Gilgamesh was, without a doubt, the strongest Servant.
His power was beyond that of ordinary Servants.
It was just that Sora, having recently arrived in the Nasuverse, lacked a foundation.
He was currently manifesting primarily as a 'Servant'.
Otherwise, Gilgamesh wouldn't be his match.
Sora continued to use various abilities of the Tenseigan, engaging Gilgamesh in fierce combat.
"Shinra Tensei!"
He directly shattered another one of Gilgamesh's lethal Noble Phantasms to the ground!
"Bansho Ten'in!"
At a critical moment, he pulled away a Noble Phantasm aimed at Irisviel's hiding spot!
"Impossible!" Gilgamesh was enraged.
"Which Heroic Spirit from history are you? Why have I never heard of such abilities!"
"Heh, there are countless Heroic Spirits. I am one from another world. How could you possibly know?"
Gilgamesh fell silent.
At that moment,
On the other side,
Kiritsugu searched the area around the valley but couldn't find Tokiomi.
"No, a Servant must be near their Master. That means Tokiomi is also close to the Servant."
"Unless... Gilgamesh can act independently?" Kiritsugu guessed the truth.
Gilgamesh possessed the Noble Phantasm [Gate of Babylon], which contained a special treasure that granted him [Independent Action]. Similar to the sword Merlín had given Sora earlier, it could store a Master's magical energy for the Servant to use.
This was essentially cheating for other Servants.
And Tokiomi had other means too, like Kirei and his Servant assisting him.
No wonder he had boasted from the start that this was a 'certain victory'.
He just never imagined that his loyal disciple would be corrupted by his own Servant, Gilgamesh, and awaken his 'pleasure-seeking' nature.
In the end, Kirei would kill his teacher for no logical reason or gain, simply for his own 'pleasure'.
Kiritsugu then realized Tokiomi must be in the safest place possible.
Naturally, that was the Tohsaka Residence!
The Tohsaka Family was one of the three great aristocratic families, with strict defenses.
Movies, anime, and manga couldn't fully depict it because it would require drawing too many people.
As one of the founding families of the Holy Grail system, they wouldn't just have a handful of people.
It's just that magi valued [Mystery]… fewer people allowed them to monopolize its rules.
The true direct line might consist of only two or three individuals.
But ordinary guards, armed security, there were actually quite a few.
After all, they were great nobles and magi… making money was easy for them.
Having deduced this, Kiritsugu acted immediately.
After all, their main guardian, Gilgamesh, was being occupied by those two strange Servants.
Kiritsugu infiltrated Tokiomi's villa.
There were, of course, many guards.
But compared to Kiritsugu, the [Magus Killer], they were far outmatched.
At that moment, Tokiomi was pacing in his study.
"Damn it!"
He cursed, furious because things had spiraled completely out of his control!
He had believed he had paved the way for victory in this Holy Grail War.
The overseer was his man, and his disciple also had a Servant who could secretly assist him.
But then that damned Assassin had stabbed Kirei in the back!
"That Assassin actually betrayed Kirei!"
"Assassins are truly despicable!"
"They're nothing but bugs in the gutter!"
"He killed my disciple, my loyal disciple!"
At this moment, Tokiomi had no idea...
If not for Sora, he would have already died at his loyal disciple's hands.
Fundamentally, the three founding families were not good people.
They created the Holy Grail system to satisfy their own selfish desires.
Due to disputes over the spoils, they could only make a wish once every sixty years, and none were willing to concede, leading to the brutal Holy Grail War.
Now, emotional and irrational, Tokiomi had forgotten the rationality and vigilance expected of a magus.
Kiritsugu, having eavesdropped and located Tokiomi in his study, was hiding at a distance, pleased.
He calmed his nerves and set up his sniper rifle.
He aimed directly at the man and fired!
But his target wasn't to kill Tokiomi, but to control him and force his Servant, Gilgamesh, to commit suicide.
If he merely killed Tokiomi, a Servant as powerful as Gilgamesh could quickly find a new Master.
So he aimed for the abdomen, not the head.
The bullet flew towards the enraged Tokiomi.
How could Tokiomi, having lost his composure, possibly counter the protagonist-like Magus Killer, Kiritsugu?
The bullet pierced the window and headed for Tokiomi's stomach.
At the last moment, Tokiomi barely managed to conjure a ball of flame, desperately trying to block the bullet.
But this bullet was a magic bullet crafted from Kiritsugu's own ribs!