Gilgamesh

The Oldest King

Wedge of Heaven

**Gilgamesh** (ギルガメッシュ, *Girugamesshu***?**), also known as **Archer** (アーチャー, *Āchā***?**), is the Archer-class Servant of Tokiomi Tohsaka in the Fourth Holy Grail War

of *Fate/Zero*. He later forms a new contract with Kirei Kotomine that lasts ten years later into the time of the Fifth Holy Grail War of *Fate/stay night*. He has an obsession with Saber during both stories.

He is one of the Servants summoned by Ritsuka Fujimaru of the Grand Order conflicts of *Fate/Grand Order*.

### Appearance

Gilgamesh is a dignified man with golden hair standing up like a blazing flame. His face is described as handsome, and his eyes, crimson like blood, are visibly not those of a human and give off a mysterious radiance that makes people wither. He has a "perfect, Golden-proportioned body" described as emanating majesty that makes flames surrounding him afraid to come close, and his very soul glows golden. He normally wears golden armor that makes a heavy first impression on those he encounters. While fighting at full power in *Fate/hollow ataraxia*, he gains a number of red tattoos on his body that are not normally present.

He is often referred to as the "golden Archer" and the "golden-sparkling Servant," and Rider generally calls him "Goldie." He is similarly called **Gold-glitter** (金ピカ, *Kin-Pika***?**) due to his hair, armor, and golden soul, but Rin's reasoning behind the name has less to do with the color of his hair and more simply due to the fact that she thinks he looks like he is living a rich and luxurious life. He looks like a regular foreigner to both Rin and Archer, and he does not openly give off the impression of a Servant or Master due to his body being made of flesh after the Fourth Holy Grail War.

He likes to wear casual clothes, "playing attire" to ward off boredom from being in spirit form, when not in battle, later becoming knowledgeable on the latest fashion trends after living in modern society for ten years. He has collected a number of casual outfits.

* **Fate/Zero**: The clothing he wears in during the Fourth Holy Grail War is a fashionable white v-neck with three quarter sleeves, and python print pants.
* **Fate route**: During Fate, he wears a white jacket with a fur collar, a black shirt, and black pants.
* **Biker outfit**: The "biker outfit" worn at the beginning of the game and in the Unlimited Blade Works route and Heaven's Feel route is his favorite outfit, liking it enough to ignore Shirou's group when presented with the possibility of the ashes from the burning Einzbern Castle dirtying it. It can be said Shirou's life is worth less to him than his coat. He dons this clothing in the first Fate/stay night Manga adaptation of both the Fate route and Unlimited Blade Works route.
* **Fate/hollow ataraxia**: Upon returning to his adult form in *hollow ataraxia*, he boasts what he calls his "official outfit", "an extremely rare article, reserved for the select few." Shirou's first thought upon seeing it is to call him the "golden pervert", and although Gilgamesh finds nothing wrong with it, Shirou concurs in that there can be nothing wrong with the minor details because the entire outfit itself is wrong from the start. Breaking the fourth wall, Gilgamesh describes it as something that was "truly embarrassing, thus forbidden" and removed from *Fate/stay night* until being used in *hollow ataraxia*. As it is a "unique item", he says it has the "downside of only allowing one pose."
* **Child form**: After drinking his Potion of youth, he takes the form of a young child that is referred to as Child-Gil. He has the same blood-red eyes and golden hair that makes him stand out from others. Shirou is unable to identify him from sight, and he finds it hard to believe they are the same person even after being told.

### Personality

Gilgamesh greatly differs from most of the sovereigns and leaders in the history of humanity. He placed himself before his nation and the people, and he had neither the curiosity nor desire to conquer, possibly because he had too much in the beginning. He takes the time to enjoy himself, mastering every treasure and every pleasure. With conviction to treat good and evil equally, he has no need for other ideologies and ways of life when the absolute basis is "himself." His actions and way of life left him alone, so Enkidu compared rectifying his attitude to rectifying his solitude.

He follows a simple style of ruling, acquiring worthy treasures and guarding them. He exterminates those that stand in the way of his enjoyment without exception. All living beings are "something that is about to die" or "something that will one day die." If he decides that there is a "being that should die this moment", he will simply execute the sentence no matter if they should be a sage or a god. If it is an astute judgment synonymous to universal truth, or even a misrule during a drunken stupor, anything carried out by him, the absolute king, becomes the indisputable sentence of the king.

