Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just the ideas…
In an instant, Siegfried had drawn his famed sword. It was a beautiful weapon, with a golden cross placed in the middle of the blade and two hilts jutting out. Right at the hilt was a glimmering blue jewel that stored unbelievable power, of which he would use to fight Gilgamesh.
He wasn't the only one that had done so. All around him, warriors of the old had summoned their weapons to their sides. Gilgamesh may have declared them as her subjects but no one was willing to back down, especially when they were on the cusp of seeing Cu Chullain claim victory over Naruto. Both had fought valiantly and it was dishonorable to alter the outcome of such a battle.
"King of Heroes." Siegfried said quietly. "You are not welcome here."
She scoffed. "I am not welcome here? You foolish dog… I am the one and only king! The very ground you walk upon is a part of my domain. To tell a king she is not welcome in her own palace? Mind your tongue!" Her aura flickered menacingly and the Gate of Babylon responded in kind.
Boudica scowled in both anger and disgust. In her life, she was known as the Queen of Britannia, one that was forced to take up arms against Rome. It was a title she had worn with pride, but never had she worn it with such overbearing arrogance displayed before her. Truly, the King of Heroes was something else. "You interrupted a battle between them! What do you expect us to do, just let you get away with it?" She asked indignantly.
"Of course! Foolish warriors, do you still not understand? You are mine. He is mine. Everything," She gestured with her arms spread out. "Is mine. Thus, the scuttling blonde cockroach is mine to punish… Hmph. Enough talk. I have a duty-"
"You do not." Siegfried stood in place, his sword clasped between his hands. "Your interruption is unnecessary, King of Heroes."
"Unnecessary?" Her hand gripped tightly onto the arm of her throne, threatening to snap it as if it was brittle ice and not pure gold. "Unnecessary?" She repeated. Familiar golden circles rippled into existence behind her, pointing at every warrior in the training hall. "I have allowed your drivel to go on long enough, mongrels. To have such impertinence when speaking to your king… Truly, I have slacked in my duties." She admitted, the barest hints of the countless Noble Phantasms emerging behind her. "I see… I suppose I will have to teach you yet another lesson. Do your best to entertain me, heroes!"
The traveling knight of the Netherlands showed no emotion. From the very start, he knew what he was getting into by provoking one of the strongest - if not the strongest - spirit in the Throne of Heroes. Though she lacked a certain skill that brought out the utmost capabilities of a Noble Phantasm, it was the sheer quantity of Noble Phantasms that she possessed that proved to be threatening. Yet, he considered it an injustice to not stand up for Naruto, whether death was an impossibility or not. "I challenge you to battle, King of Heroes. Do you accept?"
Gilgamesh's mouth curled in amusement at being asked such a question. "You think too highly of yourself, mongrel! I have no obligation to obey you, but your King shall allow it… Come!"
Siegfried waited no longer. He lunged at her, his sword outstretched and aimed at her head. If he allowed Gilgamesh to get the first attack in, the battle would be over before it even began. His sword clashed with two spears that crossed against each other in an X-formation, Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm kicking in without much thought. "Do you think such a paltry attack will even scratch me?"
The other heroes would not stand for her arrogance, yet they waited for Siegfried to finish his duel against her, whether they thought the dragonslayer could bring Gilgamesh down or not. He had challenged the King of Heroes and to interrupt such a challenge would only bring disrespect to Siegfried.
Golden circles materialized under Siegfried's feet. His eyes widened as he realized such a fact. Quickly leaping to the side, Siegfried barely managed to avoid any injuries when he noted a barrage of swords headed right for him. Calmly, he slammed Balmung against the projectiles, efficiently batting them to the side with sharp movements. While his Armor of Fafnir deflected some Noble Phantasms, it would only completely nullify attacks of B-rank or of lower status. Besides, it would be unbefitting of his status to simply tank attacks.
Without so much as an afterthought, Siegfried pushed his legs backwards and activated his Noble Phantasm. The blue jewel embedded in the grip of his sword began to glow and shimmer, signifying everyone of his might. In it contained mana from the Age of Gods, a power to behold.
