As Jiang You was lost in thought, a monster smashed through the glass and barged in. Then came a second, a third—seemingly, the defensive line formed by two Servants and several magi had been breached.
The creature resembled a cat but had hard, antler-like branched horns similar to a deer's.
Jiang You was just about to kick it away—given his stats, these monsters weren't difficult for him to handle. However, a chain suddenly locked him in place. The chain's distinctive appearance made him recognize it instantly.
"Enkidu!?"
Jiang You turned toward the source of the chain. A golden Servant was glaring at him with hostility. At the broken section of the building, several identical golden Servants and a red-haired berserker Servant were fighting against Lancelot and Hundred Faces outside.
"Gilgamesh?" Jiang You was puzzled at first but quickly put the pieces together. Gilgamesh's attacks should be recognized as a formal duel challenge, yet this suspicious-looking fake hadn't triggered that effect. Moreover, the innate arrogance of the true King of Heroes couldn't be mimicked so easily. Considering there were multiple identical copies outside, this thing was likely a clone of Gilgamesh.
Even as a fake, its attack methods remained unchanged. Several Noble Phantasms, treated as mere projectiles, were thrown at Jiang You. However, Jiang You could tell that this fake's offensive pressure was barely half of the real one's.
Still, it wasn't something he could tank head-on, so he decisively issued a Duel Challenge.
[Caster has issued a Duel Challenge to you. Do you accept?][Duel/Battle]
The fake seemed to lack the intelligence to fully comprehend what was happening, hesitating as the duel prompt appeared in its mind. This prompt was inescapable, and the binding rules prevented it from attacking, forcing it to wait until the countdown ended.
When the timer hit zero, the duel forcefully began.
Jiang You LP: 4000Gilgamesh? LP: 4000
"Now that I think about it, my Servant stats are pretty pathetic. I can't even deal with a weakened knockoff head-on. I should probably bring this up in the next feedback survey. If you're gonna make a combat system, at least let the players enjoy it."
After grumbling about Konami's overly complicated system, Jiang You took advantage of the fake's limited intelligence and seized the first move.
"My turn!"
"I Normal Summon [Matou Sakura], then activate [Dream of Sakura] to send a Holy Grail card to the Graveyard as Fusion Material, fusing it with Matou Sakura to Special Summon [Matou Sakura – Black Holy Grail]!"
[Matou Sakura – Black Holy Grail] ATK 2400
Dark energy surged as Matou Sakura—now tainted by malevolent intent—appeared on the field.
"Matou Sakura – Black Holy Grail's effect activates! I Special Summon as many Shadow Tokens as possible in Defense Position!"
From beneath her dark dress, a thick, tar-like substance poured out. Within the black sludge, countless shadowy figures began to crawl forth.
[Shadow Token] DEF 1000 ×4
"I Set three cards in my back row and end my turn."
Gilgamesh's deck didn't have an extremely high attack frequency, but Jiang You had to be cautious about it flooding the field with Noble Phantasms in one go. The Shadow Tokens from Black Sakura were ideal for blocking the bombardment.
The only question was whether this fake Gilgamesh's deck worked exactly like the original.
Under the forced knowledge implanted by Jiang You's Noble Phantasm, the fake began its play.
A very standard Heroic Spirit setup: [Epic of Heroes] discarded a card to search for weapons, sending them to the Graveyard. [Gilgamesh] was Special Summoned, then [Gate of Babylon] filled the back row with Equip Spells.
But this fake's bonds weren't strong enough—Enkidu wasn't summoned alongside him.
"What a disgrace, what a disgrace!"
Though the fake Gilgamesh couldn't speak, the summoned Gilgamesh was still the real one. Upon opening his eyes and realizing he was being controlled by an imitation, his face turned red with fury.
"Caster! See what your Noble Phantasm has wrought!"
"Oh, if it isn't the King of Heroes. Haven't seen you in a few days, and you've already fallen this low?" Jiang You had no patience for NPCs that didn't offer rewards and fired back immediately. "I'd rather ask where you've been feeding the enemy kills—how did you get mass-produced?"
Gilgamesh was about to retort, but as his thoughts flickered, he suddenly linked Romulus and Beast's behavior with the current situation.
He scrutinized Jiang You, as if trying to see through him.
Rather than revealing everything, Gilgamesh chose his words carefully.
"I shall grant you a piece of wisdom: Do not let your guard down—this Holy Grail War has a [Beast] among us!"
"A Beast?"
Jiang You hadn't considered that possibility before, but now, everything clicked into place.
"So, Tiamat really is coming?"
Gilgamesh gauged Jiang You's reaction. His performance suggested he should know little to nothing about Beasts, yet he immediately connected the dots.
"Not the Mother—it's Beast IV. And it's a peculiar one—it can absorb Servants as its tails. That is all I know. If you dare to lose to this imitation of me, I will never forgive you!"
"Koyanskaya? Wait, why is she here?"
Jiang You knew that in normal circumstances, Koyanskaya should've been launched into space by a certain squinting individual.
"As for losing—no chance. This thing is just a brainless AI, even dumber than you."
After baiting out a Noble Phantasm using [Mage Killer's Tactical Insight], the fake Gilgamesh expended all its weapons.
Jiang You's Matou Sakura – Black Holy Grail and one Shadow Token were destroyed by Gilgamesh's attack, costing him 1500 LP.
Jiang You LP: 4000 → 2500
The pain made him grit his teeth.
"No way I'm running a self-damage deck when the official server launches."
The fake Gilgamesh continued, sacrificing two more Equip Spells to destroy two more Shadow Tokens.
Jiang You LP: 2500 → 1000
Just as the fake Gilgamesh commanded an attack to wipe out the last Shadow Token—
[Covering Fire] activated!
Once again, Gilgamesh was headshotted by a bullet, his face frozen in humiliation as he was sent to the Graveyard.
Now, only a lonely [Gate of Babylon] remained on the fake's field.
"Bullying a simple AI isn't fun—I have people to save. My turn, draw!"
To avoid keeping Illya away from the battlefield too long, Jiang You Normal Summoned [Illyasviel (Dress of Heaven)], then pulled out a standard [Illyasviel] for a direct attack.
[Illyasviel (Dress of Heaven)] ATK 2500
[Illyasviel] ATK 1500
Fake Gilgamesh LP: 4000 → 0!
Gilgamesh gets headshot—again.