Chapter 244: Durlindana Pilum
Two distinct Domains can never coexist. This is not merely due to the explicit hostility between the casters; the more fundamental reason lies in the very nature of barriers. This is a point that truly cannot be changed.
While Kenjaku had deployed several overlapping barriers in Shibuya to trap non-sorcerers and divide the sorcerers' battle lines, those barriers did not actually exist in the same dimension. They were multiple "circles" that encompassed one another without intersecting, allowing them to exist simultaneously within a vast space.
However, barrier-based Domains cannot achieve this.
As explained long ago, in the jujutsu world, the essence of a Domain is the "manifestation of the mental world," which interferes with the state of space to a certain degree—an ineffably complex process.
No two people in the world are exactly alike. Even the memories of "Shirou Emiya" that Emiya himself witnessed cannot be lumped together as one. The simplest proof is that Emiya is merely another possibility of "Heroic Spirit EMIYA" who did not become a Counter Guardian, yet their [Reality Marbles] are entirely different. One is a wasteland with hanging, burning gears; the other is a world covered in ice and snow.
Even the issue that had been troubling Emiya was the rejection reaction caused by his "displacement" with Heroic Spirit EMIYA.
When two completely different mental worlds appear in the same space, the only result is a life-or-death struggle.
If Domains did not repel each other, then wouldn't two sorcerers who mastered Domains simply need to stand on the same front to easily wipe out most enemies in the world? After all, aside from a few cursed spirits, almost no one in the jujutsu world can truly tank a technique's attack with their physical body. When two Domains are deployed simultaneously, with two types of sure-hit techniques attacking from different angles, a fatal strike becomes inevitable for anyone unable to react in time.
Even if an opponent tried to resist with their own Domain, unless they possessed overwhelming strength, how could one person's Domain compete with the combined output of two?
Therefore, in reality, a situation where two Domains coexist or overlap due to some reason almost never occurs.
When two different Domains are deployed at once, the best-case scenario is that both sides occupy half the space. To maintain this stalemate, both casters must continuously pour cursed energy into their Domains. Once one side's cursed energy output begins to falter, the other's Domain will immediately begin to cover and swallow it.
It is like water and lava flowing toward the same spot from different directions; because of their properties and temperature differences, they cannot coexist. The side with greater volume will swallow the weaker side, and both will suffer massive depletion in the process.
Once the stage of "Domain Clashing" is reached, it means the battle has entered its final, white-hot phase, and a victor is about to be decided. Once their Domains are expanded, there is no longer any possibility of showing weakness. If one side's Domain is swallowed, they will fall into a state of [Technique Burnout] because their barrier was forcibly dismantled, immediately losing most of their combat capability.
When one has lost their primary means of combat while trapped inside an enemy's Domain, failure and death become an immediate certainty.
Thus, a situation where a Domain is completely swallowed by another is rare. Even if one falls behind in the clash, the disadvantaged party will struggle to maintain their Domain. Even if their Domain is squeezed into a tenth or even a smaller fraction of the space, they must hold it. Only by possessing your own Domain while inside an enemy's can there be any possibility of resistance; otherwise, no matter how much you struggle, you are basically facing a dead end.
In cases where the strength gap is too vast, a weak Domain might not even be able to maintain itself, being annihilated by the stronger party in an instant. For example, if Jogo's [Coffin of the Iron Mountain] and Satoru Gojo's [Unlimited Void] were expanded simultaneously, the former's Domain would likely be drowned by the latter in an instant, and Jogo would have his head cruelly twisted off.
From Ryomen Sukuna's perspective, since Emiya had already introduced the [Reality Marble] as a manifestation of "inner scenery"... in his understanding, this was virtually no different from a mental world; it was just a different way of saying it.
From a dialectical perspective, the truth was indeed close to what Sukuna imagined, but things did not develop according to his fantasy.
According to Sukuna's original thought, since both a Domain and Emiya's [Reality Marble] were manifestations of the mental world, then by using a Domain—also a manifestation of will—to neutralize it, he should at least be able to achieve an interference effect.
In Sukuna's own judgment, even though the combat power Emiya was currently showing was strong (having pressed the attack in the early stages of the fight), that was only because Sukuna hadn't felt much like counterattacking. Their true combat capabilities should be roughly equal. This was especially so considering he still had several fingers in the outside world that he hadn't absorbed yet... That was why Sukuna had remained so confident.
