Bai Ye felt a bad premonition and used Instant Movement to create distance, landing a hundred meters away.
Then...
The beam of light struck the ground directly.
With a deafening boom!
The moment the light beam hit the ground, it emitted a colossal sound, followed by a hemispherical red glow that enveloped a vast area around it.
In an instant, everything nearby began to disintegrate.
The already devastated ground from the battle shattered further, surrounding structures were reduced to ash and pulverized into tiny fragments that flew towards the sky.
And the collapsed ruins were crushed into powder, along with the assassin.
Layers upon layers of energy waves swept outwards, like a fierce gale.
Bai Ye blocked his arm in front of him and plunged his famed sword, Bloodthirst, into the ground, barely managing to stabilize himself.
A terrifying strike indeed!
The red hemisphere of light persisted for several minutes before gradually dissipating.
This entire area was utterly destroyed. What was once intact on both sides of the street had now collapsed into ruins.
The ground was riddled with pockmarks and holes, and the parked vehicles had turned into scrap metal, emitting black smoke.
However...
Bai Ye had already retreated from the attack's coverage area, and then...
With a thunderous roar, a ruin exploded, and Heracles emerged, covered in blood.
In the sky, Gilgamesh stood on a Noble Phantasm, arms crossed, looking down. He was clearly unharmed.
Just then...
"Berserker, retreat."
The Chosen One, hidden in the shadows, spoke again.
Heracles, who had been about to advance towards Gilgamesh, stopped abruptly upon hearing the command. He then turned and prepared to leave in the opposite direction.
"Do I have your permission to leave?" Gilgamesh said coldly. "I shall claim your head."
As Gilgamesh spoke, he summoned another weapon from the Gate of Babylon, but...
In the sky, among the twelve stone pillars floating at the edge of the Hanging Gardens, the second pillar began to glow again.
The next moment, a second blood-red beam descended.
Gilgamesh frowned, then spread his right hand. "Vajra of Indra!"
Golden ripples appeared in Gilgamesh's palm, and a golden Vajra materialized in his hand.
He looked up at the descending red beam.
Gilgamesh threw the Vajra of Indra in his hand towards the sky.
The Vajra of Indra instantly transformed into a golden beam of light, soaring straight towards the heavens!
One red, one gold!
The two beams of light collided fiercely in the air.
At that instant, the two-colored beams connected, seemingly piercing through heaven and earth.
Then...
With a mighty bang!
A colossal explosion erupted from the sky where the two beams intertwined.
The red and golden spheres of light detonated simultaneously.
A terrifying shockwave spread outwards, even shattering the surrounding clouds.
The entangled radiance formed a golden-red ring of light that expanded outwards, extending far into the distance, its destination unknown.
Under the impact, the ground churned with dust and flying debris, with fragments and sand constantly being whipped up.
Ruin after ruin, unable to bear the strain, again emitted sounds of explosion, shattering and collapsing.
A moment later, the shockwave dissipated, and the lingering radiance in the sky gradually faded.
Gilgamesh glanced ahead. Heracles was no longer in sight, evidently having departed.
"Hmph!" Gilgamesh said coldly. " I shall leave your head on your neck for now."
After speaking, Gilgamesh activated the Noble Phantasm beneath his feet and moved towards Bai Ye's direction.
As the Noble Phantasm passed by him, Bai Ye immediately leaped up, landing on Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm.
"Aren't we going to fight anymore?" Bai Ye asked, reaching upwards. "Or will we fight up there?"
Gilgamesh glanced at the sky. "No rush. Let's see what tricks she has up her sleeve."
Bai Ye said, "It seems you know who the Magus is."
Gilgamesh replied, "Not many can activate that Garden."
Bai Ye asked, "What is that Garden?"
"The Hanging Gardens of Babylon," Gilgamesh stated. "However, she is not its true creator, merely claiming its name. Therefore, it is merely a vain Hanging Garden."
"Oh?" Bai Ye inquired. "Is that thing very powerful?"
Gilgamesh responded, "That is her main battlefield."
"So, it might be a trap? Trying to lure others into the Hanging Gardens?" Bai Ye mused. "But if it's a trap, why the grand display? Who would foolishly walk into it?"
Gilgamesh gave Bai Ye a look. "This Holy Grail War is quite interesting."
Bai Ye looked confused. "Huh?"
Gilgamesh continued, "I dislike Masterless individuals. They are rather dull."
Bai Ye replied, "Thank you for the compliment."
After saying that, Bai Ye felt something was off. Was this guy indirectly insulting him?
Did he mean he considered Bai Ye a Masterless individual before?
Damn it!
"Don't get angry, don't get angry. This guy's just like this," Bai Ye consoled himself mentally. Then he said, "We need to find another place to stay."
Gilgamesh nodded. "Mhm."
Bai Ye extended his hand towards Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh asked, "What for?"
"Give me some gold bricks," Bai Ye said. "That chest of money I just got is at the hotel. The hotel was bombed, so that money is probably turned to ash."
Gilgamesh, speechless, produced a gold brick and tossed it to Bai Ye.
A Master needing to be supported by a Servant.
So poor, how dare you continue living?
Bai Ye paid no mind to it. He took the gold brick, found a place to exchange it for cash, and then found a new hotel to check into. With money, everything was manageable.
Lying in bed again, this time, Bai Ye was more cautious. He directly released Gengar and Goodra, letting the two little ones guard the living room overnight to prevent any unforeseen incidents. Only then did he throw himself onto the bed.
After half the night of toiling, he was exhausted!
However, this time, Bai Ye was not disturbed further. He slept soundly until the next day.
...
On this day, at noon.
Bai Ye slowly woke up, stretched, and rolled out of bed.
Sleeping until you wake up naturally felt quite good.
He put on his clothes and went to the living room. Goodra and Gengar were playfully chasing each other.
Goodra was hugging Gengar, making its entire body sticky. Gengar, in turn, had bitten onto Goodra's head and was being swung around in the air by Goodra.
Bai Ye smiled, took out some pet food for the two, and then sat on a nearby sofa, casually turning on the television.
...