He is extremely arrogant and selfish, believing himself to be the sole potentate and only king of the world even many millennia after his death. He cannot acknowledge the authority of anyone, including that of other kings and especially that of the gods. He considers all those around him as inferior due to this fact, viewing all other kings and heroes as a collection of mongrels, and loathes any individual who would try to be on the same level as him. The only exception is Enkidu, who he considered to be his equal and only friend. He responds to Iskander's request to form an alliance with him by saying "It is unfortunate, but I do not require a second friend. Past and future, my companion will only be one."

He believes that all who look upon him, when he honors them with his presence, should be able to recognize him instantly, and feels that the ignorance of not knowing him is worthy of death. If anyone so much as looks upon him with a "lowly and filthy" gaze, it is an intolerable disgrace for a nobleman who claims the title of king more so than anyone else. This is enough to make that person a complete malefactor in his eyes, instantly marked for death. He doesn't view the modern world as worthy of having him rule over it because humanity has become too weak. After finding out the nature of the Holy Grail, he plans to use it to exterminate most of the world's population and rule over those who survive. Despite that, he is not incapable of respecting Servants that he deems worthy, such as Iskander and Artoria. In Fate/Grand Order, he and Ozymandias "unexpectedly get along", occasionally complimenting each other. He also has a genuine liking towards Kirei Kotomine to the point of deeming him as his most beloved person alongside Artoria.

Gilgamesh has a natural disposition to collect items for his treasury, which lead to collecting all the treasures of the world. The treasures he amassed went without use until his fight with Enkidu, causing him to develop the "bad habit" of utilizing them as projectiles. The act of collecting is something that has never brought him true joy due to essentially being on the same level as breathing to him, but he still persists at it nonetheless. He compares gambling as simply moving money from his treasury to his purse. He lives by 'his' Golden Rule, only accepting the finest of luxuries, and others who fall to it are utterly blinded by money.

Despite his treasury having been dispersed all over the world, he still holds that it all belongs to him. As its contents even exceeded his knowledge, if an item is labeled as a "treasure", it is obvious that it belongs to him. He has absolutely no interest in the Holy Grail before finding out its true nature because competing for his own treasure is a pointless action. He doesn't have a wish, but he cannot allow people to rob his treasury as a matter of principles. The only reason he needs is that it was the law he set down as king. Only if he agrees to give someone the Holy Grail would he allow them to obtain it, but the rats trying to steal his treasure are not worthy of reward. He doesn't mind rewarding his own subjects and people, and would even allow Rider a "cup or two" if he were to bow down to him.

He takes a great interest in Saber and her ideals, and proposes that she becomes his wife. He becomes enthralled with her stubbornness, believing there has to be at least one person in the world to deny him. Should he actually "obtain" her, he comes to realize that the outcome is not very satisfying. Normally people consider flowers at their most beautiful as their petals fall, but he only feels disappointment if he ever manages to have her because she only shines brightly to him when she is opposing him. He decides to "show her his love" until he grows tired of her. He has no interest in Saber Alter because she has lost sight of her ideals.

He is prone to underestimating his opponents and views combat as a game of amusement. His gigantic ego prevents him from acknowledging his opponent as a real threat and he does not battle them seriously. He will properly fight those he respects, or simply utilize more power than necessary on a whim depending on the situation. If his Master happens to grow on him, or he decides that their battle is worth fighting for, then he could become somewhat more willing to use his full power should they will it.

He is influenced by the era in which he is summoned, and in the case where he achieves incarnation, his blood as a human will stir and gravitate towards that of the humans of the era. The consumption society of the early 2000s sullied his property, the world, so he is in a worse mood overall. Even with his personality, Gilgamesh was able to blend into the society without a problem. While he will always retain his core self-centered traits, he will be more stable and like he was in life when summoned in a place without any alteration like the Moon Cell. He is quite different between the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars due to his priorities. He simply enjoys the events of the Fourth, but the Fifth is utilized to fulfill his goals of making humankind worth governing and coercing Saber to become his bride. Kinoko Nasu describes the variation in his personality as the "prideful Boss King of Heroes" and the "not very prideful Horny King of Heroes."

