The Holy Grail War, a magical secret rite limited to seven days—its true purpose is to seek the 'Root,' an object coveted by magi... Of course, the three founding families who initially created this system inevitably had divergent desires, so they chose to determine the final victor through warfare to obtain the right to use the Holy Grail.
Because each family had a compelling reason to win, in the Fourth Holy Grail War, apart from the Matou family who chose to throw in the towel due to a lack of successors, both the Tohsaka and Einzbern families wagered everything they had for a decisive gamble.
In such a war filled with unknowns, the strength of the summoned Servant was undoubtedly of paramount importance.
The Einzberns had made a fool of themselves in the Third Holy Grail War. Desperate to win, they had thrown all decorum to the wind and cheated by summoning an irregular class Servant, attempting to bring forth Angra Mainyu, the evil god from Zoroastrian mythology.
The result... was hilariously anticlimactic.
Due to the limitations of the Holy Grail War ritual—if the world itself had used its grand decisive Magic, it might have been possible—but a mere downgraded human version of Heroic Spirit Summoning, 'Servant Summoning,' could not accommodate a high-ranking existence like a god.
Thus, instead of the evil god, they summoned an epically weakling with the same name, who was promptly slaughtered by the participants of that war.
Learning from this lesson, and understanding that gods were not an option, the more suitable and reliable choice clearly became those demigod heroes whose names were recorded in history.
"King of Heroes, Gilgamesh."
At the Tohsaka residence, Tokiomi Tohsaka, the current head of the family—a man often blamed for everything, a traditional, gentlemanly, and elegant magus—the moment he saw the golden-haired man in the center of the summoning circle, an imposing figure radiating an aura of immense luxury, he instantly felt that victory in this war was already within his grasp.
The King of ancient Babylon from Sumerian mythology, humanity's oldest 'King of Heroes.' While there was indeed a significant amount of exaggeration surrounding him, and his personality was extremely atrocious, it had to be said that in a conventional Holy Grail War, this 'King of Heroes'' abilities and power could truly be called a 'Servant killer.'
No matter how powerful a hero, their lives were fixed in history. While there were indeed some relatively perfect beings with few flaws, aside from a very small number, those who could be called heroes would inevitably have weaknesses, some minor, some even fatal, due to their past setbacks.
And for Mr. Goldie, who possessed the 'Gate of Babylon,' an extremely 'cheating' 'four-dimensional pocket,' targeting a Servant's weaknesses based on their True Name perfectly embodied the concept of—'Please choose your method of death,' demonstrating its 'versatility.'
This overwhelming strength greatly satisfied Tokiomi.
To be honest, his reason for choosing such an existence, aside from wanting to secure victory in the Holy Grail War, was mainly because—the Holy Grail War was held in Fuyuki City.
This was their Tohsaka territory, and the precious ley lines were under Tohsaka control.
Something like the Holy Grail War could easily cause large-scale destruction. If that happened, the exposure of magecraft would be unbearable, and the damage to property would also be quite painful.
To obtain the catalyst needed to summon Gilgamesh, the Tohsaka family had already bled considerably. It was best to minimize losses as much as possible.
Tokiomi, his abacus beads clicking away, had already planned it all out—in this Holy Grail War, if anyone dared to cause trouble, he would unleash Gilgamesh and strike them down mercilessly!
The only problem was probably this 'old man's' bad temper. He had to be handled with care, stroked in the right direction.
Though somewhat troublesome, Tokiomi believed he could manage it.
Of course.
Even with an 'ace' and an overwhelming advantage, the cautious Mr. Tokiomi would not choose to act recklessly just because he had the upper hand.
After all, there were plenty of examples of those with a huge advantage being wiped out in one go. In previous Holy Grail Wars, such fools were common.
To obtain the final Holy Grail, it depended on who was more cowardly, more patient!
To this end, even before summoning Gilgamesh, this unscrupulous Fuyuki landlord had, through years of planning, already colluded with the Holy Church, the neutral faction overseeing this Holy Grail War.
Not only could he use the Holy Church's connections to call fouls, but even Father Risei Kotomine's son, Kirei Kotomine, an Executor with explosive combat power, was learning under him as his disciple and would also assist him as a Master.
