Gilgamesh took a step back, a single step, almost imperceptible, and it enraged him even more.
He couldn't admit that he had retreated. That… he had hesitated.
Then he straightened his posture, puffed out his chest, and forced an arrogant smile, the same smile he had carried for ages.
"Hmph…" the sound escaped, almost like a snort of disdain. "An insect like you really thinks he can face me? He started to open the Gates of Babylon… but nothing came out.
The void answered."
His face trembled.
Yuji smiled slightly.
"Your time is up," he said, simple, direct, cutting.
Exactly one hour had passed since Yuji's Binding Vow had begun.
An hour of fleeing, dodging, letting the others fight…
An hour that was finally coming to an end.
The Expansion covered everything.
Now no one else could interfere. And Gilgamesh no longer had the safety of his infinite arsenal.
It was just him and Yuji, hand-to-hand combat, force against force.
Gilgamesh clenched his fists, his veins bulging.
"Then be it!" he roared. "KING OF HEROES DOESN'T NEED WEAPONS TO KILL A WORM!"
He advanced first, swift as thunder, the ground cracking behind him.
Yuji blocked the first blow with one of his upper arms, feeling the impact pierce his bones, but he held firm.
Another arm pulled Gilgamesh closer.
The third prepared a punch.
The fourth was already gathering energy.
Gilgamesh opened his eyes, too surprised to hide it:
"What—?!"
A gigantic impact exploded between the two, sending shockwaves throughout Fuyuki.
Gilgamesh flew backward, tumbling dozens of meters, raising dust and debris. Yuji stepped forward.
Without haste.
Without fear.
Without hesitation.
An hour passed. He raised his four fists, energy gushing like golden fire. "Now I can really fight."
Gilgamesh stood up, growling, blood dripping from his mouth.
"Then come, Yuji Itadori…" He grinned wildly. "SHOW ME THE BEST YOU'VE GOT!"
Yuji advanced first, four simultaneous punches, a whirlwind of force that would make even a mountain tremble.
Gilgamesh responded in kind, four arms as well, covered in the dark marks of Sukuna's fingers.
A brutal clash exploded in the middle of the street, windows shattered, the air vibrated like trapped thunder.
The exchange began.
It was simple.
Brutal.
No techniques.
No weapons.
Just two monsters pummeling each other. Gilgamesh… was losing.
He was a king.
A sovereign.
Someone who commanded battles in his name; he didn't fight battles like this.
His body was never molded for pure war, only to display the power he accumulated.
Yuji, however…
Yuji always fought like this.
With grit.
With instinct.
To the limit.
Gilgamesh blocked one punch, but three more were already coming from impossible angles.
He dodged one blow, but Yuji's second arm pulled him back into the impact of the third.
And then:
BAM!
One of Yuji's fists landed squarely on Gilgamesh's chin, lifting him into the air.
Gilgamesh spat blood and fell to his knees, stunned.
The ground trembled under the weight of the blows.
"DAMN YOU!" Gilgamesh roared, rising like a wounded beast. "I WILL NOT LOSE TO A MORTAL!"
He struck with four arms at once.
Yuji defended two.
The third grazed him.
The fourth hit his jaw, making the boy spin in the air for a second.
But Yuji landed on his feet.
He wiped the blood from his lip.
And smiled.
"King, huh…?"
He snapped his four fists. "Then learn to fight like one."
Yuji disappeared in a short leap, reappearing in front of him.
A SWALLOWING.
A sequence of blows that surpassed any human rhythm, upper arms crushing, lower arms tearing through the air, shoulders spinning like pistons.
Gilgamesh could barely keep up with the speed.
Each defense left the other side exposed. Each counter-attack attempt was interrupted by another punch landing.
"He… is pressuring me?" Gilgamesh thought, incredulous. "ME, THE KING OF HEROES?"
Yuji delivered a brutal cross that pushed the king back, sending him crashing through two concrete pillars.
Gilgamesh emerged from the rubble staggering, hatred blazing in his golden eyes.
Yuji raised his four arms.
Firm posture.
Heavy breathing.
But unwavering.
"Gilgamesh…" The ground vibrated beneath his feet. "You were never a warrior."
He pointed one finger at the king, charged with energy.
"But I've always been a fighter."
Gilgamesh felt the first thread of fear pierce his chest.
Yuji advanced, four arms retreating and advancing in perfect synchronicity, as if each had its own predatory instinct. Gilgamesh could barely track the movements. He was fast, sure… but not this fast.
The first cut grazed the ground.
The second opened the king's golden flesh. The third and fourth came almost simultaneously, but Gilgamesh only felt the impact afterward, when the pain lagped behind in his body.
"CUTTING TECHNIQUE... and DIVERGENT FIST?!" Gilgamesh growled, taking three steps back, his eyes wide with pure hatred.
Yuji smiled… but not a friendly smile. It was the smile of a predator who had finally understood how to kill a god.
He disappeared from the King of Heroes' sight.
In an instant, Yuji was behind him.
Yuji's four arms traced lines in the air, sharp, deep cuts across Gilgamesh's back. But the impact only came when Yuji was already in the next position.
PAM–! PAM–! PAM–!
Three simultaneous explosions echoed after the blows had already been delivered.
Gilgamesh staggered.
The delay of the Divergent Fists combined with the cuts caused his body to collapse for a few moments.
"YOU… YOU INSOLENT WORM!!!" Gilgamesh roared, spitting golden blood. "A MORTAL SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO TOUCH A KING!"
Yuji appeared in front of him, the smoke from the delays bursting behind his own body.
"I don't care who you think you are..." Yuji said firmly, his four arms clenching his fists simultaneously. "If you hurt my friends... you fall."
