Two minutes earlier, the battle between Gilgamesh and Artoria had already reached a blazing climax.
Heracles had also joined the fight, turning the battlefield into utter chaos.
"Mongrel."
A longsword materialized in Gilgamesh's hand, blocking the massive axe-sword crashing down from Heracles. The pressure drove Gilgamesh's feet deep into the earth, and before he could counter, Heracles's right foot swung forward like a hurricane, slamming into his chest.
The ground erupted as Gilgamesh was blasted backward, carving a long trench before crashing into a heap of rubble. His facial muscles spasmed and twisted in fury.
"Hmph…"
Before he could fully recover, Artoria flashed forward, swinging her Holy Sword with lethal precision.
Golden ripples shimmered around Gilgamesh, and a jagged, golden chain shot out, knocking aside Artoria's blade and trying to ensnare her, but she pulled away and evaded it in time.
The sky lit up with blinding radiance as dense golden whirlpools appeared. Gilgamesh wiped blood from his mouth, glaring at Artoria and Heracles as nearly a thousand Noble Phantasms shot out in a storm of sonic booms.
"For you two to join forces and push me this far, consider it an honor."
A golden, key-shaped Noble Phantasm hovered beside him. Gilgamesh seized it, the gears rotating as a field of blood-red crystal erupted across the sky, then condensed sharply.
Another weapon appeared, pitch black and etched with red runes. As he gripped it, reality warped around him, space fracturing and splitting apart under its influence.
A tremendous threat pressed onto Artoria, and she tightened her stance, lifting her Holy Sword with both hands. Infinite points of light gathered from every direction, forming a pillar of golden radiance rising from the earth, as if the heavens circled around it.
"Roar!"
Heracles bellowed, crimson eyes blazing, his entire body wrapped in raging energy. He lifted his axe-sword high, the aura around him erupting violently.
The earth beneath their feet began collapsing from the overwhelming pressure.
"Ea, release."
Gilgamesh's eyes turned cold. The gears spun, and the sword split into three rotating sections. The world turned blood-red as lightning rippled outward. The sky cracked open, collapsing as the power to cleave heaven and earth surged forth.
The ground shattered into bottomless fissures. A torrent of primordial destruction rose beneath Gilgamesh, and he swung it downward toward Artoria and Heracles.
"Die. Enuma Elish, Star of Creation that Divides Heaven and Earth."
"Excalibur!"
"God Hand!"
Artoria and Heracles struck upward with all their might, a divine beam and a massive axe-light meeting the catastrophic red torrent in a world-ending clash.
Mountains rose only to split apart, forming a basin that cracked under the force. The sky lost all color as a shockwave spread outward in a blinding halo.
Gilgamesh held firm against the combined might of two heroic legends.
But then a blue light ignited high in the sky, and Gilgamesh's arrogance faltered.
"Kamehameha."
A streaking blue meteor cut across the heavens, leaving a blazing tail before crashing down.
The balance shattered instantly. Gilgamesh, Artoria, and Heracles all felt the crushing danger radiating from it.
The exploding energy expanded without restraint. A blinding white sphere formed, and for a moment the world fell silent. Then at the center, a massive mushroom cloud soared upward, twin shockwaves rippling out in circles as the earth convulsed.
"Damn it!"
Gilgamesh roared as his golden armor cracked apart like shattered glass. Bones snapped, tendons tore, and blood burst from every opening in his face. His body flew like a broken comet, smashing through a large mountain until he could no longer be recognized.
Artoria and Heracles were also devastated by the blast.
Artoria was thrown back violently, coughing blood as her chest caved in. Her garments tore, leaving her pale-faced and barely able to move as she carved a long trench before collapsing at its end.
Heracles—whose Twelve Labors served as his immortal armor—lost eleven lives in an instant. Half of his body ruptured, blood spilling freely.
Even as the mushroom cloud faded, the sky continued to recoil from the force.
Time passed in silence.
Lucien hovered above the enormous crater, the center of a destroyed landscape. Deep cracks spiraled outward in all directions.
His Kamehameha had detonated at the perfect moment, igniting the clash like a spark thrown into explosive fuel.
Descending lightly, Lucien immediately located Gilgamesh embedded deep within the shattered mountain.
"You lowly mongrel…"
Gilgamesh's voice trembled as he coughed blood. He couldn't even move a finger, yet he still stared with condescending contempt.
Lucien puffed on his cigar. Four obsidian-black thorns emerged behind him, tearing through the air before plunging into Gilgamesh's chest.
"You wretched mongrel… what have you done?"
Gilgamesh felt his essence being devoured. Lucien was draining him alive.
Lucien exhaled calmly, smoke drifting upward. Two more thorns extended from his tailbone, piercing Gilgamesh's forehead as his body withered, breaking apart into points of fading light.
Within ten breaths, the King of Heroes vanished, consumed entirely.
Lucien let out a breath of satisfaction, feeling the strengthening sensation coursing through every cell.
In a flash, he appeared before Heracles. The giant warrior had resurrected, his strength still fearsome despite the loss of so many lives.
Heracles's Noble Phantasm, the Twelve Labors, granted physical immortality. His body itself was a Noble Phantasm—only complete annihilation twelve times could end him. Powerful Masters could even restore lost lives, while overwhelming damage could strip several at once.
The Kamehameha had taken eleven.
Heracles snorted violently, steam blasting from his mouth. He slammed the ground and stood, raising his weapon for another attack.
Lucien inhaled his cigar without even blinking.
The axe-sword fell with a shriek, but when it stopped just five centimeters from Lucien's head, Heracles froze.
Illya emerged from the ruins, raising her right hand as her Command Seal glowed.
Eight black thorns sprouted from Lucien's tailbone, stabbing into Heracles in an instant and drawing out torrents of life force.
Heracles slowly turned his head toward Illya, silently questioning her.
But she only stared back with cold, merciless eyes.
Moments later, Heracles dissolved into scattering light.
The thorns swayed contentedly. Lucien closed his eyes, an expression of deep satisfaction crossing his face. His aura returned to its peak and continued to rise even further.
Nearby, Artoria struggled to sit up, her armor tattered, hair disheveled, her face pale. She covered her chest with one hand and her exposed thighs with the other, staring at Lucien absorbing Heracles, her emerald eyes filled with conflicted emotion.
Then a surge of power flowed into her.
Lucien had given her his energy.
Her injuries healed rapidly, and her armor reformed across her body.