Authority and Magic Resistance: Let me first repeat something I already explained in response to a previous Review. Magic Resistance is no help in countering the effects of an Authority.
In the 'Campione!' universe, the Divines Authorities are something totally separate from human magic.
To make a comparison, it's like saying that a bulletproof jacket will protect you from a gas attack. Or rather as in the game "Skyrim", the magic protection of the Bretons does not protect them from the Draugrs and Dragons' Shouts.
Why Shirou can Trace Avalon: The answer was given by Kinoko Nasu in an Interview shortly after the release of the Fate/Stay Night VN. Shirou can Trace Avalon because he has the original in him. For reminder Shirou Trace Avalon twice in FSN, of which once after returning the sheath to Saber... Obviously, the link Master/ Servant with Saber suffice to allow him to Trace Avalon (after all, Avalon - inside Shirou's body- was the Catalyst that allowed him to invoke Artoria). Nasu even specifies that after Artoria left for the Other Side of the World with the sheath, Shirou lose the ability to Trace Avalon.
The Shirou of Fate/ Stay Night (including UBW route and HF route) is unable to Trace a Divine Construct.
But FSN Shirou can Trace Excalibur in the real world... under certain circumstances (and only with Archer's Arm). He even can use this Last Phantasm (but not survive this feat).
This is because:
1) Excalibur is not a Divine Construct; it is a Sacred Weapon... When Shirou uses Structural Grasp on a Divine Construct he is unable to understand it as if it 'was not of this world'.
2) Shirou is connected with Saber (Excalibur's true owner) and he has Excalibur's sheath in him. The following is just an assumption: what is Avalon? I think for Shirou the sheath act as a hollow mold of Excalibur. Like some sort of footprint, Avalon keeps pieces of information about the Sacred Sword.
Note: the Shirou in Oath Under Snow can Trace Divine Construct. Why? I don't know... but it's another Shirou with a different story in another universe, even his version of UBW is quite different.
Alec Gascoigne: Many readers ask me to severely punish this Campione. I assure you, it is planned.
Author Note: Before someone starts lecturing me about Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasms, or his character... The Gilgamesh in this story is the Extraverse version of Gilgamesh... Specifically, he is Classless Gilgamesh from Fate Extra CCC. Not being limited by a Class (Archer, Caster, etc...) he has access to all the Noble Phantasms of Gate of Babylon. In terms of personality, let's just say that Gilgamesh is pursuing a specific goal by accompanying Altera. The Golden King's behavior reflects his goal. I think Boyzilla must have already figured out why Gilgamesh sided with Altera.
The First Hero
United Kingdom, London, Royal Arsenal.
Leaning over the crystal ball on the desk of Sir Iceman, Ishtar and Ereshkigal had observed the battle in the center of the Labyrinth of King Minos. Alexander Gascoigne had easily trapped Ruler and defeated Guinevere even more easily.
Like all tsundere, Ishtar had trouble being honest. But, at least inwardly, she could admit that King Alec had maneuvered very well. Nevertheless, this victory seemed... unfair. Okay, Ruler was an agent of Sefar and Sefar was their enemy... So, in this logic, the victory of the English Campione was also their victory.
Yet... she could not rejoice, feeling an absurd irritation...
Ereshkigal -for once- agreed with her sister.
The Queen of the Netherworld had faced King Alexander and she didn't have many fond memories of the fight. The English Campione mistreated Hakuno, stole her, and locked her in his maze. Paradoxically, Ereshkigal was less angry with Alexander for trying to kill her to steal one of her authorities.
Alec used to exhaust his enemies by running them around in his maze until they were no longer able to fight. Then he trapped them so he can finish them off without taking any risks. This method of fighting was cowardly and despicable...
Ereshkigal usually didn't care what the living did to other living people. Except... the Goddess of Afterlife knew Jeanne... well, not really that Jeanne but... anyway, it was hard for her to hate Ruler.