Gilgamesh tried to counterattack, but Yuji anticipated, cut his movement, and delivered two more simultaneous blows.
The cuts were so fast the air hissed.
The Divergent Fists exploded immediately afterward, completely breaking the king's defensive rhythm.
Gilgamesh fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath—or his dignity.
Yuji raised his four arms simultaneously, as if an execution had been announced.
"Gilgamesh... this is just the beginning."
And he struck.
Yuji advanced with firm, almost light steps, as if he were having fun. His four arms spun, snapped, broke the air, each movement too fluid, too precise.
Gilgamesh tried to get up, but Yuji kicked him in the face without even looking, like someone pushing a stone out of the way.
A crooked smile appeared at the corner of Yuji's mouth.
Pure confidence.
Almost arrogance, but not from pride, but from absolute conviction.
"You know, Gilgamesh…" Yuji twisted one fist while the other cracked his own neck. "Now that the pact is made… there's no point in shouting, or calling your weapons, or trying to destroy anything."
He tilted his head, as if explaining something obvious to a child.
"This Domain only falls if I fall." All four arms were raised, each in a different stance, like distinct fighting styles coexisting. "And guess what?"
The smile widened.
"I'm not planning on dying today."
Gilgamesh clenched his teeth, hatred vibrating like a roar in his throat. "A DOMAIN SHOULDN'T OVERCOME THE KING OF HEROES!"
Yuji simply shrugged. "Yeah… but it turns out the King of Heroes doesn't know how to hit that hard. And now that this place is closed off just for the two of us…"
He flexed all four arms as if warming up.
"...you're going to get beaten nonstop."
Gilgamesh felt the ground tremble, not from the Domain… but from the pure murderous intent coming from Yuji.
"Let's finish this, 'king'."
And Yuji charged forward, grinning.
Yuji slammed his palm on the ground violently, and the sound that came out wasn't one of impact, but of something being torn apart.
The solid surface simply… cracked.
Not in ordinary lines, but in a chaotic, living network, like sharp wires moving on their own.
A web of cuts, filaments invisible until the light hits them and reveals translucent blades, trembling, vibrating, sharp enough to cut even the air.
The ground cracked into dozens of jagged blocks.
CRACK— CRAAACK— CRAAACK!
Gilgamesh barely had time to react.
Yuji didn't stand still to see the result; he was already in motion.
He leaped onto the first stone.
It was still falling when Yuji propelled himself forward, using the piece of concrete as a springboard.
Another stone.
Another leap.
Another body spin with absurd precision.
It was almost like watching someone running on water, only the "water" was sharp debris suspended in the air, each one about to plummet.
Gilgamesh gritted his teeth.
"MISERABLE…!"
Yuji was already close, each leap bringing him closer at an impossible speed. Four arms outstretched, as if embracing the very chaos around him.
"I've arrived."
The smile came with the final push.
Yuji leaped from the last stone straight towards Gilgamesh, like a living projectile, with four fists pulled back and energy compressed between his muscles.
"SECOND ROUND, KING!"
Gilgamesh, about to counterattack, froze for half a second, a time too short for any human to perceive, but long enough for Yuji.
Because when Yuji advanced for the next blow… the air smelled of iron. A warm, metallic, dense smell.
Gilgamesh's eyes widened.
"...Blood Technique?"
It was impossible.
It was absurd.
It was heresy against logic, lineage, against the very identity of those who manipulated curses.
But it was there.
Yuji's four arms were covered in a pulsating, crimson glow that molded itself like exposed veins on his skin.
The blood not only fell, it swirled, resonated, sang, shaping itself as Yuji moved his fists.
Yuji banged his arms together.
It was blood, but it sounded like metal.
He twisted his body, and each arm became covered in a thicker, more vibrant layer, as if the blood had a will of its own and responded to the rhythm of his heart.
"Surprised?" Yuji said firmly, without losing his smile. "You think only you can steal things from others?"
Gilgamesh gritted his teeth.
"This doesn't belong to you, insect!"
Yuji raised his right arm, and the blood stretched, extending like a flexible blade, reminiscent of Choso's technique.
"It belongs to my brother. And now… it belongs to my fight."
He advanced with renewed speed. The cuts were no longer just cuts; each swing of his arms launched sharp fragments of solidified blood, like small red sickles.
Gilgamesh was forced to retreat, irritated, perplexed, offended. "Damn it…! How dare a mere human…?!"
Yuji spun his body, four arms in sync, the blood blade growing larger and larger.
"Choso trained me. And this is proof of what I learned…"
Yuji ducked.
Jumped.
The four crimson blades aimed directly at the King's neck. "...and what I'll use to take you down!"
Yuji fell on top of Gilgamesh like a meteor, four arms descending in sequence, each impact making the ground tremble.
Gilgamesh tried to retreat, but Yuji gave him no space, not this time. The crimson cuts swirled around him, alternating between blades and brute force, as if Yuji were simultaneously a fighter and a living guillotine.
The King roared:
"INSECT! DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT—"
A direct punch to the mouth.
Another to the teeth.
Another to the chin. Two more blows to the stomach, simultaneously, like battering rams breaking through a gate.
Gilgamesh staggered, reaching behind him, trying to summon a weapon.
Nothing.
A second of hesitation.
A second too terrible for a king.
"My gates…!" he growled, feeling the emptiness behind him.
Yuji smiled fiercely. "The Angel is holding everything, golden king. No gates. No treasures. Just you and me."
Gilgamesh gritted his teeth, incredulous, humiliated.
He tried to pull out another weapon, a sword, a spear, ANYTHING.
