In the sky, Dante could be seen with his black wings and half his body covered in wounds, some more severe than others, staring down Gilgamesh, who held Ea atop the Vimana, showing no fear of his opponent.
Several portals opened behind the King of Heroes, only to be destroyed in a single second by a barrage of spectral energy swords.
"What?" Gilgamesh exclaimed, moving the Vimana to dodge Dante's scythe attack.
"Now you escape, King of Cowards," Dante mocked, launching a series of energy attacks.
"Don't get cocky, you damned dog!" Gilgamesh roared, spinning Ea's cylinders to destroy Dante's attack.
Our protagonist watched as this attack not only nullified his own but also tore a small section of the barrier.
Meanwhile, the others watched as the runes on the ground cracked, causing panic among them. Fortunately, being there, they could try to repair it or at least prevent the barrier from breaking further.
Dante, sensing the enclosed field and the cracks that had appeared within it, slowed down to think. He had to do something, and if he did, it had to be swift, because if he let Gilgamesh use the Ea without any trouble, he would end up destroying the enclosed field.
Multiple golden swords flew toward Dante, but he deflected them one by one with great speed, sending them plummeting into the darkness, swallowed by the void.
Dante's hand was filled with darkness, and one of those swords reappeared.
"A fine sword. I see it has anti-immortal characteristics," Dante commented, using the all-seeing eyes of God.
Gilgamesh said nothing, but his eyes twitched violently. Another barrage of weapons rained down on Dante, but from the darkness above, several swords similar to the one launched earlier flew out, destroying each other.
The King of Heroes clicked his tongue to intercept the swords in Gilgamesh's arsenal with his Gate of Babylon, but Dante's darkness evaded the attack.
"But that's not all," Dante declared, using all his speed to strike Gilgamesh.
Dante dodged the weapons with relative ease, but the closer he got, the more difficult it became.
Gilgamesh spun Ea around and launched an attack, but Dante used Geppo to evade it, leaving him at the perfect distance to strike.
With a vertical slash, he attempted to kill the King of Heroes, but two swords appeared and stopped the attack. However, with Dante's strength and Haki, the swords shattered.
The ancient ruler took a step back, dodging the slash, but Dante spun around and delivered a direct kick to his chest, slamming him against the throne of the vimana, causing him to vomit blood.
In response, Gilgamesh aimed Ea and fired a blast of atmospheric pressure that Dante couldn't dodge due to their proximity, sending him flying and injuring him moderately.
Dante managed to regain his balance in the air, but he wasn't concerned about his injuries. Instead, he was preoccupied with how each attack from Ea was gradually distorting and destroying the enclosed space. From now on, he would have to prevent Gilgamesh from using the weapon as little as possible.
...
Echigo's numerous soldiers charged at Kirei's many familiars and clones, desperately seeking to serve their commander. However, as expected, they only served as a distraction, allowing Shirou and Rider to gain the upper hand.
Shirou, wielding his gem sword with incredible speed, unleashed a flurry of slashes, obliterating countless Hollows and clearing the battlefield.
Rider, with a single swing of her sword, could erase any clone or Hollow that appeared, but there was a catch: it was incredibly slow.
Her Noble Phantasm was short-lived, leaving her vulnerable after its use. She needed, at the very least, to summon the original Kirei so Shirou could deal with him, or at least keep him occupied while she recovered.
"There's no other way; using so many Heroic Treasures so frequently and with such power will leave my Saint Graph very vulnerable, but if I don't, we won't be able to advance," Rider concluded with a whistle.
A horse in dragon-like armor burst through a wall, radiating golden light and charging toward Rider.
Rider leaped onto its back and activated his two remaining Noble Phantasms consecutively, targeting Kirei.
A golden, dragon-shaped trail swept across the battlefield, destroying the clones in seconds.
When only one Kirei remained, Rider charged at full speed to destroy him, but to his surprise, Kirei defended himself, proving to be the original.
Kirei, covering his hands in the mud of the Holy Grail, stopped the attack head-on; he attempted to corrupt him as well, and luckily for him, it was working.
