The Ritual of Fuyuki and the Summoning of Legends
Every sixty years in the Japanese town of Fuyuki, a mystical phenomenon known as the Holy Grail War takes place. Engineered by the founding magus families (Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Matou), seven human mages are chosen as Masters and bestowed three sacred Command Seals. Using holy relics, each Master summons a Servant—the reincarnated spiritual essence of a legendary mythological or historical hero belonging to one of seven classes: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Berserker, and Assassin. The last surviving Master-Servant pair is granted the Holy Grail, an omnipotent vessel capable of granting any single wish.
Desperate to break three consecutive cycles of defeat, the aristocratic Einzbern family hires Kiritsugu Emiya, an infamous freelance mercenary feared throughout the magus underground as the "Magus Killer." Unlike traditional mages who duel with pride and incantations, Kiritsugu employs sniper rifles, plastic explosives, Origin Bullets, and ruthless tactical assassinations. Using the sacred scabbard Avalon, Kiritsugu summons the ultimate Saber-class Servant: Artoria Pendragon, the legendary King Arthur of Camelot.
The Clashing Ideals: Knights, Conquerors, and Kings
A profound moral dissonance immediately fractures Saber and Kiritsugu. Saber is bound to chivalry, honorable combat, and knightly virtue; Kiritsugu views war as an irredeemable butcher shop where victory must be seized by the quickest, dirtiest means possible to minimize overall bloodshed. Kiritsugu delegates daily communication to his homunculus wife, Irisviel von Einzbern, working in the shadows with his sniper partner Maiya Hisau.
In the iconic Banquet of Kings in the Einzbern courtyard, three legendary monarchs sit over red wine to debate the nature of rulership:
- Saber (King Arthur): Believes a king must be a selfless martyr and saint who serves her people unto death.
- Rider (Iskandar / Alexander the Great): Rebukes Saber's martyrdom, arguing a king must be more greedy, ambitious, and vivid than anyone else, inspiring his people to look forward with pride. Iskandar commands the ultimate Reality Marble, Ionioi Hetairoi, summoning his entire historical army.
- Archer (Gilgamesh, King of Heroes): Arrogantly dismisses both, asserting that the entire world and all its treasures—including the Grail—already belong solely to him. He fights using the Gate of Babylon, raining endless Noble Phantasms upon foes.
Kirei Kotomine's Descent into Pure Malice
Working alongside the traditionalist head Tokiomi Tohsaka, the Catholic executioner priest Kirei Kotomine enters the war feeling completely empty inside, lacking passion, love, or purpose.
Observing Kirei's spiritual void, Gilgamesh manipulates the priest, whispering that Kirei's true nature finds joy not in virtue, but in the agony and despair of others. Awakened to his sadistic desires, Kirei murders his own master Tokiomi from behind with a dagger, forming a secret pact with Gilgamesh. Kirei orchestrates the horrific demise of Kariya Matou (who had subjected himself to flesh-eating Crest Worms to save little Sakura) and sets his sights on breaking Kiritsugu Emiya.
The Corrupted Grail and the Fuyuki Apocalypse
As Servants perish, their spiritual mana is absorbed into Irisviel's homunculus vessel, gradually shutting down her bodily functions. Irisviel passes away in Kiritsugu's arms, transforming into the Holy Grail's physical core.
In the civic auditorium ruins, Kiritsugu engages Kirei in an electrifying close-quarters gun-and-blade duel using his biological Time Alter magic against Kirei's reinforced Bajiquan strikes. As Kiritsugu shoots Kirei through the heart, the Grail's black mud consumes them both.
Inside the consciousness of the Grail, Kiritsugu is greeted by a vision of Irisviel. However, Kiritsugu discovers the catastrophic truth: the Holy Grail has been thoroughly defiled and corrupted by Angra Mainyu ("All the World's Evil"). The Grail can only grant wishes through destruction. When Kiritsugu asks how the Grail will grant his wish of "universal world peace," the Grail demonstrates that if two boats carry humanity, Kiritsugu would murder the occupants of one boat to save the other, and repeat this until only he remains—peace through total human extinction.
Horrified, Kiritsugu strangles the illusion of Irisviel and rejects the Grail. Awakening back in reality, Kiritsugu expends his final Command Seals to force a weeping Saber to unleash Excalibur upon the floating Grail. The destroyed vessel ruptures, spilling thousands of tons of cursed black fire across Shiganshina-like urban streets, burning 500 citizens alive.
Crying out in absolute despair, Kiritsugu paws desperately through the smoking embers until his fingers touch a warm hand. He pulls out a dying young boy named Shirou, inserting the healing scabbard Avalon into his chest. As Shirou's eyes flutter open, Kiritsugu weeps uncontrollably with pure gratitude, whispering: "Thank goodness... thank you for letting me save someone."