But his hand only pulled in air.
Nothing.
No answer.
The Gates of Babylon were silent.
Yuji tilted his head, as if he had been expecting just that.
"You know what this means, right?"
All four arms rose together.
"Now you have to fight… like a man."
Yuji landed a double punch, a cross, and an uppercut all at once. Gilgamesh flew backward, rolling across the ground, shattering rocks, and eroding the earth.
He tried to get up, but Yuji was already there, stepping on the king's chest to keep him on the ground and began unleashing a sequence of blows so fast it sounded like four people hitting at the same time.
Gilgamesh roared, spitting blood, trying to raise his arms.
"ENOUGH, YOU ANIMAL—!"
Yuji grabbed him by the head with both hands. The other two hands came down like hammers.
"This is for Tachie."
Another blow.
"For Toji."
Another one.
"And this one is for Lancer!"
Yuji lifted Gilgamesh by the neck, blood dripping from his own blade-shaped arm.
"And this one… is for me."
He pulled his fist back.
Gilgamesh staggered after Yuji's last brutal sequence, breathing irregularly, his body covered in fissures, bruises, and blood. His posture was still haughty, but there was something strange about his movements, a slight lag, a new weight in each gesture, as if something inside him was out of place.
He finally managed to push Yuji away a few meters with a fierce shove and raised all four arms, opening space between them, gasping for air as if concentrating the world itself into a single instant.
Frustration pulsed within him like liquid fire.
"I still can't use my Gates… but it doesn't matter." His voice came deep, laden with anger and wounded pride. "If that Angel worm deprived me of my treasures, then I will use the power of that demon you all fear so much. The power of the King of Curses."
Yuji froze for a moment.
Gilgamesh smiled, a broken smile, distorted by the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Domain Expansion…" The ground around him trembled.
The air vibrated with a deep rumble.
The outline of a closed space began to form behind him, rippling like a mirror about to shatter.
But then—
A dry sound echoed inside his own head.
Gilgamesh arched his back, bringing his hand to his eyes.
"...What...?"
The muscles around his eyes contracted involuntarily. The veins in his face bulged like ropes about to burst.
And then, horribly, blood gushed out.
First from the edges of his eyes.
Then from the corners.
Then in black rivulets running like thick ink.
Blood began to flow from his nose soon after, dripping onto the ground with a wet, uneven sound.
The king opened his eyes completely, and within his pupils, there were cracks. As if the technique he was trying to invoke was breaking something fundamental inside him.
Yuji's eyes widened.
"...Sakura's arrow..."
The arrow Sakura had fired earlier, imbued with the cursed power she had learned from her corrupted bow, was not merely piercing. It carried a parasitic charm, a damage that deepened the more the target attempted to manipulate high-level cursed energy.
And Gilgamesh, in attempting to force a Domain Expansion, paid the price.
His face contorted in pain, but there was more than pain there.
There was humiliation.
He, the King of Heroes, reduced to someone bleeding like a wounded animal.
Gilgamesh roared, spitting dark blood.
"THAT… GIRL… WITH PURPLE HAIR…!"
Blood dripped from his teeth as he gnashed his jaw. "SHE DARED to defile the body of a king! SHE DARED to touch me!"
The domain that attempted to form behind him simply collapsed into invisible shards that evaporated into thin air.
Gilgamesh staggered, supporting himself on one of his four arms, his chest heaving.
Red stains dripped onto the ground, forming an irregular trail.
His voice came out hoarse, trembling with hatred and profound disbelief: "I… swear I will rip her head off… and turn that wretched bow into gold."
He couldn't finish.
His body trembled again, and more blood trickled down, now even from the corners of his mouth.
Sakura's arrow had struck deeper than he imagined.
And now, in the midst of the final battle…
The spiritual poison burned like black fire within him.
Gilgamesh, still kneeling after the brutal sequence of blows, slowly raised his face.
His entire body trembled, not from fear, but from pure frustration.
He was a king. The first king. The greatest of all. And yet, he was being humiliated by a boy.
When he tried to open the Gates of Babylon once more, only to feel that absolute emptiness behind him, a growl escaped his clenched teeth.
"Damn… ANGEL…!" Gilgamesh spat blood onto the ground.
Yuji swung his four arms, rotating his shoulders as if warming up for the second half of the fight.
"Ah, relax. No treasure today." He grinned, that almost monstrous, confident smile. "It's just you and me."
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes.
If he was deprived of his arsenal, then he would use another resource he had taken.
He raised his hand.
"Then I will use the power of… Sukuna."
A red mark began to form in the air behind him, distorting space.
The omnipresent curse cracks trembled as if something was trying to emerge from a proto-expansion.
The aura of pure destruction began to form...
And then the blood gushed.
From his eyes.
From his nose.
From his mouth.
Gilgamesh shuddered, the veins bulging on his forehead as he brought his hands to his face.
An internal crack echoed, as if the technique itself were tearing his brain apart.
He fell to his knees, barely supporting himself.
Yuji raised an eyebrow.
"Whoa… bleeding quite a bit there, huh?"
Gilgamesh tried to scream, but only air came out.
The side effect was worsening.
The arrow Sakura had fired, charged with the cursed energy that pierced the soul, was still throbbing inside him. And now, trying to activate the stolen Domain Expansion only made the spiritual poison spread even faster.
The king slammed his hand on the ground, trying to compose himself.
But his fingers trembled.
His face was a mask stained black and red. Yuji looked around and realized that…
All his allies had disappeared.
No sign of Arturia, Choso, Rin, Toji, Illya, Sakura. Their bodies, their efforts, had already left the battlefield.
It was just him.
