The One Above The Heavens Chapter 11 (Patreon)

With the not-so-cute and now kinda sexy Illya recovering after having her body transformed into a human body that matched her soul's age and development. I then sealed away Illya's old heart as it was filled with fragments of the Holy Grail which was still the Lesser Grail.

And then I left Medea alone to go back to sleep as she was rather tired due to having been studying the new star maps she had access to with modern science and her upgraded telescopes.

Sadly the Grail itself was unwinnable with Angra Mainyu and I literally didn't want the Holy Grail to exist due to how dangerous the wishes coming from them were.

So I wasn't in a rush to 'win' the war at the moment so for now with Illya and Sakura's issues via the corrupted grail were taken care of. Along with Kirei being mulched and burnt to ashes by me. There should only be one major issue left... Gilgamesh himself.

'Do I go pick a fight with Gilgamesh? Attempt to snipe him from across the city by blowing up the church he is supposed to live in... Or just ignore him?' I thought as I tapped my fingers agaisnt my lips in wonder at the thought.

Before I eventually shrugged and decided to go to the person who did have some amount of stealth training. I walked outside of the Matou Mansion and in the large backyard was two ladies. Medusa and Atalanta were both sitting beside one another as they were watching some koi fish in the small pond that the Matou manor had.

"Hello," I spoke as I strode over and then I took a seat beside Medusa with my legs coming to sit atop the other as I sat in a meditative position with both girls sharing a look before returning to silence as we watched the dozen or so large Koi's lazily swimming around.

Finally, Atalanta broke the silence as she spoke rather bluntly. "Jake besides looking at the fish, you came here for something not idle conversation. So what is it."

I gave a wry smile as I said. "Jeez... You would think as a huntress you would be more patient." But at her unamused expression, my smile died out as I looked back at the fishes and spoke plainly. "But you are not incorrect Atalanta, I wish for you and Medusa to go to the Fuyuki Church, they may be a rogue servant there. With golden hair and crimson eyes... But do not challenge him for he is Gilgamesh the first hero." I spoke seriously.

I was strong... I was very strong. But Gilgamesh was someone who if he chose could destroy the human texture of the planet, so I didn't want to tangle with him if needed. 

Honestly, if Gilgamesh was in his wise King of Staves Caster from... I would literally name him my reagent and let him rule in my name a whole sector or area as when he settled down he became a phenomenal king and a good man.

But this was almost certainly his archer form... And Archer Gilgamesh was a fucking arrogant prick, to say the least.

Both girls shared looks of some concern and I mollified some of that by saying. "You are just looking to see if he is there... Do not engage him and should he find you just say that I sent you to check and see if he was there." 

Hearing my words Medusa spoke with some confusion. "Why should we be honest? Wouldn't just running be better?"

To which I smiled wryly and said frankly. "Because Gilgamesh is the most arrogant and proud human to ever live. He will think it's only natural that heroes like yourself come to check on him before I, your king naturally challenge him formally. That whole thought process will stroke his own ego." 

I shook my head saying. "Anyway, you two don't have to leave now. Would be for the best to wait till tonight anyway as that is when he will be up and around. Either way, Atalanta... How is Rin doing?"

Atalanta's cat ears atop her head twitched before she chuffed slightly and spoke with amusement. "She is still being driven up the wall at the thought of you taking over her territory. But she has submitted to her circumstances and is even giddy at the thought of learning God-tier magic that deals in her family's style of Magecraft." 

A chuckle escaped me as I imagined Rin's bipolar actions of first laying on her bed and kicking her feet and arms everywhere in a tantrum. And then immediately going off like a school girl who managed to talk to her crush and screaming giddy with joy into her pillow at the thought of learning divine tier magic.

There was a companionable silence until Medusa spoke up softly. "So Jake... I have a question." 

