It was a silent night in the city of Fuyuki. Most citizens were asleep as they awaited morning. However,

For Ryunosuke Uryu

It was the prime time to go on his nightly murders.

Breaking into the home of some random family that just happened to leave their front gate open. From there it was just the trivial matter of lockpicking their door and sneaking in. There was nothing special about this family. It comprised of a father who had normal office job with a wife that stayed home and a child, a typical Japanese family here.

Typical enough that no-one would miss them.

The look of despair that flashed across the father's face as he woke up to a knife buried in his chest was pure gold to Ryunosuke. The father tried to desperately fight for his life but Ryunosuke was quick enough to grab the knife and slit his throat, killing him immediately. The commotion woke up his wife as well but she met a similar fate as the knife was then lodged into her head, killing her instantly as well.

Gazing at the dead corpses, Ryunosuke wished that he had more time to 'enjoy' their time together. Maybe torture one while the others looked, maybe have one decide which one got to live while he killed the other. Oh well his dark fantasies could be played out on another unsuspecting family another day. Pulling out a book he couldn't help but grin at the prospect of what tonight was going to bring. He had done some cleaning up and found a book that his ancestors had kept. Curious he decided to read through what his ancestors deemed worthy of writing down.

Imagine to his surprise it was a grimoire for summoning demons.

He had never summoned a demon before, but tonight was the night he'd get to see an envoy of sin in the flesh. He hoped that it would be a terrifying abomination or maybe a demonic snake that consumed humans in a horrific way, wouldn't that be a fun one. Hearing a door open put his thoughts on hold as he looked out of the door, across the hallway. The kid's door had opened up as the kid seemingly wanted to grab a midnight snack before retiring back to his room, oblivious to the death of his parents. Grinning manically Ryunosuke silently followed the unsuspecting boy down the stairs.

This boy was about to soon be reunited with his parents.

"Now what do I do next?" After following the boy down to the kitchen, Ryunosuke quickly knocked the kid out, before tying him up and throwing him into a closet. The grimoire specifically said that only a child would be able to appease a demon, rather specific but who was he to question the specifics. Making sure that the kid was still breathing he closed the closet and addressed the empty living room. He had also dragged down the corpses of the parents down because their blood would serve as the catalyst for the ritual. Looking down at the book he noted that he would have to draw a complex ritual circle that called forth the demon.

Now he wasn't the best artist in the world but he did happen to have a high amount of drawing material on standby. Looking back at the dead corpses of the parents he could feel his excitement soaring.

Now it was time to summon a demon.

Dropping the struggling kid down on the floor with a thud, he proudly looked at his masterpiece. It took some time but having so much blood that the parents kindly donated for his ritual, he was able to create the ritual circle. Hearing the kid struggling in his captivity he looked down with a maniacal smile. "Hey isn't this great!" Enjoying the horror of the kid struggling to free himself Ryunosuke continued with his diabolical plan. "So, I found this book in the warehouse. Apparently, it was my ancestors trying to summon a demon," Pulling out the book he showed the kid what was going to await him.

"Now I'm curious to see if demons really do exist however," Looking down he made sure that the kid was only looking at him. "It'd be pretty stupid if a demon did appear and all we did was chat and not offer it anything to eat so...," Holding his hand in a mock sign of charity.

"Mind if we let it eat you?"

The kid proceeded to absolutely lose it as it became apparent, he was going to be the dinner of some eldritch being. Laughing at the struggle of the kid Ryunosuke looked back at the ritual circle. Now all that was time to do was chant the summoning.

"It's going to be great seeing how demon eats a child, now I just got to find the page with the summoning," Flipping across the pages he tried to find the appropriate page before he dropped it as his hand felt like it was on fire. Looking down he could see a faint red tattoo begin manifesting on his hand. After it finished it looked like an outstretched beast claw symbol. Having no idea how the hell it appeared Ryunosuke could only remain dumbfounded as the ritual circle glowed with ethereal light, smoke billowing out of it.

All he could do was stare as a figure seemingly manifested them self, right before his eyes

"Servant Caster." What came out of the mysterious figure's mouth was the kind of voice that he'd expect from a king or nobleman, not a demon. It held such a rich and powerful authoritarian edge to it that he couldn't help but stare at the figure and note two things. One he didn't look like a demon, more like beggar judging from the rag-like clothes he wore with his cap and mask, and that two the fact that while he didn't convey the look of a demon, he certainty exuded an aura of one. It felt like he was an ant in the presence of a god.

"Are you my master?"

Not knowing how to respond Ryunosuke just introduced himself instead. "Um name's Ryunosuke Uryu."Not getting a response from the man he just continued onward. "I'm currently unemployed, and I like killing people, pretty mu...," His introduction was cut short as Caster walked forward with surprising speed towards him. He couldn't even question Caster as a hand found its way to his neck with a grip that he couldn't escape from. Forced to look at Caster, he felt his heart rate shoot up as he looked straight into his eyes. It was like gazing into a mini-galaxy that he could feel himself begin to go mad from the exposure. Fast as he found himself near to madness he was quickly released as Caster re-orientated himself.

"Forgive me but I just had to confirm something, however it still stands. I am your servant for this Holy Grail War, use me as you wish"

Holy Grail War? Just as Ryunosuke was about to ask what the he meant by Holy Grail War, the kid renewed his struggling, He was a normal child, and went with his family to church every Sunday. He didn't believe demons existed but seeing one be summoned right before his eyes made him try anything to not die to whatever eldritch being was in his house. Laughing at the kid's attempt to survive he looked back at Caster. "Hey so wanna eat the kid?" Now being the source of attention, the kid could only look up at the duo, begging for his life through his gag.

