Chapter 246: That Is the Sword of Rupture
From the perspective of the jujutsu world, Ryomen Sukuna's strength was beyond question, a fact that lived up entirely to his title as the [King of Curses].
This was not just reflected in his mastery of various ancient techniques or his absolute dominance in technical skill. More importantly, it was his terrifying total volume of cursed energy—great enough to be more horrifying than "Curses" supported by the collective cursed energy of all humanity. Those who hadn't even mastered a Domain were not even qualified to stand before this King of Curses. In a true clash of Domains, the output of cursed energy remains a decisive factor that can never be changed.
Given Sukuna's comprehensive strength, his suppression of modern sorcerers was nearly absolute. If it weren't for the unique variable of Satoru Gojo making the outcome uncertain, Sukuna's crushing impact on the modern jujutsu world would be fully revealed. Even if the remaining two Special Grade sorcerers joined forces with the elite Grade 1 sorcerers, could they truly pose any decent threat to him?
Forget the fact that these sorcerers could hardly coordinate effectively; even if given ample time to devise a plausible countermeasure specifically to fight Sukuna, the final result would be entirely predictable.
This was the fearlessness brought by absolute power. Just as no one could do anything against Satoru Gojo, the "Modern Strongest," they similarly had no way to resolve this King of Curses from a thousand years ago.
Logically, such an absolute, cavernous lead should not appear in actual combat. Even if it did occur by chance in a certain era, it should be because one party possessed lost abilities or knowledge, creating a generational gap. Yet, the lead held by Sukuna and Gojo over others was absolute—so absolute that no other sorcerer or cursed spirit, whether mediocre or talented, had any hope of catching up to them.
There was no helping it; everything in the jujutsu world ignores effort or heritage, relying entirely on "talent." Whether a sorcerer comes from a clan or is born to commoners, their ultimate achievement is mostly decided at birth. Even if one is born into a massive jujutsu clan, the consequences of lacking talent are many times more miserable than for an average person. In this regard, they are inferior to the Magecraft families next door; at least those families know to let untalented members manage affairs in mundane society. Regardless, under the suppression of absolute power, the other bloodline—no matter how restless—can't brew up anything useful anyway, so why not?
Among cursed spirits, the influence of "talent" is even more severe. The extent to which any cursed spirit can grow is decided the moment they are birthed from "curses." No matter how hard they try, they can only improve their technical execution and combat awareness. However, since cursed spirits are born with uncontrollable, violent emotions, these improvements can effectively be treated as non-existent.
Unfortunately, no matter how absolute Sukuna's lead was over other sorcerers, those advantages vanished the moment he stood before Emiya.
Mastery and understanding of techniques far exceeding modern sorcerers? Emiya had no intention of clashing with him using techniques. Ability to use various ancient techniques almost no one knows? In terms of diversity, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Noble Phantasms Emiya mastered lead him by countless generations. Even the Domain Sukuna was most proud of, [Malevolent Shrine], was not in the same realm as Emiya's [Reality Marble].
Thus, taking all factors into account, the only difficult point Sukuna posed to Emiya was his exaggerated physical durability and regenerative capacity. Compared to a fellow who could move freely even with severed arms or a pierced heart—and heal those wounds completely within seconds—the [Reverse Cursed Technique] Emiya mastered seemed somewhat subpar.
After several exchanges, Emiya realized he was not suited for close-quarters combat with this opponent. Sukuna could recover from fatal wounds at extreme speeds, but Emiya could not.
If it were just that, it wouldn't matter. Emiya wouldn't become a swordsman limited to melee just because he excelled at projecting swords; don't forget that the class of "Heroic Spirit EMIYA" is often the Archer, best suited for long-range support.
However, precisely because Sukuna's physical strength and recovery were so exaggerated, most of the Noble Phantasms Emiya mastered found it difficult to inflict truly decisive lethality. If he couldn't completely incapacitate this man, then no matter how effective the battle results appeared, they were meaningless.
