Avenger (Fate/hollow ataraxia)

Avenger (アヴェンジャー) is the Avenger-class Servant of the Einzbern Master‎‎ in the Third Holy Grail War. He is an abnormal Servant that is not part of the regular seven classes, whose true identity is. While he was not actually the evil god of Zoroastrianism, his defeat in the Third War corrupted the Grail, turning it into the equivalent of All the World's Evils. He acts as the Servant of Bazett Fraga McRemitz in place of Lancer in the four day loop of Fate/hollow ataraxia. He is one of the Servants able to be summoned by the Protagonist in the Grand Orders of Fate/Grand Order.

Identity
Avenger's True Name is (Angra Mainyu) (アンリマユ), originally believed to be the Persian god of darkness himself. In reality, he was no more than an ordinary villager. A human that was freed from the confines of Order by having his name expelled from the , The Universal Revelation of Inscribed Creation. One day, he was randomly chosen as the "source of all evil in the world" by his village and was tortured and sacrificed in the ensuing rituals. The villagers believed that from the moment humans are born, there is evil in them. Since it was impossible to be freed from malice just through clean, righteous living, the only way to realize the true goodness of human beings was to force "all the evils of the world" onto one person and blame him as the true source of any human evil. If one person embodies all the evils of the world, the rest of the people cannot be evil, no matter what. This was the simple, childlike theory they all invested in.

So they continuously tortured him until he went insane. They captured him, beat him, carved every word that cursed mankind onto his body, forced every sin imaginable upon him, took out bits and pieces of him slowly, defiled his mind with absolute evil, and held him responsible for all of it in the world. They would not allow him to die until he succumbed to old age. He had a curse put on him as a result, one made of the great evil that he was to represent. He was shocked at first at the senselessness of it at all. Eventually he started wondering who it was he should hate. However, Avenger himself only felt anger and hatred towards the world and the people that mercilessly executed him. His forced sacrifice eased the confused minds of his people, which despite being unintentional, qualified him to become a Heroic Spirit.

He only despised mankind of his own accord during the first few years, but after that, the hate became a natural function for him rather than an emotion; hate was the state he was always in, so it was only natural for him to continue hating everything without any other reason. By that time, he forgave and tolerated humanity for whatever sins they may cause while hating them. The world is worth hating. The imbalances were evened out by his hatred, so the people could be absolved of all guilt and live freely. But that kind of "forgiveness" is also the same type that validates any evils that humans may perform.

Yet as the time passed by and he saw many rises and fall of generations, he realized that while he still hated humans for what they did, he still loved the world. Of course, the people that put him up there, his family, his loved ones, the people he hated, died long before he did. The village changed over the generations, expanding, declining; people reviled him, people feared him, people scorned him, and yet they revered him as the sign of their salvation. But he could do nothing but hate, since that was the only thing he could communicate to the world. In the end, he accepted his role for humanity, even if it meant to be the blame for their wrongdoings.

A helpless sacrifice—an ordinary person without any special talent—that transformed into exactly what they wanted, that was determined to be and came to represent all evils of the world. And thus, hated by everyone and losing his self, a hero was born.

Background
He was summoned during in the Third Grail war by the Einzbern family. The only Avenger Class Servant summoned was during the Third Holy Grail War, and rather than a true Heroic Spirit, an Anti-Hero was summoned. The Angra Mainyu that was summoned was a nameless figure crowned as the 'King of Daemons' who bore the six billion curses of the world. Once brought to this world, a living calamity made for carnage and the Einzbern hoped Avenger would slaughter all other Masters and Servants and allow them to activate the Greater Grail. Replacing the Berserker class for the War, the class was a special container created only for him, but he was extremely weak instead of something capable of slaughtering all other Masters and Servants.

He was quickly killed and was trapped in the wish-granting spiritual Holy Grail. When he was taken into the Grail, a black miracle had happened. The power of the Grail as a wish granter received the wishes that humanity had placed on Angra Mainyu and was trying to give him, an existence that was only a soul, a physical form with power befitting that of the "Symbol of Evil". Angra Mainyu was being born, with the Greater Grail as a uterus, as an embodiment of the Third Magic. His influence tainted the Grail system. Originally the Grail system can summon only "good" Heroic Spirits, however due to his corruption caused the fourth and fifth Wars to summon irregular spirits.

