C474

Gilgamesh's frown deepened. His Chains of Heaven were strong enough to bind a single god. But when faced with the combined might of seventeen corrupted gods, the chains faltered, unable to restrain them.

But it made sense. Even specialized Noble Phantasms had their limitations when up against overwhelming force.

Take Tiamat, for example. As the mother of all gods, her divinity was off the charts, which in theory should make the Chains of Heaven's anti-divine capabilities super effective. But the reality was not even these chains could restrain Tiamat.

In fact, it wasn't just Tiamat. Many gods, particularly the main gods of their respective pantheons, had ways to evade the restrain of the Chains of Heaven. Unlike the corrupted gods consumed by the invader, these gods retained their intelligence and wisdom, giving them an edge in facing their enemies.

As for the corrupted gods, they didn't need intellect or strategy. Just by existing, the combined weight of their divinity maxed out what the Chains of Heaven could handle, effectively breaking free from their restraints.

These corrupted versions showed no signs of awareness; their eyes were swirling vortexes of chaos and madness, even more unhinged than the corrupted aspect of Astraea.

Clearly, being consumed by the invader had stripped these gods of their reasoning and self-awareness. Now, they were just raw, divine power walking around in humanoid form.

Back in the main hall, the Demon God Pillars who were not engaged with the one-eyed giant shifted their focus skyward. Locking onto the corrupted figures, they unleashed a storm of eye beams.

Boom!

Boom!

The eye beams shone brightly, illuminating even the pitch-black space.

Solomon might have been unreliable, but he wasn't stupid. With a casual tap on the armrest of his throne, he commanded the Demon God Pillars to go after the black humanoid holding that mysterious black cup, the one Zelretch seemed to be protecting.

But the other side wasn't just standing around. The black cup pulsed with a black light, and Zelretch, covered in the black mud, shuddered.

"Ugh."

Zelretch was annoyed but he had no choice but to use his magic. He drew a torrent of magical energy from another world, shattering the nearby Chains of Heaven and deflecting the eye beams with a flick of his wrist.

It was evident that Zelretch wasn't completely himself. While he seemed to have his own mind, someone else was clearly pulling his strings.

"So, magus, which side are you really on?" Gilgamesh sneered.

Zelretch rolled his eyes, "That's rich coming from you, the wedge created by the corrupted gods."

Gilgamesh's eyes flared with rage. "You dare insult me with that name? Unforgivable!"

Without another word, he flung open his treasury gates, revealing an eye-popping array of gleaming treasures. In a flash, he unleashed his Noble Phantasms in Zelretch's direction.

But the majority of Gilgamesh's onslaught was ripped apart by the black lightning. Only a few managed to penetrate this defense and make their way to Zelretch. Coolly, Zelretch raised an eyebrow and unleashed a wave of his own magic to parry the incoming assault.

His magic cascaded outwards like a roaring waterfall, swallowing up Gilgamesh's noble phantasms and barreling straight for him.

Not to be outdone, Gilgamesh flung open all sixty-four of his gates. From within, he drew out various staves and conjured a brilliant bolt of energy that shot through Zelretch's surging magic.

The subsequent blasts echoed "Boom, boom!" and the sky became a tangled mesh of crisscrossing magical energies, with streams of it flowing as powerful as a torrential waterfall.

Black lightning, sun brilliance, starry luminescence, and raw magical power all intertwined, producing a sight that felt like the universe had thrown a party to celebrate chaos itself.

Off to the side, Kiritsugu calmly lit a cigarette, took a satisfying drag, and exhaled a perfect ring of smoke while taking in the wild energy dance above. Emiya, standing next to him, looked puzzled. "So, for once we're not ordered to kill anyone, but we're just gonna stand here and watch?"

Kiritsugu shrugged lightly, "Don't cause trouble."

He took another long pull from his cigarette, blew out another smoke ring, and kept his eyes on the sky, watching the beautiful fireworks display.

Join the battle? He glanced at the modest 20-centimeter knife in his hand and then sized up the chaos around him. There was Barbatos, the one-eyed giant, and various kings duking it out with some cackling old guy in the distance.

He slipped the knife back into his pocket and took another drag of his cigarette. Knowing your own limits was a form of wisdom.

Then, some of the corrupted gods landed on the ground. Those with the authority over "earth" seemed to grow even more powerful, their magical energy swelling noticeably. The air around them was thick with a pressure that could only be described as divine.

Right now, they were far from having a handle on things. The one-eyed giants that had scattered around every nook and cranny of the temples still hadn't been completely taken care of, and the Heroic Spirits were nowhere in sight. That left Shirou, Gilgamesh, and Solomon holding down the fort at the main temple. Their opponents were a group of about a dozen corrupted gods and an old man who was being mind-controlled.

Speaking of the old man, he was tied up battling Demon God Pillars, so it fell upon Shirou and the others to fend off the corrupted gods. Although the pressure was immense, they held a glimmer of hope. If they could just hold out long enough—either for Shirou's mana to recover or for backup to arrive—they could actually turn the tables.

However...

A flash of black lightning streaked across the sky. On the ground, it appeared that the corrupted gods had set their sights on Shirou and were relentlessly pursuing him.

"Why are they only after us? This is so not fair!" Ruby yelled, her voice tinged with frustration.

The corrupted gods were like a mix between ghosts and wolves, their eyes glaring and their howls eerie as they zeroed in on him. Gilgamesh and Solomon could've been throwing confetti for all the gods cared; they just barreled past them, dead set on getting to him.

Shirou wasn't shocked by this; the invader had always referred to him as their 'vessel.' He knew he was the main target, so none of this seemed strange to him. Ruby, on the other hand, was on the verge of losing it. Her cries of anguish echoed throughout the Temple of Time.

Sapphire, in contrast to Ruby, was noticeably subdued. Meanwhile, he surveyed the situation with a calm expression. His magical energy was still in recharge mode, so he figured he'd let these corrupted gods have their twisted fun for the time being.

For his part, Gilgamesh put away his usual sarcastic tone. Instead, he took out and formed a wall of shields in front of Shirou, doing his best to help him fend off the relentless onslaught from the corrupted gods.

However...

With a resounding crash, his shield was almost effortlessly shattered by the divine authority of the gods.

These corrupted gods were like mindless drones; they lacked consciousness or intellects. But that didn't make them any less dangerous. Individually, they were far from the might and cunning of typical gods, but together? Their pooled divine authority became an overwhelming force.

Shirou had already used his Moon Emperor trump card against Crimson Moon, so now he was in a waiting game. He had to bide his time until the Kaleidosticks had stored up enough magical energy. Then, and only then, could he unleash his Noble Phantasm to try and level the playing field against these invaders.

Yet, oddly enough, even faced with this terrifying onslaught of gods, he was unflinchingly calm. He stood his ground as if this were just another day at the office.

"Boom! Boom!"

Black lightning zigzagged across the sky. Not far off, Zelretch's torrent of magical energy was doing its own damage, smashing through the Demon God Pillars' attacks. Then, the magical flow split off into multiple streams, veering towards another section of the temple. With a resounding crash, the Demon God Pillars there were shattered to bits.

But Zelretch didn't care about them. His eyes were locked onto Shirou.

He questioned in astonishment, "Why aren't you running? I can feel that your mana hasn't reached its peak yet!"

The gods joined in the chorus, their roars and cries all shouting the same thing, "Vessel, vessel, vessel!"