Using weapons like Gáe Buidhe (The Rose of Certain Death) to inhibit recovery was an option. But on one hand, the combat performance of such Noble Phantasms is inevitably lower than offensive types that can undergo True Name Release. If the latter could only cause wounds that seemed fatal but didn't stop Sukuna's movements, how could the former manage?
Sukuna was not like Kenjaku, who preferred plotting from the shadows; he was the type most skilled in brutal, close-range combat. Fighting him directly with such weapons would play right into his hands. Furthermore, even if Emiya could inflict a fatal wound with such a weapon, what would happen to Yuji Itadori's body? While Gáe Buidhe can have its curse lifted by destroying the weapon, not all similar Noble Phantasms operate that way.
Therefore, after weighing everything, the most perfect method was the one Sukuna himself suggested: using an absolutely powerful attack to suppress him into a state where he could not resist at all.
Grinding him down with sword rain was possible, but [Unlimited Blade Works] could not be maintained indefinitely. He had to use a decisive attack to end the battle.
Given that the dozen or so fingers currently in Yuji's body represented the majority of Sukuna's power, even if discarding that portion wouldn't heavily affect his ethereal soul, he would never have the courage to abandon that strength. After discarding it, a Sukuna with only single-digit fingers might still be strong, but he would lose the power to crush all modern sorcerers. Moreover, the Emiya of that moment might not allow the remaining fingers to continue existing... he could likely figure out a way to destroy Special Grade cursed objects.
For now, Emiya only needed a sufficiently powerful output-type Noble Phantasm—one that could break through all of Sukuna's defenses and attacks, suppressing his body and recovery with absolute majesty.
To deny his own failure, Sukuna would surely exhaust all his power to counter this suppressive attack. By then, whether Sukuna fell into a coma like last time or became too weak to continue, it would be convenient for Emiya to awaken Yuji's consciousness.
"Is that so? I'm quite curious to see what kind of attack you can pull off."
Even though the battle had consistently ended in his failure so far, Sukuna's negative emotions were quickly replaced by excitement after his initial annoyance.
There was no helping it; this battle was far too novel for him. Just as the original Satoru Gojo felt a hunter's joy upon meeting Emiya, it was the same for Sukuna. Having an equal opponent for a hearty battle was exactly what he desired, especially since Emiya's abilities were of types he had never heard of. This satisfaction from witnessing novelty was much stronger than a bit of frustration. As the King of Curses, he had already experienced everything others find pleasurable a thousand years ago.
The Noble Phantasms Emiya was using were things he had never seen or experienced. Besides, he couldn't truly be defeated by an attack of this level. As long as he maintained his confidence in victory, these small setbacks along the way were merely a novel experience.
After finishing this declaration that sounded exceptionally confident, Sukuna confidently clasped his four hands together, seemingly intending to stand still and see what Emiya would do.
"If you truly can use an attack that satisfies me more, I might consider letting one or two people go... though, of course, you have no room to bargain."
Emiya was shocked that Sukuna could remain so optimistic and fell into a brief silence. However, if this fellow insisted on it, Emiya didn't mind. Even if Sukuna didn't stand still, Emiya would have used sword rain to pin him down to buy time. Sukuna's choice simply allowed him to save a bit of face.
"In that case, I suppose we can fight this way."
Seeing Sukuna stop his attacks, Emiya felt no urgency. Ample preparation time only benefited him. He lowered his arm that was ready to call the swords and asked: "Tell me, have you ever heard the title of the King of Heroes?"
"...King of Heroes?"
Hearing the title, Sukuna's interest was piqued: "That sounds like a title only a very arrogant person could take. Is he saying he is the king even among countless heroes?
But the 'Hero' prefix is a bit too small-minded. In my view, the title of 'King' alone is sufficient; adding 'Hero' is too limiting."