Avenger himself is "a Heroic Spirit born into existence according to people's wishes". Other Heroic Spirits are recognized as true heroes, but Avenger represents the belief that "heroes" are lies and fabrications. The enshrinement of humanity's selfish desires turned Avenger into a Heroic Spirit, creating a direct connection to the wish-granting function of the Holy Grail. The Greater Grail, "activated 3 times without granting anyone's wishes", turned into its present state as there was still a chance to grant somebody's wish. As a result, Avenger was born into this world in order to grant everybody's desire for an existence like "All the World's Evil (Angra Mainyu)". Despite having been a normal, powerless being prior, the wish engraved in his soul by those who desired him to represent all the evils in the world was granted. Thus, the purpose of the 4th War was simply to gather vast amounts of mana to grant the wish.

Personality
Originally he was a good-natured young man before he was randomly chosen to be the "source" of his village's evil and tortured until death. His hatred for the world became his very nature but he forgave humanity and accepted it, both good and evil. He believes that "all the world's evil" is simply a misnomer and that humans themselves are the source of all evil.

In hollow ataraxia, Avenger usually has a lazy and laid-back attitude, lacking any sense of justice. This is best shown when he decides to kill innocent people in order to attract the attention of a Master and their Servant (since he believed it was the easiest way). He is also known to be sarcastic, cynical and mercilessly mocking towards the people he interacts with.

Fate/Zero
Avenger, in its pure form as All the World's Evil, reacts to Kiritsugu Emiya's statement "For that, even if I am to carry 'all the evils of this world' – it won't matter. If that can save the world, then I'd gladly accept it." while he is arguing with Saber after the deaths of Lancer, Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi and Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri. Hearing that it has been called by someone, it wishes to answer him as soon as possible. While waiting for the "birth canal", the Holy Grail, to open, it dreams of the cries that will dye the world crimson red.

After Irisviel von Einzbern's death, Avenger records her personality at the time that the soul and conscience of Irisviel merged with the Greater Grail in order to use it as a shell to communicate with Kiritsugu. Avenger, now as Irisviel, claims that the record is unmistakably genuine, as the last thing that she touched before her demise was All the World's Evil. It inherited Irisviel's last desire by personifying her wish to "remain this way."

During the final battle between Kiritsugu and Kirei Kotomine, the Grail gushes out black mud which engulfed both of them. Though both of them entered in a dream like state, the Grail recognizes Kiritsugu as the victor. Avenger uses Irisviel to confront Kiritsugu in his mind and asks his wish, however it comes with a heavy price. In his mind, he was forced to confront the fact that his methods who practiced in all his life will eventually lead to him becoming the ultimate enemy of all humanity, equal to Angra Mainyu itself - and, 'Irisviel' proclaimed, this path is correct.

Kiritsugu, now realizing that the Grail is corrupted, shoots down all his loved ones including the illusions of his wife and daughter. As he rejected and strangled 'Irisviel', Avenger placed a curse on him - to never be free of regret until his painful death.

Kirei, having went through the same experience, questioned Kiritsugu why he rejected the Grail; Kiritsugu's answer was that it sacrifices too many things for what it gives. Kirei says that he wanted it even so and Kiritsugu, admitting that he did not understand Kirei, shot him in the heart.

In Kirei's last moments, the Holy Grail appeared to him in his mind. Filled with hatred and envy for Kiritsugu, Kirei reached out and touched the cursed artifact. He prayed for an end to humanity before of his death and his wish was granted in the form of fire. Meanwhile, Avenger's emergence was prevented by Kiritsugu, who commanded his servant, Saber, to destroy the Grail upon recognizing the evil presence emanating from it. However, she destroyed only the vessel and not the contents - the 'black mud' - which spilled out from its core onto the streets below and caused a fire that eventually destroyed a large part of Shinto. The black ichor managed to soak Kirei's lifeless body, resurrecting him with an artificial, black heart. Gilgamesh was covered and absorbed into the black mud that poured out when Saber destroyed the Grail's vessel.

In the original novel, there was a scene where Gilgamesh contacted Avenger inside of black mud that came out of the Grail. Avenger reveals the ugliness and hatred of the world, but to his surprise Gilgamesh accepts this and acknowledges his role in carrying the burden of the world. Gilgamesh's strong ego helps him fight off Avenger's influence and the black mud ejects Gilgamesh.