And the King of Babylon.
"Funny…" Yuji commented, walking slowly until he was a few steps from Gilgamesh. "You tried to use Sukuna's expansion…"
Gilgamesh raised his face, trying to contain his anger and pain at the same time.
Yuji smiled. "Then I guess it's only fair I use mine, right?"
The aura around him changed.
The lines of blood around him rose, swirling like serpents.
Gilgamesh's eyes widened.
He knew what was about to happen.
And he knew there was no way to stop it.
Not without his treasures.
Yuji leaned forward, his voice firm and clear, echoing through the shattered space of battle:
"Domain Expansion…"
The air tore like wet fabric.
Crimson lines opened around him. The pressure became dense, overwhelming, absolute.
And then Yuji finished:
"Malevolent Shrine."
The Malevolent Shrine opened like a sea of living, pulsating crimson, breathing hatred and pure technique. A space without ground, without sky, only lines, grids, invisible and inevitable cuts floating through the air like hungry predators.
Within that geographical hell, there were no defenses, no blockades, only guaranteed , an absolute truth that only a perfect Domain Expansion could impose.
Gilgamesh barely had time to adjust his posture.
The first CUT came like a flash, an invisible tear that split open his right shoulder. The second cut part of his thigh. The third struck his back, tearing fragments of golden armor that crumbled like metallic dust.
And then came dozens.
Then hundreds.
And soon thousands.
Each line of cut appeared and disappeared as quickly as a blink, but left a deep mark, exposing muscle, flesh, spreading blood in the air with a sound like heavy rain hitting marble.
Gilgamesh tried to escape, but the Sanctuary had no way out; it was a prison built of certainty, and certainty kills.
He took a step forward—CUT.
He twisted his torso—CUT.
He tried to jump—CUT.
Even breathing seemed to trigger new invisible blades that tore through the air and pierced his body.
His armor, a symbol of royalty, protection, and arrogance, was nothing more than hanging scraps. His garments, once magnificent, had become strips. His skin was scarred from so many angles that it already resembled a map of recent wounds.
With each impact that made him stagger, Yuji advanced with the same savage gaze, Sukuna's dark tattoos scattered across his four arms, a smile that mixed pain, adrenaline, and determination.
Gilgamesh could feel the bitter truth:
Here, in this space… he was just a body being sculpted by inevitable cuts.
His royalty didn't matter.
His arrogance didn't matter.
His treasures, which he could no longer summon, didn't matter.
The Sanctuary vibrated, echoing like an endless blood ritual.
The cutting lines circled Gilgamesh like snakes, writhing in the air before advancing, a dance of execution.
More cuts.
More blood.
More inevitable destruction.
Gilgamesh roared, howled, tried to break through the Sanctuary's hold with brute force, but with each attempt the Sanctuary only responded with greater ferocity, like an evil heart beating around him.
And Yuji, standing in the center, watched… focused, firm, unwavering.
With each passing second, Gilgamesh lost more than armor or strength.
He lost time.
He lost ground.
He lost blood.
He lost control over himself.
The massacre continued, uninterrupted, suffocating, absolute.
And the Malevolent Sanctuary showed no sign of stopping.
The cuts didn't stop, they were continuous bursts, as if hundreds of invisible blades were vying to tear Gilgamesh apart first. Each red line opened on his golden skin, each impact ripping away another piece of his resistance, his pride… and his life.
Gilgamesh roared, sometimes in pain, sometimes in pure fury, trying to assert his presence within that crimson inferno. But the Malevolent Sanctuary allowed no dominion. Inside, there was only Yuji Itadori.
And his intent to kill.
The expansion reverberated like a giant heart pulsing with blood and hatred. Cuts traced curves, circles, spirals, a mathematical execution, perfect and merciless. The king of heroes, once untouchable, now couldn't even complete a step without losing more flesh, more blood, more dignity.
Gilgamesh tried to run.
He tried to jump.
He tried to crawl.
He tried, for the first time in ages, to survive.
But the Sanctuary was absolute.
And Yuji was everywhere.
With his four arms outstretched, like an ancient demon, Yuji molded energy with cruel precision. The cuts continued at such rapid intervals that the sound became a continuous hiss, like saws tearing through metal. Gilgamesh stumbled, staggered, slipping in his own blood, until a deeper blow threw him to his knees.
Yuji then steadied his feet, the ground cracking beneath him.
His four arms positioned themselves, two preparing the focus, the other two gathering energy and cursed blood.
It was a macabre dance, synchronized, perfect.
He was preparing the Camino Füga. And Gilgamesh, even bloodied, even destroyed, felt it.
He saw the glint.
He recognized the terror.
And for the first time, something broke in the King of Heroes' gaze.
Yuji raised the technique above his head, the whirlwind of cuts and energy forming like a compressed cyclone, voracious, magnified by all the massacre of the Sanctuary.
The air trembled.
Space distorted.
The ground bled.
It was the blow Sukuna would reserve for extermination.
And Yuji was using it without hesitation.
The red light of the domain shattered like cracked glass, sharding in the air as Füga traversed Sukuna's expanse. The impact reverberated across the battlefield, and the silence that followed seemed impossible, heavy, almost sacred.
Yuji gasped, his fingers still trembling from the technique he had just unleashed. The heat emanating from the conjured blade burned the surrounding air for a few moments before disappearing completely.
The dust settled.
And then Gilgamesh came into view.
The golden king was unrecognizable.
The armor, once gleaming, was now burned to pieces, melted in places and completely torn in others. Deep cuts crisscrossed his chest, arms, and even part of his face—sharp, jagged marks, as if dozens of blades had attacked him simultaneously. Blood trickled in thin streams, evaporating upon contact with the lingering heat in the air.
