Chapter 71: My Body Is Made of Swords
Domain Expansion—the ultimate secret of the Jujutsu world—is fundamentally categorized as a type of Barrier Technique.
Its essence is to materialize the Innate Domain into reality using Cursed Energy, injecting the Cursed Technique carved onto the body, and expending a huge amount of Cursed Energy to construct a surrounding Innate Domain imbued with the Cursed Technique.
The Sorcerer within the Domain receives enhancements to their Cursed Energy, body, five senses, and even will, and crucially, any Cursed Technique activated within the Domain is guaranteed to hit.
Since it is a Barrier Technique, chanting or forming hand signs is one of the indispensable rituals.
Unlike Satoru Gojo's single-handed Taishakuten Mudra (Indra's Seal), Ryomen Sukuna now used the Enmaten Mudra (Yama's Seal), formed by clasping his hands together with palms hollowed. Taishakuten and Enmaten are both among the Twelve Heavenly Generals in Hindu mythology, the former being the Heavenly Emperor who presides over the celestial realm, and the latter being the Ghost God who governs the tortures of hell.
For Sorcerers who grow up in Jujutsu families, this mythological knowledge is a necessary part of what they must learn and memorize, but Emiya, who is only a half-baked Sorcerer, is clearly not among them.
As for the source of this knowledge? He didn't know why the memory fragments of Heroic Spirit EMIYA contained such detailed information.
Perhaps, during the sorrowful time before and after he became a Counter Guardian, that version of him developed a good habit of reading.
When Emiya himself attempts to learn the technique of Domain Expansion, he might need to draw inspiration from this area... but now is clearly not the time to be dwelling on such things.
Domain Expansion adds a sure-hit effect to the Cursed Technique.
Although Emiya hasn't personally experienced it yet, it's safe to assume that the sure-hit effect is likely a concept-based ability related to causality, and the only techniques Ryomen Sukuna would imbue are his two slashes: 'Dismantle' and 'Cleave.' To endure that Cursed Technique with a mere physical body under the Domain's sure-hit effect, the outcome is predictable.
Should he use the Fragarach: Gouging Sword of the War God to reverse the opponent's Domain Expansion?
Emiya wasn't foolish enough to think that the King of Curses wouldn't use a trump card like Domain Expansion.
He had already planned before the fight to use the Fragarach for a reversal. However, doing so would inevitably cause the reversed attack to pierce Yuji Itadori's body...
If Ryomen Sukuna were to fully realize that his opponent was currently unable to defeat him, this guy might not continue to slowly fight him here.
Whether it's taking Yuji Itadori's body hostage or wantonly slaughtering ordinary people, this guy is clearly capable of doing it without any psychological burden. Emiya's original goal was merely to delay the opponent as much as possible, giving Yuji Itadori time to regain control of his body.
Given the circumstances... there's no choice.
He has to take a risk!
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"I am the bone of my sword. Steel is my body and fire is my blood."
Emiya chose not to immediately interrupt Ryomen Sukuna's Domain activation. He knew that when facing an opponent who had already resolved to deploy Domain Expansion, any interference would only buy a moment. Rather than that, he would try to stop the opponent in a more forceful way.
"What is this? The preliminary chant for some Cursed Technique?
But to try and clash with my Fukuma Mizushi (Malevolent Shrine), isn't that a bit too naive, brat?"
The moment after Ryomen Sukuna mocked him, the Fukuma Mizushi (Malevolent Shrine) was established first.
It was not the pure white expanse of Unlimited Void. What engulfed Emiya and Sukuna was a scene of dark crimson gloom.
In Ryomen Sukuna's Domain, this bizarre color filled the entire sky and seabed, and Sukuna himself stood within a shrine that had appeared out of thin air.
Not only the space and the scene, but even the clothes on Ryomen Sukuna's body were converted into white garments resembling a kimono, making his appearance more akin to a demon god.
Undoubtedly, this was the interior of Ryomen Sukuna's Domain, and that attire was his own inherent image of himself within his inner world. It could be said that from the moment the Domain fully deployed, Emiya's life was, in some sense, held in Ryomen Sukuna's hand.
