For Gilgamesh, the last time he had been forced into a desperate struggle of close-quarters melee and white-knuckle blade work was during his mortal life, when he and Enkidu set out to subjugate Humbaba—or perhaps some other time buried in the depths of his memory.
He didn't exactly have the luxury to dwell on the past right now.
Without the Vimana, he couldn't match Ludwig's flight speed. However, Ludwig had no intention of letting him off the hook; he didn't know if that flying vessel could be repaired, or if the golden Heroic Spirit had other similar treasures tucked away in his vault.
That being said, once the battle shifted from a high-speed pursuit to a war of attrition in a fixed position, Gilgamesh opened a dense array of treasure portals around himself. He unleashed a continuous, all-directional barrage of Noble Phantasms, forcing Ludwig to keep his distance. In terms of raw firepower, such a concentrated assault was indeed troublesome. The closer one got, the more dangerous it became.
The aerial stalemate lasted from the afternoon through the golden hues of dusk and finally into the deep black of night. Above the clouds, the cold, clear moonlight illuminated the heavens, yet it paled in comparison to the radiance of the countless golden portals.
Ludwig maintained his altitude and speed, weaving through the relentless rain of treasures. He flexed his hands, feeling the magical amplification from Merlin's magecraft still going strong. Despite her flighty, whimsical nature and the fact that she had caused this mess in the first place, her commitment to the "aftercare" was surprisingly proactive.
Still, if this futile exchange continued, one side would eventually collapse from exhaustion. Ludwig didn't want to be the one to drop first. He honestly hadn't expected Gilgamesh to possess such a bottomless reservoir of firepower.
"What's wrong? Is this the extent of your capability? Or did destroying my throne take everything you had!"
Gilgamesh was currently feeling more ecstasy than anger. Regardless of the Holy Grail War, he was not about to let this outsider go. Besides, if the brat that "Succubus" took a liking to were to die, her reaction would likely be quite entertaining.
"...In that case, let me show you the true power of 'Magic Sword: The World'."
Ludwig's voice was cold as he raised the sword in his hand. Once again, the blade began to transform. Unlike the gargantuan sword from before, the Magic Sword's new form was more primitive and rugged, looking as though it had been hewn from a single block of azure ore and given only the barest of polishing.
His target wasn't a massive object like a cross, nor was he aiming for a surprise wide-range slash, so he didn't need the immense size.
As the Magic Sword emitted a powerful pulse, the surrounding space began to tremble. Without warning, Ludwig gripped the sword with both hands and lunged at Gilgamesh. Even the Noble Phantasms that met him head-on were torn apart by an eerie force the moment they touched him, dissolving into magical dust that was absorbed into the blade's surface.
Gilgamesh's pupils constricted.
Then, azure and golden light collided in the heavens, tearing through the clouds and whipping up a localized hurricane. The clouds completely blotted out the moonlight over Fuyuki City as lightning crackled and the winds roared.
Meanwhile, at the Mion River warehouse district in Fuyuki.
The battle between Saber and Lancer had been interrupted. After Lancer used a tactical feint to disable one of Saber's arms, Rider had charged into the battlefield on his ox-drawn chariot, accompanied by his Master, effectively halting the duel.
Just as Rider issued a booming declaration for the other hidden Servants to show themselves, the sudden darkening of the starry night took everyone by surprise. Both the Servants in the open and the Masters hiding in the shadows were stunned.
Throughout the day, the various Master-Servant pairs patrolling or attempting to provoke a fight had sensed faint magical energy signatures in the sky. However, lacking flight capabilities, they had been forced to temporarily ignore it. Rider, the only one who could fly via his Noble Phantasm, couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the energy and chose not to give chase, as there were other Servants to keep an eye on.
But now, they could all feel it. High in the sky, nearly ten thousand meters up, that flickering magical presence was rapidly expanding before exploding in a single instant.
The shockwave originated from the stratosphere. Blinding flashes of lightning illuminated the night for a split second, followed by a gale that swept down toward the earth. The thick clouds were forcibly torn apart, leaving a swirling, vortex-like hole that revealed the brilliant stars and the moon above.
As the light faded, everyone stared at the sky in shock, momentarily forgetting the tense standoff on the ground. From the center of the magical impact, they saw two meteors plummeting toward the earth at terminal velocity.
The golden meteor was slightly slower, while the azure one was much faster, looking as though it would strike the warehouse district in an instant. Realizing he was closest to the impact point, Rider frantically snapped his reins, pulling his chariot away.
The moment the ox-cart surged clear, the azure meteor slammed into the ground, shattering the reinforced concrete and creating a crater over ten meters in diameter. Thick smoke and a violent wind gusted outward, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. Saber moved quickly to protect her Master.
"What happened?!" Rider's Master, Waver Velvet, shrieked in terror.
The more composed Servants turned their gaze elsewhere. The golden meteor landed somewhat more gracefully atop a streetlight at the end of the road, though the landing was clearly strained.
The Servant clad in golden armor was clutching his side, where blood was gushing out. A deep, long wound was visible even where his hand tried to staunch the flow, staining his golden gauntlets crimson. Cold sweat beaded on Gilgamesh's forehead as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"You've got some skill, brat."
His words were clearly not directed at any of the Servants present, but at the azure meteor that had fallen with him.
Just as the observers assumed this might be a mutually destructive stalemate, a tall, white-haired youth stood up calmly amidst the dissipating smoke. The youth unhurriedly brushed the dust off his jacket and trousers before slowly walking out of the crater up the jagged slope, appearing before everyone.
He coughed twice and waved his hand to clear the drifting soot from his face.
"I was going to say the same to you," Ludwig said, squinting at Gilgamesh.
He had expected his final strike to be lethal, but at the critical moment of their clash, Gilgamesh had pulled out a strange, cylindrical treasure—perhaps it should be called a sword—with a rotating blade that released a massive pressure of wind, negating his attack.
That treasure hadn't even released its true power; the sheer wind pressure from a desperate counter-strike was enough to prevent Ludwig from landing a killing blow. He couldn't help but feel he had underestimated his opponent slightly. That sword was on an entirely different level from the other treasures he had seen.
"The number of people who can wound this King can be counted on one hand. Consider this my praise and accept it with gratitude," Gilgamesh remarked, his arrogant and overbearing attitude unchanged despite the cold sweat.
Had he not considered Merlin's presence and retrieved Ea from the depths of his treasury beforehand, keeping it within arm's reach, the Heroic King would have been cut in half by Ludwig's strike just now.
The eyes of every Servant and Master converged on them. Ludwig and Gilgamesh remained locked in a standoff.
In the next moment, black magical energy began to coalesce on one side of the road, slowly rising and forming into a blurred, armored figure.
"Is that... Berserker?"
Waver, utilizing the status-seeing privilege granted to Masters by the Grail, recognized the Class of the figure.
Berserker had also arrived.
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