"Yo, lemme try that rumored Mapo," Arash said.
"Welcome, Arash-san!"
"That Lucifer-Satan thing. Extra spicy."
"Got it!"
Damp!
"I've prepared a rare treat from this era. You'll love it," Stheno said.
The group ventured into the cave for the goddess' treasure.
"What's a goddess' treasure? Gold, silver, or more? I'm excited!" Nero's voice echoed through the secret comms.
"Treasure demands pursuit, but it'll reveal the goddess' nature," Gilgamesh said.
Damp, dark, cramped.
"Slippery… humid…" Ritsuka whined.
"Careful, Senpai," Mash cautioned.
"Not a place for emperors. Only treasure's promise keeps me here," Nero grumbled.
Bad feeling…
"Ah!" Romani yelped.
"What's up?" Ritsuka asked.
"Uh… well…"
He hesitated.
"Report," Gilgamesh demanded.
"We've been tricked."
Skeleton soldiers surrounded them, clattering. Weak but numerous.
"Treasure?!" Ritsuka gasped.
"No way! That goddess sent these grunts!" Nero snapped.
"In this tight space…!" Mash tensed.
"Packed unnaturally tight! Definitely her doing!"
"Hmph. Child's play. A mistake, as they say. Clear them, Master," Gilgamesh ordered.
I'm selecting treasures, but this space risks cave collapse. Rely on Master, Mash, Nero.
"Good chance to learn handling lurkers. Useful later," Gilgamesh added.
"Got it! Mash, guard!" Ritsuka commanded.
"Yes!"
"Come! 'Jack,' 'Hassan-sensei,' 'Emiya'!"
Three Assassins materialized from her glowing hand.
"Called, Mommy?" Jack chirped.
"Summoned," Hassan said.
"Work?" Emiya asked.
"Dismantle those skeletons!"
"Okay!"
"Understood."
"Got it."
They scattered instantly.
"Dismember!" Jack's knives shredded skeletons, debris flying.
"Darkness is our domain—Shaa!" Hassan's black daggers sliced skulls precisely.
"There." Emiya's knives and bullets mowed down foes with sparks and metal clangs.
"Wow, Assassins thrive in tight, dark spaces!"
"What's happening?" Nero blinked.
"Their battlefield. No need to sweat in bad terrain," Gilgamesh said.
"Go, Assassins!" Ritsuka cheered.
Swiftly, methodically, the skeletons dwindled—Assassins' true calling.
"Did you bring them here to teach Assassin tactics?"
"Naturally. I wouldn't swallow a god's bait, fool," Gilgamesh replied.
No better place for Assassins. He planned this.
"Another reason: let grunts handle fodder while I march grandly. Pity it's a cave," Gilgamesh mused.
Such a dutiful Hero King.
"Done, Mommy!" Jack reported.
The Assassins returned, skeleton remains scattered.
"Thanks, Jack-chan! Good girl!" Ritsuka petted her.
"Hehe…"
"Easy job. Call anytime," Hassan said.
"Later," Emiya added.
"Bye, Mommy!" Jack waved.
The Assassins vanished.
"Listen, Master. In remote places, speed trumps dawdling. Rely on Mash's guard, strike fast, use Noble Phantasms if needed. Clear?" Gilgamesh instructed.
"Yes! Precise, swift!" Ritsuka nodded.
"Ended before I grasped it… Path's clear? Onward! Treasure's near!" Nero urged.
"Like a field trip teacher," Romani laughed.
"No choice. The operator's busy," Gilgamesh said.
Olga Marie… I miss her calm yet hapless voice. She's fighting too.
"I'll teach instead. The end's in sight," Gilgamesh said.
"Let's go!" Ritsuka cheered.
"…Quiet for a bride wannabe," Gilgamesh noted.
"…"
"Bride wannabe?" Ritsuka asked.
"Zzz…"
"Jeanne, prepare Mapo," Gilgamesh ordered.
"Yes!"
"GUOOO!!"
At the cave's depths, no treasure—a lion-goat-snake Chimera.
"A Chimera! Not man-made, a mythical beast!"
That's the "rare treat"…
"No treasure?!" Ritsuka cried.
"Right there," Gilgamesh pointed.
"This?! This is treasure?!"
"See? That's a goddess. Seducing, sending heroes to death, calling it treasure," Gilgamesh said.
"You came for this?!"
"What else?"
"We were—"
"Tricked—?!" Ritsuka and Nero gasped.
"GAAA!!" The Chimera roared, charging.
"It's coming!!" Ritsuka screamed.
"Behind me, Senpai!" Mash blocked its charge.
"Guh!"
"I've got words for that goddess!" Nero swung her primordial fire, blasting the Chimera.
"Goddess' hospitality after teaching her nature… elaborate," Gilgamesh smirked.
"Gil! Can I kill it?!" Ritsuka asked.
"Of course. I've got a gift idea," he grinned.
"Master, order: kill it cleanly."
"Cleanly?!"
"A goddess' gift deserves care. You know who," Gilgamesh hinted.
"Heart?!"
"What word association?!"
Heart—him!
"Okay, got it! Come!!"
Her glowing hand summoned—
"'Cú Chulainn'!!"
"Here!" A blue spearman tore through the dark.
"Nice face—worth piercing!" Cú Chulainn flipped his red spear, thrusting.
"First!"
The goat head writhed, blood spraying.
"Stay close, kid!"
"Y-Yes!"
Reminds me of when we were clueless, and he guided us.
"GAAA!!" The Chimera swiped at Cú Chulainn.
"Second!" He parried, severing the snake tail.
"GUOO!!" The Chimera staggered in pain.
The spear of causality pierces hearts.
"Third—"
The curse reverses fate.
"Take this! 'Piercing—'"
No mistake, it gouges organs.
"'—Gáe Bolg'!!"
Crimson light slew the beast.
"Looks nasty, but not tough inside," Cú Chulainn said, holding the Chimera's heart.
"Received," Gilgamesh confirmed.
The Chimera collapsed.
"Victory. My spear's top-tier, right?" Cú Chulainn grinned.
"Did it!!" Ritsuka cheered.
"Rare sight. Your spear hit?" Gilgamesh teased.
"Shut it! I always hit!"
The goddess' whimsical cave was conquered.
"Ugh, spicy… Tears coming…" Arash gasped. "Thanks. Tasty. Emiya's teaching paid off—it's edible."
"Yes!"
"Next time, let me test spicy stuff. I'm tough. If I can't eat it, it's a failure."
"Taste tester! Got it!"
"Hope this cuts casualties. Mapo, huh? Goes with beer…?"
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