Fuyuki – The Ruins of the Matou Residence
The night wind swept through piles of crumbling rubble, carrying with it the scent of ash and desolation.
Zoth stood before a summoning circle drawn in a mixture of dried blood, demon chalk, and soul ash. In his hand was a fragment of the Round Table— a relic from Camelot, the last golden age of legends.
A twisted smile crept onto his face, eyes glinting with cold light.
"In the script, you… were one hell of a piece on the board. So then… why not step into the stage and stir things up with me?"
He tossed the relic into the center of the circle. His voice was low and steady, echoing like an ancient bell through the mist:
"Declaration!
You—who now stands beneath my command.
And I—who shall ride the sword upon your back.
In accordance with the summoning of the Holy Grail,
Following this will, this reason, answer me!
I am the one who brings to completion all the good of this world.
And I am the one who gathers all evil into a single whole.
You, who are shackled in madness—
Serve me, the one who commands that madness.
Wrapped in the seven heavens of the Three Words.
Crossing the cycle of suppression...
Come forth—
O Guardian of the Scales!"
A blinding light exploded outward as wind roared like an ancient beast awakening from slumber.
From the center of the circle, dark mist surged up, forming into a black-armored knight, his body forged from shadows. Crimson eyes glowed with centuries of cursed agony and uncontrollable rage.
"Welcome, Knight of the Lake – Lancelot. This stage wouldn't be nearly as fun without you."
Zoth smirked.
"I want to see Dumb-Hair King taste some pain for once."
He turned and walked a few steps away—then stopped.
"But hey… before I let you return to spirit form—"
"Fight me. I need to confirm… something."
Lancelot let out a low growl, reaching into the rubble and lifting a rusted steel pipe. Upon his touch, it transformed instantly into a D+ grade Noble Phantasm—Knight of Owner had activated.
Zoth laughed and drew Caladbolg—the sword of Logos, the Holy Lord—and assumed his stance.
[CLANG—!!]
Steel clashed in the night.
Zoth began to realize—Lancelot's every strike pierced his weak spots with uncanny precision… yet Zoth parried them, countered them, as if…
"As if this is… muscle memory?"
"But I've never trained in swordsmanship or martial arts…"
He furrowed his brow, confused—just for a second.
There was something hidden deep within his body… something even he didn't understand.
"…Eh? Whatever."
He lowered his sword and signaled to stop.
"That's enough. Return to spirit form. Come with me."
Lancelot stared for a moment, then gave a silent nod. His form dissolved into shadow, taking spirit form, and followed behind Zoth like a loyal specter.
In the ruins, only the howl of the wind and the echoes of their clash remained.
The Holy Grail War… had officially gone off script.
---
Fuyuki – Some Random Evil-Ass Mansion…
In a space thick with the stench of blood, two adult corpses lay twisted on the floor. A young man with sea-green hair was using their blood to draw a summoning circle—following instructions from an ancient grimoire.
"Full… full… full for the fifth time, huh?"
His name: Uryuu Ryuunosuke—a fanatical serial killer with a newfound hobby: summoning demons.
Behind him, the TV droned on:
"Three consecutive massacres this past week—suspect still unknown. Multiple occult symbols found at the scenes…"
Ryuunosuke turned to glance at the TV, then chuckled.
"Oh~ guess I went a little overboard~."
He turned toward a child tied up nearby, flashing a smile that screamed modern-day demon.
"Hey there, kiddo… You believe in demons? The media says I'm one. And when a demon shows up—shouldn't you say hello or something?"
[CRASSSSH—!!]
Glass shattered—then a golden sword embedded itself into the floor. Dust erupted in all directions.
A figure stepped through the haze, hands in the pockets of a track jacket, dead-fish eyes glancing around like he'd just walked into a convenience store looking for snacks.
"Excuse me—just a quick question. Who here is Uryuu Ryuunosuke~?"
Without waiting for an answer, Zoth strolled in, smiling like sunshine, voice as casual as a dinner guest.
"Yaaa~ Good evening, Lord Ryuunosuke. So sorry to bother you, but… all seven Servants are already accounted for. Which means—no need to drop this Caster anymore~."
He gave Ryuunosuke a friendly pat on the shoulder—
[CRACK—!!]
—and casually snapped his arm like breaking a twig.
"AGGHHHH—!!!"
"Shhh~. The kid's trying to sleep. No need to be loud—it's rude, y'know~."
Zoth flashed a sweet, unhinged smile… and without hesitation, brought Caladbolg down in a merciless arc.
Blood sprayed.
Caster never got summoned.
