Enuma Elish (Star of Creation Splitting Heaven and Earth)!
With zero hesitation, Gilgamesh launched his second offensive.
Once that impact—powerful enough to easily wipe the entire city from existence—landed, everything would turn to nothingness.
"Can you still block this?!"
Sneering, Gilgamesh looked down. But in his vision, Berserker standing on the ground remained as calm as before.
He simply swung his greatsword towards the sky with a cool composure, his entire body radiating white light.
That day...
Everyone witnessed the sky being torn open, revealing a massive gash like a fissure in reality. From that fissure, a waterfall of black liquid suddenly poured out, covering the entire city.
The liquid formed a semi-circular barrier shrouding all of Fuyuki City. At the same moment, the shockwave of the Sword of Rupture struck.
BOOM!!!
Violent tremors shook the earth. People in the city felt their legs give way, collapsing to the ground one after another.
They were terrified, having no idea what was happening.
"Amazing!"
It was a long time before the turmoil subsided. Waver stared blankly at the unharmed city, involuntarily swallowing hard.
He sat paralyzed on the ground, unable to describe his feelings.
It was one thing for Archer to repeatedly unleash a Noble Phantasm of that scale.
But Berserker had forcefully blocked it all!
And not just once...
He had blocked it twice in a row! This second time, he had even protected the entire city of Fuyuki.
The power erupted by Gilgamesh's fully released Sword of Rupture hadn't threatened the city in the slightest.
"Twice..."
"But he's almost at his limit."
Hearing Lelouch standing in front of him, Waver scrambled to his feet, quickly understanding the implication.
Archer could fire such a Noble Phantasm consecutively entirely because his magical energy was being continuously replenished from the leyline.
He essentially had a "power bank" on him.
Berserker was different. With only a six-year-old Master, the support the two sides could provide was simply not on the same level.
"Damn it! We have to make it in time!"
...
"You used some strange thing to lower the power of EA again."
"And just now... was that barrier-like cover a Noble Phantasm release?"
"Decent power. You blocked my full-power second strike again."
Standing in the sky looking down at the ground, the corners of Gilgamesh's mouth curled up.
To encounter a Heroic Spirit who could tank and block a full-power EA... he had truly gained some insight today.
Especially since the opponent hadn't just succeeded once...
"That expression... you are provoking this King."
"That expression that says 'I will block it no matter how many times'..."
"Interesting. Let me see how many times your magical energy can support you!"
Raising the Sword of Rupture in his hand once more, Gilgamesh laughed coldly.
"You will regret letting that mongrel little girl become your Master..."
"This strike will destroy you!"
With this third release of EA, Gilgamesh was confident he would thoroughly seize victory.
When Kirei Kotomine offered the "Leyline" back then, he had judged it would come in handy.
Otherwise, under normal circumstances, no Master could support such output from him.
Three consecutive full-power blasts of the Sword of Rupture...
The magical energy required was so vast that almost no Master could provide it.
"The karma between you and this King will also end here."
"Unlike the previous two undecided outcomes..."
"This third time will put a full stop to it!"
...
"Berserker!"
Feeling the gentle gaze from him, Sakura shouted out.
He won't lose!
Berserker definitely won't lose!
Thinking this, she unconsciously drew upon the power of her "Command Spells."
"You must win!!"
That was her prayer, her scream. With the continuous use of Command Spells, she spent three in one breath.
"..."
Giving her a reassuring smile, Berserker looked towards the King stirring in the sky.
"Huff... Huff!!"
"Wait for me! Rider!"
The shouts coming from nearby alerted Berserker to the arrival of the key Master and Servant pair.
He jumped onto the wall, then gaze at the two panting on the road.
"Berserker?"
Waver looked up and immediately cried out in astonishment.
Lelouch, however, met his gaze without shying away.
'Has Berserker's magical energy not run out yet?!'
Judging this point, Lelouch was truly afraid to wait any longer.
Gilgamesh's "insane" offensive was simply too terrifying.
A slight mistake, and the entire Fuyuki City might turn into a crater, and his plans would go up in smoke.
