At the center of the Sendai Barrier.
Tamamo-no-Mae hovered in the air, constantly observing the battlefield.
Seeing the situation unfolding in her favor, she nodded with satisfaction.
Although many Cursed Spirits had been lost, a considerable number had already charged toward the positions of the four gates.
Once the fighting shifted to close quarters, the Jujutsu Sorcerers stationed at the gates would eventually be worn down and killed by the Cursed Spirits.
Tamamo-no-Mae's gaze turned to Artoria, who was fighting fiercely among the Cursed Spirits alongside Ryu.
With the situation having progressed to this point, she no longer worried about whether Artoria could unleash that powerful attack again.
Because the battle would soon descend into chaos, where the lines between ally and enemy blurred.
At that point, Artoria would be unable to use such an attack.
Unless she was willing to eliminate her own allies along with the enemy.
"Are we at a disadvantage when it comes to high-end combat power?"
With her sharp vision, Tamamo-no-Mae could clearly see that Ryu, Takako, and Kurourushi were currently at a disadvantage.
Dhruv didn't attack recklessly. Instead, he released his signature Shikigami, deploying a Domain in front of the North Gate's front line.
Dhruv's Domain was not the typical kind that enclosed the enemy within a barrier.
Rather, it was a fully automatic attack-type Domain that activated within a certain range, relying on the cooperative nature of his Shikigami.
It was a special move that maximized the capabilities of his Shikigami, mimicking the effect of a Domain.
This Domain had no external shell. It would only automatically detect and attack enemies once they entered the Shikigami's effective range.
This greatly reduced the advantage of long-range firepower such as rockets at the North Gate.
At the same time, this served as Dhruv's invitation.
An invitation for Yuki, who was also a Special Grade, to enter his Shikigami Domain and fight.
As for the West Gate… Tamamo-no-Mae couldn't make sense of it.
She genuinely couldn't tell whether the battle between Ootengu and Satoru at the West Gate was an advantage or disadvantage.
She had never seen a battle with such a bizarre art style and atmosphere before.
Looking at Satoru, Tamamo-no-Mae gave up trying to understand.
Finally, her gaze turned to the South Gate.
Kurourushi was being heavily suppressed at the moment.
It felt that even its father, the one who had laid eggs before being split by Mahoraga's sword, hadn't faced such a difficult opponent.
This opponent seemed to know all of its Moves and combat patterns.
Combined with the coordinated attacks from multiple allies, Kurourushi was quickly losing ground.
If not for a group of reincarnated powerhouses helping to relieve the pressure, it would likely have already been devoured.
At that thought, a trace of fear crept into Kurourushi's heart.
Help me, family. Why is someone eating cockroaches alive?
This second-generation Kurourushi had also laid eggs and left behind offspring before joining the battle.
It had set the same birth condition as its father: its own death.
If it didn't die and the little Kurourushi were born anyway, it would only dilute the fear humans had of cockroaches.
However, that condition would only be triggered by death. If it were eaten alive and then controlled by that strange squinting-eyed human with bangs, the condition wouldn't activate.
So Kurourushi was extremely anxious.
Tamamo-no-Mae's eyes were also fixed on this location.
But her focus was on Inugami Byakuei, who was charging through the Cursed Spirits nearby.
After receiving healing from Medea and being granted a cursed tool personally crafted by her to slow down the erosion from the Sesshoseki, Utata could now fully unleash the Special Grade power of Inugami Byakuei.
On top of that, he was also an experienced Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer.
All the Advanced Cursed Spirits that had broken through Suguru's defense line and reached the South Gate were exorcised by Utata.
Inugami Byakuei, who occasionally soared into the sky, had become a pillar of morale for the Jujutsu Sorcerers at the South Gate front line.
Tamamo-no-Mae looked at Inugami Byakuei in the air.
Then she looked at the struggling Kurourushi.
She made up her mind.
The air around Tamamo-no-Mae twisted for a brief moment.
Then it returned to normal.
In this chaotic battlefield, no one noticed that fleeting moment of distortion.
At a high vantage point within the Sendai Barrier.
As pale blue light converged, Emiya appeared after ending his spiritualization.
Standing at the high ground, Emiya's eagle-like eyes swept across the battlefield.
"There's no need to worry about the East Gate. The Cursed Spirits at the North Gate are advancing the fastest..."
His gaze shifted toward the North Gate.
"Yuki and Toji haven't gone all out yet, and the North Gate's ammunition reserves are still plentiful, so we'll hold off for now."
"That leaves the West Gate and South Gate."
"Let's begin with the West Gate."
Emiya projected a black longbow.
A spiral-shaped arrow was nocked.
"Fake Broken Phantasm."
As the arrow flew out, the terrifying power sealed within it was unleashed.
A massive spiral impact opened a path before the West Gate, sweeping away the Cursed Spirits in its trajectory.
"Broken Phantasm."
His voice was quiet.
But the scene it triggered was devastating.
Just before the Fake Broken Phantasm reached the edge of the Cursed Spirit horde, a violent burst of magical energy erupted from it.
The massive explosion incinerated every Cursed Spirit within nearly a hundred-meter radius.
After relieving the West Gate's pressure, Emiya shifted to targeting Advanced Cursed Spirits on the field, calling them out by name.
Arrows shot forth with whistling speed.
Cursed Spirits were exorcised one after another by Emiya.
But the Cursed Spirits weren't going to just sit there and take it.
After discovering Emiya's position, they quickly closed in.
At the front was a bird-shaped Cursed Spirit, small in size but classified as quasi-Special Grade.
Emiya fired an arrow, and the Cursed Spirit tilted slightly, dodging the crimson arrow with ease.
"Hmm?"
Emiya furrowed his brow.
He shot another arrow. This time, after flying out, the arrow split into a dozen crimson bolts.
This small wave of arrow rain finally managed to inflict minor wounds on the bird-shaped Cursed Spirit.
"So that's it. It's using air currents to evade the arrows."
With multiple arrows disrupting its movements, the Cursed Spirit's flight path became erratic.
Emiya followed up with two quick shots.
The first arrow exploded mid-air as it reached the Cursed Spirit.
The second arrow pierced cleanly through the creature, now unable to maneuver properly due to the blast's air turbulence.
Emiya turned his gaze to the tens of thousands of Cursed Spirits surging toward him, a cold smile appearing at the corners of his lips.
He knew full well there were no allies or defensive lines ahead.
"Broken Phantasm."
Moments later, arrows rained down and exploded among the Cursed Spirits.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)