"Hmph."
"What a fool... relying on brute force alone."
At that moment, a disdainful snort reached Leon and the others.
Just as Leon was about to make his move, he stopped and looked up toward the golden flying craft hovering overhead.
"Archer."
Standing alongside Leon, Artoria instinctively shielded Irisviel behind them as they fixed solemn gazes upon Gilgamesh.
Leon swept the area with Observation Haki enhanced by Instinct (Rank A), only to discover that Kirei Kotomine was nowhere aboard the Vimana.
He's still hiding.
He's really committed to playing the man in the shadows.
Fine... let's see who the better schemer is.
Leon silently mused to himself.
"You're not joining the fight, Archer?" Leon asked.
"Hmph. As if I would permit something so filthy to stain my treasures."
With his arms folded across his chest, Gilgamesh looked down from above with his usual regal arrogance.
"I see..."
Leon neither agreed nor disagreed.
Instead, he suddenly turned toward the horizon.
Gilgamesh frowned slightly before following Leon's gaze.
Whoosh—
Two fighter jets streaked across the sky at supersonic speed.
The large F-15 markings on their gray fuselages were plainly visible, followed moments later by the thunderous sonic boom as they tore through the air.
"I suppose there was no hiding a disturbance of this scale forever."
"The authorities couldn't ignore it any longer."
Irisviel spoke with concern.
The two fighters were flying straight toward Leon's position—
Or more accurately...
Toward Gilgamesh, who hovered above them.
After all, his golden flying ship was practically a gigantic beacon in the night sky.
It was impossible to miss.
"Check! Check!"
"This is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force aircraft."
"Golden aircraft ahead, you have entered Japanese airspace."
"State your identity, your purpose, and provide authorization for your flight immediately."
"Hmph."
"Mongrels dare question me?"
Gilgamesh had no intention of using a cannon to swat a fly.
The difference in strength between the two sides was simply too great.
Besides...
Leon and the others were watching.
Even crushing insignificant insects would only make him appear petty.
Without saying another word, Gilgamesh accelerated upward at an angle, completely ignoring the warning.
"Warning! Warning!"
"You are violating Japanese airspace!"
"Turn around and leave immediately!"
"Failure to comply will result in further action!"
Gilgamesh's refusal to respond instantly caused the two fighters to classify him as a hostile intruder.
Without further hesitation, they pulled back on their control sticks and pursued him.
"Pfft..."
Irisviel suddenly burst into laughter.
Leon, Artoria, and both members of the Tohsaka family looked at her simultaneously.
Embarrassed by everyone's attention, Irisviel blushed faintly.
"It's just..."
"The King of Heroes being chased through the sky by two human fighter jets..."
"It's strangely adorable."
"...You're right."
Even Leon couldn't help laughing.
High above...
The fighter jets hadn't been deployed specifically because of Gilgamesh.
"Hiroshima, our mission is to deal with that monster. We can't waste too much time chasing this golden aircraft. Every second counts—people are dying down there!"
"Understood."
"We've received authorization to engage."
"But we can't ignore this target either."
"I'll handle the giant monster."
"You keep an eye on the flying object. Don't let it escape."
"Roger!"
After their brief exchange, one fighter continued pursuing the Vimana, while the other performed a sharp three-hundred-sixty-degree turn before diving toward the gigantic Sea Demon.
However—
The instant the aircraft entered the creature's airspace...
Several enormous tentacles, each as thick as a freight container, erupted into the sky without warning and surrounded it.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!!"
"Nagasaki?!"
Through his communications headset, the pilot codenamed Hiroshima heard his partner's terrified scream.
He instinctively looked back.
Countless tentacles had wrapped themselves around Nagasaki's fighter jet.
A split second later—
BOOM!
The aircraft was crushed like an aluminum can.
"...How..."
"How is that possible...?"
That single moment of shock was all it took.
Hiroshima completely lost sight of the golden "UFO."
"Damn it!"
"Nagasaki..."
"I'll avenge you!"
Watching his closest comrade die before his eyes filled him with rage.
Bloodshot eyes fixed on the target, Hiroshima maneuvered his fighter into a spiraling attack run toward the Sea Demon.
Ratatatatatat—!
BOOM!!
The F-15 unleashed a relentless barrage of cannon fire and missiles.
Explosions engulfed the monster.
But once the smoke cleared...
The Sea Demon's surface remained completely unharmed.
"...Impossible."
Hiroshima stared in disbelief.
Then—
A gigantic tentacle suddenly swung into his flight path.
His pupils contracted.
He immediately banked as sharply as possible to evade it.
He succeeded.
But only the first one.
Beyond it...
Countless more tentacles were already waiting.
BOOM!
With no avenue of escape remaining, Hiroshima met the same fate as his partner.
Humanity's first counteroffensive...
Ended in total failure.
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