While Archer Gilgamesh was busy trading blows with Tsutsumi inside the domain, another part of that same space remained calm, almost quiet, as if it existed separately from the chaos.
"My younger self really planned to do something that foolish, huh?"
Seated on his throne, the Wise King, Caster Gilgamesh, rested his chin lightly against his hand and let out a small sigh, clearly unimpressed. His crimson eyes held none of the explosive arrogance of his Archer counterpart, only a steady, measured disappointment.
Tsutsumi stood beside the throne, leaning back against it with his arms crossed, as if this was just another casual stop in his day.
Benevolent Shrine, the domain he had taken from Itadori Yuji. Unlike the violent domain of the King of Curses, this one felt controlled, more precise, and peaceful. It didn't just attack the body; it can target the soul itself. When Tsutsumi activated it, he hadn't aimed at just the version of Gilgamesh in front of him. He targeted the Spirit Origin directly, and that meant every aspect of Gilgamesh tied to it.
That included Archer, Caster, and even the younger version of the King.
"This really is annoying..." Caster Gilgamesh said, glancing sideways at him, "Can you do me a favor?"
"Ask away." Tsutsumi replied without much interest.
In another part of the domain, Kid Gil stood on a swing, lazily rocking back and forth. He looked far more relaxed than either of his other selves, though the sharpness in his eyes made it clear he was still the same person at the core.
"Then can you do me a favor?" Kid Gil said, pushing himself higher before letting the swing drift back. "Beat some sense into that version of me."
Caster Gilgamesh gave a quiet hum. "We are meant to guide humanity to walk forward on their own. Not to return and impose ourselves on them again."
Kid Gil hopped off the swing, landing lightly. "What my older self is doing is just unnecessary. And it goes against everything we once believed in, that humanity can walk on its own."
"Even if the world now looks like waste compared to my time, I did my part; the death shouldn't rule over the living." Caster Gilgamesh said, his gaze hardened.
Even though they were separated from within the domain, their words aligned perfectly. Different versions, same conclusion.
…
Outside the domain, the situation was far less quiet.
Artoria stood with her gaze fixed on the condensed black sphere hovering in front of her. It didn't look particularly large, but she knew whatever was happening inside wasn't simple. She could feel it, even without understanding the exact mechanics behind it.
She already knew her Master had a lot of strange abilities. At this point, she had stopped trying to categorize them.
"I suggest you all should leave," she said calmly, tilting her head slightly as if she had just noticed something obvious. "If you aren't going to do anything besides watching."
"Yo. Long time no see, Saber."
Lancer appeared first, stepping out of his spiritual form with his spear resting casually on his shoulder. He looked relaxed, but his eyes were already assessing the situation.
"Oh my… this is quite the gathering."
Caster followed, floating slightly above the ground with a composed smile, while Assassin emerged behind her without a sound. One by one, the rest appeared as well. Rider, Berserker, and Archer, each taking their place without any need for introduction.
Artoria's gaze moved across them.
"All seven Servants in one place," she said. "This doesn't happen often."
Caster raised her hand slightly, her tone smooth as she spoke. "Saber, why not switch sides?"
Artoria didn't respond immediately, so Caster continued.
"Your Master is clearly an irregularity in this war. You've seen it yourself. No ordinary human should be able to deal with Servants the way he does."
Her smile didn't change.
"And from what I can tell, your relationship with him isn't exactly ideal either. You've clashed more than once now. So why not make a practical choice? Join us instead."
There was a pause, just long enough for the implication to settle.
"It would be better than being overwhelmed by six Servants at once."
Artoria exhaled slowly, her grip tightening slightly around her sword.
"Do you really think," she said, her voice steady, "that you can threaten me?"
The invisible wind around her blade burst outward, dispersing in an instant as the golden light of Excalibur revealed itself fully. The glow illuminated the area, casting long shadows across the ground.
"It's true," she continued, "I don't like him. And he doesn't like me either."
Her stance didn't change.
"But that doesn't mean I'd stab him in the back just to win."
Her turquoise eyes sharpened as she looked directly at them.
"The only one who is allowed to kill my Master..." she said, "Is me."
There was no hesitation in her tone.
After saying that, Lancer and Berserker stepped forward at the same time, the ground beneath their feet bursting apart as they charged straight toward Artoria without any hesitation.
The golden light of her holy sword shined brighter as she tightened her grip.
"Excalibur!"
With a single decisive swing, she released her Noble Phantasm immediately, the beam of light cutting straight into both of them. Lancer and Berserker were sent flying back without any resistance, crashing through the nearby treeline as the path behind them was torn apart by the force.
Artoria lowered her blade slightly and looked down at her own hand, feeling the steady flow of magic energy continuing to pour into her without interruption. There was no strain, no drop, it simply kept refilling as fast as she used it.
"He really doesn't view me as a threat, huh," she muttered to herself, clicking her tongue once in mild annoyance as the energy gathered again almost instantly.
Before the others could react, Assassin moved in from behind, his steps light and precise, while at the same time multiple magic circles formed in the air as Caster had already prepared her spells.
Artoria didn't turn fully, she simply raised her blade again.
"Excalibur!"
She spun and released another clean strike, the arc of light cutting Assassin down mid-approach while also wiping out Caster's incoming attacks before they could even reach her. The area in front of her cleared out in an instant, leaving only fading traces of magic.
"That's… impossible," Rider muttered, watching from a distance.
