Ichigo stared up at the spiky blond-haired red eye man in golden armor who like many foes he faced before radiated an aura of power and pride…yet even so dispite being gravely wounded the Shinigami still held his ground and pointed Tensa Zangestsu at him.
"Just you the Hell are you!?" Ichigo demanded and Giligmesh sneered at the teen's retort.
"You would dare address me in such a vague manner mongrel boy?" he spat distastefully while folding his arms. " Had you not proven your strength before me I would have instantly struck you down for your insolence!"
Ichigo then narrowed his eyes and then glanced back at Saber. "Do you know who this guy is?"
Artoria then glared at the gleaming servent in disgust and dread. " I do…he was the previous Archer in the last holy grail war… Gilgamesh the the demigod king of Urk and regarded as one the oldest and most powerful of the heroic spirits" She then glared at him menacingly. "And yet somehow he is still able to maintain his form in this world"
Gilgamesh then snickered in amusement "And it would seem you have retained your memories of our last encounter my future bride…" he bared his teeth in seductive delight. "Which makes it all the more satisfying when I finally break and bend you to my will"
Ichigo then looked at the hero in horror and outrage. "Your bride…is that some sort of sick joke!?" he then tightened the grip on his Zanpakuto. "She isn't someone that you can ju-"
The Shinigami then stopped himself when he instinctively parried a huge Claymore about to pierce through his head. While Gilgamesh glared back at him with the uttermost contempt.
"I have grown wearily of your insolence boy" he spat in a cold and dismissive tone. "And if you seek to make admins for it you will offer your up sword to me…now!"
Ichigo then winded his eye and dropped his jaw in outrage. "You…can't be serious…there is no way I will ever give Zangestsu to a bastard like you!"
Gilgamesh gave Ichigo a bemused look. "It is not up to you whenever out you give me your sword mongrel but by my divine right," The arrogant king spoke as if talking to an ignorant child. "And if anything…" He then smirked at Kurosaki. "You should be honored that blade of yours has a place among one of my many treasures!"
Ichigo's eyes then blazed with fury as his Spiritual power rapidly rose from his body. "As if I need your damn honor!" He spat distastefully. While the King of Heroes while at first offended by the teen's insolance, then gazed over the horrible burn wound on the right side of the Shinigami's stomach and let out a gleeful yet cruel chuckle.
"Amusing…it seems even with your severe injuries from Excalibur you seem to still be able to fight…" he deducted and then flashed a blood-thirsty grin while dozens of golden portals appeared around Gilgamesh. With each one having various weapons such as swords, spears, halberds, and others emerging out of them "Which will make all the worthwhile when I take that Zanpakuto from your desecrated corpse!"
Artoria then looked over to Ichigo in concern. "Shingami…I urge you to not fight him" she warned. "For out of all the Servants in the war present and past he stands in a legion all on his own, for to fight him is to fight against war itself" she tried to reason. "It would be best for you-"
"Shut it…" Ichigo snapped at Saber who then gasped at him in irritation. "Shinigami I begging you-"
"I know I am outmatched against him Saber…given that I used up nearly everything I had in our last fight," Ichigo admitted much to Saber's surprise. "But it is obvious that he isn't going to let us go regardless of what we do…so the moment you see an opening…take him out"
Artoria then eyed worryingly at Ichigo but then quickly nodded. While Giligamesh's grin continued to widen in excitement.
"So you seek to challenge me, boy!?" The golden king then declared loudly. "Very well… let's see how long you can clash against my treasures before failing before them!"
Gilgamesh then shot several of his weapons from his portals while Ichigo almost casually dodged or blocked them with his blade, dispite the massive speed and strength behind each weapon launched from them.
Ichigo then used a flash step to appear behind Giligmesh to strike him at his neck, but the latter without even reacting, just kept his smile as two elgent swords appeared out of two portals beside the king's neck and instantly crossed their blades to block Ichigo's strike. Much to the latter's annoyance.
"Come now mongrel don't me you are worn down this much..." Giligmesh taunted. "Because I have yet to begin playing with you!" Dozens of more portals then surrounded Ichigo before they all shot out their weapon and forced the Shinigami to use a flash step to avoid them.
"So he can make those portal things appear anywhere he wants?" The Ichigo noticed as he continued to dodge more of the weapons. "Just great..." he moans before deflecting another sword launched from one of the portals.
Only to learn to his surprise it froze his right arm!
"I advised from deflecting by treasures so casually boy…" Gilgamesh taunted smugly as more golden portals opened up around him. "Otherwise you might just lose an arm in the process..."
Ichigo then growled and flexed his Spiritual pressure to shatter the ice on his arm and dashed towards the King of Heroes who responded by launching dozens of more weapons at the Shinigami.
However, to Gilgamesh's surprise, Ichigo dodges through all the weapons within less than half a second and swipes his sword directly at the King's face who by only reflex alone just managed to avoid the strike by jumping away at the last second.
…but not fast enough to avoid getting a cut on his left cheek and drawing blood.
"And I suggest that you keep your guard up…" Ichigo taunted with a smirk. "Unless you want to lose your head"
Gilgamesh then touched the cut on his cheek and looked at the blood that was stained on the golden gauntlet of his armor and then flexed it tightly into an enraged fist.
"You have crossed the line from insolence to sacrilege boy…for daring to wound the face of your superior!" The Servent roared out in fury while Ichigo gave the Servent a dismissive huff.
