FBBH 101

Hey guys, irrelevant question but in Dragon Ball Z when Trunks first shows up and fights Freiza, do you think he makes all those gestures with his hands before firing his attack because he doesn't know how to fight effeciently or I am just crazy?

Fate/Bonds Beyond Humanity

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101- Heroic Spirits Inbound

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Waver knew there was nothing he could possibly do once Illya started her spell. He had no idea where to start disrupting it in the first place but, more urgently, Georg was watching him like a hawk would a rat. The younger magician dropping his own spells meant Yasaka was ‘free’ of their control.

Yet the kitsune remained still as threads of mana connected to her body and Illyasviel grabbed her face. “Pay close attention, Waver Velvet.” She spoke pridefully, savoring her triumph. “You are about to witness True Magic in action. Be grateful.”

“I thought you hadn't managed to get the True Magic to work.” Georg commented petulantly while folding his arms.

A vein popped in Illya’s forehead and she threatened, “Do you want me to cut your connection? … Thought so.”

Yasaka then began to wail as her eyes regained focus and she looked at the white haired woman in horror. Ki surrounded the kitsune’s body aggressively but before she could attack the younger woman fixed her nails on the blonde’s face and her power ceased to be.

Except it really didn’t since Waver could feel how it had suddenly been contained on the yokai’s body. ‘She can control a kitsune like that? A representative of Amaterasu? How is she- she is manipulating her soul!’ Finally he could see the threads for what they were, strings on a puppet of flesh. ‘That isn’t the end goal, if it was they would have been controlling her from the beginning which means they needed Yasaka to start the ritual and-’

Ki flooded their room and Yasaka began shaking uncontrollably before falling silent and her body to grow rigid. A heartbeat later and her nine tails began glowing while moving around in an erratic fashion without rime or reason. Some part of the woman was trying to fight back, to stop whatever was happening.

But it was too late, the moment Illya’s treads wrapped themselves around the kitsune’s soul there was no escaping. It wasn’t an attack just anybody could shrug off but realistically it wasn’t very powerful either because the soul wasn’t something weak that could just break under pressure.

Which was why Yasaka had been tricked into using her sanctuary. Why was she forced into a ritual without understanding the implications of it. Her soul wasn’t what needed to crack, it was her power.

‘Access to the soul as a means to take over someone’s body isn’t new but this… this is a new sort of insanity…’ Waver gulped before asking, “Are you trying to play God, Illyasviel von Einzbern?” Unfortunately she was too far gone in the process that it was impossible for her to answer.

Which meant the man was free from her Mystic Eyes. “You better not even think about it.” Georg gave a single warning while raising a hand in the teacher’s direction. “One wrong move and-”

Ki bursted from Yasaka’s body and the treads connecting her to Illya grew thicker as the mana in the room was channeled inside the younger woman. Only it wasn’t just the mana in the room and both magicians could feel how a huge part of Kyoto’s ley line was also part of the connection.

An act very similar to what Shirou did when stopping Kokabiel’s plan, a direct access to a ley line like that wasn’t safe even in the best circumstances. The temple would mitigate anything negative, it was built for that, but with the huge quantity of energy being part of the ritual there was no way a human could survive it.

But no excess would ever reach Illya because that was another reason why Yasaka was there; to filtrate the wild mana of Kyoto and tame it in a fashion that any negative consequence of its use would just strike the kitsune and not the magus connected to her.

“This is madness! A single mistake-”

“Silence, Professor.” Georg was grinning as he felt the power in his soul flourishing. “It is almost done.” A glint shone from his glasses as Illya began to take in far more power. “Witness it, Professor Velvet. The moment Humanity takes back our world.”

Suddenly Yasaka’s tails froze in place and began falling apart into motes of mana which were channeled into Illya, something Waver knew should be impossible. The tails of a kitsune were a representation of their age and power, not something they were born with but proof they lived a long and mostly fulfilling life.

Nevertheless Waver was watching something impossible. ‘It is like she is stealing Yasaka's best years.’ He watched in horror as the gold colour vanished from the woman's hairs and years as the tails fell apart. ‘100 years. That is what each tail represents. 100 years. Illyasviel is using 900 years worth of magic combined to the ley line of Kyoto and that isn’t enough to reach the Root? Unbelievable!!’

Both men witnessed as the more tails Yasaka lost, the more powerful Illya’s treads grew until they started to surround their mistress. Soon her outfit began changing as invisible hands began fashioning a dress as white as her hair but which shone with its own light even as mana stopped flowing through it.

Its sleeves were long, almost to the point Waver would call them wings that nevertheless exposed the shoulders, with bands of red that extended through them while decorating the sides of her waist and even flowing from inside the dress into two huge bands of crimson.

Gold highlights decorated almost the whole dress with symbols Waver recognized as important for the process of alchemy which contradicted the design of the dress itself which was quite revealing on the tights and extremely form fitting in such a way to fully display Illya’s womanly figure.

But what caught the magus' attention was the hat, or more precisely a crown, huge in size and a symbol not of royalty but of a higher authority from priesthood, came to be from the whole tail of a kitsune.

‘That is 100 years… For just a crown…’ Waver thought with fear, realizing what exactly he was witnessing. He would know because he studied the History of Fuyuki and the war that never was. “The Dress of Heaven…”

Eventually the process ended after what felt like an eternity but was around ten seconds but that didn’t mean the end of the ritual, just the end of Yasaka’s part. The kitsune fell to the side and Georg frowned upon noticing two things: that she still lived and one of her tails remained.

However he couldn’t question because Illya opened her eyes and unleashed a huge quantity of power forming a giant tree that reached the sky. That tree of mana began spreading its roots and branches, one of them flying towards him faster than he could react. Not that he would try to run or anything similar.

No, Georg opened his arms and embraced the power Illyasviel offered by allowing it to touch his soul through the small spark the woman had already left behind the previous day. The mana she gave him before lit up like an inferno and the magician felt his body transform.

With both invaders enveloped in light, Waver rushed to Yasaka’s side and tried to find her pulse. ‘She is-’

“She is still alive.” Georg’s voice came from behind and the magus couldn’t help but shiver because of the power he was feeling. Upon turning he saw the pillar of energy vanishing revealing the younger man who gained a bit more muscle, was wearing a brand new outfit and carried a book to his left side that carried a sense of ‘wrongness’. “Why is she still alive, Illya?”

Compared to his previous clothes there were some similarities but also some glaring changes like the colour which went from a dark red like wine for a darker version of blue, the school uniform had been adjusted with buttons made of pure gold and the hood of his cloak hid his face in shadows.

Dangerous shadows, almost living, pulsing above the young man’s head which didn’t conceal his identity but were prominent enough that Waver could tell something was wrong without knowing what.

Not that he cared much about shadows when looking at the chained book with fear. ‘Whatever that is… it has more demonic power than almost every devil I know.’

The book itself was a confusing thing that his eyes couldn’t decipher. It looked to be made of leather but also not or at least not from any animal he knew. And yes, that included human skin, that wasn’t it either. Almost like the book was brought into Reality as something completely unique for no reason whatsoever.

Perhaps that explained the only image from the book that he could properly understand; the painting of a devil with a mocking but cartoonish smile full of teeth, a top hat and long limbs that reminded Waver of a certain devil.

‘Mephistopheles. It makes sense, he is the descendant of Faust which would mean… is that the book which allowed him to summon the Last of the First Devils? That would mean… Heaven’s Feel was somehow enacted! Georg has now part, or maybe all, the power of the Heroic Spirit of the Legendary Doctor Faust!’

It wasn’t the True Third Magic in its complete form but the magus couldn't deny that Illya managed to manipulate not only her ally’s soul but also help him reach the Throne of Heroes.

Not only that but, while Illyasviel hadn’t fully summoned the spirits themselves and given them bodies or even summoned Servants, she straight out made her ally stronger without involving a new third party meaning they wouldn’t have to deal with someone who could disagree with their agenda.

‘All the power of a Heroic Spirit but none of their wisdom.’ Waver held Yasaka’s body while using several spells to help her. ‘And it isn’t just one. It is very possible that all members of the Hero Faction present are now empowered by Heroic Spirits. That is the only way to justify this sort of attack on Kyoto.’

The clicking sound of heels clicking on the floor had him turn to notice the complete form of Illyasviel von Einzbern; the high tight boots, the bells which chimed gently and her red eyes which truly shone like rubies.

When she looked at him, Waver felt like an insect before a storm. ‘Divine… She may not be a goddess but at this moment… She is Divine.’ And that scared him to no end. ‘If they want to kills us-’

“She got lucky.” Even her voice gained a new otherworldly quality, almost as if she had gained the wisdom from every year she took from Yasaka. Maybe she did, those years were the thing fueling her power after all. “Not all the 900 years were used and there was enough to keep her alive if just barely. Either way,” she studied her ally with an interested glance, “the process of Incarnation was successful. How do you feel?”

“The best word I can describe myself with would be ‘more’.” The magician flexed his shoulders a little, feeling his body muscles in a playful manner. Never one to do much exercise, he felt like he could pull a whole truck without magic. “No problems on my part but I can feel some disconnect from the knowledge I have.”

“Ah, as predicted then. You aren’t really the Original Faust who willingly made a deal with the devil. That contradiction in your History is making the Incarnation weaker… If just slightly.”

Both hummed in deep thought before Georg said. “Yes, I will never make any deals with devils. They can all burn in Hell for all that I care.” Looking at the sole yokai present, he began musing. “Perhaps killing her would be a mercy. One only humans can afford.” Georg offered while raising a hand in the shape of a knife and a blade of concentrated mana manifested. Waver moved to protect her which he found amusing. “Do you think you can do anything in this situation, Professor Velvet?”

No aria, no magic circles, no effort and nevertheless Georg’s knife of mana would kill the kitsune and Waver in one single strike if he so wishes. “Is there any need for that?” The teacher asked while looking between the two terrorists. “You already have what you came for and Yasaka… She still has a daughter who surely wants to see her mother again.”

A softness not present before appeared in Illya’s face before she began walking away. “Let ’s go, Georg. All our goals have been accomplished.” They felt the ground shake and the powers clashing outside the temple. She sighed before adding, “We should get the others before they clean up the whole place. Wasn’t Gilgamesh the one who said we didn’t need unnecessary deaths?”

“I suppose you are right.” Georg relaxed his hand and allowed the mana to vanish before moving to fix his glasses only to notice he didn’t need them anymore. Yet they had other uses so he used a single spell, which he didn’t know until that very moment, to make sure they would affect his sight no longer. “If you are going to try saving her, go ahead. She will live as a cripple regardless.”

Waver ignored his fear and curiosity, focused on keeping Yasaka alive. ‘Her body dealt with too much mana in a too short span of time but I think I can fix most of the trauma.’ Nevertheless Georg was right, the King of the West would no longer be able to fulfill her duties with the damage her body took. Most magi would be trying to collect sample and data from the downed kitsune but he shoved those thoughts to the side and kept working. ‘Saving your life is the only thing I can do at this moment. Even if I was a fighter, I could never see myself defeating whatever these Incarnations are.’

Looking towards the hallways he watched how neither Illya nor Georg were in any rush to leave and he couldn’t blame them.

‘That is the power of Doctor Faust, someone who should be a minor Heroic Spirit at most… How strong are the real Legends going to be in comparison?’ Waver really didn’t want to find out the answer to that question.

Unfortunately he knew there was no stopping them.

That nobody could stop them.

…..

Gilgamesh felt his new armor with fascination, noticing how almost every single centimeter of his body was covered with a golden metal that was botherline Divine yet lacking the powers of any deity.

‘Why no helmet, though?’ A hand went up and he heard a distinct click of his armored finger flicking his new earrings which were heavier than any piece of his armor whilst being light as feathers. Silently a giant mirror fell in front of him and the blond began rubbing his chin with admiration. ‘Looks like someone dumped my hair gel and pulled it up.’

Suddenly his mirror began melting because a blade of energy started to cut it right in the middle as a woman roared with fury. Gilgamesh watched the events in slow motion because his eyes had evolved beyond comprehension, including his own. At least until he could figure out most of the changes he undertook.

Currently he was fascinated by how his eyes broke information apart in a manner his brain could process and understand perfectly while not sparing any necessary details.

He could perceive the treasure becoming molten metal, its History changing.

He could perceive the properties of the katana of energy, see the wavelength of youki and its differences to normal mana.

He could perceive Towa’s frustration as her face was revealed.

Either with the situation, the fact her strike fell short or just with him in general Gilgamesh couldn’t know but his eyes could almost peek into the future if not just quite which was both expected and frustrating at the same time.

Regardless his vision had expanded and so he couldn’t help but admire the steadfast beauty gunning for his life. ‘She is quite pretty from this angle.’ His hand shot up and causally blocked the sword of energy which made the white haired hanyou’s eyes grow wide. Observing his armor, he noticed that, ‘If this was gold, I would already have lost a hand. Even this silk, if I can call this material silk in the first place, is something else! Something Humanity forgot how to make.’

Light and comfortable, Gilgamesh’s armor was what every warrior dreamed of having.

Its joints were perfectly spaced, its defenses off the charts to the point he didn’t feel Towa’s blade heating his golden glove and it protected almost his whole body. The lack of a helmet was still rather odd but he wasn’t going to complain when the equipment was that good.

“My turn.” Instead Gilgamesh pushed back and broke the hanyou’s blade of energy with a shove that sent her flying.

However her attack inspired everyone else to start moving again, the armies of Kyoto and their allies began charging at the terrorists. Looking towards the new arrivals, the blond knew that his previous self couldn’t defeat them all after already fighting as much as he did throughout the day.

His current self on the other hand, “You all should surrender before I decide to get serious.”

“Scourge of Swallows!!” Setsuna was on the front lines and unleashed eight streaks of energy towards the enemy who watched them with amusement.

Planning to test his limits, he was about to allow himself to be hit only for Cao Cao to use the true Longinus and wide swipe the youki away. “Don’t get cocky now, Gilgamesh!” His ally warned before taking another swing with his spear. A blade of wind broke the army apart in an instant, scaring and isolating some of them. “Or did the synchronization give you everything we hoped for?”

“95%, give or take.” Gilgamesh knew exactly what to say because he knew exactly what he and the Hero Faction wanted. Needed if they were to turn the World upside down. “I have all the Gate’s treasures but no Clairvoyance. At least not the-”

“Durandal!!!” Xenovia interrupted the conversation, coming from the right side with a blade of Holy Energy poised into a thrust. Behind the duo was Rossweisse who had waved walls of runes to corner them.

Neither man was impressed but only one of them could unleash their full power mostly because he already knew how to use the weaker version of it. “Disappointing, Xenovia Quarta!!” Gilgamesh declared as the blade of energy flew in his direction. Instead of defending, he chose to counter. ‘I can see them! I can see them all!! The Gate of Babylon is far deeper than my family ever imagined!!!’

Even if not perfect, his Incarnation with the True King of Heroes gave the man several of the hero’s attributes including the knowledge of weapons that were previously inaccessible by him or his predecessors.

Except the Original, of course.

Among those weapons he found many Original Noble Phantasms including his own version of the Peerless Sword. Not the sword of Hector nor the blade blessed by God much less the one Roland used in life. What rested inside the Gate of Babylon was the Prototype of the sword which served as the basis for Durandal.

A huge steel colored sword without ornaments but a Divine Aura that could easily be mistaken by Holy dropped from a portal in his hands. A swing was all it took and Xenovia’s sword of energy vanished. The bluehead was still flying in his direction and pulled both of her weapons for a follow up while roaring in fury.

Gilgamesh grinned confidently as dozens of portals appeared behind him. “Hope you survive this.” Hundreds of projectiles cut through the air and bombarded the knight faster than before. The Gate of Babylon was more responsive and the treasures he used were no longer just the legacy of his family. “Hahahahahaha!! Astounding!!! Simple astounding!!!”

But Prototypes of dozens of Noble Phantasms; Holy, Demonic or just outright powerful, the man unleashed a rain of Noble Phantasms that came before their Legends truly became Crystalized by the World.

Those were the Original weapons, the bedrock for all the heroes that came after and enjoyed their status as Noble Phantasms for being the ones that came first.

Because without them, the Legends that came after couldn’t exist.

“Tch. Hyaaah!!!” Like she did before Xenovia tried to block and parry the weapons but they were shooting much faster. Too fast for her and soon she was hit, her armor getting demolished in less than a second. “Shit!” ‘Shiro, sorry.’

Before she could die, Gilgamesh pulled back and made all his weapons vanish mid flight. “Hahahahahaha!! Cao Cao! Did you see that?!!”

“Sure did!” The man answered casually even as he was pushing Rossweisse back.

“Xenovia!!” The Valkyrie called for her friend but couldn’t help, not with Cao Cao shoving her back and almost stabbing her gut with ease. Expecting him to advance she thrusted her spear in his direction but he evaded by spinning around playfully. ‘Damn it! He is way too fast now! I can barely keep up!’

Rossweisse began throwing desperate thrusts at the man but Cao Cao danced around them for a second before pushing his shoulder forward for a long stab. Even if it wasn’t his Noble Phantasm, the True Longinus was still the Strongest Sacred Gear and a weapon capable of killing gods.