Although the Servant Kirei Kotomine summoned was just a placeholder Assassin, almost useless except for gathering intelligence, having a Servant, even if just to make up numbers, was still good.
The cautious Mr. Tokiomi Tohsaka wasn't picky.
Walking to the window, he gazed at the towering mountains and smiled.
"O King, please let this mark the prelude to this war."
According to his plan with his disciple, Kirei would dispatch Assassin, Hundred-Faced Hassan, to attack the mansion. He just needed to have Gilgamesh attack and shoot him down.
Then, the familiars that would undoubtedly be monitoring the Tohsaka residence would transmit this news to all Masters, namely—Assassin has already been eliminated.
But this was merely a facade.
After all, the Noble Phantasm of Hundred-Faced Hassan, as its name suggested, had a hundred forms. According to legends from his lifetime, he could split into hundreds of individuals, each with various skills.
Although this usage would make individual Hassans extremely weak, no one expected an Assassin to fight head-on anyway.
Gathering intelligence, and if possible, assassinating one or two Masters—that would already be the highlight for this class.
"Hmph, boring schemes and tricks."
Snorting lightly, Gilgamesh dismissed it with disdain, not paying much attention.
Though he wouldn't reject using strategy, as wisdom was one of the trump cards humanity relied on to defeat strong enemies.
But for this incredibly arrogant King of Heroes, he absolutely did not think the mongrels in this Holy Grail War were worthy of him lowering himself to do such a thing.
However, it was his Master's request. Although he had no interest, and his personality in this spiritual body state was extremely vile, Gilgamesh never minded showing a certain degree of patience towards vassals loyal to him.
Besides, just staying put was indeed boring.
"Very well, let's use this to pass the time."
Amidst Tokiomi's smile, Gilgamesh planned to simply toy with the little gymnastics prince Hassan, sent over by Kirei Kotomine to be a sacrificial pawn.
"Mongrel..."
Perched high above, he looked down at his opponent, his crimson, divine eyes revealing a hint of arrogance and disdain. Golden ripples behind him slowly revealed traces of his Noble Phantasms.
Tokiomi, watching this scene, grew increasingly satisfied.
It's done!
It's do—
It should have been like that.
But—
The next moment, Gilgamesh, who was about to amuse himself by toying with the little gymnastics prince, suddenly paused.
Then, as if sensing something, he looked in a certain direction.
...This feeling.
At this moment, Gilgamesh, understanding what it was, smiled—a happy, almost crazed smile.
"Hahahaha!"
"Interesting, interesting!"
"It seems this battle is worthy of this King fighting with his full strength."
"?"
Tokiomi stared at the wildly laughing Gilgamesh, completely bewildered—No, King, what are you laughing about?
Hurry up and finish off that kid who's good at gymnastics! The familiar audience is still waiting!
If he hadn't confirmed that there was no problem with the contract, he would have suspected that the King of Heroes he summoned had gone mad.
Of course, more serious than going mad was that, for some reason, he suddenly had a premonition that things had completely spun out of his control.
And indeed, that was the case.
The next moment—
To Tokiomi's utter astonishment, Gilgamesh raised his hand, and then... a golden key appeared, with countless crimson marks spreading from it.
"I've changed my mind."
"This playful make-believe ends here."
"? King, what are you talking about!"
He couldn't understand, couldn't understand at all! Tokiomi Tohsaka, who had originally maintained his elegance according to the Tohsaka family precepts, watched this development, feeling his cerebellum shrink.
"Tokiomi, prove yourself to this King."
"One who panics at the mere aftershocks of child's play, understand that you are not worthy of being this King's vassal."
The intricate patterns on the key vanished, replaced by a golden halo. A hand, clad in golden armor, slowly reached into it, as if grasping something. After a cracking sound, space shattered, replaced by a crimson sword... No, to call it a sword was too strange.
Its cylindrical body didn't conform to the regulations of a sword, yet no one who saw it would deny it, only feeling a heartfelt fear welling up from the depths of their being.
Hassan, of course, felt the same.
