Somewhere in Fuyuki City, far from the roaring battlefield—
Unlike the brightly lit civic arena thundering with cheers, this place was wrapped in a heart-stopping silence.
The air felt thick, like congealed blood. Chaotic, violent swirls of mana tore through the night, screaming without sound. Heavy, lead-gray clouds pressed low, ready to swallow this chosen hellscape whole.
High in the sky, a figure floated with arrogant ease, like a god looking down on ants.
Golden armor gleamed blindingly in the dark, every inch radiating the cold, luxurious hardness of divine metal.
His once-sleek golden hair now stood on end, whipped up by mana, like a burning golden hedgehog, radiating boundless madness.
His scarlet snake-like eyes gazed down, pupils brimming with delighted destruction.
Behind him, massive golden rings—manifestations of the Gate of Babylon—slowly spun, like gates to an endless treasury, exuding suffocating pressure.
Golden ripples danced across their surfaces. Each pulse meant a deadly weapon was about to rain down.
He was Gilgamesh, the oldest King of Heroes. Clad in battle armor, he unleashed a presence of utter despair.
"Hahaha! You mongrels!" His wild laughter ripped through the heavy air, dripping with contempt and eager violence. "Let your skulls and screams add a little fun to this boring trip of mine!"
Before the echo faded, the golden rings behind him flared with blinding light! Dozens of golden streaks shot down like thunder tearing the night, carrying mountain-piercing force, shrieking toward the ground!
Their targets: the two people below, braced for death!
Shirou Emiya gritted his teeth, his magic circuits screaming.
The terrifying density of mana in the air nearly choked him. Every pore screamed danger.
Just standing here, under that godlike pressure, his legs trembled—not from fear, but from the body's instinct against absolute power.
In front of him stood a slender yet unshakable figure, like a rock.
Her blue skirt-armor flapped wildly in the mana-charged wind, golden hair whipping around her.
Saber—Artoria Pendragon, King Arthur.
She gripped the hilt of her invisible sword (Invisible Air) with both hands, holding it upright in a rock-solid defensive stance!
Her emerald eyes locked onto the golden beams of death tearing through space!
"Shirou! Fall back!" Artoria's voice rang out, cold and commanding.
The moment she spoke, the golden lights struck!
CLANG—!!! CRASH—!!!v
Ear-splitting clashes of metal echoed across the battlefield!
The invisible sword flashed in Artoria's hands, a blur of light, parrying, slashing, blocking with perfect precision! Sparks exploded with every impact, like deadly fireworks in the night!
The massive force slammed into her. Her blue figure wavered in the smoke and gold, the ground beneath her cracking and sinking! But she stood firm, rooted to the earth, not giving an inch!
"Hmph! A third-rate Servant dares block my treasures?" Gilgamesh's laugh carried a hint of irritation. His scarlet eyes burned with killing intent. "Then let me show you true despair!"
The golden rings behind him expanded, multiplying!
More ripples surged like a boiling sea of gold!
A torrent of mana, far greater than before, gathered within!
This time, it wasn't just a few beams. Dozens—hundreds—of prototype Noble Phantasms poured out: swords, spears, halberds, axes, hammers... a golden storm of destruction, raining down on Artoria and the struggling Shirou behind her!
The air screamed like wailing ghosts!
"Ex—calibur!!!"
Facing a barrage that could shred any Heroic Spirit in an instant, Artoria's eyes blazed!
She didn't wait. Gripping her sword with both hands, a storm of mana gathered around her!
The invisible restraint shattered. The golden holy sword, radiant with starlight, revealed its sacred, majestic form for the first time on this battlefield!
Unmatched light gathered at the tip, compressing!
It was the prelude to the full release of the Sword of Promised Victory—a flood of light that could split mountains and seas!
"Hahahaha! Interesting! Too interesting! Let's see how much your little country sword can block!" Gilgamesh laughed madly, not stopping her—instead, he raised his hand like a child with a new toy!
This time, from the largest central ring, no ordinary Noble Phantasm emerged. Instead, a strange hilt floated out—three twisted cylinders wrapped together like threads.
The moment it appeared, space groaned under its weight!
Chaotic mana was torn apart! A violent energy, far beyond all previous treasures combined—like a force that could rip the laws of the world—spread from the strange hilt like an ancient beast awakening!
