Leaving aside how shocked and incredulous Tokiomi Tohsaka was, Eriri was happily enjoying Luo Hao's warm, fragrant embrace.
"I didn't expect you to be the first to arrive, Sister Cuilian."
"Of course! You're my dear little sister—I had to get here right away," Luo Hao said with a satisfied smile, nuzzling her cheek against Eriri's and keeping her arms tightly around her.
Just then, at the spot where Luo Hao had appeared, another world portal opened.
That portal acted like a fuse—as one after another began appearing nearby, quickly filling the area.
The spectacle was overwhelming, so much so that even Tokiomi and the others hiding in the shadows temporarily forgot about Gilgamesh's earlier one-shot defeat.
Soon, Arifureta and the others stepped out from the world portals one by one.
Perhaps out of anger toward Gilgamesh, none of them suppressed their auras as they normally would.
Dozens of terrifying presences surged skyward, casting an oppressive pressure over the entire planet.
Magus from the Mage's Association, enforcers from the Holy Church, and Dead Apostles hiding in the dark—all turned wary eyes toward the source of these overwhelming presences.
Beyond the mystic factions, the two major counterforces of the Nasuverse—Alaya and Gaia—also focused their attention on Arifureta and the others.
Alaya is the collective unconscious of humanity, created to protect human survival. Heroic Spirits like Artoria and Medusa were chosen by Alaya across time to defend the world.
Some of them were even designated as Guardians—those who clean up humanity's messes.
Gaia, on the other hand, is the will of the planet itself. Its purpose is to ensure the survival of the Earth. When humanity threatens that survival, Gaia will stop at nothing to eliminate them.
Usually, these two counterforces are in conflict.
But now, both could clearly sense that the newcomers in Fuyuki City possessed the power to destroy the planet—posing a fatal threat to both.
Thus, for the first time, Alaya and Gaia set aside their usual opposition and prepared to cooperate to eliminate the threat.
However, before either could act, they found themselves suddenly paralyzed by an invisible force, unable to move.
The one who had bound them—was none other than Eriri, still being held in Luo Hao's embrace.
The moment Alaya and Gaia manifested, Eriri sensed them and instantly froze all their powers to prevent them from making any foolish moves.
"Eriri-sama, where is that damn bastard?" Kaguya asked coldly, emerging from a portal with a furious glare. She wanted to attack Gilgamesh the moment she arrived—just like Luo Hao.
But as she scanned the area with her powerful senses, she found no trace of him—not even within all of Fuyuki.
Before Eriri could reply, Luo Hao, now having let go of her, spoke with a commanding tone:
"That bastard's already dead. He dared speak that way to my dear sister—I wouldn't allow him to remain in this world for even one second longer."
Luo Hao had come to the Fate/Zero world immediately after posting her first message in the chat group.
After arriving in this world, Luo Hao had first killed Gilgamesh and then joyfully clung to Eriri, without even glancing at the chat group's messages.
So she had no idea about the agreement Eriri made with Kaguya and the others.
But even if she had known, with her personality, the outcome would've been no different.
"Ah... I mean, I understand, but..."
Kaguya fully understood Luo Hao's actions. Still, not being able to personally kill Gilgamesh left her conflicted.
Other members of the group felt the same way—but there were also some who didn't mind as much.
Take Arifureta and Shinobu, for example. Although they still harbored intense anger toward Gilgamesh, they weren't particularly upset about his disappearance.
They knew Eriri very well. Since she promised in the group that everyone would get a chance to punish Gilgamesh, she definitely wouldn't go back on her word.
Besides, they understood just how powerful Eriri was. Bringing Gilgamesh back to life for a beating? That would be child's play for her.
"Don't worry, Kaguya. Eriri will bring him back," Arifureta said, comforting Kaguya and the others.
Hearing Arifureta's words, Kaguya and the rest quickly snapped out of it.
"That's right—this is Eriri-sama we're talking about. This won't be a problem at all." Kaguya sighed in relief and turned to Eriri with a hopeful look. "Eriri-sama..."
Eriri gently placed both hands on Kaguya's soft cheeks and smiled. "Don't worry, Kaguya-chan. If killing Gilgamesh once isn't enough for you, then even killing him hundreds or thousands of times is no problem at all."
With that, she withdrew her hands and snapped her fingers.
With a crisp sound, Gilgamesh—who had previously been obliterated by Luo Hao's Twelve Divine Palms—reappeared in his original position along with the streetlamp he had stood on.
To the group members, this miraculous feat was nothing surprising.
But to Tokiomi, watching from nearby, it was beyond shocking.
He had already been stunned by the appearance of Arifureta and the others, but this was something else entirely.
His Servant had returned to this world, and the severed connection between them was now fully restored.
Yet Tokiomi felt no joy.
He had clearly heard Eriri's earlier conversation with the others.
He could fully imagine the horrific fate awaiting Gilgamesh.
