To become a king and a magician

Even though he's a half-Servant, the power he's displayed is nothing like the power of a Servant.

"Thump—!"

With a deafening roar, Flame Fist collided with the giant sword once again. The heavy force caused both of them to stagger back a step or two. Before Xia Chuanhu could regain his footing, the Chains of Heaven that had been wrapped around Gilgamesh immediately shot out and bound Xia Chuanhu's hands and feet in the instant they reached him!

The golden greatsword followed closely and cleaved down!

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

Just before his head was about to be cleaved open, like fuel being ignited with a large amount of firewood, an incredibly powerful, eerie blue flame suddenly expanded from Xia Chuanhu's body, directly sending the giant sword and Gilgamesh flying! The Chains of Heaven also detached from Xia Chuanhu's hands and feet as a result!

Just as his hands were freed, two balls of flame converged in Natsukawa Tiger's palms, and the ghostly flames, like beam cannons, were about to be fired! But before they could be fired, several ripples that had been floating above Natsukawa Tiger's head suddenly unleashed a barrage of Noble Phantasms like machine guns, interrupting him and leaving him standing still!

(This is tricky; I can't seem to build up my power to unleash a big attack on him!)

(You've got some skills, Holy Sword Wielder!)

26. Fuyuki City: Moonset again?!

The outcome of the battle can be roughly described as a 50/50 split.

Because of his nearly inexhaustible Noble Phantasms and the protection of the Chains of Heaven, Gilgamesh has been able to maintain a balanced situation even though he is countered by Pulgaterio in close combat.

On the other hand, although Natsukawa Torama lost the versatility of switching modes at any time when in Elf Armor mode, he maintained a slight advantage thanks to Pulgartorio's ability.

Neither side can do anything to the other.

Whether in the air, on the ground, or even underground where their battle had taken place, the fight between Natsukawa Torara and Gilgamesh had long since transcended the reach of a small port.

However, Artoria knew that this balance could not last long. Like a coin standing on a table, it seemed to maintain an excellent balance, but it was easy to make it fall over. With just a slight imbalance, one side would be completely crushed.

If Gilgamesh were to be overwhelmed, that would be the best outcome. Although he would feel somewhat resentful at not being able to contribute, it wouldn't be unacceptable as long as he could win.

But if Natsukawa Torato were to be overpowered...

Gripping the holy sword tightly, Artoria took a deep breath—at that moment, she would unleash the holy sword directly.

(Master, please be extremely careful—)

"Bang------!"

A crisp cracking sound abruptly interrupted Artoria's thoughts. In the sky, the two who had been locked in a fierce battle suddenly separated rapidly, each retreating nearly ten meters.

Neither side looks to be in good shape.

Gilgamesh's armor was mostly shattered, and burns were visible all over his body. The greatsword in his hand was no longer the same one; it had been burned beyond repair during the battle.

Xia Chuanhu appeared to have few injuries. With his sword sheath in place, any wounds that weren't fatal were just superficial and minor, easily healed. However, unlike his unscathed appearance, his breathing was extremely rapid, as if he had just finished a long marathon, and the flames on his body seemed inexplicably weak.

"Hahaha...very good...hahahahahahahahahahaha!"

Seeing Natsukawa Tora like this, Gilgamesh couldn't help but burst into wild laughter.

"It seems to have worked! Although you have that flame, you've been constantly attacked by Noble Phantasms targeting elves and fairies. For someone like you who is now almost like an elf, every injury is like a slow poison! The elf within you is also being constantly injured, reducing its output!"

"In order to maintain your suppression of me, you have to use more magic power than normal to maintain your output. In addition, there is the magic power consumption of the sword sheath in your body - even with the heart of a dragon, your magic power is almost exhausted, isn't it?"

Natsukawa Torara's current power comes from the elves, something Gilgamesh saw through from the beginning. Therefore, every Noble Phantasm he fired in the previous battle had the anecdote of killing fairies or elves. Although the effects varied, they could all be described as "special attacks against fairies/elves".

About five minutes had passed since the start of the battle, during which time Natsukawa Tiger had been hit at least thirty times. The size of the mutated elf inside him was probably only half of what it was at the beginning, or even less.

Gilgamesh reached into the treasure vault and took out a cup of clear liquid. He drank it down in one gulp, and his body, which was covered in wounds just a second ago, was instantly restored to the same unharmed state as Natsukawa Torato!

"Your losses are considerable, but as you can see, I have as many healing artifacts as I need. Even if the nature of your flames prevents a full recovery, you can still regain about 70-80% of your strength—the situation has reversed, Holy Sword Wielder!"

"Whoosh—!"

The Heavenly Lock roared out, and Xia Chuanhu immediately tried to spew flames to escape its capture, but this time only a tiny flame came out of his palm. The sudden emptiness that surged into his body made him feel cold inside!

Finished!

[Fox spirit, the spirit within you can't hold on any longer! If you get hit by that golden treasure again, you'll be completely destroyed! I told you to be careful!]

(How am I supposed to dodge hundreds of Noble Phantasms at once?!)

[Just burn it—dodge it, the chains are coming again, from above.]

(I know!)

Even knowing that the existence of the elven mutant was about to dissipate, at least for now, Natsukawa Torato could only use it—"Squeeze out your last bit of power before you disappear, Pulgartorio!"

【——！】

The Flame Demon protested from within him, seemingly quite dissatisfied with this exploitative behavior. But despite the protest, the blue flames ignited once again in Natsukawa Tiger's palm!

"Shh-!"

The Chain of Heaven brushed past Natsukawa Torato's forehead.

