I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

"You must be Caster, right? Instead of holding your ground, you're here provoking me..."

Jill looked at the white-robed youth before her, then uttered his real name, "This is a declaration of war against us, Caster! No, or perhaps I should call you—"

“Von Hohenheim Paracelsus!” Gil announced the other’s real name.

The Omniscient and Omnipotent Star can see through the hidden true names of all Servants, and even Noble Phantasms with hidden true names cannot escape its discerning eye.

This is far more powerful than Ruler's ability to see through his true name.

After all, Ruler's ability to see through someone's true name is affected by his own luck when he sees that the target possesses a Noble Phantasm that conceals their true name.

For example, when Amakusa Shirou and Mordred first met, Mordred was wearing the Noble Phantasm "Helmet that Conceals Infidelity," which prevented Amakusa Shirou from seeing through Mordred's true name.

The Omniscient and Omnipotent Star has no such limitation; even through two layers of disguise, the Omniscient and Omnipotent Star can see through the true name at a glance.

Moreover, the omniscient and omnipotent star can also determine the most advantageous course of action in battle.

This is different from intuition.

Intuition can only judge "how the other party will act", while the all-knowing and all-powerful star can judge "how the opponent will act", and the different "possibilities" that will appear after this "action"!

Furthermore, it can also provide a certain degree of future vision.

Of course, it's not the kind of vision that can see far into the future; that's an EX-level ability called clairvoyance.

“You recognize me now…” Paracelsus said, narrowing his eyes.

The legendary doctor and alchemist is widely known as a figure from the 16th-century Renaissance. From the rediscovery of the "Four Elements (or Five Elements)" and the "Rediscovery of the Three Primary Substances," he left behind numerous achievements and books, making him a rare figure renowned in both human history and the history of magic.

A powerful magician who wields the five elements (**Erage One), rational and composed. Gentle by nature, dislikes fighting, and often considers human love to be the most precious thing.

He treated all modern magicians as his disciples, inheritors of his mantle, and loved them equally—as long as the world allowed him to do so.

The wish he once entrusted to the Holy Grail was to "reach the Root," and more specifically, to verify the theory that "the light of the stars is the light that penetrates the Root."

Jill laughed. "I know far more than you do. But—"

"If you dare to come here—it proves you're prepared to die by my hand!"

Golden ripples appeared directly in the air, densely covering Jill's back.

Paracelsus chose to flee immediately, and for some unknown reason, he ran incredibly fast, even making Gil squint.

Where is he leading me?

Gil picked up the Kusanagi Gakuen. "Let's chase after them."

"But what about Ritsuka-san and the others..."

“I’m in contact with Enki. Come with me. Don’t worry, Enki will lead them to catch up.”

……

In a park in the suburbs.

Paracelsus stopped in his tracks.

This is a quiet residential area quietly existing in Tokyo, but its true nature is a kind of otherworld.

The towering evergreen trees are so dense that they could easily be mistaken for a forest or jungle. If one were to describe it, it would be like the sacred trees surrounding an old shrine, where some might find mystery in the trees themselves. However, what's in the park are merely subtle and wondrous manifestations. Apart from the towering sacred trees, something else is clearly located here.

Let's see.

The deserted park, enveloped in the tranquility unique to the dead of night, has its center—

Located in the heart of a metropolis near the end of the 20th century, this newly restored dwelling, modeled after the pit dwellings of ancient humans, is nestled among the trees. It was completed just over three years ago. Calling it newly built is unlikely to draw any criticism.

Newly built old houses. Dense woods. Almost brand new electric lights.

To an expert, it would be obvious. While the district park doesn't appear malicious, it is undeniably distorting the concept of time. Even ancient landscapes are being brought back to life by human hands. Is this a man-made monument because there are genuine ancient relics here, or is it intended to educate the children growing up here, or perhaps both?

Whatever the reason, this city called Tokyo was able to achieve the rebirth of antiquity on this land.

If, by a one in ten thousand chance, the likes of magicians, shrouded in ancient mystery, were to witness this scene, what would they think? Would they be utterly captivated, their eyes lighting up with interest, or would they turn a deaf ear to this arrogant modern civilization, filled with utter disgust? Or would they simply assert that not even a worthy fantasy, or even a fragment of it, exists here?

"Thump..." Gil landed on the ground and put down the Kusanagi.

“…Please come with me. Although it’s somewhat shameless, I still hope you can help me with this,” Paracelsus said.

"...What's wrong? Feeling guilty about what you did and want to atone for it?"

Gil said something that left Kusanagi completely bewildered.

What you did? Remorse? Atonement? What are you talking about...? Why can't I understand a single word...?

Speaking of which, my Servant has always been by my side, so why is it that I don't know anything about him?

“…Maybe so…maybe it’s because of guilt…” Paracelsus, “but…because Lady Aika has already touched that…so, we absolutely cannot let her continue down that wrong path.”