Zoth turned back, gently untying the child. He placed a hand on the boy's forehead and whispered:
"Sleep now… After tonight, all the ugly things will go away."
He knocked the child out—as gently as possible—then laid him on a chair. From outside, the faint sound of police sirens grew louder.
"Lancelot," Zoth called softly.
"Uuuuaghhh—" Lancelot emerged in spirit form, growling low in acknowledgment.
"The scriptwriters must be shitting bricks right now~ A Servant got eliminated… before even being summoned."
Zoth chuckled, walking away from the scene, murmuring to himself:
"If your script can't handle me breaking the game…
Then maybe don't write such trash scripts to begin with~."
---
A Suburban House – Byakuya's New Home
Zoth pushed open the door and called out loudly:
"I'm hooome~! Byakuya! Dinner ready yet~?"
Little Sakura, sitting at the dinner table, lit up with a wide smile. This was their temporary safehouse — just an oddly normal home in the middle of a savage, inhuman war.
Byakuya poked his head out from the kitchen, frowning.
"Ruler… what chaos did you cause this time?"
"Shhh~." Zoth raised a finger to his lips and glanced subtly at Sakura and Shinji.
"Let's not talk about that in front of the kids, got it?"
Byakuya gave a small nod and went back to his stir-frying like nothing happened.
"Ruler nii-chan~ tell us more about the superheroes!" Shinji tugged at Zoth's sleeve. Sakura's wide eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Alright, alright. After dinner, I promise… Wait, where's Kariya?"
"Overtime. Some mangaka missed their deadlines, so he's out hunting them down."
Zoth let out a long sigh and clasped his hands as if in prayer.
"May the poor souls of those authors rest in peace…
For Deadline is the Holy Relic, and Kariya is the Berserker…"
The small house was filled with the sizzle of cooking and the cheerful laughter of children.
A fragile sliver of peace…
in the middle of a Holy Grail War about to descend into madness and bloodshed.
---
After dinner, the two kids — Shinji and Sakura — were sitting in the living room watching cartoons.
The cheerful sounds of animated voices filled the air, cutting through the lingering smoke of cigarettes and the fading scent of hot food.
In the next room, Zoth and Byakuya sat across from each other.
Zoth casually held a cup of coffee, sipping as if nothing dramatic had just gone down.
"Byakuyaaa~ I've finished summoning Berserker~."
His tone was light, as if he were talking about picking up milk from the store.
Byakuya nearly dropped his teacup.
"You… summoned Berserker?!"
Shock. Disbelief. Speechless.
"You're Ruler! That's a violation of the Holy Grail War rules—!"
Zoth waved his hand like he was swatting a mosquito, grinning with complete disregard for order:
"Relax~ I summoned him because I felt like it. Who's gonna stop me?"
"The Church… they'll definitely—"
"Oh, those skirt-wearing guys?" Zoth sneered, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes:
"If they find out, I'll kill every last one of them."
Byakuya choked. He wanted to argue, but didn't dare.
Zoth leaned back into his chair, slowly sipped his coffee, then continued in that same casual but impactful tone:
"You know… the Church and the Tohsaka family are in cahoots. This war was rigged from the start."
That sentence hit Byakuya like a hammer to the chest. His lifelong faith cracked.
Zoth wasn't done.
He laid out the entire dirty game under the table — how the Church gave the green light to Tohsaka, how the rules had been twisted.
Byakuya could only sit there, stunned, like his entire worldview had just collapsed.
Zoth exhaled softly, steam curling from his coffee.
"Don't worry… I've got a plan."
In his mind, the worst-case scenario was already crystal clear:
This Holy Grail… is corrupted.
No one else to blame but the Einzbern family.
Back in the Third War, they foolishly summoned Avenger – Angra Mainyu, tainting the Greater Grail with [All the World's Evils].
The result?
Even though Avenger had long been defeated, his soul had fused with the Grail's core — becoming its blackened heart.
"There are two ways to fix this mess…" Zoth muttered, eyes dark as he stared into the Fuyuki night.
1. Smash the Greater Grail — destroy the vessel completely.
2. Send Irisviel to the afterlife — prevent the Grail from manifesting.
But then… a slow, wicked grin crept onto his lips.
He gently swirled his coffee.
"Or… what if I use [Omni Force] to absorb all the [All the World's Evils] myself~?"
A smile — sinister, dangerous… but somehow lethally charming.
He stood up, walked back to his personal space.
In the small kitchen, he carefully laid out a plate of salt-marinated dried fish, silently resuming a task no one else could possibly understand.
"War can wait…
But this salted fish — tonight, it needs to be perfect."