After striking its target, Gáe Bolg automatically returned to Lancer's hand. He dropped down from midair, gazing at Zenith from a distance.
"Well, don't look at me. I'm just following orders."
Lancer made it clear he had no desire to fight Zenith. As the saying went: every generation's Lancer was a god, but every generation's Lancer was cursed with the wrong Master. Having a scumbag like Kirei Kotomine for a Master left him feeling utterly helpless.
To the magi participating in the Holy Grail War, Heroic Spirits were mere tools. If a tool developed a rebellious consciousness, it would be restrained using Command Spells.
Under normal circumstances, Heroic Spirits had absolutely no ability to resist this. Under the absolute power of a Command Spell, even an order to commit suicide had to be obeyed.
Zenith didn't really care, since he had already saved the person he needed to, but Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka were not about to let this go.
One was a genius magus who had inherited the Tohsaka family's Magic Circuits, and the other was the predecessor of a Heroic Spirit whose strength was growing by the day thanks to EMIYA's special training. The two flanked him from the left and right, swiftly charging at Lancer.
Rin opened with a barrage of Gandr shots to seal off his escape routes, followed immediately by the Tohsaka family's proud Jewel Magecraft.
Jewel Magecraft was the art of storing mana inside gemstones during peacetime and unleashing it during battle. Although these gems weren't necessarily destroyed after a single use, Rin Tohsaka's combat style typically involved treating them as disposable bombs.
It was a ridiculously expensive way to fight. The various flawless gems Zenith had given her were all produced in Minecraft, boasting incredibly high quality that consequently maximized the destructive power of her Jewel Magecraft.
A blinding array of colorful, explosive special effects detonated all around Lancer. At the same time, Shirou Emiya finished preparing his Projection Magecraft.
Constructing and simulating weapons from memory as projections—this was the magecraft shared by Shirou and EMIYA. However, as a Stand User, Shirou Emiya had taken Projection Magecraft to a whole new level.
"Trace, on!"
Shirou had two preferred projections. One was EMIYA's twin blades, Kanshou and Bakuya, which had the best affinity with him. The other was Zenith's Netherite Sword.
Over a dozen swords materialized and floated around Shirou. Immediately after, he called out his power.
"Stand power — Gold Experience!"
The Stand manifested beside Shirou and unleashed a high-speed barrage of punches upon the projected weapons. Gold Experience could imbue lifeless objects with life, and projected blades were naturally no exception.
These weapons transformed into flying falcons, their sharp talons formed from the very blades of the swords!
As Rin continued her assault, she rejoiced inwardly. *'Shirou really is a genius. As expected of the man I like.'* However, she would never admit such a thing out loud.
"Don't dawdle, Shirou! Attack!"
Lancer's spearmanship was skilled enough to clash evenly with Saber, but even so, he found himself struggling to fend off their combined assault.
Risking bodily injury, he finally managed to break away from the skirmish, though not before a falcon's blade-like talon sliced a bloody gash across his cheek. If he kept fighting, he was going to die here. Zenith and EMIYA were both watching like hawks from the sidelines; if either of them joined the fray, he would be finished in an instant.
To think Shirou Emiya had mastered an ability so similar to summoning familiars. Lancer gripped his spear tightly and assumed a throwing stance. "Then how will you block this—Gáe Bolg!!"
It was an alternate attack mode that discarded the causality-reversing effect of piercing the heart in exchange for a massive increase in area of effect and destructive power. It was the perfect countermeasure to resolve his current predicament.
It was the classic matchup: Rho Aias defending against the soaring spear of death. Using a human body to block a fully unleashed Noble Phantasm was simply too reckless, prompting EMIYA to step forward and help.
With that, Zenith suddenly found himself with nothing to do. Sakura Matou's injuries had already healed, and as a magus, she possessed her own combat capabilities and didn't need his protection.
Everyone else had their own opponents to deal with as well.
