What If You Changed Saviors

Chapter 75: Encounter (2)

This probing attack was Xi Jianxi's attempt to restrain Gilgamesh. He hooked Gilgamesh's launched Noble Phantasm, specifically the prototype Noble Phantasm called Harpe, with his own Red Spear and flung it.

Naturally, Gilgamesh blocked the scythe with other Noble Phantasms.

As the dust quickly dissipated in the wind, Gilgamesh saw the two retreat towards the forest on the side of the church.

"Realizing you can't defeat me, so you're trying to retreat into the forest?" Gilgamesh muttered to himself with a cold laugh. "Fine, hunting is meant to be done while chasing prey; a one-hit kill is boring."

He walked leisurely, unhurriedly following the route the two had taken, and entered the forest.

This forest contained many graves. Most religious citizens were buried in this area after their deaths, interred as followers.

Walking along the path through the graveyard, permeated with the scent of death, Gilgamesh thought it a fitting place for Xi Jianxi and Saber to be buried.

Although Servants did not leave behind bodies after death.

Xi Jianxi was the first to charge out, moving at extreme speed between various tombstones.

In terms of speed, he was far beyond Kirei.

"Is this what it means to reach the realm of heroes in a human body?" Gilgamesh calmly commented on Xi Jianxi, "But speed alone is not enough."

Along with his words, multiple Noble Phantasms were unleashed.

However, Xi Jianxi used the tombstones as cover and obstacles, making it difficult for Gilgamesh to lock on precisely. His Noble Phantasms were either easily knocked away or smashed into the tombstones.

The short distance of about ten meters was instantly closed by Xi Jianxi, bringing him within reach.

The Red Spear he thrust forward was parried by the black and red short sword Gilgamesh casually swung before it could reach his body.

Sensing danger, Xi Jianxi quickly retreated.

"That's... a Noble Phantasm with a curse of vengeance," Xi Jianxi assumed a stance, preparing for a second attack.

At this moment, Gilgamesh produced a sharp, silver dagger. With a casual sweep through the air, an unknown cold wind suddenly whipped up and attacked Xi Jianxi.

Making a decisive move, Xi Jianxi also summoned a strong wind, countering the Noble Phantasm's attack.

Although it didn't touch his body, Xi Jianxi glimpsed ice shards forming in the air around him, freezing the area that had been blocked by the 'Vacuum Wave'.

Its power was no less than his great magic, 'Great Ice Age'.

Taking advantage of Gilgamesh's distraction, Artoria leaped out from the bushes behind him and slashed at the golden Servant with the sword in her hand.

But a much larger greatsword, as if only a giant could wield it, smashed down, cutting off her attack route.

Another sword of the same scale but different design descended towards Xi Jianxi.

Barely dodging the greatsword that fell vertically due to its weight, he flipped over, sprinted upwards along the blade, and quickly reached an altitude of ten meters.

"Take this!"

The Red Spear cut through the air and flew towards Gilgamesh.

He wasn't wearing that armor, and now might be the best opportunity.

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow, "That spear?"

Then, a golden gate launched a Noble Phantasm that bore a striking resemblance to Xi Jianxi's spear. The two spears collided and canceled each other out.

Xi Jianxi caught the ricocheting spear, flipped a few times in mid-air, and finally landed lightly behind Artoria.

"Truly troublesome, to have even that," Xi Jianxi said with a wry smile.

Sensing an attack of a similar nature, and unable to inflict effective damage even with the advantage of terrain, Artoria seized the moment of Xi Jianxi's clash with Gilgamesh to release the 'Wind King Barrier'.

Xi Jianxi's attack was merely a distraction; this was the main event.

Her surroundings began to shimmer, and the wind that blew formed a vortex, becoming a protective whirlwind.

Then, the golden sword appeared.

Gilgamesh, sensing this, gradually lost his playful, mocking smile.

"Is that the Holy Sword rumored to be forged in the Sea of the World?" Gilgamesh remained composed, "Just right, let me bring out something comparable to test your strength."

He raised his hand, and from the golden gate, a very peculiar Noble Phantasm appeared, one that was even questionable whether it should be called a "sword."

A cylindrical sword body.

The blade, composed of three parts, began to rotate in different directions.

With just a glance, although he hadn't yet grasped its true name or more information, Xi Jianxi understood what the Noble Phantasm's form signified.

Heaven. Earth. The Netherworld.

