"What the hell are you doing here?"
Just as young Gilgamesh didn't want to see his older self—Middle-school Syndrome Gil, as it were—the adult Gilgamesh didn't want to see his younger self either. To be more precise, he didn't want to see either the young version or Wise King Gilgamesh.
"I didn't want to come, okay? Someone dragged me here. Say, why don't you just head back to the Throne of Heroes?"
The young Gil looked at his adult self and instantly understood his current state. The fact that he grew up to become this… was clearly a source of dismay.
"What are you trying to say? That you're going to stand against me? Don't think that just because you're me, I won't strike you down."
Adult Gil's expression was sour. He looked about ready to fight at the drop of a hat.
"Would that count as me killing myself?" Daniel muttered to himself, watching the two Gils argue.
"I'm saying it's a damn embarrassment. You realize you're me, right? If you disgrace yourself, that's me being disgraced."
Young Gil knew exactly how powerful Daniel was. With Avalon, Gil had no chance of victory. Not only that, Daniel had two Servants on his side. If he voluntarily returned to the Throne of Heroes, it would be a more dignified exit than getting smacked into it.
"What nonsense. You think I'm afraid of a dimwitted goddess, a mangy mutt, and… wait, your aura feels familiar."
Gil's golden eyes scanned over Ishtar and Cu Chulainn before settling on the cloaked figure of Saber. Though her face was hidden under a hood and cloak, something about her presence triggered a memory.
"Who are you calling dimwitted?!"
Ishtar, of course, exploded. Even with Wise King Gil, she couldn't get along. There was no way she'd tolerate this version.
"Who else would it be?" Gil replied with zero hesitation.
"Die!"
With that, Ishtar raised her hand. Her pointer and middle finger extended, she fired a shot of Spiritron energy at him. Though the spell looked similar to Rin's Gandr shots, in her hands, it was a divine blast. Even degraded, she was still a goddess.
"You've still got that temper. Predictable."
Gil tilted his head and dodged with ease.
"I swear I'll send you back to the Throne, so that smug bastard of a king can get a good look at what a mess you've become!"
Though no match for Gil in a war of words, Ishtar had her fists—and more importantly, her spells. This time, she unleashed a barrage of Spiritron shots. Gil was forced to leap to a nearby rooftop. Even he couldn't dodge them all easily. And being the "King of Lampposts," he refused to let anyone be higher than him.
"Alright, since we're starting the fight, let's go all in. Saber, your turn—go take that golden idiot down first."
Daniel had more to say, but now that Ishtar had thrown the first punch, there was no need for words. Taking Gil down first had always been the plan.
"Understood."
Saber calmly nodded, removing her hood and cloak. In the blink of an eye, she appeared before Gil and slashed at his chest with her invisible sword.
"You… Saber!"
Caught off guard, Gil hastily pulled a golden sword from his Gate of Babylon to parry her strike. As soon as he saw her face, he recognized her.
Though the name "Saber" technically referred to any Heroic Spirit of the Sword class, in the Fate universe, it was synonymous with Artoria. Other Sword-class Servants were always referred to by their actual names. There's a reason people say, "100,000 Type-Moon fans, a million King of Knights simps."
"Still clinging to that foolish wish of yours?" Gil scoffed after being forced back by her strike.
The two were old rivals. Normally, Heroic Spirits didn't retain memories of other Grail Wars, but Saber was an exception—she had never truly died.
As a king, Gil detested Artoria's idealistic rule. In his view, a king who couldn't stick to their convictions wasn't worthy of the title.
"And what you're doing now—does that befit a king?"
Saber charged again, her blade aimed at his chest.
"I am a king. Whatever I do is what a king should do."
That was Gilgamesh's philosophy: the king gives permission, the king decides, the king bears the weight of the world. It was this mindset that allowed him to resist the black mud of the corrupted Grail—because even sin, if borne by the king, was justified. In this regard, he truly earned the title of Heroic King.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two exchanged over a dozen blows. With each clash, Gil was pushed back. Finally, he had no choice but to jump down to the ground.
"You bastard!"
Furious, Gil prepared to counterattack—but was immediately interrupted by Ishtar's next volley of gemstone-based magic. Unlike before, this time she used full-on gem spells. She was fired up. Sending Gil back to the Throne of Heroes would give her massive bragging rights.
"Kirei, don't even think about running!"
While the three clashed above, Kotomine tried to slip away from the courtyard. With Gil occupied, he was in a precarious position—especially with two enemy Servants still present.
But Rin had been watching him like a hawk. As soon as he moved, she attacked—two gems thrown like bullets exploded with magical force. Kirei was forced to use reinforced arms to block them.
