Sumer

[Apollymi]

Artoria hadn't spoken the name of her sword for an attack in quite some time. Still, when she did it in this way it was the most normal and natural thing she could do. To protect, to serve, to gain victory... Excalibur was a sword which did all things. When she'd designed her character she'd done it with this in mind. She'd gone out of her way, to preserve as much of the lore of this blade as possible, taking on just the right set of quests and doing all the right things to get a sword, forged by fairies with the abilities of legend. She'd known what it would do to the battlefield long before it happened and as such her eyes shifted finding Gilgamesh rather conspicuously fully armored. That in and of itself should be taken as a compliment, the same way she viewed her Knights making her use actual abilities. 'Sou ka,' she thought still teeming with amusement.

She wasn't the only one.

The laughter of Gilgamesh could be heard for quite some time after the dust settled. His arms crossed over his chest as if he was unbothered but this was the bravado of a King. Artoria herself often looked like she didn't care what was happening around her, one way or another. People relied on her strength, she couldn't falter before them. His laughter signaled the withdrawal of the staves he'd been favoring as well, strange. He then went on to explain why he was playing at a Caster. And for the first time an earnest look of surprise spread across Artoria's face. Of all the reasons she could have expected, tried to predict from the King Gilgamesh, the idea that he was poking fun at Merlin of all people was beyond her comprehension. That small smile which had been on her face, broke into a grin, showing teeth and... glee?! "Hehe...hahaha....HAHAHAHA!!!" laughter, joyful and melodious exploded from Artoria. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so earnestly and found it so enjoyable. A moment such as this could only come in a lone moment, shared by two monarchs in a space outside of their responsibilities. She managed to catch herself, covering her mouth... hiding her teeth but still that light and joy shone in those green blue eyes of hers. It took a moment or two, but finally she was able to control herself, with small tears in the corner of her eyes that were allowed to sparkle adding a new facet of depth to her face. "Sou ka, that's as good a reason as any I suppose. You're quite funny, Gilgamesh..."

There was a battle raging here, and though it had started in the same manner as her other training matches. This one had become fun, more fun even than Artoria had known she was missing out on. And yet, there was more to come, as she finally turned her eyes back it seemed that Gilgamesh had prepared for his next onslaught. Though nothing had been launched yet, the number of them was astronomical. She hadn't seen the Chains of Heaven in action in quite sometime. But she was righteous enough to test her mettle against them. She stared at them and steeled herself. Calm retook her person... and there was a slight shift in her feet and the position of her sword which she held directly at the fore of her person. Instinct told her to strike quickly, that the road to victory was decisive, so she decided. She launched herself forward once more, intending to take the man with no problem.

[Bloodedge]

Artoria was clearly in a good humor after hearing the male admit to his reasons. His words were true; everything this form stood for was to spite the Grand Caster of this era, Merlin... and in fact, the Grand Caster of multiple generations since claiming the title. He truly found Merlin's existence as a figure of importance to be repulsive to a certain extent, though that was a matter he didn't mull over too much. At present, Gilgamesh was absorbed in the hysteric laughter of Artoria, which seemed startlingly similar to his own show of amusement in prior moments, albeit for different reasons entirely. He could do nothing but meet her laughter with a grin, sparing more of his own laughter.

"H'oh. That entertains you, does it? Perhaps I will regale you again with another. Eventually." The time had come to begin anew. Gilgamesh could see the excitement on Artoria's face, and he had his own to offer in return. Few could face the Chain of Heaven while knowing what it was, and still manage to show such will to push forward. This was even the case in mock battles such as what they currently participated in. Not Artoria, though. "Yes, that's it! Feel free to come at me, Artoria Pendragon. Who knows, you may even have a chance of winning." Since she was so ready, he decided to waste no additional time. His elevated hand descended, and with it came the descent of the chains. Artoria may have been charging at him, but he did not intend to move. No, instead he would send forth the chains at varying speeds. Some would cascade overhead of Artoria, some would spike themselves into the ground ahead of her to cut off a potential path to Gilgamesh, and others would be more precisely sent down in the path she took.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that Gilgamesh found her amusement at his logic just as amusing as she found the situation. He even offered to tell her another tale, some other time. "I'm sure it will be one worth hearing," she said of this future tale. Whatever the case, soon after this was spoken he claimed that she could and should come at him. And claimed she might even be able to take a victory from this particular event. Artoria herself, never went into a battle without intending to claim victory. And with this in mind, her decisions made, her movements had already begun, long before she could have mustered up an answer for him.

As she ran, Chains of Heaven all seemed to behave in different ways. Even so, it would seem she'd manage, by trusting her instincts and seeing her movements one at a time until she'd reach her goal. If Gilgamesh wasn't going to move after lowering his hand, she'd have to come to him, that much was obvious. A Chain would spike itself in front of the ground before her, she'd jump onto it, nimble feet following it up for several meters until she was faced with another. The ones over head would be bounced off by the barrier created from Avalon as she ran. Her steps were like music up certain chains and around others, her feet began not making constant footfall instead hopping about changing her angle constantly. She moved like a flurry across this battlefield covered in chains. She used Excalibur as a blade deflecting the ones sent more precisely down her path until she was just in reach of her target. Then and only then did she draw back the blade. From no more than a few meters away. "EX..." there was a pause as her body rounded a chain and she spun this Mana infused attack into existence. "CALIBUR!" The blinding flash created by the intensity of her Mana was one thing. The attack itself would threaten to disintegrate that which it made contact with. Beyond all of this, the attack was infused with strength and wind, aiming to blow outward any further chains while also knocking horizontally across the core of Gilgamesh. This was the only victory she saw, the decisive blow she wished for... but what would be the outcome?

