After using the Gate of Babylon to force back the approaching Artoria.
Gilgamesh suddenly found himself looking forward to this "mongrel" who had nearly destroyed his "work" and whose actions had surprised him...
"Interesting... I thought you were just another boring mongrel... Who would have thought... You, King of Knights, this 'mongrel,' are actually someone worth savoring!"
A hint of "lewdness" flashed across his face, though it was really a different kind of recognition. Desire appeared in Gilgamesh's eyes as he looked at Artoria!
Alliance of the Two Kings.
She opened the small golden vial in her hand and took out the Divine Medicine inside.
Artoria warily glanced at Gilgamesh, who stood motionless and allowed her to take the medicine.
Faced with Shirou Chiko, who could no longer eat and whose breathing had become so faint it was nearly imperceptible.
With her brows knitted, Artoria held the pill between two slender fingers and shoved it directly down Shirou Chiko's throat.
As the Divine Medicine went down his throat, the deathly pallor on Shirou Chiko's face rapidly faded before the naked eye, replaced by the healthy flush a normal person should have.
"So... Will you join hands with me from now on? Whether it is the Holy Grail or the problem with this little fellow before you, as long as you..."
"No, I refuse... Whether you acknowledge it or deny it, I am a King. I will not bow beneath another... I can agree to form an alliance with you, but I will never agree to 'join hands' with you!"
A flicker of anger passed through Gilgamesh's eyes at Artoria's audacity in refusing him.
But it quickly disappeared, replaced by a gaze that found Artoria even more interesting.
To the current Gilgamesh, if Kirei Kotomine was compared to a crude work casually thrown together.
Then Artoria was an unpolished jewel...
Gilgamesh now greatly anticipated polishing Artoria, this uncarved gem, into something in his own image.
Just as Gilgamesh stepped forward, prepared to agree to the alliance and begin his first stage of polishing...
Against the cold bright moon, a cloud of black smoke suddenly flew out and descended like flowing water.
As the scattered black mist faded, an old man, a young man, and a young girl appeared directly between him and Artoria.
"Lower your blades before this King..."
The instant she landed, Sakura, looking as though her chuunibyou had flared up, shouted this "famous line" at Gilgamesh and Artoria with what seemed like immense majesty...
But in everyone else's eyes, Sakura's crisp, soft, sugary voice had utterly no imposing force to it. Forget majestic—it was plainly shamelessly acting cute...
Seeing everyone on the field looking at her strangely, Kurumi had even raised her hand and aimed it at her own butt.
Sakura, who had arrived via Teleportation and had been struggling to puff out her completely flat chest while maintaining a serious expression, immediately wilted.
"Ugh... I was joking... Just trying to liven up the mood..."
Kurumi raised a hand and rubbed Sakura's long black hair, then pulled her into her arms with a doting expression.
Faced with Kurumi's utterly unconcerned behavior.
Gilgamesh, already displeased at being interrupted, suddenly shook his head. He then ignored Sakura, Kurumi, and Hassan outright, walked directly to Artoria, and exposed his back to the three of them without any guard.
With a clap, their hands clasped tightly together.
Even with Sakura's interference, Artoria and Gilgamesh, two people who looked utterly incapable of getting along, still formed a Covenant.
Or rather, the arrival of Sakura's group had instead further hastened the Covenant...
The corner of Sakura's mouth twitched as she faced the nearly impossible scene before her.
Struggling free of Kurumi's embrace, Sakura jumped down, rubbed her eyes in disbelief, and cried out...
"Golden Flash and Shirou King formed an alliance... This has to be a joke!"
Two pairs of eyes, one emerald green and the other ruby red, glared at Sakura simultaneously.
Without question, the nicknames Sakura had unconsciously blurted out had directly offended both Kings.
King Hassan silently stepped forward and shielded Sakura behind him.
Although Gilgamesh and Artoria both wanted to give Sakura a good beating, they faced King Hassan's terrifying aura and warning.
As Gilgamesh abandoned the thought, he raised a hand to stop the restless Artoria.