"How does it feel?
Whether you're scared or ignorant, I did, after all, promise to let you live.
If you can do something now that manages to amuse me, I can temporarily spare your life. Choose."
Ryomen Sukuna adopted the stance of a confident victor who held the situation in his grasp, hiding his hands within his wide sleeves as he anticipated Emiya's reaction.
The result was that Emiya remained completely unmoved, pressing his palm firmly against his chest, self-absorbedly continuing his chant.
"I have created over a thousand blades."
It hurt.
It hurt, it hurt, it hurt.
The feeling was like a blunt knife slowly scraping through various parts of his body, an internal, bone-deep agony even more painful than being pierced by ten thousand swords.
Emiya had already experienced this feeling when fighting Angelica, the replacement of the Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh, to protect Miyu.
No matter how similar and matching the appearance and soul are, he and Heroic Spirit Emiya are ultimately people from two different worlds. Due to differences in growth experience and inner world, the Reality Marble that represents all of this naturally has differences.
The constant physical swapping with 'Heroic Spirit EMIYA' was already causing Emiya considerable pain, and rashly deploying the Reality Marble would further accelerate and exacerbate this process.
Even though he felt that the physical damage from the swap had gradually adapted and lessened since he arrived in this world of Sorcerers, the pain still existed when he truly attempted to use this Reality Marble.
But it didn't matter. Emiya could fully withstand just this level of pain.
"Tch, are you underestimating me?
But I can already tell that your body is probably completely incapable of bearing the activation of this Cursed Technique, right?
Such a long chant must mean that the final product is an astonishingly massive Cursed Technique... but that's only if you can endure my technique first."
In that final sentence, the laughter in Ryomen Sukuna's voice was almost completely unbearable. He clearly didn't believe Emiya could complete the chant under these circumstances. None of the Cursed Techniques Ryomen Sukuna himself mastered had such
a lengthy chant. He believed that the power of Emiya's technique was impressive, but he wouldn't give the opponent this chance.
"Listen up. My other Cursed Technique, 'Hachi,' is a single, fatal slash that adjusts according to the difference in Cursed Energy and intensity."
"The greater the difference in Cursed Energy between the opponent and me, the more dense the slashes released by 'Hachi' will be. Conversely, they become more complex and easier to dodge, but the one-hit fatal power remains the same.
In short, the weak will be sliced to dust, and only the strong will be left with relatively complete corpses.
The only flaw, I suppose, is that 'Hachi' requires my body to be in intimate contact with the opponent... but within the Fukuma Mizushi, even this one flaw doesn't truly exist.
So farewell. I hope you're strong enough to be left with a whole corpse, brat."
Don't forget, the Binding Vow of voluntarily disclosing Cursed Technique information can enhance the technique's power, and this effect also applies to Domain Expansion. Even though he thought he had the victory assured, Ryomen Sukuna was still incredibly cautious, choosing to disclose the information first to further increase the strength of his Domain. He had realized that with only three fingers, his strength and Emiya's were not unbalanced.
The moment after Ryomen Sukuna finished speaking, the invisible 'Hachi' was supposed to transform into countless slashes and assail Emiya. Therefore, Emiya immediately moved in the second before the opponent's technique arrived.
"Rho Aias!!!"
In an instant, a vast and dazzling shield of seven concentric layers flashed and unfolded in front of Emiya, ultimately forming a pink-hued bulwark several meters high. This is the defensive Noble Phantasm that Heroic Spirit Emiya is most proficient at using, apart from his various swords.
It also originates from the Greek mythology of the Trojan War, specifically the shield used by the hero Ajax to block Hector's fatal spear—it is said that the unblockable spear pierced six layers of the shield but was ultimately stopped by the seventh. Thereafter, Rho Aias became renowned as a Conceptual Weapon known for its absolute defense against thrown weapons, and its existence was sublimated. Due to its extremely high-grade specifications as a Noble Phantasm, Emiya must chant at least three sections of the incantation to retrieve it from his Innate Domain, even after pre-projecting it.
