"What's going on? Why is he here?"
Second was stunned as he rushed over and saw Gilgamesh being besieged. His eyes were filled with surprise; he hadn't expected to see Gilgamesh again ten years later.
He had come because he sensed a battle breaking out. At first, he thought someone had summoned the King of Heroes for this new Holy Grail War—just like he had once intended to do. But as he approached, he realized something was off. This King of Heroes wasn't a newly summoned spirit—it was the exact same one from ten years ago.
Second had never forgotten the man who defeated and killed the King of Conquerors. In the Fourth Holy Grail War, the two Servants who left the deepest impression on him were the King of Heroes and the King of Knights—after all, one had killed Kenneth, and the other had killed the Emperor.
Aside from the unexpected appearance of Gilgamesh, the chaos unfolding on the battlefield also shocked Second. The Holy Grail War had just begun, and yet the first battle had broken out in the very place that was supposed to serve as the war's supervising ground.
According to the ritual of the Holy Grail War, the Church was meant to be a neutral sanctuary. Once a Master's Servant was defeated, they could seek refuge there.
"All right, let's make the contract first."
Daniel Davis didn't greet Second right away. Instead, he projected Rule Breaker, severed the contract between Bazett and Cú Chulainn, then transferred the Command Seals on Bazett's arm onto himself. Afterward, he stored the unconscious Bazett in the Devourer Pouch.
This time, Cú Chulainn had no objections. The presence of the Primordial Runes made him instantly believe what Daniel had said earlier—more precisely, he believed in the other version of himself. After all, few people in this era could use the Primordial Runes. Aside from him, only his master could do it. If Daniel had learned them from his master, there'd be no reason for him to lie.
"Is he our opponent this time?"
As he spoke, Cú Chulainn raised his crimson spear and pointed it at the red-haired boy standing beside Second. The aura of a Servant was unmistakable. You couldn't judge a Servant's strength by their appearance alone.
With Ishtar and the King of Knights ganging up on Gilgamesh, Cú Chulainn, who didn't want to join in that mess, had to find another opponent. His desire was simple: find a worthy enemy for a full-power battle.
"Over there—"
Just as Daniel began to speak, a massive figure suddenly leaped out from one side, charging directly toward Second and the others. It was a tall, muscular man with dark skin, wielding an enormous stone sword.
"Master, look out!"
Caught off guard, Gray immediately grabbed Second by the collar and dodged to the side. The red-haired boy reacted just as quickly and jumped aside.
Boom! With a thunderous crash, the impact of the intruder's landing sent stone fragments flying everywhere, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Didn't expect him to show up too. This must be our third encounter."
The newcomer was none other than the infamous Berserker—Heracles. Daniel had already fought him twice before.
Just as Second had sensed the situation at the church, so too had Illyasviel.
Boom.
As Daniel spotted Heracles, his gaze shifted toward a nearby grove. Illyasviel, dressed in a purple dress, sat casually on a tree branch at the edge, watching the battle unfold between Heracles, Gray, and the red-haired boy with a relaxed expression.
While Daniel observed Illyasviel, the fight didn't pause. Gray and the red-haired boy, armed with a dagger, were barely holding their ground against Heracles. Although technically a fight, they were merely managing to hold on—there was a significant gap in strength between them and their opponent.
"Gray has gotten stronger... Is it because the King of Knights has appeared? A red dragon's heart... It's similar to a certain homunculus—both have dragon hearts."
Gray had already been capable of fighting Servants before—like Hephaestion—but not all Servants were equal. Heracles' strength far surpassed that of Hephaestion. The old Gray might not have been able to block even a single blow from him, but now she could manage a few exchanges.
This transformation was thanks to the changes in her body. Originally designed to be the vessel for the King of Knights, her body underwent a chain reaction once the King of Knights had been summoned.
Anyone observing the big picture would realize that when Gray's appearance began transforming to resemble the King of Knights during her childhood, it coincided with the Fourth Holy Grail War ten years ago. The cause? The same as now—King Arthur had manifested as a Heroic Spirit.
"All that's left are the Magus and the Assassin. Maybe I can end the Holy Grail War in a day like Emiya the Great."
"To the destined end, mark this moment—let the initial conquest commence!"
Heracles' overwhelming power forced the red-haired Servant to unleash his Noble Phantasm. A black stallion appeared beside him, and he mounted it, charging toward Heracles at full speed amid brilliant flashes of lightning.
Boom.
Dozens of lightning bolts rained down from the sky, striking Heracles and enveloping him in brilliant electric light. When the light faded, Heracles lay charred in a deep crater several meters wide.
Seeing their opponent fall, Second and Gray both instinctively let out a sigh of relief. Compared to Hephaestion, Heracles' oppressive presence was far more terrifying.
"Be careful. That's the great hero Heracles. His Noble Phantasm is the Twelve Labors, which means he has twelve lives. Also, after being defeated once, he gains resistance to the type of attack that killed him." Daniel suddenly spoke up, noticing Second had let his guard down.
"What?"
Second's face changed immediately after hearing Daniel's explanation. In the next moment, a loud roar erupted as Heracles revived. With a mighty roar, he swung his stone sword again—this time, the blow sent Gray flying. Having returned to full strength after his revival, Heracles had the advantage, especially since Gray was already fatigued from their previous exchanges.
"I'm leaving him to you. Go hold him off." Seeing Second was in real danger, Daniel sent Cú Chulainn to intervene.
"A great hero, huh?"
Cú Chulainn's face lit up with excitement as he twirled his spear and rushed toward Heracles. Both of them were legendary heroes. Don't be fooled by Cú Chulainn's tragic ends in other appearances—he was actually an incredibly powerful Servant. His Noble Phantasm was nearly impossible to avoid for anyone who didn't have something like Arthur's Instinct or an absurdly high Luck stat.
He only seemed weak because of his E-rank Luck and poor matchmaking, which kept him from showing his full strength. But this time was different. Daniel was a great Master.
Though Cú Chulainn still couldn't defeat Heracles outright, he could at least hold him off for a while. The Twelve Labors were just too broken—at best, his Noble Phantasm could take one life.
"What happened here?"
Now free, Second approached Daniel to ask for a briefing. Having been suddenly dragged into a chaotic battle and almost killed, he was visibly frustrated.
Under normal circumstances, Second would have kept his distance when seeing Saber and Ishtar fight Gilgamesh. But Illyasviel clearly wasn't playing by the rules—her overconfidence in her Servant had changed everything.
"Here's what happened," Daniel explained the current situation as briefly as possible.
"I didn't think the Grail really was corrupted."
Even though Second had already received intel about the Greater Grail being tainted, he hadn't truly believed it without seeing it for himself. Magi were stubborn that way. Marisbury and Heartless wouldn't have believed it either if they hadn't used Mystic Eyes to investigate personally.
"That's why I plan to dismantle the Greater Grail. Better to prevent future disasters."
This time, the participating Masters didn't have much reason to wish upon the Grail. But that was just a fluke. It wouldn't be the case every time.
"So what's the story here?" Daniel asked curiously about Second's Servant, and Second explained.
The red-haired boy was actually the King of Conquerors—just in his youth.
"What a shame... I was hoping to fight Ionian Hetairoi."
Seeing Second's dejected expression, Daniel didn't know what to say. Not summoning the Emperor was clearly a huge disappointment to him.
"Kirei Kotomine, I will kill you today!"
The battle between Rin Tohsaka and Kirei Kotomine had reached its final stage. Kirei's right arm had been blown off by Rin's gem bombs, and he had run out of Black Keys. In the end, Rin pierced his chest with the mercury sword he had given her.
"I never expected it to end this way."
Kirei laughed as he looked at the blade in his chest. He had once used this sword to kill his own teacher, Tokiomi Tohsaka—and now he had been slain by the same weapon. Call it karmic justice.
"You all deserve to die."
Not long after Rin took down Kirei, Gilgamesh began to lose control. As a Heroic Spirit, he was undoubtedly one of the strongest, but both Ishtar and Saber were no pushovers. Either one could fight him one-on-one—and now they were teaming up.
He'd only lasted this long thanks to the numerous Noble Phantasms in his treasury. But his mana reserves were already heavily depleted. If this continued, he might not even be able to use Ea.
He was too prideful as a king. If this had been the Card World version of him, he would've used Ea immediately after falling behind.
"Streetlamp King, ready to get serious?"
Ishtar couldn't outmatch Gilgamesh in verbal sparring. But now she had found his sore spot—"Streetlamp King." She kept shouting it, driving him mad. He never imagined the day would come when the goddess he hated most would leave him speechless.
"Saber, let's finish this together." Seeing Gilgamesh ready his ultimate weapon, Ishtar prepared to use her own.
"Get ready to jump, Maanna. Open the gate. This is your glory—my full power. Shatter, Mountain-Shaking Star of Flames."
Ishtar soared into the sky on Maanna. A golden rift opened in the sky, and a massive golden planet emerged—Venus.
Of course, it was a conceptual Venus, not the real one. As the goddess of Venus, Ishtar had the authority to summon it. She transformed it into an arrow and fired it from Maanna, which served as her bowstring.
"This radiance is the hope of the stars, the proof of life illuminating the earth. Bear witness—Excalibur."
"Matter amalgamates, solidifies, and creates the fabric of all things. Behold and perish—Enuma Elish."
"Whoa—run!"
Seeing all three unleash their Noble Phantasms simultaneously, Daniel immediately used his Surgical Fruit powers to teleport Second, Illyasviel, and the others away.
At the same time, Kid Gil and Cú Chulainn also sensed something was wrong and began fleeing. They weren't stupid—they knew what would happen if they got caught in this clash. Only Heracles, slowed by his Berserker status, failed to react in time.
Boom.
The collision of the three ultimate Noble Phantasms exploded in a blinding flash of light, as brilliant as the rising sun. The anomaly was so striking that everyone in Fuyuki City could see it.
But in the next moment, no one had time to admire it—because the entire city began shaking violently, as if struck by a massive earthquake. People fled in panic.
"Wonder if they'll try to explain this as a gas explosion again."
Daniel shook his head helplessly. Before them now was a crater dozens of meters deep and over a kilometer long. The grand building of the Holy Church had completely vanished. Even the nearby mountain had been shaved down by several dozen meters from the blast.
"Berserker..."
Even Illyasviel, who had deep confidence in Heracles, couldn't help but worry. Usually, it was difficult for a Master to form a strong bond with a Berserker, but Illyasviel and Heracles were the exception—they shared a deep connection.
"Are you guys all right?" Daniel looked up at Ishtar and Saber in the sky. When the blast occurred, Ishtar had carried Saber up with Maanna, and that's how they survived.
"That guy's totally dead," Ishtar said excitedly, thrilled by the idea of taking down Gilgamesh. Kid Gil, standing off to the side, could only look at her with exasperation.
"Damn it! Bastards!"
Just then, a familiar voice rang out from the south. Everyone turned to look and saw a battered Gilgamesh approaching. His golden armor was nearly destroyed, his hair disheveled, and his face streaked with blood.
"You've got some luck, huh," Ishtar muttered, pouting as she spotted the shield in Gilgamesh's hand. She recognized it instantly—Sha Naqba Imuru, the Shield of Enclosure. It was an incredibly powerful defensive Noble Phantasm.
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