Siegfried held his sword with both hands, changing the grip so the sharp side pointed to his face. "Rise, my sword." A burning azure aura wreathed the blade of Balmung, elongating until it pointed to the ceiling, charging and crackling in response to its owner. His long grey hair flipped and fluttered behind his head and shoulders, as the activation of his Noble Phantasm had whipped up a frenzy of winds.
Gilgamesh smirked at the sight with her face resting against her hand. "Your Noble Phantasm? Hmph." Her smug, arrogant expression gave nothing away, whether she was secretly worried of the predicament she was in or not.
His eyes used to be empty. Filled with the sole purpose of helping others and granting them wishes. That was Siegfried. Yet he was never able to fill the ever-growing void in his heart. He was never given a chance to pursue his own justice - his own ideals. But here, in the Throne of Heroes, he was not bound to anybody. He was finally able to fight for what he thought was right. "And right now, I know what to do." Siegfried's eyes closed as he muscles tensed. "Gilgamesh…"
His eyes opened. They were no longer empty. "Bal-" The furious blue was brought down, and all heroic spirits jumped from the area, doing their best to avoid the Noble Phantasm.
"-mung!" The slash seemed to vaporize the very air, slicing through and met with no resistance. As it reached the ground, chunks of the ground were thrown to the side. The discharged mana spilled forwards, and promptly brought down the entire wall it faced.
The aftermath was befitting that of a Noble Phantasm. Though the room began to fix itself and regenerate from the damage, there was still damage strewn all over. It was now clearer than ever that Siegfried was more than enough to match an army thousand strong, as expected of a Heroic Spirit of his caliber.
"Was that enough?" Siegfried shook his head, ridding it of any dust and impurities that might have fallen upon it during his Noble Phantasm.
A slow clapping noise erupted in front. No longer was Gilgamesh on her throne. "I admit, it has been quite some time since I have seen such a spectacle. Well done." Her glittering gold armor alerted everyone to her presence, if her smooth, arrogant voice had not. "Your king has been entertained." A wall of weapons emerged from her back. "But if that is all you have to offer, begone."
"…" Siegfried could utter no retort, for he only had two Noble Phantasms, of which she had already seen. Once more, he activated the mana in his dragon-slaying sword, bringing the howling winds back to his surroundings.
"… That spot behind your back." With Seigfried readying to unleash his Noble Phantasm, his position was unfavorable for him to deflect a spear to the back. It would take far too long for him to deactivate Balmung and dodge/deflect the projectile. Before Siegfried was allowed to bring his sword down, Gilgamesh had flicked her wrist.
Siegfried's sword returned to its usual luster, its owner having been stabbed through his back. Balmung clattered on the floor as the knight fell to his knees, blood spurting from his back and flowing from his mouth. Slowly but surely, his body began to disintegrate, the particles drifting off in the wind.
"Siegfried!"
"Ho? The mongrel is still alive, even after being stabbed by a Noble Phantasm." Gilgamesh mused before scoffing at the sight of the other heroic spirits waiting to duel her in honorable fashion. "None of you hold my interest, mongrels. Your king feels only the need to punish one of you."
"I, Diarmuid-"
"Stop!" Naruto's single, visible eye- no, his entire body glowed with anger and power. The heroes parted, carving a path for him among the warriors, partly out of respect for his request but also partly out of slight fear. "She's mine."
Gilgamesh laughed. "I, yours? Know that it is the other way around, mongrel. Your King belongs to no man. If you wish to fight me, then come." Her red eyes stared into Naruto's. "However, only a true hero is allowed to cross blades with me."
"Fuck that." Gilgamesh's face stretched to its utmost limit. How amusing it was for a mere dog to fight back!
"Just me and you, Gilgamesh. Think you can take me on?" Naruto spread his arms, his wounds somehow healed.
Her face was blank: unreadable and devoid of any emotion. Perhaps it was her incredulity upon hearing his words that prevented her from responding. But slowly, she grinned. "The punishment for defying your king will always end in death. But for speaking such drivel and slandering my rule," Naruto tensed, hearing the danger in her tone. "I will break your mind, your dignity, and your pride. After I'm done with you, you will be reduced to a mere bumbling fool, incapable of thought." She tilted her head. "Such is the will of your King."
