Saber of Empireo

is one of the seven Heroic Spirit Swordmasters created by Ashiya Douman in the Shimosa Singularity in Fate/Grand Order.
==Profile==
===Identity===
Possessing the Cursed Name Saber of Empireo, the True Name of Empireo's vessel is Yagyuu Munenori. Differing from the other Heroic Spirit Swordmasters, Empireo was a living version of Munenori native to the Shimosa Singularity.
A younger "What-If" version of Munenori summoned during the Waxing Moon Ritual makes mention of having met a "Flower at the Apex of Heaven", a title Miyamoto Musashi possesses, whom he fought to his death in another world, reaching out in his desire to fight them even if it lies in hellfire, implying that he is a younger version of Empireo that fought Musashi in the Shimosa Singularity. This is something which Musashi of the Waxing Moon Ritual acknowledges, noting she doesn't have the same blade she used in their last duel, his swordsmanship being just as magnificent she remembered it, and Munenori being different from the person he was "at that time".
===Appearance===
===Personality===
Heroic Spirit Munenori appraises his other self as being immature, someone who had not completely mastered himself. Munenori states he in some sense envies Empireo whose fateful encounter with Musashi is what drove him to give into that side of himself.Fate/Grand Order - Interlude: Kenjutsu Musou, Kenzen Ichinyo
==Role==
===Fate/Grand Order===
====Musashi Trial Quest====
During Musashi's travels through alternate worlds, she fights Munenori briefly before deciding to run away. As she enters through the portal to the next world, he lands a strike that hits her head, knocks her out, and causes her brief amnesia in the next world. After she disappears, he says he will remember her name.
====Subspecies Singularity III: Shimosa====
Desiring to duel Musashi again, Munemori joined Amakusa Shirou Tokisada as one of his Heroic Spirit Swordmaster as the only human member. His Cursed Name is Saber of Empireo.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 15: The Stage of Carnage, Onriedo (Ending)
Disguised, he and his fellow Swordmasters first encounter Ritsuka’s party as they tried to cut through a bamboo forest to reach Onui and Tasuke’s hermitage. He reprimands his fellows for not focusing on killing the group as ordered. He then demands the group hand Houzouin Inshun over, stating everyone will be massacred afterwards. Inshun fights him with the aid of his Noble Phantasm while the others escapes. He eventually pierces his heart, but finds he cannot move his spear. Munenori reveals such attacks would kill a human or Heroic Spirit, and introduces himself by his Cursed Name. He then orders Ashiya Douman to cast the Curse of Annihilation to turn Inshun into the final Swordmaster: Lancer of Purgatorio.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 2: Purgatorio (Middle)
At Katori Shrine, Munenori disagrees with Douman that Inshun fulfilled his role as a Swordsmaster, saying he failed to take even a hundred lives. Despite that though, Amakusa Shirou says Inshun still served as an excellent cornerstone for the Onriedo. Douma agrees with him and Munenori, saying the souls of Heroic Spirits are insufficient to manifest the Onriedo. Thus, the grieving souls slaughtered by the Swordmasters are also needed. After Amakusa Shirou leaves to prepare for the Onriedo’s arrival, Douman and Munenori both agree he doesn’t see Musashi as a threat. Munenori questions if Douman is up to the task of killing Musashi, as she was to be to kill Inshun. He dismisses Katou Danzou’s offer to assassinate Ritsuka and Mash, pointing out a mechanical doll like her could never hope to be a match for Musashi. He also dismisses Douman’s orders for her as the latter playing with dolls.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 5: Inferno (Middle)
Later as Tajima-no-Kami, he leads a procession of 500 samurai from Edo to Toke Castle town. Introducing himself as chief inspector for the shogunate, he explains he and the samurai are on an official mission to bring those responsible for the massacres in southern Shimousa to justice with Matsudaira’s cooperation. He then confronts Musashi, recalling they dueled six months ago. He decides to duel her to determine her intentions when monsters fly in from the south. As another wave comes, he orders Sakon to get the townsfolk out of the vicinity. After the monsters are slain, he orders Sakon to tell Matsudaira to deploy archers. He also orders to concentrate their forces to the south, believing the castle can have the bare minimum of soldiers. After the samurai leave, Ritsuka tells Munenori their assumption that Tomoe (whom they only know as Archer) is leading the monsters. Munenori tells the group that a hundred of his finest men will confront Tomoe as a diversion while they ambush her from behind. He advises them to go through the mountain pass to do so. He then introduces Danzou as the spy who saw Tomoe leading the monsters. She will also serve as the group’s guide through the mountain pass.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 6: Inferno (Ending)
