Fuyuki – A mid-tier hotel.
At the moment—Zoth was binge-eating.
Not because he was hungry.
Not because he was craving anything.
But because… he was replenishing mana.
Literally "eating to survive." More precisely, he was running a self-coded recovery system known as:
[Internal Nervous System Patch – Version: 'Ahoge King Mode']
"Eat more, get stronger. Sleep longer, grow tougher." – some female King Arthur once said.
Zoth had a built-in mana regen system. But he still needed physical energy from food to stay stable—especially without strong mana support from his Master.
And the problem was...
His Master right now was Sakura.
Or, as he liked to call her:
"My little Master — a tiny sprout who got forced into gardening before she even bloomed."
Sakura was still too weak. Her magic circuits weren't fully unlocked.
Mana supply?
Barely enough to grill a hotdog, let alone power a Servant.
So now…
He was eating the hotdog to stay alive, not using mana to grill it.
Now he was sitting cross-legged on the bed, chewing hotdogs, snacking on chips, holding a Nintendo Switch, and munching like a spoiled lazy ferret.
He glanced over at Kariya—who was curled up in the corner of the bed, face pale like his soul had been drained—and spoke up:
"Hey, Kariya. You really should've bought more. You think this is enough for my basic recovery?!"
Kariya gulped audibly, his eyes bloodshot, forehead veins throbbing:
"ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?!?"
"You drained HALF the money on my card for food!!
And now you're saying it's not enough?!"
A true modern tragedy was unfolding:
A disheveled man, messy hair, unshaven, dark circles under his eyes from endless deadlines—
—was shouting at a Servant who was... eating hotdogs and mashing buttons in Mario Kart.
"You think this is some kinda Battle Royale or MasterChef?!"
Zoth, unfazed, kept his poker face on, feet propped up on the table, head tilted back:
"Now, now… Don't be so loud. I'm in recovery mode. And you know how sensitive patients can be to noise."
"PATIENT MY ASS!!!"
Kariya slammed the table and stood up, hair flying in righteous fury:
"Have you EVER seen a Servant who just eats and sleeps all day?!
Sakura summoned you and now you're living like some... divine sentient food critic?!"
Truth was… just yesterday, Kariya and Byakuya had a closed-door meeting.
Should they even let Sakura stay as this guy's Master?
Zoth, while munching on a fish-shaped pastry, casually replied:
"Kariya, you worry too much. I'm a Ruler. I can operate without a Master."
"Other Rulers might enjoy being referees... but me? I wanna play."
And just like that, Sakura kept the Command Seals.
She couldn't force Zoth to do anything…
But at least she could treat him like a "god-tier summonable pet" in case of emergencies.
Back in the present, Zoth let out a long yawn, still crunching chips like nothing was wrong:
"Relax, Kariya. I'm just... an ordinary guy~"
Kariya stared at the ceiling, voice hollow:
"Yeah... ordinary... nothing special…"
But deep down, he was internally screaming:
You leveled Matou Manor with ONE attack.
You devoured the entire hotel fridge in TWO HOURS.
You drained my ATM card in ONE DAY.
So just what kind of 'ordinary' is that supposed to be?!
And to prove he really was just a "normal guy", Zoth was even given a simple task yesterday:
Take Sakura and Shinji to the park.
His response?
Zoth peeked out the window, saw the blazing sun, scrunched his nose, scratched his head, and gave a speech worthy of a tragic poetic introvert:
"Eh? This time of day? The sun's brutal, my skin's delicate.
Nope. Not going."
Then he rolled back into his blanket, passed out like a piglet, snoring like thunder, hugging his pillow like he was about to isekai.
Kariya stared at the sleeping form and muttered like he was praying to the heavens:
"Goddamn it… What kind of Holy Grail War is this...?"
"A Servant who just eats, sleeps, begs for Takoyaki…
…and is still OP like a literal god?!"
---
"Listen here, Ruler, do you even—"
"Byat! I'm not going!"