I looked over and I saw the Medusa had a small if anything mischievous smile across her face as she continued to speak seeing that I looked over. "So you offer, Rin and Illya tutorship to win them over, and you bought Atalanta by taking care of orphans... Where is the presents to buy out me and Sakura?" She teased making me smile wryly.

"As for Sakura... I solved all of her life problems, and she is my lover so she can have whatever she desire within reason from me." I spoke slowly and I saw Medusa blush slightly so I teased her back. "And don't think I did not sense you in your astral form when me and her were being intimate Medusa!" 

Medusa's pink face went a dark red before she coughed and looked away to avoid me looking into her face but regardless I couldn't help but to bully the Snek beauty. "So Medusa, are you asking me to treat you the same as Sakura? Or you wanting something else?" 

And she groaned aloud making me laugh as Atalanta snorted with her saying flatly but then her tone shifted into a more happy set. "Pervert. In any case, I have already been working with the History Compilation Committee to begin the construction of the orphanage that will be built outside of Fuyuki and into the mountains between here and Misaki Town." 

I gave a small hum before I said carefully. "That... It would be for the best you stay out of Misaki Town, there is a clan of demi-human mages, and Aoko Aozaki the True Magician lives there. And recently I got messages that ghouls have been sighted there which could mean a Dead Apostle is there." 

Atalanta stilled and I could see her hackles rising as she said calmly and slowly. "Oh... A Dead Apostle, well they and any amount of ghouls will be unable to touch any children under my aegis." 

I nodded as I knew that was very much the case. When Atalanta decided to say fuck it and go insane she could summon the divine boar of Calydonian which would act as a mana battery to give her infinite mana basically at the cost of her sanity.

Her entire wish for the grail and her driving purpose as a Heroic Spirit was to protect the world's innocent children... No matter how fuck nuts she goes she wouldn't harm a hair on a child.

So I just said plainly. "In either case, be careful as the water in Misaki Town can be deep." 

Getting off that topic Medusa who had gotten over her prior embarrassment after I was done poking at her, stiffened before she and Atalanta both looked towards the entrance of the Matou manor. "That little Miko is back," Medusa spoke with Atalanta nodding in agreement.

"Did she ever give her name by the way?" I asked as I stood up as I knew I probably shouldn't push this off any more than I should.

And to my question, Medusa nodded saying with a small hum of thought as she recalled the name. "Hmm, yes it was Mariya Yuri I believe."

'Oh, so the History Committee is truly trying to bring out the big guns in getting my favor. Mariya was supposedly the most talented Hime-Miko in the current generation though that could very well not be the case with Fate nonsense going on.' I thought before I looked said more seriously. "Alright, I will be going to my throne, one of you two please bring her in from the entryway." 

I was their king... It would be very fucking weird if I just popped up at the front door and welcomed her into my home. No there needed to be some pomp to meeting me after all!

I walked back into the house and I then made my way to the throne room to wait with myself taking out my phone to read the latest news... Like news of the freak underground volcanic gas leak that exploded the previous day outside of Fuyuki. Geeze I wonder how that happened?

More like that was how the magical organizations were going to spin my battle with Verathragna to the common populace who had no idea of the Moonlit World. But beyond that occurrence, I looked more into the news and after a bit, I saw that I had an email from Amakusa asking when we could speak as the Einzberns had been dealt with and they had collected and sorted out the loot that was acquired.

Idly I summoned the life-extending elixers into my hands to roll the marble-sized pills between my fingers before I sent them back into my spatial ring and then I decided to just call Amakuza directly seeing as he was too scared to call me directly.

The call buzzed three times and then mid-way through the fourth Amakusa picked up the call with him quickly saying respectfully. "My lord, how may I help you?" 

To which I said evenly. "Mariya Yuri just got here and although I haven't met with her yet, I wanted to say that as soon as you are able. You are to send over the Einzbern family's wealth while I will hand off the elixirs to Mariya Yuri while she is here."

