The heroic king of Babylonia was Gilgamesh, a hero active around 2600 BC, one of the initiators of the farewell between gods and humans, and the most arrogant king of all time.
If anyone else dared to talk to him from such a high position and with such an attitude, he would have been blasted to pieces by his treasure. In fact, at the beginning, he had similar thoughts, but after seeing the face covered by the veil and the pair of red eyes, his attitude changed significantly - Gilgamesh was too proud and almost never looked anyone in the eye, so he didn't notice Scathach's existence until now.
This man, who was clearly from the ancient Age of Gods but dressed more avant-garde than most modern people, took off his sunglasses and for the first time revealed an expression that had nothing to do with pride, sarcasm, or contempt.
"I thought it was some bastard, but it turned out to be a familiar face. In modern terms, I haven't seen you for ten years, the Queen of the Shadow Kingdom."
"Ten years for me, but only a moment for you. That's what a heroic spirit is."
Scathach reached out and took off her veil, revealing her stunning face. Gilgamesh took off his sunglasses to show his respect for her, and she couldn't be disrespectful.
"You are immortal, but you have descended twice as a Servant. Are you so attached to the present world?"
"Isn't it the same for you? You had already seen the end of the planet and humanity, so why did you respond to the call twice and even retrieve the memory of the last time you were called?"
"Until the end of time, this world is my garden. I can come and go as I please."
"So, what keeps you here?"
Two pairs of red eyes met each other, seemingly old friends reminiscing about the past, but in fact they were also engaging in an invisible confrontation.
Gilgamesh restrained his expression and answered seriously, "It is the king's responsibility."
"Or do you regard the Holy Grail as your treasure and punish the thieves who covet it?"
This was the reason Gilgamesh gave at the King's Banquet ten years ago, and Scathach remembered it clearly.
"That's partly the reason, but more importantly, it's the king's duty to his subjects. Tōsaka Tokiomi was my subject, and he died because of me. I have a duty to take care of his family and avenge him - what about you?"
"The responsibility of a teacher is to teach his students and witness their growth."
"Your answer is in your style, but witnessing the growth of your disciple... Is that him? The disciple you accepted in this world."
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes, and his pupils, which had also been stretched into a straight line, turned to Shinji below.
"Not bad." Scathach nodded happily.
"That look... So it's you, the clown who was hiding his head and showing his tail ten years ago."
When he opened his eyes again, Gilgamesh's face was filled with obvious anger, and the wrinkles between his eyebrows made his handsome face look ferocious.
"And the hair and eye color... It seems that you were the one hiding behind that bastard named Matou Kariya and that mad dog last time."
"Shinji—"
Scathach looked down at Zi's disciple, who looked up and smiled.
"Master, any words are superfluous. Lies are meaningless to Gilgamesh, and he will look down on them."
"Oh? For a clown who hides his head and shows his tail, you have good sense and backbone. You didn't embarrass your teacher."
Gilgamesh's murderous aura did not diminish, but his expression softened slightly.
"Did you design the tactics of that mad dog?"
"Yes. This includes removing the berserk state, blocking your way, using verbal taunts to make you call yourself the ace, and finally using the Noble Phantasm to kill you unexpectedly. Unfortunately, I underestimated you after many deductions."
"How can a mere clown measure the depth of a king?"
After hearing Shinji's answer, Gilgamesh snorted coldly and asked again.
"Is Tokiomi also your plan?"
"No, considering the relationship between our two families, I didn't deliberately target him. I originally wanted Lancelot to kill you, and then help my uncle to subdue Tōsaka Tokiomi, but I didn't expect that he would die with you in the end. Fortunately, my uncle was strong enough to fight Tōsaka Tokiomi to a draw without relying on servants."
"Good—you heard that?"
As soon as Gilgamesh finished speaking, another figure appeared on the wall where he was the only one standing. She was wearing a red coat, a black skirt, over-the-knee stockings, and unique twin ponytails. It was Shinji's old acquaintance Toosaka Rin.
Rin was wearing a piece of cloth. From the texture on the cloth that was similar to the "Hades Cloak", it was not difficult to find that it was a treasure in the "King's Treasure", the original of all invisible treasures, the "Invisible Cloth". It was through its effect that Rin could hide her figure and approach quietly, and thus heard the conversation between the three people.
"Is what you just said true?"
For the first time since childhood, Shinji saw such a complex expression on Rin's face. A mixture of sadness, anger, disbelief, and some inexplicable resentment, Shinji, who was used to quarreling with Rin, suddenly felt a little overwhelmed and subconsciously asked the master for help.
Scathach spread out her hands, indicating that she was powerless, and raised her eyebrows, conveying the message that it was all her own fault.
But she wasn't referring to Shinji's plot against Jichen and Gilgamesh, that was the awareness that participants in the Holy Grail War should have. She was referring to Shinji stopping her from speaking, and at that time she had already discovered Rin's existence.
There is no perfect invisibility in this world. Shinji's cloak and Gilgamesh's cloth cannot prevent detection. Scathach, who noticed Rin approaching, wanted to warn her, but Shinji mistakenly thought she was worried about him and confessed it directly.
But Shinji forgot that how could Scathach, who had seen through the cause and effect of the world, not know what he knew? It wasn't like she was in a hot-blooded, reckless fighting state.
So Shinji told it all, in front of Gilgamesh and Rin.
"Answer me, Matou Shinji, are you telling the truth? Did you have anything to do with my father's defeat?"
Rin asked once more, her trembling voice sounding as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
Things have developed to this point, what else can Shinji say? He can only admit it.
"What I said is true, but the biggest reason for your father's defeat is himself. In a way, he is very similar to Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh looked down on Lancelot, and your father also looked down on Uncle Kariya at the time. One thought he was a mad dog, and the other thought he was a loser, a traitor who had strayed from the path of magic. In the end, because of his own arrogance, he was careless and ultimately failed."
"Ah, yes, that may be so."
Lin bit his lip, his face was pale, but what overflowed from his slightly red eyes was not tears, but something deeper.
"But you are the cause of my father's defeat and death. As the head of the Tousaka family and the daughter of Tousaka Tokiomi, I must avenge my father. Matou Shinji, you are my enemy!"