"LET ME FINISH, YOU USELESS EXCUSE OF A SERVANT!"
---
"Ruler, you—"
"Shh! I'm mid-match!"
"YOU DAMN BASTARD! GO OUTSIDE AND TOUCH SOME GRASS!!"
---
Time passed... One year, just like that.
To Zoth, it was a year of both physical and emotional rehabilitation.
And may the heavens bear witness, Buddha and all included:
He was still deeply traumatized from being chased to the brink of death by some Grand Assassin near the Root — forced to crawl into the sewers of Fuyuki and live like a sewer rat.
"I swear... if I ever get chased like that again... I'm going back to Planet Russia to restart my life."
– Zoth, 3AM, while hiding in the hotel fridge to escape the darkness.
But for Byakuya and Kariya...
That year was pure, unfiltered hell — filled with tears and financial ruin.
Calling Zoth a cockroach?
Too merciful.
"Cockroaches at least hide in the shadows. This guy? He's a full-blown cash-burning kaiju who stares you dead in the eyes while setting your wallet on fire."
Zoth spent money like a fireworks festival on New Year's Eve.
Games? Bought.
Figures? Bought.
Snacks? Bought.
And after buying?
Tossed.
One time, he brought home an entire army of mecha model kits in every size imaginable — gleefully assembling them over two sleepless nights.
"This is an upgraded EVA unit with mini-battleship add-ons and a railgun! Look! Look at this craftsmanship!"
He beamed with pride.
Two days later:
All of them were dumped in a cardboard box, collecting dust under the bed — right next to a torn anime body pillow.
Byakuya: "This man… is a walking nightmare."
Kariya: "No. He's a nightmare with bedhead, a bottomless stomach, snoring issues, and spending habits worse than a bank robber."
Then, one day...
Byakuya flipped open the family savings book. His fingers trembled as he pointed at the number:
"K-Kariya... our family... doesn't even have enough left to buy rice."
Kariya exhaled, eyes hollow, holding a receipt from the game store:
"Zoth just pre-ordered five unreleased games... USING MY NAME."
"Didn't he swear he was gonna live like a normal person?!?"
But of course, life was never that simple.
Zoth—the man who claimed to be "normal"—was currently sprawled on the couch like a dying sea slug, wrapped in a blanket burrito, rewatching some ancient anime series, chewing snacks, switching the remote with his foot, and occasionally offering live commentary:
"Damn, this MC's just like me~ Strong, good-looking, got a dream, eats a lot, and gets hunted nonstop by a harem of emotionally unstable girls. He's clearly my long-lost brother!"
Byakuya and Kariya shared a silent glance, nodding with deadly resolve:
"Find the Holy Grail. Open the damn War. NOW."
"Send him to the battlefield. ANYWHERE. Just get him out of the house before he bankrupts our ancestral line!"
Their current emotional state?
Like they were honest working men busting their backs daily...
...only to come home and find some black-haired parasite chewing through their last loaf of bread.
"I swear, one day I'm shoving him into a Bento box and mailing him to the farthest planet in the galaxy."
Meanwhile, Zoth was still smiling blissfully:
"I'm just a regular guy~" he said, chewing Takoyaki and tapping "Buy" on another game card order.
---
Germany – Einzbern Castle, the Fortress of Snow
In the silent snowbound castle, where the tallest towers reached into the white heavens, a man and a woman stood before an ancient summoning circle.
She – Irisviel von Einzbern – an artificial wife born from homunculus magecraft, was the vessel for the Holy Grail.
In her hands, she cradled a sword's ornate scabbard, a dazzling mix of deep blue and royal gold — like the winter sky meeting a burning sunset.
Its sheath bore elven engravings, glowing faintly whenever the flicker of magical firelight licked its surface.
Opposite her stood a black-haired man, calmly drawing out magical circles on the floor.
He was Emiya Kiritsugu – a killer, and a dreamer of the impossible: to become a "Champion of Justice."
"Kiritsugu..."
