Jeanne transformed into an undying bulwark. Supported by Kanjuro's continuous flow of dark magical energy, she was like a vine with infinite vitality, repeatedly severed and crushed by Artoria's chaotic sword, only to reshape her form again and again within the surging black mist. The golden holy light and dark patterns intertwined on the holy sword became increasingly eerie. She no longer spoke; in those violet eyes, only pure protective will remained, along with a resolve to sink into darkness that was synchronized with Kanjuro's.
Every one of Artoria's slashes was earth-shattering, enough to tear through mountains and evaporate rivers. However, facing a barrier that could infinitely revive and whose defensive power continuously improved under the injection of dark magical energy, she seemed to be swinging her sword against an endless tide. The gold-and-black chaotic light was still powerful, but the rhythm of her breathing had become slightly disordered, and fine beads of sweat seeped from her forehead. Continuously outputting at high intensity against this almost cheating attrition tactic, even she, who had gathered the power of the Root, began to feel the heavy burden on her saint graph, and the flow of her power showed a trace of imperceptible stagnation.
"It's useless, Artoria!" Jeanne condensed once more from the dissipating spiritual particles, the holy sword held horizontally before her, her voice carrying a hollow echo after being eroded by dark magical energy. "As long as my master's magical energy remains, my protection will never end! Your power will eventually run out!"
In this moment of stalemate, Gilgamesh, who had been watching coldly from the side waiting for an opportunity, finally moved!
A sharp killing intent flashed in his crimson snake-like pupils. He was wary of Kanjuro, and even more wary of Kanjuro's bottomless, common-sense-profaning methods. Allowing Kanjuro to continue existing, or even potentially reaching a higher level with the help of the Holy Grail, was something he absolutely could not tolerate! Right now, Kanjuro was fully maintaining the magical energy supply to Jeanne and that massive Demon Domain of the End—it was the perfect time to attack!
"Mongrel! Your farce should end now!"
Gilgamesh roared, and the golden ripples behind him expanded with unprecedented density and speed! It was no longer a playful projection like before, but a true outpouring of killing moves! Hundreds of Noble Phantasm originals—not the blackened fakes in Kanjuro's eternal night treasury, but true mythical weapons originating from the starting point of human fantasy! They carried their own brilliant radiance and unique law powers, tearing through the edges of the Demon Domain of the End like a rain of destruction, aimed directly at Kanjuro at the magical core!
"Hmph, the Archer who hides his head and shows his tail finally can't help but come to pick up the spoils?" Kanjuro snorted coldly. Even facing a pincer attack from two sides, the sarcastic smile on his face remained unchanged. He didn't even fully turn around, merely moving his mind!
"eternal night treasury—Reversing Starry River!"
The dark ripples behind him, like the mouth of an abyss, suddenly surged backward. Countless blackened Noble Phantasms, like a reverse flow of black meteors, crashed head-on into Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon torrent! Sabers, swords, spears, halberds... various twisted weapons and hero originals collided violently in mid-air, erupting in a continuous roar! Black demonic energy and golden divine light intertwined and annihilated each other, painting the sky into a bizarre yet destruction-filled picture!
At the same time, the Demon-Breaking Eye in Kanjuro's left eye flickered, instantly analyzing the trajectories and weaknesses of Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm torrent.
"Gospel of Matthew: Tamper · All Laws to Silence!"
He pressed his left hand toward the area where the Noble Phantasm torrent was densest. The spatial rules there were forcibly twisted, forming a temporary 'magical vacuum' zone! Dozens of whistling original Noble Phantasms, the moment they broke into that zone, had their light suddenly dim, and the magical energy they contained was drastically weakened. A few lower-ranked Noble Phantasms even directly dissipated into spiritual particles!
"Gospel of John: Suggestion · Mind Backflow!"
An invisible mental shock was like a poisonous sting. It wasn't aimed at Artoria, but instead struck toward Gilgamesh, who was fully activating the Gate of Babylon! It attempted to interfere with his magical control, making the Noble Phantasms he shot out deviate from their trajectories or even backlash against him!
