December 15, Saturday, 11 p.m.
Episode 23 of the late-night anime 'Fate/Zero' began airing.
...
Clink\~
A wine goblet forged from gold was hurled away, striking the ground with a crisp, ringing sound.
That sound became the signal for war.
Raise a cup, and they were friends. Cast it aside, and they became enemies.
The solitary, proud king gazed at the imposing man before him with a mixture of contempt and amusement, then chuckled.
"Show me what you're capable of, King of Conquerors. You are a rebel worthy of being judged by my own hand."
"King of Babylon, then allow me to challenge your solitary path of kingship with all due respect."
Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, threw back his head and laughed, utterly unconcerned by the King of Heroes' arrogance.
As soon as he finished speaking, an unprecedented amount of magical energy gathered around him, forming a violent storm.
Space itself began to distort.
Even the faint traces of magical energy escaping from the storm caused the ground to crack apart.
The wide, sturdy concrete bridge suddenly seemed like a fragile suspension bridge swaying in a hurricane.
Amid the storm, the towering figure clad in crimson remained completely unmoved, just like the path of conquest he had always upheld.
When he took a single step forward, the storm expanded.
And the entire world changed with it.
An EX-rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.
The lands once traversed by the warriors who had followed the King of Conquerors on his campaigns, recreated through a Reality Marble projected from the collective hearts of every soldier.
Ionioi Hetairoi—King's Army.
"Rumble, rumble\~!"
A desolate desert stretched as far as the eye could see.
The scorching sunlight beat down mercilessly, transforming the entire desert into a furnace capable of melting all things.
An army of a million soldiers advanced steadily across the sands.
Their heavy, synchronized footsteps echoed through the wasteland, and their ironclad formation remained utterly unshaken by the blazing heat.
Wherever the army passed, raging winds swept up clouds of sand that engulfed everything in their path.
"I see. It seems you didn't come before me entirely unprepared."
Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, stood at the far end of the desert, clad in golden armor with his arms folded across his chest.
He regarded the approaching army with considerable interest.
For the first time, the overwhelming presence of a million soldiers brought a hint of seriousness into his eyes.
At the front of the vast formation, Iskandar sat astride a magnificent black warhorse.
Behind him, Waver clutched his cloak to steady himself.
The King of Conquerors raised the broadsword in his right hand and proclaimed his declaration of war with boundless enthusiasm.
"My comrades, assemble! Let everyone witness that we are the mightiest warriors!"
"Our enemy is the invincible King of Babylon! A foe worthy of facing us! My valiant warriors, let the very first Heroic Spirit witness our path of conquest!"
"ALL FORCES, CHARGE!"
The million-strong army surged forward like a black tide swallowing the entire desert.
As they moved together, their fighting spirit, harder than steel, seemed to become the very center of the world.
Ionioi Hetairoi were even more magnificent than when they had first been summoned.
The soldiers wore heavy armor, and the weapons in their hands gleamed with a chilling brilliance.
The warriors' eyes shone with eagerness for battle.
Unlike the ordinary soldiers, these heroes no longer carried standardized weapons.
Each wielded the Noble Phantasm that had earned him his fame.
"Hmph."
Gilgamesh gave a disdainful snort.
He stared directly at the million soldiers rushing toward him.
A black rain of arrows was the first attack to emerge from the army.
Countless arrows filled the sky, so densely packed that they blotted out the sunlight.
And every single one was aimed at the King of Heroes.
Gilgamesh extended his right hand.
A strangely shaped shield appeared in his grasp.
He casually tossed it forward.
The mysterious crest engraved upon the shield lit up, projecting layer upon layer of enormous defensive barriers in front of him.
Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!
The entire rain of arrows failed to shake the shield in the slightest.
Seeing this, a sharp-eyed warrior among the million soldiers nodded toward Iskandar.
A longbow instantly appeared in his right hand.
Before anyone could even see his left hand move, an arrow had already shot through the countless soldiers ahead.
Wherever it passed, the fierce wind generated by its flight parted the sea of sand.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion erupted.