Adding the strength of the Heroic Spirit Cao Cao, who almost conquered all of China, was just unfair. While never becoming the Emperor himself, the man was the one who came the closest to unifying the Empire as chronicled in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. His military skill and fame were uncontestable.

Even if fighting with a spear wasn’t the Original Cao Cao speciality, Heroic Spirits were empowered by their Legends, deeds and fame which would make the Martial King, as he was called after death, a terrifying opponent if ever summoned as a Servant.

Combining it with the True Longinus blade and not even a dozen of Rossweisse’s best barriers could stop it from piercing her flesh and sending her flying away. The latter just happened because the attack was too fast and too strong for Cao Cao to control since he wasn’t used to the extra power.

Either that or the Valkyrie’s armor proved its worth despite getting cut into several pieces like the borrowed naginata. It was almost like they were made of the same material against the True Longinus; cardboard.

Nevertheless Cao Cao noticed his opponent was launched into a wall and stayed there. “Well, that wasn’t fatal but it did its job.” He commented while hearing screams and roars all over the battlefield as the explosions returned full force. The yokais were getting desperate which made him chuckle. “Looks like everyone is-” From the corner of his eye he saw a blur of white and black, his blood running cold. “He shouldn’t be here!”

Meanwhile Gilgamesh and Cao Cao asserted their dominance against the arriving army, Heracles was playing with its leftovers. “Come on you bunch of wimps! Not so tough now, are you?!!”

Several yokais, mostly foxes with the odd kappa in their midst, growled in fury before charging their youki. “Attack together!! Bring the invaders down!!!” One of them managed to bring out some semblance of order and they all began charging their magic. “Fire!!!”

“Fire!!!” Irina’s voice joined the chorus and threw her Light with everything she had.

It had no form, no shape and fitted well with the chaotic youki being blasted by the yokai army towards the giant who was somehow slightly taller than before. Especially the size of his muscles which were more defined but nothing compared to the confidence pouring from his eyes.

For someone who was cornered just a few seconds ago, Heracles couldn’t help but stare at the tidal wave of energy and death flying in his direction with a huge grin that didn’t bulge even when it eventually hit him.

Dozens upon dozens of explosions happened in rapid succession as the remaining protectors of the temple kept firing like mad. The smell of burnt grass, already prominent in that sacred location, grew more pulgent and terrible. Yet there was no smell of flesh or blood and that prompted them to attack more.

Harder, faster, until her arms were closing to falling, Irina ignored her wounds and kept throwing Holy Light at the terrorist in desperation. ‘It’s not working.’ She began panicking, realizing what some of the soldiers around her already did. A few stopped and one dropped to his knees in front of her in desperation as tears began rolling from her eyes. ‘Why isn't it working?!!’

Hundreds of thousands of attacks by dozens of people were thrown in seconds yet they all knew it was for nothing when a booming laughter reached their ears. A laughter carrying confidence, certainty and the fact that they had wasted everything they had against him and nothing was accomplished.

Eventually only eight or so people were still attacking Heracles who had his hands on his new shining belt and was laughing up a storm. The mana, be it Light or youki, bounced from his muscles like water against rock.

Everything just ceased to be as if they weren’t even worthy of harming the demigod.

For he was a demigod, no longer just the descendent of one but the real thing with Divinity coursing through his veins and an aura of authority that demanded respect while scaring the most aware yokais whose instinct screamed for them to run for the hills.

None of them did but just because some couldn’t, their bodies unable to move as their energy was spent and their fear settled down. ‘Monster.’ Many couldn't help but think.

Only Irina kept attacking with the last of her energy, reducing herself to just making Light Daggers and throwing them at the giant desperately ‘Fall! Fall Fall!!’ Unfortunately for her, angel or not, the difference between her Holy and his new power was too great. She couldn’t pierce his defenses despite trying until her last dagger fizzled in her hand before it ever was thrown. “No…”

Heracles watched the angel drop to her knees in frustration, laughing louder than before. “You all done?!” He asked with a smug smile as an aura of Divinity surrounded his body. It wasn’t Variant Detonation but also something in his blood and the weapons he gained. “‘Cause I will attack now.”

For what he gained were several Noble Phantasms from the Original Heracles’ Heroic Spirit, not the god but the man he once was. Whose deeds were so great they were written on History, Myth and Legends besides his own. There was so much that even Illya’s spell could only pick some of it from the Throne.

Mostly because Heracles wasn’t fully compatible with his ancestor. ‘What did Illya say again about syncs and stuff? I’m pretty sure I should have a better sword.’ He thought while drawing his club, a blunt weapon from the beginning of a journey instead of a blade whose purpose was killing Giants. Still a Noble Phantasm but a minor one, as if the Heroic Spirit Heracles only gave him the bare minimum. ‘He ain’t angry with his god self? Don’t he want to see them brought low. Pretty sure he would appreciate me killing the bitch, Hera.’

Hera was a complicated goddess on the best of occasions and her rage against Zeus’ bastards was justified considering how many times the King of the Gods cheated on her. But that would never justify some of her actions which included tricking the lovers of Zeus and having them killed in many ways.

Heracles personally suffered more than most; struck by a sudden bolt of Divine Madness, he killed his first wife Megara and his own children barehanded, unable to hear their cries until it was over.

A feeling of mad rage burned in Heracles’ heart, one which he knew wasn’t his own. His smile grew  and he felt the power on the pelt on his back, the arrows on his side and his new belt. It wasn't that the Original Heracles had accepted him. His human half, Alcides, was the one backing him up.

Because Alcides didn’t forgive nor forget much less became a god as a ‘compensation’.

Once he understood that, Heracles' confidence grew tenfold. “Hehe. Cool. Very cool.” It wasn’t that he could give him the blade he sought but he couldn’t. Alcides wasn’t the god Heracles, just the shadow left behind as once he became a god as described on the Odyssey and other Legends. “Going to keep the name and get the sword later. For now…” The club was raised about his head, the huge weapon easily as large as his arm which made it look like a normal sword in his grip. “... Time to see what I can do!!”

Heracles wasn’t disappointed about having the backing of Alcides, if anything he was relieved since it wasn’t the god Heracles who completed the twelve tasks but his human, better yet, demigod self. The one whose body his descendent mirrored almost beat for beat thanks to Incarnation.

Definitively he didn’t have everything the strongest version of Zeus’ Greatest Bastard could have but he had enough. Certainly more than enough to conquer nations, divide or unify islands and even face gods. That was what his blood and the seed Illya planted on his soul were telling him.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” With a roar of triumph, Heracles brought his sword club down releasing a shockwave that cut through the air and earth alike.

Whatever was on his part was decimated and turned to dust until the impact of his blow eventually hit and destroyed another of the temple’s walls in a perfect straight line that revealed some of the fearful population who was running away as fast as they could.

Yet nobody died, Heracles chuckling upon noticing a blur of black and white getting everybody out of the way before his attack touched them. “Hahahahaha! So you are here already?!” His eyes, which had once failed to keep up with that warrior, locked on him. Dropping his club on the ground, his hand began retrieving his humongous bow which was slightly taller than he was. “So are you my next opponent?”

Unfortunately for the giant he only saw the yokais and angel vanish from the temple before the blur accelerated in another direction where draconic energies were clashing violently.

In that place, a few minutes previously, Siegfried was admiring his new form with a grin. “Looks like I picked the right name~” He celebrated gleefully before looking at Gram and returning it to the tattoo on his back before tightening his grip on Balmung. Holding it in front of his face, he watched the sword turn fully red with a grin. “You don’t approve? Too bad~”

Letting go with his left hand, he felt something in his soul click before another version of Balmung appeared in his hand, one which shared the green mana in his chest and was fully a Holy Sword.

The true sword of Sigfried, the Dragon Slayer who slew Fafnir and bathed in his blood becoming the Dragon Blooded Knight. Such ritual bestowed the man with the dwarf turned Dragon King’s defense into himself, a defense which was said to be invincible.

Siegfried studied the two Balmungs in his hands before chuckling again upon realizing the Original Siegfried was a person extremely different from himself meaing the synchronization between the two was off.

If Gilgamesh had more than 90% and Heracles managed closer to 100% thanks to Alcides, the Dragon Slayer lack of cooperation left his descendant with just above 50%. Fortunately that didn’t mean he was weak by any means, his body might as well have bathed in Fafnir’s blood and the sword in his hand was as powerful as it should be.

Both Balmungs were equal, one was just Holy, still connected to the Original, while the other was Demonic, transformed by vengeance, rage and evil deeds. Deeds that the current Siegfried could acknowledge were his own. But those weren’t the only Noble Phantasm the Heroic Spirit Siegfried had access to.

Illya’s seed in his soul told him as much, the information about the hero of the Song of Nibelungenlied should have bestowed him with several skills and perhaps a couple of riches like gold and jewels.

Yet, besides the armor and sword, Siegfried found most of the abilities and treasures from the Original locked away from him. “Well, what can you do, right?” A presence made itself known behind his back. His body shivered as every instinct warned him of the imminent danger but he only grinned before turning around to greet his opponent. “Oh don’t think I forgot about you!!”

“Dragon Shot!!!” Ise had focused a huge amount of power in a couple of seconds, trying to fire before the man made the turn.

A second too slow and two Balmungs cut his mana apart like nothing. “Trying to hit someone in the back. Tutu tutu. That is bad form, Red Dragon Emperor!!”

[Don’t listen to him! Try again!] Ddraig demanded from his Partner who gritted his teeth with irritation before flaring up his Scarlet Mail and using its Fire to boost his speed further. [Those weapons aren’t a joke and we know his weakness. Kill him now so we can deal with the rest.] ‘If we can’ went unsaid but the dragon was nervous.

Enough so that the Pawn felt the emotion growing in his chest but channeled it into aggressivity. ‘Just need to hit his back, right?’

He remembered his King and her Magician talking something about Siegfried’s weakness once long ago. It wasn’t anything really relevant considering they weren’t fighting against the real deal, just somebody with his blood who shouldn't have that weakness in the first place.

However, having that knowledge paid off as they could see Siegfried was keeping up with them, refusing to expose his back. [That is a very big weakness. Bet it is bigger than a leaf since he is a ‘Heroic Spirit’.] Ddraig commented while executing a fast shift of their wings to suddenly turn. [Now!]

Positioning Ise right behind the terrorist. “Dragon Shot!!”

“Balmung!!!” Both Noble Phantasms exploded with energy in Siegfried’s hands, making him spin in place to precisely cut the blast and send a ring of energy towards the dragon.

Who flew above it before countering with a blast of flame since the Pawn lost his patience. Opening his arms, the terrorist allowed the Fire to hit him in full which led him to a wince but otherwise end up unharmed. “Is it hot here or something?”

[Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost!Boost!Boost!!!]

Already starting to hit his limit, Ise focused a huge quantity of Fire around his body before taking a deep breath to channel it in his mouth. “You wanna heat?! I’m gonna show you heat!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

The fireball Ise unleashed was immense but Siegfried wasn’t worried. In fact he was so confident he opened his cloak enough to sheath his Balmung and focus only on the Original’s one. His adversary was a devil after all and the Holy properties of that sword were bound to deal extra damage.

Not that he believed a dragon could survive if hit directly. “Hmm, maybe it is just lukewarm! Balmung!!!”

Greenish winds of mana slammed on the Fire banishing it away to reveal the dragon was no longer in the sky. Ise had used his flames as camouflage to reposition himself behind Siegfried, flying so fast the air shook when he approached the ground. He didn’t even bother landing, flying like an arrow towards his opponent.

While encasing his fist into the Fire of his Scarlet Mail, aiming towards the Dragon Slayer’s lungs. The only reason why he failed to hit was because the man anticipated the blow and was already turning, Balmung’s edge aimed to cut anything behind him.

Ddraig anticipated that and forced his Partner up a few centimeters, surprising the terrorist. “Take THIS!!!!!!!” Ise’s fist slammed on Siegfried’s collarbone and the terrorist was sent flying. Not done with his offensive, the Pawn channeled his mana and Fire into another attack. “Dragon Shot!!!”

The mix of dragon fire and demonic mana dragged the terrorist across the garden while he fought back but failed to recover any semblance of balance. Thankfully he had Balmung in hand and was able to use its gem to unleash an aura of pure mana around his body to undo the blast.

Despite his strengthened body, Siegfried dropped to a knee with some exhaustion and laughed. “Hahahaha! That should have done me in.” Raising to his feet, the veins in his body pulsed draconic energy. Staring at the Red Dragon Emperor, he grinned. “Wanna Boost a little more and try again?! No?! Pity!! Balmung!!!”

[Not even a single scratch.] Ddraig commented with annoyance as Ise dodged up to avoid the slash of energy. The Dragon Slayer dashed in their direction but the dragon just flew higher to avoid the blade completely. [Attacking from the front is useless, Partner. We need to strike him in the back or else-]

‘I’m trying!!’ Ise roared with impatience while going around Siegfried but the man kept up with his pace, avoiding another fire breath. “Shit! Dragon-”

“Oshaaa!!!” Balmung’s energy struck first and the Pawn twisted in the air to avoid the hit. Unfortunately one of his wings was cut down and he began falling just as the Dragon Slayer jumped in his direction to finish him off.

“I’m not done!!” Joining his hands Ise created a crude but stable magic circle that released a small beam of mana at Siegfried who shrugged it off.

“You better stick,” the white haired man reached him and his blade struck the dragon’s chest, “with dragon powers!”

Blood exploded from the slash and the Pawn began falling to the ground uncontrollably. ‘Shit!’

[Why did you do that?!!]

‘I thought his armor was better against dragons so-’ Ise’s thoughts ceased for a second as he fell on his back. Slowly he started to get up but a jet of blood erupted from his chest after he almost broke his neck if Ddraig hadn’t moved him enough to save his life. “Fuck…”

[Even if he is stronger against dragons doesn’t mean your demonic power can make up the difference. Without our draconic nature, your attack was so weak it couldn’t even push him back.]

‘I needed to try something!’ A Boosted dragon apple appeared in his hand and he quickly shoved it in his mouth. He had no time to rest because Siegfried came down laughing like a maniac.

Scale Mail’s wing was fixed a second before the Dragon Slayer arrived but his sword still hit the dragon’s shoulder. Another cut opened on his body despite the small contact with just the tip but Ddraig was already Boosting their healing as much as he could. To stay in the fight Ise completely ignored his gag reflex and shoved another whole apple down his throat.

It saved his life as all the energy he used throughout the day returned and he managed to channel it on his right hand. “Dragon Shot!!!”

“Again?!” Holding Balmung vertically, Siegfried parried the blast with the side of his blade before pushing it down for a slash which the Pawn dodged.

Getting some distance, Ise threw his tail at the Dragon Slayer and forced the Noble Phantasm to retreat, cutting it off. Since it was just Divine metal from his sacred gear, the dragon lost nothing but an empty tail while gaining space to throw a punch at Siegfried’s chest with as much power as he could muster.

The terrorist was forced back a couple of steps but no damage dealt. Both men even stopped and looked where the blow had landed to find not even a bruise. “Thank you sir. May I have another?

[That defense is stronger than Fafnir’s. Azazel’s sacred gear couldn’t hold after this much.] Between Fire, mana and their own brute strength, Ddraig was sure even the Dragon King would have been wounded by any of their previous attacks.

A cautious Ise flew several meters backwards and raised his arms defensively as his tail grew back. ‘What do I do? Do we Boost more?’ Not recommended, his body was reaching his limit and his dwindling life force meant using too much was risky.

Something Ddraig was aware of and wanted to avoid at all cost which didn’t leave them with many options. [You have to use Penetrate! It is our only recourse!] The ancient dragon informed while Siegfried closed the distance between them. When his Partner was about to fly, he added, [Don’t go too far! Balmung may hit someone else!]

Ise flinched but allowed his opponent to get closer before roaring, his fire breath hitting the terrorist but inflicting no burns again. ‘How do I use that Penetrate deal?’ A valid question since they didn’t have any time to practice.

Something Ddraig lamented; Penetrate was one of his favorites and arguably most powerful techniques not because of the damage that it could inflict since it was variable but because its main function was to pierce any defense.

The effective opposite of his Rival’s, Albion main kill Reflect.

Because it was created to destroy it.

To destroy any shield.

Siegfried, Original or Fake, had bathed in the blood of Fafnir. Dragon Kings were inherently weaker than Heavenly Dragons, that was the order of the World. By default anyone a tier above them could win a fight easily and not just in power.

Their abilities were in a completely different scale which was why Albion had a better defense not only involving protection but also the return most attacks including from beings in of Divine Origin.

Meaning they should have practiced Penetrate long ago but with his Partner’s life cut short and only one enemy with enough defense for it to be relevant, they slacked off. At least in Ddraig’s opinion but he didn’t expect to face Fafnir or anybody with enough defense for it to be a problem.

No, he wanted his Partner to become strong first so he didn’t die.

[Go to the left! Get a little distance!!] Ddraig suggested and Ise listened, a small Dragon Shot lifting up the dust. [Using Penetrate… Isn't easy. But I will help. Now you need to adjust the frequency of your mana in a single point. It isn’t a matter of power, that comes later, just of adjustment of energy until-]

‘Can you dumb that down, please?!’ The Pawn requested in a panic as his mind was split between dodging and understanding his Partner’s rambling.

