Chapter 74: The Old Man's Sudden Burst of Youthful Folly
"A swordsmith who lives in the past... a Sorcerer?"
The only thing Ryomen Sukuna could think of for a moment was a situation similar to his own.
After all, it was only after his fingers turned into Cursed Objects after his death that he managed to incarnate into Yuji Itadori a millennium later.
In his incarnated state, even in this mental world, his appearance was extremely similar to Yuji Itadori's; some might even believe they were twins.
Seeing Senji Muramasa, whose appearance resembled Emiya, Ryomen Sukuna naturally assumed the other party was in the same situation as himself, taking Emiya's body as the target for incarnation and resurrection.
This helped him understand why Emiya, despite his youth, was able to defeat him, which somehow provided Sukuna with a slight sense of comfort.
But even so, the wayward Ryomen Sukuna would never compromise.
He still held the confidence that even if the opponent was a figure from the past like himself, he was the stronger, the mightiest one.
"To demand I make concessions the moment you appear is simply laughable."
After getting over his initial shock, Ryomen Sukuna leaned back onto his tall throne made of piled skeletons, looking down at the other party from an elevated position.
"State your name, now."
What an arrogant posture this was!
"Senji Muramasa… Compared to this old man's name, I believe my school should be more famous."
Senji Muramasa did not mind Ryomen Sukuna's scorn and instead reported his name honestly. Although both originated from ancient times and had lived a complete life, Senji Muramasa's demeanor was much more seasoned than Sukuna's.
"Demon Blade Muramasa?mI see, the swordsmith of the original Muramasa."
Unexpectedly, Ryomen Sukuna had actually heard of this name.
"It is truly an honor that even the Demon God of Hida Province knows this old man's name."
Even when calculated by the Sengoku period, when Senji Muramasa was active, the legend of Ryomen Sukuna as an Demon God had to be traced back a millennium earlier, making him undoubtedly an ancient existence.
As a child, he had even heard stories about Sukuna eating children.
"This old man's request is also simple: just save that boy over there. Restoring a heart should be quite easy for an Demon God like you."
"...?"
Yuji Itadori, who could only squat there watching others perform in his own mental world, pointed to himself in confusion.
"I'm afraid I refuse.
Even if this brat dies here, I would only lose the soul of three fingers. I still have seventeen fingers existing in the outside world.
But if all your efforts go to waste, those kids outside will probably suffer greatly, won't they?"
The thing Ryomen Sukuna hated most was being ordered around, and the thing he loved most was inflicting the feeling of pain upon others. No matter what Senji Muramasa's request was, he never intended to agree.
As for why he even asked?
Of course, giving hope first and then inflicting despair is much more interesting!
"It seems you've misunderstood something, Demon God."
Senji Muramasa gently took off the cloak on his back, and then drew a blade from behind.
"The word 'ask' was never a part of this old man's request."
.
.
.
"...?"
It was only when Emiya subconsciously uttered the technique advised by the 'Shirou Emiya' hypothetical persona, Senji Muramasa, that he realized he had already returned to the real world from that dream.
This dream didn't even wait for him to fall asleep; it unfolded and completed without him realizing it.
The state of that 'Shirou Emiya' was completely different from the Heroic Spirit EMIYA and EMIYA Alter; he was essentially a different Heroic Spirit, a swordsmith named Senji Muramasa.
However, because this Heroic Spirit incarnated his abilities along with part of his personality into the body of 'Shirou Emiya,' a hypothetical persona combining the two individuals was newly born.
It was an iteration: what if a person named 'Shirou Emiya' traveled to the Sengoku period, became Muramasa, and successfully survived to old age along a similar trajectory.
'Shirou Emiya's** mind and Senji Muramasa's** memories** together constructed this hypothetical persona.
And it was in this hypothetical persona that Senji Muramasa's forging technique successfully reached the realm of the gods he had been pursuing all his life, and he successfully forged the Divine Construct unique to him: Tsumukari Muramasa.
The process of forging this Divine Construct is now deeply etched into Emiya's mind, but he is temporarily unable to fully comprehend it, let alone reproduce it with his own hands.
Memory, comprehension, and experience have not yet synchronized, but this is like a lighthouse in a lost ocean—with a goal, one doesn't fear getting lost.
Furthermore, that mention of forging wasn't merely meant to encourage him to work in that direction but was a genuinely existing thing...
Emiya really wanted to continue his research in this area, but reality clearly wouldn't give him the chance.
"Emiya-sensei, how is Itadori...?"
Megumi Fushiguro's anxious voice interrupted his contemplation.
Only then did Emiya suddenly remember that, due to the dream, he hadn't managed to successfully enter Yuji Itadori's mental domain just now, let alone make Sukuna concede and choose to restore Itadori's body.
Emiya immediately looked ahead, thinking about how he could still remedy the situation, only to see the horrifying, ferocious wound on Yuji Itadori's chest slowly healing.
Not only the surface, but even the missing heart inside was recovering at a visible rate.
This was a miracle enough to make medical students doubt reality.
"Itadori's wound... it actually succeeded?!"
Megumi Fushiguro was certainly not blind; he could see this miraculous scene.
From a human perspective, Yuji Itadori should have been impossible to save just now; one might even say he was already dead.
But Emiya had truly created a miracle, allowing the missing heart to recover.
Megumi Fushiguro couldn't understand the process, only knowing that Emiya had created it all.
If, if there truly exists a miracle in this world that can fulfill most fantasies, and even the near-dead Yuji Itadori can be saved...
Then does this prove that his sister, who has been in a coma since being afflicted by a curse, can also be awakened?
As long as he can achieve this goal, he would make any sacrifice.
Thinking of this, Megumi Fushiguro was about to open his mouth to ask, but suddenly remembered that Emiya had used the Durandal to summon the Miracle
And as the price for the Miracle, the holy sword had completely shattered before his eyes.
The hand that had just clenched into a fist loosened again.
On one side was Yuji Itadori, and on the other was his sister; he would not use a matter of life as a comparison.
In the end, Itadori was saved, wasn't he?
Perhaps in this unequal world, there is simply no such thing as having one's cake and eating it too.
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