Some Days Later.
It had been several days since Gilgamesh's encounter and battle against Sun Wukong, the Great Victorious Fighting Buddha, and also since Arthur's recovery, when he and his sister joined Gilgamesh's group.
Both had settled in, each receiving their own rooms in the house. Le Fay was extremely excited about the opportunity to live with her idol.
Everyone had also introduced themselves and become acquainted.
Arthur had also discovered the true identities of Arturia and Mordred.
To say Arthur was shocked would be an understatement; he was utterly stunned when he found out.
First, by the fact that someone could summon Heroes to fight by their side, and then by the revelation that King Arthur was actually a woman, though he didn't mind this too much.
Since then, Arthur had come to see Arturia, and even Mordred, with great admiration, like Le Fay, and developed immense respect for both, challenging them to fights which, unsurprisingly, he lost.
He had also seen Arturia's Excalibur and could easily say it was the most incredible and beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.
Arthur and Le Fay also began training with everyone to increase their power levels. Valerie and Gilgamesh taught Le Fay various spells and other magical techniques.
As for Arthur, Gilgamesh and Arturia were teaching him to improve his mastery over Caliburn and his skills with it. Arturia taught him a lot since their fighting styles were similar, relying on technique, unlike Mordred, who fought with pure instinct.
Currently, inside the dungeon, which was a vast plain with mountains in the background and a few trees, waves upon waves of holy energy were being unleashed across the area.
In the middle of the field, Arthur could be seen, visibly exhausted and panting, holding Caliburn in his hand as the holy sword released powerful waves of holy energy.
On the other side stood Gilgamesh, wielding a copy of Arthur's Caliburn in his hand, the sword emitting a steady and focused aura of holy energy.
Nearby, observing, was Arturia, clad in her armor, holding Excalibur in her hands without the Invisible Air.
Arthur charged at Gilgamesh again, swinging Caliburn at high speed and releasing wave after wave of holy energy.
Gilgamesh swiftly blocked all of Arthur's attacks without even moving from his spot, releasing more waves of holy energy to nullify Arthur's.
Gilgamesh smiled.
"I think that's enough for today," Gilgamesh said, smiling.
Arthur let out a tired laugh before collapsing onto his back, panting.
"Onii-sama," Le Fay said as she approached her brother, who gave her a reassuring smile.
Asia quickly approached him and began healing him.
"I'll take care of him," Asia said, smiling at Le Fay, who nodded.
"You've improved a lot, Arthur," Arturia said to the young man.
Arthur smiled at this, holding immense respect for his ancestor, even though Arturia was from a different universe, not that Arthur knew that.
Since Arthur began living with them, Gilgamesh and Arturia trained him every day.
And it was brutal training. They pushed him to the brink of unconsciousness daily; it was exhausting, but Arthur could noticeably see his improvements.
---
"Is it true, Gilgamesh-sama, that Excalibur was stolen?" Le Fay asked Gilgamesh.
Obviously, Gilgamesh had told everyone about the incident of Excalibur being stolen.
Arturia narrowed her eyes at this statement; she would never consider those fragile fragments as part of her Excalibur.
Gilgamesh couldn't help but sweat as he felt Arturia's anger rising when the Excalibur Fragments were mentioned.
Though he understood her.
Comparing the beauty and majesty of Arturia's Excalibur to those mere Fragments was ridiculous, laughable to the point that Arturia wanted to crush them with her own hands.
Was this how the original Gilgamesh felt when EMIYA copied his weapons? No wonder he was furious.
Gilgamesh had moments like this too, especially when people compared his [Gate of Babylon] to the Sacred Gears [Blade Blacksmith] and [Sword Birth]. Let's just say the last person who made that comparison met such a brutal death that not even their soul remained.
"Yes, it seems the holy swords Excalibur Rapidly, Excalibur Nightmare, and Excalibur Transparency, three of the seven Fragments, were stolen," Gilgamesh said to them, who nodded.
Honestly, the Excalibur Fragments are weak unless wielded by a master like Ewald Cristaldi; otherwise, they're feeble. They can be lethal to Demons, but that's about it.
However, the original Excalibur of this world was very versatile, Gilgamesh admitted. It was a fusion of the seven Fragments, granting seven different abilities, making it more versatile than Arturia's.
Though Arturia's Excalibur would easily overpower it due to its vastly superior power.
The original Excalibur was split into Seven Fragments, created through magic and alchemy by the Church.
Perhaps the reason they aren't so strong is that when it was reforged, God no longer existed, and it was made by human hands.
"The one who stole them was one of the Lords of the Grigori, the Fallen Angel of the Stars, Kokabiel," Gilgamesh said to everyone, who nodded.
"That could be considered an act of war," Arthur said, concerned.
"Will everything be okay, Gilgamesh-sama?" Le Fay asked, afraid of a new war.
Gilgamesh gave a reassuring smile.
"Everything will be fine," Gilgamesh said to the witch, who nodded confidently.
Gilgamesh would have no trouble fighting Kokabiel. In just a few days, he had fought Ares, Artemis, Sun Wukong, Arthur, Vali, and Tobio in a short period.
It was really stressing Gilgamesh out; he couldn't have peace for long before someone showed up to challenge him to a battle.
Who's next, huh? A dragon coming to challenge him too?
Oh, if only Gilgamesh knew.
Back to the matter at hand, Kokabiel was strong, but he somewhat disappointed Gilgamesh by how easily he was defeated by Vali in the canon.
I mean, he's a Ten-Winged Fallen Angel with power to rival the Maou of the Underworld and the Archangels of Heaven.