The crystal ball relayed the images but not the sounds, Guinevere and Alexander spoke, but this conversation suddenly ended when Black Prince Alec took out an object from the inside of his jacket... an ordinary pen.
However, as the Godslayer touched the object to cast a spell, Guinevere jolted with fear.
Involuntarily, Ereshkigal stiffened in her seat.
By her side, the Mistress of Heaven spoke in anger.
"Wait, what will your king do?"
As phlegmatic as usual, Sir Iceman smiled unmoved.
"King Alec will of course eliminate Guinevere. The Witch Queen of Brittany remains dangerous. No risk is to be taken."
The answer did not please Ishtar.
"Killing an opponent in battle is one thing. But killing when your opponent can no longer defend himself is no different from murder!"
The aggressiveness of the Queen of Venus surprised Sir Iceman. Usually, the gods did not care much about the fate of mortals... and hardly any of the Divine Ancestors.
"Don't be fooled by Queen Guinevere's innocent appearance. She's not a 12-year-old. This is a Divine Ancestor over a hundred years old and she killed thousands of people who had underestimated her. She is very dangerous and able to turn the table in an instant if she is allowed to draw energy from the Grail."
Ereshkigal shared her attention between the crystal ball and the conversation in the office. However...
[Ere?]
The Mesopotamian goddess immediately recognized this mental 'voice'. Instinctively, she jumped up, feeling that something important had just happened.
[Hakuno?]
Japan, Tokyo, Tohsaka Mansion.
Shirou continued to sleep, as exhausted by his food poisoning as by Ishtar's bad mood.
Having nothing else to do, Hakuno Kishinami had settled in the Workshop... pardon... the Temple of Ereshkigal and Ishtar.
Sitting on a chair, the Inheritor of the Moon looked at the hologram of the Earth floating above the Servants detector. With the patience and incredible ability to focus that characterized her, Hakuno waited.
The red dot continued to flash in London. Suddenly... another dot appeared over the Atlantic just below Ireland.
[Ere?]
The mental message was immediately followed by a response.
[Hakuno?]
[A servant is coming towards you, he should arrive in a few minutes.]
London, Royal Arsenal.
As Ereshkigal had risen in a startle, Ishtar, Miss Cheung, and Sir Iceman turned to her. As the Goddess of the Underworld blanched, her sister worried:
"Ere, what's going on?"
"A Servant... I mean another Servant... he arrives at very high speed!"
The worried voice of the Queen of Kur had just faded away as this information took a back seat. A violent light emanated from Miss Cheung's crystal ball, dazzling everyone.
"What else is going on," protested Sir Iceman.
Despite the situation that had suddenly become more... complicated... Ishtar had a perfectly evil smile.
"I think your king underestimated a certain someone!"
Under the Royal Arsenal... a few minutes earlier.
Black Prince Alec was slowly advancing towards Guinevere. It was the moment of his triumph... a moment he had been waiting for since his father's death. Revenge, it is said, is a dish that can be eaten cold. And, after so much waiting, the Godslayer was certainly not going to hurry.
Pulling an ordinary pen from the inside pocket of his jacket, Alexander Gascoigne began to smile.
"You should be grateful to me, Queen Guinevere. I'll wrap it up quickly with you... you won't suffer."
He touched the pen with a finger, whispering the spell Magic of Sharp Blade.
This spell was somewhat equivalent to the Reinforcement Magecraft in the Campioneverse, allowing transforming an ordinary object to give it a sharp edge worthy of a very sharp blade.
Frightened, Guinevere tried to get up, but without success... she could only crawl. Clenching her teeth, she turned towards her executioner, preferring to challenge him one last time rather than humiliate herself in front of this man whom she hated and despised.
"King Alexander, you can kill me. But have a good taste of your triumph because I, Guinevere, foretold you this, the return of the King of the End is near. And His Majesty will avenge the death of His Handmaiden!"
Alec simply sighed and shook his head, apparently not impressed by the threat.
"We shall see, Queen Guinevere. But I can assure you that I will sleep quietly... I am not afraid of King Arthur's return. I leave you to your illusions about the King of the End. It would be cruel if I told you the truth. Consider your ignorance the last gift I give you..."