His only saving grace was that Siegfried wasn't fast enough to finish him off. ‘My body is responding as it always did, if not a bit better. My eyesight is more sharp and all my swords feel lighter than ever.’ Which was why he could maneuver his sword for a low thrust and redirect it into an upper slash when the Red Dragon Emperor dodged it. ‘But I could do better. Maybe I am not used to this new power or maybe Siegfried is doing something to block me from the juicy stuff. Either case,’ a dash and two fast thrusts connected to the dragon’s right shoulder and chest, ‘I’m gonna win this.’

Every cut was like an infection trying to eat Ise alive and he hissed while gathering mana to explode the ground, forcing the fighters to split up. Both dragons worked around the clock to fix his body and he desperately swallowed another Boosted apple.

It was the only way he could keep going since a Holy Dragon Slayer Sword was pretty much becoming his worst nightmare. ‘Damn! Screw this! Ddraig, fix this Penetrate thingy! I’m going to punch the lights out of that guy.’

Siegfried was already charging towards them again, Balmung’s aura growing increasingly more dangerous. [I have an idea. Do a Dragon Shot without doing a Dragon Shot!] The suggestion surprised Pawn but not enough to stop him from moving. Still a slash of energy almost caught him but by sacrificing his wings he bought himself another second. [Hold the power in a single point and focus on only that! I will do the rest!!]

The Red Dragon Emperor’s wings were already fixed when the terrorist threw another wave of mana in his direction. He improvised a ball of mana to keep the Holy Energies at bay before breathing Fire to repel the rest. Then, once he was safe, he increased the intensity of his flames to cook his enemy alive.

Siegfried’s whole body was covered in flames and Balmung unleashed a hurricane of energy from its jewel to banish them an instant later. A grin grew on the white haired man’s lips making the dragon growl in frustration before he took a deep breath, channeling as much power as his mouth could take.

With a furious roar, Ise unleashed a huge fireball that consumed that zone of the garden but was easily dismissed by the Dragon Slayer Sword. [This isn’t enough. We can't block his sight anymore.] Ddraig warned as the young man across them took a wide swing to cut down the dragon. They easily dodged but kept their range the same to not tempt him into using the Noble Phantasm’s full power. [Are you ready?]

During that short exchange, Ise had been preparing a small ball of mana over his left fist. ‘We sure this is gonna work?’

[Definitely!! Let's send that guy packing!!!] A smile grew beneath Scale Mail’s helmet before the dragon leaned forward and engaged the thrusters for a mad dash towards the terrorist.

His left fist began shining with a powerful red light as the Penetrate began taking form around his scales. Since he never did it before Ise wasn’t sure it was working but he trusted Ddraig.

An odd sensation like if his hand was covered in glue began growing but the Pawn embraced the feeling which soon grew comfortably enough it was almost like it belonged in his hand.

Not necessarily odd since he was the Red Dragon Emperor.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast he was moving, his actions didn’t go unnoticed. ‘A very obvious attack.’ With a smug smile Siegfried tightened his grip on Balmung and raised it above his head. Fixing the position of his feet, he bent over his spine forward. ‘It‘s all about timing…’

With the dragon’s speed it would be only an instant before they collided and the fight was decided.

[Boost!!!]

An instant cut shorter by the Red Dragon Emperor’s most basic ability.

“HAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

“Hahahahahahaha!!!!”

Both sides attacked in their own way, fist and blade ready to take a life.

Dragon and Dragon Slayer collided with both moving by instinct

In that short moment, natural enemies found themselves in similar position and reacted accordingly

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

“Easy!”

[Partner!!!] Ddraig shouted in a panic because they lost control of Scale Mail. Ise’s body crashed on the floor and he ate dirt as the Heavenly Dragon struggled to help.

But it was hard, his Partner was in too much pain and kept screaming as Siegfried landed on the ground holding his Holy Sword covered in blood. “Hmm, looks like I missed.” He commented with a chuckle while turning around.

Power wasn’t the determining factor in that fight for both were almost equal and a proper strike from either could be fatal which was natural because they were natural enemies.

Dragon and Dragon Slayer.

Experience decided the victor.

And Siegfried was the winner.

The older man rested Balmung on his shoulder while watching the mighty Red Dragon Emperor and Pawn of Gremory roll around as Ddraig fought to keep their Balance Breaker going while closing the wound on his hand.

Or better yet his stub because the still armored left hand of the one called Hyoudou Issei rested a few meters from the Dragon Slayer’s right, cut off from the body by a precise clean strike which was mostly accidental.

Not the attack itself, Siegfried had timed his strike almost perfectly to decapitate the Pawn, but he missed his target due to his lack of experience while being Incarnated by the Original Siegfried’s Heroic Spirit.

He just moved a bit faster than expected while dodging the Red Dragon Emperor’s attack, cautious because of Penetrate. ‘But did I even need to dodge?’ The white haired man questioned himself while watching the dragon squirm on the ground and holding his bleeding arm. ‘Yeah, escaping the punch wasn’t a bad idea. A Heavenly Dragon can and will defeat a Dragon King. Also that thing was made to pierce Albion’s armor… But I didn’t need to dodge everything.’

When the two were about to collide, Siegfried had jumped to the left for safety and also to position himself away from the dragon’s fist. Thanks to Illya’s seed he knew his Armor of Fafnir could shrug off most attacks.

Just not defence ignoring ones enveloped in Penetrate.

So he jumped into a turn while slashing at where he assumed Ise’s head was going to be only for his attack to be a fit too fast and cutting off his hand instead. Also he got hit by the dragon’s wing during the pass but his body was just dislodged out of place and he felt little to no pain despite how fast Pawn was moving.

Proving that his armor could have tanked the devil’s whole body without trouble. ‘I’m too used to running away.’ Not odd, it was how he was trained since little. In a World where gods and devils could destroy countries, a human getting hiit was a death sentence. ‘If I had just moved less or stood my ground he would be dead.’

Truth of the matter was that so long Siegfried had the Holy Sword Balmung in his hands, all he needed was to connect a good hit to win. With how Ise attacked before it was almost suicidal, trusting too much on Penetrate and that he would hit the Dragon Slayer before being hit in turn.

In the end Ise paid the price for the overconfidence, his left hand was cut off by a blade which left behind Holy Energy which would consume the devil.

If he didn’t die of blood loss first. [Hold on, Partner! I am fixing it! I am fixing it!] Ddraig was doing his best but he couldn’t just grow a new hand out of nowhere. [Staunching the bleeding! Fixing the body- Don’t have a panic attack now, Partner! Hold on!]

Damage in combat was one thing but between the Holy Energy in his body and shock from losing a hand, Ise was struggling to calm down.

“When everything else is bad and you feel the area closing in,” Kotomine’s voice emerged from his memories, “always remember to breathe in a rhythm. Maybe you can’t control anything else but you can always control your breathing.” 

Soon enough Ise was breathing just like the priest suggested while holding his arm letting Ddraig work in to stabilize. Stabilize but not much else because they were still in a battlefield and the dragon couldn’t really do much. Boosted Gear had restrictions that God imposed to not allow him to dominate his Hosts.

Which meant even if they wanted, the Welsh Dragon’s control was limited. [We need to use everything to purge the Holy Energy. Going to direct everything we can at it.]

Unfortunately their enemy had no intent of giving them any more time. “Still kicking, Red Dragon Emperor?” Siegfried watched Ise move erratically, trying to stand while nursing his wound. Effectively the Pawn was grounded and an easy target. “Time to go for the kill. Twice Critical!!!” It had been far more than ten seconds since he used his sacred gear so its power was ready. “If Illya was right- Yes!”

He felt the powers in his soul resonate and merge as the Noble Phantasms in his body accepted the sacred gear’s influence. Not only that but its draconic nature was actually enhanced by his newly acquired Dragon Slayer status.

“Balmung!!!” Eager to experiment with the combination of Heroic Spirit and sacred gear, Siegfried brought his sword down with its True Name.

Ddraig knew Ise felt the wave of death being unleashed in their direction but the young man was in no condition to escape, leaving it to the dragon to do something. However, no matter how much control he was afforded by their bond, he didn’t have enough to fly away or anything similar.

Not helped by the fact that his Host was still processing his wound and lack of a hand. [Is this it? No. No!!] Pulling from his Partner’s reserves, the Welsh Dragon looked for a solution as fast as he could. [I am not losing you so soon, Partner! Don’t worry!! Just leave it to me!!]

His plea only took a second of their shared thought and Ise relinquished as much of his body as he could. Yet Ddraig couldn’t just move him out of the way so he tried to get creative by channeling enough mana on their tail and hands to blow them out of the way.

[I don’t have time.] The milliseconds were ticking down when the dragon realized he couldn’t do anything by himself. He was about to curse God for their predicament when the cavalry cut through the battlefield.

“ISE!!!!” Kiba shouted with all the strength of his lunges as he and his knights jumped in front of Balmung’s energy wave, swords held defensively for all the good they were worth.

Balance Breaker or not, Kiba’s sacred gear couldn’t compete with the full power of a Noble Phantasm of Balmung’s caliber and they were decimated one by one as the green tinted mana approached him.

However the Knight of Gremory didn’t give up. ‘Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!!’ Pushing his meager reserves to their limit, he pushed all he could to the last knight of the line. His gold sibling shone with its own light as its body grew thrice over and its armor grew just as bulkier. “Blade Brotherhood!!!”

Evoking his Balance Breaker again, Kiba felt some blood leave his nose as his head started hurting like never before. Just before he was consumed, the gold knight brought all it had to bear just as the second to last of them fell. Its gold sword clashed against the wave of energy and held it in place.

For less than a second before the weapon was vanished thanks to the Dragon Slayer’s energy-

[Transfer!!!]

-and the knight was forced to use its hands just when Ddraig offered them as much power as he could.

The devil felt the surge of energy in his body but couldn’t think much of it. He wasn’t a magician nor good at using mana as his teammates. More than once the blond called himself a ‘one trick pony’ since he was only good with Sword Birth.

But that itself had its own advantages since he grew quite versatile with his sacred gear. “Aaaaaaah!!!” Pointing his sword at the last knight standing, all power he received was transferred immediately.

And their connection was so strong that the last remains of his Balance Breaker became ten times stronger and had a green aura enveloping its body while successfully holding Balmung’s attack back for a moment.

While Scale Mail fell and Ddraig watched the events from Ise’s soul, he knew a moment was all they had. [Sorry, Partner. I used up everything. I tried everything.] He lamented, trying to make Ise’s last moments painless. [I am-] Suddenly his vision grew blurred as the outside world shifted at high speed. [What the hell?]

In the next moment the Red Dragon Emperor found himself dropped on the ground in another garden, another temple from what the dragon could see. One with a more peaceful atmosphere and its protections intact. Yet its serenity was disturbed as dozens upon dozens of people rushed around to help the wounded.

Among those helping there was a familiar sight. “Ise! Kiba!” Asia called them in a panic, looking torn between caring about who she was already healing and helping the Pawn. It was his lack of a hand that forced her decision, Twilight Healing pulsing to fix the yokai by her side faster before she raced towards her friend not knowing if she finished the job. “Ise! Ise!! Are you alright?!”

[Don’t panic now, Asia.] As his Balance Breaker came undone, Ddraig spoke from the Boosted Gear which was damaged and lacking its ‘glove’. Regardless he kept working to help his Partner who was nevertheless relieved upon seeing the Bishop. [I need you to help me close the wound. I can’t grow a new hand but-]

“I think…” Kiba was kneeling by their side, unable to stand on his feet yet in his hands he was holding Ise’s cut off one. “I think I have it…”

“... Is that really… my hand?” Ise asked timidly while Asia started working on his wound.

Ddraig wasn’t going to question it. [Better be or else someone will owe us an explanation.] He grumbled as more people were dropped on the garden including a barely conscious Xenovia and a wounded Rossweisse. [I can only summarize that we lost?]

The Valkyrie’s eyes widened with surprise before she looked around and noticed the devils. “We are-” Shaking her head, she replied. “Yes, we lost. The Hero Faction got what they wanted.”

“We haven’t lost yet!” Xenovia declared while using Durandina to stand up only for her Noble Gear to fade. She would have fallen on the ground if a black and white blur hadn’t deposited her on the ground while dropping a pair of yokais close to Asia, both barely alive. “Damn it!”

“Xenovia, you should rest.” Rossweisse suggested half heartedly as she understood her frustration. Looking around she saw the dead and dying, the Bishop about to pass out as she fixed Ise’s hand before tending to the newly arrived pair. “There is nothing we can do.”

Moving his left hand but feeling it stiff, Ise looked around for his other friends, finding Irina who was reporting to Yushiro. “We’re back at the… East Temple, right? How?”

“It was the West Temple.” Kiba corrected before gritting his teeth. “And we were saved.”

…

After acquiring his new power, Gilgamesh found the whole situation amusing.

From being pressed to fight against an army to utterly dominating it, the man felt that could declare himself one of the Strongest and it would be the absolute truth. Before the Gate of Babylon gave him an edge that placed him above most if not all the human race but upon Incarnating the Original Gilgamesh he felt invincible.

It wasn’t just the stir of his Divine blood, for he had suddenly become a demigod which was expected, nor the new weaponry he gained access to. It was the understanding and the knowledge that he gained that gave the man once known as Angelo an absurd amount of confidence.

“I am the King of Heroes!” Gilgamesh began with a grin. “I am Gilgamesh!!!”

Upon his declaration, more portals of the Gate of Babylon manifested and began bombarding the army. Hundreds would have died in seconds if not for the shield of Galahad standing in his way yet it wasn’t enough to stop the onslaught. Even when stopped, his ‘arrows’ caused a huge amount of damage to the area.

Gilgamesh began laughing joyfully and mockingly. “Hahahahahaha! That is what you mongrels get for standing in my way!” From the corner of his eye he saw a couple of people dashing out of the smoke. His eyes identified the Towa of Kyoto and Saji from the Sitri emerging before anyone else. “Now that Xenovia is gone, you may as well surrender!!”

“Dragon Strike!!!” Towa’s sword of energy transformed into a serpentine azure dragon the size of a train which had its maw open, intending on devouring the terrorist.

“Why is it always dragons?!” Gilgamesh questioned mockingly while firing a random sword at the dragon of mana, tearing it to shreds. “Don’t you know-”

“Absorption Line!” Hidden within the controlled youki was the purple line of Vritra’s sacred gear aiming to trap whatever part of the blond’s body it could reach.

“-that humans are the strongest?!!” From a portal a peculiar scythe with a huge pole as its body appeared in his hand. The weapon was at least a head taller than Gilgamesh and easily severed the line before it got too close. “The only reason you are alive is because a human is picking up your slack!!!”

Spinning scythe in his hand, the man easily deflected a couple of jewels that exploded around him, inflicting no damage thanks to his armor. Still grinning arrogantly, he didn’t bother looking at Towa or Saji as his treasures bombarded their position. He knew they were alive, much like many others who should have died already.

“Huhuhu Hahahahahaha!!! You sure are keeping pace!!!” More portals opened but a bunch of shikigami courtesy of Issei flew forward to try to intercept the treasures. They were torn to shreds like the paper they were made of before striking the Pawn of Sitri’s position. “Hahahaha! Aren’t you even going to greet me?!”

Setsuna jumped out in his direction and brought her naginata down with her full strength but the scythe blocked it easily. “Where is my sister?!” Towa wasn’t the only one missing and she was growing increasingly worried.

“Hmm, don’t know!” Relaxing his shoulders he allowed the hanyou to land before kicking her side, sending her flying. “But I will send you to her!!!”

From the Gate of Babylon, several gold staves manifested and shot lightning in the woman’s direction. The Princess of Kyoto tried to spin and turn but the uncontrolled energy kept seeking her, soon leaving her not room to dodge. Not when, from another ten portals, a storm of weapons flew in her direction.

Before Setsuna could do anything or be turned into swiss cheese, a blur took her away. “Hahahahaha!! Really?! Not a word for your old friend?!!”

“Taurus!!” Luvia advanced with the power of a constellation, her body enveloped in pure blue mana. Throwing her arms forward, she released the creature which the spell was named after but the scythe cut it down with ease. “You better make your move fast, Tohsaka.” Raising her hand, a sapphire on her finger glowed. “Aquarius!!”

A pillar of water, amounting to the equivalent of a whole river, shot towards Gilgamesh who jumped over it and began floating in the air, much to the Rook’s surprise. “You really think those cheap tricks are going to amount to anything, mongrels?”

Missiles made of red energy, two jewels from Luvia which another girl had borrowed, flew towards the blond. They approached from his back and were faster than any bullet while also packing enough strength to rip his head clean from his torso. While that was happening, Luvia raised her torrent towards him from below.

Causally Gilgamesh raised his scythe, cutting the gems before they got too close, while a shield blocked the water from beneath. “I was talking to all of you, mongrels.” His eyes locked on Rin who was gathering a dark red spell on her right indicator.

She fired the curse, aiming to between his eyes but the man floated backwards to dodge both her spell and avoid Luvia’s water while Tomoe closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye.

