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Chapter 57: The True Red
🕑 Added 2025-05-20 10:48:31 +0000 UTCMagical energy encroached bit by bit, and one side of Excalibur in Artoria's hand was already stained by the dark power.
"Wind King Hammer!!!!"
Suddenly, just as Artoria and Lancelot were locked in a stalemate, a voice rang out. A massive wind tornado slammed directly into Lancelot, the powerful magical wind pressure blasting him away. Artoria immediately retracted her sword, and the black-red patterns on the blade gradually disappeared.
"Thank you."
Artoria didn't need to turn around to know who had come. Possessing a Wind King Barrier like hers—it could only be that person.
"You're welcome."
Arthur landed on the water's surface. On the other side, Iskandar and Gilles' battle still raged on. Arthur wasn't worried that Iskandar would be defeated so easily. Meanwhile, Gilgamesh remained seated on Vimana in the sky, observing the battle below. It seemed she was merely enjoying the spectacle, with no intention of intervening.
"Artoria, do you need help?"
Arthur glanced at the frenzied Lancelot before them. He wanted to assist Artoria in dealing with him.
"No need."
Artoria refused outright. "Even if he is a traitor, I will deal with him myself."
"But your condition—"
Arthur looked at her worriedly. She appeared utterly exhausted, yet her pride wouldn't allow his assistance.
"It's alright. Let me handle it."
Arthur was helpless. This woman's stubbornness was unmatched. Still, with him watching over her, he wasn't concerned about any mishaps.
"Alright. Be careful."
With that, Arthur rode his steed into the sky, arriving beside Gilgamesh.
Atop Vimana, the golden-armored king observed the chaos below with disdain.
"A mad dog and a disgusting creature, working together. How repulsive..."
Gilgamesh lounged on her throne, crafted from gold and emeralds plundered from her treasury.
The "Gate of Babylon"—within the vault of the first hero, Gilgamesh, lay the prototypes of all legendary and mythological treasures of the world. (Note: This excludes artifacts like the Xuanyuan Sword and Any other of it level, as their inclusion would elevate Gilgamesh to Grand Servant status.)
"Oh, you've come."
Gilgamesh smirked as Arthur approached.
"Look at them—needing an entire group to fight that revolting trash."
Below, Tokiomi Tohsaka grew increasingly anxious. The sea monster had already breached the secrecy of magecraft. It had to be dealt with swiftly.
Using magic, Tokiomi projected his voice upward.
"Two kings, that monster has defiled your garden and disrupted the peace here. I implore you both to act and eliminate it."
"That is not my duty."
Gilgamesh dismissed him outright. Arthur, too, remained silent, watching the battle unfold.
"It seems their fight is troublesome."
"Indeed. What, do you intend to intervene?"
The battle below had reached a fever pitch. Despite Iskandar's relentless assaults and Jeanne's fierce sword strikes, the sea monster remained unharmed!
It wasn't that their attacks were weak—each blow carried devastating force. A thunder-charged chariot strike! A full-powered slash! Any one of them could level a fortress.
Yet, with Gilles' endless magical energy, the creature's flesh regenerated instantly. Such monstrous resilience was despair incarnate.
Though their attacks failed to land a decisive blow, they had halted the beast's advance.
Arthur frowned. Channeling his Wind King Barrier to its limit, he conjured a massive tornado. The razor-edged winds sliced through the monster's tentacles, severing them one by one!
But Gilles only laughed maniacally.
"What?!"
The severed tentacles writhed—then regrew.
"It seems we can't kill it without resorting to that."
Arthur turned to Gilgamesh.
"What about your Enuma Elish? Won't you use it?"
"How could I?!"
Gilgamesh's voice boomed with indignation.
"Deploy my ultimate treasure, EA, for this filth? That would defile my Noble Phantasm!"
"...Stingy."
Arthur shook his head. Gilgamesh's pride meant she would never unleash her full power against an unworthy foe. (Had she used Enuma Elish against Shirou Emiya, for instance, Unlimited Blade Works would have been obliterated instantly.)
Meanwhile, Ryunosuke Uryu watched the spectacle with glee.
"Magnificent... Truly magnificent!"
His laughter bordered on insanity.
"What I seek—the skulls of white men, the entrails of black men—hahaha! Soon, I'll witness it all!!!"
His hand trembled as a red Command Seal materialized.
Ryunosuke's voice echoed like a demon's shriek.
"By my Command Seal, Caster—I order you to perfect your art!"
"By my Command Seal, Caster—I order you to bring hell to earth!"
"By my Command Seal, Caster—I order you to make the gods themselves cheer for your masterpiece!!!"
The three Command Seals vanished. Crimson streaks shot from Ryunosuke's hand, infusing the sea monster with monstrous power!
Bathed in red light, the creature doubled in size. Bolstered by the Command Seals, it surpassed even its original legend—unleashing annihilation incarnate!
"Come! All of you! God is with me!!!"
Ryunosuke had reached euphoria.
"Go, Lord Bluebeard! Let the gods behold our magnum opus!!!!"
Suddenly—
BANG!
A force blasted Ryunosuke backward.
"Huh...?"
He saw the others fleeing. Then warmth spread in his abdomen.
"This is..."
Red.
So beautiful. So vivid. So dazzlingly red.
Hadn't this been what he'd sought all along?
"Haha... Found it."
Clutching his stomach, he smiled blissfully.
"So... what I've been searching for... was inside me all along..."
He laughed weakly.
"If only I'd known... what a waste of time..."
BANG!
Another shot.
Kiritsugu Emiya, hidden in the shadows, ended Ryunosuke Uryu with two bullets.
Yet, even in death, the fallen man's lips curled into a serene smile.
Caster's Master, Ryunosuke Uryu—
Exit.
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