Despite her impending death, the Witch Queen throbs. Although she hated Black Prince Alec, she was forced to admit her erudition and undeniable talent for learning the best-kept secrets. Moreover, the Hand Maiden of King Arthur knew the perseverance of Alec Gascoigne. It was quite possible that the Nobleman of Godspeed learned something about the King of the End that she herself did not know...
But suddenly a dazzling white light lit up the throne room, casting out all the shadows. Guinevere and Alec raised their hands before their eyes wondering what was happening.
Wandering Avarice (also known as Weird Greed) was an Authority from the Christian Beast Behemoth which took the form of a Black Hole.
Ask any physicist, he will explain that a Black Hole is black because even the light cannot escape from the gravitational well generated by a Black Hole.
Except that...
Rays of white light were now coming out of the Black Hole created by Weird Greed.
In an explosion, the Black Hole disintegrated... revealing a feminine silhouette made of pure light.
Apparently, even the laws of Einsteinian physics did not prevail over a miracle!
Regaining human form, Jeanne d'Arc almost collapsed. Leaning on the pole of her standard, the young woman could hardly breathe. Exhausted, Ruler slowly straightened up when she saw a black flash of lightning...
With his usual liveliness, Alec immediately understood the change in the situation. He rematerialized near his throne, under the protection of the Occultists of the Royal Arsenal and especially of the Erinyes.
Jeanne leaped forward, swirling her banner.
The Judging Furies - summoned to fight Guinevere- were too weak to fight La Pucelle d'Orléans. In a stunning display of martial prowess, Tisiphone was violently thrown into the ceiling, and Megaera did not survive another 20 seconds before being impaled on the ground. Drawing the Sword of Fierbois, Jeanne finished Alecto almost in the same movement.
The Occultists, frozen on the spot, had only seen fuzzy shapes, moving too fast to be clearly distinguished.
Without taking care of the members of the Royal Arsenal who departed from her in a general panic, Jeanne turned to Alec Gascoigne.
The Campione was still stunned by the sudden twist but escaped the attack by changing again into black lightning. He re-emerged at the other end of the room.
It was time to resort to his best attack... until then only Ereshkigal had been able to counter it.
Black Prince Alec spread his arms wide, shouting an incantation:
"Be thou faithful unto death! And I will give thee a crown of life!"
At the same time, Ruler lunged in front of Guinevere, took the pole of her standard with two hands, and struck it to the ground. The flag, filled by some supernatural gust of wind, started dropping flakes of light.
"Here's the work of the Lord!
My flag, defend our brethrens!
Luminosité Éternelle! "
While translucent hexagonal spiritron shields formed a half sphere in front of Jeanne, a tremendous stream of black-colored lightning was released from the body of King Alec, rushing on the saint. This was the secret attack mode of the Black Lightning Authority: Black Thunder.
Like some sort of titanic thunderstorm, the throne room was suddenly full of black-colored electrics arcs that bounced against the barrier erected by Jeanne d'Arc. The air was stinking with the smell of ozone. Struck by black lightning part of the vault collapsed, and stone columns melted like hot wax, and fell to the ground in drops of lava, liquefied by infernal heat.
At that moment, half the room collapsed. From the ceiling fell tons of rocks. The dust obscured the vision and all that was heard was the sound of stones rolling and ricocheting.
On the surface, around the same time.
Black Thunder had caused such magical disturbances that Miss Cheung's crystal ball had become blurred and colorful. It was impossible to know what was happening inside the Labyrinth of King Minos.
Sir Iceman was the first to recover.
"Esteemed Ereshkigal, did you say another Servant was heading our way?"
The Queen of the Netherworld opened her mouth and then ran her eyebrows before coughing into her fist with embarrassment. Behind her, Ishtar facepalmed... fascinated by the fight between Ruler and Black Prince Alec, her sister had completely forgotten Hakuno's warning.
