Berserker (Fate/stay night)

Berserker (バーサーカー) is the Berserker-class Servant of Illyasviel von Einzbern in the Fifth Holy Grail War of Fate/stay night.

Identity
Berserker is, also known as , the greatest hero in Greek mythology. He was a demi-god born from Zeus, the king of the gods, and a human woman. While he had superior talent in all areas, he had a number of personality issues. He beat his harp teacher to death over a small matter during his childhood, so he lived as a shepherd afterward to calm his temper. He thus became a splendid man who accomplished several great deeds that caused the King of Thebes to grant Heracles his daughter, Megara. They had two children, and he earned the right to succeed the king.

He was both young and strong and it seemed that there was no match for him among humans. His future seemed bright, having married the king's daughter and bearing two children, but Zeus's wife,, detested the child born between Zeus and a human. She meddled with his fate at every opportunity, and she started by sending madness to him that caused him to kill his family. Troubled by the sins he had committed, he received a sign that he should atone by becoming the slave of, the man who took away his promised position as king.

Eurystheus, jealous of the strong hero, gave him many difficult tasks, and claimed that Heracles would remain his slave until they were completed. These difficult labors were tasks impossible to complete with normal human skills that later came to be known as the famous. The number of labors originally chosen by the gods was ten, but Eurystheus added two more labors after denying the fulfillment of two of them. Heracles managed to complete even those tasks, so he was granted not only his freedom, but he also received an immortal body as proof of his great accomplishments.

This marked the beginning of the great hero Heracles, the greatest hero in Greece, who singlehandedly achieved great deeds equaling those of the Trojan War and the Argo Expedition. Despite that, Hera's hatred was endless, so the rest of his life was again full of madness. While he should have been immortal, he was killed by poison by one of his wives. Though he was a great hero equally matched with the sun god even as a human, he was slowly killed by Hera's persistent jealousy. He burned his own body, still contaminated with poison at the time of his death, and he entrusted himself to Zeus' judgment. The gods approved of his great deeds in a conference, prepared a seat in Olympus after his death, and acknowledged him as a god.

Personality
Due to his Mad Enhancement, Berserker is completely void of thought for most of the story. His emotions have been sealed off, making it impossible to perform any actions with personal motivation, and the only thing not lost is the reason within the core of his being that not even the bondage of the Command Spells can overwhelm. This side is shown in the occasions when he is shown feeling something like the will to protect Ilya. He faces even hopeless fights with his iron will, advancing to keep Ilya from facing death. He can display general thoughts based on his instincts that Ilya can interpret, and she responds as if having a normal conversation.

He enjoys battle, and he would have grieved that his match with Archer "deserved better" had he been a normal Servant. He displays a brief sense of rationality while thinking this, wishing to have matched sword techniques with Archer to his heart's content and passed a satisfying time. He speaks briefly, free of Mad Enhancement, before his death during the Fate route, asking about Caliburn and commenting on its surprising strength. He puts no emotion into his dying words, and simply crumbles away like sand.

For Heracles, who had gone berserk numerous times in legend, having beat his harp instructor to death when he was a child and many other episodes killing people in rage without even hearing them speak, the Berserker Class is quite familiar and easy in which to adapt. After being Blackened by the Holy Grail in Heaven's Feel, he was able to halt the last strike of his Axe Sword before he died. He was able to do so due to the strength of his heart; a heart which suffered the pain of going berserk since his early days as a hero. He is identified as the most manly character in the story of Fate.

Fate/Stay Night
Berserker was summoned by the Einzbern family in Germany, and he was the earliest Servant to be summoned. He was brought into the world more than two months prior to the Fifth Holy Grail War, with a slab of stone from Heracles' temple acting as a catalyst. Historically, the Einzberns have lost every Holy Grail War, and were responsible for polluting its contents during the 3rd War and despoiling all future incarnations of the grail. With the most famous hero in mythology, the Einzberns hoped Ilya would prove capable of winning the Holy Grail and restoring their lost miracle.

