Golden particles vibrated, and the magical energy in the air became scorched by Gilgamesh's fury.
Kirei Kotomine furrowed his brow slightly as he observed the almost pathological restlessness and killing intent in Gilgamesh's eyes.
This was not normal.
"Hold on a moment, King of Heroes."
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes, casting a dangerous glare at Kirei. "Kirei, do you intend to give me orders as well?"
"No, I am merely fulfilling my duties as an ally and an assistant." Kirei bowed slightly, his voice steady and devoid of emotion.
He showed no fear of the king, nor any hint of flattery, simply stating an objective fact. "Perhaps your anger at this moment does not entirely stem from your own will."
"Hah? What is the meaning of this?"
"Do you not find that your fury has arisen rather inexplicably?" Kirei raised his head, looking directly at the king on the verge of rage with his hollow black eyes.
"Neither Saber, nor Lancer, nor even the Berserker who attacked you provoked such an intense emotional reaction."
"Right now, you give me the impression of someone rushing to finish a millennium-old duel, as if... you are going to exact revenge on a long-standing nemesis."
Seeing Kirei Kotomine's serious expression, Gilgamesh let out a short scoff. "Are you saying that my emotions would be swayed by some nameless, lowly rat? Kirei, your joke is not funny in the slightest."
"A nemesis? A grudge? Does a rat hiding in the shadows even deserve to be called my nemesis?! I am simply..."
His words suddenly trailed off.
Gilgamesh subconsciously pressed his fingers against his temples.
'Indeed, why?'
The moment that black-clad figure appeared in his line of sight, an indescribable sense of loathing had surged from the depths of his soul.
It was not merely a simple dislike.
It was an echo of a memory, etched deep within his Saint Graph like a curse.
Countless fragmented images flashed through Gilgamesh's mind:
Uruk swallowed by black mud, desecrated treasures, and... the cold sensation of a black blade exuding an ominous aura piercing his body.
'Wait.'
Gilgamesh's pupils contracted sharply.
'Where did these memories... come from?'
In his great life, in his legend, he had never seen such a black-clad swordsman.
He had never been wounded by such a blade, nor had he ever seen such a tattered black kimono.
These memories were fake.
But that hatred, that urge to tear the other party to pieces and scatter their ashes, was real.
"..."
The red light in Gilgamesh's eyes flickered erratically, and the anger that was about to erupt quickly dissipated for the most part.
The moment Kirei pointed it out, he also realized the abnormality of his own mental state.
"Kirei, connect to Tokiomi."
Gilgamesh abruptly sat back down on the throne constructed from magecraft, his expression terrifyingly dark, like a lion that had discovered it had stumbled into a trap.
"Since you have noticed it, that makes things easier."
Without any unnecessary words, Kirei turned and activated the communication magic circle.
As magical energy was poured in, Tokiomi Tohsaka's slightly anxious voice emerged from the formation.
"Kirei, what happened? I sensed a violent fluctuation in the King's aura just now. Has an enemy invaded?"
"No, Teacher, there are no enemies here. Or rather... the enemy has already completed their attack."
Kirei glanced at the livid Gilgamesh and spoke into the communication circle.
"The King of Heroes was just subjected to a highly covert mental interference."
"Mental interference? Against the King of Heroes, who possesses extremely high Magic Resistance? ...Is it that mysterious Caster?"
"It was not a direct magic attack, Teacher."
Kirei analyzed calmly, "If it were a magic attack, the King's Magic Resistance would have automatically defended against it. But this situation is different. It is more like a subtle influence based on Class characteristics."
"...It was Avenger who made a move."
Following that, Kirei Kotomine reported every detail of the anomaly he had observed to Tokiomi.
Tokiomi fell silent on the other end of the line, followed by the rustling sound of flipping through ancient tomes.
As the head of the Tohsaka family, he was well-read and possessed a vast reservoir of knowledge.
Yet at this moment, he found himself somewhat clueless.
Avenger was a rule-breaking Class summoned by the Einzbern family during the previous Holy Grail War.
Information regarding its specific abilities and characteristics had been jointly destroyed and sealed by the Three Founding Families due to the failure of the Third Holy Grail War, leaving only vague records of an anomalous summoning.
Even though Tokiomi Tohsaka was part of the Three Founding Families, he could not uncover the secrets on his own.
"...I suspect it might be some sort of innate skill." Tokiomi began uncertainly. "Perhaps this Class known as Avenger can turn its own hatred into a source of power, or use it as a bond to anchor both sides..."
"King of Heroes, you have never met this black-clad swordsman, yet you possess clear memories of hatred towards him, correct?"
"Spare me the useless drivel."
"...This might be a form of Cognitive Contamination."
On the other end of the communicator, Tokiomi's expression was grim. "It is not that the King 'remembers' him, but rather that he forcibly implanted the false concept of 'he is the King's enemy' into the King's Saint Graph through a Class Skill."
"As long as you see him, as long as you are aware of his existence, the most primal desire for revenge deep within your heart will be forcibly awakened."
"You will feel that he is the source of all misfortune, a destined nemesis who must be slain by your own hands. Even if you have never met, even if you have absolutely no connection."
*Crack!*
With a crisp sound, the golden goblet in Gilgamesh's hand was crushed into golden powder by sheer force.
"Mongrel...!!"
Gilgamesh ground his teeth audibly.
As prideful as he was, this method was even more unforgivable than a direct provocation.
This was the tampering of one of the King's most precious treasures: [Memories]. It was a desecration of the King's will!
That seemingly unremarkable boy in black, who only knew how to swing a broken sword around, was actually playing such an extremely insidious trick in the shadows?
"Furthermore, this shouldn't be as simple as just affecting cognition. No one has any reason to create an enemy out of thin air for themselves."
Tokiomi's urgent warning came through again. "I suspect that the Avenger's Class Skill causes this malice to continuously erode the Servant's rationality, leading the affected target to fall into madness during combat. In severe cases, it might even damage the Saint Graph."
"Additionally, if driven by this false hatred, once you actually kill him, or believe that you have killed him..."
"The concept of revenge would be fulfilled. And as the executioner, you would very likely be judged as having completed your mission, which would lead to the self-collapse of your Saint Graph, passively eliminating you from the Holy Grail War."
Overthinking the situation, Tokiomi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his wariness toward that seemingly cold, black-clad swordsman rising a few more notches.
'To think he would try to use such a method to drag the strongest King of Heroes down into the mud...'
'What an insidious brat. I was almost fooled by him.'