~o~
Naruto's jaw tightened, taut like a bow string stretched to its breaking point. Thanks to his Six Paths Sage Chakra and the Ying-Yang Release that came with it, he managed to heal his stab wounds. He was still somewhat weak from his fight with Cu, but he'd just have to manage.
His hands pulsed with chakra, ready to summon his trusty swords. "Should I…? Nah." His swords were nice and all but right now, he really wanted to sucker punch Gilgamesh.
Was it disturbing? Somewhat. Was it therapeutic? Definitely.
"This battlefield is unsuited to my needs." Gilgamesh announced, her velvety, dangerously smooth voice threatening hell if her orders weren't followed. "Mongrels dirty the ground I stand upon. Begone."
Too late did Naruto understand what exactly she meant. "Bastard!" He lunged at her, all rationality thrown out the window. As if he was a mere bug, Gilgamesh swatted him out of the sky, intercepting his body with a hammer pulled from the depths of her treasury. Not a moment later, she unleashed the Gate of Babylon in all its terrible glory.
With light shining upon her back, countless Noble Phantasms hailed all over the spirits. From all their directions, weapons were summoned to block off their exits. As swords threatened to pin them from the air, spears and halberds were thrown at their sides. From beneath their feet, axes and daggers stabbed upwards, trapping them through their feet. As more and more particles began to appear and disappear, Gilgamesh's smile became more pronounced.
Naruto cursed, heaving himself from the cratered wall. By sacrificing his awareness for speed, Naruto had made himself vulnerable. It was a mistake his younger self would have made, but one he should not have made.
He was new to the whole "Throne of Heroes" thing, but already he recognized the unfairness of Gilgamesh's powers. Her Noble Phantasm - at least, that's what he thought it was - allowed her to hurl weapons at a whim. Accuracy was of no concern. She merely had to summon enough weapons to skewer her opponents.
Clearly, she had more than enough.
"You!" Boudica had shielded Jack with her body, her voluptuous form having been riddled with holes as she held Jack in her arms. "Don't worry Jack… I'll be back." She gasped out. "I think it takes around… Five hours…" The famed hero of Britannica vanished too, in a spray of sapphire flecks.
"Ho?" Gilgamesh finally stepped off her throne, evidently feeling the need to stretch her limbs. Of course, there was no problem with her feet meeting the ground, now that all the unworthy had been purged before her presence. Only, there were still two - barring the offender - that stood before her. "I see… Children and the spy have both escaped my wrath. My rage does not extend to mere toddlers. You, on the other hand…"
She turned to Mata Hari, who had edged herself in front of the still shocked Jack. "The harlot that has made her way into the Throne of Heroes. You bring disgrace to all my subjects and the King herself. You, who have no use in the battlefield and prove worth only in the bedroom, have no right to stand on this very ground!" A single circle emerged by the side of Gilgamesh's head.
Mata Hari looked at the King mournfully. If there ever was a moment in which she had felt so hopelessly weak, it was now. More than anyone, she understood the lack of power she possessed. Yet Mata Hari wished to protect Jack. Even though Gilgamesh had "spared" her, there was no telling what she would do next, especially with Jack's inevitable attempt to slay Gilgamesh.
"Die." The sword shot through the circle, only to be kicked away by a very familiar person. The projectile smashed against a wall, dust and debris plummeting to the undoubtedly ruined ground.
"Naruto!?"
"Some leader you are." Naruto scoffed, his back facing Jack and Mata Hari. "Stabbing your own subjects and putting them down…"
Gilgamesh peered at the shinobi curiously. "How interesting. You healed a wound dealt to you by my Noble Phantasm. You have done well in surviving long enough for me to kill you. I commend you on that, mongrel." From the side, Gilgamesh set one hand on the handle of a sword, an unnamed Noble Phantasm, but a Noble Phantasm nonetheless. "Rejoice! For your death will be by hands!"
Naruto wasn't the first to strike, however. It was the petite girl standing behind her. Having got over her shock at seeing her mother "killed", Jack was out for blood and revenge. "You killed mommy." She spoke in a trembling voice chock full of unconstrained anger. "You killed her. We'll kill you for that!" Her seemingly innocent voice morphed into a bestial roar as she summoned daggers to her side.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, having always been wary of the girl. Though her sweet disposition was as natural as day and night, he knew for a fact that Jack was not normal by any means. Ignoring her status as one who had ascended to the Throne of Heroes, she appeared to be a young child with no experience in killing and murder.
