Berserker (Heracles)

**Heracles**, also known as **Berserker**, is a character from the *Fate* franchise.

This is the Servant of Ilyasviel von Einzbern, who immediately invoked the "Mad Enhancement" skill exclusive to Berserkers to strip him of his sanity and speaking ability in exchange for extreme boosts to all his stats. Despite his bouts of insanity and the Berserker class' reputation of killing their own Masters, Berserker is entirely loyal to his Master.

In the AWA fics, Heracles is a student at the AWA Academy and is part of Class 12.

## **Appearance**

Heracles is a colossal man with a statue-like appearance, he had a grayish skin tone and a very muscular body, he had a rather hard expression with dark-colored eyes, a large nose and a messy black-colored hair. He is bare-chested and wears a gray-colored metallic belt with a brown-colored leather cape adorned by metallic paddings over a gray-colored tattered loincloth and he wears a pair of black-colored metallic braces on each of his wrists and calves.

## **Personality**

Due to his Mad Enhancement, Berserker is completely void of thought for most of the story. His emotions have been sealed off, making it impossible to perform any actions with personal motivation, and the only thing not lost is the reason within the core of his being that not even the bondage of the Command Spells can overwhelm. This side is shown in the occasions when he is shown feeling something like the will to protect Ilya. He faces even hopeless fights with his iron will, advancing to keep Ilya from facing death. He can display general thoughts based on his instincts that Ilya can interpret, and she responds as if having a normal conversation. Archer notes that he is one of the Servants completely satisfied with their Master.

He enjoys battle, and he would have grieved that his match with Archer "deserved better" had he been a normal Servant. He displays a brief sense of rationality while thinking this, wishing to have matched sword techniques with Archer to his heart's content and passed a satisfying time. He speaks briefly, free of Mad Enhancement, before his death during the Fate route, asking about Caliburn and commenting on its surprising strength. He puts no emotion into his dying words, and simply crumbles away like sand.

For Heracles, who had gone berserk numerous times in legend, having beat his harp instructor to death when he was a child and many other episodes killing people in rage without even hearing them speak, the Berserker Class is quite familiar and easy in which to adapt. After being Blackened by the Holy Grail in *Heaven's Feel*, he was able to halt the last strike of his Axe Sword before he died. He was able to do so due to the strength of his heart; a heart which suffered the pain of going berserk since his early days as a hero. He is identified as the most manly character in the story of *Fate*.

## **Abilities**

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. Among the many great heroes of Greek legend, he boasts fame and power that ranks next if not above Achilles'. 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. As such, he is said to undoubtedly be 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. Illya believes there should only be one or two others in existence capable of matching him. Being stout of heart, body, and mind, he is an excellent warrior who has mastered all weapons. 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. As an Archer Class Servant he'd be able to demonstrate his true power the most, thanks to it being a pretty comfortable class to someone who overcame many trials with knowledge and resourcefulness and having specialized with the bow.

As a Berserker Class servant, 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. 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. Although having lost much of the 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. Even Saber believes she would have a hard fight at her full power and claims that it may be impossible for any Servant to overcome his strength. However, his strength has some clear limitations. As seen in the Norse Lostbelt when he was momentarily summoned by Sitonai, the amalgamation of three Divine Spirit, he struggles to block Surtr's Loptr Laegjarn. Even with the back up of Scáthach-Skadi who used her Primordial Runes to simultaneously summon a large number of Divine Iron Shields, Ortlinde's White Swan Mystic Code, and Sigurd's and Brynhildr's runes are unable to reinforce Heracles enough to block Surtr's sword. The difference between the numbers of the power of each side is so absurd, that even if Mash had joined them it would only have given them a minuscule boost. They simply lacked anything to turn the tide in their favor in a frontal clash.

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. She still focuses on her ability to control him outside of combat, so she suppresses the rank of Mad Enhancement. 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.

### **Skills**

#### **Class Skills**

* **Mad Enhancement** (B Rank): The Class Skill that characterizes Berserker, it reinforces ability at the cost of reason. As Heracles' possesses the skill at Rank B, in compensation for losing most of his sanity, the levels of all his abilities rise. Heracles beat his harp instructor to death when he was a child, and had many episodes when he killed people in his rage without even hearing them speak. It seems that for Heracles, Berserker that receives "Mad Enhancement" was an easy class to adapt to. Focusing on controllability when out of combat, the rank of "Mad Enhancement" is suppressed by Illya. Nevertheless, he's considered he became an untouchable monster thanks to this skill. Originally, the Skill Mad Enhancement is something used to forcibly strengthen a weak Servant. With a Heroic Spirit on Heracles’ level, even only Mad Enhancing him consumes a vast amount of magic energy. He would not be able to stay manifested unless the rank of the Mad Enhancement is made lower compared to the other Berserker and the magic energy consumption is restrained. That being said, Heracles being summoned as Berserker yet still behaving with a slight reasoning ability intact is by no means only due to the rank of Mad Enhancement being low. Being the world’s foremost hero, he possesses a strong reason that does not get swallowed up by the Class’ special characteristic of Mad Enhancement. While he is a Berserker, he still maintain a calm eye for strategy. In any case, with him already having a high status of a Heroic Spirit to begin with, being Mad Enhanced would unmistakably turn him into a monster beyond control.

