A Few Days Later.
It had been a few days since Gilgamesh's encounter with the Sumerian Goddesses Ishtar and Ereshkigal, and since then, the King of Heroes had heard no further news from the Sumerian Pantheon.
These past few days had been used by Gilgamesh to better master his abilities and training.
Gilgamesh trained primarily his mastery over [Sunshine], and for this, he had help from Karna, who, being the son of the Sun God, could teach him some things about his power and even some techniques.
Karna had already adapted very well to this new world and seemed to be doing fine here.
The Son of Surya was usually quiet and reserved, rarely speaking, and spent a lot of time with everyone, though he didn't interact much.
He had also fought against Mordred and Arturia because he was very interested in their power, although he won both battles.
Gil was currently in the dungeon, training to improve his mastery, as he always did every afternoon after returning from school.
The dungeon resembled a vast mountain range; it was a Maou-class Dragon dungeon.
Currently, Gilgamesh was sitting atop one of the mountains, focusing and looking at the highest one, where a Boss resided.
Gilgamesh concentrated, letting his magical power flow freely as he extended his hand.
"Trace on," Gilgamesh murmured.
Judging the concept of creation.
Blue energy began to burst from his hands, shining and swirling like an untamed wild flame.
Hypothesizing the basic structure.
The wild and untamed blue aura paused for a moment, as if time around it had stopped, then it resumed and began to expand, taking the shape of a resplendent long blue sword.
Duplicating the composition material.
The color of steel began to transform around him, the gaseous blue aura slowly becoming almost solid and now graspable.
Imitating the skill of its forging.
The holy and light element began to pour into it as Gilgamesh felt his energy being drained—a small amount, not much for Gilgamesh, who had a vast amount of magical power.
Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.
Roland… The famous Paladin and leader of the Twelve Peers. A sword granted to him by an angel and splendidly forged, just like Caliburn. It proved to be nearly indestructible, as Roland's wish to destroy it on the verge of his death to prevent it from falling into enemy hands ended in failure.
Reproducing the accumulated years, complete.
Surpassing each manufacturing process, complete.
The blue flames in his hand slowly formed and were about to take the shape of the famous holy sword Durandal.
Keep the energy stable, recreate the form, alter the use, and—
Gilgamesh's eyes widened as he noticed the energy becoming unstable; the beautiful blue flames in the shape of a sword began to writhe and ripple almost like tentacles!
Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!
Instantly, Gilgamesh solidified the sword's hilt, quickly grabbing it and throwing the sword toward the sky with force, and I mean a lot of force. The unstable sword shot up at incredible speed and—
BOOOOOOOM!
A 300-meter blue and yellow explosion appeared instantly and destroyed everything. It didn't burn but annihilated, eradicated everything it touched, turning it into nothing but ashes.
The shockwave of radiation could be felt for over 2 kilometers. The violent gust of wind hit him; it felt like a hurricane was being unleashed against Gilgamesh, who wasn't even affected.
As quickly as the explosion appeared, it vanished. The violent blue torrents of destruction lasted no more than 7 seconds before disappearing. The temperature also returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
All the clouds in the sky were parted, and a giant mountain had been completely destroyed; anything solid was nowhere to be seen, as if it had been devoured by a monster. The ground turned into a massive crater, as if a giant had just stepped on it.
The explosion was powerful enough that not even Maou-class beings would survive.
"That explosion would have been felt by any supernatural entity… Such power would make their radars go wild."
Gilgamesh heard a voice behind him, and when he looked, he saw Sebas walking nonchalantly, as if he didn't care about that power.
Gilgamesh sighed as he thought about his training.
Currently, he was training his [Unlimited Weapons Works] ability to further increase the strength of the weapons and, most importantly, the speed at which they were created and modified.
Gilgamesh could create weapons as strong as the originals, but the speed at which he created them depended solely on himself, hence the training.
And even for Gilgamesh, modifying them was proving difficult.
Gilgamesh tried to modify Durandal and turn it into a weapon similar to Caladbolg, but it was more than difficult.
Gilgamesh was capable of modifying Caladbolg and turning it into a projectile to fire it.
So why was he having difficulty using it with Durandal?
Let's keep things simple. Gilgamesh had the basics of how to use this ability, but how to increase its power, he would have to figure out on his own, although he also had the memories of EMIYA and Shirou Emiya on how to use this ability. However, all of that was like a book; it was knowledge he needed to read before he could apply it.
