Chapter 197: Emiya: Of Course I Believe in My Students
"Trace on!"
Rewinding time to twenty minutes ago in [Magano]—at the exact moment Kenjaku declared the start of the war, Emiya obligingly granted his wish. With a flick of his wrist, a longbow materialized in his hand.
As the arrow leveled directly at Kenjaku, who stood dozens of meters away, Emiya's words served as the final ultimatum before the clash:
"You said your barrier techniques have reached a new realm. Are you going to show me?"
Facing the blade aimed at him, Kenjaku actually managed to maintain his smile.
"Yes, of course.
After all, it's thanks to you..."
Before the words could fully leave his mouth, Emiya released the bowstring. The sharp sword-arrow streaked like a bolt of lightning, aiming straight for Kenjaku's forehead while his mouth was still open.
Emiya couldn't yet determine the specific effects of the man's technique, but based on the rule that Innate Techniques are engraved on the body, combined with how Special Grade cursed objects retain parts of the original host, it wasn't hard to draw a conclusion.
That conclusion was: besides the primary body of Geto Suguru, Kenjaku must possess a part of his own original physical form, and unlike a typical incarnation, it wouldn't be fully integrated into the vessel.
As for the exact location... with such an obvious stitched seam on his forehead, it was hard not to suspect that spot.
Clang!
Just as Kenjaku had described, without a visible casting process, the sword-arrow ground to a halt just inches from his head, bound in mid-air by an invisible barrier.
"See? I told you.
In terms of the realm of barrier techniques, I have already surpassed that fellow, Tengen."
His only regret was that he no longer had hundreds of years to slowly set his plans. Otherwise, if given the time to fully utilize the massive cursed energy of Magano and link it with the [Gates] and [Nodes] across Japan, he might have even found the courage to face Gojo Satoru head-on.
Unfortunately, Emiya had no interest in listening to such useless chatter.
Crack!
The blade suspended before Kenjaku suddenly developed fissures at its tip. In an instant, the cracks spread through the entire weapon, and a swirling flame brewed within—
BOOM!!!
For these common blades, Emiya no longer sought extreme destructive power. Instead, he designated certain arrows to focus on the explosion and smoke, serving to deceive the enemy and obscure their vision.
Naturally, the enemy would have no way of knowing which specific sword prioritized which effect.
Sensing something was wrong, Kenjaku immediately waved his hand to disperse the thick smoke, only to find that Emiya had already reached the air behind him.
"Do I need to restate it for you?
No matter how flashy your barrier techniques are, they won't work on me."
"What?!"
Only after Emiya spoke did Kenjaku realize the danger. He whipped his head around, but Emiya's blade was already swinging down.
In Emiya's right hand was Rule Breaker, which feared no technique type; in his left was Hrunting, which released precise slashes with every swing. When these two weapons were used in tandem, any defense driven by cursed energy became utterly meaningless.
Rrrrrip!
There wasn't even the sound of a barrier breaking—the noise of clothing and flesh being torn asunder was far more violent.
A flash of black light flickered, and Kenjaku's position instantly shifted far away, where he stood motionless.
A moment later, the giant centipede he had summoned as a temporary shield was slowly split into two. Green and crimson blood mingled, sliding down Kenjaku's cheek before splashing onto the ground.
Beyond the visible wound on his cheek, his clothes had been slashed open, and red blood quickly caused the fabric to stick to the wound.
"Did I get careless? You really are capable..."
Kenjaku used his thumb to dab some of the disgusting blood from his cheek to inspect it, then raised his head to look at Emiya again.
He had to admit he had misjudged their relative strengths. After his breakthrough in barrier techniques, his power had increased by at least 50% in a short time. He even felt confident
that his current self could take on two of his former selves... and this margin would continue to grow with time.
However, he had overlooked one point: he wasn't the only one in this world whose strength was constantly improving.
Even Gojo Satoru, who had already reached the summit, was now pushing himself to new heights under the pressure of the "Fragarach."
The only one likely standing still was Ryomen Sukuna.
Emiya's rate of growth was even more terrifying than Kenjaku had anticipated, rivaling the upward trajectory of someone like Itadori—though they were technically around the same age.
It seemed he was still no match for Emiya. Thinking more realistically and pessimistically, the probability of him being exorcised was quite high.
What an unacceptable gap... he hadn't been injured in nearly a century, yet he was met with such a "surprise" opponent the moment he stepped out.
"You call it 'careless'? Then even if I give you space to prepare now, do you really think you can dodge my attacks?
Want to try, Kenjaku?"
Emiya was perfectly willing to play a game with this guy—a game of finding the fastest, most convenient way to kill him.
"Don't say that. I know I can't beat you in a frontal clash. If I could, I would have surrendered already."
Kenjaku lightly raised both hands, then asked Emiya: "But aren't you worried at all? Now that the main combat forces near Tokyo are trapped in Magano, what exactly is the situation like outside?"
He attempted to use this to dampen Emiya's fighting spirit. In principle, this should have worked, as Emiya's personality wouldn't allow him to abandon so many ordinary people. But before making a threat, one should at least consider the external factors clearly.
"Worried? If you have other allies out there, I think you're the one who should be concerned."
Emiya lightly flicked Hrunting in his hand and said, "I believe in my students. Their strength is no longer what you originally imagined.
Even those cursed spirits claiming to represent natural disasters... I believe my students can handle them."
Of course, "handling" them didn't mean in a series of one-on-one duels. But if the six of them could cooperate perfectly as Emiya had envisioned, they could resolve any one of those spirits without suffering major casualties.
This was Emiya's confidence in his students.
"Instead of worrying about that, you should worry about yourself!"
Emiya suddenly hurled Rule Breaker from his right hand. Kenjaku, wisely choosing not to trust his own defenses against it, used his barrier to teleport himself further away.
"Regardless of whether they are as reliable as you say, I can't waste any more time with you here.
If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for making such a loud commotion just now. Didn't I tell you? Magano is a hidden world storing a massive amount of curses and spirits.
Here, Grade 1 and even Special Grade spirits are everywhere. The only way for a sorcerer to survive here is to hide their tail like a rat...
But it's too late for you to do that now. They've remembered your scent."
Rumble...
As Kenjaku finished speaking, the sound of ten thousand stampeding horses echoed nearby. Dozens of terrifyingly large cursed spirits were closing in on their position from all directions.
The most fearsome among them had reached a height of over ten meters—something that would never happen in the real world. Even if such a massive spirit appeared there, jujutsu sorcerers would have mobilized all resources to annihilate it immediately.
"One last piece of friendly advice: don't waste time here... Do you really think you can single-handedly clear away the resentment humanity has accumulated over thousands of years?"
Leaving behind his final words, Kenjaku used his barrier technique to vanish instantly from Emiya's sight, seemingly terrified of being caught again.
"Wait! Who said you could run?!"
Emiya moved to pursue the lingering traces, but a spike suddenly erupted from beneath his feet, forcing him to flip away to another direction.
Clearly, Kenjaku's insurance policies weren't limited to this mindless army of spirits.
"Your opponent is here."
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