"Ah... yes... uh... " Ereshkigal's eyes opened in a sudden panic as she remembered. "We are going to be attacked."
Hakuno's warning should have provided a grace period for the goddesses, allowing them to prepare... but they had not benefited from it.
The old gun foundry was surrounded by an invisible magic barrier, able to repel most unwelcome visitors... but the Royal Arsenal's Occultists, although not without talent, were only human beings.
Vimana: Throne of the Heaven-soaring King was standing above the Royal Brass Foundry. The strange flying construction was a treasure dating from ancient India and the wars between the Vedic gods, demigods, and heroes.
The golden and emerald ark was able to move at the speed of thought. Normally, Londoners would have stopped in awe at the sight of this strange and magnificent UFO. Except that the Vinama was floating invisibly above the old gun foundry (1).
Sitting on the throne at the back of the magnificent flying chariot of the heroes of ancient India, Gilgamesh was dressed in his usual golden armor; his red eyes with vertical pupils were directed on an object similar to a compass... except that the needle did not indicate the north. It was a Sympathetic Compass. This Mystic Code was very simple to use. All you had to do was think of someone and the compass needle would indicate which way to go.
Except that at that moment the compass was spinning in circles, a sign that the Oldest King was vertical to Jeanne d'Arc.
A circle of golden and shimmering light appeared above his hand, a ring fell from it. It was a Flying Ring. Having put it on his finger, Gilgamesh let the Vinama return to his treasure vault and went down to the windows of the gun foundry.
Some kind of Bounded Field surrounded the building and Gilgamesh smiled mockingly. It must be said that the King of Heroes had a complicated, even contradictory character... On the one hand, one could say that the king of Uruk appreciated being resisted because it allowed him to demonstrate his superiority. But, on the other hand, his amusement could quickly turn into annoyance, and then... let's just say that it was better to stay on good terms with Gilgamesh.
A large bronze shield emerged from a disc of golden light. The object had a strange appearance, in fact, it looked very much like a modern satellite antenna despite the straps and the handle that allowed it to be held on someone's arm. In the center of the parable was a large blue diamond-shaped crystal.
The Spell Breaking Shield was one of the many ways Gilgamesh used to protect himself from magic. With a simple thought, the eldest of all kings directed the Noble Phantasm to one of the windows. The reaction was immediate. In turn, the shield was frozen, electrified, and hit by a fireball. Yet Gilgamesh was in no way inconvenienced, as the spells dispersed into harmless light effects by hitting the Spell Breaking Shield.
Already a little annoyed - his mood was changing faster than the direction of the wind- Gilgamesh opened several dozen golden openings... many swords came out to hit the magic barrier. It rippled and eventually broke into fragments of blue prana that evaporated almost instantly.
Having regained his smile, the Oldest King sent a few more Phantasms towards the brick wall. A breach opened in a blast.
Broken bricks, fragments of wood, and shards of glass cried under his golden boots when he entered the foundry. Already dozens of members of the Royal Arsenal surrounded him. Some were dressed normally but wielded swords or other magical weapons. The others were dressed in robes and wore jewels adorned with mystical signs. Thereto whispered incantations and brandished stave mages.
The King of the Heroes had a smile of contempt. These mongrels dared to use Mystic Codes against the only king! It was a form of courage close to suicide... He briefly examined these weapons and had a grimace of disgust... what pathetic creations! He would not defile his treasure by adding to it something of such low value. Nevertheless, these mongrels dared to oppose him... they deserved a lesson.
A knight braver than the others took a step forward.
"Who dares attack the Royal Arsenal? Don't you know the power of the Devil King Alexander Gascoigne?"
Gilgamesh flipped his head back to laugh at full strength... it was too funny! This foolish man dared to speak of some nobody being a king in his presence. Without warning, a sword got struck at an inch of the knight's foot making him back a few steps... the young man hardly swallowed his saliva, his face as if emptied of blood, as pale as a piece of chalk.
His hilarity suddenly forgotten, the Oldest King spoke in the tone of a teacher explaining the lesson once again to a very stupid student.