"The heavens and earth part, the star of creation—Enuma Elish!" Gilgamesh's grin was feral, drunk on destruction. "Mongrels! Before the power that cuts the world, turn to nothing!"
Dark red, blood-like energy coiled around the sword's blade, spinning wildly!
Space twisted and cracked with teeth-grinding shrieks! The battlefield became the eye of a storm of violent energy!
The instant the three-segmented hilt (Ea) appeared, Artoria's emerald eyes shrank. The space-tearing energy far surpassed every treasure before! The pressure made her knuckles whiten around the sword.
"Saber! We retreat! He's too strong!" Shirou shouted from behind, voice shaking under the mana pressure.
"Would a knight flee from a strong enemy?!" Artoria snapped without turning, voice like iron. The mana storm around her roared louder. The golden light of Excalibur burned like a sun about to explode!
"That kid's right! Don't run? Then die!!" Gilgamesh sneered. The dark red vortex on Ea screamed, spinning faster! Space shattered inch by inch!
"Enuma Elish—!!"
BOOM!!!!!
A dark red flood of destruction erupted—like the light of creation or the end of reality—blasting toward Artoria!
Where it passed, space warped and shattered, the earth plowed into molten chasms!
"Excalibur—!!!"
Artoria swung her holy sword! A golden beam of starlight surged forward, meeting the dark red vortex head-on!
Two god-tier forces collided!
BOOM—!!!!
A cataclysmic explosion! Blinding light swallowed the battlefield! Shockwaves swept outward like a tsunami, flattening everything!
But it held for only a moment!
Crack!
A heartbreaking shatter! The golden beam crumbled under the dark red vortex's frenzy, like fragile glass!
"Ugh—!" Artoria choked out a pained grunt.
The golden light was devoured! The destructive backlash slammed into her!
CRASH!
Her silver armor cracked on contact, shards flying! Blood sprayed from her mouth and armor gaps like a fountain!
The impact hurled her like a broken kite!
She carved a bloody arc through the air, crashing near Shirou, plowing a long, deep trench!
Smoke and dust rose.
Artoria lay in the cracked crater, her holy sword fallen beside her.
Her blue armor was shattered, skin torn to the bone.
Blood soaked the ground. She struggled to lift her head, but her body wouldn't obey. Only pained gasps escaped, her eyes dim with weakness for the first time.
"SABER—!!!" Shirou roared, eyes bloodshot, charging toward her.
"Hmph! Overreaching third-rate Servant. See the price of defying me?" Gilgamesh floated in golden light, scarlet eyes mocking the broken king in the pit.
A cruel smile curled his lips. "But… that defiance is amusing. I've changed my mind. I'll take her, break her, and make her my collection!"
Ripples formed in the Gate of Babylon. A golden chain-wrapped shackle emerged, shooting toward the pit!
Whoosh—!
At the critical moment!
A sharp whistle cut the air! An arrow wrapped in thick, ominous black light shot toward Gilgamesh's head like a reaper's scythe from hell!
Where it passed, the air hissed with corrosion, its threat far beyond anything before!
"Hm?!" Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed, then blazed with rage!
"Damn insect! You dare interrupt me?!"
He abandoned the chain. Golden ripples shifted. An ornate golden shield appeared, blocking the arrow's path.
CLANG—!!!
The black arrow slammed into the shield, erupting in a screeching clash and heart-stopping energy. The shield shuddered, gold and black clashing, a hairline crack appearing! The arrow shattered, but the force rocked Gilgamesh slightly.
This tiny delay ignited the King of Heroes' fury. He whipped around, scarlet eyes sweeping toward the arrow's source!
Atop a ruined high-rise, a white figure stood in the night wind.
He wore a tight red-and-black outfit, arms covered in mechanical gauntlets, holding a strange bow—neither metal nor wood.
White hair fluttered in the mana-charged breeze. Dark red eyes, cold as gems, locked onto the golden figure in the sky.
"Mongrel! You're dead!!" Gilgamesh roared. The Gate of Babylon boiled, dozens of golden beams ready to fire!
But the next second—
"What?!" Gilgamesh froze! Something was wrong. He spun back toward Artoria's location!
