To become a king and a magician

Even though she already knew this, Okita Souji couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Whether in life or after death, she seemed to be of no use at all.

And at that very moment—

“I’ve found you, Princess of the True Ancestor.”

At the entrance to the rooftop, King Solomon, now dressed in formal attire and having removed his robes, spoke these words to Arcueid.

Arcueid smiled slightly: "It seems you are the first opponent in the Holy Grail War, the King of Magic among humans. You're qualified enough, aren't you? You're certainly fit enough to get moving."

Arcueid is probably the only one who can talk so casually about facing a Grand Servant, but she certainly has the confidence to say so. After all, even though she can only use 30% of her power to suppress her vampiric urges, she is still the most dangerous person in this Holy Grail War.

It is far more dangerous than Natsukawa Tiger.

This is why King Solomon appeared here. In Marisbury's view, Arcueid was undoubtedly the biggest obstacle on his path to obtaining the Holy Grail, so he needed to eliminate it as much as possible on the first night.

"Om~~~"

Without saying a word, the Ten Commandments on Solomon's hand began to glow faintly.

Summoning spell—

"The First Pillar - Baal".

23. Golden Pikachu, watch out for your elbow!

Minutes later, at that port from ten years ago.

Standing on the road cleared between a large number of shipping containers, Natsukawa Tora looked around at the place, which was basically unchanged.

"It really reminds me of a lot of things."

Ten years ago, right here, he and Arthur confronted Kenneth and Diarmuid, which triggered a series of subsequent events. It can be said that if he hadn't decided to kidnap Kenneth back then, which led to the awakening of his Mystic Eyes, he wouldn't be who he is today.

In a sense, this can also be considered the starting point.

"Master, are you familiar with this place?"

Seeing the nostalgic look on Natsukawa Tora's face, Artoria couldn't help but wonder—Merry wasn't here. On the way here, she seemed to have suddenly run off in a hurry because of some urgent matter.

"I wouldn't say I'm familiar with it, I only came here once ten years ago, but this place is very important to me, it brings back a lot of memories."

"For example, memories of another Saber from ten years ago?"

From the shadows of the container, Gilgamesh, clad in golden armor, emerged and chuckled, "To be honest, when I learned you would be joining the war, my first thought was to have a go at that Holy Sword Wielder. I never expected you to summon this little girl, the Knight King."

“There’s no way around it. For me, Gray and my baby’s situation are more important than fighting alongside Arthur again.” Natsukawa Tora shrugged. “Besides, that guy has always been with me. He hasn’t been separated from me for a single moment in the past ten years.”

"Just like you and the Chains of Heaven."

Gilgamesh's expression froze for a moment, then he covered his face and burst into laughter: "Hahaha~~~ You compare your relationship with the Holy Sword Wielder to that of me and Enkidu? You have quite the nerve. Then let me see if you can compare to me and my dearest friend!"

Buzz—!

A dozen or so golden ripples spread out behind Gilgamesh, and within each ripple, a Noble Phantasm radiating golden flames aimed at the two people in front of him like cannonballs ready to be fired.

Then—all missiles were launched!

“Bang bang bang bang————!”

Like cannonballs fired at the speed of a Gatling gun, dozens of golden meteors instantly pierced through space and shot toward Xia Chuanhu!

Every Noble Phantasm fired was a B-rank.

Despite his arrogance, Gilgamesh did not underestimate Natsukawa Tora. With over a dozen B-rank Noble Phantasms, it would be impossible for even an ordinary Servant, let alone Artoria, to withstand them all—provided they were unsheathed.

"Bang bang bang—!"

Flames erupted inside the containers, and the resulting storm and flames instantly engulfed a large part of the port, sending countless fragments flying in all directions.

Gazing at the towering flames that illuminated the night sky, Gilgamesh's confidence gradually faded. If it were anyone else, he would already be certain of their demise, but Natsukawa Torato...

(Come, let me see your skills, Holy Sword Wielder!)

"boom--------!"

As if responding to Gilgamesh's wishes, the raging fire suddenly paused, then instantly transformed into a massive tsunami of fire that swept over Gilgamesh!

coming!

Two ripples unfolded before Gilgamesh, and two shields appeared from them, standing in front of him. Although their true names were unknown, each shield was a legendary treasure with the ability to be impervious to water and fire.

"Bang------!"

The wave of flames crashed violently against the shield's surface, but the instant it touched the shield, two layers of light, like a barrier, immediately materialized around the shield, blocking the wave of flames completely!

(This shouldn't be the power of the Holy Sword Wielder... Did he learn some other kind of power over the past ten years?)

Just as Gilgamesh was thinking this, a figure suddenly appeared before him with incredible speed, passing through the sea of ​​flames in front of him!

It's Artoria.

"Clang—!"

The invisible holy sword, accompanied by a fierce wind, slammed into the two shields before him, sending both shields flying! Then, it swiftly stepped forward and nestled into Gilgamesh's arms, the invisible sword rising upwards—

"Clang!"

