Chapter 141 - Since Things Have Come To This, Let's Eat First
In the final analysis, Cursed Spirits are merely organisms derived from human negative emotions and the 'curses' that accompany them.
Whether you call them excrement or an accessory, the point is that without humans, the species known as Cursed Spirits would not come into existence.
It is like how various parasites only appear after the vegetation is present.
In fact, intelligent animals also generate negative emotions, but the resulting weak emotional energy rarely forms Cursed Energy that can influence anything.
Aside from constantly drawing Cursed Energy from the 'curses' that incubate them, Cursed Spirits can also be considered a type of organism because their own emotions can affect their Cursed Energy.
That is to say, even if the 'curses' that caused their birth were to completely disappear from human society, Cursed Spirits could still utilize self-generated emotions to condense Cursed Energy. However, even then, their power would be several times weaker than when supported by human emotions.
As for whether new 'curses' can arise from a Cursed Spirit's emotions, leading to the birth of a new Cursed Spirit?
It can only be said that this possibility exists, but it's obvious that the efficiency and output would be pitifully low, and no sorcerer would be bored enough to study such a subject.
It must be known that individuals like sorcerers, who can control their own Cursed Energy, do not have excess Cursed Energy flowing out. The 'curses' that truly form Cursed Spirits all originate from the negative emotions and Cursed Energy inadvertently released by non-sorcerers.
It is precisely for this reason that Suguru Geto's original proposal was to use the extreme method of eliminating all non-sorcerers to curb Cursed Spirits.
Cursed Spirits, like sorcerers, self-digest the emotions and Cursed Energy they generate. Most Cursed Spirits without true consciousness aren't even aware of this fact, so how can they achieve rebirth?
Even with a population of eight billion on this planet, haven't the resulting Cursed Spirits remained within a controllable range?
Furthermore, for some unknown reason, about half of the Cursed Spirits and sorcerers are born in the small island nation of Japan. Consequently, outside of Japan, few particularly powerful Cursed Spirits are born, and any that do appear are easily eliminated by the dispatched Gojo Satoru.
If those Cursed Spirits truly managed to completely destroy the sorcery world here, they would indeed be close to their goal of destroying humanity.
However, from an objective and rational perspective, even if Cursed Spirits didn't disappear after the complete extinction of humanity, it would be difficult for new individuals to be born. Where did they get the courage to create such a plan?
"It took so much effort for so many intelligent Cursed Spirits to be born, but unexpectedly, every single one of them is a great dreamer."
Well, Gojo Satoru clearly understood that there is no right or wrong, good or evil, when standing from the perspective of different species. Humans themselves have caused the extinction of countless species, and thus are in no position to criticize others on this matter.
In the end, aren't Cursed Spirits also brewed from all the terrible things these guys do?
But this doesn't stop him from belittling and despising those Cursed Spirits from his own perspective. Shouldn't a strong person have even this right?
"But indeed... as long as the problem cannot be fundamentally resolved, new Cursed Spirits will always be born sooner or later. Even if sorcerers can always overpower them, there is nothing that can be done for the people sacrificed in the process..."
Emiya would absolutely not say that Cursed Spirits have a right to exist. Even if he were to extend his goodwill to non-human entities, it would only be to those who also harbor kindness.
The very nature of Cursed Spirits dictates that they cannot coexist peacefully with humans; therefore, eliminating them completely is the optimal scenario.
When was the first Cursed Spirit born? That ancient matter can no longer be ascertained, but it was at least two millennia ago.
Throughout these thousands of years, humanity has consistently been able to develop into the society it is today, which demonstrates that the sorcerers of every era have always managed to suppress the momentum of the Cursed Spirits, with the process being at most thrilling but ultimately not disastrous.
Despite this, the price for this achievement has always been the dedication of countless sorcerers, who came forward one after another, and the innumerable ordinary people who lost their lives without cause.
At least the original thought of the high school era Satoru Gojo was correct: relying solely on sorcerers to curb the development of Cursed Spirits is unreliable; the root cause must be severed.
Unfortunately, Emiya probably won't have the opportunity to ask the high school era Gojo Satoru about his ideas.
