Berserker (Fate/Stay Night)

**Heracles**

A member of The Dark Army Imagine Corps. He is classified at the champion level, divine class.

## Biography

**Berserker** (バーサーカー, *Bāsākā*?) is the Berserker-class Servant of Illyasviel von Einzbern in the Fifth Holy Grail War of *Fate/stay night*. He is one of the Servants of the Protagonist of the Grand Order conflicts of *Fate/Grand Order*.

Berserker's True Name is **Heracles** (ヘラクレス, *Herakuresu*?, Hercules) the greatest hero in Greek mythology. He was a demi-god born from Zeus, the king of the gods, and a human woman(who herself, was the granddaughter of Perseus, a demigod son of Zeus). While he had superior talent in all areas, he had a number of personality issues. He beat his lyre instructor, Linus to death after he reprimanded Heracles for making errors and then caned him with rods, so his mortal father Amphitryon sent him to tend his cowherds. 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, Hera, 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 Eurystheus, 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 Twelve Labors of Heracles. 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.

## Powers/Abilities/Techniques

Heracles is an exceptional Heroic Spirit, considered to be the most famous of all Heroic Spirits by Illya and close to the strongest of them.[2] He, as the most famous hero of Greek mythology, is undoubtedly an A-rank Servant who can be assumed to have mostly A-rank abilities from reputation alone, likely the strongest in the Holy Grail War in regards to fame.[7] Illya believes there should only be one or two others in existence capable of matching him.[8] He can be said to be on par with Cú Chulainn and King Arthur when all are summoned in Europe, and unlike the other two who would obtain the height of their abilities in their home countries' Cultural Spheres, his own fame is such that he will display excellent strength throughout all of western Europe and Greece.[9][10][11] Being stout of heart, body, and mind, he an excellent warrior who has mastered all weapons.[3][2] He displays qualifications corresponding to six classes, Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Assassin, and Berserker, only lacking the necessary knowledge and skills in magecraft to be Caster.[2] Being specialized with the bow, the Archer class is the class with the greatest compatibility to display his true abilities, a "ranger" class that would be comfortable to he who overcame many trials with knowledge and resourcefulness.[12] Rin Tohsaka mentions that one Noble Phantasm she thinks he would likely normally carry would be the **Bow of Hydra** (ヒドラの弓, *Hidora no Yumi*?).[13] Qualifying for the Saber class with ease, he would best be able to display his "glorious, exquisite swordplay" and Nine Lives.[3][14]

While an exceptional Heroic Spirit under normal conditions, being inflicted with Mad Enhancement that reinforces ability at the cost of sanity allows him to be called an untouchable monster.[3] The level of all his abilities has been raised in compensation for losing most of his sanity, but it also has the effect of sealing a variety of sword techniques and skills, including part of his Noble Phantasms.[2] 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.[15] Although having lost much of he technical prowess and being limited to simple direct melee, he can undoubtedly be called the strongest amongst the Servants summoned for the Holy Grail War.[2] Even Saber believes she would have a hard fight at her full strength, and claims that it may be impossible for any Servant to overcome his strength.[16]

He would 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.[3] She still focuses on her ability to control him outside of combat, so she suppresses the rank of Mad Enhancement.[2] 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* having him truly become wild in his fighting.[17] 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.[18] He is a mixed-race child of the King of Gods Zeus and a human, who later became a god after his death, so he naturally possesses the highest level of the Divinity skill with the exception of Gilgamesh's original rank.[2] Having the blood of the gods makes it necessary for one to have a divine mystery of the same level to even affect him.[16] It proves to be fatal when faced with the complete entrapment of Enkidu, more dangerous to him even than the powerful Excalibur, but his strength and determination allow him to overcome even those binds.[19][2]

Although the very core of his reason has managed to remain, the heart of the brave warrior has been painted over by Mad Enhancement, rendering his Bravery skill unable to take effect. Displaying his brave and daring spirit, he would normally be able to neutralize mental interference like suppression, confusion and charm, and he would display increased damage upon opponents in unarmed melee combat that allowed him to have defeated several monsters empty-handed in life.[2] While his most trusted Noble Phantasm is Nine Lives, it cannot be used in the Berserker class due to a lack of motor skills.[2] It is still ingrained into his technique and history, allowing Shirou to project the Axe-Sword and technique to utilize Nine Lives Blade Works.