Despite this… his eyes still held a gleam.
A fierce gleam. A gleam of one who refuses to fall.
"Tsch… how inconvenient, boy," Gilgamesh murmured, spitting blood. "You actually managed to interrupt that."
Yuji took a step forward, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
"I won't let him kill you. Not you… not anyone here."
The ground trembled slightly, remnants of Sukuna's energy stirring in the distance, a sign that the King of Curses was preparing his next attack. The air seemed to carry an invisible threat, as if the atmosphere itself were about to be shattered again. Gilgamesh raised his head, even though he was staggering. "Hmph… then show me, Yuji Itadori. Show me that it was worth it for me to keep standing."
Gilgamesh tried to rise, his body still trembling after the Füga. His skin was burned, his armor reduced to smoldering pieces, the cuts reopening endlessly like living wounds. Even so, the King of Heroes bared his teeth, trying to gather hatred and strength for one more attack.
But before he could even raise his arm—
a sacred presence fell upon the battlefield.
The air grew heavy. The light shifted.
A figure descended as if walking on the wind itself.
The Angel appeared.
It wasn't Hana, but the being that dwelt within her, manifested in its pure form, eyes shining, translucent wings, and an aura that burned like sun and snow at the same time.
Gilgamesh gritted his teeth, irritated:
"You again…?"
But the Angel did not answer.
His gaze was fixed upon him, cold, judgmental, absolute.
It was a celestial judgment.
And then the Angel calmly announced:
"This time, I will not annul anything. I will use… Jacob's Ladder."
The entire sky opened as if torn by invisible hands.
Golden lines, like divine circuits, formed a gigantic celestial symbol above the clouds, a luminous spiral, like a portal between worlds.
The symbol spun once…
And a pure, dense, overwhelming white light descended from the sky like a straight column upon Gilgamesh.
The King of Heroes had only a second to widen his eyes, realizing that this was not a normal attack.
It was condemnation.
And then—
Jacob's Ladder descended upon him like a vertical sun, burning everything.
Gilgamesh fell to his knees, breathing heavily, the gold of his armor reduced to soot, his body almost unrecognizable. White smoke rose slowly from his burns, the smell of charred flesh mingling with the iron of blood. His two extra pairs of arms, the cursed gift of Sukuna's fingers, still moved tremulously, as if refusing to accept imminent defeat.
And then a blue flash ripped through the air.
Arturia emerged like a slash of light itself, silent, swift, inevitable. Excalibur vibrated in her hand, its power concentrated, the blade enveloped in wind and light. Gilgamesh could only lift his face, his red eyes showing pure, animalistic hatred, before she lunged forward.
"EX…" her murmur echoed.
But she didn't need to finish.
The divine sword traced two perfect arcs.
Two clean cuts.
Two blows that cut through flesh, bone, and curse without any resistance.
SHAAAAA—KLAK!
Gilgamesh's four brutal demonic arms flew, falling to the ground like burnt logs, scattering dark blood. The dry impact echoed across the silent battlefield, like the end of something that should have died long before.
Gilgamesh's eyes widened, not from pain, but from shock.
From humiliation.
"Yo—you…" he gritted his teeth, spitting blood. "Insect… traitor… worm of an inferior legend…"
Arturia stared at him firmly, with the cold, serene, and determined gaze of someone who no longer carried doubts, only duty.
"It's not about legends." She raised her sword, pointing it at him. "It's about putting an end to the suffering you spread."
Gilgamesh tried to raise his arm, but he no longer had one. He tried to gather energy, but only managed to spit warm blood onto the earth.
Arturia stepped forward.
Yuji appeared right behind her.
The Angel floated above, its light still pulsing.
Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, was finally… on the verge of death.
The golden beam of Excalibur pierced the air like a divine roar, a torrent of sacred light so intense that the ground trembled even before it reached him.
Gilgamesh, kneeling, burned, without his two extra arms, raised what remained of his body with pure wounded pride, a crooked and angry smile spreading across his face.
"Heh… so this is how… you dare… defeat me…?"
The golden light reflected on his face for a second, that glow that always illuminated the battlefield with such grandeur now seemed to announce the inevitable end of a king who refused to fall.
Arturia planted her feet firmly on the destroyed ground, her hands gripping the hilt of Excalibur until her fingers almost trembled. Even exhausted, even wounded, even feeling her arms weigh like lead… she maintained the impeccable posture of a knight.
"EX—CALIBUR!!!"
The beam released was even greater than the first.
The sky opened in a flash that engulfed the entire arena of the dissipated Sanctuary. The wind exploded in waves. The sound was like the echo of a thousand bells breaking at once. The ground opened, the earth melted, the stones turned into golden dust.
Gilgamesh was dragged by the light, first trying to resist, then being pushed back, his feet scraping the ground, until the divine force lifted him into the air.
The light passed through him completely. His scream was lost in the glare.
The armor melted.
His skin burned.
His shadow vanished.
And finally…
the King of Babylon was swallowed by Arturia's divine blade, dissolving into pure light before his body touched the ground.
When the beam finally ceased, Arturia stood firm, panting, her arm still outstretched, as if, out of honor, she refused to let the blade fall until she was absolutely certain he would not rise again.
The wind blew.
Silence reigned.
Gilgamesh… had fallen.
Yuji walked slowly, his four arms now heavy with wear and tear, but still firm. Each of his steps echoed on the destroyed ground, where the red dust of the Malevolent Sanctuary still seemed to dance in the air.