Kirei wakes up and finds Gilgamesh near him. He seemed to have gained a flesh body from something that flowed to his body through the Master and Servant connection.

Einzbern Consultation Room
Avenger appears briefly in the Einzbern Consultation Room, a segment not part of the actual timeline of Fate/Zero. Zecchan somehow entered the Grail. The Shades that Avenger manifested were chasing after Zecchan, but were stopped by his void-like figure. Avenger would order the Shades to attack Zecchan, but Irisviel would appear and save her from the Shades by cutting them down with her Naginata.

Zecchan tried to escape with Irisviel, she encouraged Irisviel to leave the Holy Grail by telling her she believes her to be a champion of justice. While running away Zecchan encounters Avenger. His body turned out to be an exit and Irisviel finally understood that Zecchan is from a different time period.

Fate/Grand Order
Avenger is a No-Star Servant that can be summoned by the Protagonist. True to his Star rarity, he is the weakest Servant unable to triumph against his enemy alone.

Fate/Accel Zero Order
After the defeat of Black Iri, Assassin calls out Angra Mainyu from the Large Cavity. Angra Mainyu remembers him, and the two fight each other.

Fate/hollow ataraxia
During the 5th War, he was finally reborn as the Grail, thanks to its immense mana. The physical vessel for the Grail was destroyed by Shirou Emiya and Saber, along with the contents to prevent the disaster to be brought by the presence of Avenger in form of "All World's Evil". After finally being able to grant a wish, the Avenger/Grail was left to expire without accomplishing its role. In order to do what it was born to do, Avenger/the Grail sought a wish. In the process, he found Bazett, who after being left to die for Kirei, wished hard that she did not want to die. Therefore, they made a contract: Avenger, to continue to exist and accomplish its new role of granting a wish, and Bazett, to stay alive even in a vegetative state.

However, 6 months after the 5th war, Caren came to Fuyuki city, found and nursed the dying Bazett. Unlike before, when Avenger just had to keep her physical signs alive, now he had to keep both Bazett's now awake consciousness and body alive. In order to accomplish that, he created the four-day temporal loop.

To keep Bazett thinking that she was alive, Avenger recreated the 5th Grail War. The problem, however, was that he never personally experienced the 5th war. He only knew of the 3rd war. So he just took the participants of the 5th war and used them to create the characters in the 3rd war to play the 5th war's events.

While he was Bazett's Servant Avenger by night, he took on the form of Shirou by day. As Shirou, he comes to care for other people, especially the mysterious Caren Hortensia. In this form, he has no idea of his own identity and thinks and acts like Shirou. He later explains that this is because Avenger himself is 0, and no matter how much you add 0 to 1, it is still 1.

The problem starts when (1) Shirou, in truth Avenger, realizes the temporal loop and tries to solve the anomaly, and (2) Avenger himself begins to keep "filling up" the Grail to see more and more new events. Since Shirou is someone who cannot let the wrong stay wrong, he had to fix the abnormal temporal loop. Also, even though he knew that by seeking new events he would complete the Grail thus ending the loop, which would ultimately mean his return to void, Avenger could not stop enjoying the happy daily life as Shirou.

Later Bazett realizes the false reality of the temporal loop, but refuses to finish it. She thinks that she would die once the loop is over, but she also knew that would permanently take Avenger to nothingness. In her hope to stay alive, and her wish to keep Avenger from his ultimate fate, she tries to continue the loop, even if it means going against Avenger himself.

With help from Caren, the only one whom Shirou has never met and thus Avenger reveals his true self, Shirou/Avenger finally realizes that he himself is the cause of all the problem, and decides to put the end to it. He finally reaches the Grail as the other Servants and Masters prevent the monsters (which are actually leftover parts of Avenger) from stopping him. In the end, Avenger frees Bazett from the loop and returns to the void. In the process, it is revealed that while the reproduced Holy Grail War itself was due to the wish of Bazett, the daily life that Shirou experienced was due to Avenger's own wish to live a normal life. During the loop, Bazett uses a Command Spell to make Avenger 'become her left arm' in order to keep him from contacting Shirou directly. After obtaining an artificial arm to replace her missing one, both she and Caren speak of the arm as if it is still Avenger.

