Type-Moon/Fate World.
"What?!"
Gilgamesh furrowed his brow, staring at the halo behind Ishtar with a look of sheer disbelief.
A moment later he wiped the disbelief from his face and a terrifying aura exploded from him.
If he remembered correctly, Enkidu was already dead—so who in the video was wielding the Chains of Heaven?! An imposter?!
At that thought, murderous intent surged from Gilgamesh in a suffocating wave.
"!!!"
Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou felt his fury; they turned to see Gilgamesh standing atop a streetlamp.
His expression was calm, yet the killing intent pouring off him was so thick even Rin and Shirou could taste it.
Rin dared not speak, knowing that a single taunt right now…
…would get her killed.
Seventh Singularity: the Absolute Demonic Front Babylonia.
Unlike that other Gilgamesh, Wise King Gilgamesh radiated no such murderous pressure.
Instead, he watched with a complicated look, sighed softly, and gave a wry, bittersweet smile.
Clearly, he carried troubles of his own.
Inside the video—
"Eh?!" Ishtar realized what was behind her and instinctively covered her head. "Wait a minute—!!"
Swish-swish-swish-swish—!!!
Countless chains shot out of the golden portal, streaking past her to skewer the distant Lahmu, ignoring her completely.
The Lahmu that had been attacking buildings were snared mid-leap.
A hand clenched into a fist, and every one of those building-assaulting Lahmu was obliterated in an instant.
"No way—those chains… Kingu?!"
Ishtar recognized the chains that had flown from behind her—the Chains of Heaven themselves.
The camera panned to reveal a graceful figure with emerald hair and violet eyes gliding through the sky.
She plunged into a swarm of Lahmu; a boom and blossom of fire later, the entire flock dropped lifelessly.
The Lahmu never even realized what had hit them.
On the ground, wingless Lahmu were pierced through by chains that erupted without warning.
Mid-air, Kingu turned toward the remaining pursuers; a golden portal bloomed in her palm.
Torrents of chains speared the Lahmu again and again.
Viewers from other worlds were stunned—who was this person? In mere seconds she had wiped out hordes of Lahmu.
And how many more fighters in this world hadn't even stepped onto the stage yet?!
Hold on—was someone else about to appear?
That was the running commentary from the other-world audience.
"As expected, mass-produced trash," Kingu sneered. "Nothing to fear."
"Why are you still alive, Kingu—!!"
One Lahmu howled as a flock dove toward her.
…
Kingu offered no reply. She turned, eyes cold and empty, and regarded them.
Chains erupted beneath her feet, erasing every last Lahmu.
"To be overwhelmed by mass-produced fakes—pathetic, you old humans."
She shot a mocking glance toward Wise King Gilgamesh. "And you still boasted so grandly."
"Whether it's Chaldea's Master or that man…"
On Fujimaru Ritsuka's side, Mash Kyrielight sprang into action as Lahmu rushed Wise King Gilgamesh.
As the final line of defense, the two of them had to keep the creatures away.
Kingu continued, "Unable to do a thing alone, yet so self-assured, so proud—and still the last one standing."
She gave a soft, almost amused laugh. "Think you can do everything by yourself?"
"That alone proves I'm incomplete."
As she spoke, one wounded Lahmu cried out, "Why—why are you helping humans?!"
It was furious, as though Kingu had committed some unforgivable betrayal.
"Who said anything about helping humans?" Kingu calmly dispatched it. "I am the new humanity—the only one. I am Kingu."
"But…"
She lowered her gaze, remembering the instant that morning when the sun had first risen.
Wise King Gilgamesh, back turned to her, had said quietly, "Forget mother and birthplace; do what you truly wish—just as I once did, and as he did."
'Forget mother and birthplace; do what you truly wish.'
'I have no such wish.'
The thought echoed inside her. Kingu stared at her trembling hands, voice shaking with sorrow. "I don't, Gil."
"But when I think again… there was one: I wanted to see you, to speak with you."
"To pour out every memory and feeling, as a friend, and share them all."
"Yet it can never be—not my wish, but the desire of this vessel called Enkidu."
Tears slid down Kingu's cheeks.
The backdrop kept shifting; beneath a gloomy downpour, the green-haired, green-eyed Enkidu was staring at something.
Then the scene changed—there was Gilgamesh, and she was watching him.
Gilgamesh, meanwhile, was gazing at the sky. No one could make out his expression; only an unimaginable sorrow poured from him.
Type-Moon/Fate World.
In that instant the murderous aura around Gilgamesh vanished, replaced by a complicated look.
He sighed softly, a sigh that made Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou tilt their heads in puzzlement.
Because that sigh sounded exactly like the one from the Wise King in the video.
Could this guy already be turning into the Gilgamesh they'd watched?
Seventh Singularity, the Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia.
Wise King Gilgamesh wore the same complex expression; he sighed quietly. Those were memories of Enkidu, the final message he'd wanted to convey before death.
Now, through Kingu's mouth, he was speaking his mind.
At this moment Wise King Gilgamesh's feelings were tangled. He knew perfectly well that Kingu was not Enkidu, yet he couldn't bring himself to strike a former 'friend.'
No matter who inhabited that body, he couldn't attack.
Just as Kingu had said, Wise King Gilgamesh also wanted to talk with her.