In the pit, the King of Knights was gone!
Shirou Emiya—this insect in his eyes—gritted his teeth, carrying the unconscious, blood-soaked Artoria on his back, stumbling toward the battlefield's edge!
Her golden hair hung limp, blood dripping down his clothes in a thin red line.
"You bastard!!" The feeling of being played sent Gilgamesh's sanity up in flames! His golden eyes burned with pure rage!
The Gate of Babylon flared, ready to obliterate the fleeing ants and the ruins with them!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The instant Gilgamesh's focus shifted, the ground around where Artoria and Shirou had been exploded! Gems—secretly planted, pulsing with dense mana—detonated like mini-bombs!
White, red, blue—different mana flames erupted in precise, vicious patterns, weaving and clashing!
They formed a sudden, chaotic wall of deadly mana! Shockwaves and clashing currents swept through Gilgamesh's path like a raging beast!
Light and smoke swallowed the area. The violent mana chaos briefly disrupted space and Gilgamesh's lock-on!
"Sneaky rats!!!" Gilgamesh was halted mid-air by the gem explosion!
He glared at the smoke-choked zone, hearing Shirou's fading, stumbling footsteps carrying Artoria away. His proud face twisted with rage!
"The Tohsaka, huh? Reckless trash." His voice was ice, seething with tangible fury.
The air grew heavier with his mood.
As dust settled, Kirei Kotomine stepped silently from the shadows, black robes unmoving amid the ruins.
His face was calm. "Archer, focus on the target." His eyes flicked to Gilgamesh, like correcting a rude tool.
"Yeah, yeah," Gilgamesh waved impatiently, scarlet eyes fixed on Shirou's escape. He smirked. "Just hate having my game interrupted."
A dark, pleased smile crept across Kirei's face. "Relax. In the end, we'll win."
---
Battlefield Edge
Heavy panting drowned out everything.
Shirou staggered over rubble, Artoria on his back. Every step was agony.
He could feel the warm, metallic scent of her blood soaking through. It kept him moving. His lungs burned, circuits numb—only survival instinct drove his legs.
Gilgamesh's golden figure was blocked by the explosion, but the invisible pressure clung like a curse, making his scalp crawl.
"Huff… huff… Saber, hang on…" His voice was hoarse.
No response from Artoria—only faint breaths proved she lived.
Suddenly, a white figure stood silently in the shadow of a broken wall.
The red-and-black outfit hugged a lean frame. Mechanical gauntlets covered his arms. The strange bow was gone.
White hair moved in the night breeze. Dark red eyes, cold and piercing, landed on Shirou and the Saber on his back.
Danger!
Shirou's pupils shrank. He stopped hard, nearly falling.
He gently set the unconscious Artoria on a flat stone, ignoring his body's screams. Forcing himself upright, he clenched his fists, staring down the white-haired man radiating overwhelming presence!
It was him—the one who fired the black arrow! Friend or foe?
Just as Shirou's nerves stretched to breaking, a familiar, urgent female voice came from behind the man:
"Shirou, it's me."
Rin Tohsaka stepped quickly from Archer's shadow.
Her red coat stood out in the dark. Ice-blue eyes swept over the battered Shirou and gravely wounded Saber, brows furrowed but sharp as ever.
"Rin?! You saved us?!" Shirou's tension collapsed. Exhaustion and relief hit like a wave. He swayed, voice thick with gratitude.
"Yeah." Rin didn't waste words. She turned to the white-haired bowman. "Archer, carry Saber."
Archer moved without hesitation—swift, silent.
He knelt by the stone, carefully lifting the unconscious Artoria onto his back with steady, practiced care.
Rin scanned the wrecked surroundings and mana-disturbed space, face grim.
"Not the place to talk. Move." Her voice was firm. "Archer, cover the rear. Shirou, with me!"
Rin led them through twists and turns into a rundown, abandoned shack.
Dust and staleness filled the air, but it was intact. Rin cleared a small space and had Archer gently lay Artoria down.
No small talk. Rin started treatment immediately. She carefully peeled back the broken armor, revealing gruesome wounds.
Precious gems crumbled to dust between her fingers, pure mana flowing like water into the bone-deep gashes, stopping blood and purging the violent mana residue.
