"Ugh..."
It was currently a Shadow Game, but Jiang You wasn't seeking Gilgamesh's soul. Instead, he wanted Gilgamesh to personally acknowledge Uruk's downfall. The damage caused Gilgamesh to clutch his abdomen in pain.
"A soul-based attack... truly a vile ability!"
"You're the one to talk, you perverted old coot using immortality elixirs to hang around with kids! You're even more twisted! And isn't soul stuff Third Magic? Apologize to Third Magic!"
Jiang You couldn't even fathom this thing's standards of judgment.
"When has This King ever done such a thing?!" Gilgamesh declared, accusing Jiang You of blatant slander.
"What if you had done it?" Jiang You pressed, trying to trick him into triggering a mission reward. If the Prisma Illya Worldline was active, getting the reward would be a cinch.
"If This King had done it..." Gilgamesh quickly caught on. He realized he had no need to offer Jiang You any assurances. "So what if I had?"
"Tch."
Unable to scam a reward, Jiang You's affection for Wise King Gil plummeted by roughly 20%. "How utterly depraved! I'll set two cards in my Backrow and end my turn. At this moment, White Lancer Artoria's effect activates: at the end of my turn, I overlay one Knights of the Round Table from my Deck beneath this card as an Xyz Material. I overlay Tristan beneath it!"
White Lancer Artoria's Xyz Materials were now back to three, granting her three instances of target immunity. Combined with the two Trap Cards in his Backrow, sustaining until the Holy Lance was fully charged posed no problem at all.
"It's this King's turn. Draw!"
First, Goldie replenished his Hand to two cards. "Babylonia's effect activates: Draw one card!"
"Then, I activate Elixir of Immortality to revive myself from the Graveyard!"
This time, Goldie wouldn't have the chance to visit Elena. Spending some time in the Deck's Graveyard counted as going through the motions.
Caster Gil: Attack Power 3000
"Next, this King's effect activates: Once per turn, I can place a Divine Authority Seal from the Deck into the Backrow. Since there's already a Divine Authority Seal in the Backrow, I can banish one servant on your field!"
"Such a noble banish effect, yet it requires targeting. How unfortunate."
Jiang You had only one servant on the field. How could he possibly grant Goldie's wish? "I activate White Lancer Artoria's effect: detach one Xyz Material to negate this effect!"
"Damn you!"
Since neither Jiang You nor Goldie had provided detailed explanations of their cards, Goldie had to rely on trial and error to figure out White Lancer Artoria's specific effects. Jiang You, on the other hand, could directly see the effects—a downright unfair advantage.
"If I can't target, then how about this? I activate the Spell Card, "King's Cannon!""
Countless golden beams of light shot forth from the distance, locking onto Jiang You's entire field.
"When this card is activated, it destroys all Servant Cards on the opponent's field. If "Gilgamesh" is present on the field, it also destroys all face-up Spell and Trap Cards!"
Gilgamesh watched as the golden beams of light completely enveloped Jiang You and White Lancer Artoria, bursting into laughter.
"Hahahahaha—Mongrel! How's that? Can you withstand this?!"
"The Holy Lance's effect prevents the equipped Servant from being destroyed by card effects," Jiang You countered.
Jiang You had originally intended to conceal this effect, luring Goldie into using a destruction effect. However, Goldie had unleashed a full-field wipe, now sending both his Camelot and the untargetable Holy Lance to the Graveyard.
"However, the Holy Lance itself has no protection against effect destruction, so it will still be sent to the Graveyard."
With the departure of the two Attack Power-boosting cards, White Lancer Artoria's Attack Power reverted to its original value.
White Lancer Artoria's Attack Power: 4000 → 2500.
"With this, the Graveyard Effect that triggers at the start of the next turn can't activate either!" Gilgamesh declared, thoroughly satisfied. "This King enters battle! So this is the grown King Arthur? Truly impressive! Alas, I must end her here!"
"Jiang You?"
White Lancer Artoria glanced back at Jiang You, silently asking if he could block the attack. Without her weapon, she couldn't protect their defensive line. Jiang You responded with a resolute nod.
"Since my Best Friend's Attack Power is insufficient, this King shall strike first! Gilgamesh attacks Artoria!"
Instead of firing a typical magic blast like a proper Caster-type servant, Goldie seized a massive axe and charged forward, roaring like a Berserker.
"Now's the time!"
Jiang You activated a Set Card from his Backrow: "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card "Flow of Light!" This card can target an Xyz Monster on the field. I then select two Knights of the Round Table from the Graveyard as Xyz Materials and stack them beneath the targeted card. If the chosen servant is White Lancer Artoria, I can also equip her with one Holy Lance from my Deck or Graveyard!"
The Holy Lance returned to White Lancer Artoria's hand, restoring her Xyz Material to four and simultaneously boosting her Attack Power.
White Lancer Artoria: Attack Power 2500 → 3500
"Now who's going to end whom?" Jiang You chuckled. Since the servants on the field hadn't changed, attacks couldn't rewind. If this strike landed, it would be Goldie who would be destroyed.
"Mongrel!" Goldie gritted his teeth and slammed his last card onto the field. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card [ Spirit Origin Shift ]! By targeting a servant in my Graveyard, I return it to the Deck and Special Summon a servant with the same name but a different class from either my Deck or hand. I target [ Gilgamesh (Caster) ]!" From his Deck, he Special Summoned [ Gilgamesh (Archer) ]—slicked-back hair, an arrogant smirk, and clad in golden armor—who replaced Caster Gil on the field.
Archer Gil: Attack Power 3000
Caster Gil patted his own body, finally confirming that the newcomer wasn't him.
Archer Gil opened his mouth to speak, but he immediately noticed something was off with his summoning method and that the person facing him looked strikingly familiar. His expression hardened as he glared at Jiang You with utter exasperation. "You again, you mongrel!"
"Whatever you call me, it's infuriating," Jiang You muttered.
This was a major reason why Jiang You and Gilgamesh never got along. If a beautiful girl called him "low-tier servant," he might let it slide. But could you imagine a burly Northern Strongman grabbing you and shouting "Coward!"? Not throwing down with him would be a miracle.
"Hmph, a mongrel is a mongrel. They deserve no other title from this King."