*'Looks like I'll just have to go play with Kirei then.'* Was this the price of being an Ally of Justice? Villains could spam their skills without caring about the area of effect or whether innocent bystanders got caught in the crossfire, but champions of justice were always severely restricted when fighting in the middle of a city.
*'I could have just opened with my ultimate and one-shot them, but instead it's turned into this massive hassle.'*
Zenith flew into the air and easily spotted Kirei Kotomine, who had dropped his concealment magecraft. Standing beside him was a blonde, red-eyed young man dressed in casual black sportswear.
"It seems he didn't follow your script. He came straight for us," Gilgamesh said, crossing his arms with a displeased expression.
"Furthermore, who gave you permission to look down upon me from the sky?!"
Gilgamesh was the oldest of kings, and also the most arrogant and conceited of them all.
"A mere mongrel dares to act like a king and call himself the Zenith! How utterly shameless!"
A golden curtain of light materialized behind Gilgamesh, connecting to the Gate of Babylon, which housed the prototypes of all Noble Phantasms. Every single projectile fired from that glowing portal was a Noble Phantasm. In terms of sheer individual power, he was completely overpowered.
Raising a shield to block the attack, Zenith landed on the ground completely unscathed. "Call me a mongrel one more time, and I'll shove your head so far up your ass, you won't believe it."
Kirei Kotomine silently took a step back. He had a strong premonition that Gilgamesh was about to explode with rage. Bringing Gilgamesh along seemed to have been a terrible mistake; he hadn't expected Zenith to have such a foul mouth.
Sure enough, Gilgamesh's face instantly darkened. Already displeased with Zenith's behavior, he decided it was time to get serious.
With a wave of his hand, an endless expanse of golden portals blotted out the sky. Swords, spears, halberds, axes, and hooks—every weapon that had ever left a name or legend in human history could be found right here.
"One who insults the King, one who disrespects the King, and one who dares to bear a kingly title—your crimes warrant a thousand deaths!"
Zenith snapped his fingers, silently accelerating time. *'Give him an inch and he takes a mile. Setting up such a massive formation—is he trying to demolish the whole city? I thought the Holy Grail War was supposed to be conducted in secret.'*
After a moment of thought, Zenith first grabbed Kirei Kotomine, who was preparing to slip away. Treating him like a giant doll, he forcefully posed Kirei into a princess carry stance.
As for Gilgamesh, the guy was undeniably handsome, but his mouth was absolute trash, always calling people mongrels at the drop of a hat.
*'Since you're a king, you must be royalty. Princesses are also royalty. So, rounding it out, you're basically a princess.'* Without a second thought, Zenith manhandled Gilgamesh and stuffed him right into Kirei Kotomine's waiting arms.
"Perfect. Now, time resumes."
The air fell dead silent. When Kirei Kotomine snapped back to reality, he found himself holding Gilgamesh in an incredibly intimate pose. And the oldest of kings was visibly turning red with boiling rage.
"What just happened...? In an instant—no, in less than an instant, my position was changed."
His mind raced as he tried to process the situation. A moment later, he suddenly looked up, locking eyes with Kirei Kotomine, who was mere inches away. "Take your filthy paws off me and put me down."
*'I'm dead. I'm so dead.'*
Kirei Kotomine didn't fear death, but if he were killed by Gilgamesh over something like this, he wouldn't be able to rest in peace even as a ghost.
"It was time. Only the power of time could affect me without my notice."
As expected of Gilgamesh and his omniscient power. His Noble Phantasm, Sha Naqba Imuru, was constantly active as a passive ability, granting him the power to see through all creation.
"The Second, or perhaps the Fifth True Magic? It seems your self-proclaimed title of Magician wasn't just empty boasting. Since you wield the power of time, I shall acknowledge your title as a king."
However, the method was far too despicable. Gilgamesh had never suffered such humiliation in his life. To think that the dignified, oldest of kings had been dumped into the arms of another man.
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