Looking behind him, Gilgamesh saw a wall of shadows emerge and release all the attacks back at him, while in front of him, the Hero Faction members were unleashing another wave of attacks through their Sacred Gears.
Gilgamesh could use the [Kankara Formula] to control the attacks again, but unless he got serious, the [Night Reflection] user would just redirect them back at him, so Gilgamesh decided to be more practical.
Bringing his hands together, a blue sphere with various Roman numerals around it appeared in the center.
"Mana Zone: Chrono Stasis Grigora," Gilgamesh said, invoking a [Time Magic] spell.
At that moment, all the attacks directed at Gilgamesh were enveloped in blue orbs with Roman numeral patterns and froze in the air.
In this spell, Gilgamesh gained complete control over the magical power in a specific area with his Mana Zone, then cast his [Time Magic], which captured anything entering that space, trapping it in a temporal sphere where a time loop occurs, causing the attacks to remain frozen.
All the Hero Faction members couldn't believe Gilgamesh had stopped their spells so easily.
Seeing they had no chance of winning unless they got serious, they decided to use all their power and, in unison, said two words.
"Balance Breaker."
At that moment, an explosion of energy erupted, catching Gilgamesh's attention as he saw so many people achieving Balance Breaker simultaneously—a rare sight to see so many users.
Though they weren't Longinus, it was still rare to see so many Balance Breakers activated at once.
All the Hero Faction members had visibly larger auras, and their powers increased. Some had new weapons, others had elements surrounding them.
The leader, who was previously manipulating white flames, now had armor made of flames that burned everything around him.
Gilgamesh knew which Sacred Gear that was: [Flame Shake].
[Flame Shake] grants the user pyrokinesis, conjuring white flames from their hands and firing them at the target. Presumably, these flames burn hotter than normal fire but are useless against those with higher fire resistance, like dragons and Phenex clan members.
"We'll take you to our leader, whether you like it or not. And then we'll take your Sacred Gear," the leader said with a smile.
In his mind, they could win, even if it was difficult. After all, the [Boosted Gear] can double the user's power every ten seconds, but they just needed to defeat Gilgamesh before he could double or multiply his power.
Of course, the Hero Faction didn't know Gilgamesh had achieved Balance Breaker, or it would be much more complicated.
Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow but understood their plan. They probably wanted to take him to Cao Cao to brainwash him, something the wielder of the True Longinus had already done to other faction members.
"Then I should show you its power," Gilgamesh said, raising his left hand.
All the Hero Faction members prepared to advance on Gilgamesh before he could summon his Longinus to double his powers, but what happened shocked them.
The entire temperature of the environment began to drop rapidly, making water droplets visible and ice forming around them quickly.
The group's leader quickly advanced, increasing his flames to destroy Gilgamesh's ice, but the flames did nothing. Then Gilgamesh decided to start.
With a simple wave of his hand, Hiroshi had all his flames extinguished and frozen, and his body was encased in a large block of ice.
This ice was created by the Longinus [Zenith Tempest].
Gilgamesh's primary and first Sacred Gear was the [Zenith Tempest], listed as one of the thirteen Longinus and ranked among the top four with the power to destroy the world. In the Sacred Gear hierarchy, [Zenith Tempest] held second place, just below the [True Longinus].
Even among Longinus, the [Zenith Tempest] was irregular. It gave the user the ability to control weather and natural elements at will. With enough mastery, the user could even create elements freely. The ability to control elements was so great it could affect the entire world and disrupt its balance.
Its irregularity among Longinus comes from how easy it is to use. The powers of this Longinus respond to the user's will to manipulate elements effortlessly.
For example, if you gave the Boosted Gear to someone, they could multiply their power a few times before reaching their limit, with the power focused entirely on the user.
But if you gave the [Zenith Tempest] to someone, they could easily sink an entire city by creating endless rain, as its power isn't focused on the user but on the world around them. With this Longinus, the entire world can be used by its wielder.