"What the...?" she exclaimed, not only because Kirei had managed to stop her, but also because her trail of light was beginning to distort, turning the gold into a sinister black.
"You may be a divine spirit now, but within the rules of the Holy Grail, you're still a servant," Kirei mocked.
Rider simply bit her lip at the sight.
"I am the bone on my sword," came a voice close to them. Kirei glanced to the side, only to see Shirou pointing a pistol with a blade attached to its tip at him. "Unlimited Lost Works."
The shot hurtled toward his opponent. The priest tried to stop the bullet with his hand, but not knowing how the attack worked, he didn't realize it only needed contact with the target to function.
The moment the bullet entered Kirei's body, the concept of swords surged, and multiple blades erupted from within.
This attack was enough to lower his defense, giving Rider the opportunity to finish his attack. With a single slash, Kirei was destroyed—at least half of his body, as he managed to protect himself with several black lines.
After that attack, Rider returned to normal, but his body, as well as his horse's, was now corrupted.
"How can such things affect a Servant so much?" Rider complained, trying to get up but falling to his knees.
From Kirei's remains, a completely new one was formed, ready to continue fighting.
"It was a good attempt, but futile; I am now superior to an ordinary Servant, even beyond the strongest," Kirei boasted, and he was right.
A near-immortal body, infinite mana, a body strengthened to its maximum potential, and abilities beyond rivaling even magic itself—he was a being that no one in this era could compete with.
(Note: When referring to this era, he means those born in this time; Gilgamesh, Kiss-shot, and Dante are not included.)
Shirou leaped from behind to pierce Kirei's body with a sword, but Kirei didn't even flinch.
"I see you've tried to do something with your useless effort," Kieri declared, kicking the white-haired man and sending him flying into Rider's lap. "I'll show you what true power is."
With that, he extended his hand, which was enveloped in threads within the Holy Grail, beginning to accumulate a massive amount of mana.
"This is bad," Shirou said, looking at Rider, who was trying to resist the corruption and at least recover physically.
The truth was that their combined strength, even fused, was no match for him; only Kiss-shot could do it, but she wouldn't intervene in this case, mainly because she didn't care about either of their lives. Rider was technically dead, and she and Shirou were just acquaintances; no relationship had been formed between them.
But Shirou didn't give up, because there was still a way. But he needed Rider.
Extending his hand, his magical circuits activated.
"I am the bone on my sword"; Kirei's hand unleashed a concentrated burst of mana capable of destroying anything, but unfortunately for him, it was met by one of the strongest shields in his arsenal, "Rho Aias."
A spectral flower with seven petals and seven shields atop it appeared before Shirou and Rider, blocking Kirei's attack.
The moment the attack began, one of the shields shattered, causing Shirou's body to feel the consequences. Another shattered in an instant.
"Hold on," Shirou pleaded with his body, seeing that not only were Rho Aias's petals breaking, but they were also being corrupted. "Rider," he roared, looking at her, who was watching all of this with wide eyes. "I need you to do me a favor."
Kirei, seeing that he hadn't killed them instantly but that something had protected them, stopped the attack, mainly because defeating Shirou this way didn't satisfy him. He wanted to destroy him, break his bones, tear his flesh, and shatter his dreams.
Shirou saw that the attack had stopped; he disposed of Rho Aias, leaving his arm somewhat damaged from using the shield.
Rider struggled to his feet, leaning on his spear for support; the corruption was affecting him more than it should, but luckily, the Command Seal was momentarily slowing its effects, so now he could only let Shirou do his part of the bargain.
"You think you can fight me one-on-one?" Kirei mocked. Shirou didn't reply; he simply created a very particular sword, Caliburn, the sword of the selection from Arthurian legends. "As you wish, it's fine by me."
With that, he summoned several black keys and launched himself at Shirpu, confident that he would defeat him and then torture Shirou until he was half-dead. Meanwhile, Shirou also launched himself, not seeking victory but rather an opportunity to put his plan into action.
