Did the Heroic Spirit I conquered become a reality?

Tokiomi Tohsaka quickly regained his composure, a shrewd glint in his eyes, and muttered to himself, "Since things have come to this, if we can use this attack to take down a troublesome Heroic Spirit combination... that would be acceptable."

He closed his eyes again, but the slight trembling of his fingertips revealed his inner turmoil.

……

Snowflakes danced wildly in the howling wind, and above the streetlights, Gilgamesh held his most powerful Noble Phantasm—Ea.

The scarlet cylindrical sword emitted a deep, rumbling sound, like the chaos at the beginning of the world. Red energy pulsated at its core like a heart, releasing a terrifying pressure capable of tearing apart space and crushing concepts.

His crimson eyes looked down at Caster, who was still struggling to hold on, his gaze filled with undisguised contempt and a hint of impatience at having his interest interrupted.

"Can you still stand, you bastard?" His voice was icy, filled with absolute confidence. "For me to use it tonight, you've died a worthy death."

However, Gilgamesh's gaze did not linger on Tohsaka Yu for long.

Although this Caster possessed strange magic, in his eyes, her actual strength was still insignificant.

What truly caught his attention was the young Master, who remained unusually calm and detached from the situation throughout.

It must be her… Gilgamesh’s crimson eyes narrowed slightly as he locked onto Ayaka Sajou, who was being protected by Yu Tohsaka behind him.

Caster's almost limitless magic power, so abundant and inexhaustible, is something that no ordinary Servant could possess.

The only explanation comes from his Master.

The subtle aura emanating from this girl, connecting her to the source, was enough to provide Caster with an almost limitless amount of magical power.

"It seems like you're the one pulling the strings behind the scenes? The one who's been spying on the power of the source."

Gilgamesh's lips curled into a faint smile.

Now that we've found the "source," things become much simpler.

Once we deal with the Master who provides the magic, this troublesome Caster will naturally be no threat.

Thinking of this, he slightly adjusted the angle of the Ea sword in his hand, and its terrifying power, enough to split the heavens and the earth, quietly pointed at Ayaka Sajou!

"Let's start with you!"

Below, Yu Tohsaka sensed Gilgamesh's intention almost the instant his gaze shifted and his killing intent locked onto him!

"Master!"

His heart tightened, and he instinctively wanted to step forward to stop them again.

But the terrifying pressure emanating from the Ea sword was like an invisible shackle, pinning Yu Tohsaka firmly to the spot, making it incredibly difficult for her to even move a finger!

That is not simply a suppression of power, but a higher level of interference with the "world" itself!

Damn it... we're going to be too late!

Yu Tohsaka watched helplessly as Gilgamesh raised the sword Ea, its destructive crimson energy gathering wildly, as if it were about to fall at any moment!

Is this really the only way things can go?

He looked at the girl in front of him, whose face was solemn but whose eyes were still frighteningly calm, and a complex emotion he couldn't describe welled up in his heart.

"Ugh……"

A soft, helpless sigh escaped from Yu Tohsaka's lips.

Above the streetlights, Gilgamesh had already locked onto Ayaka Sajou, intending to first eliminate this "source of magic" that he believed to be his.

But just as he was about to unleash the full power of the Ea, he keenly caught Caster's subtle sigh below, and the change in his eyes that seemed to accept his fate, yet also carried a certain resolute meaning.

"Oh?" The Hero King's crimson eyes narrowed slightly, and his movements slowed for a moment.

Is this bastard finally going to get serious?

From the beginning, he felt that this Caster was a bit strange.

Despite possessing immense, almost limitless magical power, he consistently resorted to crude gem magic to deal with his Royal Treasury, even concealing his true name and Noble Phantasm.

Is it because he looks down on himself, or... is there something special about his treasure that makes it unusable?

A surge of intense curiosity welled up within him, temporarily overshadowing Gilgamesh's anger at being offended.

He wanted to see what kind of trump card this guy was hiding.

What could be the Noble Phantasm that Caster would keep hidden, even preferring to endure the pain of using a jewel rather than use it easily?

For a moment, Gilgamesh's eyes were filled with interest.

From beginning to end, this hero king approached the two with a cat-and-mouse mentality, and he certainly had absolute confidence.

No matter what kind of magical artifact the opponent brings out, even if it is a manifestation of the power of some deity, it is nothing more than rubble waiting to be crushed in front of this Ea sword that existed "before the creation of the world".

Thinking of this, Gilgamesh's lips curled into an even more arrogant and playful smile. Although the sword Ea in his hand still maintained terrifying energy fluctuations, he did not immediately swing it down.

He decided to "wait" a little while and enjoy the bastard's final, futile struggle.

"Come, Caster," he declared condescendingly, "let me see just what 'value' your hidden treasure holds that makes you cherish it so much!"

Below, Yu Tohsaka was unaware of the myriad thoughts swirling in the King of Heroes' mind.

All he knew was that he had no way out.

He sighed again and said softly, "If possible, I really don't want to complicate things."

Complicated? Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow, his curiosity growing even stronger.

What makes a Servant describe a Noble Phantasm as "complex"? Could it be something involving causality or a time paradox?

However, the next second, Yu Tohsaka's actions caused the oldest king's thoughts to come to a complete standstill.

The black-haired, black-eyed boy slowly raised his head.

The previous tension and solemnity were gone from that slightly pale, handsome face; instead, there was a sense of helplessness and relief.

Then, under the incredibly astonished, even utterly incomprehensible gaze of the King of Heroes—

Yu Tohsaka took a deep breath, and with all her might, facing the empty sky, she uttered a single word filled with indescribable emotion—a word that would freeze the entire battlefield, and even all those observing it:

"mom--!!!"