But at this moment, the cruel reality was telling him that all his previous assumptions were wrong. His Domain had absolutely no effect on Emiya's [Reality Marble].
The crucial point wasn't just that a Domain couldn't negate a [Reality Marble], but that if a Domain couldn't even form a confrontation with it, then none of the techniques he mastered could likely be placed on the same level as a [Reality Marble].
The terrifying thing was not the strength of the enemy or the gap between them, but the unknown. He could not even understand the nature of the technique Emiya was using, let alone find a way to resist this [Reality Marble].
Did this mean that as long as Emiya didn't want to release the restraint of the [Reality Marble], Sukuna would be trapped in this unknown barrier until the other party was willing to let him out?
He didn't know how to counter a [Reality Marble] on a corresponding level, he didn't know how long Emiya could maintain it, and he didn't know if those previous sword rains could be released indefinitely until the moment he completely lost his ability to resist.
This was what Emiya meant by "the things Ryomen Sukuna cannot comprehend."
He had already felt a hint of panic the moment he realized his Domain was useless. When Emiya unhesitatingly spoke out and punctured his confidence, that faint panic was immediately converted by Sukuna into an even greater outburst of shame and rage.
His pride—no, his arrogance—could tolerate others insulting him, but it could never tolerate his own morale weakening invisibly.
"Fear?!
You actually dare to say I'd feel fear toward things I can't understand... What of it! So what if your ability is truly a type I've never seen before?!
Looking at it another way, I have absolutely no need to understand a technique that will ultimately be eliminated by me, and even less need to be curious about a human who is destined to be killed by me!
Feast your eyes on exactly what my Domain is capable of!!!"
Ryomen Sukuna's Domain featured no flashy special effects upon expansion; it was simply a darkness so deep it seemed ready to swallow everything. Even after a successful expansion, the ground was merely a pool of stagnant water that couldn't even kick up a ripple.
However, within Emiya's [Reality Marble], his Domain had lost any ability to infect the surrounding environment. All it could barely maintain was that single towering shrine behind him. Compared to the vast, infinite snowfield, this shrine looked quite laughable.
This pitiful bit of "face" was only preserved because Sukuna's Domain was of the "open" type. Otherwise, even that lone shrine might not have remained within Emiya's barrier—just like Jogo, who back then could sense the Domain but was completely unable to manifest it.
This unclosed barrier was actually a type of [Binding Vow] in the technical sense: exchanging the condition of "giving the opponent an escape route" for a sure-hit effect and a massive coverage radius, allowing Sukuna's Domain to easily reach over a hundred meters.
Because of the added sure-hit effect, [Cleave], which requires contact with the enemy, could be manifested directly on the opponent's body. Under such a premise, no one could successfully escape a hundred meters away once his Domain was successfully deployed.
Even if someone countered him with their own Domain, it didn't matter. This unclosed, massive barrier allowed Sukuna to extend his Domain beyond others' barriers in an even more exaggerated fashion, attacking from the relatively thin exterior of the other sorcerer's Domain to gain an absolute advantage in the clash.
Unfortunately, this time, the poor soul whose Domain was encompassed by another was himself.
The only method Sukuna could think of for now to resist the [Reality Marble] was to extend his Domain as much as possible to destroy everything within sight. A barrier this massive must require energy as support; it was impossible for it to incur zero wear and tear... This was Sukuna's simplest and most practical thought.
Not long ago, hadn't Dagon fallen just as miserably after Emiya used a similar method to evaporate the entire water source of his Domain?
However, Sukuna's "of course" approach was likely destined to end in disappointment.
BOOM!
Soon, under Sukuna's reckless output of cursed energy, the boundary of his Domain began to grow from the initial hundred meters, reaching nearly two hundred meters before the growth rate finally slowed down.
As Sukuna's most proud Domain, the attack method of [Malevolent Shrine] was exceptionally simple and brutal. It applied sure-hit slashes to everything within the Domain: [Dismantle] for inanimate objects and creatures without cursed energy, and [Cleave] for creatures with cursed energy. All people and things within the range of the sure-hit effect would endure endless slashes until the moment [Malevolent Shrine] disappeared.
Therefore, after Sukuna's Domain extended, all the blades planted on the snowfield, and even the snowfield itself, suffered infinite slashes.
The "slashes" generated by the technique should have had no shape or color, but because the slashes within the Domain were currently too dense, the indiscriminate technique filled every corner of the space; even light itself could not escape.