Gilgamesh speaks with the notion that nothing is greater than himself, using a **commanding pronoun** (我, *ore, written as "ware"***?**). He is the type of person to become angry even if someone is to simply try to converse with him, thinking something like "A plebeian dares to speak with the King? Such insolence!"

In Fate/Grand Order his profile states that his nature is cruel and heartless. Never hearing people's opinions, a tyrant who holds only his own standards as absolute. Pretentiously displaying an extremely gaudy golden armor, this exceptional Heroic Spirit releases his excessive treasures as if abundant water.

Gilgamesh seems to have tolerance and in some rare cases soft spot towards children. In Fate/strange Fake, he shows some degree of leniency towards his master Tiné Chelc and takes measures to protect her from harm. He even addresses her by her real name although he initially refers her as "mongrel girl." He also tells her in Uruk, there are many those of Tiné Chelc's age that have already found themselves, showing his respect towards the children of his kingdom. In fact, he is popular among the children of Uruk as shown in Babylonia Singularity, as he plays the Royal Game of Ur with them and win even though he plays it for the first time, much to their awe. In Fate/hollow Ataraxia, he is seen fishing with his children admirers at the Fuyuki Dock, although he good-naturedly calls them mongrels.

Gilgamesh is a collector of treasures. His favorite phrase is "*I've assembled all treasures in the land*", but that is not a metaphor. He has assembled, stored and sealed away every sample of technology that were developed in his age. His argument is "*humans are foolish, but there is value in the tools, civilization that humans create*".

Gilgamesh's sole source of enjoyment is in the hearts of humans. His most beloved humans are those who possess dreams far surpassing their own capacity but constantly work towards them regardless without giving up. Both Artoria and Kirei are included in this category.

#### Humanity

Gilgamesh was born as a guardian of humanity, so it is his duty to lay the foundations for the future civilization of the planet. He does not view sheltering as his way of guardianship, but instead a harsh form resembling the north wind. He is the adjudicator of humanity who is an observer and sentencer at his core, punition personified and uncolored by human values. He lives by the ideal that later became Code of Ur-Nammu and Code of Hammurabi, that it is law for humans to prosecute humans. He had been brought forth by the gods to secure humanity for them, but he did not fulfill his role. He considered his own desires first, and he controlled the kingdom as a person. He rejected the gods as something from a past age, telling them that he will obey and respect them and at the same time telling them to be destroyed. He believed they lost their positions through their own actions the moment they brought him forth into the world.

Although he was created for a specific purpose, he did not feel contempt for being artificially manufactured life for the sake of being used by the gods, and although his every cell was designed before birth, he was born from her mother's womb like a normal human; therefore, he was both "born" and "created" at the same time. It matters not if a being is an animal or a puppet, as all life is created through the intentions of the parents. He was brought forth by predecessors like all living things, the only difference being that his predecessor was the planet, the gods. The "self", the soul, is the only naturally occurring and unique part of life, awaking to individual originality that cannot be thought of as having been created. Whether the body was manufactured or the product of reproduction, the shape of life is always brought forth by predecessors, so only the naturally occurring soul matters to him. The gods' countermeasure was correct, but it was that, being born as a new life with a new will, that he did not behave in accordance with their wishes.

While he was designed as the wedge for the gods, he became the tip of the spear that put an end to the old age. He decided upon reaching adulthood that he would not live as a king governing his people, but would instead act as a storm that reprimanded them. Ignoring the will of the gods, he ruled Uruk because it was something worthwhile. Collecting and seizing as he willed it, the nation and the people were his all for the reason of judging them. He considers humanity to be the epitome of ingenuity, but says it lacks a shared standard. It is for this reason that humanity continues to bring forth new advancements, and the reason that an absolute standard is indispensable. It required someone human while more than human and belonged to the gods without being a god. It would have simply taken a human to govern and a god to menace, but the gods never understood that even in the very end. To better become this absolute standard, he collected all the treasures of the world and judged the worth of humanity.

Enkidu believed that his actions, his tyranny over his people, extended from his ability to see even what the gods were unable to comprehend. His overwhelming power bred overwhelming isolation for him, but his strength of self did not allow him to abandon his kingship or flee from this mission imposed upon him. The reason that he favored isolation is that he chose that path and needed to advance down it alone. He needed to hate the gods and dislike the people while keeping the future in mind, so he needed to be isolated. The more favorably he regarded the future of humanity, the farther he had to remove himself. The only thing he stood to gain was the result of it because, being more than human, he could not interfere with the brilliant course it would bring about. He personally felt the resulting future would be quite dull, but decided to abide his decision to the end.