Part of the knowledge was easy, and he could already use it. Modifying Caladbolg was among them; apparently, it was also EMIYA's favorite, so the method of modifying and projecting it was already there, and he just needed to follow it.
But Durandal? No. Let me tell you something: [Unlimited Weapons Works] was not like [Gate of Babylon]. It wasn't an unlimited place filled to the brim with Noble Phantasms.
[Unlimited Weapons Works] was essentially a copy of [Unlimited Blade Works]; the only difference was that with Gilgamesh's, he could create weapons as strong as the originals, but their essence didn't change.
It was a place filled with swords, a world of infinite swords—and that was it.
These swords were mostly Noble Phantasms ranked E or D, if they were ranked at all. There were also those ranked C, and even those that could be considered rank B or A.
Durandal was one of them; apparently, EMIYA copied this sword when fighting the original Gilgamesh. However, it wasn't used often because it consumed a large amount of prana, not to mention it was considered a divine construct, something that made it harder to trace and create in his world, as Gaia had a strong influence there.
Caladbolg, however, was not a sword of divine construct.
Gilgamesh tried to use the same process to modify Durandal as he did with Caladbolg, but it didn't work, partly because they were different weapons and Durandal was much wilder.
Gilgamesh might have the [Unlimited Weapons Works] ability, but that's it—he had it, not that he mastered it.
Like all of Gilgamesh's abilities, the system granted him the capability to perform them and showed him how to use them.
But that didn't mean Gilgamesh mastered them instantly. To master them to the level he had today required day after day of intense training to achieve the power he has now.
"What's up, Sebas?" Gilgamesh asked as he turned to his teacher.
Sebas was truly Gilgamesh's teacher, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it.
Over all these years, Sebas had taught him everything he could; he taught him about the supernatural world and everything he needed to know.
He taught him various magics and combat forms so Gilgamesh could fight any enemy.
Sebas taught him to adapt to any enemy he encountered, so that when Gilgamesh was in a life-or-death situation, he could find a way to survive.
Sebas was a brutal teacher; he literally hammered into Gilgamesh's body everything he needed, making Gilgamesh go a week without sleep and train his body the entire time.
Sebas taught Gilgamesh everything he needed, but only taught and gave tips; if Gilgamesh wanted to master these abilities, it was up to him.
The old man had absolute confidence and loyalty in his disciple and was willing to do anything to protect him.
Though Sebas seemed very strict on the outside, he was like a big marshmallow on the inside, always enjoying a lively household, though he always scolded Mordred.
"You're working hard, young master," Sebas said to Gilgamesh, who nodded.
"Yes, I want to master it as soon as possible," Gilgamesh said to him.
Sebas looked at Gilgamesh for a moment.
"What's wrong? You don't seem well," Sebas said to his disciple.
Gilgamesh sighed, knowing he couldn't hide things from Sebas.
"It's just that I have a bad feeling about what's coming," Gilgamesh said grimly.
"I see, so how about we distract ourselves? How about a little battle?" Sebas said to Gilgamesh, who looked at him in surprise.
"You want a fight with me, Sebas?" Gilgamesh asked with a provocative smile, which the butler returned.
"Unless you're scared," Sebas said, teasing him.
Gilgamesh smiled at that.
"Very well," Gilgamesh said to him.
Both stepped away from each other and positioned themselves atop the mountain.
Gilgamesh and Sebas stared at each other as an aura enveloped both of them.
Gilgamesh's aura was golden, and Sebas's was purple.
Then they moved.
The moment they planted their feet on the ground, it shattered as the two charged at each other at high speed.
They seemed to disappear due to their speed and reappeared in the middle of the battlefield, clashing.
Gilgamesh threw a punch at Sebas's face, who simultaneously threw a punch at Gilgamesh's face.
The pressure caused by the blows made both step back before charging at each other again.
The impact was massive; the entire mountain trembled with the force of their blows, the speed of their punches almost impossible to see.
Though Gilgamesh was stronger in raw power, Sebas had far more experience than him.
No matter what blows Gilgamesh used, Sebas managed to dodge and counter, after all, he was the one who trained Gilgamesh.
In one move, Sebas grabbed one of Gilgamesh's hands and delivered a powerful kick to the King of Heroes' body, sending him crashing into a mountain.
The moment Gilgamesh hit the mountain, he quickly shot toward Sebas.
The butler swiftly created dozens of purple orbs made of [Destruction Magic] and launched them at Gilgamesh.
His [Destruction Magic] was a black hole that devoured everything it touched without exception, and that's what was happening.
