Chapter 245: Emiya: I'm Not Sure If I Can Do It Either
Upon realizing the cruel fact that his Domain, no matter what he did, could hardly affect Emiya's [Reality Marble], Ryomen Sukuna unhesitatingly retracted the range of his Domain, maintaining it within a distance of less than a few meters around his body.
From a technical perspective, this represented an ultimate level of control and skill that many sorcerers could never hope to achieve in their entire lives. After all, most people spend half their lives just to master the basic skill of [Domain Expansion]; how could they possibly develop new derivations based on such a trump card?
The prerequisite for effort to bridge a gap is that the technique must allow for repeated deduction and practice... but setting aside whether a sorcerer can master a Domain at all, even after they have truly mastered it, how are they supposed to familiarize themselves with this ability through repeated practice?
Under normal circumstances, any sorcerer can only release a [Domain Expansion] at most once a day, and the duration of that Domain rarely exceeds the three-minute limit. The final outcome must be decided within those three minutes.
Foundational skills like swordsmanship and the fine manipulation of cursed energy can indeed be refined and familiarized through constant effort and training. But how can one improve a Domain that can only be used once a day through repetitive training?
Furthermore, being a jujutsu sorcerer is an undeniably high-risk profession; one frequently falls into difficult predicaments and battles. Who would dare to waste their trump card casually under such circumstances?
If you lack talent, just repeat it—this type of effort, which is quite suitable for most fields, does not apply to a sorcerer's Domain.
In this cruel and real jujutsu world, talent accounts for at least eighty percent or more of one's eventual achievement. Even setting aside other factors, an [Innate Technique] is something determined purely by birth; no matter how much effort you put in later, it is utterly beyond help.
A talent-type player like Satoru Gojo was destined to stand at the peak almost from the moment he was born. Back then, didn't the curse users who delusionally wanted to resolve him while he was still a child end up being scared off simply by the pressure the young Gojo radiated?
Even Ryomen Sukuna himself has said that he was an anomaly born with four arms and four eyes... While this might not be a good thing in other respects, in a jujutsu world that focuses purely on "curses," he could be considered a veritable [Child of Curses]. Even if the family that birthed him saw him as an ill omen, they might not have had the ability to dispose of a fellow like Sukuna, who carried a "curse" from the moment of his birth.
Therefore, the reason Sukuna was able to master such excellent technical skills was not primarily due to how hard he studied them, but rather due to an indisputable point—unquestionable talent. And because he was born a thousand years ago when techniques were several times more developed, he possessed a crushing lead in skill over modern sorcerers.
For true geniuses, what limits them is never an advantage in skill, but rather an advantage in information. A feat like manipulating the shape of a Domain might seem like an insurmountable chasm to normal sorcerers, but to someone like Satoru Gojo...
Don't ask him how he views such skills; because he possesses the [Six Eyes], he only needs to take a single glance to replicate that technique for manipulating a Domain in every detail and claim it as his own.
But one must admit that this technique of shrinking the Domain to ensure its strength is exceptionally useful. Once Ryomen Sukuna fully consolidated [Malevolent Shrine] around his body, the output capability of the entire Domain soared accordingly, reaching a truly terrifying level.
For instance, the "slash" ability is an undeniably offensive technique, but under Sukuna's manipulation, the airtight slashes were confined entirely within a small Domain, with not a shred of excess power leaking out.
In this state, the Domain—which light itself could not enter—was encompassed into a bizarre black spherical object, simultaneously grinding away the sword rains attacking from all directions.
Under the joint erosion of hundreds or thousands of slashes, not a single blade could break through to Sukuna's side; they couldn't even enter the Domain. While other people's Domains are strong on the inside and weak on the outside, Sukuna's Domain couldn't even be breached from the exterior. An originally offensive technique was now being used by Sukuna as a special ability that combined both super-offensive and super-defensive properties.
Before today, Sukuna had never even used his Domain in such a way... This was entirely a burst of potential forced out by Emiya.