Even Enkidu, sharing the same origins, was unable to see the sights on which his distant gaze was set. Enkidu regarded this isolation, his ability to remain aloof, as his greatest sincerity. Though he knew the weak, he never glanced back at them, and though he knew the strong, he never acknowledged them. Though he should have had none by his side, Enkidu believed that he had sinned in leaving a lasting mar upon that integrity. Though he is similar to Alexander the Great in the manner of pride, their greatest difference is "not needing retainers." He is only dedicated to himself, so his loves are only treasures and tools. People are only things that will disappear.

During his search for immortality, he was also obsessed with seeing the end of humanity. Dying would mean abandoning his role, his kingship, because he had determined to be the observer and adjudicator of the people. It was necessary to obtain an enduring body that would last until the end of the world not to see everyday contentment, but the deeds, the future of the people, and witness their end. He felt true joy for the first time upon obtaining it, but it was snatched away in an instant by the snake. This caused him to realize that was the nature of the world of humanity, that which he must observe.

He realized he could not understand that unique appeal with an undying body, realizing immortality to be nothing by the incompleteness of the common people and the dream of those who cannot face the end. He decided he had no need for it because his eyes that could foresee the future had no reason to fear death. He was able to exist in that era, unfading at that moment, and still gaze at the distant future even without experiencing the passage of time. His duty would be fullfilled as long as a hero, humanity's most ancient tale, was passed down through the ages.

The future he is able to see for humanity is that of human knowledge continuing to expand until they will be able to see even light from millions of years away. Though it would take such a long time that his body will have long rotted, it was an exhilarating sight for him, but he feels that he must have lost his drive. Having collected all that needed to be collected, he found no further joy in that era. He needed to simply depart with integrity, experiencing death as many times as necessary, time and again reviving and observing until the end of the world and the day when humanity reaches beyond his garden, the planet, to reach the end of the sky and strike its final note.

#### Childhood

Gilgamesh has nothing in common with his childhood-self, and their natures are so different that he cannot even perceive his younger self's past. He can only speak as if having heard from secondhand accounts, and he, who had never forgotten anything from birth, cannot remember his childhood well. He believes his younger self would be the same, and that it is likely he would have stopped his own growth had he known what his adult-self would be like at the time. He was benevolent, cherished by the people who praised him as having "gained the best king there was." He was known as tolerant, sage, fair, and moral, and he had a kingly aptitude superior to all. He changed greatly as he grew, becoming the King that the gods created Enkidu to punish.

After Gilgamesh consumes the Herb of Immortality, he becomes his well-mannered, polite and amiable younger self. He not only retains his memory, but his royal and divine charisma as well. He is amiable with Shirou and expresses his uneasiness of how he grows up to become someone so unpleasant. He becomes a popular idol among children in Fuyuki, as he is seen leading a football team with amazing leadership. Though he later reverts to his adult self, he is able to socialize with others without issue, as he is seen fishing at the Fuyuki dock with several children and they are having a good time making fun of Lancer that doesn't manage to catch even a single fish, though he displays his usual arrogance, and becomes portrayed comically in a number of scenes.

#### Relationships

Artoria Pendragon
Gilgamesh is her nemesis in the Fate series. He has a twisted form of love for Artoria, seeing her as an unattainable star that is most beautiful out of his reach.
Emiya
By Gilgamesh's own words, a "Faker".
Altera
Altera, while being the great Titan, spared Gligamesh's father before she fell to the holy sword. He decides to aid in her campaign for the Moon Cell as a repayment for this debt. However, Gilgamesh proclaimed he was also serving Altera for the sake of Altera's Master.
Cú Chulainn
In Gilgamesh's words, a rabid dog that only knows how to attack. Though they served the same Master in *Fate/stay night* under Kirei Kotomine, it was not a pleasant experience. The relationship continues to be strained even during the follow up story *Fate/Hollow Ataraxia* where they serve Caren Hortensia.
Karna
Does a death wish cause you to talk to me that way?
**Enkidu**

