"What is the meaning of life?
What's so scary about death?"
Ryunosuke Uesugi had pondered that question more than once. He didn't remember when it started, but at some point, he began to think about where people come from and where they go. What is the point of existing?
Since everyone dies eventually, why bother living even a few more days? That was Ryunosuke Uesugi's usual thought process. He couldn't understand why the people he tortured always looked at him with such terror—why, even at death's door, they clung to life with such desperation.
Why? You're going to die anyway. What's so bad about it? Who knows, maybe after you die, you go to another world?
Ryunosuke didn't understand. He didn't want to. He hoped that one day he would meet someone who did understand him. But that person never came. He was always the predator, the cheetah he imagined himself to be, hunting prey. And so, he began to walk the path of murder.
Now, he found something interesting—something said to be a method for summoning a demon.
"Man born, Man live, Man suffer, Man joy, Man die... Wait—was it four times or five? Whatever, one more doesn't hurt."
"Man born, Man live, Man suffer, Man joy, Man die."
"There we go. That should be right. Hm?"
He set the bloodied bowl aside. On the other side, the wall was stained completely red. Ryunosuke walked over to a child bound nearby.
"Hey, do you believe in demons?"
He asked, but not because he wanted an answer—he just wanted the kid to be more scared.
He hadn't killed him, not because of any kindness, but simply because he had gathered enough blood already.
Then, a sharp pain shot through Ryunosuke's hand.
"Huh?"
He looked down in confusion.
"What the hell is this?"
A glowing red sigil appeared on the back of his hand—a Command Seal.
Suddenly, gusts of wind blew behind him, and from within the summoning circle, a figure slowly emerged. At that very moment, the magical circuits in Ryunosuke's body came alive for the first time.
"I ask of you—"
Through a puff of smoke, a figure appeared. He looked old, but strangely smooth-faced, almost like a wax statue.
"You, who summoned me... Was it you who called me forth?"
Ryunosuke stood there awkwardly. He had expected a horrifying demon to appear—but what stood before him was... a man. A weird one, but a man nonetheless.
"Um, yeah. Name's Ryunosuke Uesugi. I like killing people."
But the man—no, the Servant—paid him no mind.
"Fear not," the Servant said gently. "The Holy Grail shall be ours."
"The Holy Grail…?" Ryunosuke tilted his head in confusion, but quickly dismissed it. "Well, anyway, I've got a kid here. Want to eat him?"
The Servant didn't respond. He walked past Ryunosuke, toward the boy, and kneeled in front of him with an almost saintly smile.
"It's alright, child. It's all over now."
He took out a strange, old tome—Ryunosuke recognized it immediately. It was bound in human skin. The Servant untied the ropes and looked at the boy gently.
"Can you still stand?"
Ryunosuke was now truly confused. Was this man a demon… or a savior?
"Come. Let's go. Let's get out of here."
"…Okay…"
The boy nodded weakly, but then smiled and took off toward the door. He ran as fast as he could, toward the warm sunlight outside.
"Hey! Wait!" Ryunosuke called.
The Servant raised a hand, but said nothing.
The child ran faster, bursting through the doors. The moment the sunlight touched his face, his expression was full of hope.
But—
In the blink of an eye, everything changed.
A grotesque appendage—tentacle or snake, who knew what—lashed out from the shadows and pulled the boy back into the darkness.
Then came the screams.
Bones cracking. Flesh tearing. Slithering and twisting. A hellish symphony.
The Servant closed his eyes with satisfaction. He listened to the sound like it was the finest classical music. It was utterly intoxicating.
Beside him, Ryunosuke was frozen in awe. The scene was like a masterpiece.
"There are… many forms of art," the Servant whispered.
He looked back at Ryunosuke with an angelic smile.
Ryunosuke stared at him with admiration.
The Servant introduced himself at last.
"I am Gilles de Rais of the Black Arts. And you, my Master, shall witness true beauty through horror."
And from that moment forward, the two became partners—not just in the Holy Grail War, but in madness.
Thus appeared the final pair in the Fifth Holy Grail War. A twisted Master and an even more twisted Servant.
They were the most loathed of all.
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