...
Dante arrived with his attack range ready to cut Gilgamesh down with a single blow, but a surprise attack from Ea sent him sprawling to the ground, vomiting blood.
Gilgamesh lunged back with the Vimana, his expression momentarily showing panic, only to then resume mocking the dog that had tried to steal his soul.
Our protagonist rose from the ground, exhausted and bearing several wounds, some more serious than others. He was at a standstill. Panic over the fact that the King of Heroes would use Ea forced him to act very passively.
With Haki, he could see that it didn't matter what kind of attack he used; Ea simply used it to destroy anything and damage the enclosed area.
"This was my mistake. I shouldn't have let this guy summon Ea before the enclosed area was set up. Neither darkness, nor alchemy, nor Haki can overcome that attack," Dante grumbled to himself, reviewing his remaining options.
(Note: With Gilgamesh's clairvoyance, even though it's not Haki, he can still see the future, so he can almost detect any attack, rendering it ineffective. In this case, if Dante were to attempt a singularity, the King of Heroes could see it and use Ea to destroy it, something our protagonist prefers to avoid.)
"What's going on? A fool like you finally understands that he doesn't stand a chance against your king. It's too late to lick your wounds, since your offenses against me must be paid for with something other than death," Gilgamesh exclaimed, opening thousands of gates of Babylon.
Dante didn't respond; he just stared at one thing, specifically Ea.
"I just need to get rid of that thing so I can kill him," he concluded, closing his eyes, because without that weapon, he couldn't repel him so easily and he would have no way to destroy the enclosed field.
Gilgamesh, seeing this, simply clicked his tongue, ready to wipe Dante off the face of the earth, but suddenly he began to hear something.
"Death" echoed throughout the place. "Death, death, death, death, death."
The King of Heroes stared at Dante, confused as to what he was trying to do, before his eyes widened.
Dante took a step forward, unleashing both Conqueror's Haki and a deadly aura that enveloped the entire area.
His black wings grew larger; his body became a spectacle in a blend of blue and black. His hands turned skeletal, his hair completely white, a mask of horned skulls adorned his body, he wore Victorian Gothic armor, a halo of light formed around his back like an angel's halo, and finally, he had cold blue eyes capable of freezing even Hell itself.
In his right hand he held the SPB, while his left hand held a book.
"No one escapes me; I am inevitable. Those fools who attempt the impossible, but those I hunt are the stupid ones who thought they were smarter than me," said Dante, opening the book so that a spectral, transparent white tree appeared behind him, its branches and roots filling the entire enclosed field, the world becoming a tapestry of lifelines visible to all.
Gilgamesh, upon seeing Dante, felt a chill, a sense of impending death. At that moment, he realized he was no longer fighting an ancient Greek hero, but the very embodiment of imminent death.
"You... trash, you were capable of abandoning your will just to defeat me!" the king of the Horus exclaimed furiously.
Dante did not reply; he simply extended his hand and pointed it at Gilgamesh.
The ancient sovereign then felt a hand touch his body; it was the hand of death.
"Gravitas millies aucta," Dante declared, increasing the gravity of the King of Heroes' body, forcing him to his knees and causing the Vimana to begin its descent to the ground.
"NOOO!!" Gilgamesh screamed, bringing the Vimana to a sudden halt and managing to stand up, but he still felt something else. He felt his soul being manipulated, slowly trying to tear itself from his body. "Damn you, you try to steal my soul; it won't be so easy. I'll kill you before you succeed."
This was an ability I gained as a Servant.
When Dante ascended the throne of heroes after his death, he gained certain abilities and characteristics according to his legend, some of which he retains to this day, one of them being "The Return of the Dead."
Dante can telekinetically touch the body of anyone who is dead or has escaped death, but without exerting any force upon them. In this case, Gilgamesh is a Servant, an Ante who should be dead, so this ability works against him.
