Gilgamesh's crimson eyes suddenly narrowed!
He clearly hadn't expected the opponent to be so decisive, and for the method of attack to be so... unreasonable.
But his pride as the oldest King of Heroes and his combat instincts would not allow him to back down.
"Mongrel... how dare you!"
He let out a roar, and the thousands of golden ripples behind him trembled simultaneously!
Countless Noble Phantasms, like an enraged swarm of bees trailing various colors of magical brilliance, collided head-on with those purple magic cannons!
Swords clashed with light cannons, spears intertwined with energy beams, halberds cleaved through magical currents, and wands released spells of protection and counterattack... Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!!!
The deafening sounds of explosions instantly merged into one!
Purple and gold light collided frantically!
Shockwaves, like solid giant rings, expanded outward layer by layer with fierce intensity!
The Tohsaka Residence's sturdy magical barrier shattered instantly like wet paper!
The exquisite landscape in the courtyard, the perimeter walls, and even the buildings and streetlights of the nearby streets... in this energy aftermath that far exceeded the level of a conventional Servant clash, they were crushed and turned to dust as if run over by an invisible giant hand!
Dust mixed with magical remnants, obscuring nearly half of the night sky!
Just the aftermath of the first round of the clash nearly leveled the Tohsaka estate and its surrounding blocks!
Tohsaka Residence
Tohsaka Tokiomi watched the world-ending scene outside through a magical water mirror, his expression instantly becoming extremely grim.
He clutched his cheek, which was still throbbing with pain from Gilgamesh's earlier strike; his elegance and composure were long gone, replaced only by deep unease.
(A clash of this magnitude...)
(That woman named Herta, what exactly is her background?! This magical output, this method of attack... she doesn't seem like a normal Caster at all!)
(And Archer... he actually utilized the 'Gate of Babylon' on such a scale!)
(The surroundings... there are so many ordinary residents nearby! If this continues, let alone the secrets of the Tohsaka family, the entire spiritual pulse and secular Order of Fuyuki City will suffer irreparable impact!)
As a traditional magus who strictly adhered to the principles of elegance and concealment, Tokiomi could not tolerate the situation escalating to such an uncontrollable degree.
This had already far exceeded the 'conventional' scope of the Holy Grail War; it was as if two ancient behemoths were running wild in the city!
On the sofa beside him, Phantylia was still smiling as she waved the small fan in her hand, as if the outside wasn't a destructive explosion but a grand fireworks display.
She even leisurely adjusted her sitting posture, her fox tail swaying gently.
"Mr. Tohsaka, why so anxious?"
Phantylia's voice was delicate and melodious, carrying a sort of detached laziness. "The two guests are in high spirits; why should we spoil the fun?"
Hearing this, Tokiomi was so angry he almost couldn't catch his breath.
Spoil the fun?
The outside is about to be torn down!
But he was wary of this 'Tamamo-no-Mae's' unfathomable strength and eccentric temperament. He could only suppress his anger and prepare to use a command spells again—this time not to recall Archer, but to forcibly Order him to stop this indiscriminate destruction!
However, the battle outside changed abruptly once more!
Amidst the intense clash of purple and gold flames filling the sky, a deep purple magic cannon beam fired from a tricky angle. Like a phantom, it penetrated a tiny gap in the Noble Phantasm interception net, grazing the shoulder of Gilgamesh's golden armor by a mere hair's breadth!
Sizzle—!
It tore through the armor's protection, leaving a shallow but exceptionally clear scorched bloody wound on his shoulder!
A few drops of blood splattered out!
The damage was minor, but the insult was immense!
"YOU—LOWLY—MONGREL—!!!"
Gilgamesh went completely berserk!
The successive humiliations (ice arrows, coughing blood, and now being grazed) caused his string of reason to snap entirely!
Only the madness of total destruction remained in his crimson eyes!
He no longer held back; he no longer tested the waters!
The vast, star-like golden ripples behind him suddenly contracted toward the center!
All the phantom images of Noble Phantasms vanished, replaced by three incredibly massive, cylindrical red ripples that seemed to pierce through heaven and earth!
