Sergei Rybakov

Sergei Rybakov is a Master who fights in the Holy Grail War of Yggdrasil both in the First and Second Arc.

Biography
Sergei Rybakov is a poor man and also a poet who in the past worked for the Order of the Blessed. He was sent in 1995 to Chechen, in the capital Grozny to fight the First Chechen War; his job was to hunt down the Islamic magus together with his colleague Igor Yerzov. However Sergei was too kind and didn't want to kill and for this he was heavily criticized by Yerzov. During the war the two were attacked by a magus and Sergei chased him but ended up in a house inhabited by an innocent family. He didn't want to kill anyone but Yerzov, furious, used Magecraft to burn the house in front of Sergei's eyes; the man fell to the ground in tears, regretting allowing such an atrocity to happen.

Sergei wishes to become a famous poet. He apparently loves Vladimir Mayakovsky, in fact he reads Formidable Laughter in Chapter 93, and he also loves Nikolay Ogarev and Sophia Parnok.

Personality
Sergei Rybakov is a very calm, kind man, he's an Orthodox Christian who believes in piety. However, he's also a man who has no problem fighting for his desire to become a poet, thus proving he's selfish as well. Rybakov, in the First Arc, appears to be much more serious, determined to achieve his goal, but in the Second Arc, he appears much darker, almost depressed, chased by the nightmares of the previous war and looking for a way out. He seems to be in constant search for redemption and has no sympathy for those like Tetsuya. His relationship with Friedrich, on the other hand, is particular because on the one hand he sees him as a rival that he must defeat but on the other hand he seems to be envious of him and his strength; Sergei calls himself "rabbit" while he calls Friedrich "wolf".

Magecraft
Sergei is able to use special powders thanks to which he can evoke, using Magecraft, beasts of different types (usually mastiffs).

Holy Grail War of Yggdrasil
Sergei fights in the Holy Grail War but for different reasons depending on the story arc.

First Arc
Sergei debuts in Ibaraki and faces Harumi. He doesn't seem to have any particular problems fighting a girl who's still in high school and wants to eliminate her immediately but the battle is interrupted by the opening of a chasm in the city. During the war Sergei shows that he doesn't want to have problems with other people who are not Masters and above all he writes poems about the war. He feels pity for Clovis Wolff who is without Servant and who goes completely crazy starting to hurt other people. During their fight Harumi and Archer intervene and Clovis escapes. During the battle Harumi is wounded and yet continues to fight leaving Rybakov stunned; he, one could say, begins to admire the girl. Eventually Assassin is killed by Archer and when police arrive Rybakov gets arrested accepting the murder charges. In prison, Rybakov sees the sky darken because of Nidhoggr, sees the stars go out and that spectacle will haunt him in the form of a nightmare in the new universe.

Second Arc
Sergei is haunted by the nightmares of the previous universe's war. He knows he has seen the end of the world and is afraid. This Sergei is no longer so sure of winning, he appears more depressed, darker, chased by the ghosts of his past. He refuses to ally with Tetsuya and wants to face Friedrich. During their battle he remembers, only for a moment, Clovis, he remembers the desperation of Friedrich's brother, and in the end, seized by sadness and the inability to continue a war that for him brings only suffering and terror, he decides to commit suicide before the eyes of his rival, leaving the latter his last poem.