"Such technique would rank among the finest even in the company of Heroic Spirits."
"Azem? That isn't your real name, is it?"
Having engaged Berserker directly, Gilgamesh spoke with a faint curl of his lips.
"?"
"!"
Saber and Jonouchi, who had been watching from the sidelines, both froze.
"This King possesses the ability to see through all things. Though something interfered with the reading, I can still discern the true names of you mongrels."
"Yet you alone, I cannot unravel."
"Even the name I managed to extract seems false."
"You possess strength and presence of this magnitude, yet carry no Divinity whatsoever."
"For a mere 'human,' you are far too extraordinary."
His manner of addressing Berserker had already begun to shift. Gilgamesh spoke with uncharacteristic candor.
Given the skill Berserker had demonstrated, he should by all rights be a hero of immense renown. Yet the "Most Ancient King" could not find a single point of reference or match in his vast memory.
Not one hero he recalled fit Berserker's profile.
A warrior proficient in greatsword, spear, magecraft, katana, and bow, mastering every weapon he touched. Such an all-encompassing hero couldn't possibly be a nameless nobody.
A genius of this caliber made it only natural that even the supremely arrogant Gilgamesh would regard him differently.
Even the gods themselves would pale before this hero's feats.
"..."
Still offering no reply, or perhaps incapable of speech, Berserker simply swapped his longbow back to the golden spear.
The surging magical energy was answer enough.
"Oh?"
"A Noble Phantasm release?"
"Very well. Show this King what you're capable of!"
Interest thoroughly piqued, Gilgamesh crossed his arms in his golden armor and waited. The space behind him rippled with anticipation.
Howwwwl!!
Wind screamed. Saber and Jonouchi raised their arms to shield themselves, barely able to make out the staggering volume of magical energy pouring outward.
White luminescence blossomed like fireworks in the night.
Blue motes of light surged from the golden spear, coalescing behind Berserker into a vast, visible form.
"Is that...?"
"A dragon?"
Saber stared at the enormous azure dragon now hovering behind him.
ROAR!
It bellowed, jaws spread wide, as though ready to devour everything before it.
Stardiver Dragon Flame!
Berserker launched forward. A blue meteor across the earth, streaking like a comet aimed squarely at the golden King.
In that instant, Gilgamesh did not underestimate the attack. From his treasury, he extracted a defensive Noble Phantasm rated to withstand "Anti-Fortress" class assaults.
He wasn't foolish enough to tank Berserker's full release with nothing but his golden armor.
BOOM!!
A cataclysmic blast. A pillar of magical energy erupted from the ground, ascending skyward.
Like an ascension beam, the energy column pierced beyond the atmosphere.
"That's insane!"
Caught in the aftershock, Jonouchi was blown clean off his feet. He clung desperately to a tree trunk, barely stabilizing himself.
"Ugh!"
Anchoring her holy sword into the ground, Saber was still skidding backward.
The friction carved a deep, visible furrow into the earth beneath her.
"That Servant is ridiculously strong."
Even from a great distance, Waver could see the energy pillar shooting into the sky.
Judging by the power behind Berserker's strike, Rider would absolutely not survive a direct hit. Knightmare and pilot would be pierced through together.
"Undeniably impressive."
"Which is precisely why we must never face him head-on."
That near-omnipotent warrior. Lelouch had no intention of provoking him directly.
He understood well that an enemy of that caliber could single-handedly shift the war's balance.
"An alliance is essential."
Acknowledging his limited combat strength, Lelouch had confronted this truth more than once. His personal fighting ability was, frankly, unremarkable. In terms of this war's scale, his raw combat rating was laughably low.
Strip away the Knightmare and Geass, and all that remained was his intellect.
Perfectly consistent with who he'd always been. In his original world, Lelouch had always represented "mind," never "might."
"The Tohsaka and the Matou families..."
Having deduced the Masters behind Archer and Berserker, Lelouch began formulating his next move.
Those two absurdly powerful Servants were opponents he could never defeat in a straight fight.
"!"
Crack...
After the explosion cleared, nothing remained at ground zero. Berserker surveyed the massive crater and recognized the truth: the enemy had escaped.
Just as Stardiver was about to breach his defenses, Archer had been recalled by his Master's Command Spell.
Inconclusive.
Though the King hadn't yet fought at full power, the Master's intervention meant no victor would be decided today. Whether another opportunity like this would arise was uncertain.
Glancing at Saber, who was leaning on her holy sword for support nearby, Berserker showed no desire to continue fighting.
His stored magical energy was completely spent. Pushing further would mean drawing from Sakura, and that would endanger her.
Without disengaging and allowing his passive recovery to activate, he'd be putting his Master at risk.
"Hmm?"
Watching Berserker's form dissolve, Saber registered his departure with mild surprise.
She'd assumed he would press the attack. Instead, he simply left.
"Caster..."
She could faintly sense that Servant's presence lingering nearby, but Saber had no energy left to pursue him either.
This chaotic battle had drained significant magical energy and stamina. And the outcome of Kiritsugu and Maiya's rescue operation still weighed on her mind.
"He hasn't summoned me for this long. That should mean everything's fine?"
No Command Spell, no summons. Surely nothing catastrophic had happened. Reasoning thus, Saber dismissed her armor and sheathed the holy sword.
"Bleh!!"
"It's finally over."
"Were those things even human?"
Planting both feet firmly on solid ground, Jonouchi could scarcely believe what he'd just witnessed.
These Servants were like living, breathing Duel Monsters. The spectacle was beyond anything he'd imagined.
"How am I supposed to win against that?!"
He checked his Duel Disk. One face-down card remained: a card he'd drawn earlier but never found the chance to use.
Soul Relay.
Every monster card, every spell and trap had been burned through by that girl's relentless assault.
And truthfully, he didn't even know how to use this last card.
1234
1233
1232
His Life Points were nearly depleted. He'd managed to extend them slightly with a few cards earlier, but the steady drain was inescapable.
Sooner or later, he'd simply "self-destruct."
"Aaagh!!"
"This is so annoying! Why does everything have to be so complicated?!"
Trudging down the street toward home, Jonouchi clutched his head in frustration.
"Hmm?"
"Huh?"
Rounding a corner, he stopped short.
A small figure sat on the ground, arms wrapped around her knees, lost in thought. When she sensed his presence, she turned to look.
Lancer.
Caster.
"It's you!"
"It's you!!"
The words came in perfect unison. Neither had expected to run into the other here, now.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
PS: By the way, this story doesn't only involve the Fate universe. Other worlds will appear later on.
Simply put, the Dragon Ball wish war doesn't exclusively draw from Fate's roster. There are plenty of characters from other worlds with desires and ambitions of their own.