That was wrong. Completely and utterly wrong.
Jack disappeared from her position, forcing Naruto to drop his jaw in disbelief. Her speed was, by no means, no joke. Compared to him, she was just as fast as him in his base state, which was no easy feat. Naruto considered himself to be extremely fast, even by shinobi standards. Jiraiya had strapped him with countless weights that shattered every one of his physical limits like they were nothing. "What a monster…" Quickly turning around, Naruto placed his hands on Mata Hari's shoulders and stared into her eyes.
The spy looked back, wondering what exactly he would tell her now. His handsome, whiskered - how had she failed to notice that before? - face looked solemn and serious. "Mata… I understand that death isn't a thing here… But it still feels the same. I felt the same feeling when Siegfried and Boudica died and I know I'll get that same feeling when Gilgamesh lays her hands on you after she deals with me."
"I understand." She smiled sadly. Mata Hari was no fighter and by remaining on the battlefield, she only made things harder for Naruto. "Just… Be careful…" She wanted to say more, to wish him luck and tell him that she'd feel that same pang in her heart if Naruto was slain, but there was no time. The King of Heroes was steadily growing impatience with the agility of Jack and her refusal to fall.
Naruto smirked. "Yeah, yeah…" With a kunai in his hand, he then rushed into battle, joining Jack in her assault against Gilgamesh.
"I don't want to see you disappear like the others… Naruto!" Turning back, Mata Hari fled from the training room, opening the doors and escaping with haste.
~o~
The blonde winced in pain as yet another sword sliced into his body. Only this time, it had cut through his leg, hampering his movement and leaving him vulnerable for additional attacks. Quickly, he channeled Yin-Yang Chakra into his limb, mending the penetrated skin, leaving it unblemished.
"Your pesky movements are bothersome. Begone!" Several swords plunged into Jack's chest and limbs, slamming the poor girl into the floor. "You have proven your worth, girl. Rest in knowing that." In a surprising turn of events, Gilgamesh's face softened when gazing upon Jack. "So the arrogant King has a soft spot for children, huh… I guess even she's not completely heartless."
Gilgamesh turned to the object of her hate. "And one remains. Will you beg for forgiveness as the light fades from your eyes?" Her lips curled into a smile as her shimmering golden hair rested on her shoulders.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, your majesty," Naruto finished, with a mocking tone before throwing the remains of his kunai to the side, their razor-sharp side having been sheared off by the might of her Noble Phantasms. "But I'm gonna have to resist."
"Then die, knowing the difference between I and you is endless." There was no delaying this moment any longer for Naruto. He would not fight expecting help to come at the last second. "Two can play the numbers game." He mused, placing his fingers together in a familiar hand sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)."
It was his very first jutsu he had learned and mastered. Even the creator, Tobirama, could not challenge Naruto's strength and ingeniousness in which he utilized the jutsu with. Hundreds of Naruto's spread throughout the room, all armed with kunai and others with their bare fists. If Gilgamesh wished to bombard him with innumerable weapons, he merely had to summon the same number of clones.
"Doton: Doryuuheki (Earth Style: Mud Wall)!" His late sensei had taught him to think. There was no point in expending his energy and rushing Gilgamesh with clones if she could merely shoot them down all at once. For now, he would have to stall, at least until he thought of a plan.
"So the mongrel hides behind his makeshift walls?" Her voice sounded out. "I suppose I, as the King, will have to force you out."
"Think, Naruto, think!" He could already hear the rippling of her weapons being summoned. He had at most five seconds to come up with something. "Fire as a screen? And then what?" Short, unfinished thoughts swirled around his head, clouding it with only possibilities, not certainties. Even though Jiraiya had taught him to strategize, he was never one for thinking - he always preferred figuring it out as he went.
Spears and swords hailed down the walls from above, tearing and reducing them into mere mounds of rubble. All around him, clones vanished into wisps of smoke, unable to take more than a hit from the Noble Phantasms. "Are those clones all that you have?" Gilgamesh curled her mouth in displeasure. For her, the fight was dragging to more of a chore rather than entertainment.
