I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

A fireball tens of meters in diameter shot into the sky above the artificial island, followed by a sudden gust of wind. The churning white waves resembled a stormy night, and the artificial earth trembled and shook.

Bathed in the exploding flames, a pitch-black bird-shaped figure appeared there.

"A familiar!?" Gil clicked his tongue in annoyance. "In the middle of the night, it's disturbing other people's rest—"

Jill cracked her knuckles. "Alright, I'll see what kind of guy dares to cause trouble in a place like this today!"

Jill suddenly appeared in boots with feather-like decorations on the sides. He stepped on the windowsill with his right foot and flew out of the window.

Hermes' boots granted him the ability to fly, propelling him towards the location of the explosion.

At that very moment, others were heading towards the epicenter of the explosion.

Because Gil wasn't the only one who could sense that the commotion was caused by familiars.

……

Large-scale fires broke out in several locations along Warehouse Street.

The streets, darkened by the raging flames, were bathed in a crimson glow. Automatic fire suppression systems were activated, but the fire showed no signs of abating.

Fortunately, the streets were deserted. The area was sparsely populated to begin with, and it seemed that the staff managing Warehouse Street had already been evacuated.

The power outage was likely caused by the shockwave from the explosion. The monorail train stopped operating immediately upon arriving at Dongyu.

A girl in a uniform arrived and began to observe the battlefield.

The familiar beast in the battle was a jet-black demon bird that looked exactly like a giant raven.

Its wingspan easily exceeded ten meters. Like a colossal body formed from solidified darkness, it occasionally flashed with an amber light resembling molten lava, and its fireballs engulfed the surrounding area in terrifying explosions. A fierce wind enveloped its entire body. It seemed that the familiar beast symbolized the explosion itself.

The one controlling the familiars on the rooftop of the building was a tall, slender vampire dressed in an expensive suit.

He appeared to be around thirty years old, but judging from his astonishing magical power, he had probably lived for many times longer. His overwhelming presence and charisma truly lived up to his title of "Old Generation."

Their identities are either those of employees or mercenaries hired by companies in Itogami City, or high-ranking military officials dispatched by the Night Empire. Whatever the reason, they are all people of considerable importance.

However, despite the vampire's repeated attacks, the battle showed no signs of ending. In fact, the man's face showed obvious signs of impatience and exhaustion.

Jill, who had just landed, also had a look of doubt on his face. When he saw the girl, his expression changed slightly.

The girl clearly wanted to get closer to the battlefield when an arm reached out from the shadows and pulled her into the shadows.

"Whoosh!" A sharp sound of air being cut rang out. Jill stretched out his hand, and golden arm armor had appeared on his arm at some point. He steadily blocked the silver spear that was being swung at him. "Hey, trying to murder your teacher?"

"Teacher Jill...?"

"Himeki Yukina-san, it's the middle of the night—why are you here?" Gil asked in a stern tone, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“This…” Himeragi Yukina seemed to have just escaped from someone, and then she showed a somewhat inexplicable expression.

“…These are such worrying kids.” Gil could only sigh as he looked at Himeragi Yukina. “Go home now. I’ll handle things here. You kids just stay home.”

“But teacher—that familiar…” Himeragi Yukina wanted to say something.

Jill smiled helplessly, "Teacher, I'm a magic user, you know. Surely I can handle those mere familiars or demons?"

“But teacher, that’s a vampire from the old generation—” Himeragi Yukina quickly said.

“Old-generation vampires, huh?” Jill raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, that is indeed an old-generation vampire. Even a vampire like that is struggling, teacher, you…” Himeragi Yukina seemed to be trying to persuade Gil not to go.

The so-called old generation vampires refer to those vampires who, although not as powerful as the true ancestors, possess long lifespans and powerful magic.

Even in this world, they would be considered top-tier combat power.

Even compared to the Type-Moon universe, she's probably only on par with a typical second-rate Servant.

only--

"They're just opponents of this caliber..." Jill waved her hand dismissively. "Just you wait and see."

The claim that they are similar to ordinary second-rate Servants is just Gilles's slightly higher estimate, since Gilles included the vampires' familiars in his calculations.

Furthermore, Gilles's estimation was based on "Servants" rather than Heroic Spirits.

Servant refers to a Heroic Spirit whose abilities are limited by the concept of "class," while Heroic Spirits are much more powerful than Servants.

For example, when Cú Chulainn appeared as a Lancer, he basically only possessed one Noble Phantasm, which was the Gae Bolg (Spear of Death Thorns).

But how could his strength be limited to this? If summoned in his homeland of Ulster, he would receive a "fame boost" to new Noble Phantasms and abilities, such as Twin Chariot, Castle, and Unending Blessing.

If a Heroic Spirit's strength is constrained by its "class," it is actually much, much weaker than the original body.

Even a top-tier Servant like Gilgamesh wouldn't be afraid, let alone someone who can only be considered a second-rate Servant? To push him to this point, he must be at most a top-tier second-rate Servant, right?