From Sukuna's perspective, this was true; at most, people called him a bloodthirsty monster, never a praiseworthy hero. While "Hero" is hard to apply to many individuals, the diversity within the group of "Kings" is much greater. However, perhaps because they were similarly arrogant, Sukuna immediately grasped the true meaning of the title.
Emiya did not empathize with this strange emotion, nor did he need to argue. His only job was to explain the origin of the King of Heroes.
"You aren't wrong about one thing; that King of Heroes was indeed an incredibly arrogant fellow.
His true identity is the fifth King of Uruk, a city-state in ancient Mesopotamia, Sumer. He is the protagonist of the oldest epic, the Epic of Gilgamesh. With a divinity of [Two-thirds God, One-third Man], he was an arrogant tyrant who believed himself peerless.
"n that sense, his foul personality is somewhat similar to yours... but the biggest difference is that even a fellow like him had his own bottom line, which is why he could be a King with unique charm. Unlike certain people who have never escaped the title of 'Curse' from start to finish."
Emiya had never seen the King of Heroes in person, only seeing flashes of battle with him in the memories of other "Shirou Emiyas." But those memories were enough for him to understand the King of Heroes. Besides, in his last battle before coming to this world, the power Angelica used came from the King of Heroes himself.
Sukuna heard clearly who was being disparaged, but he did not fly into a rage. At this moment, he cared more about something else.
"You say this, which means the weapon and attack coming up are related to this fellow, right?"
A fellow with such a brazen title—his ability surely wouldn't disappoint.
"Correct... matching that arrogance is the King of Heroes' strategy when he was king, and his own extraordinarily powerful combat ability.
Legend says that hero loved collecting treasures and built a Golden Vault for that purpose, storing all the jewelry and divine weapons in the world. He claimed to have collected all human treasures, and that wasn't a simple metaphor. The King of Heroes truly gathered all prototypes of technology produced in his era. Thus, rather than just a treasury of wealth, that vault is more like the [Original Text of Human Wisdom] itself.
And the concept that it stores all divine weapons in the world—that is also real. Among infinite divine weapons, there is naturally an unquestionable 'Strongest.' Its name is... Enuma Elish (The Star of Creation that Divided Heaven and Earth)."
Emiya explained the legend of the King of Heroes and the origin of this Noble Phantasm clearly. He didn't do this to gain favor, but to use the simple yet direct [Binding Vow] of "revealing one's hand" to increase the possibility of successfully projecting this weapon.
"I normally dislike hearing these senseless stories, but it's different in actual combat. So... this is the weapon you intend to project next?"
"Yes." Emiya nodded without hesitation.
"In truth, Ea (The Sword of Rupture) is the true name of this Noble Phantasm. The name Enuma Elish refers to the full-power output of this weapon, borrowed from the Sumerian creation epic. When the blades are driven at full power, the layers of wind pressure emitted by the body become a pseudo-spatial fault to crush the enemy... this power and trait, capable of crushing space and even the world, is why it is called Enuma Elish.
That's why I said I'm not even sure if my current self can do it..."
Possessing such high specs, the Sword of Rupture was undeniably a mysterious [Divine Construct]. In terms of raw power at full release, the only Noble Phantasm that consistently sits a level above Excalibur is this special Sword of Rupture.
Noble Phantasms are categorized by power and target: Anti-Unit, Anti-Army, Anti-Fortress, and Anti-World. The Knight King's Excalibur is an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, while the Sword of Rupture is the even more powerful Anti-World Noble Phantasm. Simultaneously, it is one of the few weapons that can completely collapse a [Reality Marble] from the inside with its sheer majesty, living up to its rank.
Even though "Sword" is in its name, it was born in an era before the concept of a "sword" even existed. The nature of a [Divine Construct] and its inherent power made Emiya's hope of projecting it seem like a beautiful fantasy. Even with his recent progress and the support of a [Binding Vow], the chance of success seemed small.
But so what? Some things can only be known once you try—
"Trace, on!"
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