Chapter 232: Preparing to Attack
"What is that? An alien spaceship?"
As Gilgamesh stared at the approaching fighter jets, the pilots inside were equally stunned at the sight of Vimana floating in the sky.
After all, they had been dispatched on intelligence reports suggesting a giant creature had appeared in Fuyuki City.
Yet, instead of spotting a giant monster, they had stumbled upon what looked like a UFO.
What should they do?
Wave their hands and greet it with a "hello"?
Would that prevent them from being blown out of the sky as enemies?
"A product of human technology? How boring…"
Unlike the two pilots brimming with curiosity, Gilgamesh lost interest the moment he cast a glance at the jets.
He reclined once more upon his throne, deciding not to concern himself with those iron contraptions— as long as they did not disturb him.
But if they dared to mistake him for an enemy and attack, Gilgamesh would naturally teach those fortunate enough to glimpse his majesty the meaning of a king's wrath!
Fortunately, the pilots were not fools.
After reporting back that they had sighted what appeared to be a UFO, they turned their jets toward the mist to investigate further.
But as soon as they flew low over the fog, countless tentacles shot upward.
One of the experienced pilots narrowly evaded them with superb maneuvering, but his wingman was not so lucky.
Tentacles latched onto the surface of the jet, ripping it apart in midair as if it were paper. The pilot inside was tossed screaming into the depths of the mist.
From the ground, Hikigaya Hachiman and the others heard only a shriek before the fog swallowed all sound once more.
"..."
So they flew all the way here just to deliver a snack?
Watching the lone surviving jet circle overhead, Hachiman's lips twitched.
They already knew something lurked inside the mist, yet still flew low like idiots? No wonder they got themselves killed.
The surviving pilot, shaken, gazed at the ominous fog.
After reporting his comrade's downing, he thought command would order him to retreat.
But to his disbelief, the order was instead to continue reconnaissance and await Self-Defense Force support.
"I—…!"
For a moment, he silently cursed every female relative of the fat pigs sitting in headquarters.
Yet if he disobeyed, he'd be branded a deserter.
With no choice, after a long pause, he guided his plane back toward the mist.
This time, however, he was smarter.
Instead of diving straight in, he circled the fogbank at a distance of more than a hundred meters, hoping to locate the source of the tentacles and strike it with missiles or machine guns.
"Who are those people?"
From above, the circling pilot soon spotted four groups standing at the edge of the mist.
"Is that… a flying bull chariot?"
Among them, Iskandar's chariot stood out most clearly, leaving the pilot dumbfounded.
Had his eyes deceived him, or had the world gone insane?
Aliens and monsters were strange enough, but now—floating chariots pulled by bulls?
"What's next, Ultraman showing up?"
The thought crossed his mind as he circled.
But then something seemed off.
"The ground… over there…"
Around the streets encircling the mist, the earth suddenly split apart.
With violent tremors shaking the area, countless tentacles thrust upward from the fissures!
"They're surrounded!"
From the pilot's perspective, Hachiman and the others were now encircled in a giant ring.
And from the outer cracks, endless creatures were crawling up from the depths— a black, seething mass steadily shrinking the circle, compressing the ground team's space to move.
"…Huh?"
As the pilot angled his jet to get a clearer view, he suddenly noticed something on his canopy.
Looking up, his face went pale.
At some point, a swarm of octopus-like creatures had crawled onto his jet!
"BOOM!"
A thunderous explosion lit up the night sky not far from Hachiman's group.
They turned grimly toward the crash site.
Thanks to Gilgamesh's earlier warning, they had already realized Caster's monster was tunneling underground, preparing to encircle them.
But even so, none of them showed signs of retreat.
Because if they fled, the civilians of Fuyuki would suffer.
And if the beast were allowed to devour the city, who knew how far it would evolve?
By then, even the combined strength of all the Servants might not be enough to bring it down.
"Then here's the plan—Berserker and I will lead the charge. Saber, you'll unleash your Noble Phantasm to finish the beast. Lancer will strike the killing blow. Any objections?"
The brief distraction with the jets lasted only seconds.
Regaining his focus, Iskandar's expression hardened as he distributed tasks.
"Irisviel, you and the other Masters should retreat first."
The moment Iskandar finished, Artoria stepped forward, insisting the Masters should withdraw.
After all, once the Servants entered the fog, they might not be able to protect mere mortals behind them.
"No, that won't work."
Hachiman shook his head, rejecting her proposal.
There might not be any true safe zones left in Fuyuki—and Assassin's absence was especially worrying.
Rather than risk being picked off separately, it was safer for all the Masters to stay together from the start.
"This…"
Hearing his reasoning, Artoria hesitated.
Indeed, Assassin could well be lurking outside.
If the Servants were tied up fighting Caster, Assassin could easily strike down the defenseless Masters.
"Then we'll all go in together! Saber, don't worry—we'll keep an eye out for your Master!"
With that, Iskandar hauled Waver onto his chariot and drew his sword, preparing for the assault.
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