Berserker (Fate/Zero)

Berserker is a character from the Fate/Zero. He is the Servant of Matou Kariya during the 4th Holy Grail War.

Berserker is known to have three distinct Noble Phantasms, as shown on his status page. However, due to the enchantment that obscured his identity, his status page was shown blurred, making it impossible to identify the specific names and natures of his Phantasms, save for the sword Arondight. In addition, this Berserker is uniquely able to make anything he chooses into his own Noble Phantasm and effectively wield them, from telephone poles to the Noble Phantasms of other Servants.

True Identity
Berserker's real identity is Lancelot of the Lake, as revealed in the final volume of the Fate/Zero novels. Until his identity was revealed, he was known simply as the Black Knight.

Lancelot, known as the Knight of the Lake, had been loyal to Arturia as a Knight of the Round Table. He was one of the few individuals that Arturia viewed as a friend, and as such was privy to the secret of her true gender, as well as the nature and properties of her sword. Lancelot's downfall began when he fell in love with Arturia's queen, Guinevere. Though the king was actually a woman, Arturia had married in order to maintain the image of a stable royal family before the kingdom, and also to maintain the pretence that she was a male. Guinevere, in turn, willingly sacrificed her own life as a woman in order to preserve this ideal government.

When Lancelot and the queen began their affair, the Knight of the Lake considered fleeing Camelot with her, but his loyalty to Arturia and his sense of duty prevented him from doing so. When political enemies of the king exposed the affair, the queen was ordered to be executed. Left with little choice, Lancelot attempted to save her, killing several of his fellow knights in the process. Lancelot, who was considered the Perfect Knight, Guinevere, the queen who had made her beloved betray his duty, and Arturia the king who blamed herself for her loyal knight's despair, all suffered from the resulting fallout.

Lancelot's guilt was, ironically, compounded by Arturia's refusal to actually blame or reprimand him for his actions. He would later admit that this made him feel it impossible to atone for his sins. In his despair, Lancelot sought escape through descent into madness; thus, when he became a Heroic Spirit, he was summoned as the insane Berserker.

Role


Berserker is summoned by Matou Kariya in the 4th Holy Grail War. Matou Zouken, deciding that Kariya was too lacking as a Mage, compensated by forcing him to obtain a Servant from the most powerful of the seven classes - namely the Servant of Mad Enhancement, Berserker.

During the War's first battle between the Servants, Lancer strikes Saber with Gáe Buidhe and attempts to finish her off, but their fight is interrupted by Iskander. In the ensuing chaos, both Archer and Berserker arrive and engage one another in battle. They are evenly matched, with weapons of Archer's Gate of Babylon being caught and effectively wielded by Berserker to deflect any other weapons thrown at him.

Archer is forced by his Master to retreat, but Kariya, unable to control his Servant any longer, is unable to order Berserker to do the same. As a result, Berserker turns his attention to the injured Saber, but is stalled by Lancer's interference. However, Lancer's Master, Lord Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi, decides that Saber is the greater threat, and uses a Command Spell to coerce his Servant into aiding Berserker. This order is quickly retracted when Iskander interferes again, attacking Berserker from behind and threatening to team up with Saber. Both Berserker and Lancer retreat soon after.



During the battle against Caster, Berserker takes control of an F-15 jet to use as his Noble Phantasm, and engages Archer in aerial combat at his Master's behest. Their fight is left unresolved when Berserker catches sight of Saber, and ignores Archer in favour of attacking the female Servant. He is defeated when Archer strikes him from behind with a barrage of Noble Phantasms. His Master, Kariya, is likewise defeated when he engages Tohsaka Tokiomi in combat.

Berserker is next sent out to kidnap Irisviel von Einzbern, in order to fulfill Kariya's end of a bargain with Kotomine Kirei. He uses his abilities to assume Rider's form, effectively fooling Saber and her Master into pursuing the wrong Servant. Saber engages the true Rider in battle, allowing Berserker to safely deliver Irisviel to his Master.



On the final day of the 4th Holy Grail War, Berserker engages Saber using submachine guns as his Noble Phantasm. (The anime depicts him with a Sniper Rifle and a Submachine Gun.) She manages to disarm him and damage his armour, but her killing blow is stopped short when Berserker deftly catches her blade between his hands. Saber realises that Berserker possesses knowledge of Excalibur's shape and length despite its invisibility, and deduces that he had known her when still alive. She demands that he reveal his true identity, to which Berserker responds by drawing his own sword, Arondight. His helmet finally shatters, revealing him to be Saber's old friend and greatest knight - Lancelot of the Lake.

Overcome by guilt of how she had contributed to his downfall in life, Saber loses her will to fight, and is brutally battered by Lancelot. She blocks one final blow from Berserker, expecting the next to be a killing strike, only to have him completely cease all movement. At the instant of his last blow, Berserker's Master, Kariya, had been completely drained of magical energy, effectively cutting off Berserker's source of power.



Taking advantage of situation, Saber drives Excalibur into the frozen Berserker, dealing him a mortal wound. She tearfully tells him that she had wished to win the Holy Grail to atone for her past mistakes, including her part in Lancelot's death. Having regained his sanity, Berserker admits that he wished Arturia had condemned him for his crimes, and demanded penance of him. Instead, her willingness to forgive him made it impossible for him to forgive himself. Berserker collapses into Saber's arms, sighing that, in the end, he would die in the bosom of his king, like a loyal and just knight. Unable to sustain his physical form any longer, Lancelot fades away. Lancelot was the fifth and final servant to truly perish in the Fouth Grail War.

Abilities
Being a former knight, Lancelot is a skilled combatant, specialized in fighting with weapons. Despite his most notable Noble Phantasm being a sword, he is shown wielding various weapons with great ability. He is even able to defend himself against a barrage from Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon, using his Knight of Honor: A Knight Does Not Die with Empty Hands (騎士は徒手にて死せずナイト・オブ・オーナー, ?) to catch Noble Phantasms shot at him in order to deflect the others with them.

Until he revealed his identity and drew his sword, Lancelot was always engulfed in a black fog, that prevents enemy Masters from discerning his characteristics. That is his For Someone's Glory: Not For One's Own Glory (己が栄光の為でなくフォー・サムワンズ・グロウリー, ?) Noble Phantasm. Its true purpose, however, was originally deceiving others by allowing the Servant to take the form of other Heroic Spirits; however, due to the Mad Enchantement, it became only a simple disguise of his true identity. Even so, the Master can still force Berserker to take on others' appearances using Command Spells.

Arondight: The Unfading Light of the Lake (無毀なる湖光アロンダイト,?) is the last Noble Phantasm that Lancelot possesses. Sealing his other two abilities, Berserker summons a dark coloured sword; this weapon is considered the counterpart of Arturia's Excalibur, even sharing a similar design, and due to the legend of his owner slaying a dragon, it is most effective against people with dragon's blood, like Saber.

Berserker has shown a deadly physical strength, capable of lifting a car and tossing it away with no visible effort. Combining it with his great swordsmanship, with he is able to take on Saber, the Servant can cut throught concrete pillars like they are nothing with a single swing of his sword.