Chapter 216: This is the Law of Victory!
The law of victory—Dagon believed it had finally found it!
As a cursed spirit born from humanity's fear of the ocean, it was capable, much like Hanami and Jogo, of receiving cursed energy reinforcements from its corresponding natural environment.
As for what Hanami had once said—whether the planet itself truly possessed a consciousness, and whether that consciousness favored cursed spirits over humans—this remained unknown to humanity.
Perhaps even the cursed spirits themselves were not entirely certain.
Therefore, the most logical explanation was this: rather than the cursed spirits being the source, it was the real, existing entities like the ocean, the forest, and the volcano that were the true physical vessels carrying the world's cursed energy. The cursed spirits were merely terminals that received and channeled this excessive power.
Consequently, when these cursed spirits were in the vicinity of such environments, the quality of their cursed energy would be further enhanced, a concept nearly identical to that of a "land-bound spirit."
The reason Dagon confidently believed it would win was that on this planet, where the ocean covers over seventy percent of the surface area, it could feel the presence of the sea almost everywhere.
Except for extreme scenarios like deserts or volcanoes, it could receive cursed energy from the ocean at any time and in any place, just as Mahito was like a fish in water within human society.
However, even if the latter's cursed energy was limitless, his combat strength was still constrained by the nature of his technique; he couldn't directly convert raw cursed energy output into technique potency. But Dagon was different. As long as its cursed energy was sufficient, it could unrestrainedly summon the "wrath of the ocean," delivering fatal blows to humans who deemed themselves great but were, in truth, infinitesimally small.
Furthermore, as an island nation, the very existence of Japan was dependent upon the sea.
Given enough preparation time, Dagon could even brew terrifying storms and tsunamis to batter the nation's coastlines... though such an act would consume a vast amount of energy and wouldn't particularly aid their current plan.
It is often said that human technology even today cannot defeat natural disasters, and the truth is that pure natural disasters rarely deal a truly "extinction-level" blow to humanity anymore. Unless an asteroid truly falls from the sky to flatten the entire surface, humans will stubbornly survive.
However, it was precisely this terrifying, excessive volume of cursed energy that gave Dagon the confidence that it would surely win.
Dagon had to admit that in terms of combat intuition and accumulated experience, it was more than a level behind Emiya. Even just now, the cruel reality had proven that even if its technique gained a Guaranteed-Hit effect within the Domain, it couldn't go head-to-head with the opponent's specific technique.
Even it knew that one must remain vigilant when facing a technique of unknown intensity... and it had heard many times from Hanami and Jogo: the human named Emiya Shirou possessed a technique that was terrifyingly powerful.
Having been in a child-like Cursed Womb state until now, Dagon hadn't fully grasped the weight of those warnings, but it understood them now.
Its only saving grace was this: even if it was at a disadvantage in every other aspect, its cursed energy—near-infinite and inexhaustible like the true ocean—remained its powerful backbone!
In this regard, humans could never hope to compare with cursed spirits.
No matter how special or powerful a jujutsu sorcerer might be, they can only extract cursed energy from their own emotions. The total amount of this energy is usually visible to the naked eye; once the limit is reached, no amount of emotional manipulation will have any effect.
From the moment one becomes a sorcerer, their total cursed energy capacity is essentially fixed. This is what is known in the jujutsu world as "talent"—something no one can change through hard work.
Even for Gojo Satoru, the "strongest" in the jujutsu world, few know that his personal total cursed energy reserve is actually not outstanding. It's simply that while others need ten units of energy to exert one unit of power, he only needs one unit of energy to exert ten units of power. This efficiency ensures he never has to worry about it, and almost no one has ever been able to push him to the point of exhaustion.
But regardless, a sorcerer who needs to refine energy from their own emotions cannot be compared to a cursed spirit that can absorb excessive cursed energy anytime, anywhere. The latter even skips the refinement step, needing only to wield the energy to its heart's content.
