FWUSH
STUKKKK
As soon as I (We) answered her question something took hold of my hands from behind and tied them together stopping me from moving.
[Ho!? Now that was a clever distraction.] Gilgamesh said in a slight praise of the enemy.
I could feel my entire upper body getting tied by something that felt like a string but one that I couldn't see.
"Don't worry, I will not kill you yet." The girl spoke in a level headed tone with a calm demeanor. "But I will decide that after looking at your memories."
[Tch] I heard the sound of Gilgamesh clicking his tongue inside of my head. [Blow the shirt.]
BANG
My buttoned shirt exploded and the sensation of being tied up disappeared, but everything felt like it was burning, from my skin to its inside. I had reinforced the undershirt but it didn't seem to help much. It felt like someone peeled off the other layer of my skin using a potato peeler.
"Wha-!?" The girl gasped in surprise as if she saw something unbelievable.
[Jump out the window.]
I quickly jumped out of the window that was shuttered from the shockwaves from the girl I killed a second ago.
[Run right. We are gonna change our plan, her body looks pretty frail so she will probably pursue you with her strings instead of running but I will tell you where they will be coming from.] Gilgames advised me in my mind telling me how we were gonna run away but there was something I couldn't understand from his commands now.
[How do I defeat her if I run away?] I couldn't really attack her from a distance but she could, so I was not sure of what could help me with this kind of disadvantage.
[You don't. You stand no chance against her, if not for the bounded field around the school you would have been done for, and a long while ago at that too. Your only winning chance now is wearing the scarf by reaching your classroom from outside.]
It made sense but there was one problem, I was in the central courtyard right now, which was still on the same level of height as the ground floor and the only tree around here was in the center of it and not on the side.
[How do I do that from here?] I quickly asked back, confused by how I should reach a class on the first floor from the outside.
I ran right with my might as I removed my undershirt and wrapped it around my right hand.
"COME BACK HERE!!!" I heard the girl's voice screaming from the hallways.
[They are coming!!!] As Gilgamesh screamed the sound of the wind being cut became clearly audible.
FWUSH FWUSH FWUSH
I couldn't see them at all so I didn't bother turning around to look for them.
[Don't even try to avoid them. Blow up your left sock at your next step, it will let you speed up.]
SHIIII
BOOM
My left shoes exploded from the impact the sock generated, I was propelled forward from the explosion under foot. My entire leg was in great discomfort from the blast, especially my ankle, but I didn't give too much of a mind.
It was just pain after all.
I landed a good distance away with roll and resumed running as my left leg felt somewhat like it was being stung by many tiny needles.
Also now I had half an idea on what Gilgamesh meant for reaching the classroom from the outside.
[She has a maximum range of three hundred meters but she split it into three equal parts so if you run for a hundred meters from her she would need to remove at least one of them if she wants to continue pursuing you. The distance between you two horizontally is not enough to create this kind of gap but it doesn't matter–]
So the more the distance between us the less she could use to attack me. The problem is that I have only one sock left.
[–as we will just use the oblique one after all.]
Or it would have been if not for the fact that I was in front of my classroom's window.
[And that's checkmate kid. Now, jump.] Gilgamesh said in an "arrogant" smirk.
BANG
I jumped by sacrificing the other sock and bolted diagonally for the window crossing my arms to shield my face from the impact. However–
[!!]
BAAM
CRASH
–something hit me from my back and made me crush face first on the window, breaking it and making me land violently on a desk with my flank. I rolled around as my landing scattered desks and chairs alike on the floor.
DRIP DROP
"...Ahhh." Everything felt numb, especially my back. I couldn't even get up on my feet and blood was covering my sight.
Everything was red.
I needed to reach my bag but I didn't even know where it was right now. What should I do now?
Should I try to explode something else? No, what would that even do to help me right now.
My arms couldn't move, my legs couldn't either and I couldn't even see.
My magic circuits also felt so…empty.
There was nothing that came to my mind, I had nothing now. That meant–
'Ah, I see…so I lost.'
–I was now useless.
In this blood colored world that was covering my sight, one where the only sound was the painful ringing of my ears, Gilgamesh's voice started ringing in my head, his tone especially "caring"... or so I believe at least, I really have no way to actually know for sure.
[...You fought well, kid. I'm sorry, I have underestimated her too much, now you can just relax. You earned it–]
BOOOOOM
Somehow, despite the blood in my eyes my vision immediately cleared. The wall of the classroom was incinerated as Gilgamesh was standing on the edge of the floor holding a short sword in his hand.
"–and as a part of your reward I shall show you a performance, so you can leave the rest to me now and enjoy the rest, mongrel." He said with a smile as he rested his sword on his shoulder.
***
He had underestimated the girl. He thought too lowly of her as a magus of this current age and took the boy's ability to survive for granted.
However the boy was just a normal kid. He was the one who actually performed way too extraordinarily for the situation.
But his performance was ultimately too dependent on luck both good and bad.
He continued fighting thanks to his quick improvements, he even unconsciously slightly strengthened parts of his body without realizing, but he wasn't rescued earlier because of them as well. They made Gilgamesh relax too much, they made him think that he could actually do it all on his own.
If he didn't spin the boy's position during his fall with a guts of wind he would have snapped his neck against a desk and died. That would have been his end, and he wasn't even aware of it.
It happened because the girl transmutated the material the string that covered the school in a bounded field was made out of and used it as an impromptu magecraft circle to launch a Gandr shot while still standing in hallways where the boy had run from. He didn't see it coming because it simply wasn't there until she decided to make it to attack him.
She literally just made it on the spot when the boy jumped so he didn't have any way to stop it or avoid it.
The kid of course, not him.
He could have but still let him take the hit.
But he ensured he would survive it.
It was a real pity, the kid had nearly done it.
"Well, it's my turn now." Gilgamesh said as he poured a bottle of purple liquid on the bleeding boy. "Isn't that right?"
Turning to the classroom's door the girl who turned the boy into this mess was wearily staring at him.
"...You must be his servant."
"That's right, come on now. Call for your dog, girl. I have no time to play with you." Gilgamesh said with a hint of impatience, he had no interest in her now.
"Lancer!" The girl called for her servant.
Previously she had received information from the first homunculus the boy killed that he had command spells on his hand. So she didn't call for her servant until now, waiting so as to make him do the first move.
WHUSH
A tan skinned man with short spiky white hair and silver armor appeared from thin air, he charged at Gilgamesh with a spear in his right hand and a nearly round shield with an inward curvature to make appear thrusting easier marred with a slight crack on it.
In response Gilgamesh swung the short sword in his hand.
CLANG
FWWWWUUUUUUUU
When the weapons met the sword wielded by Gilgamesh released a compressed air current that melted the desks and chairs near Lancer as it blew him backwards. The girl had already moved away to take cover, she didn't even try to hit the boy, probably due to the apparent defensive wards glowing around him.
"Lancer? You don't quite look the part with a spear like that. Did you find that in a dumpster somewhere?" Gilgamesh said scornfully at the newly arrived servant.
"Never heard that the weapon doesn't make the warrior." Lancer scoffed as if somewhat insulted by his words of insult to his spear.
"No, I never heard of it, Archer, but thanks for telling me." Gilgamesh mocked him with a smile.
"!!"
"What's the long face for? Something wrong?" His smile just became even more derisive. "Here, this should help with any upset stomach."
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
From his treasury five weapons were fired in quick succession like cannon balls.
CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG
Lanc–coff, Archer thrust his spear and bashed with his shield to meet the attacks head on. He succeeded at repelling all the weapons but as soon as he did–
BANG BANG BANG
–others were fired from the Gate of Babylon.
"How rude, HAAA–
CLANG CLANG
–shouldn't you at least tell me which servant you are?" Archer lamented sarcastically as he struck the weapons down once again.
"I'm mortified Lancer but it appears I momentarily forgot about my manners after meeting a lying mongrel such as yourself." Gilgamesh scoffed as he pressed his hat to not make it fall off from his head from the wind made by all the explosions around from the clash of weaponries.
"I am Ruler. I need not hide my class unlike a mongrel like you." He said lazily as he swung his short sword once again, sending a gast of heat currents that pushed Archer out of the classroom and into the hallways while melting his surroundings.
"Ruler? What even is that? Did you just make that up to mess with me?" Archer scoffed back from behind his shield.
"Find out for yourself, I can tolerate ignorance only from children. It's your problem if you are ignorant and a mongrel all at once." Gilgamesh also walked out of the classroom and met Archer in the hallway.
BANG BANG BANG
New weapons were fired at him, they were all low grade noble phantasm but their number was still a problem.
CLANG CLANG CLANG
FWUSH
Archer reacted immediately, deflecting two knives at one with one swing of his spear, used his swat away one sword and avoided two spears by moving his body sideways twice in a zigzag motion as he lunged forward closing the distance between him and Gilgamesh.
A torrent of blue light surrounded Archer as he thrusted his spear to Gilgamesh's chest, the light converging to his spear and spilling out like a volcano's eruption.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM
CRAAAAKKKK
All the windows in the entirety of the floor bursted from the immense force of the impact as a blue light illuminated the entire school's first floor.
"Well, that was quite the show. Just good enough to entertain the kids I guess." Amidst the torrent of life Gilgamesh stood perfectly fine, standing upright as the intense light and heat didn't even manage to touch him. The sea of light literally parted before him, a single platinum shield stood between the two of them acting like a watershed.
Gilgamesh retrieved a black woodcutter's axe from his treasury and swung it vertically with one hand on Archer.
Archer swatted it away with his shield before thrusting his spear straight to Gilgamesh's face but before it could land Gilgamesh disappeared.
"What!?" Archer was sure he didn't turn into spiritual form as he would have still pierced his head even if he did.
TAP
Someone tapped his shoulder.
FWUSH
Archer bolted forward and turned around to see Gilgamesh standing there with the ax on his shoulder as he waved his hand at him.
"Dance more mongrel, I promised the kid I will show him a performance after all."
Cold sweet dropped from Archer's back. "...You teleported by folding space. Are you Caster?"
'And not only that, he also hid his presence afterward.'
"I don't like to repeat myself, to mongrels like you especially so. I told who I am and that should suffice you. Also, stop holding back or I will kill where you are standing before you get the chance to."
"I guess you are right." Smiling Archer gathered light around his spear before taking a throwing position. "Hope your kid doesn't kick the bucket from this jest then."
At that Archer took a amply big step forward and threw his spear with all his might like a javelin.
PPHHIIUUUUU
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM
An entire section of the school blew up, fortunately just before that Gilgamesh took a staff out of his treasury and tapped the ground with it, shielding the classroom the boy was still in.
As for Gilgamesh he was now standing outside the school in the courtyard patting the dust out of his clothes.
Archer rushed out of the school building, this time wielding a great sword. He swung it with great intensity at Gilgamesh aiming for his head.
Gilgamesh stood still as he opened the Gate of Babylon once again and weapons came flying at Archer.
BANG BANG BANG
However at that Archer smiled, his greatsword dematerialized as he twisted himself in the air to avoid the attacks and caught two swords by their handles at the same time.
CLANG
Even using them to deflect some of the weapons coming his way before charging at Gilgamesh.
"THIEF!" Gilgamesh immediately snapped from seeing him catching his treasures, his anger was so great he felt like he was being spat on. "How dare you steal from me, mongrel."
CLANG
His axe clashed with one of the swords in his hands, he avoided the second sword coming for his chest and took a halberd from his treasury to swing at his enemy but Archer ducked under the swing and took a step closer and swung with his right hand at Gilgamesh's torso.
'How is he holding my noble phantasms? Is it his noble phantasm's effect?' Gilgamesh thought briefly trying to understand how he could take his weapons without his permission.
CLANG
"I see it now, you weren't lying."Archer said amidst the clashing of their weapons. "I have indeed shown an ugly side of me, king of heroes."
"Hmm?" At that Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow, he was surprised once again, how did he recognize him so fast? He wouldn't mind his true identity being revealed but he could not understand how he came to that conclusion during this battle.
Could it be an information gathering noble phantasm?
CLANG
Gilgamesh had discarded the axe as he threw it straight to Archer's face who swatted it away. He then opened his treasury, once again raining battlegears on Archer.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
Archer deftly avoided the raining attacks before discarding the two swords in his hand to pick up a white guan dao. Light gashed out of it as he used to sweep away at the rest of the weapons making them fly away.
At the same time the strings making up the bounded field changed their material composition as they transmuted to different materials between metals and minerals. They sucked the increased density of magical energy in the air due to Gilgamesh's weapons bombardments and simultaneously fired a barrage of spells like curses and fire projectiles.
"I appreciate the effort, little mongrel, but that's hardly going to work on me." Gilgamesh didn't even need to defend against the barrage of spells. As a Ruler his raw Magic Resistance is the closest to the one he possessed when he was alive, now being at rank A.
He let spells rain down on him as they failed to even damage the clothes he was wearing, his jacket which was only hanging by his shoulder simply flapped against the wind caused by the impacts of the spells.
Now the entire area surrounding Gilgamesh was covered in steam and black clouds. "Oh, so she just wanted to blind me."
FWUSH
Something charged at Gilgamesh from the smokes around him. He quickly fired a spear at it from the Gate of Babylon, revealing a black mechanical eagle.
From behind came the real attack, the white guan dao slashed from his blind spot.
CLANG
Gilgamesh used the handle of his halberd and managed to stop the blade at the last second.
"What the hell hell happened to you?" Gilgamesh gave a half laugh seeing his aspect now, his enemy had suddenly aged out of nowhere. He didn't wait for an answer and opened his treasury to fire weapons at him despite their close range.
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM
However, from around the now older Archer spheres of blue light were generated and fired off like bullets that intercepted the incoming weapons.
"King Gilgamesh, I have come to understand the nature of your class. There is no need for us to fight. If the kid's assault was due to us stepping inside your territory we could come to an understanding, we had no intention of harming anyone." Archer's old voice came with a tone of greater maturity than before as he tried to come to a compromise, he seemed to have somehow understood the workings of the Ruler class, probably with the same method he used to find out his true identity.
Gilgamesh already knew they had no harmful intention against anybody inside the school and they didn't try to start a fight by approaching the boy but negotiating to avoid a fight in public, but he was not going to say that.
"Mmm, everyone regrets their actions when they realize they messed up. You will need to do more than that to convince me, especially after insulting me by stealing my treasures." Gilgamesh opened dozens of golden ripples like portals behind him. "If you are still alive and crawling when I'm done with you I might consider accepting your apology."
***
RIIIIIIIINNNG
My ears buzzed as I finally had the strength to get on my feet but I stood there lying down, my injuries were healed and the ringing in my ears was also slowly fading.
Gilgamesh took the other Servant out and was currently fighting against him. What should I do now?
I failed.
I lost the battle, so in the end I was just useless.
But then why did he say I did a good job? But wasn't that just plainly wrong.
He told me to enjoy the show and other than the fact that I couldn't really "enjoy" anything anyway, should someone even enjoy something when all they did was fail at their job. He said it was a reward but why would he even reward me?
From what I knew failure shouldn't be rewarded. It went against the meaning of the word itself.
No, no, no, no nononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononono.
It shouldn't be like this, I don't get it.
I just don't get it.
This was just wrong. I knew it was.
It was all because I didn't succeed. If only…
If only I hadn't failed, if only I had succeeded I wouldn't have all these doubts inside of my head.
Then a familiar voice whispered in my head, I knew it from somewhere but I couldn't quite say when and where I heard it before.
It's not over yet though
It was instead, it was over when he told me to stay back.
It isn't though, he told you to relax and enjoy it. He NEVER said anything about staying put and doing nothing
…
...
...…
Yeah....That's right.
He didn't.
And that girl is still around
…Yes.
Find her
Yes.
Fight her
Yes.
Defeat her
Yes.
Kill her
YES.
I stood up, picking my undershirt from one of the few toppled desks that were still intact and wrapped it around my now healed right hand.
It was not over yet.
***
Too tired for an actual author note.
Bye