Chapter 236: Sukuna: Do You Mind if I Join the Game?
Emiya hadn't expected Jogo to be so temperamentally driven; the moment it said it wanted revenge against Kenjaku, it acted without a shred of hesitation.
From the perspective of weighing pros and cons, doing this clearly offered Jogo no benefit. Even if it truly killed Kenjaku, its fallen companions would not come back to life, and it was a heavy blow to its original desire to massacre all humans.
However, as a species born from the cursed energy of negative emotions, cursed spirits are not rational beings but absolutely sentimental ones.
Jogo didn't need to know the reasons or benefits for its actions; it was enough to know that its rage was urging it to do this right now. Weighing pros and cons, considering whether to flee temporarily, and then looking for an opportunity to act later... those were things humans should consider.
At this moment, as a cursed spirit, it only needed to follow the emotions of its heart.
Even if this emotion-filled attack failed to deal any effective damage to Kenjaku, it successfully drew his attention and gave Emiya another perfect opportunity to strike—
By the time Kenjaku regained his composure, Emiya was already behind him, having used some means to easily bypass his defensive measures and drive a blade ruthlessly into his body.
Squelch—
Kenjaku's heart had already been destroyed by the Yellow Rose of Mortality, completely erasing his possibility of recovering from the injury in the short term. Yet, even such a fatal wound failed to truly incapacitate the man.
It was likely because Suguru Geto's body didn't "belong" to him in a true sense but was merely a special puppet; this allowed the curse user to utilize his millennium of experience to minimize the impact of the wound on his performance.
Therefore, Emiya's current target was naturally another fatal human weakness: the location of Kenjaku's true self, the brain.
Simply cutting off the head might not be fatal enough, but if the head could be split completely in two from top to bottom, even a guy like Kenjaku who had survived for a thousand years would have no chance of continuing to live.
Kenjaku himself was clearly aware of this. No matter how foolish a person might be, they wouldn't leave their fatal weakness without protection—let alone Kenjaku, a man for whom the words "insidious and cunning" were an understatement.
As Emiya's attack descended, a grotesque shadow suddenly lunged out from the darkness beneath Kenjaku's feet, slamming hard into Emiya's strike. It forced the heavy swing to deviate completely from its target.
The cost? This unknown entity lost its life entirely, while another visible scar was carved into Kenjaku's back.
This pincer attack situation was more than just unfavorable for him. With his defensive barrier techniques—his greatest specialty—being completely countered by Emiya, he couldn't even withstand Jogo's frontal assaults. How could he hope to contend with the far more dangerous Emiya?
Amidst this lethal peril, Kenjaku oddly thought of a specific escape plan: applying his [Anti-Gravity System] to himself with full force...
"Cursed Technique Reversal!!!"
Boom!
In an instant, the ground beneath Kenjaku's feet collapsed violently under the weight of immense gravity, dragging the entire floor down into the level of the original underground tunnels—the subterranean space currently flooded with crimson lava.
Kenjaku immediately relocated further away the moment everyone else was in a state of weightlessness, his eyes still fixed dead-locked on Emiya's position.
"In many myths and legends, a person's own shadow is a terrifying ghost. Legend says it is always plotting how to kill its master and seize the opportunity to escape...
Cursed spirits born from such a curse are actually quite useful. It's rare to find a spirit that can hide itself so perfectly. A pity."
Clearly, after taking the brunt of Emiya's attack for Kenjaku, this cursed spirit was now as dead as could be.
"There is just one thing I still don't understand... that weapon, is it also a type that can nullify techniques?!"
It was bad enough that Emiya had that short dagger with no real offensive power, but now he had produced yet another weapon with a different appearance... if such properties could be mass-produced by the opponent, then there really was no point in Kenjaku continuing his efforts.
The reason he had been slightly careless just now was because the performance of Rule Breaker as a weapon was pathetically low; even a direct stab through the body wouldn't cause much damage.
If Emiya wanted to use Rule Breaker to dispel the barrier first and then switch to another method to attack, that brief time gap would be enough for Kenjaku to make most of his
counter-strategies... but who could have expected this guy to pull out another new type of weapon?!
"You mean this?"
Emiya lightly weighed the spear in his hand and explained: "Like the Yellow Rose just now, this Gae Dearg (The Crimson Rose of Exorcism) is also a weapon belonging to Diarmuid. Its current ability is to dispel all defenses woven from cursed energy.
And naturally... the physical enhancement of the body provided by cursed energy is also dispelled the moment it touches the blade. So, if you want to fight it, you can only bring out corresponding physical means."
Gae Dearg's original effect, like Rule Breaker, targeted only magical energy. It was only after Emiya performed a specialized modification against cursed energy that it achieved this result. Its exorcism utility was slightly inferior to Rule Breaker—it couldn't dispel established contracts or effects—targeting only magical defense and reinforcement during combat.
But in return, while it lacked other special functions, its performance as a weapon was a solid Rank B Noble Phantasm. Its hardness and sharpness far exceeded that of ordinary weapons.
Having to find a weapon of similar performance just to fight back was indeed asking too much of Kenjaku; after all, the normal strength of most Special Grade cursed tools as weapons was only so-so.
"But you don't need to worry too much. Regarding spear-type weapons, I actually have zero proficiency to speak of."
As he spoke, Emiya casually tossed the crimson spear aside, letting it dissolve into the wind before it even touched the ground, turning into a flurry of blue fragments.
He claimed to be unskilled with spears, but the moment he projected the Noble Phantasm, Emiya had already acquired all the martial arts of its master, Diarmuid. To say he was the best in the entire jujutsu world would be an understatement.
