Noble Phantasm
Gate of Babylon
Japanese name:	ゲート・オブ・バビロン
Title:	King's Treasure
Japanese title:	王の財宝
Transliteration:	Ō no Zaihō
Owner:	Gilgamesh
Type:	Anti-Unit
Rank:	E ~ A++
Range:	-

The Gate of Babylon: King's Treasure (王の財宝ゲート・オブ・バビロン, Ō no ZaihōGēto obu Babiron^?) is a dark red, key-shaped shortsword that connects to the "Golden Capital", the treasury of Gilgamesh, allowing the user to easily access its contents. It connects the space of reality to the vault, opening an "invisible door" that allows for the contents to pass through upon the user's command. The items that pass through the gate form ripples in the empty air as they appear. They can be summoned anywhere, either directly to the users hands or anywhere in the direct vicinity. The rank changes from E to A++ due to reflecting on the ranks of the various contents of the treasury, and it is also once referred to as an EX ranked Noble Phantasm during Fate/Zero due to containing Ea. The Gate becomes more powerful as the wealth of the owner increases, but if the treasury does not contain a wealth of valuables, then it will not be a useful Noble Phantasm. There is probably a Road of Babylon as well. ^[1]

Holding the key vertically in the air and turning it, the parts around its grip begin to rotate, start to glow, and then settle. It releases a large, labyrinth-like, red pattern that can be seen covering the sky from a great distance away, and then it recedes into a small orb. This Noble Phantasm is the reason that Gilgamesh is of the Archer class, and it was first utilized as such during his first battle with Enkidu. The weapons contained in his treasury become bullets upon his command, making him an archer with the strongest arrows. He generally readies numerous weapons at a time, either just letting their hilts stick slightly out of the gate or letting them levitate in the air behind him. Upon snapping his fingers, the seemingly infinite number of weapons can be fired without pause. They move and take aim at the target according to Gilgamesh's will, allowing him to fire without having to even touch them. Each weapon has the ability to cause certain death to an opponent, and they are shot with enough force to repel a swing from Berserker's large axe-sword. While it is possible to block many of the strikes, to do so without knowing the abilities of the weapons can be seen as suicidal.

He starts out with lower numbers of weapons, but increases the number of weapons fired in a volley depending on the amount of respect or anger he feels towards his target. He uses as little as one or two at first while playing with his opponents, but can easily summon over eighty for a single strike when he is serious. Upon firing them, he can allow them to pierce the ground after striking the target, causing a large amount of destruction with each weapon, or he can instantly return them to the vault faster than Shirou Emiya can even perceive during the Fate route. He utilizes a Noble Phantasm to retrieve any weapons left on the battlefield, instantly dissipating and returning them to the vault.^[2] He can leave them out if he wishes, such as when they've been "stained" by striking Caster's summoned creature. The ability to fire the weapons yields an excellent ratio of destructive power to magic energy efficiency due to the cost of prana used to fire the Noble Phantasms as bullets being relatively low. The only real prana usage lies with the Gate of Babylon's activation cost.^[3]

He generally fights at long range, though he will wield a single weapon in close combat if he feels confident in his victory. He makes use of the many unknown abilities of the weapons, and constantly switches them to keep his opponent off guard. He can fire at an opponent from extremely close range as well, loosing weapons from above, below, and to the side. Still, he is not a swordsman, so he is easily outclassed if an opponent is skilled at close combat. Against something like Unlimited Blade Works, which allows for weapons to be drawn and fired slightly faster than the Gate of Babylon, Gilgamesh finds himself easily outclassed and overwhelmed when forced to fight in close combat.