From the outside, the interior of the Domain was suddenly wrapped in dense black lines, and the objects within began to collapse and decompose, being sliced into fine powder in almost an instant.
Under this exaggerated destructive power, even those blades acting as Noble Phantasms could not escape. After a brief wail, they shattered inch by inch until they turned to dust and vanished without a trace.
In just a few short seconds, a circular crater with a diameter of over two hundred meters formed beneath Sukuna's feet. Except for the spot where he stood, there was only empty, parched ground, with no sign of the previous snowfield or the field of blades.
"How's that? Now you won't be able to laugh at all, will you?"
Having completed this full-power Domain output, Ryomen Sukuna brushed back his hair, which was wet with sweat and obstructing his vision, and looked provocatively at Emiya, who stood not far outside the crater.
In truth, this level of consumption was nothing to him—at most, it was the equivalent of a normal full-power strike. If he wished, he wouldn't feel much strain doing it dozens more times. The only key was whether it could completely resolve the enemy.
But facing this provocation, Emiya, standing atop a snow hill, merely raised his palm slightly and waved it toward Sukuna's position—
Swoosh—!
A sudden blade flickered past Ryomen Sukuna's head. Even though he jerked his head back in time, a tiny bloody scratch was carved onto his face by the sharp blade qi.
Emiya was clearly telling him that his actions were laughable; they hadn't shaken the true [Reality Marble] in the slightest, and those consumed blades meant nothing at all. After all, this [Unlimited Blade Works] was worthy of being called a "World." What kind of "World" would consist of only a measly two hundred meters? The ground and blades destroyed by Sukuna seemed like a lot, but compared to the entire "World," they were ultimately just a drop in the bucket.
"You... you... you bastard!!!"
After receiving this undeniable insult, Sukuna—who had finally managed to regain some face—was instantly ignited like a powder keg.
He stomped down violently, and the stone pillar beneath him, which was already struggling to stand alone, shattered into countless fragments, serving as the momentum for Sukuna to charge toward Emiya. The boundary of [Malevolent Shrine] couldn't yet touch Emiya's position, but fortunately, an open Domain had another advantage: the center of the Domain could move with the caster. Although it would consume an excessive amount of cursed energy, the current Sukuna clearly didn't care about that.
"Trace on!"
It didn't matter if the nearby blades had been destroyed by Sukuna. With a slight wave of Emiya's hand, hundreds of blades were summoned again from further away, forming another rain of swords that stabbed toward Sukuna.
This rain of swords was even more terrifying than the previous two. Dense blades continuously surged from all directions, with only one goal: Ryomen Sukuna, who was charging at high speed toward Emiya.
"[Dismantle]!!!"
At a time like this, the advantage of having four hands was immediately apparent. Sukuna only needed to use his two lower hands to form mudras to constantly maintain and change the release range of the Domain, using continuous slashes to wear down the sword rain flying toward him.
But this method only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. It couldn't bring much change to his situation. As long as Emiya wanted to, he could fight a war of attrition within the [Reality Marble], using infinite blades to gradually wear away this Domain that could only be used for defense.
In truth, you couldn't blame Sukuna for not understanding the properties of a [Reality Marble]. Even if he clearly knew the principles and operation of a [Reality Marble], it would be meaningless. In the world of Magecraft, there are plenty of people who understand a [Reality Marble] better than the user themselves—but how many can actually resolve it head-on?
Even among first-rate Heroic Spirits, one who cannot release a [Reality Marble] can easily be completely suppressed by one who can, provided the latter isn't so low on mana that they cannot fully release their ultimate move.
Under normal circumstances, only one thing can target a [Reality Marble]: a special [Anti-World Noble Phantasm].
Regrettably, that was something Sukuna couldn't even imagine, let alone possess.
And there was one more important point: what Emiya mastered within [Unlimited Blade Works] wasn't just those infinite swords, but—more importantly—many powerful Noble Phantasms that could only exist for a moment in the outside world.
Realizing that a simple sword rain could no longer restrain Sukuna's movements, Emiya raised the blade in his other hand high, letting its hilt extend continuously until it transformed into something near the shape of a spear.
"Target confirmed. Coordinate angle fixed...
—Durlindana Pilum (The Indestructible Ultimate Spear)!"
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!
Read ahead and finish this fanfiction by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting