Pathetic little man

"Gilgamesh is serious. He plans to open the Gate of Babylon even more," Kotomine Kirei told Tohsaka Tokiomi through the communication gem.

Kirei watched the battle through Assassin's eyes as he told Tokiomi what had happened.

Both were surprised by Itsuki's strength when he killed Lancer, but were now slightly concerned about his ability to defend himself against Gilgamesh.

Tohsaka Tokiomi clutched his head after hearing Kirei's comment.

The basement of the Tohsaka mansion was empty of the mess of a remote warehouse district that had become a battlefield. Kirei's manipulation of Assassin paid off. The conditions were ideal.

The only thing that wasn't included in the calculations was that, apart from Itsuki and his Servant, who hadn't shown up yet, Gilgamesh had come into the present as an archer class.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the characteristics of the Archer class are the power of his Noble Phantasm; for Gilgamesh, who possessed an extraordinary one of the EX range, this might have been inevitable. But in the end, the Self Action skill of the vain Hero King ended up being too high a rank, which was by far the biggest miscalculation.

Tokiomi respected the great authority of the King of Heroes as much as he could and deserved. But to think that his tolerance would be tested so hard and so early...

Gilgamesh had to act last. Right now, it's Assassin's turn to act and gather information. Something as reckless as once again exposing the Gates of Babylon to everyone, and throwing all their strength against the mysterious Itsuki, it simply cannot be overlooked.

For a Servant with Independent Action ability who doesn't trust his Master, Command Spells are the only way to give him orders. This entitles only three absolute commands. To return the Servant to Gilgamesh, who has no respect for his Master, they are the most valuable thing Tokiomi had.

Always keep your elegance; it is a family commandment passed down from generation to generation in the Tohsaka family. For one who holds this in his heart, forced to spend a command spell before all the other Masters...

"Master, your decision?"

Kirei coaxes him with a harsh voice from another communicator terminal.

Gritting his teeth, Tokiomi stared at the back of his right hand.

Just as he was about to use one of them...

"Wait."

Kirei's voice stopped Tokiomi's movement.

"What's happening?"

"Gilgamesh retreated, he himself closed the Gates of Babylon."

…

"Itsuki, hmm, what a banal name, although it's not surprising since you're a pathetic little human."

Gilgamesh nodded, looking pleased for some reason. His crimson eyes had already lost the flame of assassination.

"You escaped death by a hair's breadth, you mad dog," he said, looking at Berserker, who didn't move as he watched the fight between Archer and Itsuki.

With his constant arrogance, the golden Archer looked around the row of Servants.

"You are commoners. Less crowds next time. I will not tolerate anything but a real hero."

With this last light-hearted warning, Gilgamesh canceled his materialization. The golden armor lost its physical state and disappeared, leaving only the remnants of its radiance.

The confrontation between the two knights, gold and black, ended in a way that no one expected.

"Hmm. This Archer is too reckless," Rider exaggerated with a bitter smile.

However, everyone else decided that now was not the time for casual comments. Both the mysterious Berserker who defended himself so well against Archer's attacks and the boy that the King of Heroes even managed to recognize were still standing in front of them.

The burning eyes of the Berserker wandered around the empty space, having lost their target ... Then, having found new prey, they lit up again.

Seeing those eyes tinged with malice, Saber felt a chill run down her spine.

"...Hooray..."

The voice seemed to seethe from the ground. Like a spell, like a curse, it was a groan full of malice, little like human speech.

It was Berserker's voice; it was the first time others heard it.

"...Ar... Ur... x!"

Like a spell in human form imbued with deadly intent, the black knight rushed towards the silver Knight King.

…

Prana is expended not only for the Servant to materialize, but also for all the efforts that he makes. Thus, in battle, the consumption rate is higher. Prana is extracted from the Master's Magic Circuits and given to the Servant.

And the activation of magic circuits in the case of Mato Kariya means hellish pain from the fact that his body is absorbed by Worm-shaped combs.

During dematerialization, prana consumption is minimal. But even in this state, Kariya was tormented by heart palpitations and dizziness.

But when Berserker materialized, the agony was beyond imagination.

The foreign body wakes up and begins to eat his flesh, crunching the bones. Acting like Kariya's pseudo-magical circuits, the Worm-shaped Combs transferred the absorbed prana to Berserker, regardless of the limits of the owner's capabilities.

Talking about agony is not half the battle. Being eaten away, plundered by a living being inside his body, the pain of being eaten alive is doubled by fear and disgust.

"Gu... Ga, gwa... uh!"

Hiding in the darkness, Kariya muffled his cry of approaching death by tearing his throat and chest. As his skin tore and blood began to flow, he began biting his nails on both hands.

And to make matters worse, the prana consumption required of the Master by the Berserker class is even greater. When Zouken forced Kariya to use the insanity formula during his invocation to make him stronger, it may have already been the old mage's plan to tyranny him.

The worms were biting his spine. Worms melt his nerves. Worms nest en masse in Kariya's body, worms are worms, worms, worms, worms, worms...

"Gaaaaaa..."

He was unable to contain his cry, but only an exhausted groan broke out. Intense pain choked him, and he could not get out of his throat. As he began to sob, Kariya continued to mock his body in anger.

He couldn't even watch the fight between Archer and Berserker on Main Street; he didn't even notice that Berserker wasn't even fighting. When the storm of pain finally subsided, it took Kariya some time to regain her ability to think and understand the situation.

"... Haa... Haa..."

Inhaling heavily the last traces of his agony, Kariya continued to observe the battlefield through the vision of his familiar. There are still three Servants left. Archer was nowhere to be found. The battle is over.

The battle is not won. Perhaps Tokiomi forced Archer to flee after realizing his disadvantage.

Kariya's berserker didn't back down from the crushing Golden Archer. With the magical arts trained in one year, Kariya was able to rival Tohsaka's magic honed over generations.

"... Fuhu, hahaha..."

The emaciated Kariya laughed rudely at his theory.

He succeeded. This vain magician was finally splattered with dirt by an ordinary person like Kariya after always making people like him less. Kariya mocked Tokiomi and Zouken a lot in his heart, thinking "Did you see that?"

I'm not a loser. No one else will call me a loser or a bug. I can fight you. I'll tell you what fear is...

Enough for today. There is no reason to continue a fight that will only torment you now that your nemesis, Archer, has retreated. Just let the other Servants kill each other as they please.

When he made his conclusion, Kariya was the most frightened of anyone who saw Berserker take Saber as his new target and pounce on her.