Not a particularly powerful Heroic Spirit, the moment he saw a Noble Phantasm of this level, he was completely stunned.
His Master had told him not to worry about Archer? And he had actually believed that bastard's lies when he came.
This was a complete monster, okay!
And, Your Highness, are you serious? I'm just a Hassan, and you're using a Noble Phantasm of this caliber against me?
This wasn't just using a cannon to shoot a mosquito; this was nuking a mosquito!
Mr. Hassan, the gymnastics champion, shivered, not knowing whether to advance or retreat... Couldn't move, absolutely couldn't move!
Of course.
It wasn't just Hassan who was stunned, but also Mr. Tokiomi, who had orchestrated this plan.
The moment he saw that thing, he felt completely unwell.
As a Master, he naturally knew this was his Servant's ultimate trump card, his ace in the hole—Ea, the Sword of Rupture, an EX-ranked Anti-World Noble Phantasm.
Tokiomi had also considered it his ultimate weapon.
In his mind, he thought he would only have Gilgamesh use it when facing the strongest enemy.
And yet... you're pulling it out in the very first battle?
No, that's not right, this couldn't even be called the first battle! This was a play he had arranged himself! My dear lord, even if you're taking this play seriously, you don't have to go this far!
The thought that this play, originally staged to deceive the other Masters, had just begun, and his own 'old man' had already revealed his trump card, made Tokiomi Tohsaka feel like he was about to break down.
No... No! There's still time!
If he made him retract the Noble Phantasm now, although those people would see it, they wouldn't understand what kind of Noble Phantasm it was. Moreover, Gilgamesh's True Name wouldn't be easily exposed by this Noble Phantasm, as it wasn't very well-known itself.
With such thoughts arising in his mind, Tokiomi was extremely anxious, no longer caring about the familiars present.
"O King, please sheathe your brilliance!"
"Hmm?"
Seeing Gilgamesh react, Tokiomi's first thought was that it was working. If he just tried a little harder, he might be able to save a Command Spell.
"These weak and lowly beings are not worthy of basking in the glory of your treasured sword..."
Knowing how to appease his 'old man,' he was speaking when he suddenly stopped, simply because Gilgamesh glanced at him.
It was a glance that struck deep fear into Tokiomi Tohsaka's heart.
He could clearly understand the other's meaning—if he uttered another word, then...
Unwilling... Unwilling, extremely unwilling... They were merely familiars, tools to complete the secret rite. That infuriating feeling made Tokiomi want to use a Command Spell to forcibly command him.
But after weighing the pros and cons, Tokiomi ultimately lowered his head in humiliation.
Using a Command Spell wasn't out of the question, but what if he fell out with Gilgamesh? Starting the Holy Grail War by falling out with his own Servant... Was he supposed to win the Holy Grail War with just three Command Spells? Besides, for his own purposes, he couldn't use up all the Command Spells. He had to save some to ultimately order Gilgamesh to commit suicide.
"Hmph."
No longer hearing the jarring, unpleasant noise, Gilgamesh's mood improved considerably. Then, he gripped Ea:
"Ea, you must be in a bad mood having just woken up."
"Accompany this King to this banquet for now."
"Don't worry, I won't let any of you feel bored."
"No one!"
The next moment, he vanished from the spot.
"Damn it..." Tokiomi Tohsaka watched this scene, clenching his teeth so hard they almost shattered. "What on earth is that guy trying to do!"
"Teacher, what happened?"
Gilgamesh left directly, but Hassan was still there. Fortunately, Kirei Kotomine arrived in time and stopped Hassan. Otherwise, Tokiomi Tohsaka, without a Servant to protect him, would probably have been taken out by the little gymnastics prince.
He looked at Tokiomi Tohsaka with considerable confusion. Before unlocking his 'filial piety' passive, this priest was still relatively human.
"I don't know. He just pulled out Ea and then disappeared somewhere..."
Tokiomi was furious, but thinking that Gilgamesh was, after all, his Servant and he couldn't give up control, he used magecraft, intending to see what Gilgamesh was up to.
And then...
He saw a scene that made his heart stop.
Thump...
"Teacher! Teacher! What's wrong with you!"