If he had been even half a second slower, he would definitely have been tied up. And with this last dodge, Xia Chuanhu also felt something dissipate from his body.

Having withstood dozens of attacks with special attack properties, it's truly remarkable that Pulgartorio has lasted this long. It probably won't be so easy to summon him again next time.

[You vixen, there's no time for your sighs, that golden Pikachu's attack is coming!]

Reminded by Ayaka Sajou, Natsukawa Torara, who was falling from the sky, also noticed a flash of golden light in the distance—another Noble Phantasm was aimed at him.

"Although it's a pity that I couldn't fight the Holy Sword, your performance has satisfied me greatly, Elf Master."

"This is glory, die content!"

The complacent voice abruptly ceased, and a pair of celestial points of light quietly appeared in Gilgamesh's eyes.

That's the Demon Eye, the Demon Eye that Natsukawa Tora has kept hidden until now.

"Crack!"

A shattering sound suddenly rang out, and the necklace around Gilgamesh's neck shattered into countless fragments. Seeing this, Natsukawa Tora couldn't help but sigh: "Sigh, as expected, there are some... similar to the Mystic Eyes Killing Technique."

Gilgamesh had anticipated that he would prepare a Noble Phantasm to counter the Mystic Eyes. It might be a substitute type, a nullifier type, or a reflection type. It was for these reasons that he had not used the Mystic Eyes until now.

This is just a last-ditch effort.

(A substitute-type Mystic Eyes Noble Phantasm... I must have prepared more than one, right? Is it too early for me to fight a Servant of Gilgamesh's caliber one-on-one?)

Although I never intended to completely defeat Gilgamesh, being able to go toe-to-toe with him or even have a slight advantage is already quite good for a magician.

"boom--!"

Using the impact of being hit by the Noble Phantasm to fall back to the ground, Natsukawa Torara sighed softly: "The rest is up to you, Saber. Take the Holy Sword—"

Xia Chuanhu did not finish speaking, because before that, from a distance in a completely opposite direction.

"Buzz buzz buzz buzz~~~~~"

Abruptly, a crimson moon began to descend from the sky.

27. There was once a cup of Coke that could lead to treason.

—Moonset

It summons the crimson moon and destroys all that its light touches.

Arcueid's trump card.

"It's Arcueid..."

Realizing this, Natsukawa Tiger was somewhat surprised and frightened.

In terms of pure strength, Arcueid is probably the strongest one in this Holy Grail War. Putting aside the human Masters, there are few Servants who can compare to her—yet she was forced to use Moonfall.

(Gilgamesh is with me, as for Scáthach... Aoko shouldn't clash with Arcueid, otherwise it would be like King Solomon?)

Come to think of it, the direction where the moon set does seem to be quite similar to the direction King Solomon left in. Could it be that King Solomon was fighting Arcueid?

"It seems something quite serious has happened over there."

Gilgamesh came to Natsukawa Tora's side and looked up at the falling crimson moon.

"If that falls, the destruction it causes will not be something that can be easily overlooked. That princess of the True Ancestor must have been truly enraged to use this move—how about a temporary truce, Holy Sword Master?"

"Huh?"

"I can tell from your expression that you're very concerned about what's happening over there, aren't you?" Gilgamesh chuckled. "In that case, go ahead. The Holy Grail War is far from over. I'll come back to take your head next time. Killing someone who has no will to fight is a waste of time."

The unexpected leniency surprised both Natsukawa Torato and Artoria. Was Gilgamesh, the Archer class, really this easy to talk to?

Regardless, since he has no intention of fighting again, Natsukawa Torato can immediately head to Arcueid.

"Thank you for your understanding, King Gilgamesh—let's go, Saber, I'll fly you straight there!"

"Understood, Master."

After glancing at Gilgamesh, Artoria turned and climbed onto Natsukawa's back, quickly soaring into the sky with a gust of wind. Only after watching the two disappear from sight did Gilgamesh suddenly stumble, as if he were about to lose his balance, and lean against a wrecked shipping container.

[Is the injury serious? Archer]

A grey starling landed on his shoulder.

"That wretched Holy Sword Wielder, he certainly showed me something impressive this time, that forbidden flame... Hahaha, I really look forward to seeing what he'll show me next. Witch, your sweetheart is quite interesting."

[That's someone I've set my sights on; he has to be exceptional. For you, the oldest hero-king, to praise him so highly is enough evidence to convince those old fogies at home—that's enough for tonight, come back, Archer.]

"Shouldn't we deal with that over there?"

"It's pointless for me to go. What, you want to go? I have no objection, but if you die there, I'll be the one in trouble—I hope you can save me a Command Seal."

What an infuriating witch!

Gilgamesh pursed his lips, took out the Vimana from the treasury, jumped on it, and flew towards the direction of the setting moon.

————————————————————————————————————

At the same time, feeling depressed, at the top of the building—no, that's not quite the right way to describe it.

This place has long since been transformed into another realm.

With Arcueid and King Solomon, two beings of extraordinary stature, clashing in battle, and under the influence of the manifestation of illusion and the power of demons, this place has become a forbidden zone where even taking a single step will lead to death.

But in this area, no one cares about what's happening on the ground, because everyone's attention is focused on the sky, on the crimson moon that keeps falling.

“Truly astonishing, Princess of the True Ancestor. I never expected you to use such a move.” Standing behind the Four Pillars of Demons, King Solomon gazed at the crimson moon in the sky. “It would probably take the price of half the Demons to completely negate this attack, but even so it would be useless. For you, this is just a casual strike.”

"Really."