Chapter 48: O Sun, Transform into Armor!
Following a "bang," a large amount of glass shards fell to the ground.
Hearing the sound, Shirou shifted his gaze away from the cold corpse in front of him. His body became a rapidly moving afterimage as he chased after Kotomine Kirei, who was fleeing at full speed.
Kotomine Kirei infused his legs with prana, greatly boosting his speed.
Even the world's fastest sprinter would be slow as a turtle compared to Kotomine Kirei, who was now running purely on survival instinct.
But despite this, the sense of urgency in Kotomine Kirei's heart did not diminish in the slightest.
Sure enough, just as he was about to escape the back garden of the Tohsaka residence, a golden stream of light, accompanied by a sonic boom, kicked up a strong gale.
Leaves flew up, and in Kotomine Kirei's line of sight, the figure of a white-haired man suddenly appeared.
A two-meter-tall golden spear, shaped like a work of art, reflected a beautiful light under the moon.
Wielding this spear and clad in golden armor, the white-haired man exhibited an intense presence.
Seeing the appearance of this man, all the survival instinct in Kotomine Kirei's heart instantly sank to the bottom of a lake.
"Lancer...?"
Looking at the astonished Kotomine Kirei, Karna's cold gaze swept over him. Then, the spear in his hand flipped, leaving a golden trajectory in the air before the spear tip pointed towards the priest.
"Master, shall I kill him?"
The brief sentence sounded like an announcement of Kotomine Kirei's impending fate.
"Leave him to me, Lancer. Archer should be coming soon. You go stop him. We can't let him have a chance to save this man."
"Yes, I understand!"
Nodding, Karna withdrew the long spear that had made Kotomine Kirei so tense his breathing stopped.
Watching the Lancer disappear into the nearby forest like a golden flash of lightning, Kotomine Kirei was immensely shocked.
He couldn't understand why Lancer would be with the red-haired boy who was chasing him.
"You're confused, aren't you?"
The boy's voice came from behind, causing Kotomine Kirei to instinctively turn his head.
The boy who had twice driven Kotomine Kirei into desperation was wearing a black and red trench coat, his red hair swaying slightly in the night air, and his brown eyes carried an unmistakable sense of resolve.
That gaze made Kotomine Kirei feel like he had seen it somewhere before.
However, Shirou didn't give Kotomine Kirei any more time to think.
Blue prana glowed in his hand like lightning, and two swords, one black and one white, were instantly formed.
Seeing this, Kotomine Kirei, extremely wary of Shirou, could only grit his teeth, 'Reinforce' the Black Keys clasped between his fingers with magecraft, and stare intently at Shirou's movements.
Kotomine Kirei knew he had absolutely no chance of escaping now. He had planned to form a contract with Archer, but the Archer hadn't arrived yet, so he had no choice but to try his best to endure for the time being.
Archer should have arrived by now; they had agreed to form a contract after dealing with Tohsaka Tokiomi.
The threat of death was constantly approaching, making Kotomine Kirei somewhat anxious.
"Damn it... Where is Archer!?"
.
.
.
In fact, Gilgamesh wasn't choosing not to come right now; he was simply being blocked by Karna.
Swoosh—!
As Gilgamesh was approaching the Tohsaka residence on his flying Noble Phantasm, the Vimana, a golden spear broke through the air from the densely packed forest below, heading straight for him.
It was an exquisitely crafted golden spear, comparable to a work of art, over two meters long, and its speed was so great that it left an afterimage in the visual field.
Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed. A golden ripple appeared in the air behind him, and a spear-shaped Noble Phantasm suddenly shot out from it at high speed.
Clang—!
In the instant the spears clashed, fierce sparks immediately erupted!
The Noble Phantasm Gilgamesh launched was A-ranked, but it was shattered by the impact of the golden spear.
The resulting shockwave from the collision of the two Noble Phantasms destroyed all the trees within several hundred meters.
The golden spear, repelled by the force, spun in the air, tracing a golden arc before returning to Karna's hand.
The two top-tier Heroic Spirits exchanged sharp glances, facing off against each other.
Although Tohsaka Tokiomi was dead, Gilgamesh, as an Archer, possessed the 'Independent Action' Class Skill, so he wasn't worried at all about the temporary lack of prana supply.
"Lancer, why are you here?"
Gilgamesh, seated on the flying Noble Phantasm Vimana, moved his jade-red eyes to Karna and asked, slightly perplexed.
Karna responded with a calm tone, devoid of any unnecessary emotion.
"It is Master's order. I will not allow you to pass through here."
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.
"Is that so?"
Gilgamesh's voice was laced with towering fury. As if reflecting his current rage, hundreds of thousands of Noble Phantasms of various shapes and sizes revealed their sharpness in the golden giant wall behind him.
The sight of Gilgamesh confronting Karna naturally drew the attention of Irisviel and Saber. They involuntarily approached the area, while the Tohsaka residence was temporarily forgotten.
At this moment, Gilgamesh, sitting high in the sky on the glorious Vimana, showed a contemptuous expression, looking down at Karna.
"Since you dare to block this King's path, I shall bestow upon you destruction as a funeral!"
Accompanying the command-like words, the Noble Phantasms, illuminated by the golden light, descended like a torrential rain, a net cast across the sky!
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!!!
Seeing this, the sun wheels attached to Karna's shoulders immediately vibrated, then flew forward, forming a golden shield.
"O Sun, Transform into Armor - Kavacha Kundala!)"
Under the defense of the two sun-wheel shields, not a single Noble Phantasm could penetrate; they were all blocked.
Seeing this sight, Gilgamesh's handsome face couldn't help but show fluctuation, and his offended rage intensified.
"It's not over yet!"
Behind Gilgamesh, sitting high atop the Vimana, one golden ripple after another appeared, and the golden light continuously ignited.
In just a few seconds, hundreds of ripples appeared. Such a quantity of golden ripples made Gilgamesh's back look like a golden "giant wall."
Various strange Noble Phantasms extended out from the ripples, causing Saber and Irisviel to involuntarily gasp.
"How can he possibly defeat... so many Noble Phantasms!?"
Even if she unleashed her own Noble Phantasm, it would be difficult to contend with him. Saber clearly recognized this.
The mere thought of facing such an enemy made a sense of despair well up in her heart due to the disparity in power.
"Mongrel, die here for this King!"
From the golden giant wall behind the furiously raging Gilgamesh, countless sharp Noble Phantasms shot out, raining down like a deluge!
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!!!
The Noble Phantasms trailing golden light continuously struck the golden shield in front of Karna. Deafening explosions constantly reached the ears of Irisviel and Saber.
"Damn it, is that Archer's Noble Phantasm truly inexhaustible!?" Saber exclaimed in disbelief.
Karna, too, frowned, finding the situation somewhat tricky.
"It seems that given the current situation, merely this level of defense cannot contend with Archer. I must release my Noble Phantasm."
Hearing this, Saber immediately cast a worried look at Karna.
"Lancer, while your Noble Phantasm is very powerful—even Caster couldn't withstand it—to use it against Archer, who has an almost inexhaustible supply of Noble Phantasms, perhaps..."
They had been inside the Einzbern castle last night, but the commotion caused by Caster summoning the sea monster was so massive that it naturally caught their attention.
In Saber's view, while the Noble Phantasm Karna released back then was extremely powerful, based on the current situation, the numerous Noble Phantasms Gilgamesh possessed could achieve a similar effect.
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