There was a village around him, a simple one that didn't look anything special. There were people, animals, all of them doing their own business beneath the blue sky.

"Ugh..uhhh." Yet not all was well in this village, not one bit.

Despite there being people outside, there were only a few walking about. Which was about to get less when one person suddenly collapsed, pale as a ghost and coughing erratically. Painfully. Blood came out of his throat and landed on the ground.

"Shit! We got another!" A person screamed out, causing anybody outside to panic as they stepped back. Looking fearful at the collapsed man, terrified.

"Again!" A man shouted, angry.

"Everyone, stay away!" Another told the others, ensuring nobody got close until they arrived.

They being a group of people, none of them looking pleased. Grim looks occupied their faces as they looked at the poor person, now lying on the ground, wheezing. Like the very act of moving was agonizing itself, including breathing.

"...it's too late for them." One of them then said, shaking their head. "They must have hid their condition.Not even the remedies can slow it down." With a wave of their hand, one of the group members took out a sword.

It was a normal act in this village. Ever since the dragons came and nested here, a few had flown above the village itself. Many were worried at first, as some dragons were viscous and wild. Different from certain nations that were protected by the creatures. Like the country defended by the white dragon of legend. A great contrast to the deadly canyon where an equally powerful dragon with five different heads laid ruin to all that visited it.

Thankfully, the dragons ignored their village, not even bothering with them. But the now dead body in the village road said otherwise, especially when another group of people with protective gear on their body came by.

"Tell everyone to not come to this area for a while. We'll clean the place up." The dragons, while likely not on purpose, at times dropped scales when they flew overhead. At first nobody thought it was a problem, with a few people grabbing them thinking they could sell them. None of them realized the mistake they had made.

The scales gathered were rotten, full of disease. Even dragons could get sick, evidenced by how their scales were full of cracks which they scratched off or fell naturally when flying. Yet as expected of the mighty beasts, they got better as their bodies were far stronger and resilient than most monsters.

But a dragon illness making contact with human flesh…

That had been the end for them. For the plague spread from such a simple exchange of hands where it began at the village then beyond it, including villages where the scales had been sold and exchanged by merchants and sellers. This village, like all others, held many who fell ill with the doctors incapable of doing anything, let alone finding them a cure. It was only thanks to a traveler who came from the beautiful city of Endymion that the local villages of this area knew the medicine that would help them. All of which needed one simple ingredient.

Dragon horns.

Grind the dragon horns, add a few ingredients that could be found on this land, and the person who took the new medicine would be cured. Good as new, witnessed by the traveler who cured the mayor himself and his family. Though the traveler only had one bottle of medicine, and had to leave soon after.

The villagers, in their despair, realized this was their end. For none of them could buy dragon horns, with the only other option being to find a dragon and take their horns. A foolhardy quest considering many of the men who were warriors here were ill themselves, with the village being too poor to hire a mercenary themselves. It took all they could to ensure the plague was slowed, which was doing very little now. As such, the villagers accepted their fate.

Shing.

Except for one girl. One single girl with a sword in hand, who took a look at all the villagers behind her that she knew as friends and family. Climbing over the hill, the girl vowed to find a dragon and take its horns.

That, she promised.

"Ughll." Eyes slowly opened up, with Kariya at last gaining consciousness. Blinking as he swore he saw…something, while he was out of it. Confused, he tried to move his head only to flinch. Hiss even as he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, lungs, head…well quite frankly every part of his body due to those damn crest worms.

It was like someone had grabbed a hammer and beat him down with it when he was already in a pitiful state. Bones aching, Kariya wondered what the hell just happened. He then felt himself lurch and noticed he was moving, but wasn't doing so with his own two feet. Like he was being…carried?

Uncomfortable as it was, Kariya twisted his neck and saw none other than Berserker herself, who was carrying him like he was some sort of baggage. Slowly snapping out of his stupor, Kariya tried to speak.

