Boom!
Cyan energy erupted wildly around Xia Yu, directly deflecting countless incoming Noble Phantasms.
"Let's do this, King of Heroes," she provoked, raising her swords to point at him once more. "Do you have enough weapons stored up?"
Even the usually calm male voice of the Sam Armor was laced with a hint of madness as she spoke.
"Hoh, you think too highly of yourself," Gilgamesh's face began to contort with savagery. "To dare insult this King so..."
Golden ripples surfaced once more, and countless Noble Phantasms crashed down like a torrential downpour!
Yet Xia Yu stood her ground alone with her twin swords, not yielding a single inch. She was even pushing forward!
One step! Two steps! Every step she advanced was accompanied by countless Noble Phantasms being sent flying or cleaved apart!
Truthfully, if she merely wanted to win, she had plenty of methods at her disposal. However, clashing head-on in this dance of blades was the most exhilarating way to fight!
The Sam Armor operated at maximum capacity, radiating majestic cyan energy in all directions. No matter how legendary the Armament, none could penetrate the reach of her twin swords.
Upward sweeps, downward cleaves, horizontal slashes left and right—there were no peerlessly exquisite techniques. Yet, these remarkably ordinary fundamental moves firmly and steadily repelled Gilgamesh's assault! Watching this unfold, Gilgamesh furrowed his brows deeply.
He had still underestimated this despicable cur. Such formidable martial prowess was undoubtedly a skill honed through countless life-and-death struggles. Yet, she was not a Heroic Spirit... In other words, this era also possessed its own heroes and champions.
Although her methods were underhanded, even the King of Heroes had to acknowledge his opponent's strength.
The treasury of Noble Phantasms he prided himself on could do nothing to her. Moreover, if he wasn't mistaken, this person... seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the battle.
Thinking of this, he looked up at the distant Mount Enzou—the place where he had been before being sent flying over here. Then, looking down at his feet, realization dawned on him.
Is she trying to keep the collateral damage of the battle outside the city? So that initial rapid assault was entirely to prevent me from fighting back, forcing me into the battlefield she had prepared?
And precisely because of this, after arriving here, she stopped utilizing that ghost-like speed, choosing instead to clash head-on with the rain of Noble Phantasms? To have a deeply satisfying slaughter?
After all, with her initial speed, she could have easily continued her blitz. Even he had to admit that after losing the initiative, under such a furious offensive, his disadvantage would only grow larger.
"Hmph. For a despicable cur, you surprisingly have a bottom line?" he sneered. "This King permits you to state your name in my presence. Then, I shall grant you an unimaginably miserable end! That is the price for offending the King!"
"Oh?" Hearing this, the corners of Xia Yu's mouth curled up within the mecha. The energy wildly radiating around her instantly contracted, then ignited! It released!
It was as if a pair of cyan wings sprouted from the knight's shoulders. The surging energy instantly accelerated her body to break the Sound Barrier. Like a cyan meteor flying upwards from the earth, she shattered the barricade of countless Noble Phantasms, launching a devastating assault at Gilgamesh in the sky!
The Noble Phantasms along her path were either blown away by the sonic boom or completely failed to pierce her silver-white armor.
The Gate of Babylon was a textbook Noble Phantasm for stomping the weak. If one's strength hadn't reached a certain threshold, they would simply be worn down to death by the endless rain of Noble Phantasms. Many weak Servants didn't even have the luxury of being worn down; they would be shot into pincushions the moment they met him.
However, in front of someone truly powerful, this sky-covering deluge of Noble Phantasms was merely somewhat annoying. It couldn't deliver a decisive blow to the battle.
And Firefly in her second phase was obviously that kind of powerhouse. Was this a joke? Even if Acheron hadn't fought seriously, she wasn't someone any random nobody could exchange blows with.
"You!" Not expecting his great mercy to be answered with a blade, Gilgamesh could only heft a giant axe, barely raising it in front of himself to block.
Boom!
The giant axe just barely parried the twin cyan swords, but his entire body was still carried upwards by the massive force of the sudden strike!
"My name is Firefly," Xia Yu said, looking at the savage-faced Gilgamesh. "As for this armor, you can call it Sam."
Boom!
Hearing this, Gilgamesh instantly erupted with Mana, forcefully separating the two of them.
"You..." At such a close distance, and no longer dazed like he was at the beginning, he finally noticed the anomaly with the person across from him.
"I see, so that's how it is..." Gilgamesh stared deeply at the silver-white knight. "An alien entity from another star... Although at first glance you seem like an ordinary Homunculus, this armor doesn't have the slightest trace of Human History... Heh, why would the Counter Force let a monster like you in?"