Caster looked at the kid before deciding to approach the struggling kid. Every step he took made the kid struggle against his bonds more, till the point he was basically thrashing around by the time Caster was in front of him. Kneeling down Caster looked the kid dead in the eye, gazing at his soul through his terrified eyes.

"Forgive me master but I am not the demon that you wished to see; I am just a regular human." Standing up he addressed his master with an apologetic look through his mask and cap. "However, I just happen to be a summoner of the demons you're looking for." Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a rather plain looking whistle for his master to take.

Grinning wildly at what Caster just offered him, Ryunosuke took the whistle from his hand and held it above him to admire the whistle beneath the ceiling light, unknowing of its true purpose. Was this really a tool to summon a demon? Blowing hard on it and letting the tune echo across the living room, he waited for his majestic demon to appear.

"Forgive me master but there should be one thing you should know," Looking back at Caster Ryunosuke was confused as Caster performed an elegant bow for him. "Never make a deal with a demon." Tipping his hat in forgiveness he motioned for him to look at his feet.

Looking down he saw himself in the mouth of a giant snake demon ready to devour him.

"Huh" Was all he said before the jaws shut tight around him.

From the top of a nearby building Caster looked down as a squad of cops came rushing into the house. He had called them about a potential killer inside the house before vacating the scene. He let out a little sigh of relief as a police officer emerged from the household with the child in his arms, who was currently unconscious, and shouting for medical attention. He did not require Ryunosuke as a source of mana as he had other ways to sustain himself so he was not worried on being able to exist in this Holy Grail War.

However.

It seems that he was summoned a month too early for the Holy Grail War.

Expanding his senses, he could tell that no other magus family had even attempted to summon their servant yet, even the 3 Founding Families had yet to make any preparations for the war. The Einzberns were not even present in the city, only a skeleton crew operating their castle in the woods, the Tohsakas were present but were waiting for the beginning night of the Holy Grail to begin their plan, and the Matous didn't even have a candidate that could participate in the upcoming war.

Being summoned in this modern era granted Caster some knowledge of the present but his 'special status' granted him an even greater plethora of knowledge than the average servant might jope gain. Let it be known at his disgust at what the Holy Grail War meant.

A shortcut to power.

If one wishes to ascend to something even greater than it should be through your own merit, not because of some omnipotent wish device. The 3 founding families and their desire to reach the Root reminded him of the Healing Church and their desire to ascend above humanity. He felt his stomach curl at the countless atrocities they committed in the name of ascending and what had their efforts brought them?

"Milord, I'm here to report."

Breaking out of his internal monologue, Caster turned back to one of his faithful servants. Kneeling reverently and waiting for his next command was the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst. He was once a revered knight enlisted to the cause of Queen Analise of the Vilebloods. The signature Cainhurst helmet signified his allegiance but his garb made him special. Donned in the feathery cape of the Crowfeather set, hunters who hunted wayward hunters than the beasts, he was the perfect weapon to take up arms against the Church and their hunters, who were enemies to Cainhurst Castle.

"Report my Bloody Crow."

"At once milord." Standing from his kneeling position, he gave Caster his findings. "We have scouted the entire city to see if any indication of your summoning was evident. All magus families show no reaction to your arrival and it seems their defenses are unable to detect us unless we step foot in their territories."

"Hmm very good, it seems that we can begin to prepare for this Holy Grail."

"A question for milord, if he deems it worthy."

"Oh?"

"You are of the highest, the king of all gods. What use do you have for a fake wishing device when you all the power to yourself."

"Tell me my knight, do you know what ill-gained power leads to?"

"Chaos milord."

"Exactly." Throwing up his arms Caster gazed up at the moon. "If power is ill-gained than it shall wreak havoc on everyone, regardless of who they are. Those fools in the Healing Church never cared about the consequences but just on the damm hopes of being a Great One. And where did it lead us! A city that turned on itself, no one knowing who was a beast or not. The countless grievances to the Fishing Hamlet that they defiled for the corpse of a washed-up Great One that cursed others to an endless nightmare. Real power must be gained and only through adversity can one make their dreams reality. I shall create a hunt so difficult that even the mightiest heroes will be hard-pressed to survive in it and only the one that comes out on top should be deserving of the grail." Not even realizing that he begun to shout out his speech, he took several deep breaths of air.

"Inspirational as always milord." It seemed that in his speech that the other Cainhurst Knights had arrived and were patiently waiting for their next instructions. Unlike the Bloody Crow they had the full Cainhurst knight armor on and were considered the little underlings to the Bloody Crow. As the result of his hunt, Caster's ascension to Godhood allowed him to summon various hunter groups that he had encountered in his hunt to heed his commands and it was only the Cainhurst Knights that he trusted to scout out the city. However, he would soon call others to the hunt when the Grail War finally began.

"Only the worthiest shall past this trial and we shall be the ones to determine that." Even if his facial expressions were covered by a mask, his knights could feel the zeal that he was exhibiting, to judge 6 other heroes in which one was the worthiest. "The time to prepare is now, go my faithful knights and prepare this city to be the staging grounds of the grandest Holy Grail War to ever take place."

Having received their instructions, the Cainhurst Knights all bowed before leaving to various parts of the city. They needed to cover much ground and secure optimal sites for the ritual to take place. Their majesty's trust in them would not be let down.

"So, it begins." Vanishing into his spiritual form, Caster had much to prepare for the ritual. Many factors had to be addressed for this ritual to succeed and all had to be done without alerting any magus family to their plan However, no hurdle was too great if one was a Great One.

If any magus decided to pop their head out of their workshops for a single moment then they would've been warned of their fate that awaited them in the next month.

For the once vibrant full moon had become a blood soaked moon for an instant before reverting back to its regular innocent vibrancy.