"..bue-...huuh.." All that came out was a wheeze, with the disgusting feeling of something fat and slimy in his own throat. Some spit came out and some of it was tinged in a yellow goop, making Kariya choke a little.

'W-What happened?' Kariya thought as he was continuously carried to whatever destination Berserker was taking him to. His memories were a blur, incapable of remembering quite clearly the events that occurred before he woke up.

After concentrating for a bit, he recalled his last memory before passing out was -

It was then everything hit him all at once. Starting with one thing.

Pain.

His body burned. His nerves felt like they were mangled and chewed on. Quite reasonable, really, considering how bad his body's shape was alongside the fact that monstrous worms really were chewing inside his body.

The price he had to pay to become a genuine user of magecraft. Kariya was no more than a rushed product. A product that worked, but suffered faulty errors and was considerably unreliable. If anything, Kariya was fully aware he wouldn't last long in the grand scheme of things. However, that wouldn't deter him from fulfilling his goal, his dream.

Freeing Sakura from the clutches of his bastard "father". A powerful magus that held all the cards while Kariya only held one flimsy card; the chance to win the Holy Grail War.

"Phu-auhh." One he couldn't win if he died from being drained from mana. As if someone poured gasoline inside his body and set it on fire, the agony Kariya felt was nearly unbearable. On the ground Kariya felt one of his Command Seals fade away.

Berserker, who had been calm during the time he summoned her, decided to act out in a way that was unexpected, even for him. Using so much mana that it was leaving Kariya as dry husk, devoid of any life. Like she had gripped his body and decided to squeeze him for all he had to face a massive dragon of all things.

He couldn't allow that, not now anyway, especially in his current state. He'd sooner perish and burn out from his magic circuits being overused. 'But now,' Kariya thought as he wheezed, noticing a flash of light in front of him. 'Now I can recover. A-And talk to her on what she di-'

"You!" Any pain Kariya felt in his nerves vanished. Mainly since it was replaced by a strong hand gripping him by his shoulder, lifting him, then slamming him in the wall so hard that he felt something break behind him.

A painful grunt escaped his lips, eyes widening from shock. Leaning his head down, Kariya managed to sputter out, "B-Berse-"

Crack.

His shoulder then sent pain signals to his head. Kariya gasped and reckoned he'd be screaming from having his own collarbone break under Berserker's pressure. Not that it stopped him from wheezing with his face grimacing into suffering and discomfort.

"You stopped me." He then heard Berserker tell him, noting the anger in her voice. A held back storm as he saw her eyes glowing bloody murder at him. Teeth snarled as she was practically glaring at him.

"Whu-" Something sharp poked him in his abdomen. To his shock, it was her sword. And the way she held it, it was almost as if she was willing to stab him through then and there, with a piece of his mind now becoming fearful.

"I had it, the vile beast." Berserker continued to speak unperturbed. Her voice even, yet held back a damn of spiteful rage towards her Master. Her sword pushed just a little more forward, cutting through Kariya's cheap sweater. "I had it there. Had it in my sights." Saliva spat out of her mouth as she raved towards Kariya.

"And you took me away before I could kill it. Give it it's just deserts." Was it just Kariya, or were her eyes actually glowing for real? It was getting harder to tell with how his body was telling him to get help. Also-

"Ughl!" She…S-She just stabbed him!

Without looking guilty, Berserker has now pierced his body with her sword, blood dripping down and spilling on the ground. Breathing, growing erratic, Kariya felt his vision blur as he began to panic.

"Ber-Berse..waee-ughhh." He felt her sword pierce something inside him. The fact he spat out blood from his mouth proving it wasn't a good sign either. Yet Berserker showed no sign of stopping. If anything, she looked ready to finish him off.

Saying with blood-tinged words, "Those who defend dragoons are a blight on this world." His hand uselessly spasmed, unable to even lift them to fight back. "Sinners who aid monsters. Monsters that trample villages. Devour people. Make them sick by just existing!" Her voice got louder and louder, with the veins on her sword actually looking as if they throbbed alive.

