In a secluded part of Fuyuki City's rural mountain town, deep within a grove of mixed trees, lay a hidden clearing.
After confirming that no one else was nearby, Waver Velvet finally began the long-prepared summoning ritual.
The chickens had been squawking all day, wearing his nerves thin. First, he needed to purify his mind. Then he could begin the incantation.
While the chicken blood was still fresh and warm, he had to draw the sigil into the earth. He had practiced the steps countless times. Carefully, he drew the crest of "Annihilation" and "Extinction" in four quadrants to form the base of the summoning circle.
There was no room for even the slightest error.
"Close, close, close, close, close… Say it five times in succession. And yet, when overflowing—shatter."
Murmuring the incantation under his breath, Waver cautiously poured the chicken blood onto the drawn lines.
At the same time, beneath the Tohsaka residence, nestled in the same remote mountain town, another summoning ritual was underway.
"Silver and iron. The foundation is stone. My great ancestor, my master, Schweinorg.
Let the wind stir, and let the four walls stand in defense.
Seal the gates on all sides, and emerge from the crown.
Wander the crossroads that lead to the kingdom."
Reciting the ancient chant aloud, Tohsaka Tokiomi meticulously etched his magic circle—not with sacrificial blood, but with molten gemstone essence. He spared no cost, pouring into the ritual every last gem imbued with stored mana he had spent years preparing.
Standing nearby were his long-time confidant Kotomine Risei, and his prized disciple, Kotomine Kirei—both watching intently in absolute silence.
At the heart of Tokiomi's summoning circle sat a single item of profound importance: a fossilized serpent skin, the catalyst for summoning that particular heroic spirit.
At last, the "Mapo Priest" understood the source of Tokiomi's unwavering confidence.
As long as this was the Heroic Spirit summoned—
No Servant could ever hope to surpass it.
---
In the distant stronghold of Einzbern Castle, Emiya Kiritsugu was double-checking the intricate summoning circle etched into the chapel floor.
"Is it really okay for the ritual to be this simple?"
From the side, Irisviel, who had been silently watching over him, finally voiced her doubt. The setup seemed far too modest, almost surprisingly so.
"You might be disappointed," Kiritsugu replied, eyes still scanning the mercury lines for any smudges or warps. "But summoning a Servant doesn't actually require such grandiose spirit evocation ceremonies."
His tone was calm, as if he were discussing a routine task.
"Because in truth, it's not the mage's power that performs the summoning—it's the power of the Holy Grail. All I do as a Master is serve as the tether between the Heroic Spirit and this world. I provide the mana needed to give them form here, nothing more."
Satisfied with the results, Kiritsugu stood up and nodded. On the altar beside him, the sacred relic—the sheath of the legendary holy sword—lay quietly in wait.
"That should do it. Preparations complete."
By adjusting the summoning incantation, he had already predetermined his Servant's Class.
Ordinarily, the Class a Heroic Spirit manifests in is influenced by their inherent attributes. However, there are exceptions—two, in fact.
The first is Assassin, which allows a Heroic Spirit to be summoned as one of the many beings bearing the name of Hassan-i-Sabbah.
The second allows a Servant to be forced into a class through the addition of specific ritual elements. That's exactly what Dracula had done for Matou Kariya—embedding the curse of Mad Enhancement into the incantation so that even this most volatile class could be leashed to Kariya's will.
---
Meanwhile, within a dimly lit rental room in Fuyuki…
"Tohsaka Tokiomi!!" Kariya roared his enemy's name, voice shaking with wrath.
He had just finished the final stroke of his summoning circle, fury blazing in his eyes. After seeing Sakura wake up—those terrified, helpless eyes—Kariya's hatred had reached its boiling point.
"It's all your fault, Tokiomi!!"
Beside him stood a purple-haired Rider, watching silently, faithfully guarding her Master.
Carefully, Kariya drew a small blue crystal from his pocket with his left hand—the one not imbued with Dracula's power—and closed his eyes, beginning the chant.
At that moment, across various corners of the city, people driven by different desires and ambitions began their summoning. One by one, they invoked the noble spirits beyond the boundaries of time and space.
Though each mage held a different dream, they all sought the same miracle.
And to claim that miracle, they would shed blood and fight one another to the death.
Now, their calls to the Heroic Spirits of legend reverberated across the Earth.
---
"I hereby declare…"
This was the moment—the true test of a magus. Failure could mean death. Waver Velvet understood that deeply, yet he felt no fear.