Though powerful, it also has a limit: the user's physical and mental capacity to command the elements.
The elemental manipulation ability of this Longinus was surreal, reaching divine levels. It was easy for the user to turn a desert into a frozen tundra or generate flames as hot as the sun.
And Gilgamesh didn't hold back. His affinity with the Zenith Tempest was surreal, to the point that Arashi, the consciousness of the Longinus, considered Gilgamesh its strongest and most potential host.
Gilgamesh's affinity with Arashi was so great that even the goddesses who reincarnated him couldn't imagine it. It was as if they were perfect for each other. Proof of this is that when Gilgamesh was born, he had awakened his Sacred Gear.
Though rare, it's not an impossible occurrence, as it depends on the user's affinity with their Sacred Gear.
All 13 Longinus are the pinnacle of Sacred Gears, with the power to kill gods, but there has never been a record of a Longinus user truly killing a god—only an Ultimate-class being at most.
The reason for this is:
Just as Excalibur chose King Arthur, the 13 Longinus can only be truly wielded and used to their full potential by a select few.
Only a few people can bring a Longinus to its true power, which is hard to find when you consider there are over 7 billion people in the world and only 13 Longinus.
But that's what Arashi, the consciousness of the Zenith Tempest, found in Gilgamesh—someone capable of bringing out its full potential.
This explains why Gilgamesh was born with his Sacred Gear unlocked.
Another case of this is Tobio Ikuse, the user of the Longinus [Canis Lycaon], who was born enveloped in dense darkness from his Longinus. He went beyond Gilgamesh, as he was born with his Balance Breaker awakened, which led his grandmother to seal his Sacred Gear to avoid trouble.
The same happened with Gilgamesh. His affinity was so great that even unconsciously using his Longinus' power produced abnormal results.
The [Zenith Tempest] responded to his emotions, so when he was sad, rains occurred; when angry, storms ravaged the land. This led Sebas to seal his Sacred Gear, as it wouldn't take long for some supernatural being to try to find and kill or enslave him.
When he awakened it again, the power came in full force, and over ten years of training, Gilgamesh's mastery of it grew to the point of affecting the entire world, especially in his Balance Breaker.
The same happened with the [Boosted Gear] and [Regulus Nemea].
Even with much less time—two years with [Regulus Nemea] and a few days with [Boosted Gear]—Gilgamesh managed to bring these Sacred Gears to a large portion of their potential.
According to Ddraig, Gilgamesh had a great affinity with Dragons, though Gilgamesh didn't know why. Regulus said he also had a strong affinity with Lions, which Gilgamesh deduced came from his blood.
After all, Uruk, the city-state led by Gilgamesh, had a tradition of taming lions.
Thus, he mastered Regulus' Balance Breaker and even the Breakdown of the Beast form without losing his mind, as well as achieving the Abyss Side Balance Breaker.
With the [Boosted Gear], with Ddraig's power, he unlocked all of Ddraig's abilities when alive, including special abilities like [Penetrate] and [Blazing Inferno Flames], as well as mastering the Balance Breaker and Juggernaut Drive.
All the Hero Faction members widened their eyes upon seeing their leader lose so easily. They quickly turned their angry gazes to Gilgamesh but froze at what they saw.
Gilgamesh's eyes were dull and cold like ice stones, sending chills through the Hero Faction members. Then it came in waves.
A wave of killing intent swept over the area, and all the Hero Faction members froze. Some, still recovering from what they saw, fainted immediately due to the pressure on their minds.
Others trembled where they stood, trying to rationalize the dread that overwhelmed them as they fell to the ground.
Some dropped to their hands and knees, eyes wide with terror at the sight of their own death.
It was as if they were facing death itself, a monster that would destroy them whenever it wanted, for the being before them couldn't be human.
But one thing they all shared was absolute fear, so intense that their auras destabilized, and they couldn't maintain their Sacred Gears.
"While playing with you is fun, I'm in a hurry," Gilgamesh said, raising his right hand and pointing his index finger at them.
