"Now you're all done for!"
With every Servant in sight barely clinging to life, Jonouchi threw back his head and laughed.
Swoosh!
CRASH!
But mid-laugh, a hurled sword streaked across the field and shattered Time Wizard's body.
"Huh?"
Jonouchi snapped back to attention. On a rooftop above, Gilgamesh glared down at him with undisguised fury.
"Mongrel, you have audacity to spare!"
"To force the King into such a humiliating state."
Clutching his wounds, the King of Heroes' eyes burned like twin infernos. His expression was genuinely terrifying.
"You can still stand?!"
Saber, Assassin, and Rider were all down. How was this golden-armored monster still on his feet?
Jonouchi couldn't understand.
"I won't let you interfere again!"
Behind Gilgamesh, the rippling "gates" opened by the dozen, by the hundred. A constellation of golden light illuminated the night, every portal aimed squarely at turning Jonouchi into a pincushion.
"Hmph! That weird attack style doesn't scare me!"
Moving swiftly, Jonouchi flipped the last face-down card on his Duel Disk.
In that same instant, every portal behind Gilgamesh vanished.
"What?!"
Unable to extract a single treasure from his vault, Gilgamesh experienced something entirely novel: bewilderment.
"Heh. You guys all rely on those so-called Noble Phantasms and skills to fight, right?"
"Then all I have to do is shut them down."
Grinning at his stunned opponent, Jonouchi smugly tapped his nose.
[Skill Drain]
A continuous trap card that, at the cost of a set amount of mana, rendered every target's Noble Phantasms and skills inert.
Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon. The scabbard Avalon that had been slowly healing Kenshin and Saber. All of it, nullified.
More frightening still, Saber and Kenshin realized that their perpetually sharp "Mind's Eye" and "Instinct" had both gone dark.
Never mind releasing Noble Phantasms. Whether they could even fight properly in their current state was doubtful.
'While this card is active, I can't use new spells or traps either.'
'But that's fine. I still have this.'
Of course, the restriction cut both ways. Jonouchi's own abilities were sealed.
He could only fight by summoning monsters now.
But one glance at the pitch-black dragon beside him set his heart at ease.
[Red-Eyes Black Dragon]
His ultimate trump card. Nothing in the world gave him more confidence.
"Come and get it!"
He slapped the card onto the Duel Disk.
ROOOAR!!
A colossal black dragon erupted into the sky, dwarfing anything Jonouchi had imagined.
"Huh?"
"Was Red-Eyes always this big?"
Craning his neck at the dragon, which had grown several orders of magnitude beyond its usual size, Jonouchi blinked.
Its body alone covered approximately a fifth of Fuyuki City's footprint.
If not for the cover of night, the entire city would have been in a state of panic.
"He can summon dragons as well?"
Saber managed to haul herself into a crouch, staring at the black dragon in shock.
"Hah... hah..."
With Avalon's healing suspended, Kenshin remained critically injured on the ground, gazing up at the dragon that blotted out the sky.
A creature of legend, summoned as casually as drawing a sword.
It was impossible to imagine what manner of magus Caster had been in life.
"AAAGH!! A DRAGON!!"
"Tch."
"I still underestimated him."
Waver collapsed in terror, legs quaking. Lelouch, clutching his chest and suppressing the pain, could only click his tongue.
He had genuinely miscalculated Caster's combat potential.
First, a tiny familiar that nearly achieved a party wipe. Then, nullifying every Servant's Noble Phantasms and skills. And now, summoning a gargantuan dragon.
This level of power rivaled even the exceptional Berserker and Archer.
His careful schemes felt pitifully insignificant now.
It reminded Lelouch, unpleasantly, of past experiences. Every time he believed victory was assured, Suzaku would shatter his plans through sheer force.
"Hmph. Trying to humiliate the King yet again?"
"Berserker, our battle is on hold."
Studying the black dragon overhead, Gilgamesh showed no trace of fear.
A man with countless mythical encounters in life was not about to be intimidated by a single dragon.
Clank...
The dark-armored Servant removed his helmet, revealing a weathered face as he too looked skyward at the black dragon.
If that creature unleashed an attack, it would be catastrophic.
And because of Caster's Skill Drain, even his "Job Change" ability was sealed.
His current class was Saber. The golden greatsword in his grip happened to be suited for fighting dragons.
"Jonouchi..."
Having recovered slightly, Kyoko lay on the ground, watching him.
"Rest a while longer. We're both running on fumes."
Summoning Red-Eyes Black Dragon had exhausted the last of Jonouchi's mana. And Kyoko's recovery required energy too. This was truly their final gambit.
He glanced at the [Skill Drain] card active on the far right of his Duel Disk and felt a measure of relief.
As long as every opponent's Noble Phantasms and skills remained sealed, their combat effectiveness was cut in half or worse.
"Hah..."
"Assassin, can you still move?"
Saber looked at Kenshin, still prone on the ground.
"Barely. Only because Avalon healed me somewhat beforehand."
Without the scabbard, he wouldn't have survived at all, let alone be in a condition to talk.
"So my scabbard really is with you."
The reason Saber had instinctively drawn close to Kenshin wasn't chance. Instinct had detected Avalon's presence and pulled her toward it.
Now confirmed, Saber understood the full picture.
The only opportunity for Assassin to obtain the scabbard would have been during the period when Irisviel was captured.
Kiritsugu had given his wife his most treasured protective artifact. He hadn't expected the attack that followed.
Perhaps she had misjudged that man.
Entrusting something so vital to Irisviel over himself proved that he truly cherished her.
"Right now, neither you, I, nor Rider can fight at full capacity."
"Berserker and Archer look like they can contend with the black dragon, but given their injuries and Caster's skill seal, they probably can't hold out long."
Watching the two already engaging the black dragon, Saber spoke with measured calm.
"What are you proposing?"
Cutting to the critical point, Kenshin asked between labored breaths.
"I have a way to destroy the black dragon in one strike."
"But Caster's magecraft is the problem."
"Can I ask you to push yourself a bit further?"
"Only someone with your godlike speed could destroy Caster's device before he has time to react."
"You're quite demanding, Saber."
"But it seems there's no alternative."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]