Combined, they signified 'The Universe'.

"A clash of Noble Phantasms..." Artoria said fearlessly, channeling all her magic to its maximum, preparing to release the Noble Phantasm's true name.

"It's time to appear, Ea," Gilgamesh spoke coldly.

"Oath (Ex)——" The King of Knights, without a hint of hesitation, swung the sword that could cleave earth and rivers with a single strike, "Sword of Victory (calibur)!"

"Enuma Elish."

Two voices of different temperatures intertwined, a blinding white light erupted, and an immense wind pressure made it almost impossible to breathe.

He would lose.

Xi Jianxi had already foreseen the outcome of the Noble Phantasm clash.

The thirteenth of the Original Runes, a protective incantation.

There was no room for hesitation within it.

Xi Jianxi didn't know how much of the strange Noble Phantasm's true name release he could withstand, but if he did nothing, not only would Artoria be severely injured, but he would also be caught in the backlash.

The golden Servant likely intended to annihilate both him and Saber in a single blow.

What came at him was hell itself, as if at the dawn of creation, the boundary between life and death blurring.

Xi Jianxi gripped the spear in his hand tightly, pushing his magic circuits to their absolute limit.

Using the thirteenth Original Rune as a foundation, he unleashed all eighteen Runes, activating his protective magic.

It felt like an eternity, though it might have only been a few seconds.

The clash of the two "swords" seemed to tear the entire world in half.

"—Haaah—!!!"

He and the King of Knights let out roars of defiance.

When everything subsided, the graveyard behind the church was utterly devastated. Most of the surrounding trees had been cut down at the waist, and the ravaged land looked as if it had been struck by a natural disaster.

Gilgamesh sheathed his Ea, looking at Xi Jianxi and Artoria, whom he held in his arms, caught by Xi Jianxi, with an arrogant approval.

She held the Holy Sword in one hand, instinctively coughing a few times, expelling blood from her throat, and relying on Xi Jianxi's support to barely remain standing.

Leaning on the Red Spear in his hand, Xi Jianxi was also covered in wounds, not faring much better than Saber.

One of his eyes was so bloodied he couldn't open it, but the other still stared resolutely at Gilgamesh.

"Oh—" the King of Heroes exclaimed, "To even overcome death, truly commendable."

Xi Jianxi pulled out the spear he was leaning on, holding it with one hand, and managed to stay upright.

Thunder rumbled from the sky as Gilgamesh brushed some dust off his jacket.

"Then, as a reward, I shall spare you for today. Next time, I, this King, will personally sever your head as my appreciation."

Accompanied by his supremely arrogant laughter, Gilgamesh materialized and vanished.

What descended from the sky next was the King of Conquerors, arriving with his Noble Phantasm.

Chapter 76: Regrouping

Archer, Gilgamesh, had retreated on his own, citing that he was "done playing."

Rider, Iskandar, however, sped towards the Tohsaka residence in Shinshiyama from the depths of the mountains, piloting his Noble Phantasm.

As soon as the battle with Gilgamesh began, Xi Jianxi and Artoria had activated their magical communication as they retreated into the forest.

It was a small magical trinket made by Morgan before they departed.

With just a small amount of mana to destroy it, it could alert parties separated by great distances to an urgent situation, allowing them to provide aid.

However, speaking of the matter, based on the magical fluctuations generated by the clash between "Excalibur" and "Enuma Elish" just now, Xi Jianxi surmised that Morgan, who was likely at home, would have sensed it by now.

Seeing the familiar chariot slowly descend, and the figures of Iskandar and Waver on it, Xi Jianxi finally felt a slight sense of relief. As the strength in his hands loosened, Artoria slid from his embrace. He quickly reached out again to catch her, and they both fell to the ground.

They had already used their remaining strength in that last exchange. Although Iskandar had arrived quickly, Xi Jianxi had been prepared to use a Command Spell to summon Morgan for assistance.

"Hey, young man, can you still hold on?" Rider asked with grave concern as he jumped off the chariot.

"I'm alright, no major injuries," Xi Jianxi said quietly, retracting the Red Spear and answering.

Rider didn't hesitate. "Hey, kid. You know healing magic, right?"

"Uh... that..." Waver stammered awkwardly. His magical proficiency hadn't reached a level where he could skillfully use healing magic.

If it were a cut on a finger or a scraped knee, it wouldn't be a problem.