There was a pause in my contact with Japan's official main magical organization until he said carefully. "Very well then... Then, my lord, I do have something to discuss with you. The bounty you put onto the Einzberns led a great many of mercenaries and other magical groups to attack the family. They are awaiting your answer as to who gets the life-extending magical elixir." 

I blinked at hearing that and after a moment of thought, I answered plainly. "Pay the other groups and individuals for their efforts, I will give you some more elixirs in recompense but the one you will have on hand will go to whoever brought the Rheingold to my holdings." 

There was a tense silence and I frowned before I could hear Amakusa Touma saying quietly. The Mages Association confiscated the Rheingold from the Enforcer and the Lancer-class Servant who helped her through the use of a Geass for magical items needed by the association."

My hands crushed part of the stone armrest under my hands as I snorted and said bluntly. "What is the Mages Association playing at Amakusa?"

There was some hesitation but he audibly inhaled and explained. "The Mages Association is rather cross with you my lord. In your actions of bringing the Copper Black Cross out of Europe into Asia in which they consider the backwater lands of the magical world, the organization was within the top ten of the largest magical organizations within Europe, and with their leaving and you destroying a long and storied family in the Einzberns which stretch back to the Age of the Gods..." 

'So I diminishing Europe's own magical potential with how I took the Copper Black Cross to Japan.. Hmph and those shameless lords of the Clocktower were already trying to absorb the Copper Black Cross's foundation before Erica sought protection under my aegis.' I thought.

With my thoughts filling out the blanks in the bullshit the Mages Association was doing. I had one thing to say as I smiled coldly. "Fine... They want my attention and want to show off their displeasure... Thats just fine, Amakusa tell the family heads to clear out any inhabitants that live on Mount Fuji, I am going to move my plans up."

See I was the Jade Emperor reborn basically. And what kind of Jade Emperor would I be if I did not have my own Mount Kunlun. It was time I brought the Age of the Gods amount of mana back into the world as I knew this world in no matter what timeline had its issues and the people of the world needed to grow stronger to face those threats.

So if I could tweak the nose of the Mages Association by making a county-sized Grotto Heaven that was basically in the Age of the Gods in terms of mana density that would support all kinds of rituals and bring actual magic into the world instead of meager Magecraft...

That will teach those fucking kleptomaniac mages who were literally built under the Clocktower and British Museum of History to not steal my loot. When I ban everyone from Europe from the Grotto Heaven.

After a moment of my thoughts raging I continued. "I am rather irritated now Amakusa... So give the elixer to whoever killed Acht Einzbern and send me an email after Mount Fuji is cleared out. Goodbye." I finished with a beeping noise ringing out as I hung up on him and then I rested my head on fist as I held in a growl of anger.

As I really did want the Rheingold! It was legitimately important to my future plans and growth dammit!

I took a deep breath as I could feel Medusa who was with another smaller weak magical signature coming closer to my throne room and as they came in Medusa knowing I wanted some ceremony spoke out. "The premier Hime Miko, the seer of the divine and descendant of Amaterasu is here." 

'Huh, that descendant of the sun goddess bit is new. But that makes sense as they in Hime-Mikos were supposed to be descendants of Earth Goddesses that came to Earth and divulged their divinity and authority to not be rejected by the planet.' 

And then Medusa moved out of the way allowing the shorter brown-haired nervous-looking girl to stride into the room with her eyes looking at me with... Pants shitting terror clear in her eyes.

'Oh shit. I am hitting all her Campione trauma buttons.' I thought with a mental grimace as I was reminded that years ago apparently my half-sibling in Vobann being the murder hobo he was snatched up a bunch of Hime-Mikos and used them in a ritual to summon a god from the Reverse Side of the World/Underworld. 

Taking a small breath I folded my legs over the other and relaxed making myself as non-threatening as possible as I spoke out calmly but not overly familiarly. "Mariya Yuri, you have my attention. Please speak what you must under the guest rights you are protected by." 

