Fate: As Gilgamesh

Ch. 5 Genuine and Fake

"Senpai! Director! Stay behind me! Don't ever leave my side!"

"It's an enemy attack! Director, protect me!"

"What are you saying! Let the Servant protect you!"

Unceasingly, arrow-like missiles rain down. Just in time, Mash enters combat stance and shields Olga Marie and Ritsuka with her massive shield, blocking the direct hit.

"Hmph, good reaction. It sent shivers down my spine... Doctor!"

"I know! I'm searching for the Servant's response! It seems that Archer is targeting us!"

An archer, huh? Just when I was contemplating that, they show up as if on cue.

The number and force of arrows increase gradually. The relentless storm-like waves crash against the shield.

"Ugh, ah...!"

Even as a demi-Servant, her slender arms manage to withstand it. Her skill as a protector is undoubtedly top-notch.

"King of Heroes...! I'll protect my Master and the Director... Please, counter-attack...!"

She sends words sporadically towards us. There's no need to worry about my Master. Her core won't be easily broken.

"Well done. I'll leave the two over there to you."

"Great job, Mash! You too, Gil!"

"Don't lean out so dangerously! Honestly!"

However, she can't take too much time. While the shield is as sturdy as a fortress, her flesh and blood are not. If she keep allowing this recklessness, she will be overwhelmed.

I draw my sword from the ripple. Calculating the point for a counter-snipe based on the direction, force, and frequency of the arrows, I deflect them.

"Trying to escape my sight is ridiculous, you fool!"

From my sword, I release a bundle of light. A beam containing numerous amounts of heat, evaporating the arrows while heading straight into the distance.

Finally, it hits. The beam impacts a corner of a ruined building hundreds of meters away, creating a flashy explosion and causing the building to collapse.

"We did it!?"

"Don't let your guard down. They might not die just from destroying a high ground."

"I can see it! It's the Servant's response! ...Wait, what!? You already figured out their location!?"

"I just said I won't tolerate negligence! Are you an idiot!?"

"Ho, there are quite unusual faces here."

A voice resounds. At the same time, a man with an aura like black fog, an unmistakably strange atmosphere, stands opposite us.

"That is...!?"

"Shadow Servant! Probably the true Servant summoned here in Fuyuki!"

Tattered red cloak, tanned skin, white hair.

At first glance, he may look shabby to be called a hero, but the murderous intent he exudes and the overflowing power are unmistakable.

"To think I'd meet you like this, King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. Since when did you start babysitting little girls?"

"Before I knew it. You're quite a pathetic appearance, Shadow Servant or whatever."

"...It seems I'm not in your eyes. As always, you won't even call me a fake."

...It seems that this vessel and the Shadow Servant have some kind of history. He seems to know about me.

I recall the memories of this vessel.