Before his fall from grace, he was one of God's most powerful children, one of God's Generals, leading entire legions, and even after falling, he retained immense power, yet he was defeated so easily.
My God, he's a Fallen Angel who survived the Great War marked in the Bible and was only cornered by Vasco Strada, the man who defeated Vali and is considered the Pinnacle of Humanity and the Strongest Wielder of Durandal.
But what worried Gilgamesh wasn't even Kokabiel himself, but his army.
Kokabiel may be a war-crazed maniac, but even he wouldn't start a war alone, as he had an army to aid him.
Kokabiel is one of the leaders of the Fallen Angels, commanding dozens of Fallen Angels, and there were also those who agreed with Kokabiel's ideals and wanted war.
It was said that Kokabiel commanded over 200 Angels by his side; others said he led 365,000 soldiers.
Even when Kokabiel fell from heaven's grace, all the Angels who served him voluntarily followed their leader to continue serving him.
And that made everything problematic. If they were willing to fall from heaven for Kokabiel, imagine what they would do for him.
Gilgamesh also knew that Kokabiel and his army were moving quietly in the shadows. It seemed that Gilgamesh's presence had made the Fallen Angel of the Stars cautious.
Gilgamesh had also discovered that a few days ago, Kiba had encountered and fought Freed Sellzen.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of everything, but stay alert," Gilgamesh said to everyone, who nodded.
Explosions caught the attention of Gilgamesh and everyone, who turned their gaze to the source.
Purple flames flew everywhere, attacking divine red flames.
It was Valerie with her new Longinus, [Incinerate Anthem], and Karna with his divine flames.
Both were training to improve Valerie's control over her new Longinus.
Gilgamesh sighed before heading over, as both were overdoing it.
Some Time Later.
It had been a while since Arthur's training, and everyone had gone about their tasks.
Le Fay was currently with Valerie in Gilgamesh's room, picking up some grimoires and books on magic. It seemed the Dhampir was eager to teach Le Fay some spells, who was excited, and Karna was with them, fulfilling his mission to protect Valerie.
Though only someone suicidal would attack the house with all of them there.
Mordred was in her room, probably eating and watching something, which she usually did when not fighting or teasing Valerie.
Sebas and Asia had gone out to buy some things for the house, as they now had two more members.
Tiamat was in the Underworld due to some [Rating Game] matches, where she was the secret judge.
Enkidu was in the backyard bathing Fenrir, which the God-Slaying Weapon insisted needed a bath at least once a week. Though many thought Fenrir wouldn't like such things, it seemed the God-Devouring Wolf was quite happy with the attention Enkidu gave him.
Regulus was with them, sleeping in the backyard as usual.
Arturia was in the dojo behind the house, where she usually practiced some of her sword techniques.
---
Arthur was sitting at the table, drinking tea while polishing Caliburn.
Gilgamesh was lying on the couch, bored, watching TV.
It didn't even seem like a group with power to rival God Factions, but rather a group of normal friends.
Gilgamesh had discovered that all of Greece was in the midst of a great storm, a result of Zeus's anger.
The King of the Greek Gods was not at all pleased that two of his children had lost to a human, so the news hadn't gone public.
Gilgamesh sensed familiar energy signatures approaching and smiled.
Two knocks were heard at the door.
Arthur narrowed his eyes, grabbing Caliburn to prepare for any enemy, but a wave from Gilgamesh made him relax.
Gilgamesh got up, went to the door, and opened it, seeing two people he knew and hadn't seen in a long time.
The first was a young woman with chin-length blue hair, a green-tinted fringe on the right side, and brown eyes. Her battle attire was the Church's battle suit, consisting of a tight, short-sleeved black bodysuit with trim, fingerless gloves extending to the biceps, and high boots, all adorned with straps. This outfit was worn under a white hooded cloak with gold and blue details. She also wore a crucifix around her neck.
The second was a beautiful young woman with violet eyes. She had long brown hair, usually tied into strands, each secured with a blue elastic, though sometimes she let it down. She wore the same battle attire as the first woman.
They were Xenovia Quarta and Irina Shidou, two exorcists from the Church and former friends and even disciples of Gilgamesh when he worked for the Church.
"It's been a long time, senpai," Irina said, smiling at Gilgamesh with a slight blush on her face.
"It's been a while, senpai," Xenovia said with a stoic face but a faint pink hue on her cheeks.
Gilgamesh smiled.
"It's been a long time indeed, Irina, Xenovia," Gilgamesh said to them. "Come in."
Gilgamesh stepped aside to let them enter, and he led them to the couch.
"We have guests," Arthur said, sheathing Caliburn.
"Who is he, Gilgamesh-senpai?" Irina asked curiously.
"Well, I suppose I should introduce you," Gilgamesh said before starting.
"Arthur, these are Xenovia and Irina, two friends from my time in the Church and wielders of Excalibur Destruction and Excalibur Mimic, respectively," Gilgamesh said to Arthur, who showed slight surprise.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Arthur said with a small smile.
"Pleased to meet you," Irina said, with Xenovia nodding in agreement.
"This is Arthur Pendragon, the descendant of King Arthur and wielder of the holy sword Caliburn," Gilgamesh said to the two, who widened their eyes in shock.
"The Strongest Holy Sword…" Xenovia said in surprise.
"That's incredible, the legendary Sword of the Holy King," Irina said with sparkling eyes.
"So, what brings you here?" Gilgamesh asked, though he already knew everything.
Xenovia coughed into her hand to get attention before speaking.
---
"I'm sure you've been informed that three Fragments of Excalibur were stolen and brought to Japan," Xenovia said seriously.
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