Although by comparison, the cursed energy consumption of Sukuna's full-power Domain was definitely greater than Emiya's (who required no consumption to wield the sword rain), Sukuna believed that as long as he closed the distance to Emiya, the tide of battle would be immediately reversed by him.
To this, Emiya's response was quite simple: the Noble Phantasm in his hand—Durlindana Pilum (The Indestructible Ultimate Spear).
The moment he called out the True Name of the Noble Phantasm, Emiya raised the weapon—which had transformed from a blade into a long spear—high and threw it violently toward the direction of the charging Sukuna.
At this moment, the distance between Emiya and Sukuna was less than a hundred meters, and the javelin's travel speed was exceptionally fast. In an instant, it bypassed the sword rain further ahead and arrived directly before Sukuna's Domain.
Sukuna himself was naturally aware of the incoming attack, but he did not believe his Domain could be broken by such a simple single strike. Moreover, even if he wanted to dodge, a Domain operating at such high speeds didn't have that much evasive mobility; it could at most shift slightly to either side using the front as a pivot point.
Thus, in the next instant, the Noble Phantasm released by Emiya collided with Sukuna's Domain as a matter of course...
BOOM!!!
The power generated by the collision was even more terrifying than imagined. The visible shockwave even disrupted the nearby blades that were still flying in, causing them to lose their aim and plant themselves randomly across the snowfield.
The moment the tip of the spear touched the surface of the Domain, countless [Dismantle] slashes aimed at inanimate objects began to ceaselessly destroy the surface of the spearhead. But it was all meaningless; the spear stubbornly pierced into the seemingly impenetrable Domain.
Following this, the slashes continuously applied to the shaft of the spear failed to snap it, allowing the spear to force its way into the innermost part of the Domain, straight toward Ryomen Sukuna's heart.
After this high-powered attack was completed, the snowfield around Sukuna was cleared once again. Simultaneously, the "Perfect Domain" that Sukuna had struggled to maintain stopped its endless slashing, revealing his figure hidden within the barrier once more.
The tip of the spear was now firmly embedded in Sukuna's heart. Even though its surface was covered in scars that looked ready to snap it completely, it stubbornly held on until the final moment of its mission.
If it weren't for the fact that the countless slashes—though failing to destroy the spear—had reduced its momentum with force from different directions as it entered the Domain, Sukuna would have been pinned firmly to the ground by the spear right now, rather than clamping it tightly with his palms just a moment before it could fully transfix him.
"...!"
Sukuna quite bluntly spat out a large mouthful of blood before yanking the spear blade out of his heart.
Ignoring the massive hole in his chest that even allowed a view of the scene behind him, Sukuna wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked up at Emiya again, praising him:
"Well done. To think you still had this move up your sleeve... What is this?"
So far, all the means he had released had been neutralized by Emiya in various ways, but Sukuna did not yet feel completely powerless because of it; he was still enjoying the battle. It might be that his thousand-year "prison life" had affected him so much that instead of feeling fear, his heart was full of desire for a strong enemy and curiosity toward these unknown abilities.
"Durlindana Pilum (The Indestructible Ultimate Spear). Legend says it was used by the hero Hector, who was active in the Trojan War in Greek mythology. It is a throwing spear capable of piercing through all things.
As for its true form, you should already be familiar with it: the Holy Sword Durandal.
Hector was the previous owner of the Holy Sword Durandal before Roland. However, compared to swordsmanship, this hero was more proficient in using this throwing spear, which is formed by extending the blade to a certain degree."
Facing the doubt expressed by Sukuna, Emiya chose to kindly explain the origin of the spear.
In fact, another Noble Phantasm Emiya was quite skilled with, Rho Aias (The Seven Rings that Cover the Fiery Heavens), was also closely related to this throwing spear. The true form of Rho Aias was the shield of the hero Ajax used during the Trojan War. Precisely because it defended against the spear of the great Trojan hero Hector—which was said to be unblockable—it was thereafter passed down as a [Conceptual Weapon] known for absolute defense against throwing weapons, sublimating into the most powerful Noble Phantasm in that field.