ContentsEdit

Gilgamesh collected and stored away samples of all the technology that was developed during his age, making his favorite phrase, "I collected all the treasures of the earth", not an exaggeration or metaphor.^[4] The treasury contains all of the treasures of the world that he collected during his life, from the finest wine and golden drinking cups to divine mysteries from nearly every legend. As anything can be found within the vault, the amount of wealth within exceeds even his own knowledge.^[5][6] The desires of ancient humans were similar to those of the current age, so their technology, bolstered by the magical energy being alive and well, was not inferior to that of the modern age. The "Instruments of Hope" that people dreamed of were all realized, and because every single case was requisitioned by the King's hand, his collection is even furnished with airplanes and submarines.^[7]

That within are not merely riches, but his collection is the very "origins of human wisdom." That which is missing from the vault would be items produced with completely new concepts by a new human race, and items produced with extraterrestrial intelligence and technology.^[7] He is the original hero, so all heroes of various myths are derived from his legend. It may be a paradox, but he, as the original, must possess that which can be handed down as the Noble Phantasms possessed by those later heroes derived from him for that reason.^[7] These weapons are technically nameless, the original Prototypes of the Noble Phantasms (すべての宝具の原型, Subete no Hōgu no Genkei^?) and the common points before they became objects of faith that act as the foundations for their legends. They are the original models of every legend, myth, and folklore, besides those like Excalibur, Kavacha and Kundala, and Vasavi Shakti, which Gilgamesh takes an interest in owning.

The weaponry contained within includes swords, pole-arms, lances, hammers, shields, demonic swords that later made their way to Europe and South America, and a number of weapons unidentifiable to Shirou from sight, all of which form a perfect treasury of masses of unused weapons that simply went to sleep with the king. He owns the treasured swords that saved later heroes and the cursed swords that stole the lives of heroes, and their numbers are approximately infinite.^[7] After Gilgamesh's death, the contents were spread all over the world after being passed on or stolen, and the treasure, valued because they were splendid swords, eventually became Noble Phantasms.

Shirou states that the quality of the weapons makes the Noble Phantasms used by others look like fakes themselves. While Cú Chulainn has the Gáe Bolg that became famous, Gilgamesh possesses a weapon that later became the Gáe Bolg, but wasn't famous at the time Gilgamesh owned it. The only item contained in the vault that was not passed on to another user than Gilgamesh is Ea, a sword unique to only Gilgamesh. Shirou claims that even though he cannot see them all, he can feel that their numbers are infinite. If weapons of a previous incarnation meet those that descended from them, such as Gram facing Caliburn, the deteriorated newer model will generally always lose.

It contains numerous A rank weapons, capable of piercing God Hand dozens of times to take eleven of Berserker's lives and then piercing him with twenty-three more weapons afterward. Just a single weapon is enough to pierce Caster's strongest shield, and keep any other another Servant on the defensive. The numerous weapons contain various different effects and abilities, allowing him to assault the weaknesses of any Servant. This places him at an advantage over most Servants in combat, such as attacking with a weapon strong against a certain attribute or assaulting a Servant with a weapon they were specifically weak against during life.