Fate/tiger colosseum Upper
In Irisviel's story, Archer and Avenger are seen in the Emiya residence. Irisviel (which is an Irisviel of a parallel world that was brought by accident by Avenger and Neco-Arc for letting the Zelretch chest that they took from the Tohsaka residence at the beginning of Irisviel's story stay open) identifies Avenger as someone she once knew. With Archer, Avenger and Shirou arguing, Magical Caren tells Irisviel that they are all Kiritsugu's sons. Irisviel, shocked with this revelation, decides to take action as a mother. She lectures them about how brothers should take care of each other. She greets Avenger and calls him Angra Mainyu. Avenger replies that "It's been a while", although they haven't met in his current state. Irisviel was surprised to see Angra Mainyu as her son in this world and she is glad to see Avenger finally happy. Avenger claims that his body is of a hopeless ordinary man, but he is grateful to him.

Capsule Servant
Avenger is encountered in Bazett's story in Rin's route. After Rin picks up Lancer, Avenger calls out to her for help. Rin was surprised when Avenger spoke. Avenger almost introduces himself as Angra Mainyu, and tells Rin that he is able to talk because he is a lucky one. Bazett appears and orders Avenger to return to her capsule. In actuality, she wants Avenger back because Avenger is her only friend, but instead she claims that lucky talking Servants are illegal. These Servants are designated to be sealed, and the Mage's Association dispatched her to recover that Servant. Avenger yells out to Bazett, calling her a liar and a terrible person who abuses her Capsule Servant. He says that Bazett makes him go shopping, clean, and take her phone calls. He also complains about Bazett constantly feeding him beef bowl for breakfast, lunch and dinner which drove him to the height of insanity. His complaints make Bazett appear to be a lonely woman whose only friend is a Servant. Bazett tries to prove she has friends by showing the contact list on her phone. However, Avenger points out the that those on the list are all business contacts and Bazett, angered by this, challenges Rin.

After Bazett's defeat, she reveals she doesn't have a single friend and Avenger is her only friend. Both Rin and Avenger feel guilty, and Rin asks Avenger to return to Bazett. Avenger agrees, saying that they both bullied Bazett a bit too hard and it leaves a bad aftertaste. Bazett asks Avenger to return as friends. Rin questions why Bazett wants Avenger so badly, Bazett replies that she would rather have Lancer because she keeps getting doubles of Avenger. Rin decides to give Lancer to Bazett, and to her surprise, Lancer is a lucky talking Servant. Lancer tries to convince Rin that she can't trade him away and they are compatible like a dream team, to no avail.. Bazett was happy to trade Avenger for Lancer as she claims Avenger to be rude and super weak. As both Lancer and Avenger try to convince their Masters not to trade, Avenger remarks that he expected the story to be a heartwarming story.

Chibichuki!
Avenger is a school "prankster". Due to the similar appearance with Shirou, Taiga Fujimura mistakes him for Shirou and he ends up getting educational guidance lectures.

Other appearances
Avenger makes a brief cameo appearance in the last episode of Carnival Phantasm, he also appears in a glimpse in the EX season episode.

In the Fate/Apocrypha universe, the Einzbern during in the Third Holy Grail War had two options to pick their Servant. The first option was to alter the system of the Greater Grail itself and summon Angra Mainyu to a unique Avenger-class Servant. The second option was to abuse one of the systems installed in the Greater Grail by summoning Amakusa Shirou Tokisada as the ultimate Ruler-class Servant, meant to be an impartial authority whom regulated the progress of the War. They would then make use of the great privilege possessed by Ruler: its Command Spells for the other Servants. They were in conflict between choosing brawn or brains. After much contemplation, the Einzberns chose Ruler. One could say that they picked the safer option; perhaps their previous defeat had robbed them of their confidence in powers higher than they. Unlike Avenger, Ruler was the last servant to survive in the Third Holy Grail War and he survived for the next sixty years. Ruler wished for humanity salvation and wished the happiness of all mankind, for innate goodness to be found in the heart of all humanity and the annihilation of Angra Mainyu: All the Evils of the World.

In the Fate/Extra universe, Angra Mainyu/CCC is the anti-planetary Noble Phantasm of the demon-transformed Kiara Sessyoin. Her existence is similar to Avenger who had once been demonized and celebrated as a sacrifice to prove the evil of mankind.

In Type-Moon's April Fools' Day 2009, moon.cinemas.jp is a fake movie theater site listing a number of parody films. He was featured in Mysterious Planet An Sa Ra (不思議惑星アン・サ・ラ).