"Paltry tricks!" Gilgamesh laughed from extreme anger. His own Magic Resistance was very high, so the mental shock didn't cause much of an effect, but Kanjuro's ability to handle two great enemies simultaneously while accurately deploying multiple strange authorities made the killing intent in his heart even stronger! "I shall let you, this thief, witness what true 'King's' power is!"
He no longer held back. The ripples of the Gate of Babylon expanded further, and the phantom of that sword said to be able to cut the world, enkidu, could even be seen slowly rising within!
And from the front, Artoria also seized the moment Kanjuro was distracted by Gilgamesh!
"Now!"
She pushed the churning chaotic magical energy within her body to the limit, and the light on the sword of promised victory was compressed to the extreme. Person and sword seemed to become one, turning into a gold-and-black rainbow that pierced through heaven and earth. It was no longer a slash, but the ultimate 'thrust'! The target was aimed directly at Kanjuro's slightly weakened core defense while he maintained multiple spells!
Jeanne d'Arc shrieked, burning her own saint graph to push her protective power to its peak. A wall of light interwoven with pure white and darkness condensed once more, attempting to block the strike that gathered all of Artoria's strength!
Kanjuro was attacked from both the front and back. The eternal night treasury and the Gate of Babylon collided violently, the powers of the four Gospels operating at full capacity while he also had to maintain the End Domain and the mana supply for Jeanne d'Arc... Both his calculation capacity and mana were under unprecedented pressure. The sarcastic smile at the corner of his mouth finally became somewhat stiff, and a trace of extreme coldness flashed in the depths of his eyes, along with... the excitement of being driven into a corner.
"Come! Let them all come! Let this feast become even more of a frenzy!!!"
He laughed wildly, and the dark mana around him erupted completely like a volcanic eruption, forcefully withstanding both Artoria's ultimate thrust from the front and Gilgamesh's increasingly violent Noble Phantasm bombardment from the side!
In the three-way melee, power surged, and this space was completely transformed into a desperate land where laws collapsed and energy ran rampant! From a distance, Irisviel watched with fear and trepidation, her breath almost stopping. As for Jeanne d'Arc, through repeated shattering and rebirth, a crazed smile belonging to the abyss, increasingly similar to Kanjuro's, gradually appeared on her holy face. Amidst the churning darkness of the End Domain and the blinding light of the Noble Phantasm collisions, Kanjuro and Jeanne d'Arc stood back-to-back. Combat marks stained both the black robe and the silver armor, yet their auras merged together eerily, as if they were two sides of darkness itself. Kanjuro turned his head to look at the Saintess beside him, whose eyes were firm and who was surrounded by undying black flames, and the corners of his mouth curled into a blood-stained yet still arrogant arc.
"How about it, Jeanne? Facing such a desperate situation, have you ever felt a trace of fear?" His voice was hoarse from the over-consumption of mana, yet it still carried a playful tone.
Jeanne d'Arc swung her holy banner, sweeping away the aftershocks of an incoming Noble Phantasm; the edges of the pure white flag had already been eroded by darkness. She did not look back, her voice terrifyingly calm: "Fear? I died in the flames of Rouen long ago. What stands here now is nothing more than an empty shell carrying obsession and... a choice. On the other hand, Kanjuro," she finally glanced at him with a sharp gaze, "don't tell me you can't see that the king of knights opposite us, even if she hates you to the bone, might still have a moment of trembling when her blade touches your throat."
She paused, her tone carrying a hint of subtle mockery: "As for you... you're being far too restrained. Being forced to the point of needing me to frequently save the day by attacks of Gilgamesh's level doesn't seem like your style."
"Tsk," Kanjuro spat in annoyance, several blackened divine swords shooting out from the eternal night treasury once more to barely block a spatial turbulence whipped up by enkidu. "If I weren't constantly distracted by supplying mana to you, this 'bottomless pit,' and maintaining this End Domain, would I let this Goldie bastard be so arrogant?"
