Chapter 224: The Cursed Energy Will Inevitably Overflow
For Kenjaku, finding suitable allies was an arduous task.
Although he believed he didn't need any allies in the true sense of the word, his experiences over a millennium had constantly shown that it was impossible for a human to succeed relying solely on individual strength.
Indeed, even today, Kenjaku still considered himself human, although the "humans" he spoke of had to be distinguished from the "monkeys"—the non-sorcerers who, in his eyes, served no purpose.
Normal jujutsu sorcerers would, of course, never collude with him. But even when a rare few individuals reached a consensus with him, they would eventually be troubled by the brevity of human lifespans.
Their final end was either to become a cursed spirit and be exorcised, or to turn into an immortal cursed object and become someone else's collection.
From this perspective, the fate of a jujutsu sorcerer was an irreversible cycle of destiny—those who took the exorcism of cursed spirits as their duty would eventually become cursed spirits or cursed objects themselves, falling into the other end of the cycle with almost no possibility of a perfect escape.
Perhaps a sorcerer who died without any regrets could break free from this sorrowful loop... but how many people in the entire world can truly die without a single regret? At least in Kenjaku's view, such a thing was fundamentally impossible.
Because of this, Kenjaku held a pessimistic view of jujutsu sorcerers and the human race as a whole. From this, he devised a perfect solution: since humans had no way to escape the "Binding Vow" of curses and the whirlpool of recurring fate, he would let humans transcend these rules.
He would make them masters of the rules rather than predators in the ocean who could only drift with the current.
Over a thousand years, Kenjaku had collaborated with numerous powerful sorcerers and established [Binding Vows]: he would preserve the cursed objects created after these sorcerers' deaths and grant them Incarnation at the appropriate time, allowing them to be resurrected in this world.
As for the corresponding price? The conditions Kenjaku set with each person were different, but the ultimate goal was always to better execute his plan.
For instance, Yorozu, who was latent within Fushiguro Tsumiki and had been sealed by Emiya before even showing a sign, was a sorcerer born in the same era as Ryomen Sukuna.
If not for this, how would Kenjaku know that Sukuna's strength was overwhelming compared to others?
It was just that in that era, there was likely no distinction between "curse users" and "jujutsu sorcerers."
After all, sorcerers were the most noble rulers of various vassal states, akin to gods; desperate outlaws wouldn't dare to speak ill of them.
In those days, the existence of sorcerers and cursed spirits was widely known, and tales of the supernatural were endless. Otherwise, in terms of "curses," how could the modern era—with a population density nearly a hundred times higher—not compare to ancient times?
Of course, Kenjaku's accumulation over the years wasn't limited to these "connections." A very important part was the result of his painstaking research.
For example, the Special Grade cursed objects known as the [Cursed Womb: Death Paintings] brothers simultaneously inherited the Kamo family's [Piercing Blood] and some characteristics of cursed spirits.
In his eyes, such experimental results were undoubtedly failures. The final products failed to transcend the limitations of both humans and cursed objects; they were merely superficial amalgams.
Fortunately, they weren't entirely useless; at least they had decent combat power...
THUD!
The moment such a thought crossed Kenjaku's mind, several blood spikes suddenly attacked from a distance, only to be stopped abruptly in mid-air just like the previous attacks. When Kenjaku turned his head, he saw Eso struggling to pull the blood spikes from his control, looking for another chance to strike.
"Truly unexpected... you actually think you can become human?"
After all, these were products he had created; he had once had expectations. But those expectations were never like an old father wishing for them to live happy, peaceful lives; rather, he wanted them to constantly evolve and break through amidst slaughter, even if only one of the nine brothers remained.
Kenjaku had created them from the perspective of "objects." To see these fellows now wanting to become true "humans"... in his view, it was as ridiculous as a monkey wanting to replace a human.
"What kind of people we want to be is not for you to decide... We loathe curse users like you most of all!"
Even though Emiya, to ensure their emotional stability, had not told them the truth that Kenjaku was the one who cursed Noritoshi Kamo 150 years ago, Eso would still spare no effort to kill such a man based on their collective hatred for curse users.
He indeed held little emotion for anyone outside his brothers. But even so, he absolutely did not want to see anyone else suffer the same pain and torture his brothers had endured.
"Tell me quickly, where exactly is Big Brother Choso right now?!"
Kenjaku and the cursed spirits already knew the fact that he and Kechizu had turned to the side of Jujutsu High, yet only the most important one, Choso, was still kept in the dark. Eso didn't dare to imagine—if his elder brother committed some unforgivable crime during this time, how would they ever settle things afterward?
Even if he himself could understand that Choso did extreme things out of care for his two brothers, the people at Jujutsu High wouldn't. The fragile trust they had barely built would shatter in an instant. Because under no circumstances would he betray his big brother for his own safety...
What if Kenjaku really planned to exploit this?!
"You mean Choso? He is indeed much more refined than failures like you. But even that isn't enough; what I need is a more perfect product."
Kenjaku spoke words that made Eso feel a creeping sense of dread, yet he couldn't quite untangle the connections in the moment.
Naturally, Kenjaku wouldn't give him much time to react. In the next instant, he gradually tightened his grip on Jogo's head, seemingly preparing to use [Cursed Spirit Manipulation] to take it completely for his own use.
"[Maximum]—"
SLASH—!
The moment the light of the technique began to swirl around Kenjaku's palm, a blade suddenly cleaved down from above, ruthlessly severing his wrist. The green light of the technique appropriately illuminated Kenjaku's stunned expression.
"How... It can even adapt to barrier techniques?!"
Kenjaku couldn't help but be surprised by Mahoraga's learning ability, which far exceeded his imagination. He leaped backward to dodge Mahoraga's next slash and instantly restored his hand using [Reverse Cursed Technique].
The positive energy of the Sword of Extermination, in the end, could only affect cursed spirits. To a sorcerer, as long as it didn't hit a vital spot, it didn't count as massive damage. At the same time, the moment Mahoraga prepared to rush forward again, Kenjaku pressed his palm down first.
"[Cursed Technique Reversal]."
BOOM!
Invisible gravity instantly crushed Mahoraga into the ground several meters deep.
"Although your ability is somewhat unexpected, unfortunately... the one thing I do not lack is a variety of techniques. I happen to perfectly counter your adaptability.
I must say, your excellence makes me slightly regret not preserving the [Ten Shadows Technique] back then."
Kenjaku walked slowly to the front of Mahoraga to inspect it for a moment, then walked toward Jogo and Itadori Yuji. Yet, beneath this appearance of everything being under control, he had—unnoticed by everyone—observed the location where Dagon's Domain was expanded more than once.
Clearly, he wasn't as leisurely as he looked; one just didn't know who he was trying to perform for.
Arriving between Jogo and Itadori, Kenjaku stopped targeting Jogo. Instead, he pulled a withered finger from his sleeve and slowly moved it toward Itadori's mouth.
"Ryomen Sukuna's fingers. I've worked hard to collect many for you.
I'll have to ask you to eat them all right here... But you should know, even the most excellent vessel, at the moment a massive amount of external cursed energy is poured in, won't be able to stop it from overflowing."
Read ahead and finish this fanfiction by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting