Accompanied by a series of firm, metallic footsteps, Gilgamesh, clad in his imposing golden armor, slowly emerged from the base of the temple stairs.
As soon as he reached the top of the staircase, the first thing that caught his attention was the golden Holy Grail floating in the air, radiating an intense glow.
Soon after, his crimson eyes shifted, and then he saw Arthur sitting calmly in front of the main gate of Ryuudou Temple with Artoria Pendragon in his arms.
The moment he witnessed that scene, an indescribable rage suddenly erupted from the depths of Gilgamesh's heart.
But before he could open his mouth—
"You're far too slow, Goldie," Arthur said lazily.
"What?!"
Gilgamesh's brows instantly furrowed.
Behind him, countless golden ripples appeared in space.
Without wasting any words, he unleashed a barrage of Noble Phantasms at Arthur.
However, an equal number of ripples appeared behind Arthur at the very same moment.
Weapons emerged from within them and fired back in response.
In the blink of an eye, the outer grounds of Ryuudou Temple were flooded with countless weapons.
After colliding in midair, the weapons exploded into golden particles of magical energy and scattered like a shower of stars.
After that first exchange, Gilgamesh halted his assault and then smiled.
He stepped forward a few paces, pointing at Arthur.
"Come, you damned impostor!" he roared. "I'll show you what happens to frauds."
As he spoke, the golden ripples behind him multiplied more and more.
Until they completely covered half the sky above Mount Enzou.
Countless weapons hovered there like projectiles of absolute destruction.
All of them awaited only the will of their king to be fired.
They waited for Gilgamesh to pull the trigger of slaughter.
"Haha~"
Faced with that grand and aggressive display, Arthur merely laughed indifferently.
The ripples behind him, which had appeared to block the previous attack, vanished silently as though nothing had happened.
"Why are you laughing?" Gilgamesh asked, frowning deeply.
"Because there's one thing you're mistaken about."
Arthur answered with a lazy smile.
"What?"
Gilgamesh was momentarily perplexed.
"I've said this many times already. I'm not a fraud… or are you too foolish to understand something so simple?"
Arthur slowly stood up.
Then his lips curled into a disdainful smile.
He extended one finger toward Gilgamesh and declared in an absurdly arrogant tone:
"In truth… it would make far more sense for me to call you the fraud."
"What…?"
Gilgamesh froze for a brief moment.
No one had ever dared to speak to him in such a manner.
Then, regaining his senses, he revealed a twisted and cruel smile, as if he wanted to tear Arthur to pieces.
"You miserable dog..." Gilgamesh growled through clenched teeth. "You truly dare speak to me like that?!"
Consumed by pure fury, he instantly launched his countless Noble Phantasms, determined to obliterate Arthur.
"Artie..." Arthur called calmly.
She understood immediately.
Rising from his lap, she stepped back several paces.
"Very well, Goldie..." Arthur said as he stretched his shoulders.
"Let's fight to our hearts' content."
CLAP
The moment he snapped his fingers, a translucent dome enveloped the two combatants.
The surrounding space distorted.
Reality cracked.
In the next instant, both of them vanished.
---
---xXx---
"This is... a Reality Marble?"
Standing atop a meteorite the size of a basketball court, Gilgamesh immediately understood the true nature of that place.
Around them, there was nothing but cosmic emptiness.
"Close enough," Arthur replied calmly, facing him directly.
"It's a dimension separated from our reality."
The nonexistent wind stirred his hair as he gazed at the King of Heroes.
"Here..." Arthur continued. "We can fight with all our strength."
Then he pulled Ea from the Gate of Babylon.
Gilgamesh let out an icy snort when he saw the weapon in Arthur's hands.
"Why put on such a performance..." he asked, while doing the same and drawing his own Ea.
"If you're only going to die soon?"
Gilgamesh finished the sentence with a cruel smile.
Then he charged at Arthur.
A mere golden flash crossing the cosmic void as the King of Heroes appeared before Arthur and swung Ea like a spear.
[A/N: Yes, Ea can also be used that way.]
Arthur tilted his body slightly, and Ea passed mere centimeters from him.
In the same motion, he twisted his wrist and struck Gilgamesh's elbow with the base of his own Ea.
Gilgamesh's arm was violently knocked aside.
Before he could react, Arthur drove a single punch into his stomach.
BOOOOM
The impact sent Gilgamesh crashing through dozens of floating boulders.
Arthur remained standing in the same spot, still holding Ea with only one hand.
"You talk too much, Goldie," he commented casually.
From the rubble, Gilgamesh emerged cloaked in gold and pure irritation.
His caved-in chest was slowly regenerating thanks to his absurd supply of magical energy.
"Bastard..."
Behind him, thousands of golden ripples opened at once.
"Die, you mongrel!!"
All the portals fired simultaneously.
Arthur merely raised his free hand.
Behind him, an identical number of portals appeared and instantly launched their own weapons.
Every one of Arthur's projectiles intercepted Gilgamesh's at the exact point, the ideal angle, and with superior force.
Golden explosions covered the entire dimension.
A magnificent and humiliating spectacle.
Gilgamesh's eyes widened as he realized Arthur was not merely matching his attacks.
Every weapon used by Gilgamesh looked like a crude imitation compared to Arthur's refined mastery.
"Impossible..." Gilgamesh muttered.
Arthur appeared before him that very instant and kicked him in the jaw.
DOOOOM
Gilgamesh was launched upward, spinning wildly.
Arthur vanished and reappeared above him, then drove his heel into Gilgamesh's head.
Gilgamesh plummeted like a comet, crashing through three giant meteorites before stopping.
Arthur landed slowly atop the wreckage.
"Same powers," he said calmly. "Completely different results. How disappointing."
Gilgamesh's face twisted in rage.
"SHUT UP!"
Consumed by absolute fury, he raised Ea.
The sword's cylindrical layers began to rotate.
Arthur watched in silence, then sighed.
He also raised Ea.
"ENUMA ELISH!" x2
The two attacks collided.
For a moment, the entire cosmos around them trembled.
Then Gilgamesh's blast began to give way inch by inch.
His expression shifted from rage to disbelief.
Arthur's attack completely devoured his in short order.
Gilgamesh pulled dozens of defensive Noble Phantasms from the Gate of Babylon and placed them before his body.
Unfortunately, all of them were destroyed one after another with ease, and the explosion engulfed him.
When the light faded, Gilgamesh was kneeling on a fragment of rock, covered in blood, his armor shattered, breathing heavily.
Arthur walked toward him calmly.
"You should thank me for not killing you in one strike," Arthur mocked.
"Answer me—do you understand now why I said it would be more plausible for me to call you the fraud?"
Gilgamesh raised his face, trembling with hatred.
Arthur smiled.
"Stand up, Goldie."
His smile turned cruel.
"We haven't finished playing yet."
(End of Chapter)