The early winter city was silent, the distant wind howling, snowflakes drifting endlessly down from the heavens.
That incomprehensible cry echoed across the deserted street, and even Gilgamesh was left stunned for a brief moment.
Those arrogant crimson eyes, which were originally full of royal disdain, now held nothing but confusion as they fixed on Alvin.
For the briefest of instants, the King of Heroes even wondered if this servant before him had gone mad.
To show that he deemed Alvin and the girl behind him, a master capable of granting her servant seemingly limitless mana, worthy of his attention, Gilgamesh had chosen to wield his mightiest treasure: Enuma Elish – Sword of Rupture.
Under normal circumstances, no servant could remain calm in the face of Ea.
And yet… the servant before him was doing exactly that.
Not only that...it seemed like he was even mocking him.
Realizing this, Gilgamesh's crimson eyes flared with unrestrained fury.
"Saber, you will pay the price for your insolence!"
At last, he raised EA high above his head.
And in that instant, from above the blackened heavens, a colossal shadow silently loomed into view.
The shadow was so immense it drowned out the night itself, accompanied by a tide of black, churning chaos that rolled across the clouds. And then, in that single instant… Alvin's mana was utterly drained away.
Even Manaka Saijyou's face changed slightly, and she instinctively turned to Alvin.
"..Saber… what did you just do?.. "
Even as a servant, Alvin, empowered by the White Dragon's core, possessed magical energy and regeneration far beyond ordinary heroic spirits.
Yet with just one word… his entire reserve had been consumed in an instant.
If not for Manaka Saijyou's natural connection to the Root and her EX-ranked magical circuits, she would not have been able to endure the burden of what he had just unleashed.
Gilgamesh's Ea, which had been surging with terrifying magical power, suddenly froze in his hand and his crimson gaze turned toward the black-robed servant on the ground.
At first, he had thought the man was merely holding back out of contempt.
But no… he realized now that Alvin had been entirely serious.
Even Gilgamesh, who had seen countless treasures, had never witnessed a power that could drain a servant's mana so completely in an instant.
As if sensing something, Gilgamesh slowly raised his head.
The snowflakes that had been drifting down from the sky… had stopped.
Time itself seemed to hold its breath.
Then, the clouds above began to churn violently, thunder splitting the heavens.
From that rolling storm above, a tide of chaotic darkness, the "Sea of Chaos"—cascaded down like a black waterfall.
And within those clouds… an immense, otherworldly shadow moved. Its colossal form blanketed all of Fuyuki in its terrifying presence.
The clouds shuddered violently, as if bowing beneath the weight of this power, as that unfathomable presence approached.
The ordinary citizens of Fuyuki remained oblivious.
But every magus, every master, every servant watching this battle from the shadows… felt it.
An instinctive, primal fear rooted itself deep in their hearts.
Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, who had just settled into a specially prepared high-rise building with his fiancée, froze in place and then rushed out onto the balcony, looking up…
And there…
There was an incomprehensibly vast, ethereal silhouette towering above the city.
She… or rather, it.
A being that should only exist in myth,
a dragon in its most primordial form.
Like a god descending upon the world, gazing down upon it with divine majesty.
---
...
At the Einzbern Castle, the phone rang sharply.
Emiya Kiritsugu, the man whose heart was said to be like still water, raised his head to the distant sky, and for once, his fingers trembled.
Before the voice on the other end could speak, he was already issuing the order.
"Maiya… withdraw. Now."
Although he tried his best to keep his tone as calm as possible, the slightly trembling voice still showed the intense inner turmoil of the magus killer at the moment.
"S-Sorry…"
Maiya Hisau's trembling voice came through the line. She lowered her head, staring at her own shaking legs.
"But… I can't move…"
Only by witnessing this mysterious servant's "noble phantasm" at close range could one truly understand how terrifying it was.
This was not ordinary fear. It was primal, etched into the marrow. The moment she laid eyes upon the colossal shadow above the heavens, even the will to move abandoned her.
What was that thing?
…A familiar?
No. She had never even heard of a familiar that defied reason like this.
And it was obvious… that thing wasn't even in its complete form.
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At the Tohsaka estate, Tokiomi Tohsaka's phone rang.
It was a call from his student, Kirei Kotomine.
"Teacher… Assassin has already retreated from the field. He said… that thing isn't something a normal servant can fight against."
"I understand."
Tokiomi ended the call and stood silently at the window, closing his eyes.
Even with Kirei's words, he knew very well that the King of Heroes would never heed his warnings.
If anything, Gilgamesh was likely in the height of his excitement right now, ready to clash with that unknown servant to the bitter end.
"There's nothing else to do. For victory in the Holy Grail War and our long-cherished wish..."
Tokiomi's fingers lightly brushed against the Command Seals on the back of his hand, exhaling slowly.
"By my Command Seal… I order you—withdraw your wrath, O King."
Each Master entered the Holy Grail War with three Command Seals.
Any one of them could issue an absolute order to their servant. But for a servant of overwhelming magical power… even two might not suffice.
As he invoked the Command Seal, one of the three crimson marks on Tokiomi's hand quietly faded…
---
Just as Tokiomi Tohsaka had expected, when Gilgamesh saw the colossal shadow in the heavens, he froze for a brief moment, and then… a wild, arrogant smile spread across his face.
"Ah, so this is your trump card, Saber."
"Draining all of your own mana to summon a special creature as nourishment… but in the end, it's nothing more than a mere familiar."
"If you truly believe you can defeat me with just a familiar, then you are gravely underestimating me, Saber!"
Gilgamesh raised EA high, blood-red mana swirling around his Sword of Rupture. "Let this strike be your farewell ceremony."
