"Master, please wait here for a moment. This banner shall protect you."
As soon as Taigong Wang finished speaking, the Flag of the Unfolding Heaven and Earth shrank to about two feet in length and flew into Roy's palm. The thousands of golden lotuses surrounding them also contracted, enveloping Roy and the sacred beast in their protection.
With the golden banner shielding Roy, even Gilgamesh would be unable to harm him—unless he were to unleash his full power.
Only after ensuring Roy's safety did Taigong Wang slowly descend from the clouds, landing on Mount Enzou.
After Gilgamesh's indiscriminate barrage, the already barren land trembled violently once more, the pitch-black earth now riddled with countless craters.
Realizing that the two had evaded his assault, Gilgamesh raised his gaze to the sky.
"Do not think you can escape my grasp so easily!"
With another wave of his hand, the golden ripples in the air expanded several times over. Thousands of golden portals unfurled, covering the entire sky above Mount Enzou, leaving no room for escape.
"To receive without reciprocating is discourteous! King of Heroes, take this!"
The ambiguous smile on Taigong Wang's face had long vanished, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.
He formed a pair of hand seals, raising only his middle and ring fingers before bringing his palms together with a sharp clap.
"Thunder Gods of the Divine Ministry, heed my command! Descend with your divine might and aid me in vanquishing this foe—By the decree of the Jade Emperor, so it shall be!"
BOOOOOOM—!
In an instant, countless bolts of lightning split the clear sky, crashing down toward Gilgamesh like a storm of golden serpents.
"Tch!"
Faced with thunderbolts that seemed capable of engulfing all of Mount Enzou, Gilgamesh scowled and retrieved several shields from the Gate of Babylon, positioning them around himself.
At the same time, the thousands of golden ripples in the sky arranged themselves into a semicircular formation, unleashing a torrent of Noble Phantasms—a golden downpour that blotted out the heavens!
In the blink of an eye, Roy's entire field of vision was filled with the golden storm.
"Sibuxiang, evade as much as you can!"
Seeing countless Noble Phantasms hurtling toward him from all directions, Roy felt his hair stand on end.
He trusted Taigong Wang's skill and the defensive power of the Flag of the Unfolding Heaven and Earth, but Taigong Wang still required magical energy to fight. They had to minimize the strain on him as much as possible.
Sibuxiang let out a soft hum, as if it had long been prepared for this moment.
Immediately, it spread its hooves and flew away from Mount Enzou, doing its best to escape the range of the Gate of Babylon's attacks. All the while, the myriad golden lotuses swirled around Roy, deflecting the incoming Noble Phantasms one after another.
Amidst the cacophony of clashing blades, the earth was torn asunder, the dark clouds were split apart, and endless explosions erupted in waves. The thirteen layers of bounded fields surrounding Mount Enzou shattered one after another under this bombardment, leaving the mountain bare in moments.
The entire mountain trembled violently, the very ground itself seeming to wail in agony.
Even the magi watching from afar could feel the overwhelming pressure in the air—like the clash of tens of thousands of soldiers on a battlefield. It was an unstoppable, army-shattering force, one that crushed all thoughts of resistance from the outset, leaving them speechless with awe.
"...How terrifying. Is this what a battle between Servants surpassing the pinnacle looks like?"
Bazett stood atop City Hall, her vision enhanced by runes, staring dumbfounded at the distant battle on Mount Enzou. The sheer scale of the confrontation left her breathless.
At the Aozaki residence, the entire household had gathered in the living room, watching the battle above Mount Enzou through the projection of a familiar conjured by Illya. The group—comprising both novice magi and ordinary girls—was rendered speechless by the spectacle.
"Lord Roy..."
At this moment, not only Utaha and Ichika, but also Illya and Hayasaka clenched their fists tightly, silently praying for his victory.
The Back Mountains of Mount Enzou.
Rin enhanced her legs with magical energy, sprinting without pause into the underground caverns while simultaneously observing the battle above through her familiar.
Her heart had clenched when she saw Roy targeted by the golden bastard, and she was even more shocked when he summoned a Rider.
"The military strategist of ancient Zhou, Taigong Wang? That's the real Rider? The legend says he studied under the highest deity of Taoism and vanished after assisting King Wu of Zhou in ascending the throne and deifying. Roy actually summoned him?!"
At that moment, Rin understood everything.
Roy had clearly performed an irregular summoning, calling forth both a Saber and a Rider. His desperate charge into the Greater Grail's cavern must have been for the sake of a forced summoning. That Chinese-style Rider who had protected them that night, resisting the corrupted Saber's assault, had been Taigong Wang in disguise all along!
"If it's that Taigong Wang... he might actually win!"
Just as Rin thought this, an intense tremor shook the ground beneath her, nearly sending her sprawling.
The aftershocks of the battle outside are reaching even here?!
"Damn it, why is my Archer the only useless one?!"
Grumbling under her breath, Rin pressed onward into the depths of the cavern.
"...Heh. My apologies for being so useless."
The sarcastic voice of Archer echoed in her ear.
"No backtalk!"
"You're impossible to reason with!"
As Rin hurried forward, she continued bickering with Archer. Before long, she reached the corridor of cursed mist. Her expression darkened—this was no place to push her luck.
She swallowed a gemstone to bolster her defenses, then charged headlong into the mist.
The cursed fog was thick with mental corruption, forcing Rin to focus solely on moving forward. Even her connection to her familiar was severed.
Fortunately, the passage was short, and Rin soon broke through into the cavern of the Greater Grail.
A crimson glow emanated from the Holy Grail within the volcanic crater at the center. The enormous magic circle sprawled across the ground pulsed like veins filled with blood.
The stench of curses was overwhelming, and the air itself was so polluted that the temperature had soared past 80 degrees Celsius. Without magical reinforcement, survival here would be impossible.
"Kirei! Where are you?! Why not show yourself properly?"
Rin cautiously advanced toward the center of the cavern, her voice echoing through the vast hollow.
"I had no intention of hiding, Rin."
From the edge of the crater, a figure clad in black emerged, stepping into Rin's line of sight.
Dressed in a priest's cassock, his face bore a pure smile—as if awaiting the arrival of a holy savior. Despite the oppressive heat, which had drenched him in sweat, his expression remained eerily calm.
"How delightful, Rin. I wonder... how much joy you will bring me?"
***
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