#### **Personal Skills**

* **Battle Continuation** (A Rank): A skill that allows for the continuation of combat after sustaining mortal wounds. It will also reduce the mortality rate from injury. Cú Chulainn’s Battle Continuation represents *“never give up no matter what”*, while Hercules’ represents the ability to survive. The best result is achieved when a resilient body is combined with this skill.
* **Valor** (A+ Rank): With his brave and daring spirit, Heracles is able to neutralize mental interference such as suppression, confusion, and charm. However, under the influence of Mad Enhancement, this skill is unable to take effect. While operating correctly, Valor also increases the damage inflicted upon the opponent during melee combat. This skill allowed Herakles to defeat several monsters empty-handed.
* **Divinity** (A Rank): Being a mixed-race child of the King of Gods Zeus and a human, and becoming a god after death thanks to his great deeds, Heracles naturally possessed the highest level of the Divinity skill. It is theorized that due to Heracles having the blood of the gods, one would need a divine mystery of the same level to even affect him. This skill ultimately proves to be fatal when faced with the complete entrapment of the Chains of Heaven, Enkidu, more dangerous to him even than the powerful Excalibur, but his strength and determination allow him to overcome even those binds.
* **Mind's Eye (Fake)** (B Rank): A danger avoidance ability based on Intuition/Sixth Sense, gained through many ordeals and adventures. Even though Berserker’ sanity was lost due to Mad Enhancement, this skill remained effective due to it being nearly an instinct. When crossing swords with a seasoned swordsman like Artoria, he would not fall for half-hearted feints. It is such a troublesome ability for his opponents.

### **Combat**

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. 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. 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. However, 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.

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 carved from the foundations of a temple and was used as a catalyst for summoning him. 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. 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.

### **Noble Phantasms**

Heracles' Noble Phantasm is **God Hand**, which represents the immortality he received after death thanks to completing the Twelve Labours. With this ability, God Hand turns one’s body into a tough suit of armour and nullifies all attacks Ranked B or lower, regardless of the type or power of the attack. It also has the effect of automatic resurrection after death. Because the resurrection effect has 11 uses, Heracles cannot perish unless killed 12 times. Due to having Ilya as a Master, he is able to also regenerate lost lives over time. Thanks to this Noble Phantasm, Heracles 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. Powerful attacks such as Excalibur or Caliburn can take multiple of his lives with a single strike.

Surprisingly, God Hand has exceptional compatibility with the “will not die easily” skill Battle Continuation. 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.

Regardless of how powerful is the Noble Phantasm that defeated Heracles, it would be completely nullified after he resurrects. However, Saber Alter is able to overcome his resistance by increasing the power of her attacks with her Mana Burst skill to the point where each of them looks like a Noble Phantasm. As such, she easily corners and overwhelms Heracles even in a direct battle activating the True Name of her Noble Phantasm until the very end of their fight when her lips are shown muted.

As a Heroic Spirit, Heracles' most trusted Noble Phantasm is **Nine Lives**, however, it cannot be used in the Berserker class due to a lack of motor skills. It is still ingrained into his technique and history, allowing Shirou to project the Axe-Sword and technique to utilize Nine Lives Blade Works. Rin Tohsaka also 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***?**). Qualifying for the Saber class with ease, he would best be able to display his "glorious, exquisite swordplay" and Nine Lives.

## **Trivia**

* Berserker's original role in *Fate/Prototype* was similar to his final design in *Fate/stay night*, but he didn't appear in the animated short. There were a number of changes throughout the design process. His Master was originally Sancraid Phahn, a murderous maniac sent by the Church, but Takeuchi suggested a young girl instead. They were originally experimenting with his design to make him seem "inhuman", and the elbow spikes are a remnant of that process. Rider originally recognized him as Heracles at first glance due to their shared background in Greek mythology. She would have rammed him to death once or twice with Bellerophon before being killed.
* The original concept of God Hand held the ability **"will not lose for 11 battles"** (*11-kai no sentou made wa zettai ni makenai*), so that he would be able to easily defeat the six other Servants and still have victories left over. Against Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm at the time, which was "will absolutely survive", the two concepts of the abilities clashed and the paradoxical situation had to be resolved. Berserker eventually died even though he won, while Gilgamesh lost but survived. After designing Ilya as his Master, they originally planned on having them both share lives. As long as Berserker lived, she was immortal and unable to be killed even if other Servants tried to avoid Berserker to strike at his Master. The idea was scrapped after they thought it was too strong.