Blade against blade.

Grasping a sword whose true name was unknown, Gilgamesh stared at the Knight King before him with a cold smile, preparing to forcefully push him back. However, before he could exert his strength, Artoria had already disappeared back into the sea of ​​fire.

"Go ahead with this."

Will they use the fire to obscure their vision and launch surprise attacks continuously?

The Noble Phantasm he carries to protect against the Mystic Eyes has not yet taken effect, meaning the Mystic Eyes have not been unleashed.

(Although I don't know how Saber moved so freely through this sea of ​​fire, she must be a bastard with a legend of being able to avoid fire... Did she think that would give her the upper hand?)

"madness!"

Gilgamesh retrieved a divine spear from the treasury and slammed it heavily onto the ground. From the crack created by the impact, a torrent of water gushed forth like a burst dam! The raging sea of ​​fire was visibly extinguished by the surging waves!

In an instant, Natsukawa Tora and Artoria, who were hidden in the sea of ​​fire, were completely exposed to Gilgamesh.

The treasure vault unfolds, the treasures are prepared—

"Crack crack crack crack crack crack—!"

Before the Noble Phantasm was launched, the surging waves that had just extinguished the sea of ​​fire, centered on Natsukawa Torata, were instantly frozen into a snow-white ice field! The speed of the freezing was so fast that Gilgamesh had no time to pull away!

The next moment, facing Gilgamesh who had become a stationary target, Artoria, who had jumped up before the freeze even started, chopped down on his head with all her might!

"Buzz—!"

Several ripples suddenly appeared around Artoria.

Without even glancing at Saber, who was surrounded by Noble Phantasms, Gilgamesh stared at Natsukawa Torato and unleashed all the Noble Phantasms he had prepared beforehand!

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Nearly ten ice walls suddenly rose up, blocking all the Noble Phantasms. Then, the shattered ice wall fragments reformed into a giant ice spear, which was hurled at Gilgamesh with lightning speed like a meteor!

"Bang------!"

The bursting frost immediately stirred up a white mist that obscured everyone's vision.

The violent tremors caused countless tiny cracks to appear in the solid ice layer, making it resemble a shaky floorboard that could break apart at any moment.

Gazing at the figure faintly visible in the icy mist, Natsukawa Tora sighed softly.

"Is that... not okay?"

24. Kill all the Fire Eggs!

Having barely escaped the encirclement of Noble Phantasms, Artoria, who had just landed back on the ground, immediately returned to Natsukawa Torato's side: "Are you alright, Master?"

"I'm fine, not a scratch. How about you?"

"With a scabbard, I can recover quickly even if I'm injured, so please don't worry about me—"

Before she could finish speaking, Artoria immediately turned around and swung her sword, knocking away the two Noble Phantasms that pierced through the icy mist.

Unscathed, Gilgamesh pushed through the icy mist and surveyed the boundless ice plain with interest: "First flames, then this ice plain. Where has your power inherited from the Holy Sword Wielder gone? You're just playing these magician's tricks. Do you really think you can defeat me like this?"

"The Holy Sword Wielder!"

A much larger number of treasure vault doors appeared behind it than before.

"That's enough for the warm-up. If we don't show our true skills soon, this battle won't even be enjoyable."

Of the one hundred Noble Phantasms in total, more than half were suddenly launched in unison, and a meteor shower once again ripped through the space.

Artoria instinctively wanted to swing her sword to block.

(No need, I'll do it.)

Dozens more layers of ice walls rose from beneath the ice field, but this time, Natsukawa Tiger did not remain still after the ice walls rose. Instead, he grabbed Artoria and flew directly into the sky before the ice walls were completely shattered!

"Master! Why—"

“After blocking one wave, he won’t be able to block the second wave. He will shoot at the right moment.” Xia Chuanhu stared at Gilgamesh below.

And just as he said, almost the instant he saw the two take to the sky, the remaining half of the Noble Phantasm, which had been waiting in the air, burst forth! It was aimed directly at the two people in the air!

(Lia, you just need to think about how to defeat him, leave everything else to me.)

(Yes, Master!)

The small whirlwind spinning in Natsukawa Torami's palm instantly transformed into a tornado, blowing all the Noble Phantasms away in one fell swoop. With the help of this burst of wind, Artoria also descended from the sky with incredible speed!

"Buzz buzz buzz—!"

Multiple ripples suddenly appeared on Artoria's inevitable path.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Countless Noble Phantasms transformed into a rain of swords, shooting out continuously. In just a couple of moments, Artoria's vision was filled with a dense rain of Noble Phantasms, and as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a golden meteor shower.

Should we try to stop them?

(No, the Master said to leave it to him.)

Artoria believed that her Master wouldn't say something he wasn't sure of. He said that all she needed to do was think about how to kill Archer, and he would handle the rest. So she should trust him and focus all her energy on the upcoming close combat.