Furthermore, another Noble Phantasm Emiya had used before, Gáe Bolg (The Spear of Impaling Barbed Death), could also switch from a melee form to a throwing-type Noble Phantasm just like Durandal. In fact, the former possesses even greater destructive power than the latter.
In the memories of "Heroic Spirit EMIYA," there was an instance where he used Rho Aias for defense, only to have all seven layers of protection broken by Gáe Bolg (The Spear of Striking Flight)—a feat that the Indestructible Ultimate Spear never achieved in mythology.
In terms of both piercing ability and wide-range lethality, Gáe Bolg is entirely superior to Durlindana Pilum. However, in the current scenario, the latter proved to be slightly more suitable than the former.
This is because the effect of Gáe Bolg when used as a throwing weapon is to scatter countless barbs around the opponent to attack, creating an effect similar to carpet bombing... and Emiya wasn't sure if that kind of attack could truly break through Sukuna's Domain. Therefore, the best choice became Durlindana Pilum, a Noble Phantasm that inherited Durandal's "indestructible" property, to break through the opponent's seemingly invincible defensive line.
The facts had proven Emiya's choice to be entirely correct.
"What's this? Why is it another one of those nonsensical mythological stories?
If those mythological figures you speak of truly existed, then humans in the past wouldn't have lived in such fear of cursed spirits... Compared to things like that, so-called cursed spirits are simply not worth mentioning."
Regarding this Noble Phantasm that could break through his Domain and subsequently wound him severely, Sukuna naturally offered nothing but praise, for he knew the truth of the matter. Even a cursed spirit like Jogo—the strongest currently—would likely not be able to survive a single strong Noble Phantasm, let alone the Heroic Spirits who mastered them in legend.
Facing such skepticism from Sukuna, Emiya found it somewhat difficult to explain. He couldn't exactly tell the other party that the world he was talking about and the world the other party understood were not the same at all, could he?
In that case, there would be too much to quibble over, which didn't fit Emiya's original philosophy of wanting to settle things quickly.
"So, after saying all that, what exactly are you trying to express?" Emiya asked as a matter of course, instead of answering the question directly.
"What? Are you asking for the meaning behind my expression?"
"Hmm, let me think..."
Sukuna tilted his head, appearing to be in a state of deep thought, but then suddenly, in the next instant, he grinned and held the spear he had pulled from his heart in front of him, gripping its shaft tightly with one palm.
CRACK!
Accompanied by the continuous infusion of cursed energy and the power of his technique, this Noble Phantasm—which should have been indestructible by any means—let out a wail at the end of its rope before shattering into fragments all over the ground.
"The meaning I wanted to express is this!
If you can't bring out an attack that is powerful enough, then I will take the victory of this battle as a matter of course, and then kill every human within my sight.
This massive barrier must be consuming a huge amount of your cursed energy at every moment, right? Based on your current state, how much longer can you truly hold out?
If you want to beat me, attacks like that are still far from enough... Up until now, my cursed energy consumption is entirely within a controllable range, but what about yours?"
This was one of the reasons Ryomen Sukuna remained so confident. The cursed energy he possessed was several times more terrifying than a cursed spirit like Dagon; under normal
circumstances, he never had to worry about running out of energy, and he had never experienced such a feeling.
As long as his cursed energy remained sufficient, his [Reverse Cursed Technique] could be activated endlessly. So what if he was temporarily at a disadvantage in the fight? He would only become more excited as the battle progressed, but a human could never do that.
Regarding such a massive and terrifying [Reality Marble], Sukuna did not believe Emiya could use it without any burden. Even if there were no terrible conditions or [Binding Vows], its energy consumption must be horrifically large. Even if the battle simply continued as it was now, the only person who would win in the end would be himself.
"Does it take an attack powerful enough to resolve the current situation...?"
Emiya was not angered by Sukuna's provocation; instead, he quite seriously considered the possibility within the other's words.
"If you're talking about a truly powerful attack method, there actually is one.
It's just that I'm not quite sure if I can project this move in its entirety..."
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