Eventually, Gilgamesh would still be eliminated—and with that, his own failure in the Holy Grail War was certain.
Tokiomi was deeply frustrated. When he first summoned Gilgamesh, and with support from the Kotomine father-son duo, he thought his victory was guaranteed.
But now this had happened.
Reaching the Root via the Grail had always been his life's ultimate goal. If there was even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of success, he didn't want to give up.
But at this point, Gilgamesh's survival rate was basically zero.
Unless he could get help from Eriri.
Tokiomi could clearly see that Eriri was the central figure of all the powerful girls present. If he could gain her favor, winning the Holy Grail War would be trivial.
However, based on their earlier conversation, it was obvious Eriri didn't like him.
Counting on her to help him just for the sake of his two daughters? Absolutely impossible.
He was at least self-aware enough to understand that.
So, in this moment, he gave up on the Holy Grail War entirely.
...
While Tokiomi was silently lamenting, Gilgamesh—newly resurrected—took in his surroundings in stunned disbelief.
Although Eriri had used time reversal to bring him back, she hadn't restored his memory to a prior state. So he still clearly remembered being one-shotted by Luo Hao.
The powerlessness of being utterly defeated, the searing pain of death—all of it remained fresh in his mind.
But rather than fear, his overwhelming emotion was fury. He opened his mouth to roar in rage at the qipao-clad woman who had slain him—
Only to discover he still couldn't make a sound.
Eriri's word-binding had not been lifted. His mouth opened and closed in vain, a mute display that looked more comical than intimidating.
Still, though he couldn't speak, he could fight.
Behind Gilgamesh, over a hundred golden portals suddenly appeared, illuminating the sky in a radiant gold.
From each portal emerged a different Noble Phantasm, all aimed indiscriminately at Eriri and her group.
"Tsk, tsk. So this is the famed Gate of Babylon? Looks flashy, but it's full of junk. Might as well rename it 'King's Trash Heap,'" Eriri remarked, shaking her head.
Her scornful expression made Gilgamesh feel deeply insulted, and his already twisted face contorted further in rage.
Without hesitation, he unleashed a storm of Noble Phantasms toward Eriri's group.
But Eriri and the others didn't even flinch. As the deadly barrage hurtled toward them, they didn't bother to dodge—instead, they casually continued their conversation.
"Yue-chan, who's going first?" Eriri asked Arifureta cheerfully.
"Hmm... How about we play rock-paper-scissors? The winner goes first, then the rest of us keep playing to decide the order," Arifureta suggested with a grin.
"Ooh, that sounds fun! I'm in!" Chika's eyes sparkled. She loved games, even something as simple as rock-paper-scissors.
"Yue-chan, you're so wicked—but I like it! Hehe~" Eriri giggled, wrapping her arms around Arifureta, planting a deep kiss on her lips, then nuzzling against her cheek affectionately.
One could only imagine how furious and humiliated Gilgamesh must feel, knowing they were deciding the order of his execution through such a playful game.
A double blow to the body and the ego.
As Eriri and the others sorted out their order of attack, Gilgamesh's first volley of weapons reached just overhead.
But when they got within five meters, they were all blocked by a transparent energy barrier and fell to the ground like discarded garbage.
Seeing his attack completely nullified, Gilgamesh was enraged. He summoned even more golden portals behind him—multiplying their number several times over.
Countless Noble Phantasms rained down once again.
Simultaneously, Gilgamesh extended his right hand, and a golden portal encased it.
When the light faded, a massive golden key appeared in his grip.
He twisted the key in the air, and above him formed a structure resembling crimson crystal, spreading across the sky like a dome.
Within two seconds, the crystalline structure collapsed inward, converging in Gilgamesh's hands to form a bizarrely shaped Noble Phantasm: Ea, the Sword of Rupture.
It didn't look like a sword at all—more like a staff.
After all, Ea's true method of attack was launching energy blasts capable of spatial disruption.
As a conceptual weapon of the highest class—a sword that could sever reality—it was powerful enough in canon to annihilate Iskandar's Ionioi Hetairoi (Army of the King) in one swing.
But hoping to break through Eriri's casually deployed barrier with Ea? That was pure delusion.
Even if this were Gilgamesh's true heroic spirit body instead of a Servant avatar, even if he used all his power, Ea still wouldn't be able to scratch her barrier.
'Behold—Enuma Elish, the Star of Creation that Split Heaven and Earth!'
With a voiceless scream, Gilgamesh unleashed a blinding crimson energy beam from Ea, blasting it toward the shield above Eriri and the others.
As expected, the attack—powerful enough to rend the earth—was stopped cold.
Not only did it fail to penetrate, it didn't even ripple the surrounding space.
And while Gilgamesh futilely struck at Eriri's defenses with Ea, the group on the ground had just finished their game of rock-paper-scissors.
The first fighter to face Gilgamesh had been decided.
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