Chapter 215: Dagon: I'm Going to Win!
Emiya truly hadn't expected that Dagon's method of using cursed seals didn't involve forming signs with its palms, but rather, miraculously performing them via its abdomen.
After Emiya's paired swords had simultaneously pierced both its arms, Emiya's own hands were inevitably restricted as well. Dagon took advantage of this opening and the blind spot in Emiya's expectations to activate the special cursed seal located on its stomach.
Indeed, the physical composition of a cursed spirit is completely different from that of a normal human. There are plenty of individuals that lack arms entirely, relying purely on tentacles or other specialized limbs for support and movement. When facing such a cursed spirit, one cannot rely on the same logic used against a human jujutsu sorcerer.
After all, many armless cursed spirits are still capable of using the power of techniques. Surely they must use something to form their cursed seals?
It was primarily because Dagon's appearance was so close to that of a human, and its displayed fighting style so similar to a human's, that Emiya had accidentally fallen into the mental trap of assuming it must use its hands to form seals.
As it turned out, the patterns on its abdomen could also be used to mimic the function of cursed seals...
Even if Emiya hadn't been shocked by the opponent's ability to release special shikigami from its abdomen for an attack, he was forced to marvel at this bizarre method of forming seals.
But thinking about it now was useless. The moment the wave behind Dagon crashed down, the time—which had been night—was instantly replaced by a bright, sunny noon.
Beneath Emiya's feet was a beach with exquisite scenery, and by looking up just a bit, one could see a sapphire-blue ocean that complemented the sand perfectly.
This was Dagon's domain—[Horizon of the Captivating Swell].
Emiya had just said that Dagon couldn't fight him without the ocean, and now the ocean he spoke of had arrived.
Emiya was gradually beginning to feel just how tiring it was to navigate the jujutsu world without a Domain, especially when so many others had mastered the skill. It felt as if most Servants in a Holy Grail War possessed a Reality Marble, leaving only one solitary rider without any corresponding means of counter-play.
This feeling of exhaustion was truly unpleasant, because the other solutions Emiya possessed were, in the end, not as direct as the "crude and simple" method of a Domain Clash.
Now, excluding the deceased Mahito who never had the chance to show his Domain, Emiya had seen the Domains of all the other Special Grade cursed spirits.
The Domain of Jogo, representing fire, was a volcano; Hanami's was a sea of flowers; and now Dagon's was an entire ocean.
These Special Grade cursed spirits respectively represented human awe and fear toward various natural elements, but Emiya still felt that the Ocean should be the most powerful among the three.
After all, over seventy percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water. Until a few hundred years ago, most people in different nations didn't even know of the existence of those on the other side of the sea. Some even believed the Earth was flat and that the ocean surrounding the land was infinite.
Under such doctrines, human reverence for the ocean naturally had a deep-rooted foundation, giving rise to countless myths and horror legends. Even today, there are still many regions in the ocean that humans have never set foot in or explored, and humanity has no idea what things lie hidden there.
Whether it is forests or volcanoes, which of those concepts can truly be compared to the ocean? The ocean should correspond to the Earth itself, while forests and volcanoes are merely appendages of the Earth.
While this disparity cannot be directly translated into the combat strength of the Special Grade cursed spirits, when calculated according to the volume of negative emotions and curses, the comparison remains largely the same.
Judging by the total volume of cursed energy Emiya felt from this Domain, it already completely surpassed the Domains of Jogo and Hanami—and this was despite the fact that Dagon had only successfully molted a short while ago.
Given more time to grow, it might eventually become a terrifying spirit capable of calling forth tsunamis to directly swallow cities.
Unfortunately, never mind that the current Dagon hadn't fully grown yet; even if it were already in its complete state, it wouldn't pose a massive threat to Emiya.
Jogo had already realized the gap in their strength, but the younger Dagon clearly had not.
"I will kill you here immediately, and then go outside to help Jogo."
After successfully releasing a massive amount of cursed energy through the Domain, Dagon's injuries had been successfully healed. It was currently standing on the horizontal plane of the sea, looking across at Emiya on the beach.
"Look closely, this is my technique!"
Dagon slammed its palms together toward the front. The originally calm ocean surged violently in sync with its movements, kicking up a massive wave over ten meters high that crashed toward the shore.
The true killing move was clearly not this wave, which was merely loud and grand, but the hideous, bizarre fish hidden within it.
The seemingly massive but clumsy attack was just a feint, because within this Domain, no matter how much Emiya dodged, he could not resist the Guaranteed-Hit effect of the technique.
"Trace on!"
Facing the massive swarm of fish summoned by Dagon, Emiya chose to respond by projecting an even greater number of sword-arrows.
The Guaranteed-Hit effect of a technique is one thing, but if the technique itself is destroyed, doesn't the subordinate Guaranteed-Hit effect effectively become nullified? Emiya no longer needed to worry about magical energy issues; thus, a general level of Noble Phantasm consumption was not a concern at all.
As for the quantity... as long as he kept the number of ordinary blades used within a few hundred per battle, it could probably be considered normal wear and tear?
As blue light flickered behind Emiya, dense rows of sword-arrows fell like raindrops, intersecting with the swarm of fish within the wave a moment later.
No matter how hideous and bizarre these fish were as biological entities, they were still flesh and blood. They had no basis for comparison with the steel blades called forth by Emiya.
SHINK—SHINK—SHINK—!
Blade after blade easily pierced through the bodies of the fish swarm, creating a surreal scene of the "ocean being perforated by blades." Because so many fish were impaled, green blood flowed everywhere, its color starkly different from the seawater.
Many blades, after passing through the waves and the fish, continued to race toward Dagon, forcing the spirit to wave its hands and summon massive walls of water to serve as barriers.
—BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!!
Successive explosions rang out around Dagon, and it was only after a full thirty seconds that it finally managed to steady itself.
"How... exactly what kind of technique is this?!"
It couldn't understand. Dagon completely failed to comprehend why its attack was defeated so easily. This was supposed to be its Domain.
No, it didn't matter... it would definitely win!
This was its Domain after all. Even if it couldn't use the Guaranteed-Hit effect to deal direct damage to Emiya, it would surely overpower the opponent through sheer attrition.
How could human cursed energy ever compare to that of a cursed spirit?
It will win!!!