"Ha-ha~"
Facing Gilgamesh's hostile, bristling demeanor, Leon merely chuckled, completely unconcerned.
The silver ripples that had appeared in the space before him vanished soundlessly after blocking the previous volley.
"What are you laughing at?"
Gilgamesh asked with a deep frown.
"Because there's one thing you've gotten wrong."
Leon smiled as he answered.
"What?"
Gilgamesh was puzzled.
"That is—Archer, King of Heroes, Gilgamesh... you're the challenger."
A contemptuous smile curled across Leon's lips.
He raised one finger toward Gilgamesh and declared in an unbearably arrogant tone:
"What?"
Gilgamesh was stunned at first.
No one had ever dared to be this arrogant in his presence.
But once he recovered from his surprise, his grin stretched viciously, as though he wanted to tear Leon apart with his teeth.
"You mongrel! You actually dare say something like that?!"
BOOM—!
Countless Noble Phantasms, transformed into projectiles, were instantly unleashed by Gilgamesh's overflowing fury.
They surged forward with enough force to obliterate Leon and the "toy" resting in his arms.
Yet—
Leon made no move whatsoever.
With Artoria sitting comfortably in his arms, he simply continued gently stroking her petite body as though he were petting a cat.
But then—
The shadow behind Leon suddenly moved.
It unnaturally stretched forward, against the direction of the light, spreading until it reached the space in front of him.
"TOHSAAAAAKA!!!"
Driven almost completely insane by the influence of the Ebony Blade, Berserker—Matou Kariya—leapt from the shadows.
All the rage he had been unable to vent toward Tokiomi Tohsaka was now unleashed upon the Servant Tokiomi had left behind:
Gilgamesh.
The Vibranium helmet that Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon had previously blasted apart had already been completely repaired.
Berserker swung the Ebony Blade with blinding speed, its movements almost resembling flashes of lightning.
For Leon—the benefactor who had saved Sakura and Aoi Tohsaka and granted Kariya his power—he blocked every Noble Phantasm fired in Leon's direction.
There were simply too many weapons pouring from the Gate of Babylon.
Whenever Berserker could not cut one down in time, he simply used his own body to take the hit head-on.
He refused to give Gilgamesh even the slightest opportunity to disturb Leon's enjoyment—
Or allow so much as a corner of Leon's clothes to be stained.
"So it really is Berserker!"
A flicker of surprise appeared in Gilgamesh's eyes.
It quickly transformed into a contemptuous laugh.
"No... it is that pitiful man, Matou Kariya!"
"Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"So he really did form an alliance with another Master and Servant."
"But I never expected it to be with you, you hypocrite!"
"Saber."
The barrage from the Gate of Babylon temporarily ceased.
Gilgamesh looked toward Leon with undisguised mockery.
"No."
"On second thought, precisely because you are such a hypocrite, it makes perfect sense that you would stoop to associate with someone like him!"
"Are you talking about yourself?"
Leon calmly traced one finger across Artoria's soft, pale-pink lips, which carried the faintest hint of unnatural whiteness.
His demeanor remained completely relaxed.
He simply countered with a question.
"You..."
"TOHSAAAAAKA!!!"
Gilgamesh was just about to retort when Berserker suddenly lunged at him like a rabid hound.
The Ebony Blade in his hand—gripped almost like a mere fire poker—flashed with an astonishingly cold light.
Aside from strengthening its wielder's body and disrupting their mind, the Ebony Blade's greatest characteristic was its sheer sharpness.
Even Vibranium could be pierced by it with ease.
Against Gilgamesh, whose physical body was hardly his greatest strength, its threat was even greater.
As the Ebony Blade rapidly closed in, Gilgamesh unleashed countless weapons from the Gate of Babylon in an attempt to stop Berserker.
But Berserker simply charged through them without the slightest concern for his own life.
His Vibranium armor was already covered in cracks.
Among the countless Noble Phantasms in the Gate of Babylon, there were even weapons specifically capable of countering special defensive metals such as Vibranium.
Yet Berserker had already reached Gilgamesh.
He raised the sword like a cleaver, holding it upright like a staff—
Then brought it crashing straight down!
"You bastard!"
Gilgamesh raised Ea, the Sword of Rupture, to block the attack.
But Berserker's monstrous strength had been enhanced by both the Ebony Blade and Leon's magical energy.
The resulting blow sent Gilgamesh flying hundreds of meters!
His entire body became a golden projectile, extraordinarily conspicuous against the pitch-black night as he was sent hurtling completely beyond the confines of Enzō Mountain.
Of course, Ea, which was on the same level as the Holy Sword of the Star—and perhaps even slightly superior—could not possibly be pierced by the Ebony Blade.
Nor was Gilgamesh's golden armor merely decorative equipment intended to make him look more imposing.
Berserker's surprise attack had inflicted virtually no damage on Gilgamesh.
But the humiliation was immense.
The instant Gilgamesh left the restricted area surrounding Enzō Mountain, he abruptly halted himself in midair.
Vimana was summoned beneath him, hovering in the sky.
However, Gilgamesh did not use Vimana as support to remain airborne.
Instead, he twisted his body in midair.
And then—
He simply stopped.
Suspended in the sky entirely under his own power.
Indeed.
Just as he had demonstrated earlier with his teleportation Noble Phantasm, Gilgamesh could stand proudly in the heavens without relying on an external object like Vimana, which was almost cumbersome by comparison.
After all, he possessed one-third human blood and two-thirds divine blood.
He was already somewhat removed from the realm of "humanity."
And much closer to that of a "god."
Combined with the Gate of Babylon, which possessed the original forms of virtually every Noble Phantasm in the world;
Ea, the Sword of Rupture, an Anti-World Noble Phantasm whose supreme power could sever the layers of the world and destroy the myriad phenomena of creation;
And Sha Naqba Imuru, the clairvoyant Noble Phantasm representing the Archer Class's Clairvoyance and a candidate for the Grand rank—
The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, was the perfect "Hero" created by the ancient gods to suppress the development of humanity.
Even if he was not truly omniscient and omnipotent—
He was not far from it.
The emerald-adorned golden flying ship automatically moved beneath the floating Gilgamesh.
He lightly touched down with his foot and gracefully descended onto Vimana's golden platform.
Yet completely contrary to his elegant landing, his expression was now one of uncontrollable fury.
"You insignificant mongrel!"
"How dare you overstep your station!"
Berserker had interrupted him again and again, repeatedly preventing him from unleashing his full power.
Gilgamesh raised Ea, the Sword of Rupture high into the air.
A crimson spiral of wind pressure, powerful enough to tear the world apart, began to whirl violently around the blade.
He was about to crush Berserker with a single strike.
But then—
His extraordinary eyesight caught sight of the Golden Holy Grail, suspended within Ryūdō Temple and supported by the Azure-rainbow Shield.
Gilgamesh's reason instantly returned.
He angrily swung Ea aside, dispelling the spiraling energy that had been gathering around the blade.
Then Vimana's deck transformed.
Its sides unfolded outward.
The ship's solar-powered main cannon began gathering an enormous amount of radiant energy.
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