"I am the king, the king is me. The one to look up to. Come and praise my name now."
"What are you waiting for, attack," replied his interlocutor.
Several knights rushed forward, but Gilgamesh dodged their attacks effortlessly while retreating.
Several golden discs were formed around the Golden King. A rain of swords, spears, or halberds emerged. Some of these weapons could be described as holy or sacred, made to be brandished by paladins defending the good. Others were king's swords; others seemed to be linked to massacres or tragedies because they vibrated with hatred or sorrow. These Noble Phantasms seemed to come from all eras and continents.
This real artillery barrage stopped the knights' charge. Many had been wounded, but often they had only been immobilized in a circle of blades... Indeed, showing unusual leniency, Gilgamesh had been careful not to kill anyone.
The spell casters had just finished their incantations and their spells were unleashed... lightning, light rays, waves of flames, ice stalactites...
None of these attacks touched the Golden King. Gilgamesh had taken from his treasure a shield whose outer surface looked like a mirror. As its appearance suggested, the Mirror Shield returned the spells to their senders.
The fight had just ended when it had just begun.
Crossing his arms, Gilgamesh used his Flying Ring to fly over the battlefield, abandoning the wounded, and other terrorized earthworms that had ceased to entertain the one and only king.
The arrival of Gilgamesh had obviously not gone unnoticed... an earthquake would have been more discreet. Following Sir Iceman, Ishtar and Ereshkigal went down the stairs and...
He was there. The two Mesopotamian goddesses immediately recognized the king of Uruk. Gilgamesh's blond hair was the inheritance of his mother the goddess Rimat-Ninsun. His eyes were red and split like those of a cat. His face was very beautiful. As for his golden armor, it was too heavy and too precious to be worn by a mere mortal.
Gilgamesh probably didn't even notice Iceman's presence. In his mind, the knight was not really above a cockroach or a sewer rat. The kind of creature we'd kick out and immediately forget about.
His eyes narrowed at the sight of Ishtar as his mouth writhed in a grimace of anger. But he turned to the Queen of Netherworld, even refusing to acknowledge the presence of the Mistress of Heaven.
"Ereshkigal, our last meeting was more than four thousand years ago. Are you all right?"
The King of Heroes hated the gods.
He hated them for many reasons. But, above all, the Sumerian gods had created Enkidu as a weapon without ever realizing that it was much more than that.
And Enkidu was the only friend, the only equal Gilgamesh ever had. All that Enkidu had suffered because the gods had wounded the king of Uruk. Because Enkidu was more than his brother, more than his half, the First King could never forgive the actions of the Sumerian gods.
After Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh had long traveled in a vain attempt to find meaning in one's own existence. One of his trips had led to Kur, the kingdom of the dead.
He then discovered something that briefly appeased his heartache.
In death, his more than brother finally found a god who recognized him as a person and did not treat him as a mere object.
In the abode of ashes and dust, in the sad kingdom of Arallu where even the light of a candle would have seemed brighter than the sun, in this most unlikely place, Enkidu had for the first time met a god who had treated him with kindness...
If she was indifferent to the living, Ereshkigal considered the dead as members of her family. The rich and the poor, the good and the bad, the strong and the weak, she loved them all...
Of all the Sumerian gods, Ereshkigal was the only one Gilgamesh could not hate. After all, the Queen of Arallu was Enkidu's last comfort.
Ere blushed slightly and touched her fingertips looking to the right and then to the left, a living image of indecision.
The goddess of the dead was incredibly shy.
"I'm not really the goddess Ereshkigal you know, King Gilgamesh."
The demigod in gold armor nodded.
"I know that. But by the simple fact that you are Ereshkigal, the king recognizes your existence."
"I... I'm surprised you take the time to ask me how I feel, King of Uruk. Thank you for your interest."
Realizing suddenly that she was not behaving like a 'great goddess', Ereshkigal blushed again before clearing her throat. Seizing the edge of her cape, the Goddess of Afterlife made the fabric swirl in a way that was meant to be grandiose.