The former king of Uruk thought he was seeing the very reincarnation of Greek death, a being who followed the will of the gods, carrying out their orders to return souls to the underworld, but that wasn't the reality. What he truly possessed was the awakening of Dante's Devil Fruit, the Shinigami no Mi, as evidenced by the blue spectral ring on his back.
The awakening of the fruit was one of his heroic treasures when he was summoned, but to enter that phase, he had to sacrifice something, and that sacrifice was his will. He would only become a being who sought out the dead and sent them back to where they belonged, by hook or by crook. Dante loses both his personality and his own vision and goals, and he may never be able to return to his original state; that's why he never awakened it, but this time it's different.
Thanks to the delimited field, he only needs to break it for Dante to return to normal, so he had no problem awakening his fruit this time.
The King of Heroes, already frustrated, pointed Ea at his opponent.
"In this area, anyone can die, be they a living being, an inanimate object, or immortal; no one escapes my judgment." With that said, all the pages of the book flew around Dante so that he could cut one in particular, and they all disappeared.
Gilgamesh watched this without understanding, but out of nowhere, Ea, who had 20 life bars, went from nothing to just one.
This was the power of the awakened fruit. Whatever was within the area of the Tree of Death would have its name written in the book Dante held, and the moment he cut that leaf in half, two effects would occur. If it possessed a soul, its lifelines would be permanently halved, but if it lacked one, its lifelines would be reduced to a single one.
Suddenly, a rain of swords flew back and forth, creating multiple explosions everywhere.
The place descended into utter chaos. Swords directly from the Gate of Babylon traveled to be intercepted by others emerging from Dante's darkness. Weapons that weren't destroyed fell into the darkness to be reused again by the now white-haired man.
Dante was nowhere to be seen, only a bright blue line traveling across the area, effortlessly dodging Gilgamesh's blaster fire.
In a swift movement, he reached the King of Heroes, but this was something Gilgamesh had anticipated.
The moment Dante attempted to attack, multiple golden gates opened to intercept his assault, but the SPB destroyed them all until it finally stopped an inch from Gilgamesh's neck.
The King of Heroes breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his enemy, Enkidu, finally restrained by the chains of the sky.
Dante tried to move, but it was impossible.
Gilgamesh was about to say something, but he quickly used the vimana to travel rapidly backward as a sphere of darkness erupted, with Dante at its center. But that wasn't the worst of it.
To the King of Heroes' horror, Enkidu began to be swallowed by the darkness.
"DAMN YOU!!" Gilgamesh roared, seeing this and being unable to stop it. In that state, he was unable to close the door.
Once the chains were completely absorbed, the sphere disappeared, and Dante was seen flying without a scratch. The chains of the sky had been snatched from their owner, so he could never use them again.
Gilgamesh, his eyes red, his face almost disfigured by rage and hatred, lifted Ea and began to spin his cylinder.
"He who initiates," he began to chant, causing Ea to spin and the enclosed field to crumble much faster. Dante acted quickly, but multiple swords flew into the air where he stood, blocking his path.
Aoko and the others watched as the enclosed field began to be destroyed at a much faster rate than normal, and they were doing everything they could to prevent its total collapse. Using all their strength, both physical and mental, and employing the sorceress's powers, they did what they could.
The only one who was there was Rin, who, being less experienced than the other three, didn't have the stamina to handle so much stress and pressure; her eyes were bloodshot and her nose was bleeding. The others were better, but not by much.
"Destroy everything in your path to create something new," Gilgamesh continued his chant as he fired his projectiles from the Gate of Babylon. He had consciously created an opening where it would be easy for Dante to attack, luring him into a trap, and luckily for him, Dante did exactly what he expected.
Dante wouldn't have fallen into this trap so easily, but since his consciousness was now entirely his own, sensing the interference of the world as a force of nature, the Devil Fruit's influence, and his own inner self, he couldn't act with complete composure. So, the moment he saw an opportunity to kill Gilgamesh, he readily seized it.
"Go and destroy everything in your path," the King of Heroes quickly aimed where Dante was looking, and Dante continued onward, ignoring the imminent threat. "Enuma Elish."