Chapter 198: Domain Expansion—[Horizon of the Captivating Katiedid]!!!
Upon hearing the voice—which clearly couldn't be understood through language, yet had its meaning forcibly injected into the brain—Emiya already knew exactly who the newcomer was.
It was the Special Grade cursed spirit that claimed to represent the will of the planet and nature—Hanami.
Realizing that it would likely be difficult to track Kenjaku's traces again in the short term, Emiya turned his body and, amidst the thundering sounds of stampeding cursed spirits, looked toward Hanami standing not far behind him.
Emiya was certain that his attack back then had dealt a fatal wound to this fellow; he could only say that compared to humans, the bodies of cursed spirits were incredibly resilient.
Even with only half a head remaining, they still possessed the possibility of survival and recovery. After all, their essence was the condensation and manifestation of "curses," which was likely why cursed spirits could not be annihilated by physical attacks alone.
When killing a jujutsu sorcerer, isn't it also more secure to use a technique? This is to prevent the resentment at the moment of their death from reacting with the cursed energy in their body, thereby giving birth to an "evil" that possesses the original host's memories but purely generates negative emotions.
This principle applies similarly to cursed spirits, except they remain their original selves.
"To appear before me even so, are you hoping I will praise your courage? Cursed spirit."
A massive number of cursed spirits were about to reach his vicinity, but Emiya did not feel anxious; he even had the leisure to ask for Hanami's feelings.
"Words have no direct correlation with victory, human.
I admit your strength may completely exceed mine, but because of our differing positions, I must stand before you... The disappearance of humans is inevitable; it is the choice of the planet and nature.
The existence of [Magano] proves this point... The planet cannot endure the malice of humans, so it imprisoned them in another jail.
And as time passes, even the largest jail will eventually reach full capacity... At that time, even without any external force, humans will perish because of their own ill will toward all things."
Does the possibility Hanami speaks of exist? Of course it does.
Even a high school biology textbook contains a simple thought experiment: when a certain species loses its natural enemies in the same environment and begins to multiply without limit, it will eventually destroy the environment through unbridled reproduction, pushing itself into the abyss.
This is exactly what current humanity is doing—even if a portion of people realize the error and begin to protect the environment, they cannot, in the end, withstand the destruction caused by the other portion.
In time, the end of humanity is almost certain.
But who knows how long it will take for that day to arrive? Moreover, unlike those other biological creatures, humans possess the intelligence and sensibility sufficient to solve this problem; they still possess the possibility of pulling back from the brink.
[Magano] can no longer accommodate human malice... That day might truly come at some point in the future, but Emiya believes that the humans of that time will surely be able to solve this problem with their own hands.
Though even Emiya himself somewhat pessimistically believes that a new cycle might follow shortly after the problem is solved, he also believes that humanity as a whole is definitely getting better, constantly striving for the top.
"No matter how right your high-sounding words are, they have nothing to do with you as a cursed spirit.
Humans still have the possibility of change, but a cursed spirit is a cursed spirit; their essence dictates that they cannot create new things... Do you not understand such a simple truth?"
At the very least, they are cursed spirits endowed with intelligence. As long as they truly studied and understood human knowledge, it wouldn't be hard to grasp this point.
In the entire community of cursed spirits, the only individuals possessing intelligence are these few Special Grade spirits—not even enough to count on two hands.
Even ignoring the issues of survival and reproduction, an essence that only relies on negative emotions and lacks intelligence dooms them to be beasts, never 'humans.'
"Kin who lack intelligence and only know destruction... It is indeed a pity; I cannot protect them.
In fact, the only thing I truly want to protect is this planet. I don't care for my own kind in the slightest... I cannot accept this coldness of mine, but it is the truth.
This planet has room for [beasts], but no room for another [human]... Do you see these cursed spirits? In [Magano], they possess strength far beyond the outside world, and the price is the complete abandonment of what little sanity they had.
Their targets are not just humans; even their own kind are viewed as dangers to be fought, where only the winner can gain more... Even I am included within their range of attack. They are indeed beasts beyond doubt."
It was said they lacked intelligence, but within the scope of Tokyo, Grade 2 cursed spirits already performed simple thinking and utilized certain factors to protect themselves.
Just like the cursed spirit Emiya encountered with Nanami Kento initially—didn't it use non-sorcerers to threaten others? Although it wasn't smart enough to ensure the safety of the hostages.
And at the Special Grade, even a Special Grade spawned like the Finger Bearer, the concept of the individual had been clearly separated; they would even take pleasure in the pain of others.
As for what Hanami said about these cursed spirits that had reached Grade 1 or even Special Grade within [Magano]...
"Roar—!"
Just as Hanami's words judging them as beasts fell, one roar after another began to enter Emiya's ears because they had reached the necessary attack range—
That massive, ten-meter-tall cursed spirit even knocked aside its nearby kin, swinging its claws directly down toward Emiya's position.
In terms of the total amount of cursed energy alone, this spirit was even significantly higher than a Special Grade Finger Bearer, and in [Magano], it was likely just a common elite mob found everywhere.
But it didn't matter. It would pose a fatal threat to other Grade 1 sorcerers, but it could not possibly have a significant impact on Emiya.
Slash—!
Its claws were massive, so the black light flashing from the blade of Hrunting naturally grew to a similar size.
The light flashed, and the unruly claw crashed heavily to the ground.
The injured giant spirit let out another loud roar, and its severed wound began to surge frantically with flesh and tissue; for one that lived year-round in slaughter, such a wound might actually be a minor matter.
In the interval while it recovered its injury, the remaining dozens of cursed spirits began to scramble and pounce forward.
Emiya could easily resolve any one of them, but he was unwilling to be truly touched by anyone's attack under a siege. His defensive capabilities had not yet reached the level where he could completely ignore attacks.
However, given just a few minutes, resolving these spirits—who merely possessed Grade 1 cursed energy strength—without taking damage would be no problem.
But when Emiya glanced back toward Hanami in a gap in the battle, he suddenly discovered that Hanami had remained in an "open" state, completely untouched by any attacks.
'Could it be... I was tricked?!'
"You must be curious why these cursed spirits are not attacking me... I will not lie to you; these spirits indeed do not view me as one of their own.
It is simply due to my characteristic of being able to blend into the environment; they mistakenly believe I am just a piece of withered wood or rubble by the roadside."
As it spoke, Hanami suddenly tore away the swaddling cloth at its right arm, then lightly pressed its palm onto the desolate, dilapidated earth of the environment.
In this dead world where not even a patch of weeds could be seen, its special arm naturally could not absorb any more life force.
"That special cursed tool of yours... it actually requires a specific ritual and conditions to be activated, doesn't it? I won't give you that kind of opportunity this time.
Thanks to my kin, they can buy me such precious time. Their sacrifice is valuable; this planet will remember their devotion...
[Domain Expansion]—
[Horizon of the Captivating Katiedid]!!"
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