Noble Phantasm: God Hand: Twelve Labors

-is a "*hidden ability*" possessed by Heracles, a continuously active-type Noble Phantasm that grants him a "*body that knows no death.*"[1][2] It is a blessing of the gods representing immortality, as well as being a curse, that was granted to him for completing his Twelve Labors in life.[3] It is the ability that required attacks of the highest grade to harm him and prevented him from even being scratched by anyone during the Age of Gods, described as "*nearly foul play*" even by acquaintances at the time.[4][5] It lacks an overt external manifestation such as a weapon or armor, but in attributing a shape to it, can be said to be the body of the user itself.[3] It transforms the body into a tough suit of armor that acts similar to a conceptual weapon in practice, coloring his body like lead and covering it with strange protrusions.[3][6][7] It provides the three effects of resurrection, attack-nullification, and the ability of "*immunity against an attack he has experienced previously.*"

Differing from simply tough armor that will endure attacks and eventually wither under the damage, God Hand applies a conceptual defense based upon ranks, a "*'law' of immortality created from abnormal amounts of magical energy.*"[6][9] It defends against all attacks B-rank and lower, regardless of the attack being physical or magical in nature.[3] It also grants the effect of automatic regeneration, including resurrection after death, reviving him with a stock of eleven extra lives through layered resurrection magic.[3][10] He has lives equaling the number of labors he overcame to atone for his sins, rendering him an "*immortal*" being who must be killed once for each labor to be fully eliminated.[3][10] For him to be damaged, he must be hit by A-rank attacks or above, requiring the opponent to have at least an A-rank "*normal attack*" registered through their Strength statistic, A-rank magecraft, or an A-rank Noble Phantasm. It only works based on rank and not numeral equivalents due to its "*refusal*" property that "*goes beyond the rules of reality*", meaning that, although a C-rank Noble Phantasm can be considered A or A+ rank in terms of a regular attack, it would still be nullified by God Hand. Even should an attack be capable of destroying the world, Saber believes it would be nullified should the rank be too low.

It is unlike Magic Resistance that completely nullifies the attack, instead allowing the attack to take effect without registering any damage.[12] He can attack without even thinking of defense due to it, able to ignore Saber's sword that simply bounces off of his skin without leaving a mark or making him flinch, Rin's basic magecraft that leaves him completely undamaged, and Archer's basic arrows that has no effect after hitting him directly in the temple and forehead. He only needs to respond seriously to their Noble Phantasms and Rin's A-rank jewels.[6][9][10][3] Saber believes for an opponent to defeat him, they would require at least an A-rank attack and a Noble Phantasm that exceeds even that.[6] Those without anything above B-rank like Assassin and True Assassin cannot harm him at all, while he can be affected by Caster's high sorcery and Lancer using his runes and Gáe Bolg together to bolster it to A-rank.[11] Against the strengthened Saber Alter, she is able to easily cut through his steel body without issue with her sword, and against Gilgamesh, he has no issue in piercing his skin with numerous Noble Phantasms from the Gate of Babylon.[13][14]

It is exceptionally compatible with his Battle Continuation, allowing his resilient body to take a great deal of damage.[3] When healing and reviving, it is different from normal regeneration and closer in nature to the time reversal attribute of the Curse of Restoration possessed by vampires.[15] Non-fatal damage can be healed within minutes, but the damage from multiple lives being taken, such as in the battle against Archer, requires three days to heal.[5] He is able to take each continuous assault from Gilgamesh, regenerate, and continue to move forward while his lives drain away.[14] He is able to revive in ten seconds from Fragarach piercing his heart, and used again a second time with the intent of blinding him by piercing through his face, it barely impedes him as he begins to move even before his eyes regenerate seconds later.[1] Multiple lives can be taken at once, and they appear to have a set amount of damage they can take, allowing Berserker to calculate that an attack had enough power to take two more lives than the stock he had available at the time.[16] Caliburn, hitting Berserker from the inside, is shown to take seven lives, Illya comments that Rin utilizing five times the jewels required to take one life may have been able to take all six lives, and while it is dubious if the weakened Excalibur could take off even two of his lives, Illya believes its full power could also have taken the rest of his lives and completely kill him.[10][16][17]