Gilgamesh lay on the ground like a forgotten jewel, golden, magnificent, but completely broken. He breathed with difficulty, his chest heaving unevenly. The burns from the Füga mingled with the incessant cuts from the domain, and the light from Jacob's Ladder still sparked on his skin like live embers.
The two extra arms that Arturia had cut off lay scattered beside his body, melting into the dust.
The King of Heroes' eyes trembled, not from fear, but because he barely had the strength to keep them open. His mouth opened, perhaps to utter some arrogant taunt, some final assertion of his royalty, but only a hoarse, shapeless, powerless sound came out.
Yuji knelt beside him.
His breathing was deep, tired, yet steady. His face, even stained with blood and dust, still carried that determined expression that had long since transcended fear.
He looked Gilgamesh directly in the eyes, eyes that had once gazed upon gods, monsters, and kings, and said in a serene, almost sad tone:
"It's over..."
Yuji's lower right hand landed gently on the King's chest, which trembled slightly at the contact. Not in pain, but because for the first time, his body no longer responded to his will.
Yuji continued: "You can no longer fight... you can no longer run... and you can no longer order anyone to do it for you."
Gilgamesh shuddered, trying to move a single finger, but his body no longer obeyed.
Yuji bowed his head, almost as if paying respect to a worthy enemy.
"I don't know if you understand this, Gilgamesh... but all of us here... all of us... We cannot remain trapped in the past."
A warm breath escaped the king's lips. Perhaps a laugh of disdain. Perhaps just air leaving a defeated body.
Yuji clenched his fist, slowly raising it…
The world fell silent.
Only the two of them remained, the King of Heroes… and the boy who refused to die.
"It's time to end this."
Yuji touched Gilgamesh's soul, and the instant the contact formed, the king's inner world tore like wet paper.
Darkness engulfed everything.
A thick, heavy, damp void… and then eyes.
Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands.
Eyes opening in the darkness like red lamps, each pulsing as if breathing.
Soon after, mouths. Some enormous, others too small, some smiling, others trembling as if holding back laughter. All emerging chaotically, spreading through the void like crimson fungi growing on the flesh of space itself.
Gilgamesh, even broken, burned, and nearly dead, felt terror tear away his last drop of pride.
His entire soul trembled. And then, he appeared.
Sukuna.
Not the partial Sukuna, not the vague presence, but the true monster seated like a king on his throne of flesh and eyes, leaning forward with a sadistic, incisive smile that seemed to cut through reality.
His face appeared first… then the four arms, then the tattooed torso molded itself from nowhere, as if darkness itself served as his body. He stared at Gilgamesh with that look that said:
"I've always been here. Waiting."
He didn't say a word.
He didn't need to.
His silence was worse than any words.
Because Gilgamesh finally understood, albeit too late:
His death was no longer at Yuji's hands. It was a spectacle for Sukuna to watch and savor.
Gilgamesh tried to respond, but only a guttural sound came out, as if his own throat had been seized by the oppressive presence that now twisted before him. The eyes, dozens, hundreds of them, moved asynchronously, each focused on a different part of his soul, like blades ready to dissect every fragment of pride he still held.
That main mouth, the largest of all, opened in a smile too long to be human. The teeth seemed to pierce the very air.
"So that was it?" Sukuna tilted his head, observing Gilgamesh as one admires an interesting insect. "You thought… you could use my power… like a toy?"
Gilgamesh tried to move his arm, any part of his body, but the spiritual vision carried by Sukuna's presence simply held him captive. There was no escape. No golden exit. No wall of infinite treasures.
Only the pulsating red void.
Sukuna brought his face closer, distorted and full of eyes. "Not even a king escapes his debts, Gilgamesh."
His eyes narrowed. His smile widened.
"And yours…"
The mouths around him began to murmur, like an infernal chorus, repeating the same word:
"…is high."
Gilgamesh felt his own soul ripped away, as if invisible fingers held him by the bones of existence.
And Sukuna laughed.
A broken laugh.
Cruel.
Unhurried.
The laugh of someone who has already won. The laugh of someone who knows the other has nothing left to lose.
Gilgamesh tried to take a step back, but in the void there was no ground. He fell without falling, sank without moving. A primal panic seized him, something he had never felt in his entire life.
He tried to scream, but his throat wouldn't respond.
Sukuna's mouths began to laugh, one after another, until the entire darkness laughed at him.
And then Sukuna advanced.
Gilgamesh finally let out a desperate yell, a torn and twisted scream, as the curse completely enveloped him, burning his soul from within, marking, crushing, disintegrating.
---
Returning to reality, Yuji focused his power on Gilgamesh's chest.
The king's body trembled.
It turned pale.
Then… it began to crack.
Slowly, golden particles detached from him, as if the very concept of Gilgamesh was being erased.
He tried to raise his hand, perhaps to attack, perhaps to plead, but he couldn't.
Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, the man who called everyone else trash…
…was disappearing before Yuji.
Until, in a final distorted flash, his form completely dissolved.
Gilgamesh died.
Silent.
Without glory.
Without a throne.
Only an echo in Yuji Itadori's palm.
Yuji gathered his remaining fingers in his palm. They still pulsed with that violent, ancient energy, the same energy Gilgamesh had arrogantly tried to use, thinking he could appropriate Sukuna's power without paying the price.
Arturia, even tired, maintained a firm posture beside him. Shirou supported Tachie, already enveloped in bluish light, her body disappearing like that of any Servant who had completed their duty. Sakura watched silently, her eyes still red. Uraume, weakened but conscious, stared at Yuji with a mixture of fear and devotion, not to him, but to what those fingers represented. Choso placed his hand on Yuji's shoulder, firm, proud. Rin wiped the blood from her face with irritation and tears held back. Illya hugged the Angel in Hana's body tightly, happy that the Angel was still there.