[I will still block his final attack.]
[I leave the rest to you.]
"Wait!"
But when the other party pulled out a whiteboard to express his meaning, Lelouch froze.
'Does he know my goal?'
Still in shock, Lelouch calmed down to think.
That's right. When he learned that Kirei Kotomine had provided the leyline to Archer, he had formulated a rough plan.
The intention was to let Archer drain Berserker's magical energy.
In a contest of endurance, Archer undoubtedly held the upper hand.
As a Master, Sakura Matou couldn't provide much help to Berserker.
As long as he manipulated it properly, Archer indeed had a chance to drag Berserker to death by "attrition."
And given Gilgamesh's personality, Lelouch also predicted he would definitely engage in a frontal confrontation. The success rate of that was undoubtedly high.
As long as Berserker retired, he had a way to kill Gilgamesh, thereby obtaining the final victory.
Of course, the premise was that Archer wouldn't come to kill him first. But given that man's temper, that probability was more likely to happen after Berserker was defeated.
Thinking like this, Lelouch was prepared to "pick up the scraps."
But contrary to his expectations, he had underestimated Archer's madness and power, and also underestimated Berserker's capability.
One offensive was ferocious beyond imagination, while the other steady as Mount Tai, blocking every attack.
Even now, Lelouch could still feel the vigorous magical energy from the other party.
And judging from the performance just now, Berserker seemed to know his thoughts.
"Enuma Elish (Star of Creation Splitting Heaven and Earth)!"
In the high sky, Gilgamesh's mighty voice resonated again.
"Here it comes again!!"
Terrified, Waver could only widen his eyes and look at the changing scenery in the sky above.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared; fierce winds howled.
A shockwave sufficient to distort the earth struck.
But the hero clad in black armor went up to meet it once again.
BOOM!!!
Compared to the catastrophic damage brought by Gilgamesh's chanting, the power erupted after he used it was entirely blocked by Berserker. It caused not a shred of threat to Fuyuki City, nor to anyone.
The "EX" rank Sword of Rupture was blocked three times by the same person today!
"Hero of Salvation... This King will bury you personally!"
Sensing the opponent's gradually depleting magical energy, Gilgamesh lowered his altitude slightly and shouted in a booming voice.
But immediately, he discovered Berserker making an unexpected move.
He saw the opponent pick up Sakura, and with an expression he couldn't understand, took out the Dragon Ball he held and threw it to Rider not far away.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
Unable to fathom Berserker's thoughts at this moment, Gilgamesh questioned him from above.
But Berserker didn't answer him. Instead, he revealed a look of pity—a look that instantly ignited Gilgamesh's fury.
And on the other side...
Snap!
Catching the Dragon Ball thrown by Berserker with one hand, Lelouch also understood the other party's meaning.
"So that's how it is. I couldn't hide it from you from the start."
"And you intentionally cooperated?"
"Indeed. In that case, I have no mind for suspicion or mistrust anymore."
Laughing at himself, Lelouch hadn't expected the part he worried about most to be resolved so easily.
Letting Archer force Berserker back, and finally, he would solve Archer to achieve victory.
This was Lelouch's plan.
The hardest point lay with Berserker. If Archer couldn't beat him, then Lelouch would have to re-plan.
But the situation developed too fast, almost causing the board to be flipped on him. Archer's powerful Noble Phantasm release exceeded his calculations.
But fortunately, Berserker blocked it all.
And he blocked it three times... consuming a massive amount of magical energy for it. Even Sakura's Command Spells were spent.
Under such circumstances, Berserker handed the Dragon Ball Sakura held to him.
In this instant, Lelouch understood.
Berserker was deliberately cooperating with his plan to dispel his suspicion and concerns.
Even the fact that Sakura Matou would use Command Spells was probably in his consideration.
A Master who lost the Dragon Ball and Command Spells meant retirement from the war.
Lelouch naturally could see through the other party's intent.
"Heh..."
The corners of his mouth raised, and his face was filled with that confident smile again. Lelouch looked up at the King in the sky and declared:
"Then, I will bring the curtain down on everything!"