"You did great, Jason!"
Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya had arrived at some point without anyone noticing. When they saw Jason win, Rin jumped up in excitement.
Her own Servant had defeated the legendary first hero; such an honor made her beam with joy.
[The victor is — the great hero of ancient Greece, Jason!]
[The united heroes of the Argo have defeated the solitary King of Heroes, Gilgamesh! Overall, it proves that there really is strength in numbers. So, for those planning to become Heroic Spirits, remember to make lots of companions while you're still alive — otherwise, you might end up dragged out someday with no one by your side.]
[Unfortunately, not only did Gilgamesh lose the duel, he also lost to Matou…]
Hundred-Faces, who was doing the live commentary, was suddenly impaled straight through by a golden Noble Phantasm, and that particular clone was instantly killed.
Hundred-Faces' corpse crashed heavily to the ground, and only then did the spectators realize: Gilgamesh was out for blood.
Even when losing, the "neutral wild mobs" were only dragged into an unknown darkness by the Dark Games, without any gruesome death scene. And although the duels were battles to the death, they didn't actually result in true death. Because of this, ordinary people had relaxed around the magi and Servants.
Now, Gilgamesh had torn off that peaceful facade.
"How dare you! How dare you!"
Gilgamesh shredded the ticket connecting him to Jiang You's Noble Phantasm, scattering his star-shaped points onto the ground — clearly unwilling to continue participating.
The tickets distributed by Quiet were made with Medea's help. As long as someone carried it, they would be recognized as caught by Jiang You's Noble Phantasm, creating a corresponding deck for them. Since it wasn't an official effect, tearing up the ticket would disable it. Gilgamesh had used this method to enter battle.
"How dare you make this king show such disgrace!"
Gilgamesh could not accept his failure. To lose so thoroughly in his first battle against another Heroic Spirit — even a mere mortal could now defeat one — it made him a laughingstock. Even Enkidu within his card deck refused to respond to his call. He wanted no part of this event anymore.
"If that's how it is, then I'll start wiping out the other Servants too! Anyone who dared point fingers at this king — will die here!"
Because losing upon losing triggered even more mockery from onlookers, Gilgamesh's already strained nerves finally snapped.He would force an early Holy Grail Manifestation and unleash All the World's Evils upon the land.
As for why Gilgamesh wasn't affected by the weakness penalty after losing the duel — he had consumed an immortal elixir from his treasury. Although the weakness itself wasn't fully eliminated, the magical energy converted by the elixir was enough to let him unleash his Noble Phantasms.
Golden Noble Phantasms shot out chaotically around him — Gilgamesh was determined to slaughter everyone present.
"Master!"
Jason immediately understood Rin Tohsaka's intention. As the effective administrator of Fuyuki, she had to protect the civilians here, both out of morality and self-interest.
"I command you with a Command Spell — Jason, unleash your Noble Phantasm!"
Another Command Spell flared and vanished from Rin's hand.The Argo once again broke through space and arrived.
The massive ship formed a barrier between the civilians and Gilgamesh, blocking this wave of Noble Phantasm bombardment.However, even materials from the Age of Gods couldn't withstand this level of bombardment for long — the ship would soon be destroyed.
But Jason's Noble Phantasm was not limited to just the ship.
Amid the flying debris of the explosions, a gigantic figure crashed through all obstacles and charged toward Gilgamesh.
Heracles deflected the incoming Noble Phantasms with his axe-sword, then swung it in a wide arc toward Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh knew he was no match for Heracles in close combat. Leaning back, he allowed the Chains of Heaven to hook around his waist, pulling him backward.
The axe-sword smashed the floor within ten meters of Heracles, and without a foothold, Heracles was immediately entangled tightly by Gilgamesh's chains.Then over a dozen Noble Phantasms pierced Heracles, making him look like a giant porcupine.
"The Twelve Labors..."
Since Heracles' Noble Phantasm had already been revealed during the duel, Gilgamesh had to divert part of his attention to suppressing him — an annoyance.
Meanwhile, Argonauts like Asclepius were tending to the wounded civilians and using magecraft to help them escape.
At that moment, Atalanta had already found her angle and loosed an arrow at Gilgamesh.The familiar emerald-green arrow made Gilgamesh's brows twitch.
"You again, you wildcat!"
He dodged the attack from behind, then temporarily focused his firepower, unleashing dozens of Noble Phantasms at Atalanta.The widespread explosion didn't cause major injury, but the impact was enough to blast Atalanta out of the hall, sending her plummeting downstairs.
"Archer! I use a Command Spell to summon you — come to my side!"
At last, Shirou Emiya made up his mind. He didn't hesitate to use his final Command Spell — even if summoning Red Archer would cost him his life, he would gladly do it. He planned to persuade Red Archer to help fight Gilgamesh, even if only moments before death.
Red Archer had already been informed of the situation by Hundred-Faces and was rushing over.Being summoned came as no surprise to him.He merely glanced at Shirou, then dashed straight at Gilgamesh.
"Rin, it's not enough! We still need more help!"
Because Gilgamesh was now in a berserk state, his attacks were indiscriminate, pouring out Noble Phantasms like they cost nothing.Red Archer had no time to deploy his trump card, his Reality Marble.
"I understand." Rin was prepared to use her final Command Spell too.She would have Jason summon the remaining Argonauts.
"I command you by a Command Spell—"
"Don't even think about it!"
Gilgamesh's arsenal wasn't limited to weapons.Under the cover of the Gate of Babylon, the long-dormant Vimana roared to life, slamming into Red Archer and sending him flying.
Gilgamesh then rushed toward Jason and Rin.
"Jason, as a reward, this king shall now address you by name."
Gilgamesh hovered in midair, dense golden ripples blooming behind him — this time unleashing the largest barrage yet.He was determined to end Jason here and now.
"Though you managed to scrape a victory against this king in a duel, in a real battle, you have no chance whatsoever. Here — kneel before me!"
Golden beams rained down like a storm, completely engulfing Jason, Rin, and Shirou.No Heroic Spirit could possibly endure such a bombardment.
After the volley, Gilgamesh swung his sword, scattering the smoke, eager to inspect Jason's manner of death.But within the wreckage left by the explosion, there was nothing — no bodies, nothing at all.
"As expected, it won't be so easy to kill you."
A young Medea appeared not far away — she had used magecraft to safely teleport the three away.
"Medea!?"
Jason cried out joyfully — but he quickly realized something was wrong.
"I... didn't summon you."