However, compared to the Yellow Rose that suppressed all recovery, the technique-breaking effect of the Crimson Rose was ultimately redundant for Emiya. It required more energy and magical power to maintain, and its final effect wasn't as good as the short-sword class Rule Breaker. There was really no need to do something so time-consuming and laborious.
He had merely tried projecting the Crimson Rose for practice while forging the Yellow Rose. He hadn't originally intended for it to be useful here, planning to use it only as fodder for [Unlimited Lost Works].
After all, like most non-sword Noble Phantasms, it couldn't remain in the real world for long... but there was obviously no need to explain that to Kenjaku.
"...Unskilled with spears?"
Upon hearing Emiya say this, Kenjaku's right eyelid twitched several times.
If he actually dared to believe Emiya's words, he would be a true fool. In his view, if Emiya said he was "unskilled," it meant he could likely use that weapon to easily slaughter a series of Special Grade cursed spirits without even blinking.
Instead of continuing to circle around Emiya and witnessing his seemingly endless supply of weapons and tricks, it was better to follow his original plan and escape immediately.
"I must admit, your methods are indeed endless; even I can only marvel at them.
But if you think that's enough to completely defeat me, then you are underestimate me far too much."
As he spoke, Kenjaku extended his palm forward, as if slowly pouring a powerful unknown cursed spirit out of his sleeve.
However, behind this facade of preparing for a bloody battle, Kenjaku had his other hand hidden inside his sleeve, silently forming a seal.
Since normally formed barrier techniques would be detected by Emiya and result in his escape being cut off, he simply needed to minimize his preparation time as much as possible, giving the opponent zero time to react.
Although the teleportation range was currently limited to the Shibuya district controlled by the massive barrier, and Emiya might have some way to track his location... none of that mattered. As long as he got as far away from Emiya's position as possible, it would be enough.
As long as he created a time gap for Emiya to search for him, Ryomen Sukuna would surely collide with Emiya, thereby creating a more favorable situation for him.
The fact that the cursed spirit Jogo had completely sided with Emiya was indeed a bit of a surprise, but Kenjaku clearly wouldn't feel regret for it; if he felt anything, it was only because the situation had accidentally slipped into a state that wasn't very beneficial to him.
If given another chance, he would definitely arrange the plan more thoroughly to keep these Special Grade spirits firmly under his thumb, giving them no chance to turn the tables.
Unfortunately, there was one more thing Kenjaku hadn't expected—he didn't understand these cursed spirits at all.
He didn't even know that Jogo was certain of one thing: for a man who planned everything meticulously and was unwilling to even show his face, it was nearly impossible to imagine him risking his life in a fight.
Jogo couldn't even picture this guy in a bloody battle. So, was there really a need to overthink what he was trying to do now?
Jogo knew that doing this wouldn't bring it any practical benefit, but what did that matter? At the very least, it would be happy to do it!
"You damn bastard... I won't give you that chance!"
This was what Kenjaku completely failed to predict. Emiya was still wary of whether he would use some bizarre move, but Jogo had already fearlessly charged in front of him, unleashing its destructive techniques and attacks once more.
Before Jogo even reached Kenjaku, numerous streams of lava erupted around him, locking him in. Jogo was ready to detonate everything in the vicinity in the next second—
Boom!
"Cough, cough... I never realized before that this guy was so..."
"Now is not the time for monologues!"
From within the dense black smoke kicked up by the explosion, Kenjaku had just emerged from a spot high in the air, but he never expected Emiya to have been waiting for him for a long time.
"Projection Simulation. [Forging] technique... Full output!"
Under the bottomless infusion of cursed energy, the black light shining from the Hrunting in Emiya's hand completely drowned out the color of the flames below. It was a deep darkness that seemed capable of swallowing everything.
Kenjaku was quite "lucky," as ordinary people would never have the chance to be hit by a [Black Flash] of this magnitude—and yet, here he was.
BOOM!!!
Under the massive force, space itself seemed to warp, causing Kenjaku's body and face to take on a grotesque shape. He still used special means to maintain his body so it wouldn't be torn apart by the sudden attack, but the "force" of the interaction wasn't so easily negated.
In the next second, Kenjaku—who had just escaped the smoke zone—was sent flying back into it at an even greater speed. The terrifying velocity even generated powerful storms that blew the smoke away, leaving a massive, clear trail in the mid-air.
Jogo, positioned directly below, witnessed this scene and flashed an excited yet hideous smile at the Kenjaku who was rapidly falling back toward it.
"It's time you felt what pain really is!!!"
BANG!!!!!!
Jogo successfully intercepted the Kenjaku flying toward it and, like a baseball player on the field, delivered a perfect and beautiful home run, sending him flying even faster into a distant rock wall.
Despite its own arm being broken by the powerful recoil, Jogo felt no pain or dissatisfaction. Its heart was filled with nothing but the thrill of revenge and an eagerness to do it again immediately.
Compared to this wonderful feeling of vengeance, the dream of killing all humans and liberating cursed spirits seemed like a boring job that provided zero excitement.
His brain flooded with excitement, Jogo immediately wanted to continue the pursuit toward the spot where Kenjaku had been blasted, but the spirit's body suddenly froze in place.
It wasn't because it had thought of something important, but because its body had stopped on its own—just as most humans instinctively freeze when facing a lethal threat.
Then, a voice it was completely unfamiliar with reached its ears—
"Looks like things are quite fun over here... do you mind if I join the game?"
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