Chapter 51: Hrunting.
"Ah, ah, so scary, so scary. For a moment there, I really thought I was going to die.
It's the first time my body has been so seriously injured, so I was inevitably a little unsure. But thanks to you, I've learned something new...
Even if the body is completely pulverized, as long as I maintain the shape of my soul, I won't die, and the Cursed Energy consumption is within the range of self-replenishment... I'm really amazing."
Mahito watched Emiya, his mouth curving into a grin while quickly resetting his continuously flailing limbs.
"And it seems there's no risk no matter how I modify my own soul."
Under Mahito's manipulation, the form of his outstretched hand continuously began to change, from a wing to a blade, and from a shield to an iron rod.
It seemed that, just as he said, he could freely change the form of his soul, and then influence reality.
Regardless, his ability should still belong to the category of a Cursed Technique; activating it consumes Cursed Energy, so it's not completely unsolvable.
However, Cursed Spirits are different from Jujutsu Sorcerers. They are born from curses and can draw energy from negative emotions. If it's the hatred of humans for humans... that kind of thing is probably countless in the world.
So, it's highly likely to be true that the Cursed Energy Mahito just said he naturally replenishes is completely enough to offset the Cursed Energy consumed by body restoration.
Does this mean that attacks that can't reach the soul definitely can't harm this guy?
Emiya subconsciously gripped his weapons tighter, yet for a moment, he couldn't think of a good countermeasure.
There are quite a few Noble Phantasms that can affect the soul, but if the scope is limited to "sword" type Noble Phantasms, the options are greatly reduced. Furthermore, and more importantly, Emiya's current reserves do not include this type of Noble Phantasm.
Ultimately, the time is still too short...
"What's wrong? Not attacking yet? Are you thinking about how to break my Cursed Technique?
I'm afraid any attack won't work if it can't touch the soul. Also..."
Mahito, who was mid-sentence, suddenly pulled out a few oddly shaped objects from his pocket and waved his hand, scattering them towards Emiya.
"I won't give you any more chances, you know."
Clack—Clack—!
The objects fell to the ground and quickly grew into various grotesque monsters, rushing towards Emiya with exaggerated postures.
The speed and strength of these monsters were considerable; ordinary humans and Jujutsu Sorcerers might not be able to deal with them easily, but this category certainly did not include Emiya.
Emiya chose not to retreat, but stepped forward, dodging and side-kicking the monster charging at the very front. He then engaged with the remaining few, and after a few exchanges, he put them down.
"Slow down, I find it very difficult to store humans, you know. When an ordinary person's shape changes, they usually die instantly."
Emiya was about to deliver the killing blow to finish them off completely, but his action suddenly halted because of this remark from the other party.
"You bastard!"
"Hehe."
Seeing Emiya abandon the plan to continue attacking the modified humans and instead rush towards him, Mahito's face immediately revealed a somewhat pathological smile.
"I can see it, your soul is wavering!"
This guy didn't directly meet Emiya's attack. Instead, he transformed his feet into a form resembling a horse's, quickly evading the charge.
"Hahahahahaha, come on, come on, make me happier!"
Was he enjoying the battle, or was he enjoying this pathological emotion, or both?
In any case, this guy wasn't personally attacking Emiya. Instead, he was using the mobility gained from body modification to dodge, only letting the modified humans rush at him desperately, completely abandoning defense.
If Emiya didn't want to directly kill these poor modified people, he could only try his best to evade them, but in a state of hesitation, it was impossible to catch the Cursed Spirit in front of him.
In this narrow underground space, powerful Noble Phantasms were completely unusable, and even the bow and arrow couldn't be fully deployed.
Regardless of whether he could cause damage, he had to find a way to first restrict this guy's mobility.
In the gap where Emiya was deep in thought, a modified human below, whose attack he had just dodged, suddenly began to swell. Its body crashed towards him like a cannonball.
Boom!
When the dust settled, the modified human, who had been indistinguishable from an ordinary person, had transformed into a massive columnar shape standing in the center of the underground tunnel, and Emiya lightly landed on top of the column.
"Not just the shape, but can even the mass be changed?"
This Cursed Technique is as unreasonable as Gojo-sensei's Limitless...
"..."
A hoarse voice came. Emiya looked down and saw a distorted face on the columnar modified body beneath his feet.
That face was like a sheet of skin, having lost all internal organs, yet it made a sound from its mouth, and tears seeped out of its eye slits.
"Ah? Sorry, sorry~ I practiced many times, and now changing size doesn't immediately kill them, but the precision of the brain, or rather, the consciousness aspect, isn't high enough yet, and sometimes the soul sweats out.
Don't mind it, let's continue."
When saying these words, Mahito's expression was quite indifferent, as if he truly only considered this an accident.
Emiya didn't speak. Instead, he reached out his hand and gently wiped away the tear stain on that face.
"Saying things like 'don't mind it,' you really are a bastard."
At this moment, the expression on Emiya's face had also returned to calm.
It was precisely because his anger had reached a certain level that he suppressed all his emotions, just like he did in the past.
"Fake, right? I can't really see your soul shaking anymore?"
Mahito still maintained his frivolous demeanor, completely unaware of what he was about to face next.
"...Nanami!"
At the same time, Nanami Kento's figure appeared at the end of the tunnel.
He rushed over the moment he received Emiya's signal, finally arriving at the battlefield now. Without needing to exchange much information, Nanami Kento jumped in and guarded Emiya's back, telling the other party: "The modified humans can't be saved... but I'll deal with the modified humans, and you focus on that special Cursed Spirit."
This division of labor wasn't about difficulty; Nanami Kento just felt it was better this way.
"Thank you, Nanami-senpai."
Emiya also didn't say much. He leaped down from the columnar modified body, raised his longbow, and aimed at Mahito not far away.
"Trace On."
"Seriously? You're going to attack me with such a clumsy weapon? How about a bet on whether you can hit me?"
Kicking the ground with his horse-hoof-transformed feet, Mahito still maintained his arrogant posture.
But Emiya still didn't speak. He simply released the tightly drawn bowstring and arrow in his hand.
"...Hrunting."
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