The battle situation could be described as evenly matched.
With near-infinite Noble Phantasms and support from the Chains of Heaven, even though Gilgamesh was restrained in close combat by Purgatorio, he could still maintain balance up to this point.
On the other hand, while Naoki lost versatility in switching modes at will in his Fairy Armament state, thanks to Purgatorio's abilities, he consistently held a slight advantage.
Neither could overpower the other.
In the air, on the ground, even in the underground formed by their battle's destruction, Naoki and Gilgamesh's fight could no longer be contained within a small harbor.
But Artoria knew this balanced situation wouldn't last long. Like a coin standing upright on a table, it seemed perfectly balanced but was easily toppled. A slight imbalance, and one side would be completely overwhelmed.
If Gilgamesh were the one overwhelmed, that would be ideal. Though there was a slight frustration at feeling useless, as long as they could win, it wasn't unacceptable.
But if Naoki were the one overwhelmed…
Gripping Excalibur tightly, Artoria took a deep breath—at that moment, she would unleash Excalibur without hesitation.
(Master, please be very careful—)
*BANG!*
A crisp shattering sound suddenly interrupted Artoria's thoughts.
In the sky, the two locked in a high-intensity battle abruptly separated, each retreating nearly ten meters.
Both sides seemed to be in rough shape.
Gilgamesh's armor was mostly destroyed, burn marks visible across his body. The greatsword in his hand was no longer the original one; during the recent clash, the previous sword had been scorched beyond use.
Naoki, on the surface, had few injuries. With Avalon, as long as it wasn't a fatal wound, mere surface injuries healed quickly. But unlike his unscathed appearance, his breathing was labored, as if he'd just run a long marathon. The flames on his body, for some reason, seemed extremely weak.
"Hahaha… good… Hahahahahahahahaha!"
Seeing Naoki's state, Gilgamesh couldn't stop laughing heartily.
"It worked! Despite those flames, being constantly attacked by Noble Phantasms targeting spirits and fairies—your current existence, akin to a fairy, means every hit is like chronic poison! The fairy within you is continuously wounded, reducing its output!"
"And to keep pressuring this King, you've had to use far more Mana than usual to maintain that output. Add to that the Mana consumption from the scabbard within you—even with a dragon's heart, your Mana is nearly depleted, isn't it?"
Naoki's current power came from the fairy. Gilgamesh had seen this from the start. Thus, every Noble Phantasm he fired in the recent fight carried anecdotes of slaying fairies or spirits. Though their effects varied, they could all be called [special attacks against fairies/spirits].
The battle had lasted about five minutes. During that time, Naoki was hit at least thirty times. The scale of the fairy variant's existence within him was likely only half its original, or even less.
Reaching into the Gate of Babylon and pulling out a glass of clear liquid, Gilgamesh drank it in one gulp. His body, previously riddled with wounds, instantly recovered to be as pristine as Naoki's!
"Your losses are significant, but this King, as you can see, has as many healing Noble Phantasms as he desires. Though your flames prevent full recovery, I can recover to seventy or eighty percent—the situation has reversed, Holy Sword User!"
*SWISH!*
The Chains of Heaven shot out. Naoki instinctively tried to unleash flames to escape capture, but this time, only a flicker of fire spurted from his palms. A sudden emptiness washed over him, sending chills down his spine!
Trouble!
[Vixen, the fairy within you is too weak. One more hit from Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasms, and it'll vanish completely! I told you to be careful!]
(How am I supposed to dodge hundreds of Noble Phantasms at once?!)
[Burn them—dodge, the chains are coming again, from above.]
(I know!)
Though he knew the fairy variant was nearly gone, for now, Naoki could only rely on it.
(Squeeze out your last strength before you vanish, Purgatorio!)
[—!]
A protest from the fire demon echoed within him. It seemed highly displeased with this forced action. But protest or not, the blue flames reignited in Naoki's palms!
*SWISH!*
The Chains of Heaven grazed Naoki's forehead by a hair's breadth.
Had he been half a second slower, he would've been bound. And with that final dodge, Naoki felt something within him vanish.
After enduring dozens of special-attack hits, it was no small feat for Purgatorio to last this long. Summoning it again next time might not be so easy.
[Vixen, no time to mourn. Gilgamesh's attack is coming!]
At Manaka's warning, Naoki, still falling through the air, noticed a golden glow not far off—another Noble Phantasm aimed at him.
"Though it's a pity I couldn't fight Excalibur, your performance has greatly satisfied this King, Fairy Magus."
"It's an honor—die satisfied—"
The arrogant voice cut off abruptly. A pair of sky-blue lights silently appeared in Gilgamesh's eyes.
The Mystic Eyes, the Mystic Eyes Naoki had kept hidden all this time.
*KRAK!*
A shattering sound rang out. The necklace around Gilgamesh's neck broke into countless fragments. Seeing this, Naoki couldn't help but sigh. "As expected… a Noble Phantasm akin to a Mystic Eyes Killer."
Gilgamesh preparing a Noble Phantasm to counter Mystic Eyes was something Naoki had anticipated from the start. It could be a substitute type, a nullifying type, or perhaps a reflective type. Based on this, he had refrained from using his Mystic Eyes.
This was merely a last-ditch effort.
(A substitute-type Mystic Eyes Killer Noble Phantasm, huh… He probably has more than one. Facing a Servant like Gilgamesh one-on-one—am I still too hasty?)
Though he never intended to fully defeat Gilgamesh, fighting him to a draw or even gaining a slight edge was already impressive for a Magus.
Using the impact of the Noble Phantasm to land, Naoki sighed lightly. "The rest is up to you, Saber. Unleash Excalibur—"
Naoki's words were cut short. Before he could finish, from the opposite direction, far away.
*SHUA!*
Suddenly, a crimson moon slowly descended from the sky.