Enuma Elish!
Without a moment's hesitation, Gilgamesh unleashed his second volley.
A force that could casually erase an entire city from existence. If it struck the ground, everything would be reduced to nothing.
"Can you still block it?!"
Sneering, Gilgamesh peered downward. And there stood Berserker, as composed as before.
He simply raised his greatsword toward the sky and swung. A white radiance enveloped his entire body.
That day...
The people of Fuyuki witnessed the heavens split open -- a colossal gash ripped across the sky like a wound, from which an impossible torrent of dark liquid cascaded down, blanketing the entire city.
The liquid solidified into a hemispheric barrier, shielding Fuyuki in its entirety. In the same instant, Ea's blast arrived.
KABOOOOM!!!
A violent tremor rocked the city. People stumbled and collapsed. Panic gripped every street.
They had no idea what was happening.
"Incredible!"
After the shaking subsided, Waver stared at the unscathed city, swallowing hard.
He sat on the ground, unable to articulate his emotions.
Archer could fire that Noble Phantasm repeatedly? Fine. That was terrifying enough.
But Berserker had blocked it completely.
Not just once.
He'd blocked it twice. And this second time, he'd shielded the entirety of Fuyuki City along with himself.
The full-release Enuma Elish hadn't so much as scratched a building.
"Twice."
"But he's approaching his limit."
Lelouch stood ahead, and Waver scrambled to his feet at those words.
Archer's ability to chain-fire this Noble Phantasm came from the ley line supplying him with endless mana.
Essentially, a walking power bank.
Berserker was different. With a six-year-old girl as his Master, the mana support wasn't remotely comparable.
"Damn it! I have to get there in time!"
"Once again you used some bizarre ability to reduce Ea's power."
"And that barrier-like dome just now -- a Noble Phantasm release?"
"Impressive. You've blocked the King's full power twice."
Hovering high above, Gilgamesh's lips curled into a smile.
A Heroic Spirit who could tank full-power Ea? Twice? This was new.
And the warrior hadn't just survived. He'd done it more than once.
"That expression... are you provoking the King?"
"The face of someone who will block it no matter how many times it comes."
"Interesting. Let's see how many times your mana holds out!"
Ea rose once more. Gilgamesh's cold laughter cut through the air.
"Regret making that mongrel child your Master."
"This blow will obliterate you!"
A third Enuma Elish. Gilgamesh was confident this would end it.
The ley line that Kirei had provided proved its value precisely in moments like these. No ordinary Master could fuel this kind of output.
Three consecutive full-power Ea blasts.
The mana required was astronomical. Virtually no Master in history could have provided it.
"Our unfinished duels end here."
"Twice you've survived what the King could not settle."
"But the third time draws the final curtain!"
"Berserker!"
She could feel his gentle gaze. Matou Sakura cried out.
'He won't lose!'
'Berserker will absolutely not lose!'
Driven by that conviction, she unconsciously activated her Command Spells.
"You have to win!!"
A prayer screamed into existence. Three Command Spells burned away in rapid succession.
"..."
Offering her a reassuring smile, Berserker turned to face the King's descending wrath.
"Haaah!!"
"Wait for me, Rider!"
The shout reached his ears. Berserker recognized the approaching pair.
He leaped to the compound wall and looked down at two figures gasping on the road below.
"Berserker?"
Waver looked up and jolted.
Lelouch met his gaze without flinching.
'Berserker still has mana left?!'
The realization sharpened Lelouch's urgency. He couldn't afford to sit back any longer.
Gilgamesh's relentless offensive was genuinely terrifying.
One miscalculation, and all of Fuyuki would become a crater -- along with every scheme he'd built.
[I will block his final attack as well.]
[The rest is yours.]
"Wait--!"
But when the drawing board appeared, Lelouch froze.
'He knows my plan?'
A moment of stunned disbelief. Then calm analysis.
Yes. When Kirei's intelligence had revealed the ley line, Lelouch had formed the overarching strategy.
The intent was to let Archer drain Berserker's mana through attrition.
In a war of endurance, Archer held the absolute advantage.
Sakura, as a Master, couldn't meaningfully supplement Berserker.
Played correctly, Archer could simply "outlast" his opponent into defeat.
And given Gilgamesh's personality, Lelouch had predicted a head-on confrontation -- which meant the attrition plan's success rate was high.
Once Berserker fell, Lelouch had the means to kill Gilgamesh and claim final victory.
The prerequisite was Archer not coming for him first. But knowing the King's ego, that was far more likely after Berserker's defeat.
So Lelouch had been content to wait and scavenge the spoils.
But reality had outpaced his projections. He'd underestimated Archer's ferocity and Berserker's resilience alike.
One attacked with force beyond imagination. The other weathered it like an immovable mountain.
Even now, Lelouch could feel Berserker's mana reserves still pulsing strong.
And from what just transpired, Berserker seemed to have read his plan from the very beginning.
"Enuma Elish!"
High above, Gilgamesh's thunderous voice echoed once more.
"Again?!!"
Waver could only watch, wide-eyed, as the sky convulsed.
Lightning. Gale-force winds.
A blow powerful enough to twist the very earth hurtled downward.
But the dark-armored hero rose to meet it once again.
BOOOOOM!!!
Despite the cataclysmic force Gilgamesh unleashed in his chant's wake, every ounce of destructive power was absorbed by Berserker. Not a single person in Fuyuki suffered harm.
Three times. The EX-ranked Ea had been blocked by the same individual, three times in a single day.
"I will bury the Savior myself!"
Sensing the warrior's dwindling reserves, Gilgamesh lowered his altitude and roared.
But then Berserker did something entirely unexpected.
He scooped Sakura into his arms. In her bewildered expression, he reached into his belt, withdrew the Dragon Ball, and tossed it to Rider.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
Unable to fathom Berserker's actions, Gilgamesh demanded an answer from above.
Berserker didn't reply. Instead, he gazed at the King with unmistakable pity -- and that look alone ignited Gilgamesh's fury.
On the other side--
Catch!
One hand snagged the Dragon Ball from the air. And in that instant, Lelouch understood everything.
"I see. You saw through me from the very start."
"And you've been cooperating deliberately?"
"Indeed... with this, I have no cause for doubt or suspicion."
A self-deprecating chuckle. The hardest variable in his plan had resolved itself effortlessly.
Let Archer force Berserker's withdrawal. Then deal with Archer to claim victory.
That was Lelouch's plan.
The most dangerous step had always been Berserker. If Archer couldn't pressure him enough, the entire strategy would need reworking.
But events had moved too fast. Archer's devastating offensive had nearly overturned the board, and Berserker had stood firm against every blow.
Three Ea strikes. Every one blocked. Sakura's Command Spells, all spent.
And in the aftermath, Berserker had voluntarily handed the Dragon Ball to Rider.
In that single moment, Lelouch understood.
Berserker had been deliberately enabling his plan. Easing his doubts and eliminating his concerns.
Even Sakura's use of her Command Spells was likely factored into the calculation.
A Master stripped of both Dragon Ball and Command Spells was, for all intents and purposes, eliminated.
Lelouch could read the intention clearly.
"Heh."
His signature confident smile returned. Lelouch looked up at the golden King hovering in the sky and proclaimed--
"Then allow me to bring this to its conclusion!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]