For one brief instant, the sound overwhelmed even the deafening rumble of a million soldiers charging.
The arrow shattered.
However, one of the shield's projected layers dimmed considerably, flickering as though it might collapse at any moment.
"Nothing but worthless rabble."
The King of Heroes delivered his judgment in an indifferent voice.
Hundreds of golden vortices appeared behind him.
From the center of each vortex, a magnificent weapon slowly emerged.
These Noble Phantasms were genuine artifacts, each a famous weapon belonging to some Heroic Spirit of a later age.
Although Gilgamesh wasn't their true owner and therefore couldn't release their true names, simply launching these Noble Phantasms as projectiles was already enough to shake the charge of a million soldiers.
"Kneel before your emperor."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The barrage was denser than the bullets fired by a machine gun, and each impact produced an explosion deeper and more powerful than that of an ordinary bomb.
Every Noble Phantasm that struck the million-strong army sent entire groups of soldiers flying.
Sand and dust erupted into the air.
The screams of soldiers mingled with the anguished neighing of horses.
Such a horrific scene would have terrified any ordinary person into complete paralysis, leaving them unable to take another step forward.
But the army commanded by the King of Conquerors was different.
No matter how helpless they seemed beneath the relentless bombardment of Noble Phantasms, every soldier continued advancing.
They raised their shields to withstand the impacts, their unwavering gazes fixed upon Gilgamesh in the distance.
They had marched into battle for one purpose alone.
To defeat the first and strongest Heroic Spirit.
The warriors within the army also displayed their individual abilities, intercepting the continuous rain of Noble Phantasms.
Some of the more agile heroes had already reached the front ranks.
While defending against the bombardment, they began preparing their own counterattacks against Gilgamesh.
...
CLANG!
Iskandar brought his broadsword down against a chain.
After sacrificing his million-strong army, the King of Conquerors had finally reached the King of Heroes.
Yet now, a chain extending from a golden vortex blocked his path.
Gilgamesh spoke with genuine admiration.
"Gathering your ideals together and advancing along the path of conquest. King of Conquerors, I commend your ambition, and I acknowledge the courage of the soldiers who follow you."
He paused.
"But do you understand? Every dream must eventually come to an end. There comes a time when one must awaken."
"Honestly, you're impossible to deal with. Just how many strange Noble Phantasms do you have?"
Iskandar spoke in an exasperated tone.
With a backward movement of his arm, he withdrew his broadsword and prepared to attack once more.
"Naturally, they are all treasures belonging to this king. Even I do not know their exact number."
Gilgamesh chuckled confidently.
"But if a treasure exists anywhere in this world, then it must belong to me. The Holy Grail is no exception."
"Now, I shall use the Noble Phantasm of which I am most proud to shatter your dreams."
He extended his right hand.
At some unknown moment, a golden weapon had appeared in his grasp.
It resembled neither a sword nor a key, yet somehow possessed characteristics of both.
With a slight twist of his wrist, the golden weapon underwent a bizarre transformation.
Red crystals extended from its hilt toward the heavens, forming an enormous crystalline canopy that blotted out the sky.
Sunlight reflected from the countless crystal surfaces.
Waver, seated behind the King of Conquerors, cried out in astonishment.
As a magus, he could vaguely sense what those strange red crystals actually were.
And he understood the true purpose of this Noble Phantasm.
In less than an instant, the enormous crystalline canopy contracted again, transforming into a sphere of energy resembling the sun.
The King of Heroes reached into the sphere and drew out a sword of extraordinary appearance.
Its blade consisted of three dark-red spiral segments.
Perhaps it couldn't even be called a sword.
After all, it possessed no cutting edge.
It was merely three dark-red cylindrical sections joined together.
"King of Conquerors, it is time for you to learn the ultimate fate of your endless dreams."
Gilgamesh's voice rang out with absolute confidence.
"I shall show you without the slightest mercy."
"Ea, awaken! The stage worthy of you has been prepared!"