"King of Knights, do not act rashly. This 'Wretch' is no ordinary fellow..."
Staring gravely at King Hassan, Artoria, who had entered this Holy Grail War with the Holy Grail as her goal, could not calm herself in the face of this "opponent."
But Gilgamesh was right. She truly should not act impulsively against such an "opponent." She should investigate him thoroughly first, then devise a detailed plan...
Just as Artoria silently studied King Hassan, attempting to further analyze and judge his strength based on her own experience.
As if she could see through Artoria's thoughts, King Hassan shook her head.
"Gilgamesh, hand him over to me."
Pointing at Shirou Chiko, who remained asleep on the ground due to the body's protective mechanisms despite taking the Divine Medicine, King Hassan calmly stated Sakura's purpose in coming here.
"Never!"
With a sharp shout, Artoria, who had been hesitant just moments ago, immediately entered a combat stance after hearing King Hassan's demand, like an enraged lion!
Meanwhile, after a flicker of hesitation crossed Gilgamesh's face, he folded his arms and stepped aside, assuming the posture of a spectator.
At the same time... while everyone present focused entirely on King Hassan and Artoria.
Kirei Kotomine, who had remained silent before the church ruins for a long time, staring at the back of his "junior sister" without moving as though lost in thought, suddenly had a trace of desire flash through his eyes...
Black Keys slid from his sleeve into his hand.
The gale wrapping the holy sword burst apart with a bang...
Like the whistle signaling the start of a match.
As Artoria swung her holy sword and unleashed Tempest Hammer toward King Hassan, several Black Keys silently flew toward Sakura's back.
"First Bullet!"
"Armor Protection~... Shatter!"
Sakura naturally had not been without precautions against the completely broken Kirei Kotomine. Even if Sakura had been unprepared, Kurumi, who placed Sakura's safety above all else, would never have allowed Kirei Kotomine's ambush to succeed.
As First Bullet struck Sakura and accelerated the time around her.
Sakura instantly completed two spells. While adding protection to herself, she also launched a counterattack against Kirei Kotomine.
With a boom like a bomb exploding.
A deep crater instantly appeared where Kirei Kotomine had been standing, and the ground within several meters shattered apart.
But as a former Executor with abundant combat experience, how could Kirei Kotomine possibly stand there foolishly after launching an ambush and wait for a "victory" that had no chance of coming?
A twisted, chilling smile appeared on his face. Holding a large number of Black Keys between both hands, Kirei Kotomine had already begun moving at high speed like a cheetah before Sakura's counterattack was even launched. Unharmed, he charged toward Sakura along an eerie path.
Sakura nodded at Kurumi.
Quite interested in "teaching" Kirei Kotomine a lesson, Sakura immediately activated Teleportation. After instantly flying a hundred meters away, she began kiting Kirei Kotomine.
The Tyrannical Gilgamesh
One spell after another, resembling welding arcs, was swung with great force by Sakura's thin arms and legs.
As the target of Sakura's attacks, Kirei Kotomine grew increasingly miserable.
His priestly robes, capable of resisting rifle fire at close range, had become tattered under the barrage of spells.
The muscles he had built through years of practicing Baji Quan were covered in hundreds of wounds of every size.
Even after being reduced to such a miserable state, Kirei Kotomine, whose face was full of excitement and whose eyes revealed desire, still did not give up.
Like a perverted stalker, no matter how Sakura toyed with him through Teleportation, he relentlessly pursued her figure.
Gilgamesh smiled at Kurumi, who was staring fixedly at him. With his arms folded, he watched the two battlefields back and forth as though watching monkeys, then nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed this "monkey show" had pleased this King, whose eyes were practically set on the top of his head.
Once again, Sakura used Teleportation to avoid the rapidly approaching Kirei Kotomine.
From beginning to end, she had not used any lethal spells.
Sakura, who had spent the entire time toying with Kirei Kotomine, glanced at the "Most Ancient Show-off King" and helplessly curled her lips in disdain.
