Ea-Lemegeton, the manifestation of Gilgashana-Gilgameshia, descended with majesty!
"You've arrived, Princess. Ah, a 'betpin' like you is a sight for sore eyes."
Hijikata, currently being treated while eating takoyaki, let out a laugh. Ea entrusted Fou to Rikka.
"Please look after Fou, Master."
"A-Are you sure? It's Gil..."
"Yes. He 'must be defeated,' and 'I am the only one who can do it.' —At least, against the version of him that exists right now."
(I'm worried, but I have faith. —Go get him, Ea.)
—I'm going now, Fou.
"I'm dedicating a Command Spell to the Princess! Win this!"
A single stroke of the Command Spell vanished from Rikka's hand, surging into Ea and reinforcing her Spirit Origin.
"Thank you. —I'm off!"
The Princess, specialized in defeating the Hero King, turned to face Gil-kichi.
"Fuhahahahahaha!!! So you are the one called Gilgameshia?! You are beautiful, as is only natural! But beauty is useless on the battlefield! Surely you understand the meaning of standing before Me!"
"Of course. —Here I come."
"Very well! The honor of defying Me shall be your last—nuoh?!"
Before Gil-kichi could finish his sentence, the Heroic Princess made her move.
"Leave the ripple detection and coordinate tracking to me. I shall handle the optimal corrections. Now, sweep the rug out from under him!"
—Yes!
Ea dove into the golden ripples, switching her End-Sword Enki into its close-quarters tonfa mode. She lunged forward, and Gil-kichi barely managed to block the strike.
"You tomboy! Pulling out the End-Sword already? You need some discipline—"
"Hah!!"
Cutting off all dialogue, she delivered a double-kick that sent him flying.
"You... kicked a man?! How dare—"
Diving back into the ripples, she reappeared exactly where Gil-kichi was being launched, swinging her tonfa upward to crush his skull.
"Nuu! Don't get ahead of yourself!"
Finally, Gil-kichi deployed his ripples—only five of them. Ea instantly read the speed and the treasures being launched, backflipping to evade and leaping into a ripple behind her.
"Nu, guh—!"
In an instant, the Princess was back in his face, relentless!
"!"
『That's Uruk-Arts!!』
Ereshkigal's voice suddenly blared from the monitors. She sounded incredibly excited.
"You know about that, Ereshkigal?!"
『It's a martial art passed down in Uruk, permitted only to the King! It's a hand-to-hand combat style that involves jumping through space and time—a 'god-tier' tactic that negates distance and erases hit-boxes! It's said that only those who have mastered the Babylonian Treasury can perform it! To think that Ea... no, Gilgameshia is reproducing the techniques inherent to the Hero King's body?!』
Her shock was well-founded. It was a style that landed attacks unfairly and dodged attacks unfairly. That was Uruk-Arts. The King's combat method: to remain unharmed while annihilating the foe.
And now—under the King's direct supervision—
"HAAAAAAAAAH!!"
The Princess performed the "dance" of combat!
"Whoa!! She's pushing him back! Shana is winning! Go for it!!"
『Impressive! Unlike the Hero King we know, this one is full of openings! She's striking every single one of them!』
『Hehe, naturally.』
Enkidu smiled gracefully on the screen.
『After all, she is—』
"Damn... you...!"
Gil-kichi was being pushed back into a corner. No matter where he turned, the Princess's offensive was already there. He threw treasures in desperation, but the Princess handled them perfectly—deflecting arrows and sweeping blades aside with her tonfas, breaking through without a single scratch.
She dove into his guard, delivering a rush of blows that dented his golden armor.
"Impossible—how can this be...!"
He drew a sword, clashing against her tonfas. High-pitched metallic rings echoed as they locked blades. He glared at her with pure spite.
"I...! I, the secret face of the Fate franchise, am losing to some secondary-creation fan-character—?!"
He had used the concept of the Sword Hunt to seal her wealth. Her stats were far lower than his. She was a mere imitation born from a whim of the "Foolish Me." Why was he, a King, losing to a "toy"?
"You fool. No matter how derivative the origin, the feelings poured into the design, the soul that resides within, and the story woven around it constitute a genuine work of art. To have been defeated by 'fakes' time and again, and yet you still cling to your arrogance? That is why you always fail."
The King's soul, protecting the Princess, cut through Gil-kichi's confusion.
"WHAT—?!"
"You still don't understand? Then tell him your thoughts, Ea. Tell him what it means to be a 'True Work' that I have acknowledged."
As Gil-kichi gnashed his teeth, the Princess spoke.
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