Chapter 212: Humiliated, Once Again...
What kind of novel experience is it to be hit by a falling meteor? At the very least, it's probably the kind of bragging rights that no one would believe if you told them.
Unfortunately, thanks to Emiya's arrow from beyond the heavens, Itadori and Fushiguro Megumi could only lose out on such a unique experience.
That said, the scene of a meteor being shattered by sheer force was clearly thousands of times more brilliant and awe-inspiring than a meteor simply crashing down. In fact, roughly six thousand meteors are pulled in by Earth's gravity every year, but most are burned to nothing by the high temperatures of atmospheric entry; only a tiny fraction actually reach the surface. Even meteors recorded in history usually only have a diameter of a few meters, yet even those possess enough power to destroy any known substance.
If there truly were a meteor that could maintain the nearly hundred-meter diameter Jogo held after atmospheric friction and a high-speed fall, most of Japan would likely be overturned by the terrifying impact.
The reason Fushiguro Megumi said they had no way to stop the technique was primarily because even if they survived the impact or managed to shatter it, they lacked the ability to handle the scattered debris. Originally, if the meteor fell straight down, at most the area they occupied would be completely crushed. But if it were shattered by a massive external force, there was no telling if the resulting fragments would cause even greater destruction.
This even involved a peculiar Trolley Problem... At first, the falling meteor would only kill those nearby. Shattering it could save them, but new "lucky winners" might lose their lives to the fragments. If that were the case, how should one choose?
Human nature is something that can never withstand a test; countless people who liked to play the hero have proven this point. Those affected by your battle will surely despise you, and those you save will not necessarily be truly grateful.
Emiya had considered this when aiming at Jogo. The reason he fully unleashed the Spiral Sword was not merely to attack Jogo; the primary target for the force was still the "meteor."
If he simply wanted to kill this cursed spirit, wouldn't using a Noble Phantasm with such massive explosive power for long-range sniping be a case of excessive overproduction?
The moment Jogo released the meteor held high above—just as the fireball illuminated its horrified profile to the fullest in front of it—the racing crimson spiral arrived at its lower back.
Under the effect of ultimate piercing power, so-called Special Grade defense was no stronger than ordinary paper. Jogo was pierced through before it could even react, and subsequently, a uniform incision was left inside the meteor.
Indeed, while it was called a spiral with unparalleled piercing power, the moment it stabbed into the meteor, it displayed a flat, straight cut from left to right, as if some massive and sharp
blade had sliced it in two. This was a scene only Jogo, having experienced it firsthand, could see—a sight that filled it with despair.
It hadn't even seen its enemy before it and its strongest technique were resolved so easily... Since the humans still possessed such a terrifying fellow, was there really any chance for them to win?
However, from the perspective of Fushiguro and the others, this scene was far more simple and crude: first, a streak of crimson light flew in, followed by the meteor being pierced, and finally, an unimaginable explosion.
Fushiguro couldn't help but shield his eyes from the intense light; no one would be foolish enough to stare directly at such brilliance. Staring at the sun for even a moment can cause temporary blindness; if one dared to observe this explosive radiance directly, uncontrollable tearing would be the best-case scenario—permanent eye damage was a real possibility.
After waiting a moment and realizing the blinding light had vanished, Fushiguro immediately looked around to observe the situation.
"Itadori, go see if anyone is hurt..."
"Aaah, wait, wait... Fushiguro, I can't see right now, my eyes hurt so much!"
Unfortunately, just as he turned his head, he saw the comical scene of Itadori rubbing his eyes while tears streamed down his face.
"What are you doing?"
"Because—because that just now was way too shocking! I accidentally forgot to turn my head... Fushiguro, I'm not gonna go blind, am I?!"
"I don't think you need to worry about that. Fortune favors the foolish."
Fushiguro really didn't know how to evaluate Itadori's behavior, but at least it wasn't entirely useless; it helped Fushiguro relax a little. When he looked around again, he was shocked to find that the apocalyptic ruins he had imagined hadn't appeared. The surroundings remained peaceful, as if everything just now had been a hallucination.
Yet, the crowd of people unconscious from the heat were still slumped nearby, and the massive meteor in the sky had completely vanished.
"How is this possible? Could the attack just now have... cleared the entire meteor along with it?!"
After excluding all other possibilities, only the most impossible one remained. What kind of attack could precisely erase such a massive meteor? Breaking a large rock is one thing; turning it entirely into powder is another... the energy required for the two is completely different.
"That didn't look like Gojo-sensei's technique... Did Emiya-sensei see the situation here?!"
In just a few seconds, Fushiguro Megumi had guessed the correct situation. Based on the information he had, even other Special Grade sorcerers excluding Gojo-sensei couldn't possibly crush a Special Grade cursed spirit of this level. Thus, after ruling out Gojo-sensei based on the form of the attack, only Emiya-sensei remained.
The method of elimination was that simple and practical.
THUD—!
Only then did Jogo—who had been pierced by the Spiral Sword first—finally fall from the sky, crashing into the open ground before the two, creating a crater several meters wide.
"Huh? Did something fall down?"
Itadori Yuji, finally able to barely open his eyes, returned to this conscious world. In his blurry vision full of color aberrations, he saw a large block of color fall.
"Please pull yourself together. That guy might not have died from the attack just now."
According to Fushiguro's thoughts, even if Emiya-sensei hadn't finished the opponent off, it was surely because he had focused most of his energy on destroying the meteor.
"Right! Get behind me, Fushiguro... Let me see what's going on with it."
Itadori rubbed his red eyes hard again, then picked up the shield-axe and slowly approached the crater. Inside the pit, which was deeper than Jogo was tall, he saw it clutching a smooth wound on its abdomen, struggling to climb out, leaving a long, hideous trail of blood behind.
"What is this... is this meant to humiliate me...?"
Jogo wasn't stupid enough to think it survived the attack just now through good luck; it could feel the majesty contained within that spiral. That precise control, capable of erasing its technique without leaking any excess power—could it really not have killed Jogo along with it? Leaving it alive on purpose and controlling its injury to a "moderate" degree... what was the intention?
"Huh? Fushiguro! This guy really didn't die!"
Seeing this, Itadori pointed at the crawling Jogo and shouted.
"I don't need you to tell me that." Fushiguro Megumi couldn't help but cover his eyes. It was proven that when a person is speechless, they are truly speechless.
Fushiguro was just about to arrange for Itadori to cautiously test how much strength Jogo had left when he suddenly saw a familiar figure leap down from a height—
"Emiya-sensei?!"
As expected, his guess was correct!
"Where? Where's Emiya-sensei?!"
As Emiya leaped down from a nearby building, the first thing he saw was Itadori Yuji looking around frantically. Perhaps because his vision hadn't fully recovered, his eyesight was quite poor.
"Don't worry about me. Just focus on your battle.
To ensure the battle could continue, I intentionally let the sword-arrow fire slightly off-target... Such an excellent opponent isn't something you find just anywhere."
Emiya waved his hand, signaling Fushiguro and the others not to approach him, but to focus on the battle before them.
Jogo, situated between the two parties, naturally heard the entire conversation. It truly didn't know how to face reality anymore.
A rare, excellent opponent... Should it feel happy about such an evaluation?
From the sound of it, it was merely a toy for others to choose at will.
"It's you again! Do you want to insult me like this again?!
If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to just kill me!!!"
Ruthlessly humiliated, once again...
This was something Jogo found more unbearable than pain or defeat.
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