Yuji took a deep breath.
His fingers trembled.
He did too.
But still… he smiled. A sincere, light, real smile, the first since this war began.
He took the remaining 7 cursed fingers in his right hand.
"It's over…" he said, looking at everyone. "And now I can finish what I started."
All eyes turned to him. The air grew heavy. Arturia stepped forward.
"Yuji… are you really going to consume them?"
Yuji nodded slowly.
"Gilgamesh used this as a toy." He closed his hand. "But I won't… I won't make the same mistake again."
Choso smiled proudly.
Sakura took a deep breath, tense.
Uraume swallowed hard, almost trembling. The Angel watched in absolute silence. Yuji then put away all seven of them and faced his friends, his allies, his makeshift family.
"We did it..."
The fight was finally over. But the next chapter… was just beginning.
Sakura discreetly wiped away tears with the back of her hand, trying to maintain her composure. Victory was there, within sight, but the emptiness in her chest still weighed heavily. Choso approached slowly, placing a firm, warm hand on her shoulder.
"He fought for you until the very last second…" Choso said in a low, almost brotherly tone. "And… he knew you would be safe in the end."
Sakura tried to smile, but her voice trembled: "I know… but it still hurts…"
Choso enveloped her in a careful embrace, not suffocating, just firm enough for her to feel she wasn't alone.
On the other side, Shirou was kneeling. A heavy silence surrounded him until Illya approached, sitting beside him.
She gently touched Shirou's shoulder.
"Tachie did exactly what she wanted to do..." Illya said, with a sad, gentle smile. "She chose you. And she chose that future you two talked about… even if she couldn't live it."
Shirou closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.
"I… should have stopped her. I should have stopped her."
"No…" Illya replied, firm but gentle. "Don't take away her right to choose. She died believing you would win in the end."
Shirou tightened his fist around the scythe, but his heart felt a little less crushed.
In the background, Yuji watched everything in silence, still with that tired but genuine smile. In the center of the destroyed field, with the seven remaining fingers now on his hand, he felt that this weight wasn't just his.
It belonged to everyone.
But, for the first time… he felt that everyone was carrying it together.
Yuji took a deep breath as he hugged Arturia. The warmth of that embrace wasn't just relief, it was confirmation. After so much death, pain, and sacrifice… it was finally over.
Arturia, still with Excalibur enveloped in particles of golden light, let her forehead rest on Yuji's shoulder. She said nothing, but her silence carried gratitude. She had won the Holy Grail War, not out of desire, but out of necessity.
Behind them, the others began to approach as well.
Shirou, his eyes still red, observed the spot where Tachie had turned to dust. Illya held his hand, squeezing it tightly, as if to say, "I'm here."
Sakura knelt on the ground, still holding Lancer's talisman, his last gift. A tear rolled down her cheek, and Choso simply placed his hand on her shoulder.
"He fought well..." Choso said softly. "I know..." Sakura replied, wiping her face. "He always fought for what he believed in."
Rin leaned against a rock, trying to hide her expression of pain, but Yuji knew exactly how she felt. Toji wasn't one to show kindness... but he had protected her when no one else could.
Yuji walked over to her and crouched down silently.
"Toji really cared about you..." Yuji said. "He... died fighting the way he wanted."
Rin closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded, finally allowing a single tear to roll down her cheek.
"...Thank you, Yuji."
Choso looked around, seeing the group gathered, and crossed his arms.
"We're finished here."
"Yes..." said the Angel, still held in Arturia's lap before, but now standing. "And this time… there are no monsters left to return."
Uraume watched Yuji from afar, without getting too close. Her gaze carried respect and fear.
She saw him gather all the remaining fingers of Sukuna that Gilgamesh had consumed.
Yuji held them tightly.
Thirteen fingers with him. Seven of his. Now twenty. All the fingers were here.
Arturia noticed and asked in a light, almost suspicious tone:
"Yuji… you're not going to eat this now… are you?"
Yuji laughed wearily, but genuinely. "Not now. For now… I just want to breathe."
Arturia smiled softly. A smile that said: You won. You did it.
And for the first time since Yuji Itadori arrived in this world,
there was no more blood falling from the sky.
Yuji looked up at the red sky that slowly faded with the end of the expanding domain.
"It's truly over…" he murmured.
Yuji's domain began to disappear, and with it, the absolute red that covered the horizon dissipated like mist at dawn. The city returned to what it was before the battle began: intact buildings, clean streets, no sign of destruction. No civilian deaths. No innocent victims. Everything exactly as Yuji had promised when he made the binding vow.
The air was silent for a few moments until, in the center of the field, something began to form.
A golden glow, almost sacred.
A chalice slowly materialized, drawing its shape from nothing, as if molded by the air itself: the Holy Grail.
The vessel of wishes, once stained by corruption, by the curse, by the hatred of hundreds of trapped souls, now trembled with unstable energy, as if it didn't know if it should exist in this new, purified reality.
Yuji took a few steps forward.
His four arms had returned to normal. His tattoos were gradually fading. His face, still tired, held a sense of peace.
Everyone watched in silence as he approached the Grail.
Arturia, taking a deep breath after everything, murmured: "Yuji… be careful. The Grail is not a simple object."
But Yuji smiled calmly, that sincere smile that only appeared when he was absolutely certain of what he was doing. "I know... I remember very well the last time I touched this..."
He raised his right hand.
"I already carry too many curses," he said lightly. "One more or less won't stop me."
As soon as his fingers touched the Grail's surface… a black wave surged from it, like tentacles of mud trying to engulf Yuji.