Their conversation was completely unconcealed, clearly reaching Gilgamesh's ears. The king of heroes' face instantly turned as dark as water. Although he knew full well that he had chosen to strike while most of Kanjuro's power was pinned down by Artoria, and his strength might indeed be inferior to the other's peak state, being so bluntly belittled still made him feel an unprecedented humiliation. The golden ripples fluctuated violently, and even more Noble Phantasms poured down along with his fury!
Meanwhile, Artoria floated silently amidst the chaotic light, her emerald eyes as deep as a pool, locked tightly onto Kanjuro. The smile on his face, a mix of cruelty and madness, still made her feel disgust from the depths of her soul, yet the complex emotions contained within it entangled her like a spider's web. Just as her gaze met Kanjuro's, the arrogant smile on his face suddenly vanished, replaced by an extremely gentle smile filled with reminiscence and an indescribable weariness.
This abrupt smile caused Artoria's heart to skip a beat.
Not far away, Morgan and Guinevere, who were closely following the battle, covered their mouths simultaneously, their eyes filled with worry and fear, dreading that Artoria would swing a killing blow in the next moment.
"Do you... still remember? That dream I wove for you in the Silent Cave." Kanjuro's voice wasn't loud, yet it seemed to possess a strange magic, piercing through the clamor of the battlefield and knocking directly on Artoria's heart.
Artoria's eyes showed a momentary trance, and her hand gripping the holy sword loosened slightly. She gave a complex smile, one filled with endless longing and pain: "Merlin... can we... can we go back to the past?"
Kanjuro's smile deepened with a soul-bewitching tenderness, as if he had returned to being the mentor who guided her: "Of course we can. As long as you are willing, I can use the Space-Time Authority to construct an eternal 'Avalon' for us. No responsibilities of a kingdom, no betrayal or sacrifice, only the mountain village where we lived in seclusion, the warm hearth, and... each other. This time, I can promise, forever." His words were like the sweetest poison, depicting Artoria's deepest inner desires.
Artoria was silent for a moment, and finally, it turned into a long sigh, the confusion in her eyes replaced by firm pain: "Yes... I want to do that too. How wonderful it would be to indulge in that false yet happy dream..." She raised her head, her gaze like a sword piercing straight at Kanjuro, "But that cannot change reality, cannot eliminate my resentment towards you, and cannot forgive everything you did to Mordred, to Britain, and to everyone who suffered because of you!"
The tenderness on Kanjuro's face receded like a tide. He nodded, his eyes returning to their previous coldness and fanaticism, even carrying a hint of "as expected" admiration.
"A fine answer, Lia. Only this is worthy of the 'masterpiece' I poured my heart into cultivating." He spread his arms, and the darkness behind him boiled like a living creature. "Therefore, there has never been a possibility of reconciliation in our war. So, Sab..."
He laughed wildly, his voice shaking heaven and earth:
"You must work hard to defeat me! Use your sword, your will, and try to cut through this eternal darkness of mine!"
Before his voice had even faded, the eternal night treasury behind him let out an unprecedented roar! It was no longer a sporadic projection of Noble Phantasms, but a materialized projection of the entire concept of the "Treasury"! Countless black phantoms of ancient divine swords, demonic spears, and giant axes rose and hummed within it. They had lost their original brilliance and were entwined with ominous demonic qi; wherever the blades pointed, the space was sliced with pitch-black marks. That gathered edge, cold and cruel, was like the teeth of an Asura reaching out from the deepest part of hell, ready to tear everything before it to shreds! Kanjuro's wild laughter echoed through the End Domain, carrying a chilling contempt. He no longer paid attention to Artoria's complex and painful gaze, turning his full attention to Gilgamesh, who was constantly harassing him with the Gate of Babylon.
"Noisy Goldie, like an annoying fly!" Kanjuro's gaze turned cold, and he swung his right hand violently. "eternal night treasury — Heaven-Devouring Earth-Eating!"