Named itemsEdit

• Caladbolg
• Dainsleif (ダインスレフ, Dainsurefu^?) is a demonic sword from the Nibelungen, a cursed Noble Phantasm that contains a powerful curse of "reparation" to be used on its target that also drives the fate of its possessor to ruin. It is a demonic sword handed down the family that killed the Northern European hero Sigurd, and it originally among one of the weapons hoarded by the dragon Fafnir. While demonic and holy swords carry with them both glory and destruction, Dainslef is said to only bring the latter onto its master.
• Durandal: The Peerless Sword (絶世の名剣デュランダル, Zessei no MeikenDeyurandaru^?) is the holy sword favored by the paladin leader of the Twelve Peers, Roland. It was granted to king Charlemagne by an angel, and awarded to Roland. It is a dazzling sword that possesses three miracles that allow it to maintain its sharpness even after its possessor's prana is depleted. It is a symbol of power splendidly forged much like Caliburn.
• Ea - Ea is the most powerful weapon inside the Gate of Babylon, and it is the one favored by Gilgamesh. He is able to use a rain of weapons to keep the opponent off-guard while preparing to use it.
• Enkidu
• Gáe Bolg
• Gram (グラム, Guramu^?) is the sword of the sun wielded by Sigurd, the greatest hero of Northern Europe in the Völsunga saga. It is a demonic sword of glory and destruction that is the model of Caliburn in the legend of King Aurthur and also based on Merodach. Their true natures, the ideas behind their creation, and their souls are very similar. As Caliburn was a "sword stuck in the stone that chooses the king", Gram was also a chosen sword of appointment lodged in the mighty tree of the king of Volsung. The legend of Gram and its master, Sigurd, is a tale ripe with glory and destruction fitting the great hero. The later composed Middle Ages Germany retelling, Der Ring des Nibelungen, is a story of a knight equal to the legend of King Arthur with Gram appearing with its name changed to Balmung. It is the greatest of enchanted swords rivaling the greatest of holy blades, and is even equipped with special dragon slaying attributes damaging towards people such as the king of knights who is the incarnation of a dragon. It uses the same ability as Caliburn, a light the burns away everything it touches, that took seven of Berserker's lives.
• Harpe
• Herb of Immortality is the source of immortality that Gilgamesh sought after the death of Enkidu. He had planned to collect it even before coming to fear death in order to add it to his collection. The sage who he had originally sought in Kigal, the underworld, had simply become a god, so the sage instead told him of the root of a herb that grew in the deep of Kigal that was the true secret behind immortality. It was later stolen by the snake, but it was the "restoration of youth" rather than immortality, granting snakes the property of shedding their skin. He later recollected it even after giving up immortality simply because he wished to have a rare treasure to complete his collection.^[8]
  Though he has no regular use for it, it allows him to become a child if a situation comes where such a form is needed to tolerate living, such as after the Fourth Holy Grail War to allow him to blend into society and be more sociable with those around him. The user is able to keep their memories, but it has a strange effect for Gilgamesh. He is disconnected from his child-self due to the vast differences between their personalities, so he cannot recall much of his past. Though his child-self knows of his later actions, he cannot comprehend his adult self's actions. It is also used during Fate/hollow ataraxia, and he shows the ability to forcibly reverse the effects when facing the horde of Shades.
• Houtengeki (方天畫戟, Hōtengeki^?) is a one of kind halberd passed down in Chinese culture and the only halberd out of many to attain the rank of Noble Phantasm, probably due to its use by a famous military commander. It is a polearm with many different uses such as thrusting, swiping, pulling, parrying, and various others. It also has a crescent-moon shaped blade, the crescent blade, and weapons with only one of these blades are called Seiryugeki. It is said that a great deal of skill is needed to handle this weapon, though its versatility and ease of use once mastering it allowed for it to be used to serve the appropriate role for any type of combatant. Its use eventually went out of favor as different dynasties rose and fell until it was revived during the Sung period as Houtengeki. It appears in Fate/Extra as God Force.
• Merodach: The Original Sin (原罪メロダック, GenzaiMerodakku^?) is the originating sword that eventually led to the legends of both Gram and later Caliburn. The word Merodach is a form of the name of Marduk, the patron god of Babylon.
• Sha Nagba Imuru: The all-knowing, all-powerful star (全知なるや全能の星シャ・ナクパ・イルム, Zenchinaru ya zennō no hoshiSha Nakupa Irumu^?) is the Noble Phantasm owned by the child form of Gilgamesh in the Fate/hollow ataraxia card game. It allows him to view some of the cards in the opponent's hand and deck. It is unknown if either form of Gilgamesh possesses it outside of the card game.

• Vajra (ヴァジュラ, Vuajura^?) is a symbol of divinity of Indra, the god of lightning from the Vedic mythology of the ancient India, and the indestructible diamond pounder (金剛杵, Kongōsho^?) weapon carried by the gods of Buddhism. Vajra was initially known by its proper name of Vjaya when Indra was first introduced to India as a phenomenon that spread from the Aryans. Along with Indra, whose name changed to Taishakuten, his divine symbol also had its name changed and became known as Vajra after the age of Buddhism as India's main religion began. It is a simple weapon that can only be shot only once for a fixed B+ rank damage separate from the user's prana supply.
• Vimana

Unnamed itemsEdit

• Axe, scythe, and scimitar with the ability to change their path after being avoided by the target, allowing them to turn around in mid-air towards the target at a speed that allows them to match the pace of a jet.
• Defensive armament that protects against the Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon that is capable of stopping Tsubame Gaeshi.^[9]

