Gilgamesh was not a newly summoned Servant.
He was a remnant of the Fourth Grail War.
Back then, Kirei Kotomine had transferred control of him from Tokiomi Tohsaka. When the Grail was ruptured and drenched him in corrupted energy, Gilgamesh gained a true physical body.
Unlike ordinary Servants, he never returned to the Throne of Heroes.
He remained in the world.
Kirei and Gilgamesh shared a twisted alignment.
Kirei wanted to drown humanity in suffering.
Gilgamesh wanted to erase modern humanity entirely.
To him, the current age was rotten.
Unworthy of existence.
Which meant Illya and Heracles had never truly been Kirei's problem.
Gilgamesh alone was meant to deal with them.
Kirei activated a Command Seal.
Nothing happened.
His expression finally shifted.
Impossible.
Unless Lancer had been killed.
Or sealed.
"Trying to summon your Lancer?" Rin said coldly. "He's already dealt with."
Kirei sighed.
"Told him to retreat if things went bad. Foolish."
He pieced it together quickly.
Lancer must have run into Rin and Archer.
And Illya's Berserker.
A single Servant wouldn't survive that.
No matter.
Plans adjusted.
Rin raised her hand.
Red magical bullets streaked toward Kirei.
"Die, you fake priest!"
"I want to kill him myself," Rin said sharply.
Archer manifested beside her, twin blades in hand, charging forward.
Rowan gave an approving nod and sat on a nearby pew.
Kirei couldn't die yet.
Rowan still needed his knowledge.
And his Command Seals.
Letting Rin vent first was harmless.
Illya stayed seated.
Heracles had only one life left.
No reason to risk him.
Shirou hovered uselessly nearby.
So once again, Rowan's side became a viewing section.
This time, the show was Rin and Archer versus Kirei Kotomine.
"Spells of this level won't touch me, Rin."
Kirei deflected the crimson shots with Black Keys and met Archer head-on, his movements sharp and brutal.
His close-combat skill was monstrous.
Even among Masters, Kirei was an anomaly.
Raised in martial arts from childhood.
Trained extensively in magecraft.
A veteran of the previous war.
Facing both Rin and Archer, he still held his ground.
Rowan tilted his head.
"He's stalling."
Not attacking.
Not committing.
Waiting.
Reinforcements.
Rowan sensed movement at the church entrance.
Three signatures.
Two Servants.
One human.
One of the Servants radiated power surpassing even Heracles.
The doors slammed open.
Golden light spilled into the sanctuary.
A blond man stepped inside, radiating arrogance like a crown.
"Kirei. Seems your evening's gone off-script."
His eyes locked onto Artoria.
"Artoria Pendragon."
"So we meet again."
"Fate truly loves irony."
"You may consider yourself honored."
"You're being given another chance to become my queen."
Artoria materialized instantly.
Shock flashed across her face.
"Gilgamesh…?"
He was supposed to be gone.
There was already an Archer in this war.
Yet here he stood.
"I never left," Gilgamesh said lazily.
"Thanks to you shattering the Grail, I obtained a permanent body."
"I don't return to the Throne."
He ignored Kirei entirely now.
His gaze was fixed on Artoria.
Rowan's interest spiked.
"A Servant outside the system."
Now that was rare.
He turned to Artoria.
"What's his Noble Phantasm?"
Her expression darkened.
"He possesses the prototypes of nearly every Noble Phantasm in existence."
"He wields countless treasures."
"And his strongest weapon…"
"Ea."
"A sword capable of tearing the world apart."
Rowan smiled slowly.
Now this was worth studying.