It was an ordinary day, with an ordinary blond strolling through the streets… ordinary passersby casting ordinary glances, and an ordinary soul—
The Hero King Gilgamesh was leisurely walking down a deserted street, his crimson eyes brimming with disdain for this mongrel world. Suddenly, he caught sight of an intriguing soul—Matou Sakura.
For the past ten years, he had sustained himself by devouring children, a stark departure from his normal self—even from the tyrant he once was. His malice had deepened, transforming him into what could only be described as pure scum.
Yet, this was already remarkable. An ordinary Heroic Spirit, weighed down by such intense malice, would have long lost their sanity.
Not everyone was like Harry, who bore the divine power of dual extremes and, with the aid of a system, achieved a cycle of three divinities.
For Harry, extreme good and extreme evil were simply the essence of the world—an unremarkable setting, as natural as breathing.
Good and evil were eternal, inextinguishable forces. The stronger the malice, the stronger the goodwill that would arise to balance it.
At times, Harry could sense an overwhelming malice emanating from the direction of Mount Enzou, where the great spiritual leyline—the Greater Grail system—resided. This malice was so potent that no amount of heinous deeds could describe it; it was as if the collective sins of humanity had coalesced into a single force.
Of course, Harry wasn't naive enough to believe there was some "ultimate villain, Emperor Sun Xiaochuan" responsible for all the world's wrongs. That malice was a symbol, not a tangible entity.
Still, the pollution of that malice was formidable. Harry wasn't worried, though. He knew that if he stayed a few more days and unleashed his ultimate Noble Phantasm, forged from his past legends as a savior, he could counter it. He could eradicate the malice entirely, severing its inextinguishable roots and restoring balance.
Harry's instincts were correct. The concepts bestowed upon him upon his arrival, combined with his indomitable kingly will, perfectly countered the "All the World's Evil" within the Fuyuki Grail.
The source of this malice in the Grail was a unique reaction between the Heroic Spirit Angra Mainyu and the immense magical power within the Greater Grail.
During the Third Holy Grail War, the Fuyuki Grail had been tainted by Angra Mainyu. What was once a pure, colorless magical energy—capable of summoning Heroic Spirits, forming contracts, providing Command Seals, piercing the Root through the Throne of Heroes, and granting wishes within its capacity—had become All the World's Evil.
This Black Grail, beyond its core functions as the foundation of the Fuyuki Grail system, manifested all its abilities through malice.
For instance, wishing for world peace would prompt the Grail to slaughter as many humans as possible until a stronger force intervened.
In the Fourth Holy Grail War, Emiya Kiritsugu had recognized this and abandoned hope, choosing to have Saber attempt to destroy the Black Grail with her holy sword. He failed to achieve his goal.
Normally, the Grail's rank wasn't high enough to attract a Grand Servant's intervention. It was nowhere near the level of a catastrophic otherworldly being, but it was still a significant disaster. However, Saber's Excalibur strike, controlled by a Command Seal and not her own will, failed to destroy it.
During the Fourth War, the Grail's corruption had also tainted Gilgamesh, causing him to take physical form through the black mud.
Though Gilgamesh and Angra Mainyu were worlds apart in strength and rank, their interaction with the concept of All the World's Evil was entirely different.
Angra Mainyu's personality wasn't truly warped; the malice was merely a symbol accompanying him. Gilgamesh, however, was influenced without realizing it. Other Heroic Spirits would fare even worse, succumbing to corruption without retaining their sense of self.
Harry, on the other hand, was immune. Whether due to his anchoring across all traversed worlds—ensuring his mind remained untainted until his kingdom fell and his kingly power waned—or the immunity to good and evil granted upon his arrival, he was unaffected.
In this plane, or rather, in most of pan-human history, Zoroastrianism was revered as humanity's oldest dualistic religion of good and evil. Upon Harry's arrival, the legend of an eternal struggle between otherworldly gods fused with this world's dualistic deities, becoming a shared aspect of a great god/outer god.
As the prophesied savior from another world, Harry also assumed the role of Zoroastrianism's founder, much like the relationship between Taoism and Laozi. He had become a figure whose legend was partially borrowed by the true founder, granting him an extraordinarily high rank within this world's dualistic mythological system.