• Giant sickle able to cleave a weapon enhanced by Knight of Honor in a similar manner as Gae Dearg.
• Golden axe, drill-like weapon, lance, and swords similar to Enki utilized in close combat in Fate/Extra CCC.
• Invisible sword like Invisible Air.
• Meat that multiplies in proportion to how much is eaten.
• Mirror shield used to effortlessly repel strong magecraft.
• Poison tasting Noble Phantasm^[10]
• Retrieval-based Noble Phantasm that returns weapons to the vault no matter how far they travel.^[7]
• Seasoning and herbs, though he notes that none could make the cooking of Lancer palatable. There is an herb that can prepare the stomach for such a meal, but it causes permanent ageusia upon consumption.^[11]
• Sickle that drains away prana and deals damage while passing directly through flesh and armor without causing any actual physical damage.
• Swords and spears capable of piercing mountains.
• Swords and hammers larger than a person.
• Sword of ice that freezes the space that it cuts, allowing it to cover the target in ice even if they manage to dodge the actual strike.
• Ship that allows him to travel faster than light. It allows him to instantly return after BB sends him to the edge of the Moon Cell's Imaginary Space hundreds of lightyears away.
• Three-edged sword able to arc behind the opponent to attack them from an unguarded position.
• Wine, "the king's wine" as claimed by Gilgamesh, contained in a set of wine bottles made of heavy gold that are inset with sparkling gems. Rider believes that it could not be brewed by human hands, asking if it is a "drink of the gods", to which Gilgamesh affirms by boasting that "Whether wines or swords, only the best is stored in my treasury."

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ Fate/Side Material encyclopedia entry (p.57)
2. ↑ Fate/Extra CCC and Fate/Zero - Episode 05
3. ↑ Fate/complete material III
4. ↑ Fate/Extra CCC - Gilgamesh skills
5. ↑ Fate/Zero - “It is something that should be in my possession to start with. All the treasures in the world originate from my collection. However, because much time passed, it disappeared from my treasury. But I am still its owner.” “It’s not something you can understand. The total amount of my wealth even exceeded my knowing, but as long as it’s a ‘treasure’ then it’d obviously belong to me. You should have more sense then trying to rob my treasure away.”
6. ↑

   Fate/complete material III - Q: Does “King’s Treasure: Gate of Babylon” contain things such as rare but weak Noble Phantasms? I noticed he kept wine in there in Fate/Zero, so I was wondering if Gilgamesh’s everyday meals were in there as well.
   A: Anything can be found in there. Like a meat that multiplies in proportion to how much is eaten. He’s definitely the “NEET of Babylon.”

7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} Fate/Extra CCC - Gilgamesh profile
8. ↑ Fate/Extra CCC - Gilgamesh Secret Garden Conversation
9. ↑

   Comptiq November 2007 issue - Q: Gilgamesh has no skills in swordsmanship, would Assassin win if Gilgamesh is caught in the range of Tsubame Gaeshi?
   A: Most likely, he will just defend with his armour, or take out some really unfair defensive armament that protects against Multidimensional Refraction Phenomenon, from the Gate of Babylon. However, Gilgamesh is capable of accurately assessing his opponents' abilities, so he would not consider having a battle of swordsmanship with Assassin the first place.

10. ↑ Fate/Extra CCC - Gilgamesh: Wait. If all you require is that it be completely eaten, then you will not mind if I do so, yes? I have a poison-tasting Noble Phantasm perfectly suited for this.
11. ↑

    Fate/Extra CCC - Cooking competition

    ......Hakuno. Unfortunately, there is no seasoning in my vault that can make this palatable. There is, however, an herb that can ready your stomach, though it has the drawback of causing permanent ageusia upon consumption... Well?” Gilgamesh... Thank you. Your thoughtfulness stills my trembling. But I must vanquish this by my own hand...I mean mouth. After all, Elizabeth prepared these dishes for Kishinami Hakuno. I understand that an arduous battle awaits me. That’s why, when the day comes that I finish this meal――― won’t you come home with me to the countryside and marry me? “I applaud your resolve. Now best that fate of deathdeath flag that you have set up yourself.”