Abnormal Type-Moon

In the sky.

"Gods of Thunder Division, strike him down!"

Countless bolts of lightning, branching like a thousand forks, gathered into a single torrent and crashed toward Gilgamesh.

But Gilgamesh casually pulled a lightning-warding shield from his Gate of Babylon, and the raging thunder vanished against it like mist in the wind—as if it had never existed.

"You bastard—you didn't even chant a spell, did you?!"

Gilgamesh roared furiously at the figure floating midair—Taigong Wang.

That's what he's mad about? Didn't he also hate chanting spells when he was a Caster? Always pulling out an axe and hacking away!

Sitting atop the Sibuxiang, Roy held the Flag of the Unfolding Heaven and Earth in his hand. Perfectly defended, he hovered at the edge of the battlefield, inwardly mocking the absurdity of it all.

"Ha! Well, I'm the one who appointed the Gods of Thunder Division, after all."

Taigong Wang laughed heartily, his long robes fluttering, the very image of a carefree immortal.

He casually pointed a finger toward Gilgamesh.

He wasn't even pretending anymore.

Not only did he skip the chanting, he couldn't even be bothered to form hand seals.

Mature lightning should learn to strike enemies on its own!

And sure enough—the lightning bolts, writhing through the skies like golden serpents, began to act on their own. From every direction, they surged wildly toward Gilgamesh.

"Haha! Now this—this is what you call connections! What about you, King of Heroes? Got connections like this?"

"You mongrel!"

Gilgamesh yanked out several more lightning-warding shields, encircling himself, his voice thick with fury.

Connections? Him? Aside from his one true friend, Enkidu, a glance around showed only enemies.

Even if he ran into Enkidu, it would be fists first, words later.

With a hum, nearly ten thousand Gates of Babylon opened in the sky above Mount Enzou. From every portal shot every conceivable weapon in human history, all aimed straight for Taigong Wang.

But Taigong Wang smiled faintly, not a hint of panic on his face. A flash of crimson light burst beneath his feet—and he vanished.

The next moment, he reappeared far beyond the encirclement of the King's Treasury.

The homing Noble Phantasms twisted midair in pursuit—only to be blasted away by a barrage of thunder.

"Slippery little rat!"

Gilgamesh's anger deepened at the sight.

Taigong Wang's evasion technique was simply too absurd.

He had deployed countless space-sealing Noble Phantasms, yet no matter how he locked the space down, Taigong Wang slipped through effortlessly, as though those treasures were mere decorations.

The essence of escape arts was compressing space, but at Taigong Wang's level, it was pure dimensional travel.

Three millennia ago in the Zhou Dynasty, he wasn't this strong. But after so many years, having become a literal celestial immortal, his escape techniques had risen with him, now reaching a truly godlike tier.

Even Enkidu's Chains of Heaven had no effect when Gilgamesh tried them earlier—as they required divine attribute targets, and Taigong Wang possessed none.

If anything, his very presence radiated a profound anti-divine quality.

Faced with an opponent like this, any direct hit would be fatal. Even one strike landing would spell certain defeat for Gilgamesh.

Suddenly—

Gilgamesh's vision blurred, a wave of dizziness washing over him for the briefest instant.

He shook his head—and everything appeared normal again.

"What the hell was that…"

Caution prickled at his senses.

An illusionary technique? He discreetly pulled out a phantasm-banishing lamp from his treasury and swept the surroundings.

No anomalies. Taigong Wang and Roy were still floating right where they'd been.

Not an illusion?

A misperception?

Up in the sky—

Roy watched as tens of thousands of portals opened before his eyes, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, even though he wasn't the direct target.

That's terrifying. If the Gilgamesh from his original worldline had been half this serious against Shirou Emiya, how could he have possibly fought back?

"Looks like lightning won't cut it against the King of Heroes."

Taigong Wang stood midair, gazing thoughtfully at Mount Enzou below.

Suddenly, his expression shifted.

"Hmm?"

Then—

The rift in the sky trembled. From it, thick black mud began pouring out like a dark waterfall, surging from the mountainside toward Fuyuki City below.

The watching magi turned pale as death.

"Black mud!"

"It's happening again!"

"Is history about to repeat itself—another disaster like ten years ago?!"

Panic rippled through the ranks of magi.

As for ordinary people, the scene turned into utter chaos.

A nightmare revisited. Most of those still alive had survived the great conflagration of ten years ago, and now the sight alone was enough to tear open old wounds, dragging countless souls into despair.

"What… what do we do?"

Even in the so-called safest place in Fuyuki—the Aozaki mansion—the likes of Utaha and Hayasaka were struggling to remain calm.

A second Black Mud purge?

Could such a thing truly be happening again?

"Calm down."

Illya shot them a cold glance.

"Nothing's been decided yet. Roy and the others are still fighting. The result isn't set. Besides, this mansion really is the safest place in Fuyuki right now. Going out would only be a faster death."

If this place falls, then there probably isn't anywhere left in the world that could withstand the Black Mud.

The other girls, looking at Illya's ice-cold expression, couldn't help but feel a measure of comfort. As terrifying as her magus's thinking could be sometimes, it was in times like these that her calm mattered most.

"Lord Roy… you'd better win this!"

The girls gathered by the screen, praying with all their might, as if willing their strength into Roy himself.

Above Mount Enzou—

"Rider, take care of that thing first!"

Roy transmitted the thought to Taigong Wang, then, as if struck by a sudden idea, added:

"Wait—don't close that hole just yet."

"Good grief… Master sure loves bossing people around."

Taigong Wang sighed in mock exasperation.

"Well, you're the only one who can handle this right now."

"Hah, when you put it like that, how can I refuse?"

He laughed cheerfully.

"Well then, King of Heroes—take this one if you can!"

He formed a hand seal, inhaling deeply, as if to fill his entire chest.

And then—a sudden roar.

BOOM!

A thunderclap of flame.

A blazing inferno burst from Taigong Wang's mouth, a sea of fire that engulfed the entire Mount Enzou.

In a mere instant, superheated air radiated outward, incinerating even the atmosphere. The mountain itself melted and vaporized, and in less than ten seconds, the fifty-meter peak vanished utterly, searing steam rocketing into the sky.

Roy, watching, was struck speechless.

The raging inferno not only evaporated the entire mountain but even exposed a massive underground cavity, revealing even the scarlet sphere of the Greater Grail.

The black mud pouring from the sky mostly evaporated in the extreme heat, and the rest drained down into the cavern below. Fuyuki City was, for the moment, safe.

"Phew… might've overdone it a bit. That Samadhi True Fire takes a hell of a lot of mana…"

Taigong Wang scratched his head, uneasy as he looked down at the vaporized mountain and exposed Grail.

Was that… maybe a little too much?

***

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