"Sharp, aren't you? The one you summoned has always been me."
Caster Medea smiled and loosened the ribbon tying her hair. Then she wiped off the makeup on her face.
"Hello, my dearly departed husband."
"Medea!?"
Jason's jaw practically hit the ground. But this really wasn't the time to be agonizing over past relationships.
"Please, you have to help me! That lunatic is planning to wipe everyone out."
Jason didn't know Gilgamesh's true objective — to release All the World's Evils and let them flood Fuyuki, just to see whether humanity could endure his malice. But Gilgamesh's current temper tantrum made it basically no different from just murdering everyone outright.
"I'm not going to let him rampage unchecked."
Jiang You had a model shop nearby that he had helped Medea set up — she spent the whole morning decorating the place, and she wasn't about to let Gilgamesh wreck it in a fit of madness.
"But looking at how he's fighting... Servants without flight can't even get close."
After repelling Red Archer and Atalanta, Gilgamesh flung Heracles away using Enkidu. With no more interference, he leapt aboard his Vimana and soared several hundred meters into the air. Even the two Archers couldn't effectively attack it — any projected Noble Phantasms from Red Archer were intercepted in advance.
"I can fly, sure. But I'm not interested in becoming a flying target."
Medea had no intention of confronting Gilgamesh mid-air. She knew she didn't stand a chance.
Red magical circuits spread across the sky, and Gilgamesh summoned a peculiar-looking weapon into his hand.
Ea began to spin, and every Servant present felt a dangerous pressure. The overwhelming magical energy pressed down over the entire city.
Gilgamesh knew if he delayed any longer, more Servants would arrive to stop him. Weakened as he was from a previous duel, he wouldn't gain the upper hand in close combat. So, he made a decision — mass purging. Under Ea's full assault, hardly any Servants would survive. The Holy Grail would appear soon enough.
"If that attack lands, no one's walking away, right?"
Just sensing the threat from that sword made Jason feel utterly powerless. It was an attack that couldn't be defended against — unless Gilgamesh was interrupted before swinging it, there was no way to win.
"We're just going to stand here and watch him fire it?"
"Of course not."
Medea glanced toward Mt. Enzō. Over there, another Servant was already activating their Noble Phantasm.
"That's why we called in outside help."
A brilliant shooting star rose from Mt. Enzō, drawing a silvery arc across the sky as it hurtled toward Gilgamesh.
"Caster, hold on tight. Don't fall off!"
Medusa charged through the sky atop Pegasus, with Jiang You riding behind her. She reached back and guided his hands to wrap around her waist.
Seeing his hesitation, Medusa leaned back against him.
"Don't overthink it. I don't mind."
In truth, Jiang You wasn't hesitant for that reason — her hair was whipping him in the face at high speeds and he was trying to brush it away.
Ea still needed a bit more time to charge. As an Archer-class Servant, Gilgamesh had exceptional dynamic vision — he clearly saw the two riding Pegasus.
"Fools courting death!"
He issued a command to Vimana, and a barrage of ancient missiles veered toward Pegasus.
"Pegasus!"
Reacting to the attack, Medusa gripped the divine horse's sides tightly with her legs.
Pegasus got the message and accelerated.
The silvery pegasus weaved through the sky, dodging missiles trailing fiery tails. After a series of cobra-like aerial maneuvers, they closed in on Gilgamesh.
"Useless! The moment you stop moving, Vimana will obliterate you!"
Gilgamesh locked eyes with Jiang You for a brief moment — full of disdain.
"You've reached me, but what of it? — It's too late now!"
Ea's charge was complete. The next swing would unleash a strike that could obliterate half of Fuyuki beneath the Sword of Rupture, Ea.
"Fusion of atoms. Condensation. The star that weaves all creation. Bear witness through death. Enuma—"
At that moment, Gilgamesh saw Medusa throw the Servant behind her — directly into the attack's path.
"Fools! But at least feel honored to be the first soul reaped by Ea!"
The torrent of magical energy surged through Ea — and in the next second, the apocalyptic blow that could rip space itself was—
Caught. Caught by that very Servant's hand.
All magical energy vanished as if it had never existed. That attack, Enuma Elish, ceased to be.
Gilgamesh: "?"
He genuinely wondered if he had drawn the wrong weapon.
"Gilgamesh, long time no see."
Jiang You casually tossed Ea aside, patted Gilgamesh on the shoulder, and gave him a look of complete disappointment.
"I actually expected to see you in the finals. But turns out you're this weak. In my memory, you only ever beat up small fries. Lost to Beasts, and never won against any real Servants."
"And now you can't even accept a loss? You throw a tantrum, trash the arena, and even attack the audience? Do you have any idea how hard you're making things for me as the organizer? Hundred-Faces is already overwhelmed!"
Jiang You laid into him for the chaos he'd caused. There weren't many participants to begin with, and now things were in shambles. Thankfully, the other Servants had reacted quickly, so no real casualties occurred.
"Wait, isn't Ea supposed to be the apex of Noble Phantasms?"
Gilgamesh was spaced out. He didn't even process the absurdity of what Jiang You just said. All he could think about was how his most prized weapon had been effortlessly blocked. That strike could've harmed Tiamat, yet Jiang You stopped it like it was nothing.
"Hey, you still with me?"
Jiang You gave him a little smack on the head.
Gilgamesh snapped back to reality — his face contorting with rage.
"You mongrel… How dare you touch this king's noble body!"
"Noble?"
Jiang You narrowed his eyes. He'd seen Fate/Zero, after all. Gilgamesh's current body — a vessel of black mud — was far from noble.
"Your mud-formed flesh is the dirtiest thing here."
"You dare—!"
Gilgamesh's fury was cut off.
The duel-application window had less than a minute left.
"As the event organizer, it's my responsibility to punish contestants who violate the rules. The price…"
Jiang You's voice dropped cold.
"...will be your soul."