Every time he is harmed by an attack, regardless if it leads to death or not, he will gain resistance after he heals. In the case of being damaged by flames, he would gain around "*+100 fire resistance*" after healing. Rather than rendering them "*completely ineffective*", it makes subsequent attacks almost useless against him.[8][18] No matter the power of the Noble Phantasm used to kill him, it will be nullified after he resurrects, so even the greatest attack will not be effective on him twice and will require different methods to take each subsequent life.[3][5] Under circumstances where his Eye of the Mind (False) is available, it will bolster his resilience in being able to see through attacks previously witnessed, but he has lost his swordsmanship techniques as a Berserker and can only rely on the natural ability of God Hand.[8] Even with the support of Assassin and Kuzuki Souichirou, Caster can only damage him two or three times before her spells are rendered ineffective.[11] Due to Illya's immense magical energy, even his stock of lives can be regenerated with enough time.[3] It takes three days to restore at least two lives.[19]

In the world of *Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA*, the installation of the Berserker Class Card has deteriorated the ability in many ways, rendering so that it only protects against attacks of C-rank and below and displays a lesser stock of lives.[20] Upon death, revive is automatically cast, but when it activates, the card gets discharged from the user's body.

Berserker possesses none of the rationality or concepts like notions of detailed tactics of his normal very adept and skilled self. He is an existence that can only utterly defeat the enemy from the front as directed by Ilya while leaving everything to his physical ability and brandishing his weapon to strike. Even in this state, he still manages to demonstrate hand-to-hand combat abilities superior to every Servant.[2] Although he lacks technique, his abilities are so beyond normal standards in power and speed that there is no room for the idea in the first place. "Technique" in battle is something invented by humans to compensate for their natural weaknesses, so such is unnecessary for he who possesses none.[20] Despite his monstrous size, he has the highest rank of Agility, so cornering him in battle is difficult. With the Noble Phantasm God Hand providing great defense against attacks, he is able to fight without even thinking of defense

His main weapon isn't a Noble Phantasm, but rather a simple **Nameless Axe-Sword** (無銘·斧剣, *Mumei Onoken*?) made of rock. It was originally part of the foundations of a temple that the Einzbern family carved out in preparation for summoning him, and the sword itself was eventually used as the catalyst. He brandishes it with ease due to his extreme strength, and he causes large amounts of destruction with each swing. 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. It is a brutish weapon more like a rock than an axe, and it can only be considered a weapon due to his extreme strength that allows him to wield it, suiting him perfectly despite being unconventional. It works on the same principle as prehistoric flint weapons unearthed in Northern Europe in that stone weapons broke easily because they were inherently brittle, had low lethality, and did not see widespread use, but Berserker compensates for the shortcomings with the sheer mass of the stone.[21] Under the Ascension system, the Axe-Sword gains several protrusions, and then he instead gains a proper, golden axe. 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.

Unlike his sealed Bravery skill, Eye of the Mind (False) remains active due to it being nearly an instinct. It is danger avoidance based on intuition that was gained throughout his many ordeals and adventures. It is a troublesome ability for his opponents, allowing him to keep from falling for half-hearted feints even against seasoned swordsmen.[2] Due to his lack of motor skills, it is possible to use the terrain to gain an advantage over 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. Upon being Blackened, Shirou and Kirei Kotomine are able to outdistance him due to his blindness forcing him to take a straight path even through trees

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. The ability 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.

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.[2] 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.