya. The fun is not over yet."

The child then got up, its dark hair rendered blond. It looked at Kariya with deep red eyes, but they were no longer bulging; they were set normally in the ocular cavity. It bared its teeth, showing elongated canines. No longer possessed of human nails, the child had beastlike claws. It panted like a dog in heat.

It went on all fours, and scratched its ear with its leg. "Ah, a dog this time? Well, I shouldn't be surprised," Zouken said. "Not a pure manifestation, but it does seem primary."

The child barked, and broke into a run towards Kariya, tongue lolling out between sharp canines. It jumped at Kariya, its open mouth ready to accept his skull.

slash

Berserker had intercepted the child, cutting its head clean off. Kariya was struck by the headless corpse, severed neck bathing him in blood. He still stood, stoic, accepting the blow. Internally, he cursed Zouken and the world. The forms taken by evil were truly endless, weren't they? Just when you think that you've seen the worst this world had to offer, you are presented with something even more foul. It made him feel, for a second, like simply erasing this whole vile existence. Starting over was unnecessary; there was no guarantee at all that whatever he replaced this world with would be any better. Indeed, it could be far, far worse. The only sure improvement was nothingness; death was the only true means of salvation. But, not yet. Not until Sakura was saved, could he pursue his own selfish wishes for relief.

Zouken looked on at the spectacle approvingly, as Berserker consumed the child's corpse. When Berserker was done, Zouken went to the door leading upstairs, above the cellar.

"I leave the rest to you, Kariya. Don't disappoint me, or rather, don't let Sakura down. And do give me something to warm my old heart, some fresh screams of agony. I expect nothing less of you, Son." He cackled as he ascended the stairs.

Zouken's footsteps grew faint.

Kariya looked at his Servant. He looked at his bestial attitude, as Berserker slept on his side after eating the boy. Not even dematerializing; the Servant clearly had no sense of propriety. He had no idea heroes such as this existed, who cannibalized children. Perhaps the Throne of Heroes is just as corrupt a place as this world is, and just as deserving of destruction. Sadly, Kariya didn't think that anything he could do could harm a Conceptual Location like the Throne of Heroes; what was its existence tied to, anyway? The Grail? Or did it exist independently of that? Kariya didn't know, though the old bastard probably did.

Kariya made a vow to himself.

"I shall use my Servant only for good, for the rescue of Sakura. If Sakura's smiling face can be restored, it will atone for everything I have to do to win this Holy Grail War. I will become all that is good in this world, and die. When I die, I will bring down to the depths of hell all that is evil, and I shall ensure that my sacrifice is the last one that needs be made. I will personally bind the evil in shackles and throw it into the hellfires, and watch it burn. Then the smoke shall rise from the underground furnace, and when it reaches the surface, Sakura will smell it and think of me. Thus, I shall live on forever in her heart, which is the only place in this rotten world I want to be."

Kariya noticed something on the ground, next to the summoning circle. It was faint, so he didn't see it before, but it was definitely there. Inscribed in chalk. He moved closer.

He bent down to read it. It was only two words, probably a name.

"Lio Shirazumi."

Heyo! It's been only a short time since the last update, but for whatever reason I've been seized by a sudden burst of creativity these past couple days. It might be the relaxed atmosphere of the summer, combined with the fact that I've started exercising pretty heavily too. IIRC Stephen King talks about the beneficial effects of regular exercise for one's writing ability. So that's cool.

Mostly listened to Swinging Popsicle on Spotify, which is a Jpop group I learned of from their single, 'Satetsu no Tou' (Tower of Sand), which was an image song for Akiha Tohno in Tsukihime. Really good, creative Jpop, as well as easy listening. I recommend the album Transit, and the aforementioned single, 'Satetsu no Tou.'

Speaking of Tsukihime, I've just reached the True Ending for the Ciel route! Yay! I won't spoil it, but rest assured it's an excellent VN, well worth a read for any fan of Nasu's work.

Anyway, here're the actual chapter notes (being that they were barely present last time, I'll talk about stuff relevant to last chapter as well):

1. Kaworu Nagisa, of Neon Genesis Evangelion, has been summoned as the Servant Lancer to the 4th Holy Grail War by Ryuunosuke Uryuu. His Noble Phantasm is currently unknown.

2. Kariya's Servant is Lio Shirazumi, who featured in the 7th movie in the Kara no Kyoukai series: Murder Investigation, Part B. He is here summoned as a Berserker Class Servant, in his insane state after having his Origin awakened by the magus Souren Araya. If he were to be summoned in his previous state, before his Origin was fully manifest, he would have been summoned as an Assassin. Zouken arranged, however, that Lio would be summoned as a Berserker, thus ensuring peak combat ability.

3. Lio's Noble Phantasm is "Bloodchip." Named after the strips of paper, spotted with a drop of Lio's own blood and laced with marijuana, it causes any living thing (human, animal, or otherwise) that is doused in Lio's blood and saliva to awaken a distorted form of its Origin. Being that Lio's Origin is itself a chaotic mass of beasts, swirling about inside of him with no-one knowing exactly which beast will break free of the vortex and manifest, it is somewhat random in its effects. Generally, the target's origin will be redirected such that it is mapped to the animal of prey most closely resembling it. The boy killed by Lio was kidnapped by Zouken, and drugged to keep him docile until he was necessary to demonstrate Lio's power (as well as amuse Zouken). His name was Shuntarou Arima, and his own Origin was [Loyalty]. This was twisted by Bloodchip to the Origin of [Dog], and so it was manifest.

Bloodchip almost never effects a pure mapping of the true Origin to the animal one; in most cases, there are elements of some other animals mixed in there. However, often one particular animal will be primarily manifest.

(It can happen that the animal Origin will manifest in a pure form, only displaying characteristics of a single animal. Indeed, to a user of certain types of Mystic Eyes that see the Origin of things, the target of Bloodchip will then be completely indistinguishable from the particular animal. The exact causes that give rise to this happening are unknown, but the phenomenon is of great theoretical interest to Magi studying Origin Theory. In addition, it is surmised that such a case would grant extraordinary abilities to the target, but that has not yet been confirmed.)

See y'all next time!