Fate in Bleach: Unlimited Blade Works!-Chapter 462: The Third Battle Against Archer

Whether it was Kirei Kotomine or Kiritsugu Emiya, upon becoming aware of the other's existence, both felt a strong sense of recognition. They were the same, yet fundamentally different. What was the same was the profound lack of certain emotions within their hearts. What differed were the diametrically opposed paths they chose after their respective experiences.

Kiritsugu Emiya aspired to be a "partner of justice," seeking a path to "world peace." Kirei Kotomine, however, succumbed to his own desires, finding pleasure in the suffering of others. Guided by Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, he even murdered his own magus mentor, Tokiomi Tohsaka.

Kirei knew Kiritsugu Emiya was like him—a man who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Yet, simultaneously, unless absolutely necessary, neither would involve innocent bystanders. Risei Kotomine, as the supervisor of the Holy Grail War, had indeed shown bias, favoring his son and Tokiomi Tohsaka. But as long as this remained hidden, Kiritsugu Emiya had no reason to kill him.

So then… Kirei's gaze fell upon his father's missing right hand. He suspected this might be the true reason Kiritsugu Emiya had targeted Risei.

Kneeling, Kirei ripped open the sleeve of his father's robe at the shoulder. Seeing the incomplete Command Spell patterns there, Kirei largely understood Kiritsugu Emiya's motive.

The Fuyuki Holy Grail War had been held three times prior. In each instance, many participating magi were eliminated before exhausting their three Command Spells. After the conclusion of each war, these leftover Command Spells weren't lost but were collected by the supervisors—the priests of the Church. From Risei's condition, it seemed he had stored these Command Spells on his right arm.

It appeared Kiritsugu Emiya knew Saber's strength alone wasn't enough to win this war. Thus, he sought more Command Spells to enhance Saber's power, hoping to contend with Archer and Berserker.

"Archer," Kirei addressed the empty air beside him, "judging by the remnants on my father's body, this arm could have held upwards of twenty Command Spells. If Saber receives such a boost, are you still absolutely confident of victory?"

Golden light coalesced, and Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, materialized beside Kirei. Arms crossed, he declared haughtily, "Kirei, who do you take this king for? Whether it's Saber or Berserker, they are nothing but mongrels before me. And no matter how much power a mongrel gains, it remains a mongrel."

As the pinnacle Heroic Spirit in the Throne of Heroes, Gilgamesh possessed absolute confidence in his own strength. In his eyes, the only one in existence worthy of fighting him was his dear friend, Enkidu.

Kirei Kotomine didn't entirely believe Gilgamesh's arrogant words. Admittedly, Gilgamesh was undoubtedly a top-tier Servant. However, based on the previous clashes, Berserker was also a powerful Servant, in no way inferior to the King of Heroes. As for Saber… well, analyzing her performance so far, while strong, she still fell short compared to Gilgamesh and Berserker. If Gilgamesh fought seriously, he could probably kill Saber within ten minutes.

However, neither Kirei nor Gilgamesh knew that the current Artoria had recovered Avalon, becoming the legendary symbol of victory, King Arthur. The undefeated King Arthur was also among the most supreme Heroic Spirits in the Throne of Heroes. Even Gilgamesh, without activating his Sha Naqba Imuru, could easily be killed by Avalon's counter ability.

***

Artoria materialized beside Kiritsugu Emiya. Her gaze swept around, visibly relaxing when she spotted Irisviel. Then, she turned to Kiritsugu.

"Kiritsugu, you could have used other means to send a message. I would have come immediately upon receiving it. Using a Command Spell to summon me like this when there's no enemy is simply too wasteful."

Artoria spoke directly to Kiritsugu. Sensing the Command Spell summon, she had feared Kiritsugu and the others were in danger. But judging by the current situation, the area was safe, with no sign of another Servant approaching.

"No, using other methods risked exposing this location. Summoning you with a Command Spell was the safer option," Kiritsugu replied flatly, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Kiritsugu, you should have more faith in me."

From Kiritsugu's tone, Artoria still sensed his disappointment in her strength. "Such precious Command Spells shouldn't be squandered so casually."

"It doesn't matter." Kiritsugu tossed away his cigarette butt and extended his right hand towards Artoria, slowly rolling up his sleeve. "I went out earlier. Command Spells are hardly precious to me now."

Artoria's pupils contracted sharply. There, densely packed on Kiritsugu Emiya's right arm, were numerous Command Spells of varying shapes. Excluding the one faded stroke on the back of his hand from summoning her, there were easily over twenty more Command Spells emblazoned on his arm.

"Kiritsugu, how did you obtain these?"

Artoria sensed immense magical power radiating from these Command Spells. Clearly, they were all genuine.

"You don't need to concern yourself with that," Kiritsugu stated. "Saber, I only have one question for you. With the assistance of this many Command Spells, can you bring me victory, allow me to obtain the Grail, and fulfill my wish for world peace?"

***

Back at the Matou residence.

Just as Gilgamesh was unaware that Artoria had regained Avalon and returned to her peak, Ailin was equally unaware that Kiritsugu Emiya, through some unknown means, had learned Risei Kotomine possessed extra Command Spells, killed him, and seized over twenty of them.

After all, in the world-lines Ailin knew, Risei Kotomine was indeed killed by Kiritsugu Emiya, but Kiritsugu never discovered the Command Spells on his arm. Ailin still believed Kirei Kotomine had inherited them all.