"Is it possible that it simply couldn't stop me?" Xia Yu answered as she landed back on the ground.
"Hoh, then it truly is useless." Gilgamesh didn't have much respect for the Counter Force either. "But you... fascinating, truly fascinating. A thing like you is worthy of being collected into this King's treasury!"
"Then come and try," Xia Yu chuckled upon hearing this. "Let's end the petty squabbles here. I've had my fill of fun just now, and I still need to go home for dinner."
"Bring it on. We won't just decide a victor, but also life and death!"
"Life and death?" Gilgamesh scoffed. "A mere puppet dares to speak to this King about deciding life and death?"
Despite his words, his actions were honest. After all, one couldn't afford to lose momentum.
He reached out and grasped the empty air. A cylindrical weapon adorned in a red and black color scheme materialized in his hand.
It only took a single second... for him to draw his weapon. But just moments ago, this despicable cur's sneak attack had caught him off guard. That scalp-numbing, rapid-fire offense hadn't given him a single opening.
And now she still dared to be so arrogant!
"Ea!" He stood in the sky, raising the Noble Phantasm high in his hand. Its exaggerated Mana churned like a storm, almost dyeing the entire sky red!
"Sing to your heart's content!"
Even Gilgamesh had to admit his opponent's valor; if he didn't bring out Ea, he truly wouldn't be able to defeat her.
After all, judging by her recent outburst, she could completely ignore his rain of Noble Phantasms, break through in a straight line, and instantly strike right in front of him. Any attempt to create distance was futile.
Now that his opponent wanted to decide the victor in a single blow, it was exactly the scenario he wished to see.
Countless torrents of Mana gathered into a storm above his head. Gilgamesh, wielding Ea, shone with a crimson light that was undoubtedly the brightest star in the center of the storm.
"It's time to borrow some outside help." Seeing this, the twin cyan swords in Xia Yu's hands dissipated. Replacing them was the greatsword, Judgment of Shamash.
The Herrscher of Fire's gem, which had originally been split into two halves embedded in the twin guns, had now fused together. Xia Yu then placed the Elden Ring over it, and the Honkai Energy within instantly completed the power supply.
It was just that convenient. Xia Yu didn't even need to provide the energy herself!
The Honkai Energy, potent enough to trigger a Great Honkai that could engulf half the world, was more than enough to spam the Might of An-Utu like it was on wholesale!
"I shall perform this final blow as a parting gift to you! I will tell you of the beginning." Gilgamesh's chant drifted down from above. Ea, which had just been held high, now aimed straight at her. "Heaven and Earth split, nothingness praised creation, my Sword of Rupture cleaved the world!"
"Mortar of the stars, heaven's hell is the eve of creation's celebration. Now you shall die and be silent..."
Xia Yu raised her head and looked into the center of the storm. That crimson star whipped up an endless tide of Mana—a terrifying Noble Phantasm that seemed capable of shattering space itself!
Should I say something too?
But Judgment of Shamash doesn't seem to have a release chant, does it? Hmm, let's go with this then.
"I am..." She grasped Judgment of Shamash with both hands. Standing firmly upon the earth, she looked up at the sky.
"Enuma Elish!"
"Atomic!"
Boom! The crimson meteor descending from the sky violently collided head-on with the flame erupting from the earth!
In an instant, light and flames intertwined. The shockwave generated by their collision could be clearly felt even at Mount Enzou, dozens of kilometers away.
Ea's Anti-World special attack was useless against Xia Yu. The two sides were purely relying on their respective firepower to clash head-on!
Feeling the Mana rapidly draining from his body, a thoroughly delighted smile tugged at the corners of Gilgamesh's mouth. Even as a tyrant, he couldn't help but feel a surge of exhilaration in a moment like this.
"Come, let me see your limits! Mongrel!" As he spoke, he increased his Mana output.
He looked exactly like someone who didn't care even if he burned himself out completely.
But was Xia Yu afraid of him?
When it came to energy reserves, she truly didn't fear him. The sea of Honkai Energy within the Elden Ring could allow her to trade blows with him all day long!
As the two of them exerted force once more, the colliding shockwaves at the intersection of their attacks expanded again. The entirety of Fuyuki City witnessed this daytime star!
"This is bad... This is really bad!!!"
Tohsaka Rin squatted on the rooftop with her head clutched in both hands, on the verge of a complete breakdown. She was already starting to give up.
"A terrifying battle of this caliber... let alone me, even if Father were here... he probably wouldn't..."
How was this something she could get involved in? However, as the manager of the local Spiritual Land, according to the rules of the Mages' Association, she absolutely had to get involved!
