…
Looking at the burly man in a red cloak,
looking at the resolute girl clad in a blue dress and silver armor,
looking at the arrogant king wrapped in golden armor…
Except for a few cheaters who had already jumped the gun and a handful of unlucky Masters with only mediocre abilities…
Guided by fate, the Masters who completed their Servant Summoning Rituals at nearly the same time all shared the same thought:
They had already won.
Matou Residence
In the dark basement, something ironic had occurred.
The weakest Master had drawn the strongest trump card.
Both fortune—
and misfortune.
Because the stronger the Servant, the greater the burden placed on their Master.
Unless the Master happened to be someone like a certain "magus-killer's adopted brat"—a Master who not only failed to supply magical energy to his Servant, but instead drained magical energy from the Servant instead.
At this moment—
Matou Kariya, who had been forcibly turned into a Magus through Crest Worm implantation, was already on the verge of collapse.
His breathing became ragged as the magical energy drain overwhelmed him.
Through blurred vision, he stared at the jet-black figure before him.
He didn't even have the strength left to respond.
He was—
about to die.
"Man… what a miserable sight."
Since his summoning Master gave no response, Leon didn't seem offended.
Looking at Kariya's pitiful condition, he shook his head with a sigh.
Nearby, Matou Zouken noticed something shocking.
The Berserker summoned within the rainbow light seemed completely unaffected by the Madness Enhancement incantation.
Shock quickly turned into greed.
"Do you see, Kariya?!" Zouken cried excitedly.
"This war will be our victory!"
Squish.
Suddenly—
Zouken's body was crushed by an invisible force, instantly compressed into a lump of mangled flesh.
The worms forming his body burst apart, rotten fluids spraying everywhere.
Yet just before the gore could splash onto Leon or Kariya, it automatically veered away.
"Did I give you permission," Leon said calmly,
"to shout in front of me, insect?"
His voice struck Zouken like a hammer on a drum.
Rustle… rustle… rustle…
The swarm of worms that had been cowering in the basement corners since Leon's appearance began wriggling again.
Part of the swarm gathered together—
reforming Matou Zouken's body.
Carried by the mass of worms, he moved closer while secretly channeling magical energy into Matou Kariya to keep him alive.
Then Zouken bowed deeply.
"Great Berserker… please forgive my earlier rudeness."
"My name is Matou Zouken. I am the father of your Master, Matou Kariya."
"Oh?"
Leon tilted his head slightly.
"Then what about this one?"
The ground beneath his feet suddenly shifted.
Dark material flowed upward and formed a black throne, abyssal in color with golden vein-like patterns running through it.
Leon sat down.
Then—
he casually cancelled his transformation.
What appeared was a body like something carved from the finest Greek marble sculptures, powerful muscles radiating overwhelming pressure.
The two men staring at him were struck speechless.
Even the part of him that shouldn't be mentioned shattered their confidence as men.
Matou Kariya hurriedly lowered his gaze in embarrassment.
Zouken—though long past normal human desires—still felt instinctive discomfort and inferiority, though he hid it better.
Meanwhile, Leon was processing the information forcibly transmitted to him by the Greater Grail regarding the Holy Grail War.
But before he could sit comfortably—
his eyebrow suddenly twitched.
He raised his hand.
With telekinesis, the basement door swung open.
A small figure hidden behind it was pulled forward and dragged through the air before being dropped beside his throne.
"Sakura?!"
"Sakura?!"
Matou Zouken and Matou Kariya shouted simultaneously.
Matou Sakura landed on the ground, bracing herself with her hands.
Though the worm torture had long robbed her face of expression—
when she looked up at Leon, her pupils suddenly trembled.
Her mouth parted slightly in shock.
But what shocked her most—
was that she was still too young to truly comprehend what she was seeing.
Following her gaze downward, Leon looked at himself.
"…Ah."
Once again, the system had conveniently left him completely naked.
Without changing expression, he snapped his fingers.
His Noble Phantasm Aion Saiga immediately transformed into a pure black hooded long coat.
With one leg crossed over the other as he sat upon the dark throne—
Leon now looked like a grim reaper descending into the mortal world, most of his face hidden beneath shadow.
From Sakura's angle, however—
she could still clearly see his handsome face.
The little girl stared at him blankly.
After the initial shock faded, her face returned to its usual emotionless expression.
"I don't like that expression," Leon said.
"How about giving me a smile?"
He lifted Sakura with one hand and placed her on his thigh.
Her legs—thin as chopsticks from malnutrition—dangled between his.
They were barely larger than his forearm.
Since they still didn't understand Leon's origin or temperament, Matou Zouken dared not act rashly.
Meanwhile, Matou Kariya, terrified that Sakura might be harmed, tried to speak—
But Zouken secretly controlled the Crest Worms inside his body.
The worms instantly blocked Kariya's throat.
Kariya collapsed to his knees in agony, clutching his neck with both hands.
He struggled desperately—
but could not produce a sound.
"Sa… kura…"
"Hey, mister," Sakura asked calmly, staring directly into Leon's eyes.
"Who are you?"
'Good job, Sakura!' Zouken thought.
It was exactly the question he wanted answered.
Knowing a Servant's origin and legend allowed one to roughly estimate their power.
If this Berserker truly turned out to be a great hero of legend—or even something greater—
Zouken would spare no effort in helping him obtain the Holy Grail.
"Me?"
Leon rubbed Sakura's small head.
Then he smiled confidently.
"I come from the Divine Realm of Asgard."
"I am the son of the All-Father Odin, younger brother of Thor, the God of Thunder."
"And the greatest war god of Asgard—"
"Leon Stark Odinson, God of Battle!"
"A… god?"
Sakura blinked slowly.
"Do gods really exist?"
"Of course."
Leon smiled faintly.
"What you see before you is proof."
After becoming a Servant, Leon also gained a Servant Status Sheet separate from his true body.
The system had practically maxed out every parameter.
Servant parameters were ranked:
A, B, C, D, E
With EX representing values beyond measurable standards.
Servant Status
True Name: Leon Stark Odinson
Height: 194.5 cm
Weight: 325 kg
Origin: ???
Region: ???
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Sub-Attribute: Heaven
Parameter
Rank
Strength
A+++
Agility
EX
Endurance
EX
Mana
EX
Luck
B
Noble Phantasm
EX
SkillsMadness Enhancement — EXDivinity — EMagic Resistance — EXMana Burst (Armament) — AInstinct (Precognition) — A+Charisma (Conqueror's Aura) — A++Riding — A+++Independent Action — EXBattle Continuation — EXPresence Concealment — EXTelekinesis — A+++Noble Phantasms
Ultimate Darkness
Rank: A ~ EX
Type: Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm
When the sacred spring runs dry, the wailing warrior appears like thunder and lightning.
The sun is devoured by darkness—
heralding the arrival of Ultimate Darkness.
Aion Saiga
Rank: EX
Type: Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm
The ultimate defensive armament of Asgard.
Its strength resonates with the wielder's will.
As long as fear does not exist in the heart,
the Shield of the War God will never break.
All-Black Necrosword
Rank: EX
Type: Anti-Divine Noble Phantasm
"O gods—
submit to death."
Vault of the Gods
Rank: E ~ A+++
Type: Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm
The legendary treasury sustained by an endlessly productive "Vibranium Miner."
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