"And sinners only deserve one thing." Her sword pulled back, spilling even more blood. But Kariya already knew that it wasn't out of mercy. "Death!"

"Hold it, my dear woman." Before Berserker could finish the job and cut Kariya in half, she paused when she heard a twisted old voice. Turning, she saw a person standing nearby, smiling. Her sword was immediately raised in his direction, all while holding Kariya against the wall still.

"Now, now, my fine lady." Zouken spoke softly, as if attempting to pacify a beast. Though, considering the way Berserker was acting, it may as well be true. Remaining calm, confident even, Zouken said, "I understand the grudge you hold against a sinner such as him." A look of amusement came on Zouken's expression as he saw Kariya's state. "It's only natural you'd be upset by him. He's proven to be a disappointment in more ways than one, after all."

Kariya, had he any strength, would have snorted at such a comment. The only thing he could do was drool out blood while wishing he could hold his sliced stomach from spilling out more blood.

"I mean, look at the poor excuse of a man." Adding insult to injury, Zouken jabbed his cane towards Kariya and all the blood spread on the floor. "Even in this current state, your Master cannot even speak to defend himself. However," Zouken dipped his head down, yet had a clear smirk on his face. "Failure as he is, he is still your Master. And I understand you cannot kill those oversized lizards without a Master, no?"

Berserker paused at that. Up until now, her Madness Enhancement had overtaken any logic she should have had. Fueling her to kill the man who denied her agency in killing the dragon. For those who protect dragons were those who were bootlickers to them, like this one.

But he was her Master.

But he was the one that stopped her.

But without him living, she could not kill a dragon.

But with him, he could just stop her from killing them.

Logic and madness was battling it out in Berserker. A conflict that might not end, until she heard a thud. In her moment of contemplation, she had dropped Kariya and noticed just how pale he was looking. The lack of blood being the obvious cause to it all. He looked so ill.

All around her, people were dying.

Coughing, scratching at rashes, hair falling out. Looking so pale with bloodshot eyes as the sickness spread to them by the dragons took hold of their bodies. So many on the ground lying beneath blankets.

They were all so…ill.

A brief look of concern filled Berserker's eyes, wondering what she had just done.

"Berserker!" Then contempt replaced that concern as Madness Enhancement reminded her what he did. Clicking her tongue, she put away her sword.

"Can you help the dragon lover?" She lightly kicked him, making Kariya grunt. "I cannot kill dragons if the fool dies."

"Oh, I can." Zouken chuckled. More so at the expression Kariya was making. "I can 'help' him on his feet." But not his feelings, as he greedily drank from it. That look of hurt that didn't come from the physical pain Kariya was feeling. But of how Berserker was treating him oh so differently compared to before. How she looked at him like an insect, a worm to be stepped on. Or cut apart as she had been about to do moments earlier.

'There's a reason why you shouldn't be friendly with a Berserker, fool.' Madness Enhancement was the sole reason for that. Perhaps things might have been different if Kariya had gotten a more traditional Berserker. Difficult, sure. He's seen the problems with those loud, raving Servants before. No better than animals, really.

But ones like the current Servant Kariya summoned were worse in some ways.

Kariya let his guard down. Assumed she was like a normal person, someone that could be talked to, understood, and compromised with. The fact she could talk truthfully meant that there was something in her thought process that made her mad. Some form of insanity that qualified her for Berserker Class in the first place. That trigger being dragons of all things.

As he walked to his useless son, Zouken couldn't help but giggle. The fool thinking he could reason with a Berserker was just so cute. With a mental command, he had the worms in Kariya's body begin some simple, if rather excruciating, healing on the boy. Stitching up and closing his wound and watching the way he silently moaned and twitched on the ground.

"I'll have your dear Master healed up, and soon, you'll be able to use his mana for your righteous goal of exterminating that vermin." He turned to Berserker and saw her nod.