The dark ripples behind him no longer shot out Noble Phantasms but suddenly expanded, transforming into a giant abyssal mouth that swallowed everything! Gilgamesh's torrent of Gate of Babylon, dense as rain, was like mud entering the sea the moment it touched this dark mouth; it couldn't even trigger a single ripple before being eroded, decomposed, and swallowed by that pure dark mana! Countless shining Noble Phantasm originals quickly dimmed and spiritronized within the darkness, as if they had never existed!
"What?!" Gilgamesh's pupils shrank. His proud rain of Noble Phantasms, enough to overturn an era, was actually so vulnerable before the opponent's darkness?!
Kanjuro's figure was like a ghost, using the Space-Time Authority of the gospel of luke to instantly cross space and appear before Gilgamesh, almost face-to-face. With extreme mockery on his face, he asked word by word:
"Now, tell this King, who is the... mon... grel?"
Gilgamesh was both shocked and enraged. He tried to retreat, only to find the surrounding space imprisoned by invisible shackles! He roared, and the three cylindrical blades of enkidu (Ea) began to accelerate their rotation, attempting to tear through space!
But Kanjuro was faster!
"Gospel of Matthew, Manifestation: God-Binding Chains!"
Several chains condensed from pure dark mana and engraved with blasphemous runes appeared out of thin air. As if they had lives of their own, they instantly coiled around Gilgamesh's arms, body, and even the enkidu that had just begun to start up! A terrifying erosion power came from the chains, not only binding his movements but also frantically devouring the massive mana he erupted!
"Ugh!" Gilgamesh felt his mana draining like a burst dam, and the rotation of enkidu was forced to slow down.
Kanjuro looked down at him, the mockery in his eyes almost becoming tangible: "With just this pathetic collection of yours, you dare call yourself the king of heroes who 'possesses all the treasures in the world'? Truly a frog in a well, absolutely ridiculous!"
The eternal night treasury behind him changed once more. It no longer just manifested phantoms of weapons, but projected grand and ancient scrolls of civilization—not just the Mesopotamia that Gilgamesh was familiar with, but also that even more ancient and mysterious land in the East!
"Your Gate of Babylon only covers a corner of human civilization! But my eternal night treasury," Kanjuro's voice was resonant as a great bell, carrying an all-crushing pride, "carries all the divine weapons and demonic artifacts that span East and West, through ancient and modern times, all that have been covered by the dust of history or stained by darkness!"
Following his words, within the eternal night treasury, several long sword phantoms with ancient designs—yet emitting an aura far more vast and profound than any weapon in Gilgamesh's treasury—slowly rose. They were not black, but appeared in colors like dark gold and mysterious green, their blades engraved with ancient runes and patterns of mountains, rivers, and stars. Even before the swords were drawn, that heavy majesty originating from the source of civilization already pressed down on Gilgamesh until he couldn't breathe!
"Do you see? This is the shadow of the Xuanyuan Xia Yu Sword, carrying the destiny of the Nine Provinces! This is the wail of the Zhanlu Sword, the Benevolent Way without a blade yet capable of slashing through the void! Your enkidu, which claims to have created heaven and earth, is nothing more than a slightly shiny toy in the face of these artifacts that truly condense the soul of civilization and the great power of time!"
Every one of Kanjuro's words was like a heavy hammer, smashing fiercely against Gilgamesh's proud heart. The treasury he relied on for his pride, his glory as the oldest king of heroes, appeared so pale and... ridiculous before this eternal night treasury that covered more and had deeper foundations!
"You... you thief! Blasphemer!" Gilgamesh's eyes were nearly splitting as he tried to struggle, but the God-Binding Chains tightened further, and the dark mana frantically eroded his saint graph.
"Thief? No," Kanjuro leaned down and said into his ear in a cold and cruel voice that only the two of them could hear, "I have simply taken into my palm those powers forgotten by time or rejected by the light. And you, Gilgamesh, a failure who only knows how to show off his ancestors' inheritance while having no achievements of his own, unable even to protect his own kingdom..."
His voice suddenly rose, echoing throughout the battlefield:
"Are also worthy of calling yourself the king of heroes?! You are the one who is of impure blood, narrow-minded, and only knows how to bark—the true... mon... grel!"
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