---o---
[Light Screen Projection——
On the light screen, Lancer Diarmuid had arrived at the scene, the Fuyuki City seaport. However, the sight that greeted him was shocking.
He saw a crowd of ordinary people with vacant expressions, the light having uniformly vanished from their eyes. They were slowly walking toward the seaport—or more accurately, toward the mountainous flesh monster.
Their expressions were as if they'd been broken, like string puppets moving with mechanical, aimless steps.
They seemed to want to embrace the meatball monster, but were only stopped because Elysia had contained it within her barrier.
Diarmuid: "Mind control—what an evil power!!"
—To plunge so many ordinary people into such a state, the monster before him possessed a power beyond imagination.
At this moment, Diarmuid had not yet made the connection to Outer Gods. After all, not everyone knew of these existences that drifted outside the world, and it should have been impossible for them to appear in the present day, long after the end of the Age of Gods.
But regardless, forcing so many ordinary people into a controlled state had already struck a nerve with Diarmuid.
As Heroic Spirits from human history, the vast majority of them held goodwill towards humanity itself. As long as it didn't violate their own taboos, they would extend a helping hand to humans in peril.
And Diarmuid was one such hero. He could not possibly allow so many humans to die before his eyes; it would violate his knightly code.
However, before Diarmuid could act, the unexpected happened.
A sudden clap of thunder echoed in the sky. Flashes of lightning appeared between the clouds, followed by the bellowing of bulls. The King of Conquerors and his young Master descended from the sky in their chariot, trailing sparks and lightning, their target being Diarmuid's location.
The King of Conquerors had arrived. With his help, things should be a bit easier for Elysia—this was the thought that crossed the minds of the viewers watching the light screen.
After all, the King of Conquerors had just had his moment of glory, instantly annihilating the entire group of Assassins with his Army of the King. Now, facing this vessel of an Outer God, even if he wasn't its match, he should at least be able to inflict some damage, right?
"I did not expect to see you here, Rider. You must have also come because of the commotion caused by Caster."
Diarmuid asked the King of Conquerors before him.
"Ah—we were in the middle of drinking, but the ruckus Caster kicked up was a bit too much."
"A monster like this... is going to be a handful—"
Time was short, and the King of Conquerors had no leisure to chat with Lancer. More and more humans were gathering here. This was no longer a time to worry about the secrecy of the Holy Grail War. If they didn't act soon, the moment Elysia's barrier shattered, all of these people would lose their lives in an instant.
"Wh-what in the world is that monster—"
Waver clung tightly to the King of Conquerors' cape, using his half-baked magecraft to observe the meatball monster inside the pink dome.
Because Elysia had made no attempt to conceal it from the outside world, even a fledgling magus like Waver could see the scene within.
But at this moment, Waver was thoroughly terrified by the mountain of flesh. The sheer amount of magical energy enveloping it was just too staggering—
"R-Rider! Is there any way to destroy that monster directly? With your Noble Phantasm... you can do it, right?!"
Waver said nervously, as if seeking a sense of security from the King of Conquerors.
The King of Conquerors looked at the flesh monster and said, "Well—I already used the Army of the King once just now. Kid, don't you know your own mana reserves? Besides... looking at this thing, it's probably useless even if I could use it. A monster with super-regeneration and such dense mana is not the kind of foe I'm good at dealing with."
Hearing this, Waver's expression grew tense. If even a Noble Phantasm on the level of the Army of the King couldn't handle that flesh monster, it was far too terrifying.
However, the King of Conquerors' tone suddenly shifted. "Though I don't have such a Noble Phantasm, the one who does have a weapon of mass destruction has already arrived."
At these words, Waver and Diarmuid were both stunned. The King of Conquerors looked toward the sky behind him. Seeing his action, the two followed his gaze.
There, a glittering golden object was flying toward the Mion River estuary, stopping about a hundred meters from the shore at an altitude of five hundred meters.
Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a ship made of gold, adorned with numerous pearls and agates. It shone with a golden light in the night sky, like a firefly in the darkness, instantly catching the eye.
Such a grand entrance, and that glittering golden appearance—there was no doubt. This was definitely the property of the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
The camera shifted to the ship, and the viewers were once again stunned by Gilgamesh's "luxury." The entire vessel was crafted from gold, with countless gems, pearls, and agates embedded all over it. Prying off even a single piece would probably set you up for life.
The golden ark resembled an ancient warship in shape, but its construction was more streamlined, with impeccably clean-cut craftsmanship. All its angles were sharp, making it a perfect modern work of art.
Except, a modern work of art couldn't fly, let alone in a manner that seemed to defy all known principles of flight.
Near the center-rear of this ship was a golden throne, upon which sat the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
Irisviel and Saber stood on the deck. It was clear that, for some unknown reason, the King of Heroes had brought along Saber, the very person he looked down on the most.
Irisviel was still in a state of shock, unable to recover. "Amazing," she marveled. "This Noble Phantasm... it can actually fly, and so fast..."
The King of Heroes heard her and boasted with great pride, "But of course. This king has said it before: my treasury contains countless treasures, each worthy of being called a supreme treasure. And this Vimana is one of my favorite flying Noble Phantasms!"
Vimana—the Throne of the Sky-Soaring King. A resplendent 'ark' that could soar through the heavens, formed from gold and emeralds. It is a flying machine recorded in the two great ancient Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. It uses solar energy generated by a solar crystal fueled by mercury, allowing it to fly at high speeds in defiance of physical laws. It possesses immense offensive power, equipped with various Noble Phantasm systems and even ancient nuclear warheads.
This was Gilgamesh's favorite personal vehicle. At full power, its speed was even greater than the chariot of the King of Conquerors.]