Ushiwakamaru’s sword cut through the night but was intercepted by the gold gauntlet, Gilgamesh’s eyes never leaving Rin. “Like I said-”

“Whoooooaaaaaa!!!” The redhead Knight was sent flying with a flick of his wrist before the man opened the Gate of Babylon further.

“-‘I was talking with all of you, mongrels!!!’” His declaration was followed by dozens of portals firing just as many projectiles in an instant. The women were about to die but they vanished from the area before anything could hit. “Really? Silent treatment?” Questioned the blond after landing on the demolished battlefield. “At least a ‘hi’?” The blur ignored him, moving around and saving the wounded. “That hurts my feelings, hahahahaha.”

Gilgamesh noticed there was nobody left to attack him and took stock of the situation; there were a couple of yokais still fighting but were easily being repelled by Heracles who made it a sport to try and hit one before they vanished.

Most lethal game of ‘whack a mole’ aside, everyone else looked just as interested on who was saving the soldiers, Cao Cao’s eyes following the blur with suspicion and hatred that didn’t surprise the Hero Faction’s leader.

However, Gilgamesh had other worries. ‘What is wrong with Jeanne?’ Unlike her compatriots, Jeanne had frozen in place upon Incarnating her Heroic Spirit counterpart. Of course she wasn’t really frozen but the woman kept studying her hands with a dumbfounded expression. ‘Maybe something to do with her soul? Illya is going to take a look later. We need to run more tests either way before-’

Suddenly the self declared King of Heroes noticed that the battlefield was finally empty with only he and his comrades standing around, much to Heracles’ discontent since the giant failed to kill even one person since they started getting extracted.

Usually Gilgamesh wouldn’t complain but the fact the blur had returned and was accelerating towards the temple meant he could no longer let his presence slide. “Are you truly going to ignore me, my friend!!”

A huge portal courtesy of the Gate of Babylon appeared several kilometers in the sky before something big made its entrance. The wavering gold was quite larger than any of the previous one he had ever used in his life but considering the treasure he had called from the depths of his vault, the size was warranted.

A massive sword fell at the temple’s entrance but didn’t just destroy the gate, the stairs and part of the rooftop with its impact. No, the thing was so big that when it crashed on the ground it easily cut the parallel walls guarding East and West, bringing most of them down with ease.

That wasn’t Gilgamesh’s intention, the sword’s job was to finally force Emiya Shirou, wearing his Ascension, to finally stop running around. “... Ig-Alima…” The Mage of Swords whispered the name as his Reality Marble processed the giant structure in front of him. A Divine Counstruct, a sword made by a god long ago to cut down mountains just because he could. ‘That sword… is madness.’

Compared to the one Loki made during their battle it was far better put together and in turn much stronger for it wasn’t just a creation of magic. The thing had been properly forged and the only reason his mind could process such existence in front of him was because Unlimited Blade Works acknowledged it as a sword.

Shirou still got a minor headache but nothing he couldn’t ignore. “You!!” A good thing too because Cao Cao jumped towards the former redhead with every intention of skewering him with True Longinus. The black haired man was extremely fast but the Champion of Medusa was still faster, avoiding him with a backwards dash before throwing a pair of Married Twins at his neck which were parried away. “Tch.”

“Welcome,” Heracles jumped into the fray with his huge sword-like club right about to crush the Mage, “to the party!!” His blow exploded into a cloud of dust which the magus used to escape. With an eager grin the giant began dragging his weapon after the white haired man who jumped and took flight. “You’re late, Emiya Shirou!”

Dropping his club on the ground, the giant began pulling his bow from around his body as the weapon pulsed with black and gold energy. Once in hands the man realized two things; he never fired a bow before and knew exactly how to do it. Not only that but his Noble Phantasm had several effects and powers depending on its ammunition.

Instead of pulling an arrow from his quiver, Noble Phantasms in their own right, Heracles just began pulling its string as air and energy began taking shape.

Feeling the bow’s power, Shirou turned to see what he was dealing with. ‘That is dangerous. Really, really dangerous.’ He felt it in his bones and even Bellerophon was afraid.

“Nine Lives!!!” Nine arrows, nine streaks of energy, nine certain fatal hits, left the Noble Phantasm at the same time at impossible speeds, shooting towards the Mage of Swords with a precision realming on the Divine.

Heracles’ Bow was its name.

Simple and practical weapon lacking magic or power of its own, for in the past it was just a present from Chiron, Teacher of Heroes and Wisest of the Centaurs, to help Zeus’ Bastard in his adventures.

The bow’s making was nevertheless spectacular for it was capable of surviving Heracles’ Divine strength, one of the few non-divine weapons to do so. It became a Noble Phantasm not through magic but because of the deeds done with it. In the demigod’s hands, that bow had put down monsters, Giants and even gods.

Shirou was just another name in a long list of its victims unless the Mage of Swords did something. “Trace on!” Hundreds of Married Twins appeared between him and the nine arrows but they became akin to fireworks since the young man had no time to make his shield. “Shit!”

Moving erratically in the sky, he managed to avoid the projectiles in the nick of time by doing a dive and allowing them free passage. The attack, as powerful as it was, wasn’t being guided by anything. His gray eyes locked on the giant who could easily just fire another wave of arrows and shoot him down.

Heracles kept grinning and prepared himself to do just that before his face changed from eagerness to surprise. “Ohayo!” Someone shouted in broken Japanese and it was all the warning Shirou had to duck under a Holy Sword. Siegfried quickly repositioned his blade for an overhead swing. “Is that how they say around here?! Balmung!!!”

Unfortunately for the Dragon Slayer, his bragging gave the Mage enough time to move away from the attack and Trace two Married Blades to counter attack. Kanshou managed to hit below the ribs while Kanshou slashed at the arm. The impact was strong thanks to the Mage’s speed, enough to send the other man flying to the ground.

But that was it, there was no blood on the Married Blades’ edges. ‘Weapons from Gilgamesh, power from Heracles, armor from Siegfried… She did it. Illya actually did it.’

All Shirou wanted to do at that moment was scream at his sister for empowering terrorists beyond mortal comprehension however time wasn’t on his side as both him and Bellerophon felt a mass of Holy Energy flying in their direction.

“You bastard!!!” Cao Cao mounted a black war horse covered in light but sturdy armor and purple feathers above its forehead. The creature was packing enough mana on its own to take down a city and could be compared to Bellerophon if not for the pegasus’ Divine nature.

Nevertheless the terrifying thing wasn’t the horse but the spear in its new owner’s hand; the True Longinus carried an evident amount of fury that borderline bloodlust yet the later impression couldn’t taint the weapon.

It was still well placed on Cao Cao’s face as his horse galloped through the air like he would any road. ‘Path of Unification.’ The terrorist heard the Noble Phantasm’s name in his own mind.

During his campaign to conquer China, the Original Cao Cao fought more battles than most and came to be the closest one to unify the empire during the ‘Three Kingdoms’ Era. Thanks to that the Heroic Spirit’s Legend had given him the ability to cross almost any terrain to reach his enemy so long he was in his sight.

Path of Unification had a couple of weaknesses though; since the conquest was stopped by trickery and a river, Cao Cao never would be capable of crossing big bodies of water nor could he counter an enemy he couldn’t see when using that Noble Phantasm.

Nevertheless Shirou was exposed in the sky so summoning his war horse and attacking directly was possible, enacting the conditions to the Path of Unification. “Haaaaaaaaaa!!!!”

Adding to that ability Cao Cao also was carrying the most powerful spear which the Mage knew was too dangerous even with Ascension. ‘Carefully now.’ More Married Blades appeared around the Mage who let them fall towards his enemy. Yet the black haired man bashed them away with his sacred gear, much to the magus’ irritation. “Now that is just not fair! Kanshou!!!”

The huge black blade assembled in his hand before being thrown with all his strength.

To his surprise the horse jumped over it before returning to its path while its rider held his spear forward for a stab.

“Bakuya!!!” Wasting no time the Mage of Swords sacrificed one of his wings to make an even bigger version of the white twin. Sure not as huge as Ig-Alima, it was big enough to block any sort of escape route for the terrorist which was why the True Longinus broke through the center, shattering the collection of swords. ‘This is a Heroic Spirit’s power…’

A new pair of Married Blades surged in Shirou’s hand as he reformed his wing and dodged to the right with barely a hair between him and the sacred gear. Yet the pass carried a strong wind which he noticed and was glad his armor was as strong as it was because otherwise he could have taken damage.

“Nine Lives!” Heracles decided to not give him any chance to escape and nine more ‘arrows’ crossed the sky to hit his vitals.

Spinning on the air Shirou managed to muster enough force to block one of them while dancing around the rest even as he traveled downwards. Part of him hoped Cao Cao would cease his pursuit because of his ally’s attack but the war horse only needed to avoid one or two shots.

Giving space for its rider to thrust his spear towards Shirou which forced the Mage to focus on his direction and cross his blades in front of himself. Sacred gear met Noble Phantasms and the latter lost the dispute, the weapons exploding in the magus’ hands, launching him towards a corner of the temple.

By that point Siegfried was already back on his feet and Emiya managed to focus on his sword. ‘Balmung-’

“Stop!!!” Gilgamesh ordered, Heracles and Siegfried obeying immediately. Cao Cao’s horse remained on its course only to stop when over twenty Noble Phantasms blocked his path. “Cao Cao!”

“Don’t you dare stop me, Gilgamesh!! He shouldn’t be here!!” Retorted the angry general as his horse glared and began pacing around the blades. Both their eyes were locked on Shirou, the mount basking in its rider’s fury. “If he is here then that can only mean-”

“A lot of different things. Stand down!” The order was given while Gilgamesh moved around the garden until he reached Jeanne. Holding her chin, he raised her head and clicked his tongue upon noticing the confusion in her eyes, not even reacting to him. “We knew your condition would be different because of your soul but still…”

Siegfried made his way to them with a single leap and asked. “How is she?”

“Fine, powerful but disconnected from the world.” Gilgamesh reported before his eyes shifted to Shirou who restored his armor and studied them all during the break. “You should have hid your sword the second he showed up.”

“Hehe. Makes no difference now, does it?” The Dragon Slayer replied while standing beside Jeanne. “Let me take care of her. You still need-”

“I know exactly what I need to do.” Gilgamesh strolled towards his friend whose posture screamed caution.

A casual flick of his wrist had most of the blond’s weapons vanishing in thin air except by the mountain size sword still blocking the temple and the scythe in his hand, twisting around playfully, to get Shirou’s attention.

With the mass of energy around his body, the Mage’s attention had been mostly on him since first arriving in the temple, only split to save everyone else because that had been his priority.

Since it was just him and terrorists left, Shirou’s eyes jumped between the group forming around Jeanne, Cao Cao who definitely wanted to kill him and Gilgamesh who pretended that holding that scythe in particular wasn’t to tick the Champion of Medusa off in some fashion.

Tracing another pair of Married Blades, the Mage of Swords adjusted his posture defensively before his friend asked. “Connla?”

After a second or two, Shirou said. “Dead.”

Cao Cao’s fury grew and he was about to charge when a sword landed by his side. “Don’t you dare stop me, Gilgamesh! He killed my disciple!”

“He is still Illya’s brother and my friend.” The red eyes from the King of Heroes’ line grew sharper and more dangerous, making his ally submit. “Besides, knowing Shirou and Connla, I am sure your disciple did something he shouldn’t…”

Clearly he was giving Shirou the cue to defend himself which annoyed him slightly, regret or not. “To summarize he tried to lock me down on that boundary field to kill me because he thought you couldn’t do it and to keep my influence away from you and Illya.” Gilgamesh chuckled and nodded while Cao Cao clicked his tongue. “Considering your… New state of being, he almost succeeded.”

It wasn’t a close fight once Hrunting was out. Shadow of Cu Chulainn or not, he was barely an imitation of the real thing. At least when compared to those in front of the magus in that moment; an incomplete prototype contrasted by a complete product.

Regardless Shirou needed to pull all stops for the kill and it was close.

Just a few seconds later and the ritual would be complete, probably giving Connla a new edge if his suspicions were right. If they were then his previous opponent would gain the full power of a Heroic Spirit, his Noble Phantasms and all that entailed. Which would be enough to definitively either corner Shirou.

Perhaps even kill him.

“Hahahaha! See, Cao Cao?” Gilgamesh questioned with a raised brow. “Connla marched straight to his death even when we ordered to not do it. It was his own fault.”

Again the black haired man clicked his tongue in distaste, his horse’s eyes shining in response to his fury. “He still killed my disciple. Illya’s brother or not-”

“Do you want to die, Cao Cao?” Gilgamesh asked with a murderous tone devoid of humor. “Because he is still my friend-”

Finally Shirou lost his patience. “How can you say that after this?! After all this!!” He waved around at the corpses in display, the destroyed garden and blood everywhere not burned. “Look around you!! How many did you all kill today?!!!” His eyes shifted to Cao Cao and despite the helmet, any could feel his fury. “How many of them were disciples,” he made sure to use exactly that word before proceeding, eyes on Gilgamesh, “or friends to someone else?! Lovers! Parents!! Children!!! Do you even care about the dead?!! The Angelo that I knew at least would have heard any of them out! Their stories!!!”

While Cao Cao and other members of the Hero Faction looked annoyed, except Jeanne who appeared to be lost to the world still, Gilgamesh patiently raised an arm and waved them back a little more.

Only the mounted man refused to move, his intention of killing Shirou plain as day but the Mage didn’t care about that stranger he only met once before. Only two people were important to him in all the Hero Faction: his sister and his friend.

Since the former wasn’t present, he would demand his answers from the latter. “Was this even enough?” The Mage asked, suddenly lacking energy.

All Gilgamesh offered him was apathy and a distant, “No.”

Fury returned and Shirou roared so loud his voice echoed in the dead garden. “Then when will it be?!”

“When it is enough.” Was answered casually.

“Where is Connla’s body?” Cao Cao interrupted before the armored magus got another question in.

“Don’t bother, you won’t find it.”

“Did you destroy it?” Gilgamesh asked with clear interest only to be greeted with silence. His ally was about to attack when the scythe on the blond’s hand stopped him in his tracks. “Back down, Cao Cao. I will take care of this.”

“Are you just going to let him get away with killing Connla?!” Horse and rider growled.

“Aren’t you getting away with killing hundreds today?” Shirou asked rhetorically with poison in his tongue. Enough to make Gilgamesh wince but Cao Cao just glared. “Don’t pretend you can call yourselves heroes after this-”

“We are heroes! They were-”

“Innocent! Even the oldest of them was born far after the Warring States! After they started hiding!! Some have never seen a human before today!!!” The Mage of Swords knew a few were impressed by his presence whenever he visited Yoruichi.

Not for his power but for the novelty of having a human in their midst and it was easy for him to imagine that some had arrived at the Central Temple, ready to defend their city only to die in vain against enemies they couldn’t even comprehend.

“This is too far, Gilgamesh.” Shirou didn’t bother hiding his disdain. “After this… I can only call you monsters…”

While sad, the blond nodded. “Suit yourself.” He glared at Cao Cao who gave him an ugly stare before dismissing his horse.

Landing on his feet, the owner of True Longinus approached his ally and said. “I will kill him.”

“Illya won’t be happy and we are too deep in our plans for you to indulge in revenge. At least today… Emiya Shirou will live.”

“Because he is your friend?”

Gilgamesh chuckled mockingly because, despite the helmet hiding his face, he knew exactly the expression Shirou was making. “I think our friendship is dead.”

‘From who' s part?’ Yet Cao Cao said nothing and moved to join the others knowing that at least that wasn’t the day where he would kill Shirou.

After another look, Gilgamesh focused on the Mage of Swords whose body was leaning slightly to the side. “Don’t bother. You won’t get to the temple while I am here.”

“Illya is there, isn’t she?” After everything she was still his sister. Considering what she accomplished and the damage caused as a result, there would be no slap on the wrist for her, not after so much death.

However Shirou still intended to stop her, drag her back to Fuyuki and make sure no more blood would be spilled by her hand which was something Gilgamesh was counting on for the next phase of his plan.

“Once I Incarnated the Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh I was to use one of his more inaccessible treasures to give her a sign to not leave the temple until it vanished.” Ig-Alima was excellent for that since not only its existence could be easily felt even by ordinary people but was big enough to block the entrance. Shirou to be kept away from Illya at all cost since he doubted the Mage wouldn’t run with her if he got the chance. “One of many, many weapons that came into my possession for sharing my existence with the King of Heroes Gilgamesh. Like this one.” He raised the scythe vertically to eye level. “Do you know this Noble Phantasm? You should. Your goddess probably can tell with a glance.”

A black handle taller than most adults with a red ‘sash’ to ease its grip and a thick curved blade made not to tend the fields but to cut necks. “Harpe, the sword of the Greek hero, Perseus.”

And it was a sword even if that was hard to admit with its shape since it was a scythe in every sense of the word save for the fact it wasn’t supposed to be used to reap the fields, just heads.

Unlimited Blade Works confirmed as much, the information engraved on the Mage of Swords’ mind since he rushed to the temple. While he was saving lives, Gilgamesh pulled that out of his vault to provoke him into attacking but despite its History with Medusa Shirou had nothing against Harpe.