Then came two more. For the sake of avenging her parents, Rin had brought a lot of gems.
"You've grown stronger, Rin."
Dodging again, Kirei's eyes narrowed. He had always underestimated her. But this was no longer the girl he knew. After studying at the Clock Tower—and with help from Daniel and da Vinci's Dragon Blood Serum—she had transformed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kirei got serious. Black Keys appeared in both hands as he threw them while charging. Rin's long-range spells were too dangerous—he had to close the gap.
Boom!
He punched. Rin met him head-on with her own Bajiquan strike. To his shock, she had the upper hand.
The Dragon Blood Serum had enhanced her body beyond his. Her counterattack struck his chest and sent him flying ten meters, crumpling to the ground in a heap.
BOOM! BOOM!
Rin didn't approach. Instead, she threw two blue gems. They exploded, leaving a crater—but no Kotomine.
"Did you think I'd fall for that?" she sneered, eyes sharp.
"…I'm impressed. Didn't expect the Clock Tower to be this effective."
He sounded more amused than annoyed. The Rin he once knew would've rushed in to check. This one? Merciless.
"You don't need to know."
Glowing with magical circuits, Rin charged forward again. She wasn't lying—the Clock Tower wasn't this competent. But Daniel was. He had even told her about Kirei's "problematic heart"—the one that could fool even Hassan's Noble Phantasm.
Meanwhile…
"What's going on? Are you my opponent now?"
Cu Chulainn had originally intended to intercept Kirei, but upon seeing young Gil sitting nearby like a spectator, he hesitated. Despite his appearance, the boy was a full Heroic Spirit. Cu had to be careful.
He had no clue what was going on—but he knew one thing: all other Servants were enemies.
"Relax. We don't mean you any harm. If we did, we wouldn't have saved your Master. That would've benefited us more."
Indeed, both Cu and Bazett were baffled. Why would the church's supervisor try to kill her?
Bazett, though powerful, was extremely straightforward. Her personality was well-documented—this world's Bazett was nearly identical to the one from Illya's parallel world. Though parallel selves could differ wildly, in this case, they were almost the same.
"Here's the deal. Something's wrong with this Grail War."
Daniel gave a sanitized version of the situation—no full disclosure. He had only saved Bazett because of her connection to Cu. He had no intention of involving her any further.
"I saved you because of Cu Chulainn. I owe another version of him a favor. Watching you die would've sat poorly with me."
"I don't know you," Cu interjected flatly.
"It was the other you," Daniel replied, then turned back to Bazett. "The Grail's useless. It can't grant wishes. So in return for saving you, I want him. You're out of this War."
"You what?" Cu snapped, red spear raised.
Before Bazett could even speak, he was already bristling.
"Okay."
Her voice cut through the tension, stunning Cu.
"…What?"
"My only wish was to meet you through the Grail War. And now I have."
Bazett had admired Cu for years. That admiration was the only reason she'd joined the War in the first place. Whether the Grail worked or not didn't matter to her.
Kirei's betrayal had broken her spirit. The man she'd once seen as a comrade had tried to kill her. And without even a wish to pursue, she had no reason to keep fighting.
Their shared past had been full of missions—taking down rogue magi, modified monsters, homunculi. As a Sealing Executor and Church Enforcer, they had worked well together. So she had walked into his trap without a hint of suspicion.
Had she been cautious, he never would've succeeded. Bazett was stronger than him, and even capable of fighting Servants thanks to her family's Noble Phantasm—Fragarach.
It was an anti-Noble Phantasm that could reverse causality. In some alternate worlds, Bazett had used it to kill Saber. Theoretically, it could even defeat Gil.
In Illya's world, she had used it to take down Illya, Miyu, and Chloe—all at once.
"Like hell! Not just anyone gets to be my Master!"
Cu had his pride. Servants weren't familiars—they were partners. If their compatibility was poor, the War would be lost before it began. Though this wasn't a typical War…
"Don't be like that."
Daniel knocked Bazett out cold with a gentle blow.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Cu raised his spear again.
"Relax. If I meant harm, I wouldn't have saved her. There are just some things she doesn't need to know—like the real reason I saved her: because another you once taught me this."
He traced glowing Runes in the air—Primordial Runes. Cu's eyes narrowed. Whoever this man was, he wasn't ordinary.
"Hmm? Looks like we've got company."
Daniel turned toward the outskirts of the church grounds. This was a remote area—visitors weren't common. That meant one thing: more Grail War participants.
"Oh? Isn't that Waver and Gray? Coming all this way without calling—how rude."
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