The sudden intruder stunned everyone.
Wasn't this supposed to be a 1-v-1 between Shirou and 'Gilgamesh'?!
And why was this little girl so strong—so much force in a single slash?!
'As expected!'
In the Type-Moon/Fate World, Gilgamesh smiled as he watched the familiar figure appear. 'Your Majesty knew it—how could a mere human have severed my hand?'
'So a Servant lent aid, and of all Servants… it had to be her?!'
Seeing that familiar silhouette, Gilgamesh's grin widened; she had appeared in two Holy Grail Wars in a row.
What fate! Truly, Saber was meant to be his wife.
Having experienced the previous war, he knew Saber's power; against her, he might actually lose.
His mood shifted: if a mere human had cut off his hand, he would be furious.
But with Saber aiding that human, it became a momentary lapse—an accidental loss of a hand.
That he could accept, unpleasant though it was; that human was skilled enough to cooperate with Saber.
Yet what difference could a single hand make?
Stretching languidly, Gilgamesh grew delighted—this multiverse projection was rather useful.
It had foretold that the Saber of the last war would appear in this one as well.
Hahahaha—things were getting interesting.
And not only for Gilgamesh.
On the school grounds, Tohsaka Rin sighed in relief; only a Servant could match a Servant.
The sword in the newcomer's hand marked her as the most balanced class in the Holy Grail War—Saber.
With her, Shirou should be safe, Rin thought, while wondering why the Grail had turned out that way.
From the brief footage she could tell that the place where she herself had appeared was the Grail's location.
The great hole in the sky was probably the Grail's portal.
Back inside the video.
"Saber?" Shirou was equally surprised by her arrival.
"Are you all right, Shirou?" Saber—Artoria—saw he was unharmed, then turned calmly to Gilgamesh: "Leave the rest to me."
She was clearly ready to fight Gilgamesh to the death.
"No, Saber—go help Tohsaka," Shirou stepped forward, standing between them. 'Gilgamesh is mine alone.'
The moment those words left his mouth,
in the Type-Moon/Fate World, Tohsaka's face flared scarlet. "Baka! You can't beat a Servant—yet you send the one who came to help you to me?!"
Around campus, passing students stared at the rarely flustered, icy princess now blushing bright red!!
In the comment section, Kibutsuji Muzan popped up again. Tagging Gilgamesh, she mocked, "Gilgamesh, didn't you claim you weren't called 'Goldie'?"
Since she'd already offended him, Muzan didn't mind offending a little more; she was ready to seal Infinity Castle and hole up no matter what happened outside.
So now she'd heap a few more taunts on Gilgamesh to avenge the insult he'd dealt her.
Gilgamesh: "Mongrel, this king declared he is not 'Goldie'—that nickname is unworthy of me."
Gilgamesh: "After witnessing even a fraction of Ea's might, you still dare to leap out. Clearly you're a worthless wretch who cannot even grasp Ea's power."
At the moment Gilgamesh's mood was perfectly steady; if Muzan dared appear before him, he'd already planned how to grind her bones to ash.
More than the boy who'd lopped off his own arm—Emiya Shirou—Gilgamesh wanted to kill this so-called Ultimate Life Form who called herself Muzan.
A king is not to be insulted; the cur had insulted him repeatedly—she deserved death!
Muzan: "Heh-heh-heh, I'm really looking forward to the moment your arm is severed. That boy named Shirou will definitely make a proud fellow like you lose all face."
After saying that, Muzan stopped provoking Gilgamesh and kept watching the video, the smile still on her lips.
She'd read the title; she knew full well Gilgamesh's elbow was destined to be cut, so she prepared to take a screenshot and post it in the comments.
That way she could mock Gilgamesh every single day.
Oh, right—any demons outside who knew of Infinity Castle had to be exterminated; she couldn't let them reveal her whereabouts.
The camera cut back to the video.
Hearing those words, Gilgamesh first looked startled, then showed a rather delighted expression.
Clearly he hadn't expected Shirou to be so bold.
"What are you saying, Shirou?" Artoria was also shocked; she hadn't thought the boy would speak like that.
She hastily added, "A Magus cannot stand against a Servant."
"True," Shirou nodded, staring at Gilgamesh. "But I think only he and I are the exception."
Shirou pressed his left arm; the green sigil there was glowing softly.
Looking earnestly at Artoria, he said, "Believe me—I will defeat him."
When Shirou declared this, the viewers watching the screen looked puzzled.
With such a gap in strength, how could Shirou be confident of victory?
Could he still have some hidden trump card?
But whatever trump he had, it couldn't possibly beat that Ea.
Tatsumi had beaten the Nation-Protecting Machine God only because he'd found its weak point, and because the mech's pilot was just an inexperienced youth.
Even so, Tatsumi had been gravely wounded.
If Gilgamesh now brought out Ea, whatever Shirou produced would be useless.
That was what most viewers thought.