As for Angra Mainyu, he wasn't truly the Zoroastrian demon king, the embodiment of evil. He was merely an ordinary youth from a village, without sin or great deeds to his name.
Due to a mundane decision based on his village's religious practices, he was chosen as a living sacrifice—an ordinary person like any other.
After enduring unimaginable torment as a sacrifice, he became a resentful wraith. Borrowing the name of a demon king and the merit of saving a village, he barely ascended to the Throne of Heroes.
In a dualistic world of good and evil, all evil was embodied by Angra Mainyu—All the World's Evil. Despite the youth's suffering, his sacrifice had saved the villagers from their sins.
As long as he bore the mantle of evil, the villagers could only be seen as good.
Through this act of redeeming the village's sins, he was recognized by human history as a religious Heroic Spirit, akin to a village-level Jesus.
Upon ascending to the Throne of Heroes, he became a low-tier substitute, a Heroic Spirit who polluted the summoning pool when his true form couldn't be called.
As an unnamed victim without notable achievements, his Noble Phantasm was a D-rank counterfeit, Verg Avesta.
Its true form was the Zoroastrian scripture Avesta, which proposed a cosmology of "light versus darkness." Written in the ancient Persian Empire before Christianity, such sacred texts were undoubtedly EX-rank relics.
However, this counterfeit was merely a village artifact, not a divine original or a saint's transcription, likely riddled with errors.
Through legendary armament, it gained the ability to reflect curses.
Even with the demon king's name, Angra Mainyu was far stronger than in life or as a wraith, but he remained weak compared to normal Heroic Spirits.
Yet, due to an irregular accident, his extreme dualistic malice as an Avenger-class Servant polluted the Grail, amplifying that malice to near-true demon king levels.
Most Heroic Spirits only possessed Magic Resistance, not Harry's immunity to extreme malice.
Even Gilgamesh lacked such a trait. That he could still think clearly, eat, and seek amusement was, in a way, commendable—only a step below a mighty king's intellect.
He knew another premature Holy Grail War was approaching, hoping those mongrels vying for his treasures would provide some entertainment. He'd toy with them like a cat with a mouse.
On the street, Gilgamesh spotted the purple-haired Sakura, while Harry noticed the golden-haired king.
Harry drew his voodoo sword, better suited for silent executions. His instincts screamed that this man might be the strongest opponent he'd ever faced.
Against such a foe, his only chance was the first strike. He couldn't unleash his light to ascend to his peak state beforehand, or he'd be kited to death. The feeling was akin to facing Dumbledore, but this man was far more dangerous.
At least Dumbledore didn't exude the aura that, if Harry were exposed, he'd be instantly overwhelmed by domineering control, erupting into a direct clash with no hope of victory if the distance widened.
Harry sensed that, while Dumbledore was a peerless powerhouse, his weaknesses were too pronounced. If Harry seized the initiative with his domineering aura, Dumbledore likely couldn't Apparate immediately, needing to pass a will check. With high charisma and likely intellect, it'd be a fifty-fifty fight.
Dumbledore's magic was too "clean," lacking ruthless killing techniques or sufficient killing intent, often slacking off. This man, however… felt like he had every trick in the book.
What were his Noble Phantasms? Did he have many?
Was his strongest one capable of destroying heaven and earth, with stats off the charts?
If Harry fell to such a powerhouse, it wouldn't be shameful.
Still, like Dumbledore, this man's threat varied drastically between close and long range. Was this golden-haired man an Archer?
From Rin Tohsaka, Harry had learned that the Holy Grail War involved seven Servants: the three upper classes and four lower ones. The upper classes all had Magic Resistance and were the strongest.
Among them, Saber was the strongest, the top fighter in every Holy Grail War, excelling in close combat.
This man was definitely not Saber.
The last war's victor was likely Saber, but for some reason, they didn't make a wish, leading to the ritual's failure.
Rin's father had summoned a powerful Archer but still lost.
Harry didn't know which class he'd replaced or if he was an irregular extra Servant. Rin mistook him for Caster, and he didn't correct her—perhaps he truly had taken Caster's slot.
Harry guessed this Servant was either Archer or Caster. Given Rin's claim that Caster was weak, he was likely Archer.
This man was already absurdly powerful; he had to be one of the upper three classes.
