Rin Tohsaka was feeling anxious, and as time passed, her anxiety only grew.
This was due to her battle with Shinji Matou.
At the same time as the clash between Gilgamesh and Scáthach—even slightly before those two kings had begun—the battle between this pair of teenagers had already started.
It was a fight to settle what had happened ten years ago, and to finally put an end to the long-standing enmity between the Tohsaka and Matou families.
Unlike the fair duel between Scáthach and Gilgamesh, Rin had come fully prepared—so prepared that even she thought it might be overkill.
How excessive was it?
Golden Apples, Water of Life, and leather armor—those were the obvious things. But beyond that, Rin had also prepared four trump cards.
The first was a Noble Phantasm Sealing Barrier.
This was Gilgamesh's idea.
Originally, he had intended to give Rin enough Noble Phantasms so that she could go head-to-head with Shinji. But later, he realized that the number and variety of Noble Phantasms Shinji possessed were abnormally high. If they competed in this way, even without considering the difference in experience, just maintaining the materialization of those Noble Phantasms would put a great deal of strain on Rin—after all, Noble Phantasms that weren't your own couldn't be spiritualized and constantly drained mana.
Thus, in his wise king mode, Gilgamesh changed his approach. If they couldn't compete in terms of Noble Phantasms, they simply wouldn't. He prepared a barrier-type Noble Phantasm similar to Achilles' Spearhead of the Skies, turning the area into the designated battlefield. While everything else remained normal, any Noble Phantasm in its spiritual form could not materialize—unless it had already been materialized before entering the battlefield.
Shinji, who had ownership of his Noble Phantasms, could freely switch between spiritual and material forms and had long been accustomed to carrying his Noble Phantasms in their spiritualized state. Rin, on the other hand, lacking ownership of her Noble Phantasms, had to bring them in materialized form from the start—this was her second trump card.
Aware that she had no experience using Noble Phantasms in battle, Rin had chosen to carry only passive-type Noble Phantasms. Most of them were defensive items, such as armor and accessories, to enhance her protection and physical durability. In terms of defense alone, her equipment surpassed even Lorelei's.
To fulfill his duty as king and assist the daughter of his vassal, Gilgamesh had spared no expense. Aside from his most treasured Ea and the Star of All-Knowing and All-Powerful, which he claimed was sealed, he gave Rin his third most valuable Noble Phantasm.
Its name was The Tablets of Destiny.
In Babylonian mythology, this was the undisputed greatest treasure of Mesopotamia. It once belonged to Tiamat and was later taken by Marduk. It symbolized the ultimate kingship commanding the world and the gods."
Of course, Rin couldn't wield such power, and The Tablets of Destiny wouldn't respond to someone unqualified. However, even so, Rin could use the inscriptions that Gilgamesh himself had carved into the tablets to share in a portion of his power, allowing her to see things she otherwise couldn't, greatly enhancing her battle instincts and wisdom.
Now that defense was covered, let's talk about offense.
Although Rin didn't carry any offensive Noble Phantasms, that didn't mean her attack power was lacking. The Gate of Babylon contained all sorts of treasures, not just Noble Phantasms, but also rare gems that Gilgamesh had collected during his life—gems that were national treasures, far beyond the reach of the Tohsaka family's wealth and status.
Anyone familiar with gemstones had likely heard of the Hope Diamond or Koh-i-Noor. The gems in Gilgamesh's collection were all of that caliber. Now, all of those gems were in Rin's hands as her third trump card. Jewel magecraft, being dependent on the quality of the gems, was far stronger when using such high-grade stones.
With these, Rin could unleash offensive power comparable to the large-scale spells constructed by Medea.
But that wasn't all. Besides these conventional measures, Rin had one final secret weapon. It was the task her ancestor, Tohsaka Nagato, had sought to complete—the limited-use Mystic Code applying the Second Magic: the Jeweled Sword.
After studying under Zelretch for five years, Rin finally completed this Mystic Code and received permission to possess and use the sword in her own right.
When she presented the finished product to Zelretch for evaluation, the feedback she received was: "It's beyond expectations—perfect."
By Servant standards, this Mystic Code was rated at Noble Phantasm Rank A, and with further development, it might even reach Rank EX.
The presence of this sword gave Rin immense confidence—there was no modern magus who could withstand the blade of the Jeweled Sword. And Gilgamesh's generosity had bolstered that confidence even further.
Now, Rin believed she could defeat any powerful enemy.
However, reality had delivered her a harsh slap in the face.
Even after using all four of her trump cards, she still couldn't take down Shinji Matou, the man she had once seen as her greatest rival and later as her sworn enemy.
From beginning to end, Shinji maintained a calm and composed demeanor.
Even when his Noble Phantasms couldn't materialize.
Even when he saw that Rin could still use hers.
Even when faced with her grand magecraft powered by national treasure-level gems.
He showed no signs of despair, giving up, or admitting defeat.
No matter what trump cards she played, no matter how much she taunted him, Shinji remained composed, countering her every move without allowing her to gain any advantage.
Low-level magecraft couldn't break through his innate magic resistance, and even stronger spells couldn't damage his unnaturally durable body.
Even high-level and grand spells were somehow defended against all sorts of strange and unusual methods.
Relics and barrier techniques from Buddhism.
Curses and blessings from vampires.
The Matou family's magecraft.
Rune magic.
Spirit summoning.
Alchemy.
Conceptual extraction.
And martial arts capable of standing toe-to-toe with a Servant.
Rin couldn't comprehend just how much this guy had learned.
Nor could she understand why he felt the need to study so many things. Wouldn't it be better to specialize in one and delve deep into it?
Why did each skill seem incomplete, yet when combined, they produced all kinds of strange effects that blocked her grand magecraft?
If that were all, it might still have been fine, since Rin had the upper hand in the magecraft battle. If the fight continued, she might have been able to achieve victory. But just when she thought victory was within reach, Shinji suddenly unleashed a technique far beyond his usual level, something that shouldn't even exist in the modern era—a myth-level spell that shattered Rin's fleeting sense of triumph.
Witnessing the apocalyptic scene unfold, Rin finally played her ultimate trump card: a multifaceted short sword made entirely of gems—the Jeweled Sword Zelretch.
Though called a sword, it was more of a sword-shaped staff. By drawing on the Second Magic embedded within, it connected to infinite parallel worlds, siphoning mana from them to release an energy beam comparable to a high-rank Noble Phantasm.
With her body enveloped in highly concentrated magical energy, Rin, filled with determination and resolve, broke through the water dragons and twilight light, charging straight toward Shinji.
She was determined to land a punch right in his face, shattering that infuriating calm of his once and for all.