Truly a weapon in every sense, even if its Origin was Divine to an extent, Harpe wasn’t a Noble Phantasm that housed a consciousness or anything of the type. It was just a sword so it was up to the user to kill with it. Something that Gilgamesh didn't do and Shirou would have been grateful for that if he didn’t kill hundreds already with several other means.

“That is right. With this, you know, I can kill gods.” A dangerous truth but undeniable. Letting the scythe return to the Gate of Babylon, he added, “And it isn’t the only weapon of its kind that I added to my arsenal. You already know that I have something that makes Enki and every other Noble Phantasm look like a child’s toy.”

“Ea…”

“Correct. Don’t worry. I don’t plan to use it here. Kyoto didn’t deserve all the suffering we already inflicted upon it. Much less its destruction.”

“Get to the point! You aren’t one to brag!” Shirou’s fury was warranted but those words made the terrorist pause.

Gilgamesh’s hand approached his face and he noticed was smiling. “Hmm, I suppose I wasn’t. Either way a king shouldn’t be killing the weak for nothing.” He rationalized to himself before declaring. “Emiya Shirou, Champion of Medusa, Slayer of Loki… Fight me.”

“Fight you? Oh, I want to do something worse than that.” Shirou confessed before looking at the people behind his former friend. “But even I am not stupid enough to fight five, or four, Heroic Spirits at once. ‘Suicide’ doesn’t cover that short of stupidity.”

With a hand on his waist, the smile returned. “Don’t worry. Neither of them will interfere. Like I told Cao Cao, you are living today for Illya’s sake and to deliver a message.”

“‘A message’?” Clearly Shirou didn’t like the implication of that.

But Gilgamesh didn’t care for the caution in his voice. “You will hear once you lose.”

“From my perspective, I already lost.” There was no way he could defeat a version of Gilgamesh and Heracles at the same time. The less said about the others the better. ‘I think the only one I can defeat with absolute certainty here is Seigfried or maybe Jeanne but it looks like she won’t be fighting anytime soon.”

Knowing his former friend needed an incentive, Gilgamesh said, “It will be one on one. You against me, nobody else.” From the movement of Shirou’s neck he knew the Mage was surprised. “No need to be shocked. For the sake of our goals I need to test a couple of things… You already know, right?”

“I can guess.” Wind began blowing in the temple as the Sun began setting in the horizon. Fighting was his best chance to stop their plans for good. “You really plan to declare war on the gods?”

“More than that. Before the gods extinguish the human race, I will teach them fear and bring them down. All of them! Like the Original Gilgamesh should have done.” Every word carried a huge amount of resolve that couldn’t be denied. “For our plans two pieces are essential; Illya and myself.” Crossing his arms, he added. “And you aren’t getting to that temple as long as I am here. If you want to take your sister, killing me is your best choice.”

Not a single lie and Shirou knew why. “I am not a god.”

“But you use the Divine power of one. The pegasus might as well be a minor god.” The two men glared at each other as darkness began spreading around the temple. With rivers of corpses around it, the atmosphere was so heavy that both felt the pressure in his shoulders. “I doubt a Geas would work on us at this point but you have my word that if you win the Hero Faction will probably be done… And you can take Illya.”

Shirou made sure to look at the other terrorists but none of them reacted at that offer. If it was their confidence in their leader or because it was a lie, he couldn’t tell. ‘Do I have a choice?’ Gilgamesh could have already attacked and initiated the combat in a more violent fashion. Perhaps it was for their old friendship that the man didn’t do it, giving him a chance to pause and think. ‘Maybe if I win it will discourage him anyway, even if they save his life and kill me.’

Honestly Shirou didn’t want to die and would also like to win even if standing still and letting Gilgamesh test his Noble Phantasm on him would be the safer approach. But he couldn’t do it, couldn’t accept such an outcome because if the terrorist was successful then many would die.

And in a greater number than in Kyoto.

“Fine. I accept your challenge!” Shirou shouted to make sure the others heard and was somewhat pleased that Cao Cao’s glare grew more furious while Heracles crossed his arms with satisfaction. ‘This was all calculated. They wanted me here to make sure defeating a god was possible with the second strongest Noble Phantasm of the Gate of Babylon,’ the last remains of the Original Gilgamesh's only friend, ‘Enkidu.’

Ever since he met Angelo, the Mage of Swords heard many times about how dangerous two weapons from the Gate could be: Ea, the Sword of Rupture which could destroy the World, and Enkidu, the Chains of Heaven capable of imprisoning those the gods themselves.

Supposedly they were made to imprison the King of Heroes but Enkidu chose to side with the demigod and they became the best of friends. Inseparable, caring and invincible, a combination that never lost a fight with the king's many weapons and his partner's unbreakable chains.

Not only did they manage to defy the gods, they defeated the strongest Divine Beast from Mesopotamia, the Bull of Heaven. Only after many transgressions did the gods take action and ruin Enkidu’s body so he would pass away ‘naturally’ by returning to the earth leaving his weapon to his true friend.

Azazel said once about Enkidu; “A good person, far too good to this world. But his chains were terrifying. Are terrifying for they still exist in the Gate of Babylon and if they ever return no god will sleep well at night. Or sleep at all.”

Since the plan wasn’t to kill him, Shirou knew Enkidu was what Gilgamesh wanted to test. ‘Doesn’t mean I will make it easier for him.’ Kanshou and Bakuya in hand, the Mage lowered his posture while opening his wings. Lack of mana could become a problem if the fight lasted too long so he planned to finish it quickly. ‘No matter how strong that armor is, I just need to aim for the head.’

Gilgamesh smiled with satisfaction and uncrossed his arms, “You can begin-”

No matter what else was going to be said, Shirou couldn’t give him time to prepare. “Last Stardust!!!” Bellerophon’s power surged and the wings were thrown forward to unleash all their feathers.

It was supposed to be a surprise attack with a quick victory by catching the terrorist off guard but the second Shirou took to use Last Stardust once again was all the Gate of Babylon needed to open dozens of portals.

Rate of fire wise, the King of Heroes main Noble Phantasm could fire its treasures in a rhythm of two per second per portal, calling them forth and using them as arrows in just half of a second.

Before it was slower since Angelo needed to activate the Gate manually. “Useless!” That was no longer the case and the portals were already open when Shirou threw his swords forward. Black and white blades crashed against dozens of gold projectiles as Gilgamesh laughed. “Hahahahahaha! You ain't catching me off guard like that, Shirou!” His eyes began shining and he whispered. “I see you.”

The Mage of Swords gritted his teeth and began Tracing and throwing swords to add to his rate of fire but where the Gate of Babylon was a consistent stream, his Ascension attacked in bursts when using that method.

After all he needed a few instants to recover his wings while Gilgamesh’s Noble Phantasms could just keep shooting its contents. Not even mentioning some of the deflected weapons returned to the vault just to be fired again because the portals didn’t need to recharge or anything of the type.

In the beginning the Mage even had some advantage and the Married Blades came close to reaching the blond terrorist but he remained calm and confident. Even when hundreds of swords trampled dozens of his treasures, he smirked and the Gate kept firing. Despite the Married Blades empowering each other, eventually they started getting pushed back.

And once the dam broke Shirou had no choice but to stop throwing swords and roll to the right to avoid the swords, spears and axes trying to crush him. “No chains?” He questioned while Tracing another pair.

Which was immediately put to use as the Gate of Babylon began following him. “Not yet.” Gilgamesh playfully stated while the Mage began skillfully parrying his treasures. “You can run, after all.”

Taking a moment to reform his wings, Shirou Reinforced Bakuya while using Kanshou to block six short daggers at once. After that he began running in an angle, reducing the number of projectiles in his direction. Some hit the ground around him but Bellerophon’s power kept him steady while he blocked and dodged.

Gilgamesh studied his former friend with amusement and a smile that practically challenged him, ‘What now?’

‘Now this!’ Shirou suddenly stopped in place and parried six swords downwards to blow the area around himself and hide in the dust.

A simple trick to keep the other man guessing, Gilgamesh took no chances and fired dozens of swords in a second in that direction before turning his head up as most of the cloud vanished with the Mage’s flight.

…

Several meters from the fight, Heracles asked. “Does he think going up is gonna work?”

“What else should he try?” Siegfried asked back as the Mage began evading the treasures in the sky. “See? Now, he has a new axis to dodge. Not bad. Probably something he learned from devils.”

The giant grunted in agreement before saying, “Wish one of my Noble Phantasms gave me wings. Flying looks cool.”

“Can you not admire our enemy?” Clearly Cao Cao was still upset with Connla’s death. He kept watching the fight with a glare even as Heracles placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We know you don’t like this but he is-”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Cao Cao dismissed his sacred gear and crossed his arms, hoping Gilgamesh killed Shirou by accident.

Siegfried wondered, “How much this will last. It’s getting dark.” He turned to Jeanne who was looking at the fight with an expression he couldn’t understand. “Jeanne?”

“Heh?” Suddenly the woman was looking at him with confusion. “Sieg? What are we doing here again?” The other two looked at her with concern before she shook her head. “No, wait. I remember. We should be killing yokais. Why aren’t we burning this place?”

Cao Cao grumbled something before saying, “Because we are being nice,” sarcastically.

Jeanne surprised them by saying, “I don’t think killing hundreds is nice. We should at least finish the job.” The three shared a look with distinct emotions each before the woman shook her head and added, “Then again, they weren’t doing anything… Why did we attack Kyoto again?”

“Illya needs to look at you.” Heracles affirmed confidently, trusting his best friend could find and fix whatever happened to the blonde.

Before Siegfried pointed up and shouted. “Looks like Emiya Shirou is about to do something.”

…

The Mage of Swords watched as some spears tried to pursue him in the air but weren’t as precise as they should be. ‘Those are weapons for hunting. I am no beast and you aren’t throwing them with your hands.’ Not that he was going to explain what the terrorist was doing wrong. Instead he combined his swords into a bow and Traced one of his strongest arrows. “If I can’t get to you… Caladbolg!”

A spiral of mana was fired towards Gilgamesh who looked unsurprised. “Are you forgetting who I am, Faker?!” A huge spiral sword appeared on the portal above his head. Mana left his body and covered the blade which began spinning, glowing like a rainbow. “Or who showed you that sword?!!”

With a wave of his hand, Caladbolg sailed to the air and greeted its copy.

The latter’s attack shattered against the Original which kept going forward.

Completely missed its target who had left as soon as he fired.

Shirou had used his spiral arrow as a distraction and immediately flew down close to where he started the fight. ‘You didn’t break too many of them.’ Not a surprise since every copy of Married Swords made each other stronger. Turning his dive vertically, he accelerated towards Gilgamesh while Reinforcing his armor to attract the other swords. ‘And I can use all of them.’

Again the blond found him rather fast, his body actually moving despite the use of Last Stardust. Even when he was using it to save everyone before, Bellerophon’s power wasn’t fully capable of outspeed the King of Heroes. The Heroic Spirit had literally empowered the terrorist enough he could keep up with the pegasus.

Despite the blond moving in slow motion because of how much faster the Mage was, he was actually moving for starters. Also the Gate of Babylon didn’t care about Last Stardust, its projectiles fired fast enough to be dangerous whenever its owner detected danger.

Using his Legendary Mount’s Divinity, Shirou stopped short and blocked one or two swords before dancing among them and avoiding being hit by the wave of treasures. He was moving fast yet his accelerated senses still had the chance to admire each and every one of them, Unlimited Blade Works welcoming new inhabitants constantly.

Alas that also meant he had hundreds of weapons to dodge and just as many of his own swords were intercepted even as he avoided Gilgamesh’s assault. Both men knew the Mage needed to finish that fight quickly but the blond knew his odds of surviving were too high, something the former suspected.

Leading him to throw the Married Blades in his hands before shouting. “I am the bone of my sword!” Hundreds more swords manifested around their maker before following their elders.

One advantage Shirou had over Gilgamesh was that he was the maker, the forge for his swords which could appear anywhere around him. With Bellerophon as an engine, creating dozens of Kanshou and Bakuyas in the blink of an eye wasn’t beyond the scope of his abilities.

But his opponent was Gilgamesh.

Or at least as close to the real article he was going to get.

Maybe stronger considering how much of the King of Heroes’ Legend was carried in a Heroic Spirit in the first place. Certainly more than the man would carry if he was just a Servant but at the same time Angelo wasn’t Gilgamesh.

He lacked the full kit, the intelligence and ruthlesses which made the King of Uruk a Legend.

Nevertheless that didn’t make him any less dangerous.

With his connection to the Orignal’s Heroic Spirit, the Gate of Babylon was full with all kinds of wonders and terrors. Swords of Legends lost to time, spears that took down mighty beasts, axes which destroyed armors and walls over the world. And shields that could stop anything between Heaven and Earth.

There was no way Shirou could predict the huge block of metal with the bulkness of a car and several carvings similar to veins or rivers that appeared to focus or emerge from the brighter gold that sat in its core.

‘Shield of the Gods.’ Unlimited Blade Works managed to supply its owner with the information even as the shield appeared malformed in the Reality Marble before vanishing since it didn’t belong there and Bellerophon's present wasn’t enough to change such a fact.

Because while the metal around the core was gold plated, the center was the same sort of Divine metal that sacred gears were made of if only from a different species making that Shield a Divine Artifact.

It wasn’t a Noble Phantasm for it had no name nor a Crystalized Legend but that was irrelevant because it was still something of Divine Origin. A shield that withstood the passage of time inside the Gate of Babylon and the sort of defense Shirou couldn’t break much less reproduce in his current condition.

In fact the only reason his mind managed to process the Shield of the Gods’ existence was thanks to Bellerophon’s Divine aura improving his capabilities. With it, Shirou managed to perceive the shield’s power, understand the wall Gilgamesh placed in his path and pull back enough to stop himself from crashing on it.

His feet slammed on the shield into a double kick that unleashed a shockwave with the Married Blades behind him following it up. It was like rain hitting a steel roof but much louder and both sides were sure the whole of Kyoto heard the impact. Not much of a problem since they were on the yokai side.

Shirou had other issues to deal with. ‘That shield has a barrier as well.’ Indeed it did, the waves of swords that tried to go around clashed against bright ropes of gold and a wall that shone while repealing the attacks. ‘We need to push through!’ Bellerophon voiced his agreement even as the pegasus was starting to grow tired. ‘Come on, partner. Just a little more!’

Medusa’s Son complained, insulted because his rider thought he was stopping anytime soon. He was a Divine Beast and even if they were abusing Last Stardust, there was plenty of fuel to go around. Aura exploded from their armor and their wings grew larger as their feathers returned.

With a kick Shirou was flying up until he reached the barrier around Kyoto before turning to Gilgamesh, his wings the size of buildings. Most of the Hero Faction looked slightly intimidated by how many swords he manifested but their leader remained confident if not cocky.

‘My eyes can see you failing.’ Gilgamesh knew, even if every new Married Blade empowered the other, it wasn’t enough.

“Steel is my body and fire is my blood.” Shirou agreed which was why he made another hundred in a flash, pushing his pegasus to his limits. “Gathering of Stars!” Another hundred joined as the blades separated and began glowing with Divinity. Even if the shield was Divine in Origin, Bellerophon’s power was about to challenge it. “Overload! Meteor Rain!!!”

More than a rain it was like a storm of shining metal had descended on Gilgamesh who laughed out loud. “Yes! Yes!! I remember this!!!” He didn’t do anything else and his Shield of the Gods remained steady, its imposing barrier a dome of energy that would bend for no mortal weapon. “BRING IT ON!!!!!!!”

For anyone in the city, including the temple where Shirou had dropped off several of the injured, it was like the sky was really falling. Then came the loud noises from the impact as the windows of the yokai’s side of Kyoto shattered when the hudrends of swords collided with the Divine shield.

Explosion after explosion followed next as the barrier shook and flickered but didn’t break. It was something impressive from Shirou's perspective but expected nonetheless. To destroy it, the Mage of Swords knew, would take the sort of attack that could sink Japan if used incorrectly.

Fortunately he had a plan and the blueprints to make something like that thanks to a previous fight and his current opponent’s contribution. All it would take was the right execution and timing or else he would be responsible for whipping out Kyoto from the map.

“I have created over a thousand blades!” He Traced as many more but not to be part of his rain but as the base for a single structure. Thanks to the Married Blades’ natural attraction and Bellerophon’s power, it was all a matter of fitting the puzzle together.

First was the handle, not really needed but the structure needed to be built properly or else it would fall apart, the guard was easy since he could turn the swords out and allow for a sharper guard than it would be otherwise.

The easiest part was, of course, the blade. An amalgamation of black and white swords just fitting together. Lethal in all aspects, its threat was dozens of times larger because of its size.

For the first time Gilgamesh couldn’t hide his shock upon seeing the huge sword above his head. “You must be joking.” A feeling he hadn’t ever felt when thinking about his friend began growing in his chest; rage. “Are you trying… Are you trying to insult me, Faker?!!”

“Pegasus Formation: Ig-Alima!!!” Above the Central Temple and hiding the Moon which had taken over the sky, a giant sword shone brighter than Earth’s satellite. A sharper and a bit taller copy of the sword blocking the temple which Shirou knew his opponent wouldn't use. ‘It’s all or nothing!’ “GO!!!!”