Sebas's power advanced, devouring everything in its path toward Gilgamesh.
The King of Heroes extended his right hand and created a golden magical circle with various equations on it.
It was the Kankara Formula.
Using the [Kankara Formula], Gilgamesh gained control of Sebas's power and redirected it back at the butler while amplifying its power.
Sebas simply imbued his [Destruction Magic] into his arms and punched the purple orbs, sending them far away.
Gilgamesh charged, becoming a golden blur as he advanced toward Sebas, who charged at Gilgamesh, becoming a purple blur.
Both clashed in the air, causing shockwaves that traveled across the entire dimension.
Sebas had his body imbued with his [Destruction Magic], making his blows overwhelmingly stronger than normal, while Gilgamesh had his body imbued with his [Busoshoku Haki], which increased his strength and durability.
ROOOOOAAAARRRRR.
Before Gilgamesh and Sebas could clash, an immense roar caught their attention.
They turned their gaze to the highest mountain where the Boss resided and saw a massive Dragon, larger than any other, unleashing its power into the sky.
The Dragon simply inflated its lungs and released a massive amount of flames toward Sebas and Gilgamesh.
Sebas simply unleashed his [Destruction Magic] against the Dragon's flames, suppressing and nullifying them.
Gilgamesh and Sebas exchanged glances before charging at the Dragon.
Sebas advanced at blinding speed toward the Dragon and, with a swift strike, tore off one of the Dragon's legs, causing it to roar in pain and begin to collapse.
Gilgamesh charged, his entire body immersed in his Dragon Slayer aura, and he simply pierced through the Dragon's body, splitting it in half.
The two landed on the ground side by side.
"So, shall we continue?" Sebas asked Gilgamesh.
"No. There's something I need to do now," Gilgamesh said to the butler, who nodded.
"Speaking of which, where's Valerie?" Gilgamesh asked, as he hadn't seen the Dhampir.
"She left a while ago," Sebas said to Gilgamesh, who nodded before disappearing in a teleportation, making the butler sigh.
"I guess I'll clean up this mess," Sebas said before starting.
**Some Time Later.**
With Gilgamesh.
Currently, Gilgamesh could be seen calmly walking through the city of Kuoh. It was already night, so there were few people on the streets.
The reason Gilgamesh was here was simple.
He was being followed.
Gilgamesh knew that a few days ago, someone had started following him, but he couldn't figure out who it was.
Whoever this person was, they were very skilled, and Gilgamesh hadn't been able to find them. Whenever Gilgamesh was close, this person disappeared.
Gilgamesh could only discern one thing.
Divine power.
A power that only Gods possess, a being that considers itself the most superior in the World and the Universe. Even a newly born one has the power to destroy a city like a toy, a creature that all of Humanity worships and kneels before.
And if it was a God, that could be considered very dangerous.
Even the weakest God had power surpassing a Satan-class demon.
Gilgamesh didn't fear for himself; he could easily handle any God. The problem was that Gods were very reckless and did whatever they wanted, willing to do anything to achieve their goals, with pride surpassing that of a demon.
Gilgamesh looked around and saw no people nearby.
Quickly, Gilgamesh planted his feet on the ground and shot off at divine speed toward the outskirts of Kuoh.
When Gilgamesh stopped, he was in the middle of a dense forest dozens of kilometers from Kuoh. Here, Gilgamesh could fight without worrying about collateral damage.
"Show yourself," Gilgamesh shouted as he increased his magical power.
"Impressive, few people can sense me," a voice said, emerging from the shadows of a tree.
Gilgamesh turned his gaze to the being and saw a woman with silver hair carefully tied in a ponytail, her eyes resembling the moon. Her choice of clothing was quite simple but didn't detract from her beauty. She now held a bow in her hands.
Gilgamesh recognized the divine power emanating from her; she was a Goddess.
"Who are you?" Gilgamesh asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I am Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the Moon, Hunt, Nature, Chastity, Childbirth, and Wild Animals," the Goddess introduced herself.
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes.
"What do you want, Goddess of the Hunt?" Gilgamesh asked seriously.
"My father, the King of the Greek Gods, Zeus, asked me to invite you to our Faction," Artemis said to Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh responded instantly.
"I'm not interested," Gilgamesh said to her.
"You don't have that option. You'll come willingly or by force," Artemis said as a silver divine aura surged around her.
"Choose your next words carefully, Goddess, for they may be your last," Gilgamesh said as his eyes glowed with power.
Artemis didn't wait; her father had given her a mission, and she would fulfill it.