Chapter 276 Incompetent Teammate!

Seeing Gil's resolute attitude, Himeragi Yukina had no choice but to remain silent.

Jill took this as tacit approval, and after giving the final instruction, "Stay here and don't wander off," he immediately rushed out.

At that moment, Jill saw clearly the object that was attacking the familiar of the old generation of vampires.

It was a huge, translucent arm with an iridescent glow.

The arm is not a living flesh body; like the familiar, it is a materialized aggregate of magical energy.

An arm several meters long made contact with a pitch-black demon bird in mid-air.

In the next instant, the demon bird let out a painful roar.

The demon bird's wings were torn off by the roots, and its molten, scalding blood splattered everywhere.

The rainbow-colored arm then tore apart the chaotic giant body of the demon bird, as if it wanted to devour it alive.

Unable to maintain its physical form, the demonic bird disintegrated into pure magic and fell to the ground. But the rainbow-colored arm did not stop attacking, ravaging the destroyed body of its familiar like a wild beast scavenging for carcasses.

Gil saw the servant of the familiar and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Because the host of the rainbow-colored arm was a petite girl. A blue-haired girl with a cloak covering her skin, an artificially beautiful face, and emotionless pale blue eyes—

"..." It's that girl from yesterday...

Jill remained silent, but simply waved her hand, and the longsword that sprang from the golden ripples tore through the translucent arm that shone with iridescent light.

Just then, Jill heard the sound of a heavy object being thrown to the ground behind her.

Jill turned her head slightly and saw a tall, slender vampire lying on the ground, heavily injured.

His shoulder was cleaved open, the wound reaching all the way to his heart.

A human would have died on the spot. The fact that he was still breathing shows how resilient the bodies of the "old generation" were.

However, his body, which would normally begin regeneration immediately, showed no change, suggesting that the reason was not merely the loss of his familiar or his weakened state. He had been attacked by some kind of powerful cursed energy.

Only human magic users, also known as demon-repelling masters, can unleash this attack.

Exorcists are high-ranking priests or monks of high status.

Jill could probably only guess that one person.

“You haven’t left yet, Rudolf Ostakh,” Gil said, his face expressionless.

"After all, I have my own goals, and going down this path doesn't align with my values."

Standing with his back to the raging flames was a burly man over 190 centimeters tall—Rudolf Ostakh, a teacher from Lotalinchia.

The crescent-shaped axe blade held in his right hand, and the robe draped over his armored suit, were both stained crimson with blood. It was the blood splattered from a vampire.

"Hey...so can I take your words as a declaration of war against me?" Jill raised the corners of her mouth, her crimson eyes taking on a cold look.

"Hmph... I don't care what you think—what's wrong with being your enemy in order to get that back?!" Rudolf gripped his battle axe tightly and stared intently at Jill.

“…Very well, it seems I underestimated your resolve…” Gilles put away his smile this time and nodded to Rudolf. “Then let me see how resolve you are!”

“Therefore, I will also bestow upon you the ultimate trial that humanity can accomplish!” As Jill said this, countless dense golden ripples suddenly appeared behind him!

How many golden ripples were there exactly? Thirty? Forty? Fifty? Or even more?

Rudolf's pupils contracted.

he does not know.

But he could clearly feel the pressure of death, which made his bones creak, from every single golden ripple.

“What is that…” Rudolf’s pupils contracted.

“What is it? This is my treasure trove!” Jill said. “To see my collection and to be tested by me is your greatest honor—”

“This is my treasure trove—the Gate of Babylon…” Jill said, and a sharp aura began to emerge from the golden ripples—

Within Rudolf's contracting pupils, the true forms of those sharp auras also appeared—

Swords, spears, halberds—no matter what kind they were, they all radiated a golden light and possessed a powerful, oppressive force…

At that moment, Rudolf's mind raced.

What should I do? I can't withstand even one round of this attack!

He left his homeland this time and traveled thousands of miles to Itogami Island, naturally for his own purpose. He had to retrieve something from Itogami Island, something that was extremely important to him.

Could it be... that it will happen here...?

"Wait... Stop, Ms. Jill, run... Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

The somewhat familiar voice rang out, and Gil turned around to see Akatsuki standing not far from him.

“You…” Jill’s face showed a look of astonishment.

Xiao Gucheng knelt on the ground, roaring in agony, the sound not directed at an enemy, but at himself.

The ancient city's eyes were stained deep red, and fangs were visible between its tightly closed lips.

What gushed out from his injured arm was not blood.

A dazzling bluish-white light burst forth from the cracked skin. A searing flash filled the field of vision.

"No, this won't do...Astarothie!"

Rudolf immediately sensed something was wrong when he saw this, so he roared at the artificial life form girl named Astarothie.

However, his roar was drowned out by the deafening roar caused by the shockwave.

What was released from the ancient city's arm was a dense polymer of magical energy that had materialized. In other words, it was an entity known as a familiar. However, its dimension had surpassed that of familiars as people knew them.