He was an exceptionally tall man, wearing a pitch-black kimono that seemed to devour light, with a filthy white haori draped over it.
A suffocating black smoke lingered over the haori—a curse formed from a mixture of hatred, madness, and anger.
The most terrifying part was his face.
Where his facial features should have been, a ghastly bone mask covered the area, looking as though it were embedded directly into his skin.
In his hand, he gripped a pitch-black trident that was completely disproportionate to his size, radiating an overwhelming, ferocious aura.
Black liquid continuously dripped from the tip of the trident. Every drop that hit the ground corroded it, releasing hissing white smoke.
At that moment, Haruri's Mystic Eyes captured an unprecedented sight.
Behind this man, countless blood-red chains seemed to be connected, with the other ends reaching into a deeper, colder void.
'No, I need to get out of here... This place is getting weirder by the second...' Haruri felt uneasy.
Meanwhile, in a sewer not far from the docks, Kariya Matou knelt on the ground in agony.
Countless Crest Worms crawled beneath his skin, gnawing at his flesh and nerves, while his eyes were filled with madness and the flames of revenge.
"Kill them!"
Kariya Matou's voice reached the depths of Berserker's soul through their bond.
"Raaagh!!"
A low roar erupted from the black mist, the terrifying soundwave knocking Haruri over once again.
Such a commotion naturally attracted the attention of all the Servants.
But Berserker did not care.
He completely ignored Haruri at his feet, shooting out like a bolt of black lightning straight toward Gilgamesh atop the streetlamp.
"Insolent mad dog! How dare you charge directly at me!" Gilgamesh's expression darkened, murderous intent boiling in his serpentine eyes.
Swish! Swoosh!
The Gate of Babylon opened wide behind him, and dozens of Noble Phantasms transformed into streaks of golden light, pouring down on Berserker like a meteor shower.
Berserker neither dodged nor evaded. With an earth-shattering roar from beneath his bone mask, he spun his trident into a blur of black shadows, taking the storm of Noble Phantasms head-on.
Boom!!
Explosions rang out endlessly. The shattered Noble Phantasms blasted deep craters into the ground; even being caught in the shockwave would shatter bones and snap tendons!
One flying sword came at a tricky angle, poised to pierce directly into Berserker's body.
But he simply swept his haori, wrapping the longsword and pulling it into his grasp.
Berserker grabbed the longsword, inspected it, and seemingly dissatisfied, casually tossed it to the side of the road.
"To think you would... touch my treasure with your filthy hands!"
Gilgamesh's anger reached its peak, and more ripples bloomed across the sky.
"Haha! It seems a rather hot-tempered friend has crashed our banquet tonight uninvited!" Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, laughed heartily and violently snapped his reins.
The Gordius Wheel crushed the void, charging toward the center of the brawl with rolling thunder. "In that case, we cannot fall behind! You two, brace yourselves! Let us have a thrilling conquest!"
Lancer's eyes sharpened, and he retreated swiftly like a swallow. At the same time, his red and yellow spears wove a net of light, deflecting the stray blasts and Noble Phantasms scattered by Berserker's sudden intrusion.
Artoria gripped her invisible sword tightly, shielding the woman behind her. "Irisviel! Fall back! The situation is out of control!"
The five Heroic Spirits clashed in a chaotic melee. The brilliance of Noble Phantasms flashed incessantly, instantly turning the docks into a battlefield.
Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasms were like a golden storm, while Berserker's trident was swung with an impenetrable defense.
Iskandar's chariot roared with thunder, charging toward Lancer and Artoria. The two could only engage in a three-way brawl while trying to avoid being caught in Berserker's crossfire.
Shipping containers were sent flying, the concrete ground cracked inch by inch, and even the surrounding seawater was churned into massive waves.
Such a scenario was something any rational Master would avoid, but unfortunately, three of these five Heroic Spirits did whatever they pleased, only making the situation more chaotic.
Every clash of metal was accompanied by violent shockwaves, tearing apart the multi-ton shipping containers like paper in the aftermath.
Meanwhile, at the highest point in the darkness, Kiritsugu Emiya calmly observed everything through his sniper scope.
"Maiya, do you have a visual?"
"Yes, Kiritsugu. Lancer's Master is hiding in the shadow of the tower crane above the warehouse, preparing a Mystic Code."
"As for Berserker's Master, his position is unknown. He should be hiding further away in the dark."
Kiritsugu rested his finger on the trigger, his eyes as cold as iron.
To him, the flashy battles of Heroic Spirits held no meaning.
He was a hunter who preyed on magi.
He was waiting. Waiting for the exact moment the chaos reached its peak to completely obliterate an enemy Master's Magic Circuits with an Origin Bullet.
On the edge of the chaotic brawl, Haruri Kamado was curled up behind a shattered handcart.
Caught in the earlier explosion, blood seeped from her forehead, and her right leg seemed to have been struck by flying debris, leaving her unable to exert any strength.
"What in the world is going on... Is this a nightmare..."
At this moment, she seemed to be hallucinating.
Her daughter's face appeared before her eyes.
"Sumire... Mommy wants to go home..."
Sumire Kamado lunged from the shadows, hugging her mother tightly. "We will! Mom! We're going home right now!"
"Eh???"
Haruri, who had thought it was a hallucination, suddenly felt a warmth in her arms.
"Sumire! Why are you here!"
"There's no time to explain, let's go!"
She and Mr. Asuka had been observing from the shadows for quite some time.
If that Berserker hadn't shown zero interest in Haruri, Asuka would have stepped in to save her the moment she bumped into him.
The battle was becoming increasingly absurd. A shipping container fell straight from the sky, hurtling right toward the two of them!
In the nick of time, Asuka's spiritual body instantly materialized, appearing in front of them.
Slash--!!
With a flash of the blade, his Zanpakuto cleaved the iron container in two, sending the halves crashing down on either side.
"Sumire! Take your mother and go, quickly!"
His voice was steady and cold, his black Shihakusho snapping wildly in the wind.
Haruri stared at the man who had suddenly appeared, completely stunned. "Are... are you Sumire's friend?"
She originally wanted to say 'monster' or 'ghost', but felt that would be a bit impolite.
Sumire pulled on Haruri's arm, looking back with worry. "What about you, Mr. Asuka!"
"...I still have something to confirm! Go!"
With a casual swing of his sword, Asuka deflected another fragment of a Noble Phantasm from Gilgamesh.
The mother and daughter could do nothing in such a chaotic battle. They could only follow Asuka's instructions and evacuate outward under his cover.
By now, the Heroic Spirits on the battlefield had also noticed the commotion on this side.
"Oh? A Heroic Spirit who uses a sword? Yet he isn't a Saber?" Iskandar stroked his red beard with great interest, looking at Asuka curiously.
Artoria gripped her invisible holy sword tightly, her brows furrowed. "What an unpleasant aura... This is from that day..."
In the distance, a surprised Kiritsugu Emiya aimed his sniper scope at Asuka's face. "...Is this the Avenger? Why can't I read his status? Does he have a concealment skill?"
But Asuka had no time to care about their opinions right now.
Ever since Berserker appeared, his gaze had been trembling in disbelief.
"A black Shihakusho... I'm not mistaken..."
Asuka stared fixedly at the character for [Ten] on the back of Berserker's white haori, his gaze complex and heavy.
"A Soul Reaper from the Soul Society... Why would one be here!"