Bai Ye sensed something was wrong and immediately used teleportation to distance himself, moving a hundred meters away.
Then...
The beam of light struck the ground directly.
With a rumble!
The moment the light beam hit the ground, it emitted a deafening roar, followed by a hemispherical red glow that enveloped a large area around it.
Instantly, everything in the vicinity began to vanish.
The ground, already devastated by the battle, shattered once more. Surrounding buildings were annihilated into dust, flying upwards as fine debris.
The already collapsed ruins were reduced to powder by the assassin.
Layers of airwaves swept outwards, like a fierce wind.
Bai Ye raised his arm to shield himself and plunged his renowned blade, Shixue, into the ground, barely managing to steady himself.
A terrifying strike!
The hemisphere formed by the red glow persisted for several minutes before gradually dissipating.
This entire area was utterly destroyed. What remained intact along the streets before were now all collapsed into ruins.
The ground was pocked with numerous holes. The vehicles parked nearby had turned into scrap metal, emitting black smoke.
However...
Bai Ye had already left the area of attack beforehand, and then...
With a rumble, a ruin exploded, and Heracles, covered in blood, walked out again.
In the sky, Gilgamesh, standing on a Noble Phantasm, crossed his arms and looked down, clearly unharmed.
Just then...
"Berserker, retreat."
The Chosen One, hidden in the shadows, spoke again.
Heracles, who had intended to walk towards Gilgamesh, halted abruptly upon hearing the command. He then turned and prepared to leave in the opposite direction.
"Do I permit you to leave?" Gilgamesh said coldly. "I shall take 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 instant, a second blood-red beam of light descended.
Gilgamesh frowned, then spread his right hand, exclaiming, "Indra's Thunder!"
Golden ripples appeared in Gilgamesh's palm, and a golden Vajra materialized in his hand.
Looking up at the descending red beam.
Gilgamesh threw Indra's Thunder towards the sky.
The Vajra instantly transformed into a golden beam of light, soaring towards the clouds!
One red, one gold!
The two beams of light collided fiercely in mid-air.
At that moment, the two-colored beams connected, seeming to pierce through heaven and earth.
Then...
With a roar!
A massive explosion erupted in the sky where the two beams crossed.
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 halo, which expanded outwards, extending far into the distance.
Under the impact, the ground was assailed by flying sand and stones, constantly blowing up debris and dust.
Ruins, one after another, could not withstand the force and exploded again, shattering and collapsing.
A moment later, the shockwave dissipated, and the residual radiance in the sky gradually faded.
Gilgamesh glanced ahead. Heracles had vanished, clearly having made his escape.
"Hmph!" Gilgamesh said coldly, "I shall leave your head upon your neck for now."
After speaking, Gilgamesh urged the Noble Phantasm beneath his feet and flew towards Bai Ye.
As the Noble Phantasm passed by him, Bai Ye immediately leaped, jumping onto Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm.
"Not fighting anymore?" Bai Ye reached upwards and asked, "Or are we going to fight up there?"
Gilgamesh glanced at the sky and replied, "No rush. Let's see what tricks she has up her sleeve."
Bai Ye said, "It seems you know who the magus is."
Gilgamesh stated, "There are not many who can command that garden."
Bai Ye asked, "What is that garden?"
"The Hanging Gardens of Babylon," Gilgamesh replied. "However, she is not the true builder; she merely claims its name. Therefore, it is merely a vain Hanging Garden."
"Oh?" Bai Ye inquired, "Is that thing very powerful?"
Gilgamesh said, "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, its grand appearance is strange. Who would foolishly enter?"
Gilgamesh glanced at Bai Ye and said, "This Holy Grail War is not bad."
Bai Ye questioned, "Hmm?"
Gilgamesh elaborated, "I detest mindless Masters. Those types are very boring."
Bai Ye responded, "Thank you for the compliment."
After Bai Ye spoke, he felt something was off. Was this guy subtly insulting him?
Did that mean he considered Bai Ye a mindless Master before?
Damn it!
"Don't be angry, don't be angry. This is just his usual behavior," Bai Ye comforted himself internally, then said, "We need to find another place to stay."
Gilgamesh nodded, "Mm."
Bai Ye extended his hand towards Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh asked, "What for?"
"Give me some gold, of course," Bai Ye said. "That box of money I just got is at the hotel. The hotel was blown up, so that money is probably burnt to ashes."
Gilgamesh, speechless, took out a gold bar and tossed it to Bai Ye.
A Master needing a Servant to support him.
Being this poor, how could he even live?
Bai Ye didn't care about any of that. With the gold bar, he could find a place to exchange for cash, and then find a new hotel to stay in. 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 accidents, before collapsing onto the bed.
After tossing and turning for half the night, he was exhausted!
However, this time, Bai Ye was not disturbed again. 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 naturally waking up felt quite good.
He put on his clothes and went to the living room. Goodra and Gengar were playfully interacting with each other.
Goodra hugged Gengar, making Gengar sticky all over. Gengar, in turn, bit down on Goodra's head, and was then swung around in the air by Goodra.
Bai Ye smiled, took out food for his Pokémon, and sat on the nearby sofa, casually turning on the television.
...