Chapter 62: Yuji Itadori, You Need to Learn the Elbow Strike
Upon receiving Emiya's ultimatum, Fushiguro and the others exchanged glances, then simultaneously broke off and charged at Emiya from different directions.
Although they had only known each other for less than a week, they already showed some degree of synergy, which was quite rare.
However, to achieve a 'one plus one is greater than two' effect in combat, this level wasn't enough.
Emiya needed to pressure them more.
The first to reach Emiya was Yuji Itadori, charging straight ahead.
His physical fitness seemed to give him a clear advantage among the three, and since he hadn't mastered a Cursed Technique, close-quarters disruption was his best option.
To test his true power, Emiya chose not to dodge the punch aimed directly at his chest but met it with crossed arms.
Bang!
Emiya couldn't help but take half a step back. This kid's power—why is it even greater than expected?
Yuji Itadori was not a warrior who had undergone special training since childhood; he was just an ordinary high school student who had only entered the Jujutsu world a few days ago.
His raw strength alone seemed capable of smashing walls.
Could this really be explained by natural talent?
Jujutsu Sorcerers do use Cursed Energy reinforcement to increase their power and attack damage in combat, but Yuji Itadori was able to achieve a similar effect with only raw strength.
Because the Cursed Energy-enhanced damage was yet to come.
"Divergent Fist!"
For others, reciting the name of a move might be a condition for activation, but for Yuji Itadori, it was clearly just for momentum. But it must be said, his momentum was certainly strong.
Boom!
A visible wave of air exploded outwards.
Even without sustaining any physical damage, Emiya was indeed forced to rely on stepping back to absorb the remaining force of the startling blow.
Due to physical constraints, the human body cannot execute two full-power strikes in quick succession.
Therefore, Emiya, knowing he was fighting multiple opponents, scanned his surroundings with his peripheral vision immediately.
Sure enough, Fushiguro Megumi had circled behind him at some point, his hands pressed together in a summoning gesture.
"Divine Dogs (Gyokuken)."
From the shadow beneath him, two large dogs, one black and one white, emerged, leaping fiercely toward Emiya. Their speed was fast; judged solely on this aspect, they were at least on the level of Grade 2 Cursed Spirits.
Emiya had just begun to turn his body due to inertia when the two dogs abruptly stopped around him, simultaneously trying to bite him from both sides. However, such speed was clearly not enough to challenge Emiya.
He leaped up abruptly, spinning halfway in the air—with a kick, he sent the two dogs flying backward even faster than they came.
"Awoooo!!??!"
It was clear that the kick hurt quite a bit.
"Familiars, Shikigami-like creatures... does the Jujutsu world really have these?"
Although everyone can only master one Innate Technique, the manifestation of some techniques is quite similar to traditional Onmyōdō.
"Damn it, the Divine Dogs' speed isn't even enough... Itadori!"
"Osu!!"
Fushiguro Megumi, realizing the disparity, didn't panic but immediately shouted for his teammate.
Yuji Itadori rushed in from behind Emiya as summoned, but just as Emiya turned around, Fushiguro Megumi chose to abandon his Cursed Technique and reinforced his body with Cursed Energy to engage in close combat.
For a summoner to give up the advantage of range for close combat, it was indeed hard to guard against.
However, they weren't the only ones who could reinforce themselves with Cursed Energy.
Dark Cursed Energy instantly surfaced around Emiya, but his target was neither of the two, but the ground!
Boom!
As Emiya stomped down, the ground instantly shook and cracked, causing both opponents standing on it to lose their balance simultaneously.
"Waaaahh??"
Yuji Itadori, having lost his footing, was about to fall, his arms flailing in the air. Fortunately, Emiya managed to steady him by grabbing his shoulder.
"Phew... That scared me. Arigato, Emiya-sensei."
He truly was a polite, good kid.
"It's alright, as long as you're not afraid of pain."
"Eh?"
Bang!
Emiya unhesitatingly kicked Yuji Itadori in the waist, eliminating the poor child first from the fight.
"Orochi!!!"
Roar!!!
Yuji's sacrifice was not entirely meaningless; at least it gave Fushiguro Megumi time to summon another Shikigami.
Shattered stones, violently thrown up by the impact, created multiple shadows under the sunlight. These shadows now undulated like boiling water, and the next moment, a giant serpent, tens of meters long, burst out of them.
The sudden attack and the gaping maw left Emiya with no place to land, forcing him to immediately leap high into the air, where he was continuously driven upwards by the ever-extending giant serpent.
In this wide-open high-altitude area, Emiya finally noticed Kugisaki Nobara's movements.
She was clipping several steel nails between her fingers, gripping a hammer with her other hand, and wore a triumphant smile as she looked up at Emiya, who was looking at her.
Kugisaki Nobara tossed the nails high like ping-pong balls, then forcefully swung her hammer, sending the Cursed Energy-infused nails hurtling out like bullets. Emiya, being in the air, had no footing, making this attack virtually unavoidable.
Emiya had reason to believe these guys had already discussed each other's fighting styles privately to form a relatively perfect coordination in this situation. An enemy without sufficient information could easily be led deeper into the trap by their teamwork.
However, there is no situation in the world that is absolutely inescapable.
"Trace on."
Reaching out and grasping the pair of swords, Kanshou and Bakuya, which materialized from blue light particles in mid-air, Emiya intercepted the barrage of attacks with swift and precise movements.
Bang—Bang—Bang—Bang—!
The force of the attack was indeed terrifying, but precisely because of this, Emiya's stance was adjusted by the counter-force.
Click—!
The giant serpent's gaping maw finally closed, but Emiya's figure had already left his original position moments ago, and after rolling once in mid-air, he quickly descended.
"No, way... he even dodged an attack like that?!"