"Sure, I'm fine. The great goddess Ereshkigal is always fine."
The remark made Gilgamesh smile. It was not his usual grin of contempt... the Queen of the Netherworld was one of the few people he liked.
"Green grass, mountains, sea?"
These few words sounded like a question and Ere immediately understood what the First King meant. Her Eyes lit up.
"Yes, I can find out everything Enkidu told me."
"I would appreciate it if we could continue this conversation, Lady Ereshkigal, but I'm in a bit of a hurry."
Many gold-glowing energy ripples appeared in the empty air surrounding Ereshkigal. From each opening emerged a fraction of Enkidu, the Chain of Heaven, Gilgamesh's most trusted Noble Phantasm.
In an instant, Ere was completely bound.
Enkidu was a weapon based on the concept of 'reigning over the gods'. The resistance of the Chain of Heaven increased according to the degree of the divinity of the adversary it held in place. And as Ereshkigal was a goddess of great power, directly related to the leader of the Sumerian pantheon, Enkidu was at the height of its resistance, making all attempts by the goddess to free herself futile.
Gilgamesh turned to Ishtar.
"Now I have an old score to settle... "
300 meters below
The throne room was completely devastated. Smoke and burning gases were standing in the vast room. Pieces of masonry and tons of rock fallen off the ceiling emerged from a pool of lava cooling down.
Such extensive damage made the violence of the fighting evident. It is all the more impressive that the Labyrinth was not really made of stone, it was actually the materialization of the power of the Heretic God Minos. Few things could damage a Divine Authority. In fact, by definition, only another divine power was capable of doing so.
Jeanne d'Arc vacillated and almost fell.
Her clothes had become dark again, and her armor had folded the color of steel, even her mat was once again knotted.
The power that the Holy Grail had given her was exhausted and Jeanne could not hope to enjoy another boost for a while. Indeed, with one hand, La Pucelle held Guinevere against her. Admittedly, the saint had blocked Black Thunder with her Noble Phantasm, also succeeding in protecting the Witch Queen. Nevertheless, the Divine Ancestor had lost consciousness due to toxic gases and heat.
A mocking voice was heard from behind a column.
"I have to congratulate you on surviving. Nevertheless, I fear that you cannot go much further. In fact, you have already lost."
Ruler raised her standard with her only free hand, preparing to fight.
"King Alexander, I have never feared death... nor threats. By the holy name of God, I have sworn to protect Queen Guinevere. If I must perish, amen."
Black Prince Alec laughs.
"Oh, but I'm not going to attack you."
Jeanne's instinct makes her jump aside just as a woman appeared whose face was veiled by her long hair. She was coming out of the ground, waving a spear.
Ruler blocked some other attacks while retreating towards the door. Then the strange woman went through a wall and disappeared like a ghost.
Worried, Jeanne turned from one side to the other, expecting to see the unnatural creature reappear.
Alexander Gascoigne appeared on top of a pile of rubble.
"From the beginning, you have been followed by my best ally, the Faceless Queen, a subordinate Goddess that I can summon. She was waiting for an opportunity to attack you, like your current weakness."
Taking advantage of that Black Prince Alec diverted Ruler's attention; the Faceless Queen appeared on her back. Jeanne blocked two attacks before her opponent disappeared through a wall.
Every time the fight turned against him, the British Campione pulled a new trump from his sleeve.
Exhausted and wounded, Jeanne d'Arc could no longer hope to win against the Devil King. The Nobleman of Godspeed was simply too cunning, too advantaged by the control of the Labyrinth and by careful preparation.
(1) The Samaranganasutradhara (written by king Bhojadena in the 11th century) gives a very precise description of the capabilities of the Vinama. According to the Samar, not only are the Vinamas able to become invisible, but they have the means to hunt down other Vinamas who have become invisible and attack them with various weapons. Note that the Samar inspired Type-Moon for the appearance and capabilities of Gilgamesh's Vinama.