Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others stood aboard Vimana. Gilgamesh was taking them straight toward Wu Ling's location.
"Mr. Gilgamesh, is this really all right?" Mash asked, worry in her voice.
Everyone understood what worried her. According to the rules of Wu Ling's game, they were supposed to kill the nine Servants acting as soldiers before challenging the boss. Going straight for the boss was not impossible, but it felt like it would trigger something.
Gilgamesh gave Mash a light glance. This time, he did not repeat his usual line about his own words and actions being the law of the world, or say that one Evil of Humanity would be simple to crush with him present.
He said that much aloud, but in truth, he had not underestimated Wu Ling. This time, the Counter Force had not only dragged him here by force, it had also opened every authority available to him. That had not happened even when facing other Evils of Humanity.
In other words, he was not merely one Servant aspect of the Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh. He had been summoned in the full body of the Heroic Spirit.
In this state, he possessed both EX-rank Clairvoyance and the EX-rank Noble Phantasm Sha Naqba Imuru: The Omniscient Omnipotent Star.
Sha Naqba Imuru was the king's spirit sublimated into a Noble Phantasm, a radiance like starlight spreading across the earth, seeing through all things. It was a continuously active Noble Phantasm.
It could pierce through layers of concealment to reveal an opponent's true name, Noble Phantasms, and other truths. It could even observe parallel worlds. Although it was always active, Gilgamesh normally restricted its effect by choice. Now, however, it was running at full output.
Clairvoyance itself meant eyes capable of seeing across great distances. At high rank, it gained the ability to see the future, the past, or the present in detail.
The prerequisite for becoming a Grand Caster was possession of EX-rank Clairvoyance.
For example, Solomon possessed Clairvoyance that could perceive the present, past, and future. Merlin's Clairvoyance could see the present. Gilgamesh's Clairvoyance could see the future.
With Sha Naqba Imuru observing horizontally across parallel worlds and Clairvoyance observing vertically along this timeline, Gilgamesh had largely understood what Wu Ling had done.
Beyond those support abilities, his Saint Graph had also received a degree of reinforcement. It was still limited enough that it could not match a Grand, but it surpassed an ordinary Servant by a wide margin. Added to that were many other permissions, such as unrestricted use of Ea and free deployment of Noble Phantasms. The information he had received from the Counter Force could be summed up in one sentence: if the problem cannot be solved normally, crush it until nothing remains.
Fujimaru Ritsuka's group exchanged glances after hearing Gilgamesh's answer. Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash still wanted to say something, but Kadoc patted their shoulders from behind and shook his head when they turned toward him.
Kadoc had never faced Gilgamesh directly, but he had once spent time near Ivan the Terrible. He understood one thing about a proud king like Gilgamesh. Once such a king had decided on a course, he would not change it. Rather than wasting breath trying to persuade him, it was better to prepare several backup plans in case something went wrong.
The group sat together, and Kadoc opened the discussion.
"According to that Evil of Humanity's rules, if we attack him directly, we will face every surviving Servant on his side at once."
"But three of his Servants have already been eliminated. Those three are Heracles, Lancelot, and the Angra Mainyu Fujimaru Ritsuka mentioned. Our side lost Hassan of the Cursed Arm."
"Our current fighting strength is Mash, Moriarty, Musashi, the King of Knights, and that man. If we exclude the Evil of Humanity himself, our current force can win. The key problem is that we still know nothing about that Evil of Humanity. We do not know his abilities or his raw strength. That is our current weakness, but it may also be a way in."
After hearing Kadoc's analysis, Mash and Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded. When they had faced Evils of Humanity before, they had first searched for the truth, gathered records, made plans based on those records and their intelligence, and only then resolved the crisis.
Fujimaru Ritsuka turned toward an empty patch of air. "Da Vinci, did you find anything?"
A screen appeared there, with Little Da Vinci inside it. She looked tired and worried.
"Sorry. We found nothing. We spent a full day searching almost every mythology, including fringe legends and unofficial histories, but none of them contain the name Wu Ling. Because of that name, I specifically checked Chinese mythology too. The result was hard to summarize."
"Our final conclusion is that the Beast of Rebellion who calls himself Wu Ling and once called himself the King of Heroic Spirits may be a human transformed into something else, similar to Kiara Sessyoin."
Even though he had not obtained the information he wanted, Fujimaru Ritsuka did not sink into frustration. Instead, he comforted Little Da Vinci.
"It is fine. Even without information, we will solve this."
Little Da Vinci seemed infected by Fujimaru Ritsuka's mood, and her usual smile returned. "Yes. Please keep going, everyone. We will keep supporting you from the rear."
After ending the conversation with Little Da Vinci, a thought suddenly struck Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"Right. Support. Leaving out Moriarty and Mash, and setting aside Musashi and the other four, there should still be five Servants, right? If so, is it possible those five Servants might appear the same way King Gilgamesh did? This time, our target is very direct."
Fujimaru Ritsuka's words made Kadoc and Mash think seriously. In another Singularity or Lostbelt, the answer would be uncertain. In this special place, it might really happen.
Just then, Vimana suddenly shook beneath them. A huge crystal like object appeared under the ship, then rapidly dropped downward.
"What... is that?"
Mash blinked, then seemed to remember something. "I remember now. I once heard Mr. Gilgamesh say that Vimana carries a type of magical energy crystal. It is something like an ancient nuclear warhead."
"An ancient nuclear warhead?" Musashi and Artoria did not understand that term well, but Fujimaru Ritsuka and Kadoc understood it immediately.
As if to prove Mash right, a blinding flare first pulled everyone's attention. Then came a rising mushroom cloud and a sweeping blast wave. Even at Vimana's speed, they felt as if the wind had shoved the ship from behind.
While everyone stared in stunned confusion, Gilgamesh's voice reached them.
"Hmph. I simply removed two rats on the way."
Then Gilgamesh glanced at Fujimaru Ritsuka and continued, "Also, according to my observation, our Servants number only six... no, five now."