She could only mutter under her breath, "Kirei... Kirei definitely has a way..."
Even though she knew this was just self-comfort.
Meanwhile, the School below had already descended into chaos, with students running around in sheer panic.
At the same time, in the Church far away, Kotomine Kirei climbed to the top of the cathedral and watched this scene from afar.
Gilgamesh... has met his match?
Wasn't he going after that mysterious woman? Why would...
In their rented house, Illya was pulled out of her room by Leysritt. She stared dumbfounded at the world-shaking battle in the distance.
Inside the Matou Residence, the eyes of the skeleton-like old man flickered with an unsteady light.
Back at the center of the massive clash, Gilgamesh could finally hold on no longer.
As one of the highest-tier Noble Phantasms, Ea's consumption was absolutely terrifying. Over the past four-plus minutes of their deadlock, his remaining Mana had been mostly depleted.
Logically speaking, unleashing a Noble Phantasm like Ea was meant for a decisive strike; the outcome should be determined in an instant.
Yet, the opponent across from him was like a bottomless pit. Even though he was on the verge of exhaustion, she continued to relentlessly increase her output... as if her Mana was infinite!
Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and opened the Gate of Babylon, preparing to fish out some Mana-restoring treasures to sustain himself. Otherwise, he truly wouldn't be able to outlast her!
But in this very split second! Xia Yu seized the opportunity!
She pressed the Elden Ring directly against Judgment of Shamash, channeled her energy output to the maximum, and hurled it into the sky!
Because the energy source was still attached, Judgment of Shamash's output did not decrease; it continued to hold its ground against Ea!
As for Xia Yu herself, she took a deep breath and connected with the power that had been slumbering within her body.
The power didn't respond with much, only a faint sliver was roused.
However, this sliver was more than enough!
The cyan energy radiating from the SAM Armor instantly erupted. A cloak resembling twin wings, several meters long, materialized behind her. The twin cyan swords coalesced once more. She bent her knees slightly, and then rocketed into the sky!
In an instant, the cyan meteor pierced through the barrier of Flame and Mana, flying upwards with an unstoppable momentum!
Holding a flask of divine wine in his hand, Gilgamesh watched in shock as the figure broke through his Noble Phantasm and charged straight at him.
"You..."
Before he could finish his words, Xia Yu had already arrived right in front of him.
Gilgamesh tried to raise his hand to block, but Ea was still in the middle of its release. How could it be moved so easily? He could only try to block with his other hand.
But there was no weapon in that hand, only a flask of divine wine.
How could such a thing stop Xia Yu's lightning-fast assault!
In a mere instant, both of his arms were severed from his body by Xia Yu. Ea slipped from his grasp, instantly terminating the release of the Noble Phantasm. The boundless Flame below, having lost its opposition, surged straight into the heavens and blasted toward the two of them!
Xia Yu was clad in Sam, with her fire resistance maxed out. Moreover, she instantly recalled the Elden Ring and Judgment of Shamash, meaning this Flame could not last.
Gilgamesh, however, was in a miserable state. With his hands severed by Xia Yu, he had already lost most of his capacity to resist. Trying to defend against this Flame exhausted his final shreds of Mana.
In the end, once the Flame completely dissipated, Gilgamesh was left entirely at Xia Yu's mercy.
"You mong... urgh..." Xia Yu reached out and seized him by the neck, cutting off his profanity before he could finish. She immediately activated her one and only Noble Phantasm.
[Usurper of the Celestial Wind]
Target—Gate of Babylon!
"What?!" Gilgamesh naturally sensed her actions, his eyes practically splitting at the seams. "You... bastard..."
"To dare... covet... the King's treasures... you..."
"You tyrant," Xia Yu showed zero sympathy toward this version of him who had murdered Illya in the Fifth Holy Grail War. With a touch of wicked amusement, she added, "Oh, by the way, the Wise King version of you asked me to say hello. Once you're back in the Throne of Heroes, remember to tell him — about the Stellaron Hunter who beat the crap out of his chuunibyou self."
"As for the reward, I'm already taking it."
"You!" How could Gilgamesh endure such an insult? Heroic Spirits had their ways of dying, and creatures of flesh and blood had theirs.
Using his last remaining drop of Mana, he churned his own internal organs, instantly pushing himself to the absolute brink of death.
In order to protect his treasury, he couldn't even leave behind any last words. With a sharp gasp, he died by Xia Yu's hand.
"Tsk, why so stingy?" Xia Yu sighed with regret.
She raised her hand slightly, and a golden ripple surfaced beside her.
===
T/N: And she says she didn't suit berserker class.