From the center of these three ripples, a strangely shaped 'thing' slowly rose.
It was like a sword yet not a sword, like a spear yet not a spear; it was more like segments wound together, forming a strange structure that slowly rotated.
It had no magnificent decorations, yet it radiated an aura that far surpassed all previous Noble Phantasms!
Its mere existence caused the surrounding space to let out a groan of being overburdened, and light itself distorted!
Anti-World Noble Phantasm—Sword of Rupture!
"Behold! This is the sword that cleaves the world! Enuma Elish: The Star of Creation that Divides Heaven and Earth!!!"
Gilgamesh reached out as if gripping an invisible hilt, holding it high!
The dark red blade began to accelerate its rotation, faster and faster!
A terrifying energy storm began to brew and gather with it as the center!
Crimson destructive light began to burst forth; wherever it passed, space developed cracks like fragile glass!
The spiritual pulse of the entire Fuyuki City was trembling, as if it would be completely torn apart by this world-creating power in the next moment!
Tohsaka Tokiomi's face was deathly pale. No longer caring about elegance or restraint, he almost screamed: "Archer!!! Stop!!!"
He was about to raise his hand engraved with the command spellss!
If this strike truly came down, let alone the Tohsaka family, let alone Fuyuki City... Tokiomi couldn't even imagine what kind of horrifying consequences would follow!
Just at this critical moment, right before the apparent arrival of the apocalypse—
Crack.
A sound like glass shattering echoed in everyone's perception.
Following that, centered on the Tohsaka Residence, whether it was the world-destroying purple and gold light outside, the violent spatial cracks, the rotating Sword of Rupture... or the terrified expression of Tokiomi inside and Phantylia's playful smile... everything—the scenes, sounds, magical fluctuations, and even the emotions and actions of everyone from the previous moment—
Like a pencil drawing erased by an eraser, or like a shattered reflection in a mirror, it all vanished without warning.
Tohsaka Tokiomi snapped his eyes open.
He found himself still sitting in the main seat, his posture almost identical to before.
A slight burning sensation seemed to linger on his cheek.
The furnishings in the room were intact, the courtyard outside the window was quiet and peaceful, and the moonlight was like water, without any trace of battle.
Gilgamesh's figure slowly shifted from ethereal to solid in the center of the room, materializing from his spirit form.
His face was frighteningly dark, and his crimson eyes still held remnants of unvented rage and a hint of... indescribable frustration.
The golden armor on his body was perfectly intact, and there was no wound on his shoulder.
Phantylia was still elegantly leaning against the sofa, waving her folding fan as if she had never moved.
Only in those charming fox-like eyes of hers, a more intense interest was now flickering.
"W-What happened?"
Tohsaka Tokiomi looked around blankly, then at Gilgamesh and Phantylia. "Wasn't it just... Archer, you went out? And that attack..."
A brief confusion and gap appeared in his memory.
Clearly, just a second ago, there were world-destroying scenes and the terrifying pressure of Sword of Rupture about to be unleashed. How did everything... return to normal in the blink of an eye?
Gilgamesh gave a cold snort and didn't answer. He only cast a cold glance from his crimson eyes toward a certain direction outside the window, then his figure faded again, disappearing directly into spirit form. Clearly, he didn't even care to explain and didn't want to stay here for the time being.
Phantylia closed her folding fan with a'snap' and lightly pressed the fan's frame against her chin. Her red lips parted slightly as she let out a soft chuckle.
"Hehehe... Mr. Tohsaka, there is no need to panic."
Her voice carried a certain mysterious charm. "That was just... an overly realistic illusion."
"An illusion?"
Tokiomi became even more confused. "But those magical fluctuations, that sense of pressure... and Archer's anger..."
"To be able to deceive the perception of a top-tier Heroic Spirit and present it in such a realistic way to everyone present..."
Phantylia's fox eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the night sky outside the window, her tone becoming meaningful. "It seems that besides us two uninvited guests, there is also a remarkable Memokeeper hidden in Fuyuki City tonight. It's... getting more and more interesting."
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