If a strike landing without effect is attributable to an overwhelming advantage in strength and stats, it is still somewhat acceptable. But this situation was a complete mockery of their combat skill, wasn't it? Their combined attack couldn't even graze him once.
Fushiguro Megumi was still reeling from Emiya's combat display until, after a moment of stunned realization, he finally noticed that Emiya's landing direction seemed to be right toward him.
Although his Cursed Technique was classified as Shikigami summoning, Fushiguro Megumi was quite confident in his close-quarters combat. Influenced by some unknown factor, this summoner had a peculiar fondness for close combat. Yet, even he clearly knew that if Emiya got close, the fight would essentially end instantly.
I have to figure out a way!
Fushiguro Megumi clapped his hands together into a gesture, summoning a brand new Shikigami once more.
"Rabbit Escape!"
Red light surged from the shadows. However, this time the appearing Shikigami was not just one or two, but hundreds of rabbit Shikigami frantically pouring out of the shadows. Their sheer numbers piled up, quickly forming a several-meter-high fortress that completely encased Fushiguro Megumi.
"Defense... No, he wants to escape?"
Emiya quickly judged Fushiguro Megumi's intended strategy, then landed directly into the tumultuous crowd of rabbits.
Boom!
The next second, the entire rabbit horde was blasted apart by a massive burst of Cursed Energy, and the figures of Emiya and Fushiguro Megumi simultaneously became visible within the wreckage.
The two were now close in proximity, and Emiya's attack quickly closed the remaining distance.
Fushiguro Megumi, with an extremely agile movement, managed to dodge two slashes. However, Emiya was not like Yuji Itadori, who expended his full strength on every strike.
Before Fushiguro Megumi could recover from his evasive stance, Emiya's kick had already landed on his chest.
Bang!
Fushiguro Megumi, who flew back over ten meters, was eliminated.
It wasn't that Kugisaki Nobara in the distance didn't want to rush forward to assist; it was just that the Rabbit Escape Shikigami had blocked Emiya's vision, but also interfered with her own actions.
By the time she finally located the two figures emerging from the scattered rabbits, Fushiguro Megumi had already been defeated in that brief moment.
"Damn it!"
Even though she knew this was just a trial, Kugisaki Nobara, seeing her teammates fall one after another, couldn't help but get angry, immediately scattering nails to continue shooting at Emiya.
Unfortunately, Emiya's movement was a step faster than hers.
He threw the Kanshou sword in his right hand towards her. No one would have expected a close-combat sword to trace such a beautiful arc in mid-air, ultimately hitting its target with precision.
"Smack!!!"
The hammer raised by Kugisaki Nobara flew out from the impact, and the nails she had just tossed scattered across the ground.
The girl was now completely stunned.
"No way... he even dodged an attack like that?!"
Even if their individual strengths weren't too high, they shouldn't be so inept as a group that they couldn't even touch the pant leg of a Grade 1 Sorcerer, right? She had felt their last cooperative effort was quite good, but who knew the result would be so embarrassing?
Before the fight: He's so young, could he really be a Grade 1 Sorcerer?
After the fight: Skills like this are only Grade 1 Sorcerer level?
"Very good, very good. I've got a rough idea of what your abilities are like."
After completing his final wave of offense, Emiya clapped his hands, signaling the others to disengage from the combat state.
Even just the last bit of teamwork was enough to catch his eye, let alone the fact that the real skill level of the three was clearly not bad.
However, Emiya was satisfied with what he learned, but Fushiguro Megumi and Yuji Itadori were still lying there contemplating how blue the sky above Jujutsu High was.
Finally, after roughly a few minutes, the three of them managed to recover from the fight and stood obediently in a line before Emiya. They couldn't defeat him, and he was their teacher; how could they be anything but obedient?
"Hmm, how should I comment..."
Pacing back and forth in front of the three like a military instructor, Emiya finally formed some thoughts in his mind.
"First, Yuji Itadori."
"Yes!"
Hearing his name called, Yuji Itadori, still sporting a visible bruise on his nose, immediately straightened his chest.
"While you might not have the best judgment of the battle situation, being able to quickly trust your teammate's signal and act decisively is a virtue. It's best to maintain this courage even in solo combat.
As for your biggest drawback, it is undoubtedly the monotony of your attack methods."
This straightforward, one-dimensional fighting style, which relies only on direct punches, is too simplistic and easily read by the enemy.
"But I can't help it, Emiya-sensei. I don't have a Cursed Technique to use like those two." Yuji Itadori scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I'm not referring to that. While talent like Cursed Techniques is difficult to imitate, your weapon is not limited to just your fists.
Your feet, knees, and elbows—aren't these all weapons evolved by humans naturally?
Profound techniques are difficult to grasp in a short time, but learning to fight with your body is simple. Cursed Energy doesn't only have to be applied to your fists."
While the Heroic Spirit Emiya's combat style mostly utilizes dual swords and archery, even before inheriting that power, Emiya himself had followed Kiritsugu to learn many combat
techniques, or rather, pure killing arts. That period of instruction wasn't long, but Emiya hadn't been idle since.
"Oh, wow! I get it!"
Yuji Itadori's excited face showed an expression of sudden realization.
"Emiya-sensei, you mean I can also use Divergent Kick and Divergent Elbow!"
"..."
"Something like that, yes."
In any case, at least Yuji really understood something.
"Next, Kugisaki-kun. I haven't experienced it firsthand, but even though your Cursed Technique likely possesses strong offensive power, it should still be more of a support-type, right?
Although it is difficult to engage in close combat when three people are fighting at once, you immediately positioned yourself for remote assistance, which indicates that your technique can be activated from that distance, even if the conditions might require teamwork to be met.
May I be so bold as to ask what your Cursed Technique is?"
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