---o---
[Light Screen Bullet Comments——
With the appearance of Vimana, the viewers were once again captivated by its splendor, further cementing their understanding of just how mind-boggling the treasures within the King of Heroes' treasury were.
[Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "So rich, so amazing. Is this the world of the wealthy?"]
[Conan Edogawa: "Ancient nuclear warheads? I know what nuclear warheads are, but what does 'ancient' mean? They had nukes in ancient times?"]
[L: "The King of Heroes' combat capability needs to be reassessed. With the power of a nuke, it wouldn't be surprising if he could level all of Fuyuki City."]
[Tokisaki Kurumi: "He can always pull out some strange and wonderful things. Truly the oldest of kings. But I'm quite curious now, how will you defeat that monster? After all, even that King of Conquerors' Noble Phantasm is useless against it."]
[King of Heroes: "Do not compare that thing to my treasures. It is a mere vessel. Dealing with it is well within this king's power."]
[Yukinoshita Yukino: "This had better not be arrogance this time. That thing is a world-ending catastrophe. Please take this seriously."]
[Saitama: "World-ending—that's a God-level threat. I wonder if I could handle it."]
---o---
[Light Screen Projection——
After the golden ark came to a stop, Saber nodded her thanks to the King of Heroes for the ride, then leaped off the ship while holding Irisviel, landing safely on the ground.
After watching Saber depart, Gilgamesh's gaze turned to the inside of the pink dome, his tone dripping with annoyance. "As I thought, it's the work of those Outer Gods. Utterly disgusting! If I use the Gate of Babylon to attack such a vile thing, this king won't even want to retrieve the treasures that touch it."
Okay, that's you alright. Everything in the Gate of Babylon is a Noble Phantasm. Who uses them and doesn't even bother to collect them afterward? Their value is beyond what can be described as merely "expensive"—
The viewers had no words, they could only say that the world of the rich was beyond their imagination.
And on the screen, despite speaking like a germaphobe, Gilgamesh's eyes were still filled with killing intent—
This world, to the very ends of time and space, was his garden. For those disgusting Outer Gods to dare invade the king's garden was tantamount to trampling on the king's dignity.
"What an ugly sight..."
The King of Heroes said as he looked at the monster inside the pink dome. Even if it would defile his treasures, he had no choice but to erase this monster. Otherwise, in the modern era where the Age of Gods had faded, humanity might truly go extinct.
However, looking at Elysia inside the pink dome, Gilgamesh couldn't help but frown again.
"Although that monster is less than a mongrel, it is still a vessel for a god from outside the world... Hmph—to think that woman has some skill—now... has even this king been reduced to having to team up to deal with that filth? How sentimental."
But unlike the sentimental Gilgamesh, Tokiomi Tohsaka, back in his home, was on the verge of losing his mind—
As a general rule, magecraft must be used in secret—it was precisely for upholding this grand principle that the Tohsaka family was granted the role of Administrator by the Mage's Association. The devastation Caster was causing not only threatened the continuation of the Grail itself, but also caused Tokiomi to lose face completely.
If the unleashed monster went on another rampage, it would surely cause an unprecedented catastrophe. Then, the problem would be far greater than the reward for hunting Caster or the direction of the Holy Grail War.
This monster had to be dealt with immediately. If the number of witnesses continued to grow, the prestige of the Tohsaka family would be at stake.
"O King, that monster is a pest ravaging your garden. Please, mete out your judgment upon it."
To prevent the situation from worsening, Tokiomi Tohsaka decisively chose to communicate with Gilgamesh using a Command Spell.
"That is a gardener's job. And, Tokiomi... I believe I have told you not to speak to me with a Command Spell."
Gilgamesh immediately rejected Tokiomi's request.
He intended to deal with that disgusting thing, but that was no reason for Tokiomi to use a Command Spell to inform him of it.
As a king, Gilgamesh hated being ordered and controlled, and the Command Spell in Tokiomi's hand was undoubtedly a source of his displeasure.
He continued, "Tokiomi, do not mistake my treasures for a gardener's hoe. Those things from outside the world are already trampling my garden, yet you, my subject, hide in the rear. For what reason?"
Before Tokiomi could say anything more, Gilgamesh unilaterally severed the communication, an easy feat for him.
It was at this precise moment—that the scene on the light screen changed. The pink dome constructed by Elysia shattered in an instant, and the monster within was revealed once more.
With the breaking of the barrier, the monster's form was revealed, and its immense magical energy once again filled the skies above Fuyuki. More and more ordinary people were affected, irresistibly drawn toward the monster.
At that moment, Elysia had also returned to the shore to observe the situation.
She had held it in check for so long, yet its magical energy had not diminished in the slightest. This greatly surprised Elysia, who had never fought such a creature before.
The reason she hadn't used her full power was that this was the city center. But for it to endure over half an hour of containment and an arrow bombardment as if nothing had happened was simply off the charts.
Did she need to use even greater power? But...
Before Elysia could think further, the monster in the distance suddenly began to writhe more violently.
Then, a part of the giant flesh mountain's body broke off, splitting away from the main mass.
The detached chunks of flesh quickly writhed and morphed. In just a few breaths, they had transformed into hundreds of tentacle monsters, identical to the ones Bluebeard had summoned before.
Only this time, the tentacle monsters were all massive. The smallest was at least five meters tall, with tentacles that extended over ten meters, creating a terrifying sight.
The next moment, these tentacle monsters contracted their bodies and then suddenly expanded, launching their enormous forms like springs, rapidly closing in on the coastline and the residential houses by the river.
Clearly, after detecting the presence of humans, it could no longer contain its desires. It wanted to devour them even before the mind-controlled people could reach it—]