"By the way, you don't need to worry about the Command Spells anymore."
Damien said, "Your Command Spells have been overridden by my familliar contract. Emiya Kiritsugu can no longer command you."
"Thank you."
Artoria quickly adapted to her new role.
She had no choice... Emiya Kiritsugu was simply too unpopular.
Not turning against her former Master was already the extent of Artoria's kindness.
"When do we move against Assassin?"
"When I confront Gilgamesh."
Damien said, "With him around, it would be dangerous for you to act."
"I'm not afraid of that guy!"
"Fair enough."
"Then let me put it this way... he's my chosen prey. Can you leave him to me?"
"I understand, Master!"
"Too formal. Just call me Damien."
"Alright, Damien."
Artoria was pleased with her new lord and felt hopeful about the future.
Later, Artoria met Sakura.
She hadn't expected Damien's Master to be such a young girl.
"This child is Sakura, whom I rescued from the Matou family."
Damien explained Sakura's situation.
Hearing this, Artoria felt strong disapproval toward the Matou and Tohsaka families, "Pushing such a young child into a pit of fire... how can the magus of this world be such people!"
First Kiritsugu, then Tokiomi, Kirei, and Kayneth.
It seemed that, apart from Waver, modern magus were all deplorable.
"Rest well tonight."
Damien connected Artoria to a leyline node, allowing her to draw mana from it.
With the Avalon scabbard, the holy sword, and the support of leyline mana, her strength was formidable. Let alone Assassin, even against the King of Conquerors or Gilgamesh, Artoria had a fair chance of victory.
Time passed quickly, and the next night arrived in a blink.
Damien and Artoria split up.
Damien stayed at Ryudou Temple, while Artoria, accompanied by the Shadow Guard units, tracked down Hassan of the Hundred Faces.
Meanwhile, Emiya Kiritsugu and Kirei Kotomine, as in the original story, crossed paths and engaged in a fierce gunfight.
Boom!
Bang bang bang bang!
The invisible mana barrier trembled under the onslaught of Noble Phantasms, cracks spreading across it, barely holding together.
"Here he comes, Gilgamesh."
Behind the gates of Ryudou Temple, Damien stood waiting for Gilgamesh's arrival.
Sakura had been safely placed within Damien's Reality Marble, where she would be unaffected by the battle.
"Go, test the waters."
"Yes!"
Shion hefted her long blade and led the Kijin toward the mountain gate.
Damien paid no attention to that skirmish.
His focus was on Artoria, waiting for the moment she eradicated Assassin.
For now, Damien opened his status panel, checking the analysis progress of the Gate of Babylon.
[Gate of Babylon]
[Analysis Progress: 20%]
[Analysis Progress: 21%]
As Shion clashed with Gilgamesh again, the analysis progress climbed rapidly.
When Shion fell, the other Kijin and the shrine maidens' magic would follow.
Was this a series of sacrifices?
Yes, Damien was deliberately sending them.
Defeating Gilgamesh with the Kijin alone was impossible.
After all, Gilgamesh was Nasuverse's designated strongest Heroic Spirit.
His lackluster performance in the original story was mainly due to his arrogance and lack of seriousness.
When he got serious and prepared thoroughly, he was an utterly terrifying existence.
However, Damien's trump card against Gilgamesh wasn't the Kijin.
"Can't I go yet?"
The Ice Empress was growing impatient.
"If you want to, go ahead."
Damien's words irked the Ice Empress, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
Damien patted Ogerpon's head and took the Ice Empress's hand, "This is my right-hand man. As for you, Ice Empress, you're just a bonus."
"Ugh!"
The Ice Empress wanted to bite him, but Damien spoke the truth.
So frustrating!
This guy was infuriating.
"Ice, don't be rash."
The Snow Empress said, "I still need your strength."
Thankfully, she had Snow.
The Ice Empress glared at Damien before sidling up to the Snow Empress for some affection.
"This mana level... it's unusually high."
As the battle intensified, Damien sensed something off.
Gilgamesh was strong, no doubt.
But defeating over thirty Kijin in such a short time was beyond reason.
"Could it be...?"
Suddenly, Damien considered a possibility.
Boom!
At that moment, the mountain gate collapsed, the barrier shattered, and a figure clad in golden armor appeared before Damien.
"Those mongrels wasted far too much of this king's time!"
Golden ripples shimmered around Gilgamesh, countless Noble Phantasms faintly visible, exerting immense pressure on everyone.
"Command Spells?"
Damien noticed a change in Gilgamesh.
Red patterns glowed faintly on his skin, their mana signature strikingly similar to Command Spells.
Did the Church's Command Spells end up in Kirei Kotomine's hands after all?
Damien was surprised but found it within reason.
The question was, how many Command Spells had Kirei used, and what kind of boost had they given Gilgamesh?
"Still as arrogant as ever, Gilgamesh."
"Hmph!"
Gilgamesh merely scoffed at Damien's taunt.
The next moment, a green airship emerged from behind him. Gilgamesh leaped aboard, sitting atop the Vimana.
"The Vimana?"
Damien recognized the airship, the Radiant Boat from the Ramayana.
"Hm?"
But then, Damien saw something strange being launched from the Vimana.
Gilgamesh wore a mocking smile, as if eagerly anticipating what was to come.
"Shuna!!"
Almost as Damien shouted, dozens of shrine maidens acted in unison.
A surge of mana gathered, forming a barrier stronger than before, enveloping Ryudou Temple's courtyard.
Boom!
A blinding white light erupted.
Followed by searing heat and a deafening roar that seemed to shatter the heavens.
The barrier teetered on the brink of collapse. Though it held, its radiance had dimmed by sixty or seventy percent.
The sheer power of that attack was staggering.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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