Gilgamesh views Enkidu as his one and only friend, and one of the only people capable of fighting at his level. When Enkidu died due to displeasing the gods, Gilgamesh cried over his friend and had a great fear of his own death, which caused him to begin the search for Immortality.
Ishtar
Ishtar once tried to court Gilgamesh which he refused, invoking the wrath of the apparent goddess which later led to the Bull of Heaven coming down onto Uruk. After Gilgamesh and Enkidu defeated it, Enkidu died as a consequence. As such, Gilgamesh hates Ishtar, believing her to be the cause of it. His hatred is such that if he were ever to meet her again he would unleash the full power of Enuma Elish upon her. When Ishtar was summoned in the body of Rin Tohsaka, Gilgamesh believes it to be an improvement as Rin's mentality merging with Ishtar's made her more bearable in his eyes.
Ozymandias
Unexpectedly gets along.
Kirei Kotomine
Gilgamesh discovers Kotomine to be an interesting human being and helps Kotomine embrace his sadistic nature. He accepts Kotomine as his master in *Fate/Zero*.

## Abilities

Gilgamesh is the most powerful existence among the Servants in both the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail War and the strongest Heroic Spirit. He is placed into the Archer class because of his main Noble Phantasm, Gate of Babylon. It grants him access to all of the world's treasures that he collected during his life, which include prototypes of other heroes' Noble Phantasms, and he can launch them as the strongest arrows towards his opponents. While he may sometimes choose to wield them as regular weapons, he mainly fights by raining down an infinite amount of weapons on his opponents. The most trusted Noble Phantasms contained within include Enkidu and Ea. While he has numerous Noble Phantasms, none are indicative of his true identity, and the only person through both Holy Grail Wars to figure out his identity without being told is Rider, though Shirou is able to guess after he gives a number of details about himself. The energy of his soul is worth that of hundreds of thousands of souls, and taking him in is enough to fill a partially-full Lesser Grail even while it lacks several other Servants.

He has the skill Golden Rule, being fated to a life that is filled with riches. It does not measure the percentage of gold in one's body, but the chance of attracting gold in one's life. The level of gold provided by rank A will make the user incredibly wealthy to the point where money trouble will be unknown, allowing him to live the life of a nabob. While it seems unrelated to battle, it plays a great role in arming him. Claiming all the world's treasures as his own, he obtained the originals of Noble Phantasms preserved in his treasury during that period.

He has the highest rank of Charisma with the influence to build a grand empire on a global scale. He is often praised as the greatest king, so his ability to command and lead great armies is excellent. Being such a rare talent, with even a B rank being sufficient enough to lead a nation, his A+ rank makes it no longer a matter of popularity or skill, but closer to something like sorcery or curse. His ego and self-confidence can surely boost the morale of any army led by him to an extremely high level, allowing them to gain a tremendous increase in abilities.

He would normally possess the highest rank of Divinity among all Heroic Spirits due to being 2/3 God. He is at a level even exceeding Heracles, the son of Zeus who ascended to the Pantheon after death. The rank is instead decreased from A+ to B because of his hatred of the gods, who killed his only companion, Enkidu, unleashed the Bull of Heaven onto the earth, and caused him much trouble in his life.

### Combat

Gilgamesh's compatibility against Heroic Spirits is great due to the versatility of his weapons, allowing him to assault the weakness of any Servant. He is about as physically strong as Saber or Berserker, if not weaker, and he would not receive a boost in power from fame due to not being well known in Japan. The main reason for his overwhelming power comes from the sheer number of Noble Phantasms in his possession. All Heroic Spirits have things they were weak against in life, their greatest weak points, and he possesses all of the Noble Phantasms, including those that killed each hero. He can be called the "Servant Killer" because he has an advantage over most of them in combat and because they are no match for him. While there would be no competition between him and Saber in terms of direct swordsmanship with the same Noble Phantasm, he does not display power as an "individual" soldier, but rather as a "war" that even the strongest soldier could not overcome by himself. Only those who are a "war" themselves will be able to compete against him. In terms of the "firepower" available to him due to the versatility of his weaponry, he can be said to have the strength of "5 Servants + a", a force able to match all the Servants and Masters defending the town in *Fate/hollow ataraxia*, putting him at an advantage against those like Arcueid Brunestud whose strength is based on the "single entity ability" of the opponent rather than their weaponry.