But Xi Jianxi was covered in wounds, looking like he could die at any moment. This was beyond his capabilities.

"It's fine, I can handle it myself," Xi Jianxi said, raising his hand to stop him.

Responding to his words, the Runes on his body lit up, and his external wounds began to heal slowly, visibly. Waver estimated that within another minute or two, Xi Jianxi's internal and external injuries would be completely healed.

However, this self-initiated healing magic didn't seem as efficient as the Crests passed down through generations of Magus families.

"What the heck, if you had a trump card, you should have said so! You made me worry for nothing," Waver complained with his arms crossed now that the situation was no longer critical.

Xi Jianxi merely smiled as he watched Waver get lightly tapped on the head by Rider as a reminder.

"I'm fine, but Saber's condition isn't as optimistic," Xi Jianxi added.

"No... I'm alright," Artoria's eyes dimmed. Although she tried to speak politely and steadily, her voice was inevitably tinged with weakness. "Thanks to your magic."

While she had been the main force in the Noble Phantasm clash, if Xi Jianxi hadn't sensed it beforehand and urgently deployed defensive formations to minimize the damage from Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm, her injuries would have been far more severe.

"Now is not the time to be tough and say things like that," Xi Jianxi sighed. "I'll use Runes to help you heal for now. Although your core hasn't been damaged, you can't materialize to recover on your own. We'll have to discuss it further back."

"I'm deeply grateful," Artoria said with a wry smile, then closed her eyes to accept the magical treatment, no longer wasting energy by speaking.

Seeing that both of them were gradually recovering, Rider and Waver finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As soon as they received the emergency contact, they rushed from the Tohsaka mansion, using their Noble Phantasms to fly over, expecting a fierce battle with Gilgamesh.

"But it's strange, that golden flash actually ran away on his own," Iskandar didn't believe the other party was deliberately avoiding the fight. "I thought we'd have to use a Noble Phantasm to contend with him."

"Who knows, Archer has always been capricious and looked down on his enemies," Xi Jianxi offered his opinion. "Perhaps he felt it was meaningless and wanted to wait until we were in good condition to face us all at once, then wipe us out."

Waver pouted, "I don't know if this counts as underestimating the enemy or what..."

"More importantly, our investigation yielded nothing, only that the Church's supervisor, Kirei Kotomine, was killed," Xi Jianxi turned to exchange information with the two while he was being treated. "Judging from the scene, he was most likely killed from behind by someone he trusted, while completely defenseless."

He hadn't expected Kirei Kotomine to actually commit patricide. Xi Jianxi also understood that if Kirei Kotomine wasn't stopped, and the corrupted Holy Grail fell into that man's hands, the situation would only worsen.

"It's about the same on our end, we didn't find that man named Tokiomi Tohsaka," Rider said, stroking his beard.

Waver leaned against the side of the chariot. "But the Tohsaka family's barrier was basically not functioning, meaning the person responsible for maintaining it was likely taken away. We searched all the rooms in the Tohsaka mansion and only found a small pool of blood in the study."

"Judging by the size of the bloodstain, it certainly wasn't a fatal wound," Rider said. "After all, if you intend to kill someone, you wouldn't clean up immediately after striking. He probably stopped the bleeding right after he succeeded."

For Servants accustomed to blood, it wasn't difficult to determine if the victim had died on the spot.

"Then Tokiomi Tohsaka should still be alive," Xi Jianxi recalled what Kirei had said last night at Einzbern Castle. "Kirei Kotomine took the core of the Einzbern's Lesser Holy Grail because as long as he had the core, the state of the vessel didn't matter..."

Waver's expression changed. "Are you saying Tokiomi Tohsaka was used as the core for the Holy Grail's descent?"

"I'm afraid so."

Xi Jianxi nodded.

The treatment was gradually coming to an end, and he had mostly recovered, while Artoria's condition had stabilized.

"For the return trip, we'll have to squeeze onto Rider's chariot," Xi Jianxi said.

"No problem." Artoria wasn't one to seek comfort and naturally understood the current situation.

The King of Conquerors proudly patted the throne of his chariot. "Don't let its cramped appearance fool you; when flying through the sky, it's more powerful than modern vehicles."

Xi Jianxi smiled silently, reaching out to pick up Artoria. She quickly tried to break free, "I can walk myself, and besides, what would a dignified monarch look like being carried around?"