Given the King of Heroes' pride, as long as I don't use Command Spells, he's unlikely to use them first, Ailin mused. To maximize the number of sword-type Noble Phantasms I can copy from the Gate of Babylon, it's best to immediately draw Gilgamesh into Unlimited Blade Works at the start of our battle. This way, Kirei Kotomine, unable to see the fight, won't waste Command Spells amplifying Gilgamesh, making my battle easier.

Also, when fighting Gilgamesh, I should control my strength, avoid letting him realize how much of a threat I am, lest he immediately resorts to using Ea… Although my Unlimited Blade Works space is several times stronger than a standard Reality Marble, Ea is still an Anti-World Noble Phantasm. Unlimited Blade Works probably can't withstand many hits from it.

Of course, even if Gilgamesh received a boost from Command Spells, Ailin wasn't overly concerned. After all, Gilgamesh possessed no defensive Noble Phantasm comparable to Avalon. As long as it wasn't an ultra-standard Noble Phantasm like Avalon, Gilgamesh wasn't truly a difficult opponent for him. Still, conserving effort was always preferable. Possessing Avalon gave Ailin that confidence!

At this moment, the scales of victory in the Fourth Holy Grail War had tilted. Among the three remaining Servants, each side possessed flawed intelligence. Kirei Kotomine knew Kiritsugu Emiya had obtained over twenty Command Spells, but Gilgamesh didn't know Artoria, the King of Knights, had regained Avalon, massively increasing her strength. Simultaneously, neither Gilgamesh nor Kirei knew that Berserker Ailin had copied the ultimate defensive Noble Phantasm, Avalon, from Artoria.

Ailin, on his part, was unaware that Kiritsugu Emiya had obtained Risei Kotomine's Command Spells; he still assumed Kirei possessed them. As for Kiritsugu and Artoria, due to the rift between them, Kiritsugu didn't know Berserker had completed the replication of Avalon from Saber.

Currently, Ailin was the strongest among the three parties. The next strongest was Artoria's group, bolstered by over twenty Command Spells. If Kiritsugu Emiya used all those spells simultaneously to enhance Artoria, she might potentially contend with Ailin. As for Gilgamesh, previously the apparent strongest, he had now become the weakest party. Yet, neither Kirei Kotomine nor Gilgamesh himself was aware of this reality.

Daytime belonged to the ordinary world. After tidying up the Matou residence, Kariya Matou took Sakura to register her for school. Sakura had been six when sent to the Matou family. A year had passed, and at seven, she was old enough for school. Even if Sakura were to delve into the world of magecraft in the future, she couldn't completely detach from ordinary life.

Worried that Kiritsugu Emiya might target Sakura, Ailin followed Kariya and Sakura in spirit form during the day. However, contrary to Ailin's expectations, Kiritsugu Emiya didn't attack them. Ailin sensed Kiritsugu's spiritual pressure remained almost stationary. What is that fellow doing? Although puzzled, Kiritsugu's inaction aligned with Ailin's hopes. At most, two more nights, and this Holy Grail War should be concluded.

***

The golden sun fell, and the jade rabbit rose in the sky. Perhaps because only three Servants remained, the night in Fuyuki City lacked the clamor of the previous days.

"Alright, according to plan. Tonight, I'll pay a visit to the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh!"

After instructing Kariya Matou and Sakura to summon him immediately if they encountered danger, Ailin leaped into the sky, flying towards the church.

HUMMMMM…

Before Ailin even neared the church, dozens of golden spatial ripples materialized in the dim sky. Noble Phantasms radiating powerful auras emerged from these ripples, flying towards Ailin.

"Mongrel, who gave you permission to dance above this king's head?"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM…

Facing the incoming Noble Phantasms, Ailin showed no fear. Blackish-red spatial ripples shimmered into existence around him. Amidst flashing lightning, dozens of Zanpakutō transformed into blackish-red bolts, colliding with the approaching treasures.

"Oh? If the esteemed King of Heroes dislikes my presence above him, then, as you wish…"

"This body is forged of swords."

"Blood like tempered steel, heart like fragile glass…"

"…"

"Bankai—Unlimited Blade Works!"

BOOM!

With Ailin's cry, blackish-red light radiated outwards from him, rapidly expanding and pulling Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, into his Reality Marble.

"Hoh?"

As his vision shifted, Gilgamesh surveyed the surrounding blackish-red space, an eyebrow raised. This wasn't the first time he had seen Ailin's Reality Marble. A few days prior, at the Einzbern castle, Assassin had attempted to probe Berserker's trump cards by attacking him. At the time, Assassin believed their numerical superiority could force Berserker to reveal some hidden strengths. They had indeed succeeded. Berserker's trump card, the Reality Marble, had been forced out by Assassin. But the Assassins themselves had been slain by the countless "swords."

This time, the weapons within this Reality Marble were aimed at Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

"Hmph, mongrel. Though the number of 'swords' in this Reality Marble of yours is considerable, most of them are mere trash."

Seeing the rain of Zanpakutō descending like a storm, Gilgamesh, despite his dismissive words, opened the portals of his Gate of Babylon to their maximum extent.

HUMMMMMMMMM…

Within the space of Ailin's Reality Marble, the sky turned gold. Countless spatial ripples shimmering with golden light appeared overhead. Subsequently, one Noble Phantasm after another emerged from these ripples, transforming into streaks of golden light that collided with the blackish-red lightning bolts unleashed by Ailin's Zanpakutō.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG…

TING! TING! TING! TING! TING! TING…

CLANG! CLANK! CLANG…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM…

The sounds of countless Noble Phantasms and Zanpakutō clashing echoed, erupting in violent explosions across the sky. Every second, innumerable blades and treasures collided.