Gilgamesh's pride and carelessness often keep him from fighting seriously, considering it to be unbecoming to be serious for the Holy Grail. As his dignity cannot be yielded, such weaknesses "kind of balance out" with the firepower of the other participants of the Fourth Holy Grail War when he could simply end it in one night should he wish it. Kotomine comments that his notion of overlooking "worthless and meaningless things" is one factor that can lead to his defeat because "there are worthless things, but there are no meaningless things." Shirou describes that along with his great power that he was "given the fate of being raised with his 'carelessness' skill maxed out." He considers his title as a king "constrictive" in a sense that his pride will not allow him to go all out against people he considers to be unworthy, seeing taking such a person seriously as himself being defeated. He will refuse to use Ea against anyone unworthy, either hesitating with its usage or testing them to make sure they are worthy of it. He describes his going all out in *Fate/hollow ataraxia* as a once in a lifetime whim, and he would have been able to conquer the four day loop of by himself had he not turned himself into a child. Although the strongest existence among the Servants who cannot be rivaled when he is serious, he loses against Saber due to obsession, loses to Shirou due to pride, and loses to Sakura Matou due to carelessness. It can be said he is forced to bend his knees before the universal law of "love conquers all" in Fate/stay night, but is allowed to "show off his overwhelming, cheat-like strength without restraint" in Fate/Zero.

He normally does not care about his attire in battle while playing, but claims there are some restrictions for a serious, dignified battle. As he does not favor hand-to-hand combat, exercising his true power only requires his body and the key to his treasury. He has the absolute self-confidence to calmly show himself before his opponents, but he is also apt to simply kill by raining Noble Phantasms behind his enemies' backs depending on his mood. The will of the king cannot be simply gauged by the concept of tactic. Saber believes the only way to stand a chance against him is to take him down before he gets serious. If he has a natural weak point besides his tendency not to fight seriously, it is that he is not a master of his weapons. He is not a "wielder" who has mastered his weapon to the limit, leaving some room for counters like Unlimited Blade Works. Knight of Owner is said to be a natural counter to him, though Berserker is only capable of keeping up with Gilgamesh to the level he did because Mad Enhancement was boosting his abilities.

Gilgamesh possesses a tremendously efficient clairvoyance, taking the form of the Noble Phantasm Sha Naqba Imuru, that allows him to discern heavily concealed truths with a single glance, making him fully capable of reading the True Name and Noble Phantasms of his opponents and he is able to guide others with the most optimal tactics upon releasing his true name, simultaneously increasing the attack and defense power of his entire team. He is extremely perceptive of magecraft, allowing him to see through Caster's fake death and tell the exact number of spells a magus is preparing just by looking at them, as shown by how he effortlessly predicts the exact number of Projections prepared by Shirou, which he went as far as to ask what kind of hero he would be if he could not see through a magus. He is also capable of accurately assessing his opponents' abilities. He would not even consider having a battle of swordsmanship with Assassin, and while he plays around with a weakened Saber in Fate, he immediately backs off from her to avoid hand-to-hand combat during Unlimited Blade Works after she receives a boost in power from her contract with Rin.

He normally wears **Golden Armor** (黄金の甲冑, *Kogane no Katchū***?**) materialized from magical energy much like Saber's armor. It is extremely strong to the point that Shirou initially assumes that it is his main Noble Phantasm. It has a strong innate Magic Resistance, and it is durable enough to block Tsubame Gaeshi and numerous strong blows from Saber simply by protecting his head with his hands. He eventually stops playing around despite his armor not being in any danger of giving out to her attacks. Shirou believes she would have been able to slash through it if she were to relaunch her barrage of attacks. He claims that he does not need it while playing around, and that it is only crucial for guarding against evil spirits like petrifying serpents, due to it being anti-petrification equipment, and gigantic bulls.

One of his Noble Phantasms grant Gilgamesh the ability to levitate high into the air, to the point of being able to casually float over 100 meters above the opponent and remain perfectly still while having an all-out battle with Enkidu. He is capable of freely controlling it, allowing him to briefly descend to the ground before quickly returning to the air shortly after.