In an instant, Artemis created an arrow, nocked it in her bow, enhanced it with her divine energy, and fired it at Gilgamesh at supersonic speed.
Gilgamesh wasn't intimidated as a golden portal appeared around him, and a sword shot out at high speed, clashing with Artemis's arrow.
An explosion was caused by the impact, sending gusts of wind across the battlefield.
Artemis didn't stop, firing an uncountable number of arrows at Gilgamesh, each enhanced by her divine power.
Artemis truly deserved to be called the Goddess of Archery; her skill was phenomenal, firing dozens of powerful arrows at Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh only narrowed his eyes as he activated his [Kenbunshoku Haki] to anticipate each arrow. His [Gate of Babylon] opened behind him, a portal for each arrow, before treasures began to pour out in large quantities.
The moment swords, clubs, spears, and axes clashed with Artemis's arrows, explosions erupted throughout the forest.
Gilgamesh wasn't afraid to fight the Goddess of the Hunt, but he knew Artemis was dangerous.
Each of her arrows was imbued with a strong divine aura; those arrows could even kill Satan-class beings.
Artemis was a strong Goddess, absolutely strong.
In the novel, she was able to fight against Grayfia, a demon with power comparable to a Maou, alongside Fafnir, a Dragon King, and with Asia healing both, and even then, Artemis had the advantage.
When Artemis's arrows and Gilgamesh's treasures stopped firing, it was revealed that part of the forest was now nothing but rubble.
Seeing that her arrows weren't working, Artemis quickly dispersed her bow, grabbed two hunting knives from her waist, and charged at Gilgamesh.
Artemis's explosive speed completely destroyed the tree she was standing on as she charged at Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh charged at her simultaneously.
In a swift move, Artemis tried to cut Gilgamesh in half, but the King of Heroes anticipated her move and grabbed Artemis's wrists, to her surprise.
"You're pretty strong for a human," Artemis said, surprised.
Gilgamesh only gave a mischievous smile.
"And you're pretty weak for a Goddess," Gilgamesh said provocatively, as Artemis's gaze darkened.
Artemis quickly tried to strike Gilgamesh but was thrown into the air by him and swiftly adjusted her position, descending on Gilgamesh with a powerful kick.
The crack and shockwave were massive, shaking the ground and causing the earth beneath Gilgamesh to crack.
Gilgamesh quickly grabbed the Goddess's leg and threw her against a tree.
Artemis swiftly maneuvered in the air, and when her feet touched the tree, she shot toward Gilgamesh to cut him.
Gilgamesh quickly charged at Artemis, and both began exchanging blows at high speed throughout the forest.
Their speed was so great that both became blurs, one golden and one silver.
Gilgamesh furrowed his eyes as he noticed Artemis was getting stronger and faster over time.
When the two separated, Gilgamesh noticed the moonlight was growing stronger and then understood what was happening.
Artemis was the Goddess of the Moon, and thus, she would grow stronger during a full moon night, similar to Gilgamesh's [Sunshine], but it only temporarily boosted her physical abilities, nowhere near as powerful as Gilgamesh's ability.
Artemis quickly prepared her knives, imbuing them with a massive silver aura.
Seeing this, Gilgamesh swiftly summoned a sword.
In an instant, a light emerged from Gilgamesh's right hand, making the Moon Goddess pause for a moment.
The light was unlike any she had seen before.
When the light faded, a sword was in Gilgamesh's hand. It was a Western sword, ninety centimeters long and twelve centimeters wide.
It was Caliburn, the sword with the right to choose a King, once wielded by King Arthur to free his country, the weapon that became the symbol of the King of Knights of England, a sword with a light surpassing even that of an Archangel of Heaven.
Artemis swiftly charged at Gilgamesh with all possible speed.
Gilgamesh wielded Caliburn before charging at Artemis.
Both began exchanging blows at high speed, Artemis displaying surreal skill with her knives, and Gilgamesh matching her with his sword.
In a swift move, Gilgamesh threw Artemis back, who dispersed her knives and summoned her bow, firing an uncountable number of arrows at Gilgamesh, all imbued with her divine aura.
Gilgamesh simply raised his sword.
Sword of Selection, grant me power! Cleave the wicked!
"Caliburn"
A beam of light surged as Gilgamesh swung the Sword of the Victorious downward, pure holy light that could kill even Satan in one strike, shooting toward Artemis's thousands of arrows.
There was no comparison; Caliburn's holy light shot forward, annihilating all the arrows and charging at Artemis, whose eyes widened.
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