It seemed he would have to kick it up a notch. "Senpo: Goemon (Sage Art: Goemon)!" It was a prized cooperation jutsu passed down to him from Jiraiya. Normally, his sensei would summon the two elder toads to maximize the effectiveness of the jutsu. The toads, perched on his shoulders, would breathe out fire and wind to ignite the oil Jiraiya would provide. The end result? An superheated inferno that would reduce the target and the surroundings to the barest of cinders.
Naruto, with his inhuman chakra reserves and chakra control, could do it by himself.
He flashed through his required hand seals and the clones around him did so as well. From their mouths spewed alternating currents of burning oil, wind, and fire, all coming together to form a wave of boiling oil that nearly filled the entire room.
"Oil?" Gilgamesh wrinkled her nose, summoning shields all around her to prevent any flecks of the brown liquid from landing upon and tainting her golden armor. The thunderous wave crashed against her shield and her eyes widened, hearing the slightest crack on her possessions. But it held strong, bearing the impact of the thousands of gallons of burning oil.
"You stoop to an even lower level, mongrel! Spitting oil at your king? Filthy." As the wave settled down and slowly dissipated into the air, Naruto, ignoring her words, pulled out a different kind of kunai from his side pocket…
One that was tri-pronged and had kanji scrawled on its handle.
"Jikukan: Hiraishin no Jutsu (Space-Time Ninjutsu: Flying Thunder God)!" Instantly, Naruto condensed lightning chakra in his throwing arm, surrounding it with pure volts and streams of electricity, His arm cranked back and then blurred, converting all his lightning into speed and catapulting the kunai to Gilgamesh in sound breaking speeds.
But even with her sheltered, privileged lifestyle, Gilgamesh was not known as the strongest Heroic Spirit for naught. With a tilt of her head, she avoided the kunai, suffering only a light graze. Still, that shallow cut was more than enough to set her off. She began lifting her finger to touch the injury and her mouth opened, presumably to belittle and insult the shinobi, but she failed to spot him. In the rarest of occasions, she felt fear. Her primal instincts screamed in guttural desperation, forcing her, for the time being, to acknowledge Naruto as a threat.
But right by her marred face was Naruto himself, glowing green fist inflamed with dense chakra. Before Gilgamesh could summon any Noble Phantasm, the fist slammed into her face, nearly snapping her neck from its sheer force. A wave of wind emanated from the impact, breezing through the room and her bones snapped like twigs.
"!" She had no words. Even if she could speak, Gilgamesh could not put into words how great her fury was. Her actions would have to suffice. She merely glared at him with all the hate she could muster and activated the Gate of Babylon to painfully skewer him.
There was no delay: no savouring the pain and despair that would spread across his face as his limbs would slowly separate from his body; just death. Pure steel rained on Naruto, piercing through his flesh and killing him instantly.
Or so she thought.
After the Noble Phantasms had slammed into the ground, pulverizing it once more, Naruto vanished in a crimson light, escaping certain death and appearing near the entrance of the room. Using the marker he had implanted on her cheek, Naruto reappeared at her side with a smirk, only this time, armed with a spiraling blue ball hovering over his hand.
"Rasengan (Spiraling Sphere)!" If Gilgamesh hadn't felt it before, she would surely feel it now. The rotating mass of chakra slammed into her chest, grinding away at her once unblemished skin, reducing it to a bloody mass of bones and meat.
She screamed in agony, her golden armor unable to withstand the terrifying technique. With little effort, she was blasted back, tumbling across the very ground she declared dirty. There she lied, breathing hard and amassing her anger to find the will to stand back up and deliver justice.
"You damn insect!" As Naruto's footsteps sounded closer and closer, Gilgamesh roared, crawling back to her feet in a way no King, especially of her status, ever should. "To have forced my hand like this." She placed her hand out, feeling for a familiar handle and from her deepest vaults, a cylindrical sword made of three rotating segments appeared…
A/N: Sorry for the late update. i wrote this in a hurry so I might come back and fix this, especially the latter half of the chapter.
I'll be posting the next update to help establish a schedule. They should come around every weekend.
Next Update: Killer Kills