Using Loki’s spell and Ig-Alima as reference the Mage of Swords managed to make a giant blade while paying a lesser cost than he would otherwise. His experience fighting the Trickster and pulling off something similar before helped him create what would otherwise be beyond his means.

But the pegasus’ rider reached the Heavens and that was a sword. Divine as it was, it resided in Unlimited Blade Works and so long he had energy, he had the means. Didn’t make the process easy but it was enough.

Enough to crash on the Shield of the Gods’ barrier and bend it down with his weapon’s power and weight. Unlike the Ig-Alima, the Pegasus Formation was forged using Kanshou and Bakuya, hundreds of dozens of them. Each empowered by the others and Bellerophon’s Divinity.

A weapon that took a while to create but was easily equal if not stronger than the Original.

Something which ticked Gilgamesh off the wrong way and he didn't know why. ‘This Faker!’ His hands began shaking, his composure lost when he saw his shield cracking. Not the barrier but the Shield of the Gods itself. ‘A fake like that shouldn’t even come close to breaking my shield!’

Regardless of his opinions the fake Ig-Alima did exactly that and crushed the barrier which in turn destroyed the Shield of the Gods. An ancient artifact made by the Sumerian deities was rendered useless and neither combatant cared about it. All they saw was each other, one with rage and the other with focus.

Because breaking the barrier was the easy part, Shirou couldn’t miss the timing. “Let’s go, Bellerophon!” With a new set of wings he accelerated downwards as the barrier fell apart.

The fake Ig-Alima was still descending towards Gilgamesh but the blond remained motionless save for an angry twitch of his fingers. More of the Gate of Babylon opened at his back but the man refused to fire until his opponent was closer. With how fast the younger man was, it was the right call.

Meaning he planned to do nothing against the giant sword falling down at a considerable speed. The man formerly known as Angelo knew he didn’t need to, that Emiya Shirou would stop that weapon himself. Instead his eyes remained focused on the magus, waiting for his approach.

Things began happening even faster as the Mage of Swords accelerated to finish the fight and his Ig-Alima approached the point of no return. ‘No reaction, huh?’ Even if he was accelerated, he knew Gilgamesh wasn’t retreating. The blond’s body language exuded confidence that the giant sword wouldn't get even close to him. ‘No point in bluffing them.’

Pegasus Formation Ig-Alima was big enough and moving fast enough that the thing would be akin to an asteroid if it hitted the ground, probably decimating Kyoto and the whole Japan unless someone intervened.

Not willing to take any chances or involving innocents, Shirou began dismissing the giant sword. More precisely the hundreds of Kanshous and Bakuyas which made it but he didn’t so immediately. Since there were so many swords packed together, the magus had the idea of using their disappearance as camouflage.

After all when his Projections left the world it was in the form of mottes of mana blowing into the wind and with so many of them vanishing at once it was like a carpet of snow began covering the air.

Against most opponents it would have been enough to hide the Mage of Swords; the mottes were made with his mana so not only his figure but also his power should be hidden behind that curtain.

Against most but not Gilgamesh. “There!” He didn’t need to shout, the Gate of Babylon was already firing precisely in Shirou’s position. The veil vanished thanks to the gold projectiles but fortunately for the magus he had already Traced two more swords to deflect them. “Is that all you can conjure, Faker?!”

Another ten swords appeared around Shirou before he pushed them forward with his Divinity. Gold, black and white missiles crashed into each other as the Mage kept spamming more swords and the Gate of Babylon proved how deep it was.

Every millimeter of the path between Shirou and Gilgamesh was covered with blasts as both tried to take the other down. It was chaos, calamity and destruction given the form of a corridor where the fighters could only see each other. At some point the former redhead deflected a spear poorly and ended up landing on his sword.

For less than a second before six weapons fired in his position and he made ‘the floor’ disappear with an afterthought before his wings pushed him backwards. Leaving him inside a curtain of his swords, a better cover against the Gate of Babylon. Didn’t stop his opponent from firing but it was his best avenue of attack.

After all his armor was made from the Married Blades, same material, same connection. Surrounded by them he was at his strongest and those swords couldn’t harm him. Their love, their connection which always found each other, would protect him from harm.

So Shirou threaded the needle of explosions while finishing his dive towards Gilgamesh. ‘Getting close!’ Throwing the pair in his hands, he felt how the swords around him began following them. Most of his Ig-Alima was already gone and he needed to Project new pairs to keep his push going. ‘Almost there!’

Even with time slower for him, the Mage wasn’t having it easy because Gilgamesh was keeping up, much to his frustration. He was faster so he abused his circuits and Ascension to accelerate his blades' descent and keep them ahead of himself.

“Hahahahaha!” Something that Gilgamesh must have anticipated since the Gate of Babylon offered him a huge spear which surpassed his and Harpe's size with ease.

Only when it fully emerged Shirou saw it wasn’t a spear at all but a halberd and not one like Liz’s. His was more oriental in design while hers forged in European style per her request and Shirou’s efforts. But his work couldn’t compare to the weapon on the terrorist’s hands, one which destroyed several Married Blades with a single swing.

Sporting a red plume below part of the blade, which was divided in two parts; one was the tip of the spear and the other was attached to the side which gave away its Chinese Origins. It was also a Noble Phantasm with the name of Halberd Comparable to Heaven.

It proved its namesake by demolishing the Married Swords despite Bellerophon’s power. “Running out of swords, Faker?!!” Suddenly the blond spun in place in time to block a double strike from the magus with his weapon. “Or just realizing how outmatched you are, Shirou?”

“You wish!!” Several swords were Traced around them but the Gate of Babylon shot them down before the attack could conclude. Gritting his teeth, the Mage separated and rushed sideways using his speed leverage to attack his side. “Shit!”

Only his path was blocked by a dozen swords just before he could even start attacking. “You can’t escape my sight anymore, Shirou!!” The Halberd Comparable to Heaven came in with a thrust that had the former redhead using his wings to block and deflect. Combined the Married Blades were still stronger than the polearm. “How long do you think you will last?!!”

His question was almost drowned by the explosion of dozens of Noble Phantasms slamming on the Mage’s previous position. The magus got away just before the attack but somehow there were already weapons flying towards him.

Evading two of them, he parried four away before holding his ground and stopping the halberd about to get his heart. ‘He isn’t faster than me! How is he getting where I am,’ both sides began trading blows, the blond with fast paced thrusts that needed to be blocked while leaving no room for counters, ‘before I am even there?!’

The white wing on Shirou’s back was thrown forward in a forced maneuver that was easily avoided, again like Gilgamesh was expecting it. “This is it! This is really it!!” The man laughed again just as he held the two handed halberd with a hand and the Gate gave him another weapon. A golden ax with a blade twice as big as the man’s head. “The power of the real King of Heroes!!!”

While not a Noble Phantasm the ax was extremely sharp and the blond threw it at his former friend with glee. The black wing blocked it successfully but then the Mage realized he was cornered as several gold portals opened behind his back. Panicking a little he spun around and blocked their projectiles before his eyes grew wide.

‘No chains- A feint!’ Last Stardust pushed his body to his limits as time slowed down further for the Mage of Swords, giving him enough room to do three things; reposition his wings to speed up further, Trace swords above the portals to block them and turn around.

He came face to face with Gilgamesh once again, the older man’s ever confident smile growing larger as eight portals surrounded him while another dozen appeared at his back, all already armed.

Again they fired before he could move, forcing him to hold his ground and do his best to block with his wings and the pair of Married Blades in his hands. From that position Shirou still tried to take back the initiative by Tracing dozens of swords around himself for both defense and offense.

Several of them began falling just above Gilgamesh but once again the man was two steps ahead with the Gate of Babylon eliminating the threat with its own Noble Phantasms. Not only that but it was done in an efficient manner too, only a few weapons were fired above its owner’s head.

While the rest was focused on Shirou who began swinging around like a mad man trying to see from which portal the chains even the gods feared were going to emerge which was a mistake since everything had been calculated to keep him occupied.

Because while the Mage of Swords focused on the front he didn’t notice that the portals which he blocked with his Married Blades actually had portals hidden behind them. Those had their ordnance prepared and fired the second Shirou turned his back, leaving him exposed while he was busy with all the other weapons.

To anyone watching outside everything happened too quickly for them to process; blurs and flashes of gold, black, white dancing around until Gilgamesh paused for the final act of his plan where he caught Shirou.

All ended with the Mage of Swords deflecting a few weapons only to realize, ‘Most of them weren’t aimed at me-’ Again he was panicking and began turning but it was too late. Enkidu made itself known to the world once more by wrapping itself around his right arm. ‘No!’

More links emerged from different portans, his left leg was next followed by his neck, other leg and arm. For the first time since entering Ascension his balance was ruined and the man dropped to his knees as the chains pulled, leaving his upper body suspended and locking him in place.

Shirou fought back constantly but it only made the chains tighter as it grew strong enough its links began digging into his armor. The magus roared and tried to break free yet more links appeared around his neck, an arrow head guiding it over his shoulder to trap his chest. He tried to stand but his legs were locked in place, his arms in a real bind.

Around him the last of his falling swords lost their glow and vanished since Enkidu had captured him exactly when he finished dismissing his Ig-Alima. But worse than that was how their connection, his and the Married Blades’ themselves, felt more distant and muted than ever before.

However the most horrifying part was how Bellerophon began crying in his Reality Marble. ‘Bellerophon?!’ The world began accelerating to its normal rate as they left Last Stardust, the pegasus unable to keep it up. Focusing on his soul the Mage saw that the Legendary Mount was locked in place with its body shaking in an odd pose. ‘What the- It is like he is struggling against something… Like there are chains around him as well. Enkidu, its influence, can invade my Reality Marble?!!’

“Hahahahahaha!!” Once more Gilgamesh’s laughter reached his ears and Shirou realized all his power was suddenly gone. Or better yet, contained. “Look at that! It worked! Enkidu worked! It really can trap the gods!!!” Gritting his teeth, the Mage began pulling with all his strength, much to the terrorist’s amusement. “Don’t bother, Shirou. Enkidu is directly connected to the Gate of Babylon and no one but me can take anything from there. You are done.”

“How did you do it?!” Still fighting, the magus questioned to buy time. “How did you keep dodging? You aren’t even half as fast as I am. The whole fight it was like you were in slow motion but still escaping. How?!”

“Fufufu. What is your best guess?”

“... You can see the future…”

“Hahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahahahahaha!!! A very good guess! Close but not quite. At least when it is applied to me.” With a hand on his face, the man’s right eye began glowing between his fingers while his left one remained normal. “The Original certainly could see the future, I have no doubt. Whilst I can comprehend everything… Think about your Structural Analysis but dial up to eleven.”

Knowing his former friend had little magecraft training there was only one thing Shirou could ask. “How does your brain process that much information?” Several possibilities crossed his mind between his newly awakened Divine blood or something the Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh shared with his descendant.

Regardless it stood to reason most human brains couldn’t deal with all that. “Doesn’t matter.” His former friend replied, not caring if he was frying his own brain or not. “What matters is this; I can see you trying to break the chains but your Divine mana is unable to leave your armor.” Shirou gritted his teeth and struggled some more in vain.

The blond didn’t care as he stared at his own hand, raising it to the sky in such a way to hide the Moon which took over since the Sun was gone.

For a moment Gilgamesh stood there, admiring the sight before his head fell and he looked around the garden with his new eyes. Finally he could see all he had done and those he killed yet none of it moved him. If anything, only one thing truly made him feel anything other than wonder; the sight of his defeated friend brought him satisfaction and solemnity.

Everything else was too glorious to be described otherwise. “I can see how the wind messes that distant cloud, how each of my weapons work, how yours’ work.” Meaning he understood Kanshou and Bakuya just as much as their owner if not better. “ I can also see the frequency of your breathing, the blood spilled today and when it touched the ground. With these eyes… I can understand everything.” A sigh escaped him. “Was this the world Gilgamesh saw all the time? And also the future? While leading his kingdom? He truly was the King of Heroes…”

Raising his hand closer to his chest, the man once known as Angelo was filled with new determination and resolve as he came to understand many things while rejecting them all together.

“Why didn’t he finish the Age of the Gods as he should have?”

Shirou stopped struggling for a moment before resuming his fight. “Gilgamesh?” Yet he kept talking to keep the other man busy.

“Who else?” He turned around again. “Stop trying to escape, Shirou. You are wasting your energy. Enkidu doesn’t just bind the Divine, it binds its target in several dimensional tiers. Can’t you feel it?”

“What are you talking about?” Trying to understand his situation, Shirou tried to use Structural Analysis. In vain because his mana failed to touch the chain. “What the hell?” Trying to shake free again, the magus applied Bellerophon’s aura to strengthen himself, abandoning speed for raw strength. “Grr…”

Gilgamesh laughed at his predicament. “Hahahahaha! Aren’t you listening? Enkidu locked you down in several levels! Dimensions!” Letting his halberd fall back inside the Gate of Babylon, the blond approached and grabbed his former friend by the helmet. Red eyes met the visor but he knew they were eye to eye. “For example; you can’t teleport or use mana beyond Enkidu's reach.” Tapping the black and white armor hard, both heard a distinct click. “See? As strong as ever but while locked down by Enkidu it might as well be a piece of junk!”

Waving around in a mocking show of the area, the terrorist wanted Shirou to see his swords around and notice how his power no longer could reach them. Indeed all Divinity he had was focused solely on his armor and body, the Married Blades on the ground still Noble Phantasms but inert.

“There is nothing you can do. Equivalent to a god or not, major or minor, Enkidu has you until I say so. And if it can lock you down… it can lock any god down.”

“You can’t know that for sure! I am not-”

“Your pegasus is a Divine Beast, the Legends suggest as much and Enkidu is feared by the gods. Now we know the reason for sure.” Again he tapped the armor with considerable force. Considering his own armor and how strong he was, it would have cracked if Bellerophon’s power still wasn’t active. “We should congratulate Illya for a job well done. I have you and this Age in my grasp.”

Confronted with that fact, Shirou sighed before asking. “What do you want, Gilgamesh?”

The blond frowned. “Why does it sound like you haven’t surrendered yet?” He could practically hear the defiance in the Mage’s voice. “Don’t you get it, Shirou? We won! Humanity won! We finally-”

“Look around you before you dare to finish this sentence.” Shirou growled in rage. “Look how many you killed.”

Gilgamesh rolled his eyes. “A necessary sacrifice… By this point we both know neither is going to budge in their opinion.” Letting Shirou’s head go, he noticed it remained high. “Regardless, you lost and you are going to deliver a message for me.”

“Sure. Come closer so I can hear it.” Those words made the terrorist pause as his eyes focused on the imprisoned form of the Mage. “Go on, say it.”

Didn’t take a genius nor all knowing eyes to know something was wrong. “You think you can still fight? How do you plan to escape this predicament?”

“Let me whisper it to you.” Shirou sounded way too confident and Gilgamesh couldn’t help but chuckle. “Am I not… in a bind because of Enkidu? Or don’t you have faith in it?”

A familiar gold ax appeared in the terrorist’s hand. “Oh, I do have faith,” he raised it above his head, “but why take the risk?”

With a roar Gilgamesh brought his arms down with every intention of opening armor and forcefully removing the Mage from it. By that point Shirou realized his time was up and began Reinforcing his Ascension beyond its limits while taking as much mana as Bellerophon could into his circuits.

Cracks began appearing in his armor as his eyes glowed beneath the helmet. “Because it is worth it. Trace on!!”

Mana poured into his armor as its atoms were crammed together in a fashion to make it stronger. Except it was going too far just like the Mage intended because Reinforcement was the spell he knew better than anyone else, its advantages and limitations. Like any magecraft there was always a risk and a price.

True Magic only carried the price be it years of development or maybe even Miracles.

More advanced magic also had a price accompanied by risk but to a lesser extent than pure magecraft.

Reinforcement’s risk was always that if utilized incorrectly, be either by using too much or too little of it, the intended effect wouldn’t be reached either with its failure to be used or by destroying what should have strengthened.

Shirou pushed the spell to its limits by using it into a Divine Construct, his own armor. Mana alone wouldn’t have shattered it but it was his armor and connected to his soul. Adding that to Bellerophon’s mana and if he wanted his armor destroyed then it would be destroyed.

Quite catastrophically as well since the black and white metal blew up from the Mage’s body in every direction, forcing Gilgamesh to retreat. Fragments still hit his armor as he screamed. “Are you insane?!”

“Yes!!” Since his armor was bulkier than his own body it was obvious the chains would need to adjust to keep him contained. But Enkidu’s grip itself grew slack when Divinity left the mortal who used the blood in his arms and legs to slip out, grabbing a sword. “Yes!!!”

The Bakuya he found was one of many and was still surrounded by several Married Blades which instilled its owner with confidence. He thrusted it at Gilgamesh’s head forcing the blond to block with his ax in a bad position. Having let go with one of his hands during his retreat and his grip wasn’t that strong due to shock.

Bakuya shoved the weapon away and reached Gilgamesh’s face, his life only saved because he managed to tilt his head at the last moment. The sword still managed to graze him and since it was a Noble Phantasm it wasn’t long before he began bleeding even if from a small cut.