"I'm glad to see one of you has the wisdom in killing the beast." Had she been sane, he doubted she'd agree with him. Likely even attack him considering noble heroes would see him as a monster to be put down. Another reason why he had Kariya summon a Berserker, and not just because his pitiful body wouldn't support a Servant properly. Servants of Madness would likely be too impaired to consider killing Zouken properly. Thanks to that, so long as you understood how they thought, you could potentially get them to commit the most horrid of acts. To work with magus such as himself.

Any other hero would strike down Zouken like the vile 'human' he was. Berserker on the other hand, who's thinking has been compromised by her own madness, wouldn't even consider the possibility he was simply lying to her, let aside consider him a foe. Instead, she saw him as an ally. A person that agreed with her methods.

"May I make a suggestion, oh great dragon slayer. Hero to those who are oppressed by such wicked creatures." If anything, Berserker just may even listen to his own wonderful advice, as he began speaking before she regained her mind. "Perhaps, if you so desire, I can aid you in stopping the monsters that dare threaten my home."

"You would aid me in fighting a dragon?" Berserker tilted her head.

"Of course." Zouken spoke with sincerity. Not once even considering lying. "After all, a dragon just attacked the park and only couldn't harm the city because you were there. It wouldn't surprise me if you had won, were it not for this fool." Zouken slammed his cane again against Kariya, unable to defy him.

"Which is why I have a suggestion." Zouken decided to give Berserker his 'advice'. "I can keep my disappointing son from making any more hasty moves, all while you go out and patrol for more pests that may be out there. Make our world a better place." And make Kariya's remaining few days even more miserable. Already he was having his worms make their way to Kariya's throat to his vocal cords to keep his mouth shut. Let him watch without having a word in any of this.

"And it will be done." Berserker nodded to Zouken's words. Glad to have an understanding man who comprehended the threat dragons were instead of her Master who proved to be a dissatisfying man, a sinner who would spare a dragon from her sword. "I thank you for your help."

"No. The pleasure is all mine." Pleasure Zouken will enjoy as he continues to watch Kariya stumble and fail to attain the Holy Grail. To think, he had such a strong relationship with Berserker, enough that Zouken himself felt worried. Not anymore. "If anything, I wish you the best of luck." With the worst going to his son.

Like so, Berserker marched to Kariya and picked him up. No longer desiring to hear him out, not that he could as Kariya soon found himself unable to talk, not to mention too weak where he couldn't even move his fingers. A side-effect from the worms doing their 'healing on him. Now he was forced to simply be carried off by a Servant that saw him as less than dirt, with his eyes closing from being so tired.

Zouken watched them off, satisfied with his day. "Now then," He then decided to resume his own business. "Time to train Sakura a little and give her some wonderful news." Tell her all about how her dear uncle was more concerned with helping his Servant instead of visiting her like before.

"Uhu.." Now he remembered. He remembered it all. How he summoned Berserker to his side, only to be attacked by her like he had betrayed her. Something that baffled him even now.

'All I did was call her back. I didn't even do anything to her.' Yet she accused him of 'protecting' the dragon. It irked Kariya to say this, but he severely underestimated Berserker's train of logic. Up until now, she just seemed so…normal. Sure, she had a sword and always got gruff whenever a dragon was mentioned, but Kariya thought it was just a grudge.

"And so you will summon a Servant of Madness." Zouken's words then came to mind, around the beginning before he summoned his Servant. Gritting his teeth, Kariya now began understanding what Zouken meant, much as he hated it.

Madness. Insanity. Berserker's were usually portrayed as Servants that traded their sanity for more power, making them more irrational from what he understood. But the way Berserker acted towards him, how she just seemed so sane, he let down his guard until it was too late.

Now he was her prisoner, so she could keep an eye on him to ensure he couldn't stop her from killing a dragon again. Which was stupid since her carrying him meant he could be attacked and killed, ending her own life. Probably something that bastard Zouken didn't mind at all.

'That bastard's probably laughing at my current state.' Kariya thought miserably. 'Wouldn't surprise me if he knew this was how I was going to end up.' The way he smirked whenever Zouken looked at Kariya talking with Berserker. Tch. What he wouldn't give to punch him in the face.