Although Ilya has incredible magical power, restraining Berserker's mighty spirit caused her great anguish. In retribution, she has kept him in a continual state of madness, rendering him constantly unable to think coherently. However, Berserker has shown great devotion to Ilya, striving to protect her whenever she is threatened.

Fate
During Fate, he was killed once by Rin Tohsaka, six times by Archer before being fatally gored by Saber and Shirou Emiya using Caliburn.

In the anime, he was killed 5 times by Archer, once by Rin, and 7 times (at once) by Saber and Shirou.

Unlimited Blade Works
Halfway through Unlimited Blade Works, Berserker was constricted by Gilgamesh's chain, Enkidu, and was impaled to death while trying to shield Ilya from a hailstorm of blades.

Heaven's Feel
The first encounter with Berserker is the same as that of the Fate route. During the time Shirou spends bonding with Ilya, she mentions that he sleeps most of the day and awakes at night, and she does not take him with her when they are not participating in battle. Shirou and Rin attempt to find Ilya after the truth behind Sakura Matou and Zouken Matou is discovered, believing Zouken to be too dangerous an opponent to let Ilya fight without any warning. They are too late, and the Shadow appears before the Einzbern Castle. Berserker, even without reason, is able to instinctively tell that the Shadow is not an opponent he can beat due to its advantage over Servants, so he tells her to run

Ilya is more afraid of losing her Servant to the command of the Shadow than actual defeat, so she attempts to flee with him. They are intercepted by Zouken and True Assassin, but Assassin has no chance to even fight before Berserker's intimidating presence causes him to back down. The Shadow and Saber Alter eventually arrive, bringing about a situation where Berserker must fight in order to protect Ilya, even against her orders to retreat. Saber is able to fight Berserker directly, and her advantage increases as the Shadow begins to cover his body and restrain his limbs. Though Ilya pleads for him to run, he continues battling in order to protect her.

He goes as far as ripping the Shadow from his legs and chest, but such a thing should not be possible. He is forced to rip his own flesh apart deep enough to show bone in order to remove it, and then proceeds to the final clash with Saber. Utilizing Black Excalibur, she meets his charge and overwhelms him, leaving him defeated for the Shadow to absorb. Due to Sakura gaining more control over the Shadow as she becomes more attune to it, she does not absorb Berserker, trapping him within her like Saber. He is not cleanly blackened like her, instead emerging covered in mud and with the wounds from Saber untouched.

Berserker no longer has any of his little sense remaining, and he no longer has senses left within his eyes, nose, or mouth. He cannot see, leaving him to rage towards the target blindly, and he cannot even recognize Ilya. He is a monster only capable of destruction, and he is let loose on Shirou and Kirei Kotomine as they attempt to rescue Ilya. They are able to keep ahead of him due to his blindness because he is impeded by every tree he crashes through. Kotomine splits from them to engage Assassin, while Shirou and Ilya are left without a way to escape after Berserker catches up with them.

Shirou manages to avoid a fatal blow by strengthening a Black Key, but he is thrown far away due to Berserker's strike. Ilya is astonished at his form, his red eyes only emitting hostility, and fruitlessly attempts to get him to recognize her. Berserker immediately strikes down at her, and Shirou is forced to project his Axe-sword to save her in time without being overwhelmed. It proves to be an inferior copy, shattering instantly under Berserker's strength. They manage to get enough time to retreat, and Shirou makes a resolution to utilize Archer's arm to combat him. Shirou engages him from thirty meters away, reproducing the Axe-sword with Berserker's strength to keep from being overwhelmed by it.

Berserker recognizes him as a threat, charging at the opponent in his mind. Still fighting the battle with Saber, he charges to protect Ilya despite being blind, insane, and having a rotting body. Shirou utilizes Nine Lives Blade Works to delivers eight massive strikes that destroy eighty percent of his body, but it still doesn't stop his charge. Shirou is unable to land the final strike before Berserker's strike, but Ilya gets him to halt his strike at the last moment by appearing before him, giving Shirou the opportunity to land the final blow and have Berserker crumble to dust without further resistance. His red eyes, focusing on Ilya, tell Shirou to protect her as they fade away.