Pride stopped him from running away and he raised an arm to stop his former friend’s next blow, his armor resisting the White Twin. Both their eyes met, gray and red growing more focused as the battle began anew. The blond’s Noble Phantasm opened new portals and fired just as the white haired man rolled to the side.

Shockwaves pushed both men away from each other but Shirou barely moved before getting back on his feet just to almost fall again. “Tch.” His body was full of wounds, his back and arms bleeding madly, the flesh on his shoulders basically ripped apart. Considering he blew up most of his armor, save his helmet and boots which disappeared once the Ascension fell, it wasn’t odd. ‘Don’t think! Attack!!’

Ignoring the damages, the white haired man dashed while grabbing a Kashou from the ground. Compared with how fast he was before, his moves were slow and his opponent could barely believe he was still going.

Especially with his wounds. “Are you trying to kill yourself, Shirou?!!” Hesitating a little, Gilgamesh opened the Gate of Babylon once again. None of his projectiles were aimed at his former friend but he quickly adjusted when it was clear he wasn’t stopping. “Never thought you would be so suicidal!”

Enkidu flew from the portals towards the Mage but Kanshou and Bakuya blocked two of its arrow tips forcing the man to summon some more. Adjusting his Noble Phantasm to fire from more angles, he was caught off guard when the magus not only kept charging but blocked his chains completely.

It wasn’t enough for Gilgamesh to panic and he trusted his sight to adjust again before Enkidu returned to the battlefield. Since the chain was a Noble Phantasm made by the gods, it could have as many links as he needed to trap his target meaning he could fire ten ‘arrows’ at once without losing length.

Shirou caught him off guard by jumping, diving between the chins, blocking them like one would serpents before throwing Kanshou to block an arrow head just as it exploded, disrupting the rest’s flight path.

Something his eyes didn’t anticipate. ‘How? He is slower now so-’

“Get your ass moving, Gilgamesh!!” Cao Cao shouted, unable to interfere because Heracles had a hand keeping him in place.

Nevertheless his call was enough and the blond jumped backwards before the Gate of Babylon unleashed fourteen swords from just as many portals. The Mage of Swords scanned them all but didn’t bother to try and replicate them. He lacked the skill to fire them back immediately outside of his Reality Marble.

But there were hundreds of his swords spread on the battlefield and those he could use. “Grasping the Past!” Another Kanshou manifested and he crossed his Married Blades before pulling his arms back. They began bleeding more but he gritted his teeth and bore the pain. “Seeking the Future!! Overedge!!!”

With a roar the Mage of Swords sent his swords forward, mana brimming from them. His circuits burned with the excess he took from Bellerophon before destroying his Ascension and he had plenty to spare. Enough to Reinforce that pair but not to make them larger or explosive.

No, he increased their natural pull making them attract more swords until they became spinning disks of death. “Someone is getting creative!” Gilgamesh easily shot them down as Shirou picked and throwed more Married Blades in his direction. “See what you can do when not burdened by the gods? Think about what all Humanity will-”

“Save the sermon for someone who cares!” Shirou retorted after watching his weapons getting cut down. ‘His eyes anticipate every plan. Every preparation.’ Bellerophon was exhausted and could no longer help him for the next 24 hours. Without his speed, he had to find other ways to close the gap. ‘So I can’t plan. I can’t prepare. I need not to think but anticipate his anticipation.’

Gilgamesh’s jaw almost dropped when the Mage began running at him unarmed. ‘You really lost your mind? No, I can’t believe that.’ His Gate of Babylon was already firing swords and spears to cripple, not kill. ‘Either way I better stop him before he bleed to death-’

His jaw really dropped when Shirou kept running forward before evading his projectiles, a jump followed by another before he rolled into a crawling position which he used to pull himself left.

By that point the Mage was starting to really slow down and Gilgamesh prepared to call Enkidu again only for the white haired man to grab a random sword from the ground. It was one from the Gate, his new eyes told the blond, and vanished the second it was thrown.

Nevertheless he was distracted for a moment and Shirou used Reinforcement and Ki to close the distance between them, a Muramasa in his hands. “Tsubame-”

“Not going to happen!” Floating shields stopped the attack in its tracks before he pulled a random long sword with a golden handle to stab the magus. Who parried it with an identical sword which formed a second after the original appeared. “What?!”

Gilgamesh backed down and tried to slash the magus’ thigh but the identical weapons clashed two more times before he took a hit on the waist. Recoiling from the blow, even if it didn’t wound him, the terrorist began throwing a bunch of erratic attacks before both swords left their hands.

One was destroyed, the fake, while the other flew away because of a weaker grip upon impact once the former shattered into pieces. Still no side retreated and kept up the attacks as new weapons were added into the mix.

Since the previous one wasn’t a Noble Phantasm neither side was surprised when one broke after a few clashes and the Gate of Babylon was already offering a replacement, a stronger weapon that was on the cusp of becoming a Crystalized Legend before it was lost in the sands of time.

A glimpse was all Shirou needed and another replica was in his hand just in time to block the attack if just an instant too late meaning he had to defend first. But between the two it was the Mage who was the better swordsman. Using a thumb and turning his weapon sideways he pushed the original down and did a shoulder tackle while pulling his sword for the finish.

Which couldn’t be allowed to or Gilgamesh would find himself at a disadvantage so he called for the Gate of Babylon to open a portal where his eyes told him the Mage would need to go for his maneuver.

The second he saw the golden shimmer about to unleash Enkidu again Shirou adjusted, spinning his body in place for a sideway slash on the blond’s body. It was like his previous attack had been a feint even if that wasn’t the case and despite his new eyes Gilgamesh was caught off guard.

Forcing him to raise an arm and parry the sword with his armor while letting the portal vanish so he could attack with his own sword. Unlike his opponent the magus barely had any armor left, basically fighting half naked with a pair of boots and pants. Medusa’s Gift on his neck could do little against that Noble Phantasm so he ducked under its blade.

Having no leverage in his new position, Shirou still tried to thrust his weapon at the terrorist’s abdomen which was allowed because his sword wasn’t strong enough to break through the armor.

Didn’t stop Gilgamesh from feeling the blow and being pushed back a little. “Curses-” Once again the blade came from his head forcing him to use an arm or be decapitated. “So you really resolved to kill me?”

“Can you see another way for me to win?” The question was so fair it was unfair and both of them knew it. With the gold armor he was wearing there was just one place Shirou could attack and he needed to win quickly. “Withstood pain to create weapons! To protect those cherished!”

Because his body was starting to fall apart due to blood loss, only Touki and mana kept it together at that point while making his blows relevant. So much so that when he pulled his sword back and delivered another strike, Gilgamesh gritted his teeth as he felt his arm almost break beneath the armor.

‘Am I losing?’ Suddenly the Gate of Babylon fired dozens of shots in their location, forcing the Mage to jump back. ‘I have the power- I, Gilgamesh, am losing?’ Fury took over his being and he roared. “Damn you! Damn you!” Rushing at his former friend he began throwing uncontrollable slashes, each which was parried by another copy of his sword. “Damn YOU!!!”

Doing a quick flick of his wrist and bringing his weapon down, Shirou forced the blond to overextend before he pushed his arm up to disarm the terrorist, leaving him open. However there was no way for him to capitalize, his body was slow and the blond already had a weapon in his hand when he tried.

Both their swords clashed and Gilgamesh grinned angrily. “You are getting tired.”

“Shut up.” Their blades collided twice before Shirou’s broke.

A kick to the ribs sent the Mage flying. “And losing focus.” Commented Gilgamesh as the Gate of Babylon opened. “Maybe you should rest a little.”

Despite the threatening tone of his words, the man didn’t fire. His eyes told him Shirou’s heart had been working overtime for a while and was beginning to slow down. Blood loss was going to doom the Mage of Swords unless he did something.

Yet Shirou didn’t bother recovering or anything of the like. ‘Keep going.’ Either case he gave Gilgamesh more than enough time to bring out the big guns. Which he didn’t, the Mage wasn’t stupid enough to not know his former friend was holding back. ‘Don’t let him adapt. Push forward…’ Grabbing a random pair of Married Blades, he stood up again. “... and find a breach.”

The white haired man raced towards his opponent again and the Gate of Babylon fired when its owner adjusted thanks to his eyes. Yet the Mage went beyond that, making adjustments just as Gilgamesh finished his own. By that point the blond couldn’t compensate anymore and not only he missed but also had most of his shots deflected.

Experience and instinct were the great equalizer between the two with Shirou leveraging his hundreds of hours of training, especially inside his Reality Marble, to react faster than expected.

Because even if Gilgamesh could see and anticipate his moves, he couldn’t read minds or see the future. “This is ridiculous!” Be it pride or anger, the man was starting to lose his patience. He knows finishing the fight by that point was just a matter of calling Enki and doing so directly. ‘Why am I giving this idiot so many chances? I already beat him before.’

However, something in his mind kept telling him that the King of Heroes shouldn’t waste his best treasures. Not against a half dead man who looked eager to die, that the Gate of Babylon alone was enough.

But Gilgamesh didn’t want to kill Shirou. “Damn it!!” The Halberd Comparable to Heaven dropped in his hands again and he dashed to meet his opponent one last time. “Shirou!!!”

Kanshou and Bakuya pulsed in the Mage’s hands. “Angelo!!!” Mana flowed in them as he pushed the last of his energy, leaving out just enough to keep fighting. “Overedge!!!”

There were still hundreds of Married Blades filling the garden and by using Reinforcement on his pair he made the swords grow until they were as tall as he was. Holding them backwards the audience and Gilgamesh had the impression Shirou had gained a new pair of wings.

With his new reach he managed to throw an attack and intercept the Halberd Comparable to Heaven, making contact first and shoving the polearm away. The blond fixed his footing and corrected his posture an instant later, already predicting that outcome. He too trained hundreds of hours and had plenty of combat experience.

Shirou just had trained more, hours of dull classes turned into mental spars between him and the King of Knights herself, someone many times stronger than Gilgamesh in direct combat.

Bakuya didn’t follow its pair immediately, instead it waited until Kanshou had been fully repealed before being thrusted towards the terrorist’s chest. Halberd Comparable to Heaven was in a bad position to block properly but he tried anyway. The polearm ended up escaping his grip and the white blade reached its target.

For the second time since his connection with his ancestor’s Heroic Spirit, Gilgamesh bled as Shirou’s sword managed to pierce his armor. Thanks to his new eyes he practically watched it part his golden armor with some difficulty but successfully nonetheless. He knew death was about to come and regretted underestimating Shirou as he did.

To not have killed his friend when he had the chance.

When that understanding settled in his mind, the man could only do one thing; rage against his Fate.

‘I won’t die like this!’ But the bad positioning of his weapon left him with a hand free, his left arm flexing with strength as his fingers dug into the blade. Shirou was shocked with how fast Gilgamesh had reacted and upon looking in his eyes he knew Angelo was nowhere in sight. “Do you really think a half baked copy is going to kill me, Faker?”

No, before him was the King of Heroes or at least his descendant who could stare down at anyone with enough hate to freeze lesser men. However the Mage of Swords was no lesser man and he abandoned Kanshou to focus all his remaining strength in pushing Bakuya.

Gilgamesh did the same thing, Halberd Comparable to Heaven dropping on the ground as his right hand came to the rescue. He could feel the cold bite in his chest, the tip huge barely piercing his skin. Not enough to be dangerous but a clear indication that a single mistake and his life was forfeited.

“Gilgamesh!”

“Don’t interfere!!” He stopped his allies, the known audience and the unknown one, at least to Shirou who didn’t have knowledge his sister and temporary bodyguard had jumped over Ig-Alima and were ready to help their leader. “I won’t be defeated! Not by a Faker!!”

Shirou gritted his teeth and tried to push harder but his limbs began failing him. ‘Oh.’ It was almost like he only noticed then and there that he had lost too much blood. ‘I can still do this. Focus. One last push.’

If Gilgamesh was really the centerpiece of the Hero Faction’s plans then taking him off the board was paramount even if the cost was his own life.

Images of everyone he cared about who would be hurt by their plans; Rias, Yoruichi, Akeno, almost the whole ORC, the friends he made in the Underworld and Kuoh who couldn’t be described as human.

All of them were in peril and that strengthened his resolve.

“I won’t let you,” an aura of steel, his Ki, covered his body, “hurt anyone else!!”

“You think I will let you win?!!!” Gilgamesh’s fingers carved into the giant Bakuya just as Shirou sought to Reinforce it to the max for an explosive finale. However, that was a race against time because the Noble Phantasm couldn’t survive for long in that form.

Not against an angry demigod who knew exactly what the Mage was doing.

Both sides could feel the chain reaction of mana overloading the Noble Phantasm as it was about to explode and there was nothing Gilgamesh could do to stop it. “You accursed Faker!!!”

So he didn’t.

Instead he opened the Gate of Babylon by their side and slammed the giant Bakuya with all the strength his arm could muster. Shirou still tried to hold on but compared to Gilgamesh he was running low on mana and blood. He also compensated for the lack of both with Touki meaning most of it had been used up as well.

There was nothing he could do when his unstable Noble Phantasm flew inside the portal and neither could he move when the Broken Phantasm exploded inside the Gate of Babylon. Even in another dimension, so long the portal was open, it was a guarantee that the blast would at least kill him.

Shirou wasn’t surprised when Gilgamesh had taken advantage of the situation to charge but was surprised when instead of a blade in the gut he received a hand on his chest. A shove that was anything but delicate yet, without a shadow of doubt, saved his life when his sword blew up.

Otherwise he would have died because there was enough energy packing in the Broken Phantasm to send him flying a little. Not far but enough to have him rolling in the dirt and aggravating a few wounds.

Enough for him to hiss just as he tried to get up again with labored breaths. ‘I need to- I can-’ Shirou felt his blood dripping from his back arms as just moving was enough to press his body in all the wrong ways. And all he managed to do was turn around and not much else since he was low on energy. ‘What do I- What can I do now?’ Steps began approaching him and he knew who they belonged to. ‘Unlimited Blade Works?’

His Aria was almost complete and after a couple of lines, even if he was about to die, there was no doubt he could manifest his Reality Marble which would in effect accomplish nothing since he would die from the effort.

Bellerophon tried to offer help but the pegasus was too tired as well.

His body’s condition meant that Ki was also beyond his reach.

Gritting his teeth, Shirou tried to get up again and managed to get on his knees and be greeted to the sight of the tall imposing Gilgamesh looking down on him with something between pity, bewilderment and a hole in his armor for a huge sword to fit through it.

If he died that day at least the Mage of Swords could proudly say that he had scarred the armor of the King of Heroes himself.

“Shirou!” Illya shouted but her voice offered no reprieve. She was panicking but clearly wasn’t going to help him with Georg by her side while the rest of the terrorists approached.

Cao Cao then exclaimed. “You should have let him die.” Gilgamesh glanced at him while Illya growled with rage. “He killed Connla!”

“Connla probably got himself killed!!”

“Quiet. Both of you.” Gilgamesh interrupted before their fight could devolve anymore. His red eyes were still focused on Shirou. “You really don’t want to stay down, do you?”

A grunt later and the Mage was standing on one foot, almost falling again. “You think I will… After all you have done?!” His sister was the only one who looked down in shame. Everyone else was resolute, except Jeanne who was lost to the world. “He is right…” That sentence was greeted with surprise and panic. “You should kill me,” finally in his feet, albeit with a stumble and just a strong breeze short of falling, gray eyes stared at red ones, “because if you don’t, I will find a way to stop you.”

“Hahahahaha! Really now?!” Some of the blond’s arrogance returned before it was tempered by an honest smile. “You didn’t change a bit.”

“You are the one who did. Not the power.” Shirou added quickly with a glare. “The Angelo I knew wouldn’t start a war over nothing.”

Illya surprised him by saying. “It isn’t over nothing. This is-”

“Tell that to the dead.” She flinched as her brother didn’t even look her way. Disappointment poured from his throat with every raspy sound of his breathing. “... So you better kill me now… What is one more corpse to a bunch of terrorists- no, villains.”

“Okay, he is asking for it.” Siegfried raised Balmung but Heracles stopped him. “Let go, Herc. If our glorious leader and top magus don’t want to finish off an enemy, I will.”

“Get in line.” Cao Cao was inching to finish Shirou off himself but the giant had hands in both of them.

And even if the three were Incarnated with Heroic Spirits, the two instinctively knew that neither was on the same level of the Greatest  Bastard of Zeus who, even when he lacked most of his Divinity, had an aura of danger that couldn’t be ignored.

“Villains don’t look around trying to save the world.” Gilgamesh retorted in the same tone of voice he would when back in Kuoh debating one thing or another. By that point Shirou almost fell but the blond held his shoulder. “You may not believe your sister’s prophecy-”

“I believe it.” His answer surprised them all except Illya. “But that doesn't mean what you are doing is right.”

“But it is worth it.” Georg commented as he read the book which showed up in his belt. Every letter carried a power he could barely understand and he closed it with a hum, planning to dig deep into it later. “Now we are the strongest humans and soon-”

“Georg, enough. No need to spoil all our plans.” Gilgamesh ordered gently, watching as Shirou tried and failed to escape his hold. From the Gate of Babylon a crystalline bottle fell in his hand which he offered to Shirou.