"Recite the primordial, where heaven and earth were severed, where no blessings remain, to tear apart the world—"
"Grinding the mill of the stars, heaven's hell, the end of the night before creation—submit and perish…"
As Gilgamesh's chant grew louder and higher, the raging wind spread outward from him like a storm.
At that moment, all those lurking in the shadows seemed to realize what was about to happen.
The instinct to survive overcame their fear, forcing their trembling legs to move, dragging themselves away from the battlefield in a desperate attempt to flee.
This battle, on the eve of the Holy Grail War, had already gone far beyond the expectations of the three families of Fuyuki.
Even Emiya Kiritsugu, renowned for his composure, had not anticipated that a Servant would unleash their full power before the war even officially began.
EA… If one were to face this level of Noble Phantasm head-on, was survival even possible?
At this moment, nearly every observer hiding in the vicinity of the battlefield had the same thought flash through their minds.
Meanwhile, within the church of the Holy Church, Father Kotomine Kirei silently closed the Bible in his hands, shut his eyes, and seemed to be lost in thought, or perhaps he was mourning for someone.
Archer… The power that man had just displayed tonight had far exceeded anything they could have imagined.
One could only say that Saber might be strong… but he was far too unlucky.
Regardless of whether, Saber had gone out with his Master tonight, boldly wandering into the shopping district to "bait the hook" or for some other purpose, running into this golden king before the Holy Grail War even began… could only be called the worst possible luck.
"Enuma Elish!"
As the mana reached its peak, Gilgamesh swung EA, his Sword of Rupture, and unleashed it toward the mysterious being in the heavens!
BOOM!
The crimson mana ripped through the heavens, as if piercing the stars themselves, obliterating the darkened clouds in an instant.
Tokiomi Tohsaka's Command Seal could not restrain the Golden King's wrath, because at this moment, Gilgamesh wasn't angry at all… he was exhilarated.
In fact, Tokiomi's Command Seal only served as fuel to feed Gilgamesh's mana.
The ancient King of Heroes, who had collected every treasure in existence, hadn't joined this Holy Grail War because of some wish—no, he was simply amusing himself.
Now, Saber had gone all-in to summon a mysterious familiar, and Gilgamesh was using his ultimate Noble Phantasm to crush it completely… That, in itself, was entertainment.
Almost as if he had thought of something amusing, a delighted smirk curled Gilgamesh's lips as he raised his head, staring at the mysterious creature in the sky, and then watched as EA's devastating mana struck it.
"Aaaaaa—"
As EA's mana roared forth, a, sound came from within the clouds came a sound, a haunting, ethereal song, like the voice of a siren in the depths of the sea.
And then, the creature's form seemed to flicker, becoming faint.
The oppressive, world-crushing aura it had displayed upon "manifestation" seemed to weaken slightly.
Manaka Saijyou's eyes darkened faintly as she silently gazed at the Golden King before her and the Sword of Rupture in his hand.
Although she had already known, from the moment she first saw Gilgamesh, that his mana was overwhelming… the Noble Phantasm he had just used was still beyond her expectations.
Archer… He truly was the most troublesome enemy in this Holy Grail War.
Before long, the girl turned her gaze toward Alvin, speaking softly: "Saber… are you alright?"
Even with her EX-ranked Magic Circuits, Manaka could not instantly transfer all her mana to Alvin. Just like a charging cable, filling him up with mana would take time.
"I'm fine… just drained a lot of mana." Alvin smiled and shook his head.
He had known that summoning Tiamat through his special Noble Phantasm would require an immense amount of mana… but he hadn't expected that even with the White Dragon's Heart, summoning a heavily weakened Tiamat would nearly drain his entire Saint Graph dry.
"So this… is your full strength, Saber."
Just then, from atop the streetlamp, came Gilgamesh's cold, condescending voice.
EA in his hand had gradually stopped spinning.
The King of Heroes tilted his head upward arrogantly, looking down at the black-robed Servant below.
"But do not feel ashamed… your defeat is not because of yourself, but because the one you face… is me."
To think he could be restrained by a mere familiar, such an idea was utterly laughable.
"Don't speak too soon, King of Heroes." Alvin's voice was calm as he raised his head toward the heavens.
The tide of chaos now poured down like a waterfall from the clouds.
And with it descended… a slender, ethereal woman.
Her long, deep-blue hair flowed like an endless ocean.
The tide of chaos itself prostrated at her feet.
Her graceful figure was veiled by black mana, and upon her head were a pair of majestic horns—the mark of the "dragon."
Gilgamesh narrowed his crimson eyes, scrutinizing the woman who now stood before Alvin, and a trace of doubt emerged within them.
Strange…
His Sword of Rupture had struck this woman head-on.
And yet, she stood there unharmed?
No… her aura did seem slightly weaker than before.
But even so, Gilgamesh found this utterly inconceivable.
What kind of Servant in the Holy Grail War could take EA head-on… and only seem a little weaker afterward?
What in the world… is this thing?
For some reason, an inexplicable sense of unease began to stir within the King of heroes' heart.
If it were merely a powerful enemy, Gilgamesh would only feel excitement… and then crush them head-on with the pride befitting a king.
But when he looked upon the woman before him, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
It was as if… he had seen this woman somewhere before.
And then, at that moment, the woman slowly opened her crimson eyes.
She seemed unable to comprehend the current situation, her gaze dazed as she tilted her head slightly at the King of Heroes standing upon the streetlamp.
"Aaa?"
That beautiful, ethereal song echoed in Gilgamesh's ears, stirring some distant memory deep within him.
The latter stared intently at the woman before him, and then, as if recalling something, his pupils contracted sharply.
"..."
After a long silence, Gilgamesh stared blankly at Tiamat, his lips trembling ever so slightly.
"...Mother?"
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