A cursed spirit manifested from a general "curse" might eventually run out of energy, but the concept of the Ocean was not something those fellows could match. Even today, countless people fear the horrors and unknowns of the deep sea—how could that compare to the massive cursed energy accumulated since ancient times?
After Kenjaku called forth those tall gates, the countless cursed energy stored within Magano began to seep bit by bit into this small area of Shibuya, much like a gas of higher density flows toward an area of lower density.
Comparing total cursed energy volume alone, the current Dagon had completely surpassed Jogo and Hanami—the other manifestations of natural disasters—and had even steadily overtaken the original Mahito.
'Use your strengths to cover your weaknesses.'
This was the wisdom summarized by humans. Now, it was going to use human stratagem to surpass humans themselves!
If it couldn't compete in techniques or skills, it would compete in the "weight" of cursed energy. This was the path to victory Dagon had found!
"Let me show you... the true form of this Domain, and just how terrifying the wrath of the ocean can be!!!"
Jogo's Domain was a volcanic cave overflowing with lava; Hanami's was a sea of flowers that looked sweet but hid killing intent. As one of the Special Grade spirits, how could Dagon's true Domain merely be a quiet, resort-like beach?
Dagon itself didn't even need land to survive. In fact, living on land didn't make it feel comfortable; it felt unnatural, like a nocturnal creature being bathed in sunlight—it didn't damage the body, but it caused discomfort.
This quiet island and beach were actually prepared for the convenience of the other cursed spirits. They usually hid within this Domain of Dagon's, which was why they had remained undetected by sorcerers for so long. Because of this, Dagon—who needed to keep its Domain active at all times—actually possessed barrier technique mastery that surpassed the others.
At this stage, there was no need to keep this beach and provide comfort to the enemy.
As its words fell, Dagon slammed its hands together, calling forth tsunamis dozens of meters high that poured down from both sides of the island simultaneously. It was like a pair of true giant hands intended to completely overturn this tiny isle.
BOOM!
Against such a covering wave attack, even Emiya didn't have many great options. He could only jump as high as possible to avoid the direct impact of the waves.
The small island below was not so lucky. To say it was "overturned" by the waves might be a slight exaggeration, but the trees atop it were all snapped by the massive force. In just a few seconds, the island that had been there was reduced to a patch of ocean with a bit of floating debris.
Emiya himself hadn't expected that the "water-walking" exercise Gojo Satoru had impulsively made him practice would actually come in handy now.
Falling from the sky, Emiya landed directly on the turbulent surface of the sea. Even though the surrounding waters continued to churn, the surface beneath Emiya's feet remained perfectly still, without a single ripple.
He couldn't perform the molecular-level precision of cursed energy manipulation like Gojo Satoru, but stabilizing the portion of the sea beneath his feet was no problem. The only downside was the slightly high consumption of energy—but for Emiya, was that really a problem?
"...What?"
Dagon racked its brain but couldn't understand why a sorcerer would be bored enough to practice "water-walking." That had absolutely nothing to do with exorcising cursed spirits!
"Even so, so what?
The ocean doesn't belong to you humans. It belongs to us!"
CRASH!
The small patch of sea Emiya had just stabilized was immediately whipped into a massive wave by Dagon's power.
"How could your tiny cursed energy ever be compared to the Great Sea!!!"
Without land as support, the attacks of Dagon's special shikigami could now strike from all directions at any time. Dozens of bizarre fish scrambled to emerge from beneath the churning surface, forcing Emiya to leap again and quickly project blades to fend off their bites.
But the very next moment after Emiya cleared these fish, a massive dark shadow suddenly surfaced from beneath the sea. Then, a blood-red maw—large enough to swallow an entire high-rise building—gaped open and bit toward Emiya.
It was a creature created purely for slaughter. Its enormous mouth was packed with rows of razor-sharp teeth, a sight that would make anyone's skin crawl. Even when the blades projected by Emiya fell and the fire of explosions erupted, it didn't slow the biting motion for even a second...
CRUNCH—!
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