There was no time to waste. Harry took a deep breath, his muscles reacting faster than his energy or magic, faster than his thoughts.
Without overthinking, before being exposed—"Don't stay here, fall back. I'll do my best to keep that purple-haired girl safe," he said, swallowing the last of his rice ball and leaving those words for Rin.
Harry's right foot pushed off the ground, launching him like an arrow from a bow.
His energy surged through his breathing, the wind cloaking his presence. His Invisibility Cloak had fused with him, its power fully unleashed in this world, becoming a blessing of magic and ancient divine strength.
The wind roared in his ears, but Harry heard nothing. Gilgamesh's gaze carried a weight, but Harry felt nothing.
All his senses were locked on the golden target.
"…" Gilgamesh was in the middle of a "friendly" exchange with Sakura when he suddenly felt… something—
But Harry's Invisibility Cloak was no ordinary item. Elevated by legend, it specialized in concealment, rendering most of Gilgamesh's real-time perception useless.
Crucially, Gilgamesh had removed his foresight-granting Noble Phantasms for amusement's sake. Omniscience and clairvoyance were too boring for his current tyrannical state.
Moreover, after being incarnated by the black mud, his senses had dulled. Against a Heroic Spirit, he might have been more cautious.
Normally, his lowered guard led to absurd outcomes.
In countless parallel worlds, his fight with the young Shirou Emiya was a prime example. Not viewing Shirou as a Heroic Spirit-level threat, he was ambushed, leaving a black mark on his record.
But against someone like Hercules, he'd be fully alert, Noble Phantasms at the ready.
A sword's light tore through the sky.
"What—?"
The Hero King's pupils constricted as he instinctively dodged, but it was too late.
Harry's sword sliced toward his outstretched right hand, the blade carrying the full force of gravity and speed—
Splurch!
Blood sprayed across the ground, blooming like red plum blossoms. An arm flew high, landing steps away, its fingers still poised to summon a Noble Phantasm.
At the last moment, Gilgamesh had sensed the danger, forcing Harry to shift his target.
"Aaaargh! You mongrel!!"
Gilgamesh let out a furious roar, pain coursing through him. Ten years of malice had layered a traditional villain's demeanor onto his tyrannical core.
He staggered back, staring in disbelief at the blood gushing from his severed arm, then at the black-haired boy before him, holding a shattered sword, ready to switch weapons and unleash his full power.
Harry quickly adjusted his stance, releasing the voodoo sword, which had shattered from the soul-infused strike, and drew the Sword of Gryffindor—
He hadn't expected it to go so smoothly. Had he known, he wouldn't have summoned the barely manageable Lightbringer for similar results. This man wore casual clothes; Harry had assumed he had inner armor like himself, but the damage had overflowed.
The strike had been too easy. For a master of this caliber… as long as Harry didn't aim for a fatal blow at the last moment, he could injure him so effortlessly? It was almost unreasonable. Didn't everyone have Instinct?
Perhaps a glass cannon? Maybe only close-combat Servants like Saber had Instinct or Mind's Eye.
Regardless, the first strike had given him the advantage.
Harry wasted no words, activating every available mark—Bloodrage, Ignite, Power Fusion.
The Sword of Gryffindor blazed. Harry skipped the taunts to boost his aura; they were useless and would only give his opponent a chance to recover. He knew he couldn't match this foe in a direct clash.
Swiftly slay him.
"You wretched mongrel… how dare you!" Gilgamesh's face twisted into a snarl, his unprecedented rage causing his magical energy to erupt like a volcano.
Golden ripples spread wildly behind him, denser and more radiant than ever.
Harry knew there'd be no second chance—Certain Kill. This strike had to be direct. He lunged forward, Lightbringer poised to cleave Gilgamesh in two.
Boom!
A torrent of golden magical energy exploded from behind Gilgamesh. In this critical moment, the Gate of Babylon unleashed its maximum power.
Gilgamesh instantly realized ordinary Noble Phantasms couldn't touch Harry—they'd be repelled by his blood-red aura. This boy might be immune to D- or C-rank Noble Phantasms. So, Gilgamesh deployed only high-quality ones.
And, of course, his true Noble Phantasm—
"You mongrel, I don't know what myth's demigod hero you are, but you have divinity, don't you!"