As for why he used this Noble Phantasm for defense? Because although it is a defensive Noble Phantasm, Rho Aias is not conventional armor, but a Barrier Noble Phantasm.
As the name suggests, it constructs a conceptual barrier that can perfectly withstand thrown attacks to protect the wielder.
Domain Expansion is a grand Barrier Technique that grants a sure-hit effect to a Cursed Technique, yes, but a barrier can conflict with and neutralize another barrier. To achieve the sure-hit effect, that slash must first break through the defense of Rho Aias. Since he knew his physical condition could hardly support the full deployment of his Reality Marble, this was Emiya's initial idea.
Ryomen Sukuna certainly wouldn't have thought that a different effect could be activated even when the chant for a Cursed Technique hadn't been fully completed.
——BOOM!!!!!
Finally, the slash violently collided with the pink barrier, creating an overwhelming force. But this was ultimately Sukuna's Domain encompassing Emiya's Barrier Noble Phantasm, and the 'slash' was hardly categorized as a thrown weapon.
Crack——Crack——Crack——Crack——Crack——
Under the constant pressure of 'Hachi,' the seven concentric layers of Rho Aias gradually began to rupture and break, pushing Emiya, who was bracing it with a single hand, into a continuous retreat.
Until finally—
CRACK!
Under the combined enhancement of the Binding Vow, the Domain's buff, and the sure-hit effect, the 'slash' completely overwhelmed the final and most solid layer of the barrier.
BOOM!
The enormous, grid-like 'slash' completely covered Emiya and the ground he stood on. With the sure-hit effect, Ryomen Sukuna was convinced that his attack had definitely landed.
"That brat was truly stubborn.
But in the end, the victor is still me, haha."
After a bitter fight, Ryomen Sukuna naturally displayed a mad, heartfelt smile as he enjoyed the sweet fruit of victory. Although, there was a hint of sorrow beneath the rampant smile.
"But after you die, even fully revived, I probably won't find a chef as good as you... Wait, WHAT?!"
Even a Sorcerer who has mastered Domain Expansion can only use the Domain once a day, as it is a Cursed Technique that consumes a massive amount of Cursed Energy.
Ryomen Sukuna, maintaining himself with only three fingers, was no exception. So, after being certain of his victory, the Domain isolating the outside world began to slowly descend, allowing the gloomy sky to be welcomed once more.
But, but...
BUT!!!
Ryomen Sukuna saw it.
All four eyes saw it.
The guy who took his Domain Expansion head-on was still standing there!!!
"Ah... Ah..."
Beneath the not-too-thick dust, Emiya was heavily panting.
His condition was far from good.
His upper garments were nearly shredded, and bloody gashes were clearly visible. But these were only superficial wounds.
What was truly important was that Emiya had almost completely exhausted his Cursed Energy during the battle. His Cursed Energy reserves were not exceptional even among Sorcerers, let alone compared to a Heroic Spirit.
Even 'Hachi,' weakened after being partially blocked by Rho Aias, should have been more than enough to cleave Emiya in half. Yet, he merely knelt there briefly to adjust, then stood up again.
All of this was thanks to the longsword that propped him up and prevented him from collapsing completely.
Ryomen Sukuna recognized it, for it was the very object he had furiously destroyed moments ago.
——Durandal.
"You despicable brat, you were toying with me since that time!
I will kill you, I will kill you, I absolutely must kill you, brat!!!"
The sword that could block his slash, yet caused him excitement and regret when he destroyed it with his own hands, was nothing more than a freely manufactured forgery?
From his senses to his emotions, he had been completely deceived. Ryomen Sukuna's anger over this deception was even greater than his fury over the fact that the opponent had physically endured his Fukuma Mizushi.
"Someone who's reached the end of their rope shouldn't be talking like that, Sukuna.
I remember clearly, Gojo-sensei once told me after that sparring match—that after Domain Expansion is fully deployed, the Cursed Technique injected into it enters a 'meltdown' state.
Can you still fight, Sukuna? I still have quite enough sword reserves on my side."
"You brat!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! !"
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