The sky above Snowfield City was pitch black.
Origami discovered this while leading Tiné back to the city from the western hills.
The entire city was shrouded in a thick layer of black fog, which, from a distance, looked like a giant black hat placed on top of the city.
The black fog was uneven in concentration, thinner at the edges and thicker towards the center, with the city center area being almost completely dark.
From the perspective of Spirit Origin perception, these black mists did not exhibit any magical reaction.
It doesn't seem like Magecraft or Noble Phantasm.
It's more like the concept itself is spreading.
The edge of the black fog had spread to the residential areas on the outskirts of the city, and there were no pedestrians on the streets.
The entire city was as quiet as if it were dead.
The Origami flew into the edge of the black mist.
The moment the black mist touched Origami's body.
Nothing happened.
There was no reaction to erosion or infection, and no discomfort whatsoever.
on the contrary.
Origami felt a strange sense of familiarity.
She didn't dislike the primal aura of the black mist.
There's even a subtle sense of intimacy.
"... strangeness."
It's purely a physical sensation.
" Origami -sama?"
Tiné saw the Origami stop in mid-air and called out in confusion.
"It's alright. Let's keep going."
at the same time.
Snowfield City Police Department, Chief's Office.
Orlando Reeves sat behind his desk, holding a gold cup in his hand.
Uruk Great Cup.
This contingency plan was left behind by the golden-haired man before he set off.
"If I am defeated, use this cup as a medium to summon me again."
That's what he said.
Orlando didn't press the matter at the time.
Now he's glad he didn't ask any more questions.
A few hours ago.
His contractual awareness told him that Gilgamesh's Spirit Origin had disappeared.
Orlando put down the documents in his hand and stood in his office for a long time.
Then he locked the office door and drew a simplified version of Servant summoning True Magic circle on the floor.
The ritual for summoning Servant was completed at the start of the Holy Grail War.
All the Servant are now in place.
Theoretically speaking, there should be no further summoning response.
However, Gilgamesh left behind a medium that does not belong to the Holy Grail system.
Uruk Great Cup.
This thing was not a product of the Holy Grail War.
It is one of the countless treasures stored in the King of Heroes's treasury.
A Holy Grail from the true mythological era.
Orlando placed the golden cup in the center of the True Magic circle.
Take a deep breath.
Then begin chanting the summoning incantation.
"Inform,"
"You entrust your body to me, and my fate to your sword—"
The True Magic circle began to emit a blue light.
"If you follow this wish, this morality, then respond to me--"
The light grew brighter and brighter.
Orlando sensed a massive surge of magical power being pulled from somewhere in the void.
There was a real reaction.
The light from the True Magic circle changed from blue to gold.
The gold grew brighter and brighter, forcing Orlando to squint.
Then.
The light vanished instantly.
The office lighting has been restored to normal.
Orlando lowered his arm.
In the center of the summoning circle stood a person.
A golden figure.
He has a face similar to Gilgamesh's, but his temperament is completely different.
Younger.
They were even more spirited and energetic.
There was no suffocating Pride or ferocity in those red eyes.
His short, golden hair stood up in a flamboyant manner, and his shoulders and waist were covered by magnificent but not bulky Uruk- style golden armor.
His chest and abdomen were mostly exposed, revealing well-defined muscles.
The gold earrings swayed gently beside her ears.
This person looks more like the person who should be called the " King of Heroes ".
The summoned man glanced down at the Uruk Great Cup lying at his feet.
A look of surprise appeared on his face.
"... Isn't this my large cup?"
He bent down, picked up the golden cup, and examined it in his hand.
"How did it get here? This thing should be in my treasure vault."
Then he looked up at Orlando.
"You're the one who summoned me?"
Orlando composed himself.
The aura of this Servant before me is completely different from that of Gilgamesh before.
But face.
They do indeed have very similar faces.
"Yes. I am Orlando Reeves, Chief of Police for Snowfield City."
"You were summoned because you used the power of this cup."
Orlando pointed to the golden cup in his hand.
"This cup is called the Uruk Great Cup. It was left to me Servant Gilgamesh, the Caster-class Servant who participated in the Holy Grail War, before he set off."
"He instructed me that if he were defeated and forced to retreat, I should use this cup as a medium to summon him again."
"A few hours ago, I confirmed his departure through my contractual perception. So I immediately prepared the summoning ritual."
"The one originally summoned should have been Gilgamesh."
Orlando paused for a moment, then continued explaining.
After listening to Orlando's explanation, the summoned man...
A hint of amusement flashed in his red eyes.
"You mean, in this Holy Grail War, both my other self and my best friend Enkidu were summoned."
"In another instance, while I was fighting with my best friend, a silver- Servant intervened and beat us both up."
"Later, when my other self went to seek revenge, I was directly defeated and forced to leave the stage."
"Did you summon me using another Uruk Great Cup that I left behind?"
"That's right, Your Majesty the King of Heroes."
The summoned man remained silent for two seconds.
Then he laughed.
"I see."
He casually tossed the Uruk Great Cup into the air, where it spun once before vanishing in a golden glow.
"Afterwards, I will take the place of another version of myself and win this Holy Grail War."
He looked at Orlando.
"All you need to do is stay hidden."
"... clear."
Orlando nodded.
He had seen many different kinds of Servant.
The person in front of me is clearly much easier to get along with than the previous one.
At least they won't resort to insults like "scumbag" all the time.
"Oh, right."
The golden-haired man looked back one last time before turning away.
"What class was that silver-haired Servant defeated my other self?"
"Archer."
"... Archer?"
He smiled.
"Interesting."
"Then I'll go and meet this fellow Archer first."
Golden light emanated from his body.
Only the lingering magical energy remained in the office, along with a police chief standing in the center of the True Magic circle, his expression complex.
Orlando sat down in the chair and covered his face with his hands.
"... Now things are even more chaotic."
On the other side.
The underground of Snowfield City.
A place no one knows about.
Ereshkigal stood in a dark blue cave.
This is her Underworld.
After being summoned by the chain, the first thing she did was to transform the entire underground of Snowfield City into her own Underworld.
Nobody knows about this.
Even Ishtar didn't know.
The Underworld has no sky; the earth is gray rock and dry cracks.
Countless Soul Cage Spears rose from the ground, spreading throughout the Underworld like a vast thicket of thorns.
This is the land of the dead.
All the souls of the dead eventually come here.
That's how it should have been.
"Let me go!! You damned woman from the underworld!!"
A roar came from the depths of the Underworld.
Ereshkigal sighed.
She turned her head and looked in the direction of the sound.
In the central region of the Underworld, a colossal figure was pinned to the ground by dozens of Soul Cage Spears.
A tall man.
Long black hair.
The soul of Heracles.
After his death, his soul did not return to the Throne of Heroes.
Instead, they were automatically recycled by the Underworld.
Then the man started causing havoc in the Underworld.
The Soul Cage Spears that she had meticulously constructed.
They tore apart the guide at the entrance to the Underworld.
They turned what was once a peaceful resting place for the deceased into chaos.
Countless souls who were peacefully awaiting reincarnation were terrified and scattered in all directions by him.
It took Ereshkigal a full hour, using his powers as the ruler of the underworld, to barely manage to temporarily seal him in the central region of the Underworld.