He did not have any abilities to resist magecraft during life, so he only gains Magic Resistance as the class ability of the Archer class. He obtains C rank under Tokiomi, allowing him to completely nullify magecraft under two verses, but he is still susceptible to High Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals. It is lowered under Kirei due to his lack of magical energy, and remains at only the minimal level, rank E, that provides light damage mitigation against magecraft rather than full neutralization. The state of his Magic Resistance matters little, as he is able to neutralize most magecraft with his many items that defend against it. His armor and a shield are able to repel A rank magecraft with ease. Overall, he is much more likely to simply unleash a raging wave of Noble Phantasms against "mongrels" impeding the king by attempting to use large-scale spells, completely crushing them without even giving them the time to cast.

Although he does not normally have an aptitude for Magecraft, he has several mystic codes of great power that allows him to cast spells of considerable strength, such as his "spellbook", a stone tablet capable of casting runes, and countless magic staves capable of using Magic from the Age of the Gods, which vary to flaring magecraft-based fire attacks, launching magecraft-based homing light attacks, and surging magecraft-based lightning attacks.

### Independent Action

Gilgamesh has a high rank of Independent Action, rank A, allowing him to easily utilize his Noble Phantasms and remain in the world without Tokiomi's backup. He is able to easily ignore his Master's orders, making it possible to stroll around without making his Master aware of his whereabouts. The only way to command him is through the use of Command Spells, but his disposition that does not even contain an ounce of respect for his Master makes utilizing them idly a bad move. Utilizing Noble Phantasms of great power does require backup from his Master.

After being materialized, he gains the rank of A+, completely setting him apart from the rest of the Servants by allowing him to operate without a Master. Exceeding his previous rank, the support of the Master is unnecessary even while unleashing a large amount of magical power. It is an ability that bends the rules, and it allows for his continued materialization as a Servant even after the conclusion of the Holy Grail War for ten years. While he was always able to operate without regard for his Master, gaining a physical body is what allowed for him to remain materialized after the Holy Grail War. While he accepts energy supplied by Kirei from a number of orphans, he claims that the act was unnecessary overall.

### Incarnation

Gilgamesh is doused in a torrent of the black mud, the incarnation of All the World's Evil, spilling from the Holy Grail during the Fourth War. His body is instantly broken down and absorbed into it, becoming one with the flow. Servants are normally corrupted and blackened upon contact, but Gilgamesh is unable to be controlled or blackened due to his powerful ego that can stave back the mental pollution. He claims that someone would need at least three times that amount to even think about affecting him. However, the incarnation inevitably makes his human side resonate with the people of the era, making him much more destructive and impulsive in the Fifth Holy Grail War compared to the Fourth.

It is normally impossible for correctness and affirmations to exist with the cursed vortex of hatred because all has determined that everything is ugly and hateful, so the words "yes" and "that is right" appearing within is an anomaly. It does not allow the existence of "entities", so such a thing should not be possible. It questions these affirmations, and gets a response. Gilgamesh, as the king, will acknowledge that the world was originally such a way, he will permit it to be so, and he will bear the burden of sin for the entire world. It then asks "what is a king?", causing a contradiction in that it admitted there was someone else within it.

Gilgamesh is recognized as a strange foreign object that cannot exist, and the King, a presence that is an absolute controller that has no equal, announces his presence and frees himself from the mud. The only change after being temporarily absorbed is that the saturation converts his spiritual body to one of flesh and blood like the blackened Servants. It could not digest him even after utilizing all of its hatred, so it crystallized the impurity within itself and abandoned it. He was given a corporeal body and regurgitated back into the present world. Becoming completely incarnated, he continued to survive as an existence with a physical body.

Due to the connection, the Grail attempts to turn him into a host in Unlimited Blade Works in a last ditch effort to survive even though a Servant cannot become its core. It opens a black void on his body that proceeds to instantly swallow him. He managed to partially escape, but needs an anchor to keep from being sucked in completely. It begins to melt his body in various places, and the void shrinks into nothingness after he sinks into it.

During Heaven's Feel after being devoured by Sakura, she quickly converted him to mana in haste because she was afraid he might tear her up from the inside if she does not digest him. It also has to do with the power behind the curse, as the "mud" cut off from the main body that he managed to "beautifully escape" and the "shadow" connected to the thing itself are of different quality. There is also the effect Sakura has as the Grail itself, as he was materialized under the Grail System. Regardless if he is incarnated or spiritual, he cannot resist the Grail, and due to the large amount of mana she absorbed from him, she buckled like a broken dam.