Chapter 357 Riot! A Night Far from Peaceful!

“…Is that so…” Jill muttered. “Take me on.”

“However, I’ll leave the rescue to you, Hidden,” Jill said.

It's best to leave this matter to someone close to you, anyway...

"Huh...? Me?" Kusanagi pointed to himself.

Jill nodded and said, "As for your eyes, you can kill them if you want, whether it's a curse or something else. Make up your mind before you go."

“…Let me go.” Kusanagi paused for a moment, then nodded and said.

“Thank you…” Paracelsus bowed and said.

His polite demeanor earned him a lot of goodwill from Kusanagi.

“Let’s go,” Jill said. “The reason that person became like this is because of you.”

“...Yes...that’s an undeniable fact,” Paracelsus nodded and said.

Jill tilted her head slightly. "Von Hohenheim Paracelsus, lead the way."

“…Okay.” Paracelsus nodded and led the two of them forward.

Kusanagi found this scene slightly strange, and he used a Command Spell to ask Gilles, "Gil...why do you seem so indifferent to this Caster?"

“I don’t really like him, that’s all,” Jill said.

In the original course of the world, Paracelsus and his Master first signed an alliance pact with Ozymandias.

However, after meeting Aika Sajō, he was drawn to her, who was connected to the Root from birth, and betrayed Reirōkan, which meant betraying his Master.

Betrayal is an extremely despicable act. Although pursuing one's own desires is not shameful, Jill cannot condone such behavior.

Moreover, he later assisted Aika Sajou in casting a curse on the daughter of the Reirōkan family. He helped Aika and Arthur defeat Ozymandias, but the punishment curse for breaking the alliance with Ozymandias backfired on Master, causing his death.

Betrayal of the alliance—that was even more detestable to Jill.

Moreover, if the one who formed an alliance with him was the Sun King, then the two of them would definitely trust each other. Ozymandias was a very powerful king, and Gil never denied that.

Of course, it's not as good as using your own abilities.

Jill thought so.

Moreover, the curse placed on the girl from the Linglongguan family was a vicious curse: "If she doesn't become a Master and obtain the Holy Grail, she will die."

However, Jill felt no pity, only genuine disgust at the betrayal.

"...I actually think he's a pretty good person," Kusanagi said, somewhat puzzled.

Gil chuckled at this and said to Kusanagi, "There aren't many good people among magicians."

“…That should be true, shouldn’t it?” Kusanagi said.

“Yes, that’s right.” Jill thought for a moment, then said, “But… you need to remember what I’m about to say.”

"Yes." Kusanagi rarely saw Gil with such a serious expression.

“Magicians are a group of madmen who will stop at nothing to reach the Root; and the magic world is a crazy, bloody, and cruel world.” Jill tilted her head slightly and reached out to pat Kusanagi’s head.

Although Kusanagi's body is not fully developed yet, he is only about 1.7 meters tall, while Gil is now 1.8 meters tall. This head pat doesn't feel out of place at all.

His eyes were like those of someone looking at their own child. "Don't have any contact with the magic world anymore... But after this Holy Grail War ends, you will forget everything. Then work hard and pursue the life you want."

Kusanagi realized that the young man in front of him, his Servant, was someone he could actually help with almost nothing.

Unable to gather intelligence on the front lines, all their intelligence comes from Saber right in front of them.

The supply of magic power is also somewhat limited. Last time, when he clashed with Karna, Gilgamesh could have killed Karna with just Ea, but he still chose that risky way to kill Karna.

That's because he sensed that Kusanagi's magical power was significantly insufficient.

Forcing the use of the Noble Phantasm again would cause considerable damage to Kusanagi.

Perhaps the only thing she can do is not to cause trouble for the man in front of her.

For some reason, Kusanagi had a faint urge to follow in this man's footsteps.

I am not qualified to stand beside him and walk side by side with him—I am very clear about that.

The place beside him can only be his one and only friend.

All I need to do is follow behind him and move forward...

“Alright, let’s hurry up and go,” Jill said. “This is a magical barrier that guy set up himself. Keep up with the pace and hide.”

"Yes." Kusanagi smiled.

Yes, how wonderful it would be to be by his side—even if it's just as a lowly servant.

He didn't notice that a faint golden light drifted down from his body, landed on Jill, and then disappeared.

……

Inside the Linglong Pavilion, Kusanagi was looking at the petite girl.

"...She's cursed. That's for sure." Kusanagi's fingers twitched slightly, and the pale gold dagger Gil had given him appeared in his hand.

"If it can be cured, then do it quickly."

Jill turned her head and looked at the distant sky, her expression becoming increasingly uneasy.

For some reason, an ominous feeling arose in his heart.

“…How strange…The Old Man of the Mountain…hasn’t shown up for so long…what’s going on…” Gil bit his lip anxiously. “Besides, Enkidu and the others shouldn’t be moving this slowly…”