Tokiomi Tohsaka...
For this fool who had summoned him, Gilgamesh had gained a rough understanding over these past few days.
Scheming with power plays, cautious to the point of being somewhat cowardly...
Such a man was not worthy enough to be his master.
This time heading to Mount Enzou, Gilgamesh hadn't even considered what Tokiomi might be thinking.
He had assumed the man was still back at the estate... Yet here he was, boldly appearing in plain sight before everyone?
Gilgamesh was quite surprised to say the least.
"My King, I apologize for keeping you waiting."
Tokiomi Tohsaka arrived beside Gilgamesh and performed a standard noble's etiquette bow.
"This King is rather surprised, Tokiomi."
Gilgamesh appraised the man with interest for a couple of moments.
"I didn't expect you to have the courage to approach this battlefield."
"I wished to witness the outcome of this mythic clash with my own eyes... And as your Master, I can provide support if necessary."
Tokiomi Tohsaka answered neither humbly nor arrogantly.
After speaking, he casually glanced toward the King of Conquest, who was gradually showing signs of fatigue nearby, his gaze soon fixing on Alvin.
"It seems the great battle has already begun..."
He murmured to himself.
Gilgamesh said nothing, but the anticipation in his eyes grew ever stronger.
Manaka Sajyou had also noticed this scene, her gaze casually turning toward Gilgamesh.
"It looks like you intend to make a move on Saber too, Archer?"
She maintained her soft and fragile elegant posture throughout, a charming faint smile adorning her flawless, exquisite face.
But in the dim light, those beautiful eyes appeared somewhat dark.
At her feet, the black mud hidden below surged silently.
Gilgamesh turned his head toward Manaka Sajyou, and soon, an immensely arrogant, flat voice rang out. "Saber's Master, huh... This King knows you're stronger than an ordinary Master, but that's merely within the realm of a magus."
"Even for the sake of your own Servant, you should hide yourself off to the side right now."
Manaka Sajyou showed no irritation whatsoever, merely smiling.
"You really have a lot of confidence in yourself, Archer."
Clang!
Not far away, accompanied by the pleasant sound of swords clashing, the King of Conquest and Alvin each recoiled half a step. Then, the King of Conquest let out a roar like a beast, swinging a sword toward Alvin.
In that instant, his originally utterly depleted magical energy surged to an immense potency.
Throughout their earlier exchanges, he had been holding back a sliver of magical power precisely for this critical moment....to deliver a fatal blow to Alvin.
However, the latter seemed to have anticipated it and he immediately thrust the holy sword toward the King of Conquest's chest.
Squelch...
Blood overflowed.
The King of Conquest's pupils widened, silently staring at Alvin.
After a long while, a relieved smile appeared on his face. "Your magical energy truly is inexhaustible, isn't it, Saber?"
In normal circumstances, even with a Master supplying magical energy, there could still be moments when it couldn't keep up, leading to depletion.
Yet... Alvin had just unleashed both the holy sword and holy spear in succession, and at this moment, his magical energy remained incredibly potent.
Because the magical power of the White Dragon's furnace heart alone was already vast, unless he kept unleashing the holy sword repeatedly, it would always be sufficient no matter what... Alvin said. "Do you have any last wishes, King of Conquest?"
The latter, however, slowly shook his head: "That's enough."
Having descended as a Servant, he had already experienced entirely new things in the present world that he hadn't in the past.
Though he hadn't conquered, he had gained a unique memory all his own.
With these thoughts in his mind, the King of Conquest quietly closed his eyes.
By all rights, a Servant's soul would be recovered by the Greater Grail at this moment.
But just then, an unexpected change occurred!
At some point, beneath everyone's feet, the faint sound of flowing water seemed to rise.
Morgan was the first to sense the anomaly, instinctively looking toward the ground beneath the King of Conquest.
Soon, her pupils beneath the veil contracted slightly.
Beneath the King of Conquest's feet at this moment, something was surging forth!
...Black mud!
At this moment, it surged like an intelligent monster, swiftly devouring and reclaiming the King of Conquest's soul before charging straight toward Gilgamesh.
This happened so quickly that everyone present had no time to react.
However, Gilgamesh merely watched the scene with cold indifference, showing no panic whatsoever..
Behind him, one golden ripple after another lit up in succession, weapons coated in a golden glow hurtling at extreme speed toward Manaka Sajyou's position!
Whoosh!
Its speed was too fast....even Alvin hadn't anticipated that Gilgamesh would target Manaka Sajyou first.
It was clear that he had spotted at a glance that the one controlling the black mud was Manaka.
The golden Noble Phantasm accurately pierced through the girl's heart as she collapsed to her knees on the ground, unconscious.
Looking at her, a cold smile appeared on Gilgamesh's face.
"Did you really think you could deal with this King using something like that, aren't you underestimating me a bit too much?"
And he certainly had the right to say that.
In the Holy Grail War, he stood at the pinnacle among Servants as an utterly exceptional one.
Dealing with a mere magus didn't even warrant him going all out.
A single Gate of Babylon was more than enough to kill her.
Seeing this, Tokiomi Tohsaka felt an inexplicable wave of relief wash over him, followed by a chill of lingering fear.
After all, who could have imagined that in the Holy Grail War, a Master would dare to make the first move against a Servant?
And from that magical fluctuation just now... it had far exceeded the realm of an ordinary magus.
Was this girl really still 'human'?
As Tokiomi Tohsaka thought about this, he suddenly felt an inexplicable chill at his back.
He whipped his head around, his pupils dilating abruptly as he urgently cried out.
"My King, watch out behind you!"
"What—"
Gilgamesh spun around sharply, only to see a dagger hurtling toward his throat from the darkness.
...Assassin!
After being swallowed by the black mud, he hadn't died, instead, the black mud had transformed him into a corrupted version of Assassin, who was now utterly enslaved to Manaka Sajyou.
Gilgamesh had no time to dodge fully as he retreated half a step, but a gash was still sliced across his throat.
He looked down incredulously at the blood trickling along his neck, then, as if sensing something, instinctively lifted his gaze ahead.
Clearly, she had just been slain by a Noble Phantasm from the Gate of Babylon... yet at this moment, Manaka Sajyou was standing before him, lively as ever.
...Beneath her feet, at some point, countless black mud had begun surging, forming one grotesque 'shadow' after another.
Alvin was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself: I just asked her to purify the Greater Grail, how did she end up turning the black mud into her own tool?
Manaka Sajyou surveyed the people present, lightly pursing her supple lips before a pure and endearing smile bloomed on her face.
"Berserker, Assassin, Rider, plus Archer, if we add Caster and her Master, that should be enough to complete the Greater Grail's final descent ritual, right?"
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