His hand was covered in a purple aura as the feeling of death hung in the air.
Gilgamesh spoke only one word that sealed their fate.
"Hakai."
And true to his word, everything was destroyed.
In a single instant, all the Hero Faction members were enveloped in a purple aura and began screaming in pain and agony, until they started dissolving into purple dust.
In a mere moment, the King of Heroes erased them from existence.
Such was the power of [Destruction Magic].
This magic was taught to Gilgamesh by Sebas, its original user—a magic that allows the user to manipulate energy capable of destroying anything. Though difficult to control, its destructive capacity can easily erase beings from existence, even their souls on the spiritual plane. However, Gilgamesh didn't erase the souls of the Hero Faction members, as they had something useful for him.
This magic was something Gilgamesh rarely used because its capacity was hard to control and could hit allies, and it could kill anything it touched. So he only used it when he was certain of killing an enemy.
The same applied to the [Gura Gura no Mi], whose power affected everything indiscriminately, so Gilgamesh couldn't use it freely.
If he did, it's likely Kuoh City would cease to exist.
[Would you like to Plunder?]
[Yes] [No]
Gilgamesh chose the "Yes" option.
[Plundering…]
[Plundered]
[The host received 32 Sacred Gears]
Gilgamesh quickly made a list of the Sacred Gears and analyzed each one briefly. After looking, he saw none were interesting and stored them in the [Gate of Babylon].
Sighing, Gilgamesh activated his [Kenbunshoku Haki] or [Observation Haki] and sensed some auras in the abandoned warehouse, likely from Hero Faction members who stayed behind.
Gilgamesh sighed, deciding to deal with it later or ask Sebas to handle it.
He quickly made his way home, as he still had something to do.
**At Gilgamesh's House**
Gilgamesh arrived home shortly after.
He saw Asia, who was now quite comfortable living with them. Her training was going well, as she gained a better understanding of her Sacred Gear, and they were teaching her about magic.
Valerie was also training more with her Sacred Gear to gain greater mastery and get accustomed to its power.
Gilgamesh was currently in his room, waiting for Sebas to prepare a place for him to perform a summoning.
Gilgamesh's room was extremely large and filled with various things. His parents spared no expense in its creation.
It had a large bed, a bathroom with a bathtub, several bookshelves with both normal books and grimoires and supernatural-related books Gilgamesh had collected.
There were also video games and many other forms of entertainment for when Gilgamesh got bored.
But what stood out most was a desk in the room, covered with papers filled with drawn and written formulas and equations for magical circles, as well as some projects Gilgamesh was working on.
Gilgamesh always loved magic and even earned the title "Golden Mage." He also had a fan club related to it, with some members who always sent questions about formulas and other magical topics, which Gilgamesh enjoyed. He did his best to answer, especially one member who wrote at least once a week.
But what caught the most attention on the desk was a jewel sitting on it, emitting a strong wave of draconic power.
This jewel radiated a great and constant draconic aura and immense magical power.
Gilgamesh picked up the jewel while looking at it.
It wasn't an ordinary jewel; it was a reward from a dungeon he cleared where his enemies were dragons.
Apparently, this jewel had been guarded and protected for a thousand years by various dragons who, upon dying, bathed it in their blood and power, giving the jewel immense power. Another characteristic was its ability to store large amounts of energy and replenish itself even if depleted.
This jewel also had a divine aura from Gilgamesh and Ddraig's power, which Gil extracted a bit from the [Boosted Gear] and placed in it.
All this was for his latest and most difficult project, where this jewel would serve as a battery and power source.
Though it was very tiring and difficult, as it involved many components and formulas he needed to decipher to complete the project.
After all, Gilgamesh was trying to replicate something only the Biblical God had achieved.
In a few seconds, the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, [Boosted Gear], manifested on Gilgamesh's hand before Ddraig's voice activated its power.
[Boost!] activated the Longinus' power, doubling its aura, and all that energy was transferred to the jewel.