Fate/Prototype
Berserker's original role in Fate/Prototype was similar to his final design in Fate/stay night, but he didn't appear in the animated short. There were a number of changes throughout the design process. His Master was originally Sancraid Phahn, a murderous maniac sent by the Church, but Takeuchi suggested a young girl instead. They were originally experimenting with his design to make him seem "inhuman", and the elbow spikes are a remnant of that process. Rider originally recognized him as Heracles at first glance due to their shared background in Greek mythology. She would have rammed him to death once or twice with Bellerophon before being killed.

The original concept of God Hand held the ability "will not lose for 11 battles" (11回の戦闘までは絶対に負けない), so that he would be able to easily defeat the six other Servants and still have victories left over. Against Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm at the time, which was "will absolutely survive", the two concepts of the abilities clashed and and the paradoxical situation had to be resolved. Berserker eventually died even though he won, while Gilgamesh lost but survived. After designing Ilya as his Master, they originally planned on having them both share lives. As long as Berserker lived, she was immortal and unable to be killed even if other Servants tried to avoid Berserker to strike at his Master. The idea was scrapped after they thought it was too strong.

Carnival Phantasm
He appears as Berser-Car in various parody stories like Ilya's Castle in Fate/hollow ataraxia and Carnival Phantasm.

Abilities
Heracles is already an exceptional Heroic Spirit that is close to being one of the strongest, Ilya noting that only one or two should be able to match him, but under Mad Enhancement he can be called an untouchable monster. Mad Enhancement reinforces ability at the cost of sanity, and his level raises all of his abilities in compensation for losing most of his sanity. This has an effect of sealing a variety of sword techniques and skills, including part of his Noble Phantasms. Even restricted to simple direct melee due to the madness, he is undoubtedly the strongest amongst the Servants summoned for the Holy Grail War.

He would normally have the ability to cancel the control of Command Spells in the case of a normal Master, but Ilya is able to control him due to her Command Spells being special as the person acting as the Holy Grail. She still focuses on her ability to control him outside of combat, so she suppresses the rank of Mad Enhancement. She even does so in combat against opponents that she believes inferior, specifically strengthening him only as necessary. The original version of Fate/stay night had it so that she had not utilized the raised parameters of Mad Enhancement at all, but it was changed within Realta Nua. While he would retain his large size even in other classes, he would no longer have the projections on his arms, his muscles would become slightly softer, and his face would show more humanity if he was no longer under Mad Enhancement.

Heracles is exceptional in body, mind, and skills, and since he specialized with the bow and had mastered every weapon, he can even qualify for the Saber Class without difficulty. As an excellent warrior possessing the qualifications corresponding to six classes, he would also have been able to be summoned as Archer, Lancer, Rider, or Assassin, but he doesn't have the necessary knowledge or skills to be Caster. Out of all the possible classes, Archer would have allowed him to best demonstrate his true abilities. As a ranger class, it would have been comfortable to someone skilled in archery who overcame many trials with knowledge and resourcefulness. If he had been summoned in as Saber, he would be able to fully display his phenomenal sword play and best display Nine Lives.

Unlike other Heroic Spirits that would receive a slight boost in power close to their spheres of influence and a greater boost in power in the country of their legend, Heracles would display excellent power in all of western Europe. While other classes may have allowed for more skills and Noble Phantasms, the Einzberns wanted him to have more power, and as they had been constantly betrayed, felt it was best to have a "loyal dog that'd do only what they told it to do." Heracles as a regular Heroic Spirit would have many advantages in his own right, but the possibility of cooperative friction between the Master and the heroic part of him is too strong for them to take that chance.

Heracles, as a mixed-race child of the King of Gods, Zeus, and a human, who became a god after death, naturally possesses the highest level of the Divinity skill with the exception of Gilgamesh's original rank. It proves to be fatal when faced with the entrapment of Enkidu, but his strength and determination allow him to overcome even those binds.

