Kariya Matō

Kariya Matō is a character from the Japanese novel Fate/Zero, the prequel to Fate/stay night.

He is the Master of a Berserker class servant in the 4th Holy Grail War.

Height: 173cm

Weight: 55kg

Blood Type: AB

Birthday: 3.22

Character
Kariya Matō is the uncle of Shinji Matō, and the first scion of his family to be born with magical potential in several generations. Despite this, he grew disgusted with his family, particularly Zōken Matō, and cut all ties with them more than ten years prior to the 4th Holy Grail War. Disappointed with the lack of magical abilities in Shinji, Zōken resented Kariya for allowing the family's magical lineage to decline, especially since a Matō with magical powers was necessary to act as a Master during the Holy Grail Wars.

Kariya maintained contact with his childhood friend and love interest Aoi Zenjō, though he had willingly given up trying to pursue her affections after she married Tokiomi Tōsaka. Aoi would later have two daughters, Rin and Sakura, who were both fond of Kariya.

One year before the Fourth War, Kariya discovered that Sakura, who possessed a greater potential to become a strong magus than Kariya and his brother Byakuya, had been handed over to the Matō family. Because Magi families traditionally raised only one child as an heir, Tokiomi had agreed to Zōken's request for his youngest daughter, supposedly for the intention of reviving the Matō family's stagnant bloodline.

Enraged at Tokiomi's treatment of his daughter and the grief that it caused Aoi, Kariya made a deal with Zōken: Kariya would participate in the 4th Holy Grail War and win the Holy Grail, which he knew to be Zōken's primary goal. In exchange, Sakura would be allowed to return to her family. However, because Kariya lacked any formal training as a Mage, Zōken's insisted on implanting numerous Crest Worms into his body. The worms would literally eat away at their host, causing Kariya's health to progressively fail, in return for significantly expanding his magic circuits and magical potential. By the time of his summoning of a Servant, Kariya's hair is white and the left side of his face dead with many other complications. However, despite the Crest Worms and his own accelerated training, Kariya remained severely lacking as a Mage. At Zōken's behest, he compensated for this by summoning the most powerful of the seven Servant classes - the Servant of Mad Enhancement, Berserker.

During their first two battles, Kariya's hatred for Tokiomi Tōsaka leads to his focusing solely on dispatching Tokiomi's Servant, Archer. Both attempts end in failure, due largely in part to Berserker's obsession with Saber leading him to engage her against his Master's orders. Berserker is struck down from behind by Rider in the first instance, and Archer in the second. Kariya's attempt to engage Tokiomi directly also ends badly, when the former is thoroughly out-classed and left for dead. His problems are further compounded by his failing health and excruciating pain, due to the high mana requirement of manifesting a Berserker-class Servant.

Following the defeat of the rogue Caster, Kariya is approached by Kotomine Kirei. In return for kidnapping Irisviel von Einzbern using Berserker in the guise of Rider, he is promised victory and the Holy Grail. Kotomine's promise amuses Zōken, who sees through the priest's deceptions and reveals that he had never expected Kariya to win the War in the first place.

Kariya confronts Tokiomi Tōsaka, only to find him already dead, seconds before Aoi walks in on him. She misinterprets the situation, and in her grief blames him and the Matō family for taking away both Sakura and her husband. She accuses Kariya of never having loved anyone, completely oblivious to how he had always loved her. This breaks Kariya's heart and his resolve, causing him to blindly lash out and throttle her. It is later revealed that the entire event had been orchestrated by Kirei, whose sole intent was to derive amusement from it.

On the last day of the 4th Holy Grail War, Berserker faces off against Saber, culminating in a battle so ferocious that Berserker draws more mana than Kariya can provide. His Servant killed, Kariya survives long enough to make his way back to the Matō estate, where he is approached by Sakura. He tells her that he has come to rescue her, but collapses at her feet soon after. Kariya dies with a satisfied smile, comforted by dreams of escaping with Aoi, Sakura, and Rin and starting a family with together.

Servant
Kariya's servant is a Berserker-class servant, later revealed to be one of the Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot of the Lake.

Berserker's primary weapon is his ability to use any weapon as his own Noble Phantasm. Mere physical contact grants him automatic mastery over any weapon, whether it be another Servant's Noble Phantasm or mundane objects such as telephone poles. This allows him to defend himself against Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon and hold his own against Saber. The main disadvantage of this ability is its extremely high mana requirement, which, when combined with the already phenomenal mana cost of manifesting a Berserker, causes Kariya excruciating pain and damages his health.