[Bloodedge]

What would Artoria do, he wondered. She rather artfully danced around his chains in a far superior way to how she'd previously managed against his magical attacks. It was so stunning a sight to behold, even Gilgamesh in all his arrogance took a moment to appreciate it. "H'oh," he muttered, seeming about as awestruck as he could ever manage to be. As she evaded and countered numerous spear tips, she appeared to be building up to something grand. Gilgamesh wondered what more she had in store. Would Artoria keep him waiting for very long?

No. No, not at all.

She didn't need to finish the word. A single syllable, and he knew what was coming. This did not at all compare to the previous use of Excalibur's holy power. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Gilgamesh knew a simple donning of his armor would do nothing but endanger the armor, despite its typical invincibility. He could switch Classes, accessing the power of his Level 100 form. No, that wasn't enough. Perhaps his treasury had the answer? Either way, he had to be quick. The gate opened over his left shoulder, and he reached out to it. An earlier train of thought let him remember one thing easily capable of handling Excalibur's might, no matter the strength of the specific attack. Did he have it in his arsenal?

The answer was yes. Out from the portal came a golden version of Excalibur's scabbard, from a time before it was influenced by its wielder. In a way, one could say Gilgamesh currently held the original version. In a way, he did. "Avalon!" he called out as he pulled the scabbard fully from the gate, swinging it against Excalibur's wave. The barrier created as a result protected Gilgamesh and the area immediately surrounding him, but the burst only curved around it to mar the land while pushing Gilgamesh back as well. "Fuhahaha! I wondered if I had it as well! Of course, all treasures are mine!" How satisfying. What a shame though, if not for Avalon, he would have taken quite a beating from that. There was one other thing he could have used to ensure victory during his retaliation, but no, he couldn't use that; this wasn't that sort of battle. For the time being, he was content to return his version of Avalon to the gate, along with his chains. "Well then, there was that."

[Apollymi]

The front row seat Gilgamesh received to Artoria's arrogance was one which he seemed to enjoy. Though a deadly attack was coming his way, it wasn't until it was nearly upon him that he did anything about it. Surely, Artoria had nothing to worry about. The King of Uruk wouldn't have put forth such a challenge without being able to defend himself, right? As she fell towards the ground once more she heard the call of a familiar name and saw it emerge from within one of the man's gates. "Sou ka..." she said, as she landed bracing for anything else. That was fine she supposed. If anyone else was to own something so personal to her, she supposed Gilgamesh possessing it was less of a problem than it could be. His laughter once again rang out and though the area immediately surrounding him and his person were fine, the rest of this place was marred by their activities.

"It seems to be the case, though that one is a bit different from mine," she said having gotten enough of a glimpse to be able to tell that though it was the same, it wasn't quite the way Artoria imagined. With this done and Gilgamesh's weapons retreating she brought the still shining weapon she'd been using to her side and sheathed it, as her armor disappeared as well. She was left dressed in her noble gown of blue and white with a still present smile on her face, the bow in her hair blowing in the breeze. Her hands were clasped together gently before her person, she seemed oddly ladylike in the moment. "It was... how interesting today has been," she managed with a large smile on her face. This kind of battle was exactly what she'd been thinking of earlier and just what she needed before continuing on in her duties. True, it came after quite a bit of shocking news, but a fight like this still put hope in the Queen of Knights. Hope for the next generation, for the future, for stamping out the problems of this world. Was this an answer, a definitive help? No, but it was enough. "Arigatougouzaimasu..." was the final word spoken by Artoria in this moment as she now fully resigned to her current situation was more than ready to do what was needed with her knights to ensure their readiness for the potential threats. A gentle wave would occur over the lass' shoulder as she turned to walk away, mostly to avoid any potential backlash from this situation. There was much to be done here, but she was sure she could see the road to victory rather clearly now.

[Bloodedge]

That was about enough of that, he thought. Those who normally saw no proper training of their abilities got to have a decent bit of exercise without causing too much destruction to the land. All was well. It seemed they would be going about their own devices henceforth, though not before Artoria pointed out the difference between his version of Avalon, and hers. There was, in fact, a great secret to this; perhaps he would share it one day. Today would not be that day. Artoria was clearly prepared to take her leave, even doing away with her armor in a display that Gilgamesh observed almost as if studying it. His eyes were slightly narrowed while the tablet in his hand disappeared, clearing his hands to allow the crossing of his arms.

What a stark difference there was between Artoria on, and off, the battlegrounds. The title Queen of Knights... well, sometimes it seemed as if it had two meanings. In one moment, she boasted all the traits of a sole queen, and the very next moment may see her embodying everything that made an honorable warrior. Gilgamesh didn't even realize he'd yet to take his eye off the woman, until the very moment she turned away to depart from him. "Sou," he murmured with no one else near enough to hear the utterance. The King of Uruk would take a moment to view the marred landscape around him before taking his own leave. Back to the palace he went. Interestingly, shortly after his departure, the once-empty field would be seen with a rather expensive-looking building that none in Uruk had seen prior to this day...