Iris tilted her head, her voice tinged with doubt:
"Is the summoning circle... this simple? Can it really call forth a Servant?"
Kiritsugu didn't look up. His hand moved with cold precision, drawing one sigil after another:
"There's no need to complicate things. As long as the Holy Grail remains active, even a basic summoning circle is enough to call forth a spirit from the Throne."
Iris looked down at the sword in her arms and nodded softly.
This was the holy relic they had spent a year preparing — an artifact recorded in legend as once belonging to a fabled king.
Kiritsugu stood, his eyes as steady and cold as forged steel.
"It's time. Place the relic in the circle."
"This is the final step."
---
Deep Forest – Ancient Ruins
Far from civilization, in the heart of an overgrown forest, red magical light shimmered to life across moss-covered stones.
Waver Velvet – a tousle-haired teen in rumpled school clothes, held tight to his school bag, drenched in nervous sweat... but his eyes burned with youthful defiance.
A third-year student of the Clock Tower, Waver had been belittled and ignored.
In retaliation, he had stolen a piece of Iskandar's cloak — his goal clear:
"I'll prove it! You don't need noble blood to be a genius!"
He placed the relic on the altar, chanting frantically. The summoning circle ignited in a blazing red — just like his pounding heart: excited... and slightly terrified.
"Begin the summoning ritual!"
---
Fuyuki – Tohsaka Manor
Within the grand workshop, where magical lights gleamed from every enchanted sconce, Tohsaka Tokiomi — a refined man with slicked-back hair — read a letter from the Clock Tower.
Just then, Kotomine Kirei entered. Dressed in priestly robes, his face was unreadable, cold… but his eyes betrayed something deeper — a void.
"Master, what are you reading?"
Tokiomi lowered the letter, voice calm:
"News from the Clock Tower. El-Melloi… has changed relics. He's still entering the war."
"Then…"
Kirei frowned. "Will there be enough participants?"
"No matter."
Tokiomi turned, lifting a dried piece of serpent skin that shimmered with latent magic.
"As long as we have enough Masters. Victory or defeat... let the Holy Grail decide."
Kirei nodded slightly, gesturing toward the workshop's corner.
From within a curtain of dark mist, a shadowy figure slowly took form...
"Assassin. Hassan. No movement escapes his eyes."
Tokiomi smiled, gesturing toward the summoning circle already drawn on the floor:
"Excellent. Now… it's my turn to summon the King of this world."
He laid the snake skin onto the relic pedestal. The space trembled gently as golden-violet magic flared around the circle like a serpent's flickering tongue...
"Bearer of the Flame of Babylon... Descend."
---
A voice echoes across time...
From east to west, summoning circles ignite in brilliant light.
The Holy Grail — is ready to begin a new War.
The Heroic Spirits — are being summoned from the very edge of myth and memory...
But this time… something feels off.
Something unaccounted for is taking shape.
---
Fuyuki – Ruins of the Matou Residence
Moonlight, as pale as ash, bathed the scattered rubble — all that remained of Matou Manor after an "unexplained detonation."
There stood Zoth — the self-proclaimed "Kamen Rider Solomon" — amidst the ruins.
In one hand: a charred fragment of a relic.
In the other: a glowing red arc of magic etched into the broken earth.
The night wind rustled through his messy black hair, carrying the scent of burnt bricks… and grilled squid snack he hadn't finished eating.
"Hmph~ If C-Onee-san (Caster) could bend the rules to summon Assassin… Then I can play dirty too!"
He muttered with a crooked grin, like someone about to set off fireworks in someone else's bathroom.
That's right.
He — a Ruler, unaffiliated with any faction — was preparing to summon a Berserker.
"Yeah, maybe it's against the rules... But who gives a damn?"
Zoth squinted, grin widening:
"Rules don't apply to lazy people like me."
The summoning circle neared completion.
From the charred relic, a dense black mist began to pour forth — like the smoke of rage compressed for a thousand years…