With a deafening explosion, the golden blade pierced through the ground, releasing waves of terrifying magical energy.
"Your reflexes are rather sharp. So you had already sensed this king's presence, hadn't you?"
After the explosion's echo faded, a voice filled with arrogance and majesty resounded through the street.
Holding Manaka in his arms, Alvin looked toward the source of the voice.
A pair of crimson eyes gazed down from above, overlooking them from atop a streetlight.
Clad in golden armor, his figure towering, arms folded across his chest, he never lowered his proud head, merely looking down at Alvin and Manaka from above… as though he were looking at two insignificant insects.
Behind this Servant, several golden ripples shimmered into existence. Within them, one could vaguely see weapons coated in dazzling golden light.
The weapon that had just been fired at Alvin had come from one of those portals.
The Gate of Babylon—this was the unique Noble Phantasm of the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
The treasury's space was directly connected, allowing him to draw out its contents at will.
Stored within the Gate of Babylon were the prototypes of every Noble Phantasm, or rather, the original forms of mankind's inventions and countless treasures from across history.
Manaka stared at the golden king standing atop the streetlight, then softly murmured, "Caster…? No, you must be Archer, right?"
He was clearly an Archer, yet the Noble Phantasm he used was far closer to a Caster's.
This Holy Grail War was turning out to be even more interesting than she expected.
Alvin gazed upward for a moment and muttered to himself, "The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh, huh? Didn't think you'd show up this soon."
Even though he had already known Gilgamesh would appear in the Fourth War… actually seeing him in person was still surprising.
No wonder Gilgamesh was called a "Rank-Breaking" Servant.
The magical energy radiating from him right now was far beyond that of an ordinary Servant.
Gilgamesh's voice carried a hint of amusement. "Oh? You actually know this king's identity?"
After putting Manaka down, Alvin smiled and said, "A treasury holding the prototypes of every Noble Phantasm… there's only one person in the world who could possibly open the Gate of Babylon, and that's you."
Gilgamesh's crimson eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Then, slowly, a trace of icy contempt crept into his gaze.
"If you know who I am, then why do you still dare to look this king in the eye?!"
In the next instant, countless golden ripples appeared behind him all at once.
That overwhelming golden light seemed ready to illuminate the entire darkened sky.
Almost at the same time, every hidden watcher scattered across the city turned their attention toward this location.
From the moment Alvin and Manaka had gone out, the Masters participating in this Holy Grail War had been secretly monitoring them.
None of them could have imagined that among the Servants summoned this time, there would actually be such a rank-breaking existence as Archer.
At that very moment, a woman dressed in a black bodysuit stood atop a distant high-rise, observing the battle through a military-grade telescope.
Maiya Hisau, a woman whom Kiritsugu Emiya had once saved on the battlefield, now stayed at his side, aiding him in his quest to win the Holy Grail War.
She had been tailing Alvin and Manaka in secret, originally hoping to confirm the identity of the Servant that Manaka had summoned.
But she hadn't expected to stumble upon such an "extra harvest."
Now, as she stared at the staggering number of treasures behind Gilgamesh, even her normally composed demeanor faltered, and her heart trembled in shock.
Normally, a Servant would at most possess one or two Noble Phantasms… but this Archer had already unleashed more than ten unique treasures in the brief span of time she'd been watching.
That poor Saber… maybe they were trying to bait someone out, but they could never have imagined that the one to bite would be such a rank-breaking monster.
As Maiya thought this, countless treasures rained down toward Alvin.
But Alvin's reaction was far faster than Gilgamesh had anticipated.
He stepped in front of Manaka, swiftly grabbed one of the incoming swords, and then hurled it with all his strength!
The sword collided head-on with one of the treasures fired from the Gate of Babylon.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, a brilliant explosion blossomed in the sky, dazzling like fireworks.
From then on, every time a treasure from the Gate of Babylon shot toward Alvin, he would always respond in the same way, grabbing one of the weapons mid-flight and hurling it back to intercept the incoming barrage of Gilgamesh's treasures.
Under normal circumstances, even a battle of attrition like this would consume an enormous amount of magical energy.
Yet Gilgamesh quickly realized that the magical energy of this black-robed Servant… was not diminishing in the slightest!