I closed my eyes and leaned back to further put her at ease as I allowed her to comport herself. And for a whole minute, Medusa's and my own super hearing could hear the woman taking steadying breaths before she spoke with conjured-up steel in her voice. "I... I have had several visions about the future!"

Raising an eyebrow I slowly opened my eyes and I looked at Mariya and noticed how she was wearing her green and white colored miko outfit that clung to her well-developed figure but beyond a cursory examination I didn't ogle her as I spoke calmly. "Oh? Then tell me what is to come? What god do you see wrenching themselves onto the mortal world and lastly... Why are you telling me now instead of drip-feeding me information in the future to gain my favor and reliance for when the signs become clear of their coming to be."

Mariya visibly took a deep breath at my series of questions before she spoke quietly. "Because there is too much... The world looks to be facing a mana resurgence even greater than the mana surge that occurred when Albion died as it was tearing open the gate to the Fairy Realm in Great Britain which flooded the entire world with so much mana that more than fifty Heretic God's walked the earth for a short time!"

I stilled hearing that. I utterly froze hearing that. I actually had to pick at my ears as I asked incredulously. "Fifty Heretic gods active at once? Please little Miko if you jest like this... Then it is not amusing me as I am already in a poor mood." I finished with a frown.

But Mariya shook her head and said bluntly. "It is a well-documented event... It was called the Dark Ages after all and the world's population being cut in less than half in that century of bloodshed was blamed on plagues and other events." 

After a moment I looked to Medusa and she nodded in agreement as it was part of the grail knowledge apparently... So I exhaled and said plainly. "Alright, tell me of the apocalypse to come then." 

And so she did... And I wanted to cry as I recognized several of the damned things she mentioned.

The serpent swallowing itself, was almost certainly Michael Roa Valdamjong, the Serpent of Akasha one of the most annoying Dead Apostle Ancestors due to his ability to reincarnate endlessly so long as the universe existed. This was obviously Fate-related as it was supposed to happen the next city over in Misaki Town.

The All-Knowing Owl, was obviously Athena and Verathragna had already talked about beating the shit out of her and shattering her divinity so I am sure that, shota war god left some surprise to bring Athena after me.

The strongest steel... Was either Rama, the god/hero of Hindu myth but I didn't know much about them or it was King Arthur. And with this being a Fate world I wouldn't be surprised for it to be Goddess Rhongomyniad with her divine lance.

The cosmic spider, was ORT... Something I had no chance of defeating on my own, plain and simple.

 The divine monkey, in Wukong wasn't something I was worried about honestly at all. Even if it was a Heretic God version of the Monkey King as I, being the Jade Emperor and an incarnation of the Trinity of Celestial Bureaucracy countered the Monkey King on a mythological level

The Forest of Blood? Also another Dead Apostle Ansesctor but I wasn't aware of how dangerous it could be to me honestly other than its annoying ability to spawn off child forests that would occasionally eat a town or city every few years.

The Blood Moon? probably had something to do with Crimson Moon, or the Brunestud sisters.

The great evil eye in the sky? I was honestly unsure of, either it had something to do with the Olympians as I remembered from FGO the great Primordial Chaos was a planet-sized eye, or it could be a Campione thing with it being the god Balor or something rising up.

And lastly, the vision that haunted her the most and made her visibly shudder and look scared of the memory of her visions.

'A golden fox? Hmm, if it actually hurt her in the dream that brings a couple of things to mind in either Amaterasu is actually going to come into the mortal world. Or, spitballing here. I could be turbo fucked and its Koyanskaya the Beast of Cherishment.

I wasn't arrogant enough to think I could take an actual Beast on and win... There is a reason Grand Servant's who could comfortably match Gods were summoned automatically by Alaya in response to their existence.

'The assassin class is still open. Should I try to game the system and summon the Old Man of the Mountain?' I thought before shuddering at the thought of summoning the Grand Asssassin but either way I brought a hand down my face as I looked at Mariya and said flatly.

