FATE: Target of Grand Master

The distance of the "Gate of Babylon" attacks grew closer and closer, and the number of attacks increased. Finally, the ripples from the release of the Noble Phantasm almost completely enveloped Alcides, making him look like a blurry polygonal sphere from a distance.

Even so, all the sneak attacks were caught by Alcides' keen senses, and he then used various postures that were almost impossible for a human to do to dodge or block them all.

This is the fighting talent of the greatest hero in Greek mythology.

Not only that, Alcides seized an opportunity, grabbed a spiral sword, and began using dual swords.

Despite having the upper hand in the game, they were unable to convert their advantage into a victory.

Gilgamesh unleashed the Chains of Heaven, hoping that this weapon he trusted most would be able to firmly bind the son of God.

However, contrary to Gilgamesh's expectations, the Chains of Heaven, which even the gods could bind, only held Alcides for two seconds before he broke free.

Gilgamesh reacted swiftly, kicking Alcides to the side before he could get into position after breaking free of the Chains of Heaven, thus creating distance between them.

Landing atop one of the few remaining large trees damaged by the earlier bombing, Gilgamesh frowned and said, "You bastard, you've even abandoned your divinity!"

"Isn't it obvious? The gods are nothing but a bunch of manipulators. I will take revenge on them with the power of man! And you, proud king, regret having two-thirds divine blood."

Alcides used the two swords in his hands as arrows, nocked them on his giant bow, and shot them at Gilgamesh.

"Hmph, a beast is still a beast."

Gilgamesh didn't even glance at the two swords, because they were blocked by a round bronze shield, the Shield of Ajax, used in the Trojan War, and the prototype of Emiya's Noble Phantasm "Sevenfold Ring of the Heavens".

After withstanding Alcides' attack, Gilgamesh leaped high into the air, dodging a black sword beam.

Just then, Artoria Altera, who had not made a move until now, appeared to Gilgamesh's side and swung her black holy sword at him.

"Tch, it's just an empty shell, yet it still retains the muscle memory of countless battles."

Artoria Altera appeared at the perfect time; if it had been any later, Gilgamesh would have launched an attack on Alcides.

Despite the fact that Alcides has not been injured at all so far, the magical power required to maintain the skill of shooting down a hundred heads is incomparable to that of an ordinary Servant. If it weren't for the fact that Master is Matou Ryogen, who already possesses the magical power of the Lesser Grail, he would probably have already died from exhaustion of magical power by now.

Gilgamesh unleashed hundreds of Noble Phantasms around himself, bringing both Alcides and Artoria Altera into range and thus creating distance between himself and the two Servants.

Since the start of the battle, Gilgamesh has become increasingly serious about fighting. Although he is not yet at the level of facing his best friend, he must be careful about the consumption of magic power, considering that he will have to deal with the big guy in the mountains later. At the moment of Kirei Kotomine's death, Gilgamesh's magic power supply was completely cut off, and he must pay attention to the consumption of magic power.

Although the giant creature in the mountains will never reach the level of a true god, its spiritual foundation is only one step away. Destroying it will require a lot of magic power, so we can't linger here any longer.

"Game time is over. Feel honored. I will send you all back to the Throne of Heroes with my strongest attack."

With that, the King of Heroes opened the door to the deepest part of the King's Treasury, and a strange sword with a golden hilt and a red blade, but shaped like a cylinder, appeared before Gilgamesh.

Ea, Gilgamesh's strongest Noble Phantasm, possesses power surpassing Artoria's Excalibur, and can even "slice through the world".

Gilgamesh drew Ea and raised it high. The cylindrical blade began to rotate automatically, absorbing all the magic power from its master and the surrounding air.

"The time for judgment has come. With my sword of discord, I will tear the world apart. Take this..."

The magic of the sword Ea began to rage, reaching a point where it could destroy everything in front of its master.

"Noble Phantasm activated! Usurper of the Heavenly Wind!"

Alcides desperately closed the distance between himself and Gilgamesh, while simultaneously reaching out his hand towards the King of Heroes.

Just as Gilgamesh was about to unleash this devastating attack, the King of Heroes suddenly felt that the sword Ea in his hand was gradually losing its magic power, and eventually even the sword itself stopped working.

"Your Noble Phantasm, which you used to steal Noble Phantasms, can even affect my Ea?"

Gilgamesh immediately understood what was happening.

It is a Noble Phantasm that was sublimated from the belt that Hercules took from Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons, during his lifetime, and it has the ability to take other people's Noble Phantasms.

This Noble Phantasm can be activated without physical contact, but it must be seen in person and within the range that Alcides can instantly "seize". Even conceptual Noble Phantasms can be seized.

However, Gilgamesh's Ea is also a very special existence among Noble Phantasms.

The ability of "The Usurper of the Heavenly Wind" to allow Alcides to use the Noble Phantasm he had stolen was rendered unusable by Alcides because the target of the attack was Ea. In fact, the act of "stealing" Ea was not even completed.

However, "The Usurper of the Heavenly Wind" was not without effect. The violent magical power that was originally gathered in the body of Ea was "stolen" and entered Alcides' body. As a result, Ea temporarily lost its function as a Noble Phantasm.

Although he had long been mentally prepared that it wouldn't be so easy to seize the King of Heroes' most powerful Noble Phantasm, Alcides never expected that he wouldn't even have the chance to touch the sword.

"Hmm..."

A violent surge of magical energy raged within him—a consequence of incompletely seizing the power of the Ea nobility.

Although given enough time, Alcides could gradually absorb this violent magic, it was clear that he wouldn't be given that opportunity now.

Alcides suppressed the turmoil within him and looked up at Gilgamesh, hoping to see the other man at a loss.

However, after an initial moment of confusion and surprise, Gilgamesh reverted to his usual arrogant demeanor and landed mockingly in front of Alcides.

"What's wrong, thief? My Ea is not a treasure that can be stolen so easily. Even with the blessing of Matou Tsukikon's black mud, your Spirit Origin cannot digest this massive magical power in a short time."

In the past, Gilgamesh's actions, even if not suicide, would have inevitably led him into an endless cycle of passivity. But now, he had seen through Alcides's state.

Once the distance is closed, Gilgamesh can temporarily stop worrying about attacks from Artoria Alter, who is at a greater distance.

The current Artoria Altera is basically a humanoid turret with extremely simple judgment logic. When Gilgamesh gets close to Alcides, her friend-or-foe judgment mechanism will prevent him from using wide-range attacks to avoid accidentally harming his own people.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Gilgamesh took out a glass bottle containing a black liquid.

Just by taking it out, Alcides sensed a curse that carried a hint of the mythical era.

That was the deadly venom of the Hydra, a nine-headed serpent that had brought down countless heroes. It was also used by Hercules, who accidentally injured his mentor, the centaur Chiron, causing the demigod to relinquish his immortality in order to end the pain.

"You've fallen into the clutches of a vengeful beast; this is the perfect way to end your life."