It was not because Sakura bore some deep grudge against Kirei Kotomine and was repeatedly toying with him here.
The reason she did not use lethal spells against Kirei Kotomine.
Was simply because Sakura did not want to provoke Gilgamesh into entering the fight.
Although Kurumi and King Hassan were protecting her, Sakura did not believe Gilgamesh could harm her.
But... unless necessary, Sakura had never intended to compete for the Holy Grail. She had come only to retrieve Zouken Matou, and perhaps catch a rabbit while beating the grass by picking up a future "Giant Hero." Naturally, she would not provoke the oddball tyrant Gilgamesh, whose way of thinking was worlds apart from ordinary people.
Therefore, whether Shirou Chiko would be handed over depended on whether King Hassan was willing to put in the effort.
While Sakura continued tangling with the "stalker" Kirei Kotomine.
The battle between King Hassan and Artoria was completely one-sided.
Greatsword in one hand and Greatshield in the other, no matter how Artoria tried, she had never broken through that sword and shield since launching her attack.
She stopped and took several heavy breaths.
Looking at King Hassan, who remained calm and composed, had not used her true strength from the start, and was still placing most of her attention on Gilgamesh during the battle.
While gathering information on King Hassan and continually considering tactics during the fight, Artoria let out a helpless sigh.
There was no solution.
Although King Hassan's martial arts were not especially exceptional, and her strength, speed, reaction speed, and so on were merely on par with Artoria's.
But... the ability of King Hassan's blade to "destroy" even Artoria's attacks and unleashed Noble Phantasms was simply impossible to deal with.
Artoria looked at Shirou Chiko, who was still asleep, and bit her lip unwillingly.
Faced with King Hassan, for whom there was no solution, Artoria had ultimately used nearly all the magical energy she had received from Shirou Chiko. With a sigh, she put away Excalibur and closed her eyes.
Seeing the battlefield between Artoria and King Hassan fall silent, Gilgamesh, who had been eagerly enjoying the show nearby, immediately raised an eyebrow in displeasure.
But Gilgamesh did not take further action, much less show any intent to replace his "ally," Artoria.
After all, watching a monkey show and personally joining in to perform a monkey show were entirely different concepts.
Gilgamesh had no interest in playing house with King Hassan...
Gilgamesh transformed into countless golden motes like fireflies, then reassembled beside Kirei Kotomine the next second. He first raised a hand and summoned an exceedingly ancient Noble Phantasm Shield, blocking all of Sakura's attacks.
Then he grabbed Kirei Kotomine by the shoulder, ending Sakura's battle with Kirei Kotomine.
"Enough. Stop your clumsy performance. This King is bored..."
"Gil..."
"Kirei Kotomine, are you going to defy this King like Tokiomi did?"
Kirei Kotomine furrowed his brow tightly and fearlessly looked Gilgamesh in the eye.
Having been personally shaped by Gilgamesh and thoroughly broken, how could Kirei Kotomine possibly fear Gilgamesh's threat?
At this point, Kirei Kotomine had become a monster who desired only to see people's expressions before death and experience the pleasure of their deaths. The closer they were to him, the more excited he became...
It was as if killing his own family and friends could bring Kirei Kotomine even greater pleasure and fill the emptiness in his heart...
Gilgamesh smiled coldly. He did not blame Kirei Kotomine for his silent "protest," since he himself was the one who had turned him into this.
After all, Kirei Kotomine was the court jester Gilgamesh had personally created, not one of those miscellaneous pieces of trash in his eyes. Besides... what Gilgamesh wanted was precisely a fallen Kirei Kotomine...
"Kirei, let this King teach you one more thing... The longer the wine ages, the better it tastes!"
"The longer it ages, the better it tastes... The longer it ages, the better it tastes...."
He kept muttering those words. After repeating them more than ten times, Kirei Kotomine finally returned to his usual taciturn state and quietly stood beside Gilgamesh.
Artoria had not thought well of Kirei Kotomine or Gilgamesh.
After hearing this exchange, her impression of them became even worse.
Before you continue