"..It's because of the girl behind him, isn't it?.."
Gilgamesh's crimson eyes swept over Manaka Sajyou, examining her closely.
He could tell that her magical energy far surpassed that of an ordinary magus.
But then his gaze returned to Alvin.
Infinite magical energy?
If this pair were to participate in an ordinary Holy Grail War, they would be an extremely troublesome combination indeed.
Soon, a look of amusement curled across Gilgamesh's face.
"..It seems this king underestimated you… nameless Servant.."
"..In that case… this king shall grant you a chance.."
"..The chance to behold the Sword of Rupture.."
Inside the Tohsaka mansion, when Tokiomi Tohsaka sensed what Gilgamesh intended to do, his expression turned utterly grim.
"..Has he lost his mind?!.."
The Holy Grail War hadn't even officially started yet, the identities of the various Masters and Servants were still unclear… and this Hero King was already planning to use his strongest Noble Phantasm?
"..My king… please, calm yourself for tonight. Let's leave it at this," Tokiomi's voice, transmitted through magecraft, reached Gilgamesh's ears.
"..This king has only just begun to enjoy himself. How could I possibly withdraw now?.."
With a faint, derisive smile, Gilgamesh completely ignored Tokiomi's plea. Instead, he lowered his gaze upon the black-robed Servant on the ground.
"..Come then. Show me whether you have the worth to entertain this king—.."
Alvin's brows furrowed slightly.
If Manaka weren't here, he wouldn't mind settling this fight with Gilgamesh tonight.
But… without Beast Manifestation, the girl's body was far too fragile.
Even the aftershocks from his clash with Gilgamesh could hurt the girl behind him.
"..Oh? So you truly care that much for your Master standing there?.."
Gilgamesh seemed to have noticed this as well, but by now, he was already gathering power within his hands, condensing it into the unique Noble Phantasm known as the Sword of Rupture.
Enuma Elish – The Star of Creation that Split Heaven and Earth.
Its power rivaled, if not surpassed, that of "Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory." It was a blade that could literally rend the world apart, a sword that even "Unlimited Blade Works" could not replicate.
To wield this weapon against Alvin so soon after meeting him, whether it was because Gilgamesh had sensed Alvin's threat, or simply out of his own capricious amusement, no one could say for sure.
But what truly enraged Gilgamesh was that, even after he had drawn Ea, Alvin still showed no sign of panic.
He didn't even look like he intended to use a Noble Phantasm at all.
"..Don't tell me… you plan on running away?.."
"..To face this king's Ea without so much as a defensive stance… you dare to belittle me that much?.."
"..No. You're mistaken, King of Heroes.."
Alvin slowly raised his head, meeting Gilgamesh's crimson eyes without the slightest trace of fear.
"..My Master is standing right behind me, so I don't intend to fight you to the death… not here, not now. If I did, she might be caught in the crossfire.."
"..But at the same time… as a gesture of respect toward you, and as a gift in return, I'm not using any Noble Phantasms right now.."
"..Because my Noble Phantasm… isn't a weapon.."
Hearing his words, Gilgamesh's eyes widened slightly.
For reasons he couldn't comprehend, an unfamiliar sensation began to crawl up his spine, a faint but undeniable sense of unease making his back grow cold.
Then, staring at the boy below, his expression shifted into one of wary disbelief.
I… feel uneasy?
It's impossible.
Even if his opponent possessed the most powerful Noble Phantasm imaginable, Gilgamesh was absolutely certain that Ea could destroy it.
There could not possibly exist a servant in this world who could defeat him… Gilgamesh held this absolute confidence.
And indeed, he truly stood at the very pinnacle of all servants.
But then… why was there this faint sense of unease within him…?
Gilgamesh quickly forced himself to silence the absurd notion and glared at Alvin with seething anger.
"You will pay for your arrogance… mongrel!"
The Ea in his hand radiated an ever-intensifying storm of magical power and blinding light.
Alvin, however, made no move.
He merely looked at the slowly turning EA in Gilgamesh's hand, took a deep breath, and shouted a single word—one so incomprehensible that even Gilgamesh froze.
"Mom!!!"
.
.
.