Volume 1: Chapter 42 Ti Ma: Aaa? (10,000 words)

"--mom!!!"

The single word, like a boulder thrown into a still, icy lake, suddenly resounded through the quiet, snowy night of Fuyuki City, even drowning out the ominous roar of the Ea sword.

Gilgamesh, who was about to unleash his world-shattering sword above the streetlight, suddenly froze.

mom……?

For the first time, a rare, almost absurd... doubt appeared in the crimson eyes of this oldest king.

This bastard actually uttered such... childish and ridiculous words before he died?

Was he pleading for help from someone? To his lowly human mother? Or was it merely a meaningless murmur uttered out of fear?

After a brief moment of doubt, Gilgamesh's eyes were quickly replaced by impatience.

...Playing tricks!

No matter what tricks this guy tries to pull, it's all just a futile struggle in the face of absolute power!

Is she trying to stall for time, or is she trying to distract herself? Either way, it's a rather low-level tactic!

Gilgamesh snorted coldly in his heart, ignoring Caster below, and prepared to unleash the power of Ea to obliterate these two who dared to offend the king's authority.

Behind Tohsaka Yu, Sajou Aika's emerald green eyes, which always carried a faint smile, were now filled with pure confusion.

She knew that her Servant primarily relied on gem magic, but she didn't seem to have heard of any other abilities the Caster possessed.

This sudden title sounds... more like some kind of ancient incantation pointing to a specific being?

Is it to summon some powerful being? Or is it part of the true name of his hidden Noble Phantasm?

Sajou Aika was filled with curiosity; she could sense that things seemed to be... getting interesting.

"Let's stop this pointless charade!"

Gilgamesh completely lost his patience. He raised the sword Ea high, and the crimson energy on the twisted blade had reached its peak, emitting a terrifying hiss that could tear the soul apart!

A devastating force is about to fall!

As Yu Tohsaka looked at the primordial star that was about to be slain, feeling its terrifying power capable of reshaping the world, there was no fear on his face. Instead, he revealed a relieved smile.

Finally...has it arrived?

He slowly raised his head and looked up at the dark, snow-covered night sky.

Then, just as Gilgamesh was about to swing Ea—

Without warning.

The heavens and earth changed color!

This is not a metaphor, but a true "color change"!

The originally pitch-black night sky seemed to be stained by some invisible force, and began to show a deep and dark, eerie blue, like a primeval ocean!

The falling snowflakes abruptly stopped in mid-air, and then, as if they had lost their support, silently melted and decomposed, turning into the purest magical particles.

The air became thick and humid, and an indescribable, ancient, and vast aura, as if it had nurtured all things yet carried death and death, descended from nothingness like an invisible tide, instantly engulfing the entire Fuyuki City!

This aura is not simply oppressive; it is more like an "existence" itself, an absolute "sense of existence" that transcends all rules and concepts!

Faced with this aura, both Gilgamesh's kingly pressure and the primal power about to erupt from the sword Ea seemed so small, so... insignificant.

For the first time, a rare and even unnoticed look of astonishment flashed across Gilgamesh's crimson eyes.

No… that wasn’t astonishment, but a kind of instinctive throbbing that came from the deepest part of his soul, almost forgotten at the end of the age of gods, in the face of something more ancient, more primitive, and more indescribable.

It could even be described as... awe?!

I'm actually feeling awe for this being summoned by the Caster...?

Absolutely absurd!

He immediately dismissed the fleeting thought in his mind.

He is Gilgamesh, the oldest hero-king of mankind. How could a familiar summoned from who-knows-where, whose form has never even been revealed, possibly inspire such a ridiculous emotion as "awe" in him, a king?!

The rage that arose from feeling that his emotions had been "desecrated" instantly overshadowed all his previous impatience and contempt, and even the fleeting "throbbing" that he loathed!

"Bastard—!!!"

Gilgamesh no longer hesitated and poured all his anger into the sword Ea in his hand.

He intended to use this earth-shattering strike to completely crush the ignorant Caster below.

"The Divergence of Heaven and Earth - The Star of Creation (Enuma E越/漪鸸氿7鹨=$韭印衫岜翏lish)!!!"

The crimson magic, powerful enough to cleave the world and sever cause and effect, with its terrifying power to crush everything, devoured Tohsaka Yu and Sajou Ayaka below!

Space seemed to mourn, the earth trembled, and time itself seemed to stand still before this absolute power!

"ended."

Gilgamesh's crimson eyes reflected the destructive light, and a victor's smile appeared on his face.

however--

Just before the crimson magic was about to touch Tohsaka Yu, a figure appeared in front of Tohsaka Yu without warning.

She stretched out a seemingly slender hand and casually... blocked the crimson magic.

There was no earth-shattering collision, no cataclysmic explosion.

The torrent of energy from the Aberrant Sword, powerful enough to split the heavens and cleave the earth and tear through space, was abruptly blocked the moment it touched that fair hand, as if it had encountered an insurmountable dam!

No! It's not just about blocking!

The violent energy seemed to have fallen into some more primal "rule," and like a mud ox sinking into the sea, it was silently decomposed until it was finally completely swallowed up!

"What?!" (Wuqi Liujiuyi, 氵玐陸)

Above the streetlight, Gilgamesh's pupils suddenly widened, and the expression on his face froze like an ice sculpture.

EA... is blocked?!

It was blocked by something that suddenly appeared... something I don't know... with just one hand?!

How can this be? !