"So you are throwing a hissy fit just because you got a small nick?" Ichigo spat out mockingly. "What are you eight years old?"
The king then twisted into a vicious snarl. "Don't you dare act like you understand my divine standing fool!" he spoke in a low menacing tone. "For a mere grave keeper like you to wound a divine existence such as myself regardless of its severity, is an unforgivable sin that can only be answered with death!"
Gilgamesh then opens hundreds of golden portals beside him. While Artoria widens her eyes in horror at the sure display before her.
"When I'm done with you, there will be no remains of you left to bury!" More types of weapons then appeared out of the portals with each unique and different and more powerful than last, While Giligmesh glared hatefully at his defiant opponent.
"Now Die!"
The hundreds of portals then all shot out the hundreds of weapons at Ichigo, while Artoria could only look on in terror. For knew that even the fastest servants within the war such as Rider and Lancer would be powerless before such an overwhelming assault of weaponry. Thus it felt all but certain that Shinigami even with his enchanted speed was doom.
However, Ichigo calmly stood his ground, and then when the weapons were mere inches from impaling him…the substitute shinigami proceeded to rapidly swing his sword and deflected all of them in less than a second.
Leaving both Saber and Gilgamesh completely speechless at what they had just seen.
To the point that the King had only now noticed that Ichigo was, in a moment of his shook immediately got right behind him with his blade already charged with his Spiritual energy.
And for the first time in a long time, the prideful king of Urk felt fear in his life.
"GETSUGA TENSHOU!" Ichigo roared out as he poured in the last of his power into Tensa Zangestsu which resulted in a massive explosion of black and white Spiritual energy that surged up into the sky.
Saber seeing her chance immediately charged in to deliver the finishing blow…
Only for her sword to be restrained by a silver chain.
A second later the same silver chain emerged from several more golden portals and before Artoria knew it, more layers of them quickly wrapped around her body when the dust cleared from Ichigo's final attack she saw to her disheartenment, that it was blocked by a massive stone shield with him then collapsing to ground completely spent.
"I will admit…" Gilgamesh spoke cooly while staring down at the fallen Ichigo. "That had you been a bit faster that last blow might of actually killed me…" he then pulled out a golden sword from one of the portals and pointed at Ichigo's head. "Shame that you will not get a second chance"
Ichigo however glared definitely at the golden king dispite his powerlessness while desperately yet futilely trying to move. While Saber could only look on helplessly at the young man about to meet his end.
However just when all hope seemed lost a lightning bolt suddenly jumped down from the night sky and attacked Gilgamesh!
Who in turn could just barely summon a golden shield in time to block the strike. Then when the lighting faded it revealed the form of a beautiful black skin woman with long purple hair tied in a horse tail, confindant golden eyes, and wearing a black sleeveless spandex leotard with matching stockings.
"Yoruichi!" Ichigo exclaims in surprise. While the woman smirked back at him.
"Ichigo it's been a while" she responded cheerfully. "What's wrong with having a little trouble with this poser?" she taunted him while landing on the ground.
Ichigo then chuckled. "Heh…Maybe a bit.." he responded snarkily.
Gilgamesh however then sneered at the woman. "So another lowly grave keeper has come to intrude on my presence" he spoke in annoyance. "Don't tell me...that you are here to take what is rightfully mind?"
"Rightfully yours?" Yorouchi asked mockingly. "Never thought a Servant could be so entitled"
Gilgamesh then glared at the impudent woman. "If I see a treasure worth taking it is my divine right to claim it and to slay those that dare stand in my way"
Yoruich then smirked. "Sounds more like a spoiled brat than an actual king though. Given that you are willing to sink so low as to attack these two while their already worn down"
Gilgamesh then frowns in annoyance. "Whenever or not my foes are at their lowest or their peak, all are insignificant before me"
The lady shinigami grinned and then winded. "Really…well if I am so insignificant…"
Gilgamesh suddenly heard someone touch the right pad of his golden armor and his eyes widened in shock that the woman was already right in his face.
"Why do you have so many openings in your guard?"
Then before he could respond Yoruichi kneed Gilgmesh in the stomach causing him to cough up his breath and less than an instant later hit him square in the face with a kick that sent him flying dozens of feet into the air before crashing into the nearby river.
However, barely a moment passes when Gilgamesh jumps out of the lake and summons hundreds of golden portals with noble phantasm, ready to skewer the wench who dared humiliate him.
But by the time he noticed his surroundings she was gone.
Along with Ichigo and Saber…
Meanwhile, Shunsei senses Yoruichi's presence.
"So…the goddess of the Flash has made her appearance…and from what I can gather she intervened with Ichigo's and that other servent's fight' he deducted and then noticed that Hollow had stopped attacking.
"Is something on your mind?" Shunsei asked. But the Hollow remain silent before letting out a sigh.
"So…it would seem my master wants to initiate the next phase in his plan" he spoke to himself as he stared up into the sky. "I can only hope…" he then stares ominously at Shunsei. "That you are ready for what happens next…"
The Hollow then dispersed into a cloud buzzing insects much to Shunsei's bewilderment.
However, shortly after that, he heard an all too familiar screeching roar that echoed throughout the city and when he looked up he saw to his dread dozens and dark rips split into the sky which then spread out into the hundreds...