The Grail reacted. Roared. Rejected.
But Yuji gripped firmly.
"Enough!" he said, activating his cursed energy with surgical precision and brutality at the same time.
Yuji's energy entered the Grail, breaking every corrupt fiber, every knot of accumulated hatred.
He heard countless voices screaming, pleading, cursing.
But Yuji resisted.
He wouldn't allow anyone else to suffer because of that artifact.
And then…
The Grail began to glow.
The darkness that covered it shattered, cracking like glass.
A golden glow engulfed the chalice's body.
And, for the first time since its creation, it was clean.
Illya, with tears in her eyes, whispered: "...You purified the Grail... something even my ancestors couldn't achieve."
Rin, incredulous, took a deep breath.
Sakura intertwined her fingers, moved.
Arturia smiled proudly.
Shirou clenched his fists, relieved.
Choso crossed his arms, silently admiring.
The Grail rested serenely in Yuji's hands.
The Grail War… had ended.
And, this time, in the right way.
Rin took a deep breath; the Grail shone in her hands as if it had been waiting, a prize not for the massacre, but for the courage and the bonds formed.
She smiled slightly and announced:
"We… are the victors of the Holy Grail War." Everyone looked up, tired, wounded, but whole.
"We can make our wish, Saber, no… Arturia Pendragon."
Arturia took a few steps forward. She was serious, but her eyes carried something they didn't have the first time she stepped into this world: humanity, affection… and respect for Yuji.
She looked at him, that boy who fought to the end for everyone, who carried a weight no human should bear, and spoke in a firm but emotional voice: "My wish… is to free Yuji Itadori from the curses he carries. From all of them."
Yuji's eyes widened.
He opened his mouth to protest, but Arturia shook her head before he could even try.
"You've fought alone for too long. Enough is enough." She smiled. A gentle smile, like that of a king who has finally found peace.
The Grail responded immediately.
A golden glow enveloped Yuji's body, covering every inch of him. The black tattoos began to dissolve like ashes carried by the wind. The four extra arms vanished in light. The spiritual weight that crushed his soul evaporated.
When the light ceased, Yuji touched his own chest.
He felt light.
For the first time since Sukuna entered his life… he was free.
He took a deep breath and let a genuine smile escape, without pain, without fear, without the weight of anyone inside him.
The whole team was smiling, relieved, emotional, broken, but victorious.
The Grail had granted their wish.
Yuji was free.
And then, before the purified Holy Grail, when Rin declared that they were the victors and that they could now fulfill their wishes, Yuji stood still, feeling the weight of everything that had happened. The curses slowly left his body… and Arturia watched him with sweetness and firmness.
She had already made her wish, to free him.
And now it was his turn.
Yuji took a deep breath. His heart was racing. He looked directly at Arturia.
"Your wish… wasn't it to return to Great Britain? To be king again?" Yuji asked, still unable to believe she had spent her only wish on him.
Arturia simply smiled. A calm, warm, and sad smile. "That time has passed, Yuji. My past… doesn't need to define me anymore. But you still have a future."
Yuji felt his chest tighten.
He had won. They had won. And before him stood someone who had fought to the end to protect him, to protect them all.
He lowered his head for a moment. The wish that was trapped inside him… was selfish. It was stupid. It didn't help anyone but her.
But he wanted it.
He wanted her.
Yuji raised his face, stared at the Grail, and spoke clearly: "My wish is… that Arturia Pendragon have a physical body. A real body. Not that of a heroic spirit. Not a servant. A real life."
Arturia's eyes widened slightly.
She didn't protest.
She didn't open her mouth.
She didn't look away.
The golden light of the Grail exploded like a rising sun.
Arturia's form began to glow, her mana particles condensing, ceasing to be ephemeral… becoming flesh, heat, life. The wind blew, scattering petals that shouldn't be there, and the ground trembled slightly.
Yuji saw her breathe.
She truly breathed.
He saw her chest rise.
She saw the tips of her fingers tremble as she felt the weight of her own body… for the first time in ages.
And Arturia looked at Yuji, now no longer as a servant, no longer as a heroic spirit,
but as a living person.
A person he had brought back to the world.
The city was intact.
Her friends were alive.
The Grail was purified.
And Arturia… was reborn.
"Y-Yuji…" she whispered, touching her own chest, feeling her heart beat. "I… am still here?!"
Yuji smiled sincerely, the same smile he rarely showed.
"Welcome…"
And their kiss wasn't an explosive kiss, full of divine light or cursed energy, it was simple, human, real.
After all they had seen, after blood, mourning, dominions, deities, monsters, and arrogant kings… that kiss was the first truly peaceful thing in days.
Arturia felt something she hadn't felt in centuries: human warmth, alive.
Yuji held her face like someone who could finally touch the impossible without fear of losing. She, for the first time since Camelot, no longer carried weight in her gaze, only relief, joy… and something that, deep down, she never believed she would feel again.
The wind passed between them, softly, while the remaining glow of the Grail dissipated behind them, illuminating just enough to make the moment seem untouchable.
When they pulled away, Arturia rested her forehead against his, smiling small, shyly… and Yuji chuckled softly, that light laugh that always escaped him after surviving the impossible.
Arturia nodded, her eyes still half-closed, as if she wanted to memorize every detail of that moment. "Yes. And… I'm glad it ended by your side."
And so it was, amidst regenerated wreckage, returning spirits, and wounded friends recovering in the distance,
that Yuji Itadori and Arturia Pendragon sealed the end of the war, with a kiss full of life that no king, mage, god, or demon could take away.
End of the final chapter
(We still have the epilogue.)