"Shouldn't you be thanking me for blocking your attack and letting me have the first move?"
Jiang You glanced at the deck in his hand. This time, he was using his Knights of the Round Table deck, having grown tired of his Fairy Tristan and Hassan decks and wanting something fresh. Besides, he hadn't spoken with White Lancer Artoria since acquiring her, and it was about time he checked in.
"This King is not so foolish as to mistake right for wrong! Isn't this entire mess your doing, Mongrel?!" Gilgamesh retorted, exasperated. If Jiang You hadn't arrived, none of this would have happened. "My turn! I activate the Field Spell Card Babylonia from my hand! This is my kingdom, and therefore my authority here is absolute!"
Since the Duel Space was already within Babylonia's territory, the environment remained unchanged.
"Babylonia's effect: Once per turn, choose one of the following effects to activate: 1. Draw one card. 2. Special Summon a Babylon servant from your hand. A servant summoned this way cannot attack until the end of the turn. 3. Target one card on the field and send it to the Graveyard."
Gilgamesh revealed a card from his hand. "I'll activate the second effect! I Special Summon myself from my hand!"
Gilgamesh (Caster)
Level 8 Caster
Attack Power: 3000
"This King, a Caster? To share a Class with that laughable fool? How utterly absurd!"
Gilgamesh was, of course, referring to Solomon. "This King's effect activates once per turn. If there is no Divine Authority Seal on the field, search your Deck for a Continuous Spell Card named Divine Authority Seal and place it face-up in your Backrow!"
The familiar magic cannon that Jiang You knew so well materialized behind Gilgamesh.
"You should know exactly what this is," Gilgamesh said, patting the cannon's barrel. "As for its effects, this King won't bother explaining. Ha ha ha ha ha!"
Jiang You naturally wouldn't reveal that his Knight could see the card's effect: When this card is face-up, you can activate it when an opponent's Servant is Special Summoned. Discard one card from your hand to destroy that Servant. Unlike many similar cards, it had no once-per-turn restriction. As long as Gilgamesh had cards in his hand, he could activate it repeatedly. It was essentially an alternative Gate of Babylon, though the card itself lacked any resistance and could be destroyed directly.
"Now, I activate the effect of Holy Prostitute from my hand. By discarding this card to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Enkidu from my Deck to the field in Attack Position!"
As Gilgamesh activated the effect, his mood visibly brightened.
Enkidu - Attack Power: 2500
"This familiar land..."
The moment Enkidu's bare feet touched the ground, he sensed his location. "So, I can still appear in this era? Gil, did you summon me?"
"My dearest friend," Gilgamesh replied, "welcome back to Uruk. However, I'm currently too occupied to entertain you. Let's postpone our reunion for a bit."
"Ah, so it's you from this timeline. Seems I drew a good card. But this Noble Phantasm..."
Enkidu turned his gaze to Jiang You, whom he had encountered this Noble Phantasm before. "It's you again. You and Gil are destined to clash. Is this already the third time?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if there's a fourth or fifth," Jiang You mused, thinking of his chances to visit the worlds of [ Fate Extra ] and [ Fate/Strange Fake ]. Gilgamesh, being Type-Moon's second-most overworked character (Saber faces taking the top spot), makes frequent appearances in various settings.
"So many times?" Enkidu asked, his faint smile remaining. "That wouldn't be so bad."
"This King certainly doesn't consider it a good thing!" Gilgamesh retorted.
Gilgamesh felt an instant aversion to Jiang You, despite this being their first meeting.
"Following this King's own effect, once per turn, whenever a card is discarded from my hand, inflict 1000 Life Point damage to the opponent!"
Jiang You's LP: 4000 → 3000.
If things proceeded normally, combined with the trigger effect of the Divine Authority Seal, Gilgamesh could defeat Jiang You in just four turns.
"Then, I'll set one card in my Backrow and end my turn!"
Gilgamesh concluded his actions with a single card in hand. This meant the Divine Authority Seal could only activate once, leaving just two Servants on the field and a single face-down card in his Backrow—a minimalist yet imposing board state.
Unlike most Servants, however, Gilgamesh never fully explained the effects of his cards. Despite his regal pronouncements, he was, in truth, a remarkably unscrupulous fellow.
"My turn now. Draw!"
Jiang You drew his hand and found his synergy with the Knights of the Round Table to be surprisingly decent, at least avoiding a hand clog. Moreover, he sensed an opportunity for some creative plays.
"First, I activate the Field Spell Card, Camelot!"
The pristine white Holy City rose behind Jiang You.
"You're a Knight of the Round Table?"
Guessing Jiang You's identity had become a routine task for his new opponents. Gilgamesh frowned. "No... definitely not. You must be a servant from the East; I can't find any corresponding figure. Even I, this King, can't discern your true identity. How pathetic! A nameless nobody, as insignificant as roadside weeds!"
Gilgamesh couldn't resist sneering even as he questioned Jiang You. A servant deeply invested in their reputation might have exploded in anger, but someone without a historical legend remained unfazed.
"Camelot's effect activates!" Jiang You declared. "All Knights of the Round Table on the field gain 500 Attack Power and Defense Power. Once per turn, I add a Knight of the Round Table card from my Deck to my Hand. While this card is on the field, Knights of the Round Table can be Normal Summoned without requiring a Tribute. Furthermore, all Effect Damage dealt to the Main Battler is reduced to 0!"
This perfectly countered Gilgamesh's blood-burning effect. Jiang You felt his luck had turned, having chosen the right Deck.
"I activate Camelot's effect! Search my deck for a Mash Kyrielight card, add it to my hand, and Special Summon it!"
Mash, who had been battling two Oni Kings of Mount Ōe alongside Benkei and Merlin, suddenly found herself back inside Gilgamesh's Divine Tower, now facing the Heroic King as an enemy.
Mash Kyrielight - Attack Power: 1200.
"E-eh? E-eh!" Mash exclaimed in confusion and surprise.
"Mash?!" Gilgamesh never expected to see someone from Chaldea in Jiang You's deck. "You..."
"That's right! She betrayed Ritsuka Fujimaru. She was actually a mole I planted in Chaldea!" Jiang You declared, cutting off anyone else from speaking. "Now, Mash, it's all over. You don't need to pretend to be their ally anymore. Come back to my side!"
Actually, this was just the reward for defeating Mash earlier.