After Tomoe is slain, Munenori tasks Musashi with checking Shimosa for any remaining monsters.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 7: Paraiso (Beginning) He and Kiyohime later meet with Ritsuka’s party in Toke Castle after learning a letter was sent there, threatening to assassinate her. She tells the group that many were killed when the letter was delivered. Despite having the castle guards and 300 of Munenori’s samurai to protect her, she asks the group to protect her as well. Munenori agrees with Kiyohime’s guard that allowing the group to protect her would threaten the clan, if it were peacetime. If a skilled warrior is ready and willing to fight monsters, then their station in life is irrelevant. Munenori can attest to the group’s skills himself, recounting that his samurai are still singing their praises. He then leaves the room threatening to behead the group if they fail to protect Kiyohime.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 8: Paraiso (Middle) 
At Katori Shrine, he reports the great pentagram being drawn in secret via Jesuit sorcery is nearing completion, adding to Douman’s own report that Chiyome and Danzou have laid the groundwork for the Onriedo by spreading fear. He considers it a hassle though that they have to wait to destroy humanity, wanting to cut them all down at once.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 9: Paraiso (Ending)
The next night at Toke Castle, Munenori orders his samurai to increase security. He claims his samurai were slow to act against Chiyome last night because of their large numbers while asserting smaller numbers would invite monsters to quickly adapt. He soon senses Chiyome has returned, and leads his samurai against her monsters while the group slays the Orcochi she summoned. Afterwards, he then witnesses them fight Chiyome, and the entranced Kiyohime. During the battle, he ordered Danzou to remain outside the castle.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 10: Kalasutra Hell (Beginning)
After Chiyome is slain, Munenori has Ritsuka's party removed from the castle, claiming they'll disrupt his plan to keep Kiyohime safe. He also has Danzou accompany the group to ensure they safely return to the hermitage, while gathering information around Shimosa. He also ordered her to help them slay the remaining Swordmasters.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 11: Kalasutra Hell (Middle)
When Toke Castle became Onriedo Castle, Munenori and his samurai slay the monsters long enough for most of the survivors to escape.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 14: The Stage of Carnage, Onriedo (Middle)
On the Onriedo Castle’s 4th floor, Munenori seemingly slays Douman when he tried to ambush Musashi. He removes his disguise to reveal himself to be Saber of Empireo, the final and only human Swordmaster. Fuuma Kotarou points out not even a Servant can withstand the transformation that comes from having the Curse’s karma implanted in them. Munenori assures him he is still human though. He finds it ironic that he was praised as Shimosa’s protector when his true goal was the opposite. He then confesses his motive for becoming a Swordmaster and readies himself to duel Musashi. After Kotarou and Senji Muramasa leave for the 5th floor, Munemori brings himself and Musashi into the bloody battlefield for their duel. Eventually Musashi awakens her ultimate technique to breakthrough his god-like swordsmanship. She thanks him for enabling her to awaken it. He thanks her for the duel and dies.
== Abilities ==
Empireo is the living counterpart of Yagyuu Munenori from the Parallel World that would later become the Shimosa Singularity that was modified by Caster of Limbo's Curse of Annihilation which turned him into a Heroic Spirit Swordmaster, greatly increasing his power. Berserker of Saṃghāta Hell claims she wouldn't dare mess with Caster of Limbo and Saber of Empireo due to her having a "weak little Spirit Origin". If Rider of Kālasūtra Hell and her had to fight them, she'd want to at least have the same bodies and power that they did when they were alive. Empireo also boasts an immense aura on par with Houzouin Inshun's own Magical Energy. When fighting him, Houzouin regards Empireo as a true master of the art of the sword and a person with monstrous abilities much like Musashi just from exchanging a few blows with him. Although he's very strong, he is unable to block Houzouin's Hazy Inverted Moon - Eleven Forms which completely destroyed his heart. However, due to him having the ability to regenerate granted by Caster's curse, he was able to defeat Houzouin. Despite him claiming the reason he defeated Lancer was that his sword had even surpassed the gods and the Buddha, and ascended to true supremacy, to the realm of Empireo, it was made very clear that had he had the body of a Heroic Spirit, Houzouin would have won. Nevertheless, Empireo is a TRUE master of the sword who achieved a level that even surpassed Miyamoto Musashi's father. Although the essence of Musashi's Niten Ichiryu lied in adapting to hundreds if not thousands of possibilities, this fighting style proved to be useless against Saber of Empireo due to her being unable to read his next move. To defeat his Suigetsu, she had to enter the realms of the gods herself. She had to find the one right answer that lay beyond every possibility by slashing through the unbreakable heavens themselves. In other words, she finally reached the void. By striking him with her new developed Ishana Daitenshou, she defeated Saber of Empireo in a one on one duel.
==References==
Category:Heroic Spirit Swordmasters
Category:Saber-class Servants
Category:Characters in Fate/Grand Order (Part 1.5)
Category:Japanese Servants
Category:Humans
Category:Human Attribute Servants
Category:Introduced in 2017
Category:Subspecies Singularity III Inhabitants
Category:Sword Saints