[Transfer!] The jewel's aura increased before returning to normal, and Gilgamesh placed it back on the desk.
Sighing, Gilgamesh left the room to prepare the summoning.
**In the Living Room**
In the living room, everyone was gathered and seated on the sofas. Enkidu and Asia were side by side, while Valerie and Mordred were on another sofa, and Sebas stood behind them, each holding a small sign.
Regulus was also there, lying in his lion form.
Everyone was excited to see who would be summoned, except Mordred, who just wanted to fight whoever Gilgamesh summoned.
"So, who are you going to summon?" Mordred asked curiously.
Gilgamesh just gave a big smile, holding the summoning card in his hand.
A golden portal opened beside Gilgamesh, and a sword emerged.
It was a typical Western sword, ninety centimeters long and twelve centimeters wide, inscribed with Fairy Letters to show it wasn't human-made.
Though many other Noble Phantasms were created more splendidly and with greater skill, this sword was a far superior illusion. It couldn't be called beautiful because of its appearance, as the term "beautiful" would only tarnish it. Instead, it was holy, made from people's conceptions, a legend woven purely from hope. Not a myth or inhuman work, but a "crystal forged solely by the heart," making it the strongest fantasy realm. It was the crystallization of the prayer called "glory" and everything etched in the hearts of those who were scattered under the sword's radiance; the nostalgic, sad, and sacred dream of those placed in the bloody hell called the battlefield, of all warriors past, present, and future fully exposed to the fear of death and despair, yet still clinging to a wish: "to be exalted."
The Sword of Promised Victory, Excalibur.
Excalibur is a divine construct, the pinnacle of holy swords and the strongest holy sword, equal to the strongest demonic sword, Gram. One of the weapons forged by God, a Last Phantasm, forged by the planet as the crystallization of humanity's wishes, stored and tempered within the planet. It was guarded by the planet's extensions, the Fairies, before being briefly passed to King Arthur by the Lady of the Lake and returned to the lake before her death.
Everyone immediately recognized this sword, especially Mordred, who had an expression of disbelief.
Gilgamesh smiled at their expressions before Mordred started shouting.
"NO! YOU'RE NOT THINKING OF SUMMONING HER?!" Mordred yelled, surprising everyone.
"Isn't this a good way to show you've changed, Mordred?" Gilgamesh asked coldly.
Mordred fell silent for a few seconds.
"Fine! Fine! But don't blame me if something goes wrong," Mordred said, defeated, knowing she couldn't sway Gilgamesh's opinion.
Gilgamesh tossed the card into the air, where it hovered.
[Would you like to use "Excalibur: Sword of Promised Victory" as a catalyst?]
Gilgamesh nodded, and an explosion of energy occurred, raising a large cloud of dust.
When the dust settled, a woman who looked strikingly similar to Mordred was visible. In fact, it would be better to say Mordred looked strikingly similar to her.
The woman appeared as a slightly androgynous young woman in her teens, with a slender body, soft skin, and green eyes. She had "finely textured" blonde hair that seemed "as if sprinkled with gold dust." Her face showed some signs of naivety and elegance. Relatively dark green eyes. She wore shining armor with an old-fashioned blue cloth dress underneath.
This was Arturia Pendragon, the King of Britain, also called the King of Knights and the wielder of the strongest holy sword, Excalibur.
After the dust settled, the woman spoke.
"I ask, are you my mast...?" she said as she opened her eyes, but what she was about to say died in her throat when she saw who stood before her.
Crimson eyes belonging to a golden-haired man who stared at her with a big smile.
That was the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
In an instant, Gilgamesh appeared in front of Arturia, who couldn't even react due to her disbelief. Placing his hand on her face, he lifted it until she looked into his eyes.
Gilgamesh had a smile so wide it seemed it would burst off his face.
"Did you really think you could escape me, Saber?" Gilgamesh said with great amusement. "You are mine."
After those words, only one thought crossed Arturia Pendragon's mind.
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