"I do hope this all isn't supposed to come to Japan and be solely my issue. Otherwise, Campione or not I may just need to run." I admittedly frankly with a wry grin.

At my frank admission if anything Mariya exhaled in relief as she said softly. "Oh thank the heavens you believe me... But no, all these events logically shouldn't happen only in Japan, especially the Cosmic Spider as ORT has spent the last several dozen plus centuries in the heart of the Amazon Jungle." 

I held out my hands in celebration of that fact before Mariya sheepishly reached into her pocket and I felt Medusa snarl loudly with her mana flaring as Mariya quaked in fear as she took out a little stone plaque that radiated mana to my senses.

And I instantly recognized the fucking Gregorian seal that held a great deal of Athena's powers in Mariya's hands!

-

Across the city Atalanta had left the Matou Manor knowing that her lord even if they said wanted this mission done later tonight. She knew royalty and thus knew that solving the mission sooner rather than later was for the best.

So with her form even further hidden in her Astral Form she silently entered the church that supposedly held the King of Heros and it didn't take her long to find them. As they laid bare-chested upon a well-padded throne in the back of the church under the sun's rays as they indulgently ate plump grapes that glimmered mystically in the sun's glare.

"Little kitten, your owner said to not come till tonight," Gilgamesh spoke with amusement coloring their voice and Atalanta stilled with surprise as her form was hidden in her ghost form and her own skill as a huntress blessed by Artemis.

And as though sensing her confusion Gilgamesh waved a hand boredly as they replied. "Oh hearing of the new Jade Emperor I have been using my clairvoyance to watch his servant's movements even if I cannot divine his own movements with his protections against the actions of fate and time manipulation."

Hearing that Atalanta snorted and her form became unveiled to the world with Gilgamesh's ruby red eyes resting on her form. "Truly he did pick up quite a gem with you... Pity that he is rather weak-willed as a king and hasn't properly broken you in and assured himself of your loyalty." 

If things were different Atalanta would have snarled at the thought of a man' breaking her in' but this situation was odd... And frankly, Atalanta herself was confused so she spoke bluntly. "My emperor and my own knowledge of history tells me this... But why are you a woman, and why are you baring your chest to the world?" 

Gilgamesh gave a great long laugh at that. "Hahaha! My state as a woman is based on history and people have since made too many connections between me, Ishtar, and my old friend Enkidu which was shown the pleasure and life of a woman to make them connect with humanity."

Gilgamesh shrugged and said amusedly. "As for why my bosom is bared? Well that is for my own comfort of course! And should anyone who looks upon my breasts be someone of lesser stock who I disdain, I just need to kill them to wipe away any dissatisfaction." 

Atalanta was distinctly reminded of Jake's words from earlier... 'Gilgamesh is the most arrogant human to ever live.' 

So the Chaste Huntress shifted and knowing of her purpose in confirming Gilgamesh's presence was here... Now she merely needed to survive this meeting. 

But as though understanding that Gilgamesh making a humming noise with Atalanta shifting in place wearily as a golden portal opened up in front of Gilgamesh and the 'King' of Heroes reached in and Atalanta's face twitched as she held in a growl as Gilgamesh pulled out a golden gleaming apple with Atalanta being able to clearly sense the divinity within the blessed apple.

"Run along little kitten, tell your owner that he is welcome to challenge me to the death for my own entertainment. Or engage me in conversation as he has proven worthy of my attention and time in slaying two gods even I admit are a match for myself using my most precious of treasures." 

Atalanta firmly committed Gilgamesh's form to memory with the amused king even posing sideways as she rolled over slightly to fully look at her with her gleaming golden hair reflecting off the sunlight as she met the feline-slitted eyes of Atalanta and then with a rustling noise Atalanta jumped off the tree branch she was on and raced away at a blur of speed as she fled.