"That is true. It would certainly be nice if all troubles could be resolved once and for all, but unfortunately, I'm not the type to do research."
After drinking every last drop of the soup in the bowl, Gojo Satoru, leaning his elbow on the table, frankly spread his hands.
As for whether the Jujutsu Headquarters and the government would settle accounts with the sorcerers who possess abnormal power once Cursed Spirits disappear... this matter was completely outside of Gojo Satoru's consideration.
In any case, no matter how powerful a Cursed Spirit is, it won't be his opponent, and those various modern weapons that only sound impressive will have to stand aside even more.
He doesn't know if the radiation from a nuclear bomb can penetrate the barrier of the Infinity, but conventional explosives certainly cannot, and he can completely move outside the blast radius in a short time.
Aside from assassination, it is probably very difficult for a Grade 1 or higher sorcerer to be defeated by conventional military force... and once the operation fails, those higher-ups will have to worry about whether they can keep their own heads.
If it really came to that, it might lead to the government desperately trying to drag the sorcerers, who are now free of their burden, into war, only to bring about their own destruction through various conflicts?
In the end, it seems that even if the Cursed Spirits ultimately defeat humanity, the fundamental reason leading to human self-extinction would still be humanity itself?
If he could, Gojo Satoru really wished he could fire all those incompetent higher-ups; the world might even become much more peaceful as a result.
"But there is also a very important point. Even though we know the enemy's target is likely the entirety of Shibuya, how do you think we should respond, Emiya-kun?"
Gojo Satoru, with his hands interlaced, asked Emiya.
"Set a trap in advance to turn the tables, or temporarily evacuate the citizens to minimize losses?" Emiya tried to answer.
Individual combat and decision-making are fine, but he hasn't given much thought to large-scale combat like this.
No matter what, minimizing losses and striving for victory should be the two unchanging goals, right?
"That won't work."
Gojo Satoru mercilessly rejected this view.
"The starting point is correct, but there are many problems in its actual implementation. Even in a fight between just two people, unexpected things can happen, let alone in a situation like this?
First, do you think the government would directly evacuate the masses without knowing the exact date of the attack? That place is one of the country's economic centers.
Then, the enemy also knows that we are aware of the planned location. If Shibuya was just a random target they picked, without being absolutely necessary, they could completely sit back and watch all this happen, and then arbitrarily change the attack location.
Not just Shibuya. Shinjuku Ward, Bunkyo Ward, Chiyoda... or the outer areas like Koto Ward, Edogawa Ward... in this small country, there are many places and hostages for them to carry out their plan."
Not to mention other places, Tokyo alone has twenty-three administrative districts, and even the least populated of those have hundreds of thousands of people.
Nearby, there are also more than twenty cities densely packed together. What can be done? Clear out all the personnel to prevent an attack?
And where would these evacuated crowds go? Gathering them together would only make it easier for the enemy to hold them hostage?
The enemy is hidden, and we are in the open; the situation is that difficult.
"Indeed..."
Emiya had to agree; convincing the government to fully cooperate was already a difficult task, let alone that the enemy seemed capable of correcting their attack target at any moment?
"So what should we do? We can't just do nothing, can we? Otherwise, what's the point of having this intelligence?"
"For those Cursed Spirits to achieve their goal, the casualties would reach at least ten thousand people..."
Preparing to launch an attack directly against an entire administrative district means they are ready to drop all pretenses. They will no longer hide their movements and are even less likely to show mercy to non-sorcerers.
"It's very troublesome. After all, if they make an effort to hide in the sewers, there's truly no way to find them... The best case is that they will still attack Shibuya, but we cannot show obvious precautions; evacuating the masses is too conspicuous.
For the next period of time, I will try my best to stay within Japan, and won't go beyond neighboring countries at the furthest. This way, I can rush back as quickly as possible if an incident occurs.
However, to ensure things don't get too complicated, I should first go and have a 'heart-to-heart' talk with those higher-ups.
Oh, and don't forget to provide me with dinner!"
Since things have come to this, let's eat first.
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