In a normal Grail War, a Noble Phantasm was something you held onto, used at the right moment, not something you repeated without pause. What Artoria was doing didn't follow that logic at all.
"Excalibur!"
Another blast followed, just as steady as the first. Then another not long after.
She wasn't rushing, and she wasn't forcing it. Each release was controlled, consistent, and backed by the same overwhelming supply of energy being fed into her.
The park around them was steadily turning into a ruined field of broken ground and burning marks, lit repeatedly by the flashes of golden light. Lancer had already been taken out of the fight, Assassin was gone, Caster was heavily injured and struggling to maintain form, Rider was forced on the defensive, and even Berserker had already lost multiple lives trying to endure the repeated blasts.
It wasn't that they were weak. It was simply that she wasn't being limited.
By the time the remaining Servants started considering retreat, the black sphere nearby began to crack. Fine fractures spread across its surface before it shattered completely, breaking apart into fragments of cursed energy that dissolved into the air.
Tsutsumi and Gilgamesh were released from the domain.
Gilgamesh wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his expression clearly irritated as he looked at Tsutsumi. "You bastard… You actually aimed for my face."
"If that bothers you, wear a helmet," Tsutsumi replied without any change in tone.
There was faint steam rising off his body, his circuits having been pushed repeatedly past their limit and then restored again and again.
His magic circuits have been completely burned by Artoria's continuous use of spamming Excalibur repeatedly. Still, each time they got burned, he instinctively used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal his burned circuits.
Which instantly fixed them, and recovered them to full, letting Artoria draw magic energy from them once more to spam her Excalibur. With each time his magic circuits are fully used and healed, they strengthen and grow stronger.
Like how muscles grow stronger over time.
They accidentally created a loop that assisted each other.
Artoria glanced at Gilgamesh for a moment and then added, "Huh, that is a good look on you."
Although he was complimented by the girl he was interested in, the King of Heroes could see clearly that she was mocking him. Which only intensified his anger and hatred for the man standing before him.
"What the, since when did they all get here?" Tsutsumi murmurs.
Tsutsumi's attention shifted away from him almost immediately as he noticed the rest of the Servants scattered around the ruined park. Most of them were already injured, and their Masters were starting to pull back, clearly deciding that staying any longer wasn't worth it.
He raised two fingers casually and uttered a single word.
"Dismantle."
There was no buildup or warning. Invisible cuts moved through the space in front of him instantly. Artoria adjusted her stance slightly and blocked one aimed at her neck without looking surprised. The others didn't react in time. Rider and Caster got chopped to pieces where they stood, and the boy hiding behind a tree with blue seawheel-like hair was already falling apart in chunks. Archer managed to shield his Master partially, but still lost both arms and a leg in the process. Berserker dropped to one knee, his body taking the brunt of the damage to keep Illya behind him safe.
Tsutsumi pulls out two new cards that have appeared in his pocket after killing two servants. He then put the cards back into his pockets before turning away from Gilgamesh.
"Artoria, beat up this Golden Simp for me, I'm gonna take out the trash."
"You-" Gilgamesh roared in anger, but Artoria had already moved. Excalibur in hand, the bright, brilliant light roared out as she swung it at him, forcing the King of Heroes to move back, summoning multiple of his defensive treasures to protect against her attack.
Tsutsumi shifted his gaze toward the injured Archer and Berserker.
Tsutsumi walked forward at an unhurried pace, stopping in front of Archer and his Master. Archer's body was stabilizing thanks to his Master's magical energy, but he didn't get the chance to act. Tsutsumi brought his hands together once, using Boogie Woogie to switch places with Archer, appearing directly in front of the black-haired twin-tailed Master. He then placed his palm directly on Tohsaka Rin's face.
"Nothing personal, you just reminded me a lot of someone." He said, his voice cold as he pushed the memory into the back of his mind.
"Cleave."
Her entire body fell apart right in front of him as he pulled his hands away from her remains.
With his master killed, Archer could only rely on his Independent Action to stabilize his existence in this world. Yet before he could make a move, Tsutsumi drew a card and placed it in his Driver.
Attack Ride: Mon3tr!
The crystalline creature formed behind him and moved forward on its own, engaging Archer and began tearing him to pieces as Tsutsumi walked away without looking back.
By the time he reached Berserker and Illya, Berserker had already forced himself back up, placing himself in front of her again.
Tsutsumi stopped a short distance away.
"Yo, long time no see… sister," he said in a casual tone.
Yet to Illya, it feels more like a devil whisper than anything.
Berserker clenched his teeth, stood up, and stood protectively in front of Illya.
Tsutsumi brought his palms together.
"Open."
He slowly pulled them apart, forming a concentrated flame between his hands, shaped like a blazing arrow.
After using Dismantle and Cleave, he has unlocked the condition to unleash Divine Flame.
"Illya, perhaps in another world, we can be true family instead of enemies," he said without changing his tone.
Then he released it.
The flame shot forward and expanded on impact, creating a pillar of fire as Berserker took the full force of the attack, using his body to shield Illya as the explosion rose upward and lit the sky.
Still, even with his remaining life and desperate attempt, he could only look down at the little girl in his arms, being burned away by the intense flame as he was unable to fully cover her.
"It's okay... thanks you... for everything, Berserker." She said with a gentle smile, as she burned away in his arms. With her killed, Berserker could only let out a painful cry inside the massive pillar of flame before his body faded away in golden motes of light.