Still, what's done is done. At the very least this time of remembering was giving Kariya a chance to recover just enough that he could move his limbs again. As for talking, well, it seems like whatever Zouken did has clogged up his ability to speak even simple words. But for telepathy….

"Ber-Berserker." Berserker stopped moving, looking confused. She then looked down and saw Kariya who gave a weak wave.

She clicked her tongue, appearing very irritated. It hurt a little, but at least she wasn't killing him. "P-please... let's talk." Kariya told her through telepathy.

"And what words do I have for someone who would let a dragon live?" There it was, her irrationality. She already pegged him as someone who would get in her way after just one order. Still, maybe not all was lost. He could salvage this.

"I-I didn't know." Kariya began. "I had no idea you were facing a dragon. If I did…I'd have ordered you to fight back stronger." Berserker narrowed her eyes but didn't retort. It sucked that Kariya had to lie, but he couldn't let their teamwork fall apart like this. "I promise you, I have no love for dragons. Heck, I've read stories of the crimes they've committed."

Berserker seemed to pause a little at that, a snarl on her lips. Dragons committing crime wasn't unusual, it was expected. And while the information the Holy Grail provided her was somewhat incomplete upon summoning, it still told her whispers here and there. Particularly that of fiendish dragons like the great Fafnir and its greed.

Kariya decided to press on now, hoping he could convince Berserker back into his good graces. "Look. I-I'm sorry I stopped you from killing that blue lizard. It-it's just, we-well," Quickly Kariya tried to come up with an excuse that would be considered acceptable and not something that'd make him out as a 'traitor' to her.

"I…I was just scared." Kariya decided to go with a mixture of truth and dishonesty. "The dragon, it was so, er, big and strong. I-I genuinely panicked since dragons are known to kill everything that stood in its way, and I didn't want you hurt."

It was terrifying, the way the dragon was. Truthfully, however, Kariya summoned her to save himself. If he could convince her though that all he said was real though….

"..." As for Berserker, while she didn't look happy, enough time had passed for her to calm down just a little. Certainly she was still someone that was difficult to reason with, though Kariya's words did strike a small chord in her, in the girl she once was. As such, while still suspicious, a part of her irrational anger towards Kariya started to slip away.

"!" Then she dropped Kariya who grunted as his face kissed the dirty alley floor, with Berserker holding out her blade towards something above her. Kariya, now having a bit more strength, groaned as he tried to prop himself up and leaned his head up.

There, standing above them was a familiar silhouette that he recognized from just a bit ago. 'That's…'

The silhouette then fell onto the ground, where it then took the form of something else altogether. But unlike last time, where it transformed into the many different Servants it faced, now, it took the form of a person Kariya didn't even recognize.

A bird then came down and had something in its talon. It flew towards Kariya and dropped what appeared to be a letter of some kind. Grabbing it with shaky hands, Kariya took a look at the message and exasperated. 'Seriously?'

He looked up to see the Servant then moving deeper into the alley, Berserker having not made a move yet as she herself was still confused. Pulling himself up, Kariya decided to explain to her a little.

'Don't worry Berserker, this guy isn't a threat." Yet, anyway. "It just seems they want to talk." The Servant was already leaving. Shuffling towards them, Kariya edged his head towards it with Berserker clearly getting the picture of what was going on. While her feelings towards Kariya were a bit complicated still, at the very least she was willing to listen to him, for now.

'Best I could hope for in this situation.' Like so, the two were off to follow the Servant to what would likely be their Master.

Completely unaware of a young woman following after them, a radio in her hand. "Found them."

"Excellent work, Maiya." Kiritsugu responded, glad to have at least one ally working well with him. "Keep back to ensure you aren't spotted, otherwise, find where they're headed."

