Chapter 29: Why Did You Become a Curse User?
Many years ago, they, the Curse Users, were quite free.
In that era, Cursed Spirit activity was increasing daily, and the Sorcerers were struggling to cope.
As long as they were a little clever and didn't directly run into a Sorcerer, they could easily make money without restraint, and killing people could be done on a whim.
The life they lived—free and self-indulgent—was something he now missed immensely.
Until one day, they received a bounty for a Sorcerer.
It was just a callow youth, but the total bounty had already exceeded 100 million yen and was still continuously rising. Who could refuse an opportunity like that?
He unhesitatingly accepted the commission with his companions, but it wasn't until he saw that person with his own eyes that he truly grasped a cruel fact: This world is unfair.
He was just a mere child who had only recently been born, probably couldn't even feed himself, yet his power was as terrifying and unfathomable as the ocean, completely suffocating him.
'But this world is also balanced.'
Why were Cursed Spirits becoming increasingly rampant? In that moment, they understood the reason—It was him! Satoru Gojo!
It was like a long-standing track-and-field record suddenly being broken, or how the number of rotations in figure skating kept increasing after a certain athlete appeared... The birth of Satoru Gojo broke the world's balance!
They used to be so free, but in their old age, that freedom was taken away!
As Satoru Gojo joined the Sorcerers' ranks to eliminate Cursed Spirits, those mediocre Sorcerers no longer had to focus all their energy on dealing with Curses.
Instead, they began to turn their attention to them, the Curse Users. From then on, being overly cautious meant losing their former freedom, but not doing so meant losing even more freedom.
After enduring over a decade of being invisibly restrained, he, who had once breathed the air of freedom, could no longer tolerate this life!
So, in order to reclaim his former freedom, he didn't hesitate to cooperate with someone who claimed to be a former Special Grade Sorcerer to lie in wait in this abandoned hospital and kill a young man who had supposedly just become a Sorcerer.
He used a special method to hide from that Cursed Spirit for a long time, finally waiting for the target. Seeing that he was a Sorcerer who fought with a bow and arrow, he planned to ambush him the moment he let down his guard after subjugating the Cursed Spirit.
How could a Curse User with rich killing experience fail to kill a novice Sorcerer who wasn't proficient in close combat, even with a sneak attack?
So, finding his chance, he struck without hesitation.
Wait... what?
Calculating based on the memories in his head, he should have already made his move and be engaged in combat right now. That should be correct, shouldn't it?
Amidst his fleeting memories, the Curse User, flying backward mid-air, finally recalled his current state.
BOOM——————!
His body slammed heavily into the rubble of the remaining ruins. But compared to the pain from the impact, the sharp pain from his abdomen was far worse, making it impossible to straighten up.
'My intel was wrong. So this guy's close-combat skill is also quite formidable?'
But it didn't matter. Knowing human anatomy, he understood he had only broken a few ribs; the internal organ damage wasn't too severe, and it wouldn't affect the rest of the fight.
He had merely misjudged the intelligence and hadn't used his Cursed Technique immediately—otherwise, he wouldn't be in such a pitiful state. No one has ever defeated him on the first attempt without understanding his Cursed Technique!
"Who are you? A Curse User?" Emiya asked, walking steadily towards him from not far away.
A person's temper is something hard to directly control with pure logic, and even Emiya, who is usually kind, had moments when his anger was difficult to suppress. The source of it all was the Cursed Spirit and the words it uttered moments ago.
Do Cursed Spirits, beings purely born from negative emotions and curses, even have a concept of parents? The answer is clearly no.
But high-grade Cursed Spirits have strong learning abilities, so while they may be born with little intelligence, they can quickly learn human language.
The Cursed Spirit's final words were undoubtedly the dying words of a victim. It probably thought it was an expression of surrender.
In short, Emiya's emotions were currently unstable. Coincidentally, a suspected Curse User popped out right then. He was either cooped up here with the Cursed Spirit the whole time or was following someone's orders...
'It doesn't matter. I'll get the answer out of him. I won't let him escape.'
"Isn't that obvious, you idiot!" The Curse User violently surged up from the rubble and kicked straight toward Emiya.
"Trace on!"
Emiya gripped Kanshou and Bakuya and met the attack without hesitation. The Curse User's speed wasn't very fast. Emiya could easily block this guy's attack and then swiftly incapacitate him.
'However...'
Dong—
The blade, after deflecting the attack, struck the opponent's ankle, but the anticipated sensation never came. Instead, the opponent used that momentum to twist his body mid-air.
"Heh—" A cheerful yet extremely lewd grin spread across the Curse User's face. After twisting his body, he delivered a kick toward Emiya's flank.
Bang—!
Now imbued with Cursed Energy, this Curse User's power was several times more terrifying than before, forcing Emiya to immediately step back to mitigate the force.
Once stable, Emiya instantly analyzed the situation.
The blade clearly struck the opponent's body, yet it caused absolutely no damage... Was the opponent's body too tough?
No, that's not right. Emiya could clearly feel the sensation transmitted through the blade.
It didn't feel like cutting into something hard; it felt more like hitting something overly soft, causing the force to be completely absorbed. But even that wasn't quite accurate... it felt more like his own attack had lost all its force.
Undoubtedly, the opponent's [Innate Technique] was at work. So, what was the ability of this technique? Simply neutralizing damage, or enhancing his own power?
'It shouldn't be that...'
"Hey, kid!" The Curse User suddenly spoke up, not giving Emiya a chance to think about the battle. "Someone paid me a huge price to take your life, you know!"
He didn't fear stating the truth.
He wanted the Sorcerer across from him to think about matters outside of the fight, thereby losing his judgment in combat. As long as he killed the target, the information still wouldn't—
"Why did you become a Curse User?" As he was gloating over his own wit, he saw Emiya pause for a moment and then ask him this question instead.
"Huh?"
"Of course, it's to trample the weak until I die...
And it's a blast!!!"
It was evident that his smile came completely from the heart.
"I see."
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