His hunger for power, his relentless will—those were the very traits that made Waver an exceptional mage.
"—I hereby declare.
Your body shall be under my command, and my fate shall be linked to your blade.
Abide by the summons of the Holy Grail. If you accept this will and this reason—then answer me!"
Mana began to swirl around him. The chilling ache from the magic circuits squirming within him—a pain all mages were familiar with—struck him like a wave.
Waver clenched his teeth and continued.
"—I swear here and now.
I shall be the one who embodies all that is good in the world…
And I shall root out all that is evil."
---
Meanwhile, in Kariya's summoning chant, he had embedded a forbidden phrase—an invocation that would strip the summoned spirit of reason, plunging them into Berserker Class madness.
"—Cloud your eyes, shatter your mind. Become a prisoner of the threshold of madness.
I am the one who holds the reins of this chain—!"
Kariya was no ordinary magus. He did not supply mana from within. The blue crystal in his hand, a gift from Dracula, served as his mana source.
Even without internal magical flow, the pain surged through him—his left arm began to burn as the second Command Seal formed. His right arm, granted the power of anti-magic by Dracula, was unsuitable for holding seals.
Thinking of his burden, of that man's false elegance, and of Sakura's hollow, sorrowful eyes—he could not retreat.
---
"—Let thy words be wrapped in the Three Great Command Spells.
Come forth, O guardian of the Scales—!"
With that, the ritual reached its climax.
Thunder roared, wind howled. In the underground chamber of the Tohsaka estate, even Kirei and Risei had to shut their eyes against the blinding pressure. The summoning circle erupted in brilliant light.
Finally, the circuit was complete—the otherworldly realm connected.
From that overwhelming radiance stepped forth a golden figure, regal and magnificent.
Struck by its majesty, Risei muttered in awe:
"We've won, Kirei… this war is already ours."
Thus, their longings reached the heavens.
---
From distant realms, wrapped in lightning and wind, the spirits of legends descended.
Beings who had once been human but transcended mortality. Elevated by godlike strength, they were now among the fae-like spirits—the apex of the spiritual world.
From the Throne of Heroes, where suppressed divine power dwelled…
They came, in answer to the call.
And then—
In the forest, in the dead of night, someone sitting on a stone bench, wrapped in shadow, spoke in a cold, sharp voice:
"Let me ask you—are you the one who summoned me?"
"OK. It worked."
In a secret chamber, Dracula, watching the ritual sites via arcane surveillance, nodded in satisfaction. His Servant and Maid stood beside him.
"Now we know everyone's Servant… aside from the second Caster and the Assassin, that is."
Saintess-chan flipped through a glowing Servant Compendium with a gleam in her eyes.
"The Masters are really lucky this round," she remarked. "Almost all of them summoned 5-star rare Heroic Spirits."
She pointed to a handsome red-clad man on the screen.
"This one might be the luckiest of them all."
Dracula clenched his jaw at the sight of the "Mr. Pot of This World."
"Hmph. Just wait. I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him!"
---
As the dust cleared, Waver gazed at the towering silhouette standing in the summoning circle. He took a deep breath, preparing to approach—
when suddenly—the magic circle flared again.
Waver froze. He felt it—something massive, an overwhelming will entering his very soul.
"Hah… summoned again, huh? I wonder what kind of treasures I'll collect this time… this should be fun."
A tall, stunning figure with flowing golden hair, clad in modified golden armor that revealed her waist and glistening skin, stepped forward from the circle.
Meanwhile—
At the Tohsaka manor, a loud crash came from upstairs.
Apparently, Rin's room had collapsed under the pressure of something…
Elsewhere, a handsome knight with twin guns had just sworn loyalty to his Master—when the magic circle behind him lit up once more.
From it emerged a stunning figure, gender unclear, clad in green, with long hair like a flourishing forest.
---
At Einzbern Castle, just as the golden-haired King of Knights stepped from the circle, the sigil behind her flared anew.
A man appeared in green leather armor, wielding a red longbow.
With a cheerful grin, he addressed Kiritsugu:
"I am Arash, a great hero of the East. I have come to this Holy Grail War as Archer Class.
Are you my Master? I look forward to working with you!"
Kiritsugu's cigarette slipped from his lips.
From this smiling stranger—he felt a resonance deep in his soul.
[ AUTHORS NOTE: I'm gonna be busy for the next following days so expect slow updates from now on.]