"Understood." Radio silence then came. A perfect tactic so that Maiya wasn't distracted, doing her job in hunting the Masters of the Holy Grail War, and if needed, killing them. Were it not for Berserker being with what could only be assumed is her Master, Kariya Matou, Kiritsugu wouldn't have minded if she killed him then and there.

'But perhaps this can work itself out.' Already working hard, Kiritsugu focused on the bigger picture at hand. Primarily, how the Master of Berserker was following another Servant with no fighting occurring between them. Taking out a cigar from his mouth, Kiritsugu already figured out what was going on.

The Master of the metallic Servant that could shape-shift was inviting Kariya to them, likely for an alliance. That would be troublesome. A threat if the two truly could work together.

"But maybe it's a way to take out two Masters rather than just one." Kiritusgu muttered as he checked out a report given to him. It wasn't from Maiya, but instead from an investigator he hired along with a few street rats he paid off to keep an eye on certain things.

Magus were good, having many spells at hand, including boundary fields, but they overlooked how ordinary people could be put to the test. While Kiritsugu wouldn't call himself rich by any means, the constant pay he received from all his jobs across the world did leave him with more than a few funds. Funds that he now used to pay off people to keep an eye out for his targets.

Tokiomi. El-Melloi. Kariya. Anybody he figured was a Master, then report to him. With the investigator he paid off earlier already giving him the location of one Kayneth El-Melloi himself. With the addition of a few street rats having spotted Tokiomi Tohsaka in the east district. A back-up workshop from what Kiritsugu could guess seeing as the man's main home was gone.

Now, with this knowledge, Kiritsugu could potentially find a way to destroy his foes while they relaxed in their places of rest. A logical weak point to aim for.

After all, when one is chosen as a Master, the truth is that they must be prepared at any turn of the war. While Masters may have held contracts with powerful familiars, in the end, the Masters themselves were still human. Still vulnerable. Magecraft or not, as humans, they must be careful. Be it from a quick stab in the back, a magical curse, a Servant stabbing them in the front, or in some cases, attacked while their guard was down.

And one's guard was certainly quite down when one was resting in their own home. Double for those who lived in their workshops, as they placed spells to use against anybody that wasn't them, making them believe they couldn't be touched. All while allowing them to rest to recuperate for the coming day that was tomorrow.

'If Maiya can find where Matou and El-Melloi are speaking at, I can deal with them both and make it so that two enemies are gone.' The ceasefire demanded by the Church can be ignored. While Kiritsugu won't deny the threat that is Assassin must be dealt with, sooner at that, it was idiotic if the Church believed that the Masters of this war would stop doing anything against one another.

Once he deals with Matou and El-Melloi, then he can deal with Assassin. Although…

'I may need to rely only on myself for that.' Irisviel already contacted him. Once again Rider seemed to refute him. Kiritsugu had no idea just why she was so adamant against him.

All his choices were logical, pragmatic. They were the most acceptable choices to make, even if they seemed lacking in ethics. But in the end, did ethics and morals have a place in a war. For a girl who seemed to be some kind of soldier of some sorts, she must have known all this, understood it even. So, why?

Breathing out, Kiritsugu decided to push that matter aside for now. Instead, he needed some sleep after spending some time staying up this late. Wouldn't do good for him to be out on the field and collapsing from being tired.

Getting atop his bed, not even bothering to take off his clothes, Kiritsugu closed his eyes and breathed out. Letting the darkness consume him so he could sleep properly and hear only silence.

…

…

…

"Finally. At last Spectra's greatest weapon is complete. Roze."

Seems like Kiritsugu is about to finally get a glimpse of Roze's past after all this time. Not that he's the first seeing as Kariya was ahead of him, all while having a bad time trying to deal with Berserker.

I play Grand Order, and many times the female Berserker Servants all act so rational…then they can end up attacking even the protagonist if something sets them off, making you have to fight them just to calm them down. Well, Kariya didn't have a bunch of Servants to prevent his own from dealing grievous harm to him.

Thankfully, he might patch things up between him and Berserker, all while Kayneth extends a possible alliance. How that plays out, who knows.