Neither spoke anything but the message was obvious. “What is that gonna do? Brainwash me so I obey everything like Yasaka did?”

An eyebrow was raised. “In your condition do you think I need those sorts of tricks?” Gilgamesh had a point; Shirou was barely standing and conscious. “Worry not. This isn’t from the Gate either. It is one of your sister’s concoctions, improved by Le Fay’s knowledge.”

The Mage threw Illya a glance and she stared back with trembling eyes. ‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this.’ Her brother shouldn’t be on the brink of death.

Hurt, sure, he was stubborn and everybody expected him to put up a fight but there was just so much blood on him and his flesh was torn in places making it easy to see the muscles that should be hidden.

“Please, Shirou, drink it.” She pleaded for his sake and his eyes returned to Gilgamesh.

“I prefer to die if you don’t mind.” Shirou announced with his head held right making his sister flinch and her allies stare at him in disbelief.

The giant stepped form and was about to shove that bottle in the former redhead’s throat. “Why you-”

“Hercules, calm down.” Gilgamesh's order was disobeyed but he stopped at least. “Drink it. You still have a message to deliver and I would prefer you live long enough to do it.”

“Just send an email. It is faster.” Was Shirou’s response as even as his body trembled he refused to fall even if the blond was the one keeping him in his feet.

“It isn’t a matter of pride to him. It is the principle.” Jeanne spoke what everyone was thinking, her gaze still distant.

Which worried Siegfried. “Illya, you need to take a look at her.”

“What happened? Did any of the yokai do this or…”

The newly minted Dragon Slayer nodded and confirmed her suspicions. “She Incarnated with the Heroic Spirit of Joan d’Arc and… well, be like that since.”

Heracles was still glaring at Shirou when he spoke. “Haven’t reacted even when people tried to attack her. Luckily her defense seems to be pretty good.” Hearing that, Illya approached the blonde and raised her head to meet her eyes. “You said that she would experience some changes because of her soul but this is a bit…”

“A bit too much.” Georg used a couple of magic circles to begin his own diagnoses. “Everything is in order besides the obvious. Her body is even better than before. How about her synchronization? Is it high?”

Illya bit her lip and shook her head. “Going to check that back in the lab. Fortunately she is the only one with her particular condition so nobody else will have any problems.”

“That is a relief.” Cao Cao managed to smile before his glare returned.

Meanwhile they spoke about Jeanne’s condition, Gilgamesh placed the bottle in his hand. “Drink it or else…”

“Else what?” Shirou challenged. He didn’t want to die but drinking something his sister made for terrorists just didn’t sit well with him.

She was right there, in his reach, yet he no longer had the power to keep her safe. To defy her prophecy in any way that mattered. No matter how much he wished to keep fighting, unless something was done he would be dead in minutes. The best he could hope for was that his death would snap his sister out of her delusions.

To see that she was doing was wrong in some way.

Gilgamesh wasn’t willing to give him the satisfaction not because of old friendships but because Shirou would be the best recipient for the message he wanted delivered meaning refusal wasn’t an option.

Not to him. “Else I am going to slaughter every single soul in Kyoto.” Shirou’s eyes grew wide with horror but Gilgamesh wasn’t done. “I am going to kill every man, woman and child without burning or damaging one single thing. I will keep the barrier up, our Kyoto safe, while painting this one with blood. I will start after you die and I pick one of those yokais, just one. Maybe Setsuna, maybe another.” Fury colored the Mage’s face but he couldn’t do a thing. “Maybe I will wait for her father and ‘Kuro’ to return and kill them too. Just to hammer the point home.”

Everything was stated in the most blunt and cold way possible.

“Make no mistake, I will do it. I will make everybody in this town bleed if you don’t head to my demands. They will all die because you chose to be stubborn. Because you didn’t want to deliver my message… I will teach them pain, show that I am not playing around and then, when they speak, everyone will know my threats are real.”

To the point he almost sounded inhuman and detached. ‘Doesn’t he- Since when did he stop seeing them as people?’ Angelo back in Kuoh sat down and talked with Sirzechs himself. He treated the Maou cordially, same with every other devil. ‘Maybe that is the sort of mentality that one needs to slaughter a people…’

Fact was he was really willing to make good on his threat.

The only reason he didn’t need to was because Shirou knew what he was capable of and had enough experience to deliver his message exactly how Gilgamesh wanted which made him somewhat valuable.

Also, Illya didn’t want him dead and she was required for their plans. “Are you doubting me?” 

“No it is just… Why do all this? That can’t be just fear of a prophecy.. It is…” Hatred but the Mage didn’t say it. Neither he needed to, for the first time the hate was visible in his former friend’s eyes, all masks gone. “What happened to you?”

“... I do only what is necessary for Humanity.”

Something was off for Shirou. “Who hurt you?”

“There is a reason why I am the last descendant of Gilgamesh. The gods feared my line and were not kind.” His hatred grew but something shifted in his gaze. “But I wasn’t the only one. My story is just one of hundreds, thousands, millions. So long the supernatural exists, more will join the pile.”

With visible pain, Shirou’s left hand grabbed the bottle. He tried to move his right to open it but the limb just shook and failed to raise.To not ask for any help he uncorked it with his teeth before chugging the whole thing too fast for anyone to comment.

Cao Cao’s glare grew more intense but Heracles kept him still. “He’s Illya’s brother.” The giant reminded him.

“Hmph. To his luck.” The spearman shook his shoulder and removed the hand. ‘Only means he doesn’t die today.’

Once Shirou finished the bottle he felt his wounds healing and the vertigo assaulting him vanished like a distant memory. Deducing the potion restored his body and blood almost completely, there was still some pain and stiffness. He also noted his reserves of mana were still extremely low.

Basically non-existent.

At least he could stand by himself. “You know that if the Original Gilgamesh didn’t bother killing all the gods, you won’t have that much success either. Those chains are long but if I had to guess, they can only lock down one person at a time.”

“Huhu. What makes you say that? Doesn’t matter. Believe as you will.” The blond said dismissively.

‘Then again, not like they need Enkidu to kill gods. Not with the power of so many Heroic Spirits…’ A glance at Illya revealed that his sister was staring back almost as if begging for them to talk. He couldn’t, not then and there with so many of their victims, her victims, filling the garden. “What is the message?”

Gilgamesh grinned with anticipation. “To all of you who are inhuman, leave Earth to Humanity or else be exterminated.”

Shirou couldn’t believe it. “That is-”

“Simple, direct. Be sure to deliver the message verbatim.”

“Are you all mad?!” The Mage of Swords interrupted, glaring at each terrorist to see if they really were in agreement with what their leader was demanding. “You are picking a fight with the World, Gilgamesh! The World!!”

“It will be worth it. For Humanity, at least.”

“You are completely out of your mind…” Shirou shook his head and tried to poke holes in that outrageous message. “You want them to just get out of Earth? Where are they supposed to go? Space? Not everyone is a god who can survive out there.”

“Hahahahaha! Didn’t those factions develop their own realms? Their own dimensions! Go live there. Earth belongs to Humanity and whoever we deem fit.”

“This way there is no need for war.” Illya added calmly and Shirou looked at his sister in complete disbelief. “Even if not every faction has a realm of their own, they can share.”

“Why not take all vampires into the Underworld, for instance.” Georg suggested with a wave. “There is no Sun there to harm them, besides the artificial ones. And a couple of cities don’t even have those so who cares?”

“This way they won’t prey on Humanity, nevertheless.” Cao Cao added, still glaring.

“See, Shirou. No need for war. They can all leave and we won’t stop them.” Gilgamesh promised before his eyes grew sharper. “Otherwise we will banish them personally and extremely forcefully.”

“Most won’t go for it. They also are of this World. Of Earth!” Shirou pointed out.

“But they are unnatural. Gaia wouldn’t approve. She certainly didn’t in other parallel worlds.” Gilgamesh retorted with a shrug.

“They will fight.”

Heracles punched his own hand. “Then they will die as the inhuman beasts they are.”

“Look around you!” Shirou called out. “Are you all just ignoring the corpses?! The blood and destruction you caused?! The only inhuman beasts here are you all!”

“We are safeguarding Humanity.” Gilgamesh returned with a colder tone than before. “As a whole the yokais didn’t deserve what we imposed on them but it was required. Perhaps I can open an exception and allow them to stay in Kyoto… depending on the circumstances.”

“So what? Are you hoping nobody here will seek revenge on you?!” Shirou asked, his fury returning. If he had just a little more mana he would unleashed Unlimited Blade Works regardless of consequences. “Talk about hypocrisy. You speak about ‘Humanity this’ and ‘Humanity that’ but go around making enemies for everyone.”

“If they start something,” Siegfried took a swing with Balmung, destroying a corpse to his left, “then we will finish it. They should be glad we are giving them a corner to live in…”

“Sieg, please don’t do that again.” Jeanne requested looking at the puddle of blood and gore with pity. “They are already dead. Their bodies did nothing wrong.”

That new meekness was odd to every member of the Hero Faction. “Right, sorry Jeanne.”

“... Even if they were once part of Gaia, the gods don’t belong in our world anymore.” Illya said after a pause. “Most of their temples aren’t about Faith but knowledge. They have their own realms and kingdoms but only over those who already knew about their existence. That is dominion, not godhood.” Her eyes grew firmer, forcing Shirou to acknowledge her will. “Humanity is already beyond them, Shirou. Time for everyone to wake up.”

Closing his eyes, the Mage began reflecting. “... Not every god is evil.” Medusa especially came to mind. “Nor is every human good. You guys are projecting the sins of a few on everyone else.”

It was their turn to see the resolve in his eyes and Gilgamesh couldn't help but think, ‘I should kill him now,’ before shaking his head. ‘No, I already decided, he will be the bearer of my message. Knowing our power will give his words more weight.’

“He can’t be serious.” Cao Cao complained.

“But he is.” Georg commented with amusement before frowning. A particular spell in his ear began shaking violently. “Gilgamesh, most of our secondary forces have retreated or been eliminated. It is a matter of time before the Dog and the Cat hear about what happened to Kyoto.” He smiled, raising his book. “Not that I think they can do anything but you wanted to limit the number of victims a little, didn’t you?”

“We already took too much from this place. We should go.” It was Jeanne’s firm but gentle tone that convinced them. Not because she was right or wrong but because of how she said it.

Illya knew her friend’s original personality would be ready for a fight nor was she that meek or remorseful about what happened with beings like yokais. Previously, in fact, she had been one of the more eager to start that operation, lamenting only for their men who would die and not their victims.

“You have a point.” Gilgamesh turned around and Georg opened a gateway in the air. “Make sure to tell everything that happened here in detail. Make sure they all know how strong we became and that we… are just the beginning.”

A shiver ran the Mage’s back while Siegfried escorted Jeanne. “You know they can wait, right? They are gods and unless you figure out a way to live forever and preserve your soul…” Again he and Illya traded glaces but she didn’t react. “Unless you plan to kill them all, sooner or later you are going to grow old and die. Either that or give up your Humanity that you are so proud of.”

Cao Cao glared at him one last time and passed the gate. “Hahahaha. Don’t worry, don’t worry. We have ways to make things stick the way we want… if push comes to shove.” Heracles looked between Illya and Georg before the latter waved him into the portal. “Just make sure to deliver the message, God Slayer, else I am also taking the name.”

While Shirou knew the terrorist was telling the truth, he also knew there was no way in Heaven or Hell that the gods and most of the beings on Earth would agree to their demands no matter how dangerous Gilgamesh was.

Sure most of them had managed to build dimensions for themselves but Earth was also their home and place of birth. Save a few exceptions even the gods were as much of a part of the planet as Humanity itself. Having another place to go didn’t mean they would want to permanently move or give up their world.

“This is going to start a war. You are about to start a real war. Something we won’t be able to contain. Do you realize any of that? … Do you care?” The Mage of Swords asked, the blond turning around but still in place. “Between prideful gods, stubborn vampires, hell, every creature under the Moon’s light will challenge you. Heroic Spirits or not.”

“Probably.” There was no reason to sugarcoat. “Which is why you better deliver the message really well. You are a God Slayer, Loki’s killer. If you tell them they can’t win-”

“They won’t listen anyway… No, even if they do, they will still fight.” Shirou predicted with certainty and none of the terrorists looked surprised. “You already know all this.”

Laughter erupted from Gilgamesh as he began shaking. “At least when they die, nobody will blame me for not giving them a chance.”

With that the Hero Faction’s leader entered the portal towards their headquarters leaving only Illya and Georg behind. There was no risk since they were keeping taps on Kyoto’s Kings and Shirou was in no condition to do anything.

His sister was in his sight, almost in reach, and looked to be feeling guilty enough that if he managed to grab her then the woman probably wouldn't fight back but the concoction they gave him was her work.

They knew how much it could heal and fix, certainly not enough to make any difference beyond saving his life.

So all Shirou could do was watch as she approached the portal and turned back to him.

For a couple seconds neither member of the Emiya family said anything, just stared at each other. After a time the older sibling's mouth opened once, twice as she tried to say a couple of words but no sound came out.

Illya knew that whatever she said would sound just like an excuse.

Would be an excuse to Shirou.

And none would be enough to justify the death of innocents, neither in the present nor in the future.

For the Mage of Swords was right, war was looming closer and her course was set; Illyasviel von Einzbern was going to fight with the Hero Faction until the end to stop the Extinction she foresaw.

Even if that meant extinguishing every other species except humans under the Sun.

When Shirou understood that, he closed his eyes in disappointment both because of his inability to stop her and what her actions whose consequences would be too much for him and their parents to protect her from.

“Illya, we must move.” Georg interrupted the siblings' contemplation with a cold gaze and colder remark. “There is work to be done.”

“...There is always work…” Illya managed to say before giving Shirou one last look and turning to her ally. “You better be behind me.”

Georg looked between her and Shirou before chuckling. “Right behind you.” He promised and both entered the gate before it closed down.

In that moment Shirou’s legs gave in and he fell on all fours, his breathing erratic and his body falling apart as he took deep breaths while shaking with exhaustion.

“This isn’t over…” Shirou managed to say between breaths, raising to look where the portal was with a determined expression. “I am going to stop you all, whatever it takes.”

Allowing the darkness of the night to envelop him, accepting the lament of those who died in that garden because of his sister’s actions, the Mage of Swords hardened his resolve as a plan took shape in his mind.

Not really a plan in truth but the beginnings of one because if he wasn’t strong enough to defeat Gilgamesh and his allies as he was then he would make something that would. There were paths he could take, options that didn’t involve the Divine which wouldn’t make him vulnerable to Enkidu.

But first he needed to rest. He closed his eyes and laid on the ground to wait for someone to check the temple. During that time he would think, think and plan for his next steps

“I will stop them, I swear it.” Shirou promised the dead as, no matter where he looked as his eyes grew heavy, he only saw corpses. “I swear…’

Despite the morbid atmosphere that took over the destroyed Central Temple, the Mage found himself oddly safe as the devastation was familiar in a sense. It lacked the fire which birthed him but it was similar enough to the place where Kiritsugu found him. Familiar enough he couldn’t help but accept the day was over.

Falling asleep with regrets and anger but still willing to fight.

Not noticing the two figures emerging from the temple, a long haired man carrying a silver haired woman in his arms with much cost. “Well, shit.” Waver couldn’t help but curse upon seeing the devastation and death around him.

But what shocked him the most was the sight of his student on the ground. He panicked and rushed towards the younger man’s side, carefully making sure Yasaka would remain in his arms. Certainly she wouldn’t be really comfortable if she woke up but all things considered he had other priorities.

The number of people who would kill him if Shirou perished was considerable.

Between the Heiress of Gremory and the Magus Killer he knew not who to fear most.

Fortunately the Mage of Swords was still breathing and a quick scan revealed everything was going to be fine after he received proper care. “Uff, at least things are going to slow down for today… Who am I trying to kid? The night is still young.” Laying Yasaka beside his student, the magus brought his hand to his ear to enact a spell. “Rossweisse… Rossweisse… Can you hear me?”

Waver?! Are you alright? Where are you?

“In the Central Temple. Fortunately the Hero Faction let me live… Let us live, the three of us.”

Just three? The Valkyrie’s tone was sorrowful before she asked next. Is Shirou there? Is the fight over?

“Emiya Shirou is alive, so is Yasaka.” He gave her a moment to tell the yokais the news before adding, “Keep this between us but they did something to her. Her life force and energy have dwindled considerably.”

This is a mess- Rossweisse paused, probably speaking with someone else. A group will be there shortly… Waver, be honest… How bad is it?

Looking around the area before letting his eyes rest on Shirou’s defeated figure, Waver released a deep sigh, “Recently a god has been killed…” He gave the Valkyrie a moment to calm down since she had been particularly involved in the incident. “And today… today the god slayer who accomplished such a feat was defeated.”

Rare as it was for a god to die, it stood to reason that a human god killer being defeated was even rarer. In fact that was literally the first time since that had ever happened ever in History. Alive or not, Shirou’s defeat was about to send a powerful message around the moonlit world.

Not even counting on what the Mage would have to say about the incident itself.

“Things are bad and are going to get much, much worse before the end.”

…..