Combat
Though normally very adept and skilled, Heracles as Berserker has lost his rationality, having become an existence that can only utterly defeat the enemy from the front as directed by Ilya. He possesses nothing like detailed tactics, instead leaving everything to his physical ability and brandishing his weapon to strike. His main weapon isn't a Noble Phantasm, but rather a simple "Axe-sword" made of rock. It was originally part of the foundations of a temple the Einzbern family prepared for summoning him, and the sword itself was eventually used as the catalyst. Even with such a weapon, he demonstrates hand-to-hand combat abilities superior to every Servant. He brandishes the weapon with ease due to his extreme strength, and he causes large amounts of destruction with each swing. It is similar to flint weapons discovered to have been used in ancient in that stone weapons are inherently brittle and have low damage, but Berserker compensates for the shortcomings with the mass of the stone. Each of his attacks is a fatal blow that needs to be blocked or dodged. Despite his large body and sword, he is easily able to overwhelm Saber under Shirou with speed exceeding her own. While the attacks are just smashing swings with no technique behind them, they are so beyond normal standards in power and speed that there is no room for technique. As technique is something humans invented to compensate for their weaknesses, it is unnecessary for him because he has no weaknesses.

He is able to easily push back even strong opponents who are capable of blocking his strikes, and he is able to fling Saber dozens of feet away even when she manages to properly block his stronger strikes. Due to his lack of motor skills, it is possible to use the terrain to gain an advantage over him. He has the highest rank in Agility despite his monstrous size, so it is very difficult to corner him. Using gravestones as cover, Saber is able to use the brief intervals where he is forced to slice through them to strike at him without worry of directly intercepting the blows. The gravestones are only a slight hindrance to him, but are still enough to allow for a decisive turn in the battle.

Proper use of his sealed Bravery skill would allow for increased damage inflicted upon opponents during melee combat, and it increases damage while fighting unarmed, which gave him the ability to defeat several monsters empty-handed in life. His Eye of the Mind (False), danger avoidance based on Intuition that is gained through many ordeals and adventures, remains even without his sanity due to being nearly an instinct. He will not fall for half-hearted feints, making it a troubling ability for even seasoned swordsmen facing him.

Defense
The only Noble Phantasm available to him is God Hand, which grants eleven extra lives and protection from attacks B rank or lower. Any time he is killed by an A rank attack or above, he is revived and granted immunity from that attack in the future. He must be killed twelve times in order to be fully defeated. Due to having Ilya as a Master, he is able to also regenerate lost lives over time. While his most trusted Noble Phantasm is Nine Lives, it cannot be used in the Berserker class due to a lack of motor skills. The ability to use it with the Axe-sword is ingrained into his technique and history, allowing Shirou to project the Axe-Sword and use Nine Lives Blade Works.

Due to God Hand, he is able to charge without even breaking to think about defense, ignoring various attacks that are unable to harm him even when aimed at vital spots like his temples. He is still instinctively able to tell that a dangerous attack is incoming. He ignores Archer's Caladbolg II at first after having shrugged of his earlier attacks, but immediately intercepts it after sensing the danger to him. He would normally be able to utilize Bravery, his brave and daring spirit, to neutralize mental interference like suppression, confusion and charm, but the skill is unusable due even such a brave warrior’s heart being painted over by the insanity of Mad Enhancement.

Aside from the regeneration provided by God Hand, he is also able to continue through combat after sustaining mortal wounds through Battle Continuation. Differing from that of Cú Chulainn that represents “never give up no matter what”, his represents the ability to survive. Coupled with God Hand's resurrection from death, his ability of “will not die easily” has exceptional compatibility with the Noble Phantasm, and the best result is achieved when the user has a resilient body like his own. His willpower is such that he can even temporarily sustain himself after going through his stored lives and even the energy sustaining him, pushing past the powers trying to eliminate him, the laws of magic that constructed him, the regulations of the World that attempt to destroy inconsistencies, and even his own body that is crumbling away like sand. Though his mind is dead, his willpower that should no longer exist supports his invincible body until it finally fades away.