Abilities
Avenger was a regular human worshipped as a Heroic Spirit in life and considered to be Angra Mainyu, but he became a "mere human" again after his death. Despite such religious faith being placed upon him, he did not gain any unique abilities as a Heroic Spirit other than becoming free from the laws of order due to having his name stricken from Avesta, but that quality is not enough to be able to truly label him a Heroic Spirit. He is considered to have been garbage during the Third Holy Grail War, completely powerless and without any Noble Phantasms. He is only able to become the Heroic Spirit others wished for upon entering the Holy Grail, fulfilling the wishes piled upon him and truly becoming All the World's Evils. Within the recreation of the Fifth Holy Grail War, he has changed somewhat from the Servant serving the Einzbern Master, displaying a Noble Phantasm and having some use to Bazett despite his weakness. He declares himself to be the weakest of all legends in the world, boasting that he is "number one" in that regard, says that his Servant skill is "nothing", and believes even Bazett outstrips him in fighting ability.

He wields Tawrich: The Left Fang Grinder and Zarich: The Right Fang Grinder, a pair of reverse grip weapons fashioned in the shape of a mix between a beast's fangs and claws. They were likely worshipped as real daemon's fangs and used in rituals during the era they were made. Brutish weapons varying greatly in size and shape, they are similar in form to throwing daggers originally crafted by the or  tribes of Africa. As often with short swords, they are meant to be used as to stop an opponent's blade rather than rend flesh; one is able to catch a blade, while the other is used to attack. As they are not Noble Phantasms, it is possible to break them in the case of Saber easily doing so using Mana Burst to smash both with one swing. When acting as Shirou and properly meeting Caren for the first time, he projects a large number of them due to his compatibility with them, using them with great efficiency and shooting them as spinning projectiles.

He cannot keep up with other Servants with his low-ranking abilities, and a fight of pure ability with one will only lead to his exhaustion before losing. While he says that his combat ability amounts to nothing, he still believes he can buy time against a Servant. He uses a fighting style that will not allow him to win, but not cause him to lose even while surrounded by enemies. Bazett believes the reason that he can fight defensively extremely well while retaining his composure is due to being "unkillable" from the four day loop.

Upon becoming Angra Mainyu, he was instilled with an instinctual knowledge related to the "rules" in his role as All the World's Evils. Despite being the weakest of Heroic Spirits, he, as All the World's Evil, can defeat even the most powerful human being. He is the strongest at "dealing with humans", not in the least scared of even a fictitious "strongest ultra humanoid in all of human history who has powers that surpass a Heroic Spirit." While almost useless in battle against Servants, his "natural inclinations" make him the second or third in ability to kill humans en masse. While he would normally be number one in that regard, he says the dog and the spider are better at murdering than him. While having never met them or competed with them, his innate knowledge lets him know that he can keep up in quality but pales in comparison to the speed with which they are able to kill.

Unlimited Raise Dead
Unlimited Raise Dead: Infinite Ruin is the four day loop caused by his abilities. He initially lets Bazett believe that it is his Noble Phantasm. She believes the reason for his lack of strength in battle is due it being a weakness for having a Noble Phantasm that alters and interferes with destiny. He tells her that it has no cost due to emptiness being his nature, allowing him to resurrect in the evening as long as there is nothingness.

With the death of Bazett or the end of the fourth night at midnight, the "abnormal returns to normal" as the curtains close on the battle. What should not have been possible returns to the void from which it came, obliterating the four days without a trace and erasing the past as the new day begins.

Shade
Shade (骸) is the form that the remains of Avenger take in the looped world of Fate/hollow ataraxia after he is defeated: a shadowy void that is barely shaped like a wolf-man.

Similar to daemons, though much weaker in power. Still strong enough to slaughter any normal human, while someone with 10 years-worth of martial arts training might be able to last a few seconds in a one-on-one fight. The real problem is that it appears in massive numbers, having been born from a spiritual disruption meant to "create the same kind of monster".

Development
Despite hollow ataraxia not having been completely worked out at the time of Fate/Zero ' s development period, Gen Urobuchi was able to get the mechanics behind Avenger's method of "possession" by chance.

Reception

 * In the second Popularity polls of Fate/stay night in 2006, Avenger was ranked 12th.
 * In the Type-Moon's 10th Anniversary Character Poll, Avenger was ranked 38th.