"What... what is this thing...?" Richard stood on the ground, head tilted back, mouth agape, wide enough to fit an egg.
"So big..." Sigma hugged the Tsubaki Kuruoka, his face pale.
" The Bull of Heaven," Origami murmured to herself in the sky.
She recognizes this thing.
In Mesopotamia mythology, the goddess Ishtar obtained the Bull of Heaven from Anu.
That calamity-level divine beast that once brought seven years of Famine to Uruk.
Origami glanced at the enormous hoof.
"In other words, Ishtar has arrived."
at the same time.
Ishtar's laughter echoed across the battlefield.
A goddess with silver hair and red eyes floated in the air above the other side of the battlefield, her white dress fluttering in the lightning of the storm.
Her voice came down from high above, carrying an undisguised mockery and smugness.
Gilgamesh--
"You who once offended this goddess."
"They only deserve to crawl in the shadows of a pit."
The enormous hoof suddenly exerted force.
One step.
Gilgamesh, along with the ground within a hundred meters around him, was pierced through by this single stomp.
The earth was crushed as if it were tofu, and a giant crater with a diameter of over two hundred meters appeared in the very center of Snowfield City.
And at the bottom of this deep pit.
It's the Underworld.
Gilgamesh was physically kicked into the Underworld located beneath Snowfield City by the Bull of Heaven's kick.
The Underworld.
Ereshkigal was standing beside her Soul Cage Spears, checking the state of Heracles's seal.
Then.
The top of my head exploded.
She suddenly looked up.
The ceiling of the Underworld, the gray rock layers, was smashed through by some immense force.
A golden figure fell through the hole amidst a cloud of rubble and dust.
"Bang--!!!"
The figure crashed onto the ground of the Underworld, bounced twice, slid dozens of meters, and finally came to a stop by a Soul Cage Spears.
Gravel and dust filled the air.
Ereshkigal was stunned.
She watched the golden figure fall from the hole.
Golden armor.
Short, golden hair.
Face.
That face.
Gilgamesh?
Ereshkigal was startled by the sudden intruder.
The ceiling of the Underworld was smashed through by something unknown.
Someone was forcibly thrown into her Underworld.
And it is also--
"... Why are there two Gilgamesh?"
She rubbed her temples.
At the same time.
The Bull of Heaven's kick landed precisely on the spot where Ereshkigal had previously sealed Heracles' soul.
The seal was already on the verge of collapse due to the erosion caused by Heracles's Noble Phantasm, " The Usurper of the Heavenly Wind ".
Now it's been crushed by this stomp.
Heracles ' soul broke free from the shattered seal.
He could feel the air and sunlight coming from above.
exit.
He didn't hesitate at all.
The dark red soul transformed into a streak of crimson light, rushing out of the Underworld through the gaping hole.
It burst out of the ground.
It soared into the sky.
Then it disappeared into the distant horizon.
Their whereabouts are unknown.
Ereshkigal stared at the empty seal's location.
"... ran away?"
They got away.
She turned around and looked at the golden figure that was getting up from the ground.
"The soul of that great hero has escaped."
Gilgamesh climbed out of the pit.
His body was covered in mud and pebbles.
He has many shields as a buffer.
Although the Bull of Heaven's kick was powerful and heavy, he was ultimately no ordinary Servant.
The dozen or so shields shattered instantly, absorbing most of the impact force.
That's how he avoided serious injury from that kick.
But he's not feeling well either.
All my joints are aching.
The armor was shattered into several pieces.
There was a wound on his forehead that was bleeding.
Gilgamesh dusted himself off and stood up straight.
He looked around.
Gray rock strata.
A dark blue space.
Countless Soul Cage Spears protruding from the ground.
The air was cold and damp, carrying a scent of death and decay.
Looking around at the environment, there was a slight sense of déjà vu.
"... Isn't this the Underworld?"
He recognized this place.
Or rather, he recognizes this kind of place.
"What just kicked me down?"
He looked up at the ceiling that had been smashed through.
The opening was quite large, allowing you to see the ground above.
A glimpse of a silver-white long dress flashed across the sky.
It's Ishtar.
"... that woman."
Gilgamesh's face darkened.
On the ground.
Ishtar looked down at the huge, deep crater that had been created by trampling.
She was somewhat surprised to sense the aura of the Underworld at the bottom of the pit.
She was all too familiar with that chilling, deathly aura.
I couldn't help but recall some unpleasant memories.
underground.
The Underworld.
Her older sister.
" Ereshkigal."
She whispered the name.
Were you summoned as well?
but.
She glanced at the enormous Bull of Heaven beside her.
Golden lightning crackled across the bull's body.
"However, now that I have Gugalanna, I'm not afraid of the other side."
Meanwhile, in the police chief's office in Snowfield City.
Orlando Reeves was sitting at his desk.
There are six screens in front of me, each displaying battlefield footage from a different angle.
Urban surveillance.
Satellite imagery.
Drone camera lens.
He watched the series of astonishing events unfolding on the screen.
Bull of Heaven.
Old Gil was stomped into the ground.
A thunderstorm engulfed the entire city.
The King of Heroes he had just summoned with an entire ritual was stomped into the ground less than two hours after his appearance.
Orlando slowly put down his coffee cup.
His hands were shaking.
My head is buzzing.
"... This is the Holy Grail War."
"It's not a mythological war."
Why are there mythical beasts flying in the sky?
Why would a thunderstorm surround a city?
Why was my Servant stomped into the ground?
He clutched his stomach.
I feel my stomach starting to cramp.
at the same time.
In a secret location provided by the government.
Faldeus was standing in front of a huge surveillance wall.
Dozens of screens on the wall were all showing the same battlefield.
The hoof of the Bull of Heaven.
The ground was worn through.
Faldeus was dressed in a sharp suit, maintaining the composure expected of a secret agent.
But his hands.
Hands in trouser pockets.
He had already crumpled a handkerchief into a ball.
"..."
He took a deep breath.
Then he took another deep breath.
My head is buzzing.
Like Orlando, I felt my stomach starting to cramp.
The course of this Holy Grail War.
This was completely beyond his expectations.
"Should we request reinforcements?"
He muttered something to himself.
Then he shook his head.
reinforce?
What reinforcements can we send?
Sending conventional troops to those mythical beast-level beings would be suicide.
He turned his head and looked at a communication device in the corner.
That's a dedicated line connecting to the church.
"... Let's ask Father Hansa's opinion first."
He walked over.
Pick up the microphone.
Then it stopped.
"Wrong."
"Father Hansa seemed to have said he had other matters to attend to..."
He put down the microphone.
I looked at the surveillance wall again.
On the screen, the figure of the Bull of Heaven blotted out the sun, and a storm of lightning roared around the city.
In the very center of the city, the huge crater created by trampling looked like an open mouth, stretching towards the sky.
Faldeus covered his face.
"... How will this Holy Grail War end?"
No one answered him.
The Underworld.
Gilgamesh stood in the jungle of the Soul Cage Spears, brushing the last speck of dust off his armor.
He looked up at the woman in front of him, dressed in a black goddess gown and draped in a burgundy cloak.