Chapter 53: Structural Grasp... Start!
"Ex——calibur!!"
It was a torrent of light. Surging, roaring, and relentlessly grinding forward. The night was sliced open by this beam of light; like Moses parting the sea, it shattered every obstacle and charged straight at the King of Heroes.
Boom—!
Gilgamesh was forced to squint, blinded by that dazzling, magnificent brilliance.
"What... is that...?"
Against an attack of this magnitude, it didn't matter how many Noble Phantasms he pulled from the "Gate of Babylon." The light converged into a raging tide, completely submerging the Golden King.
"Curse you! To think you would make this King look so pathetic!"
A moment before the King of Heroes was set to vanish within the holy sword's torrent of light, a chain extended from the other side. Gilgamesh grabbed the chain as if clutching a life-saving straw. At the absolute last second, Gilgamesh's most beloved Noble Phantasm, " Chains of Heaven - Enkidu", pulled him out of danger.
"Have you saved me once again, my friend...?" Back on the ground, Gilgamesh looked at the chains in his hand, a thousand emotions seemingly swirling within his eyes.
Seeing Gilgamesh escape using the golden chains, the radiance of the holy sword in Saber's hand gradually faded. While the power of Excalibur was indeed formidable, it was meaningless if it missed its target. It wasn't that she couldn't change its direction mid-swing, but doing so would drastically increase her magical energy consumption.
Irisviel's body had been "weak" lately, so Saber had no choice but to stop there.
"I'm sorry, Saber. It's all because of me..." Because she had just received another soul, Irisviel's face was pale. If not for Avalon constantly healing her body, she likely would have collapsed long ago.
"No, Irisviel, this is not your fault," Saber replied, shaking her head repeatedly.
At that moment, Gilgamesh recovered from his state. Golden ripples once again undulated across the sky, and various Noble Phantasms poked through, their sharp edges exposed.
"Such violent resistance... it seems necessary to make you feel this King's majesty first!" Gilgamesh glared at Saber with displeasure. With his Class Skill "Independent Action," he truly did not need to rely on a Master's magical energy as much as other Servants.
However, logically speaking, he should not have been able to remain in this world following the death of Tohsaka Tokiomi.
There was some kind of abnormality in the current situation. Gilgamesh wanted to know why, but that would have to wait until after he finished the business at hand.
Gilgamesh and Saber remained in a standoff. The atmosphere, taut as a drawn bow, froze in tense anticipation. After a brief silence, a voice that Gilgamesh did not expect reached his ears. It was the voice of the youth.
"It's not over yet."
Hearing this, Gilgamesh froze for a second, not quite understanding the meaning. "What?"
The youth looked toward Gilgamesh.
"It is precisely because of Karna's help that I can now stand here and confront you without reservation, King of Heroes!"
Hearing this, even Gilgamesh couldn't help but show a look of astonishment. "Do you intend to make this King your enemy?"
"Exactly. Is there something strange about that?" Shirou retorted.
Simultaneously, in the sky behind him, deep blue light began to surge continuously, and sword after sword began to manifest. Gilgamesh watched this scene, a trace of coldness entering his jade-like red eyes.
"Heh. Of all the mongrels I have ever met, you are the most foolish."
Immediately, golden ripples undulated in the sky, and hundreds of Noble Phantasms poured down toward Shirou like a rainstorm!
At the same time, the swords manifesting behind Shirou trailed blue wakes as they rushed into the sky to collide with those Noble Phantasms!
Boom! Boom! Boom—!
The clashing Noble Phantasms erupted in a series of explosions like rolls of thunder, causing even Gilgamesh's pupils to contract. This intense sense of déjà vu made Gilgamesh think of his own "Gate of Babylon."
To think that someone could possess enough Noble Phantasms to contend with his own—this was simply preposterous. The "Gate of Babylon" he possessed was the "Key" to the Golden Capital, connecting to a treasury space from which he could freely retrieve stored Noble Phantasms. And now, a mongrel dared to compete with the Oldest King in history in terms of the quantity of Noble Phantasms?
At this thought, Gilgamesh felt a surge of pitying laughter at the other's ignorance. The corners of his mouth involuntarily curled into a joyful smile.
"Truly, you don't know the meaning of death, mongrel!"
With those words, even more golden ripples appeared in the sky behind Gilgamesh. The golden "Great Wall" he had used against Karna once again revealed its terrifying majesty. Standing not far away, both Irisviel and Saber were shaken by the sight.
"Are that guy's Noble Phantasms... infinite...?" Irisviel marveled.
"He is the King of Heroes, after all. Legend says he possesses all the treasures in the world," Saber explained to her.
Irisviel nodded in understanding.
"But one more thing is strange. Why is that boy with Lancer?"
Saber also wore a confused expression. Neither of them had seen Shirou in this form, so naturally, they had no impression of him. Seeing the boy-form Shirou and the obvious Master-Servant relationship he had with Lancer, they were both stunned.
"There is magecraft that can change one's form. Could he actually be that Orihara?"
"It seems that is indeed the case."
While Irisviel and Saber were paralyzed with shock, Shirou had no time to spare. Or rather, he didn't have the luxury to pay them any mind. His brown pupils were reflecting the golden ripples in the sky until they seemed to turn gold themselves.
Knives, spears, swords, halberds—all sorts of weapons shone under the radiance of the golden ripples. Shirou stared intently at the vast array of Noble Phantasms scattered across the void. Facing such a multitude of weapons, Shirou showed no sign of fear; instead, a trace of fervor appeared in his eyes.
The moment Gilgamesh revealed a massive amount of Noble Phantasms had finally arrived.
"Structural Grasp... Start!"
In Shirou's vision, the Noble Phantasms scattered across the sky were being continuously forged and shaped within his "Unlimited Blade Works." As the copying began, a "Great Wall" of blue light—releasing the radiance of deep blue magical energy—began to appear behind Shirou, mirroring Gilgamesh's golden wall.
Both Irisviel and Saber were left speechless and agape as they witnessed the massive cluster of Noble Phantasms appearing behind Shirou to match Gilgamesh.
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