It took a long time. Sweat beaded on Rin's forehead, her face pale.
Finally, she exhaled, bandaged the wounds with the cleanest cloth she could find, and draped a tattered blanket over Artoria.
Only then did she step out of the small room. Shirou, waiting anxiously outside, rushed up.
"How is she, Rin?!" His voice cracked with worry.
Rin's expression was heavy. "She'll live. But the injuries are bad—especially the direct hit from Ea's shockwave. Her spirit core and body are severely damaged." She paused. "She can't fight again anytime soon."
Shirou's shoulders sagged with relief. "As long as she's alive… that's enough…"
"Don't celebrate yet." Rin cut him off sharply, eyes locked on his. "The Holy Grail War doesn't stop. You're a Master. With Saber down, you're the biggest target. Trouble's coming."
Shirou gave a tired, bitter smile, leaning against the wall. "What choice do we have? You saw Saber…"
Rin fell silent.
She leaned against the opposite wall, brows locked.
The plan had been to ally with Shirou and ride out the early chaos.
Now it was ruined.
Worse was the shadow of Gilgamesh.
That golden figure, that absurd power… and the most critical thing!
Rin's nails dug into her palms.
Gilgamesh had been her father, Tohsaka Tokiomi's Servant!
But now, he was here—with a living human body!
This was wrong! How could a Heroic Spirit have flesh? Unless… unless some "incarnation" ritual was completed through the Grail!
A chilling thought wormed into her mind: her father's death… that unknown cause… Could it be tied to Gilgamesh? Could the Servant who betrayed her father have used the Grail for his own ends?
The idea made her blood run cold.
"Rin?" Shirou noticed her pallor.
"Nothing." She forced the thoughts down, voice colder. "Right now, we settle in, care for Saber, and…" She glanced at Archer, silent as stone in the shadows. "Figure out how to survive."
Archer leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. His dark red eyes swept over the exhausted Shirou, the unconscious Saber, then Rin's tense face. A faint smirk tugged at his lips. His low voice broke the silence:
"Easy to say. That mad dog out there won't let go easily. Especially," his gaze lingered on Shirou, "with such a big 'problem' in tow."
Rin took deep breaths, forcing calm. Her mind raced, plans flashing and dying.
No way out.
Frustrated, she glanced up. Her eyes caught a distant skyscraper's massive sign: "Devil May Cry Concert".
"You… wanna go to a concert?" Shirou followed her gaze, sighing. "Not now. We'd drag civilians into this."
"No." Rin shook her head, eyes fixed on the sign. "My sister… invited me. Not sure why."
"Probably to ogle the hot guy," Shirou teased weakly. "Nero is pretty cool."
He let out a tired chuckle, a mix of post-battle exhaustion and wry humor.
Somehow, he pulled out his phone—screen cracked like a spiderweb, a "souvenir" from the fight.
He tapped a few times, then handed it to Rin, trying to lighten the mood:
"Here, take a look. Might help you unwind a bit."
Rin took the battered phone, confused.
The screen lit her pale face. But when her eyes locked on the enlarged photo, she froze like she'd been shocked!
On the screen: a white-haired man gripping a golden mic, pouring his soul into a soaring note.
His fiery red stage outfit blazed under the lights. That strikingly handsome face—imperious, wild, overwhelming—filled the screen with unmatched presence!
The photo hit like a key, unlocking a flood of memories!
Buzz—
Deep in her mind, a fleeting scene from her sister's place in Higashi-Tsu sharpened into crystal clarity!
The man lounging on the couch, relaxed yet radiating invisible pressure. That devilishly handsome face. Those deep, all-seeing eyes…
And his casual, yet unshakable promise:
"I'll handle it."
Four words. They looped in her chaotic mind, louder and louder, until they drowned out every plan—self-preservation, alliances, escaping Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh's threat? Saber's wounds? Her father's death? Their desperate situation?
All of it was shoved aside by those four words and the calm, almost arrogant certainty in his voice!
Rin sucked in a sharp breath. Her ice-blue eyes shed all doubt and fear, replaced by a do-or-die resolve!
She snapped her head up, staring at Shirou, who was still trying to ease the tension. Her voice was steel:
"Maybe," she declared, each word clear and final.
"We're calling in some outside help."