IBHJ Chapter 851

Altera remained silent, her grip tightening on her sword. She sensed danger emanating from this man.

Extreme danger!

The same kind of danger she felt from Artoria using Excalibur at full power.

Ayaka clenched her fists, her lips pressed together. "Misaya... is she here too?"

"Of course. You trapped her here with black magic before this place was abandoned by pan-human history. After that thing freed us, I met Shirou. Since he had returned, I thought you should as well. Have you made up your mind, Ayaka?" the man asked.

"Yes! I... I've made up my mind!" Ayaka's voice trembled as tears streamed down her face. "I'll kill you and Misaya. Altera, k-kill him!"

Altera didn't hesitate. She was the perfect weapon. Brandishing the Sword of Mars, she charged the cloaked man.

"Yes, Ayaka, just like that. I... I've waited so long for this moment. Come, kill me, Master!"

The wind whipped away his cloak, revealing a zombified face and sun-bright golden hair that danced in the breeze. He extended his hand, summoning a holy sword into his grasp.

"That's—" Altera skidded to a halt, her eyes widening in shock as she recognized the blade.

That sword...

There was no mistaking it.

Absolutely no mistaking it.

It was the very Holy Sword that had taken her life.

...

On top of Tokyo Tower, it was completely silent.

Artoria, Gray, and Nero stared at Shirou in shock, while Shirou's eyes narrowed as he focused on Gilgamesh.

All because of a single sentence that Gilgamesh had uttered.

"Have you finally come to kill me? I've waited so long for this moment. Come, draw your blade against this king, O ——, my Master!"

...

It was a story buried deep within the ruins of history.

The soul of an outsider, reborn in this world, had grown to the age of sixteen and formally entered the Holy Grail War taking place in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The Servant he summoned was Gilgamesh, the Archer-class hero and ancient king of Uruk.

But for reasons unknown, Gilgamesh, who proudly declared himself the most powerful Heroic Spirit, harbored a deep-seated resentment towards his Master, even openly threatening to "chop him up." He also considered Saber – Arthur Pendragon – a worthy rival, and often went off alone to challenge him.

Such rogue actions were practically unheard of for a Servant. Gilgamesh fully expected his Master to try and control him with Command Spells, and he was always ready to betray him at the first opportunity. But his Master never did. Instead, he encouraged Gilgamesh to challenge Arthur and prove his might.

Why? Even Gilgamesh was puzzled by this.

Summoning him for the Holy Grail War, yet allowing him to act freely without showing any interest in the Holy Grail—this odd behavior raised Gilgamesh's suspicions.

His Master smiled and said, "If I didn't, you would have killed me, wouldn't you, Archer?"

"Oh? You noticed?" Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. I'm not blind to your dissatisfaction."

"I see. To save your own skin, you hid your true feelings? You've managed to survive this long."

"Dissatisfaction? Not really. I rather like you, Gilgamesh."

"Like me? Like this king? Don't be ridiculous. I've considered killing you."

"You may be cold, but you're not a bad person."

"..."

"What's wrong?" the Master looked at the silent King of Heroes, puzzled.

"... You're as long-winded as a certain someone. Fine, you can keep on living. I might even spare your life." The King of Heroes turned his head away.

From then on, the King of Heroes no longer considered killing his Master. In fact, after spending so much time together, he even found his Master quite agreeable. His thoughts were well-structured, his personality likeable—he was very much to Gilgamesh's taste.

"Do you feel restricted?" Out of the blue, the King of Heroes suddenly asked his Master.

"Restricted? Why do you ask?" he inquired curiously.

"Participating in the Holy Grail War, becoming my Master. According to the modern notion of freedom, do you feel trapped? Like a bird in a cage." The King of Heroes gestured to the birdcage and looked at his Master.

He smiled at the King of Heroes and asked, "Do you feel your freedom has been taken away, Gilgamesh?"

"What did you say!?" The King of Heroes scowled.

"Once, your freedom was constrained by the gods of Mesopotamia and your people. Now, your wings are trapped by the Holy Grail War. You ask me about freedom and mock it, but you're really mocking yourself, aren't you?" his Master questioned.

The King of Heroes' face hardened. His Master had struck a nerve.

"But do you know?" His Master turned, looking at the caged bird. "Birds aren't truly free. They fly constantly, hunting for food. It's humans who project the dream of freedom onto them."

The King of Heroes stormed off, slamming the door behind him.

At that moment, he had wanted to kill his Master. But strangely, since then, their relationship had actually improved. They weren't close friends, but his Master had earned some respect in the King of Heroes' eyes. There were things Gilgamesh would listen to his Master about, and sometimes he would even playfully tease him.

"That Saber's Master, in my opinion, is quite a fine woman. Especially after taking off her glasses—even I find her captivating. What do you think? Interested in trying to steal her away?"

"You... Didn't you say you wanted to defeat Saber and prove your title as the strongest? Why are you suddenly thinking about this?" the Master looked at the King of Heroes, exasperated.

"Defeating Saber and what I do with his Master are two separate matters. So, what do you say? Interested?" The King of Heroes looked at his Master with amusement.

"Not interested." The Master shook his head and refused without hesitation.

"It's impossible for men not to be interested in women. Oh, I see. You're just shy, aren't you?"

"It's true men can't be completely uninterested in women, but there are more important things in life than women."

"Like what?"

"Research, starting a business, finding projects, making money."

"And after making money, then what?"

"Go to a prestigious university for further study, then start a bigger business, find better projects, make more money... Hey! What's with that look, Gilgamesh? That 'this guy is hopeless' expression? I'm getting mad!"

The Master was indignant.

"...I suddenly pity the women who might fall for you in the future."

With that, the King of Heroes even gave his Master a pointed sigh before running off.

"What's that supposed to mean, Gilgamesh? Hey!"

But the King of Heroes ignored his Master's protests and disappeared. From then on, however, the King of Heroes was certain his Master was a complete workaholic.

In an attempt to get the workaholic to loosen up a bit, he even called a truce with Saber for a day to play games with his Master. They played board games like Ludo, then moved on to video games. Unfortunately, no matter what game they played, Gilgamesh was no match for his Master.

"Damn it! I was about to win, but the power went out. It's been like this the whole time. Your luck is ridiculous, isn't it? I even used a Noble Phantasm to boost my luck!" The King of Heroes was frustrated.

"Hahaha... It can't be helped. Not to brag, but I've always been pretty lucky. You know how I bought a house in Tokyo where land costs a fortune? I won the lottery three times in a row!" The Master laughed heartily.

"Damn it—!" The King of Heroes was so angry he swore off any more luck-based games with his Master. Instead, he dragged him to various entertainment spots in Tokyo to have some fun. But to the King of Heroes' dismay, halfway through, this guy actually took a bathroom break and ditched him at the entertainment venue to go back and work on his project.

This left the King of Heroes speechless and annoyed: "You... Do you really enjoy torturing yourself that much?"

"In this economy, if you don't work hard when you're young, you'll suffer when you're old and can't work anymore."

"Aren't you very lucky?"

"You can't eat luck. Besides, I didn't come to Tokyo to play around. I came to get into the University of Tokyo and plan for the future," the Master said seriously.

"You... You've made me happy. I could easily reward you with a treasure or two, enough for you to live in luxury for the rest of your life. Why work so hard?"

"That won't do. No matter how much you give me, it's still yours, not mine."

"What about the Holy Grail? If I win the Holy Grail War, you can wish for untold riches."

"No. I don't feel at ease with things obtained without working for them. I only feel at ease with things I've achieved with my own hands."

"..."