Anime: Fight Sukuna at the beginning?

Outside the Emiya residence.

As Cheng Xiang charged towards the red Archer, he sensed his world beginning to distort and change, tending towards becoming a wasteland, as if an unexpected event had occurred.

However, he didn't feel strong emotional fluctuations; instead, he relaxed slightly.

【The final trump card is illusion magic? What truly laughable means.】

【But even if you use illusion magic, you can't evade my 'curse'.】

Having paid the price of ravaging his own body to activate the not-yet-fully-mastered 【Magic Release・Remnant】.

Turning his body into a truck with its steering wheel welded and the accelerator floored, he had no other choice.

He needed to, and had to, defeat the opponent here.

Only by achieving this prerequisite could he execute his plan and escape unscathed.

Therefore, Cheng Xiang, 'manipulating' the 【Magic Release・Remnant】 skill like a three-year-old child trying to control a warhorse with reins, ignored the 'illusions' that appeared before him.

Instead, he calmly calculated his next plan and the final escape route.

【In another quarter of a second, the opponent will be within the range of the 【Curse】【Shared Pain】】.

【After successfully establishing 'connection' at this distance, using my own health pool as 'resources' to 'exchange health' and 'exchange damage' with him, my chances of winning will reach 99.9%.】

Looking at the red Archer within reach, Cheng Xiang, brandishing a short sword covered in decaying flesh, felt victory was assured.

However, the next moment, the red Archer's inexplicable chanting made him realize that the opponent's 'illusion magic' was not so simple.

-

“I am the bone of my sword

“Unlimited Blade Works.”

As the red Archer's lips ceased to utter the incantation, the roar of massive gears turning and meshing echoed inexplicably in the air.

The next moment, Cheng Xiang, who had charged at the red Archer, slashing his short sword towards his feet, suddenly realized something.

The short sword with which he was about to activate 【Shared Pain】 had 'malfunctioned' like a kite with a broken string.

And the red Archer who had been in front of him had disappeared, replaced by a wasteland filled with broken longswords, resembling a field of cacti.

The change in this scene also turned his nearly 'out-of-control' charge into a perfect test of wind resistance and an experiment on the effects of physical collisions with different longswords.

【What kind of trick is this?】

After smashing through several broken longswords and finally controlling his body to complete the 'brake', Cheng Xiang turned his head and glimpsed the true face of this 'new battlefield'.

This was a red wasteland filled with various longswords, with flames as its boundaries.

This was clearly not Fuyuki City, nor the mansion where he had just been fighting.

But an 'alternate world'.

The sound of gears turning and the rather scorching air around him gave him the feeling of being in a steel mill.

【A technique similar to 【Domain】?】

【No, if I could affect the enemy's 【Domain】, I would have died already.】

Cheng Xiang looked into the distance and vaguely saw flames flickering on the distant horizon, as well as the vaguely visible Emiya residence.

Looking up slightly, he saw the huge gears constantly rotating and colliding in the rather gloomy and dark sky.

【It doesn't completely erode reality, but is semi-open?】

Turning his head, he saw the red Archer, whom he had judged would soon die by his own blade, panting heavily on the wasteland about dozens of steps away.

And the man who seemed to be a Reincarnator drawing his longsword also appeared on a small sword hill. Cheng Xiang could clearly see the somewhat helpless smile on his face.

【Is he using a technique similar to 【Domain】 to pull everyone into an 'alternate world' to distance himself from me?】

【Delaying time or...?】

The 'hunger' coming from the 'alien limb' revealed the answer to Cheng Xiang.

He had already sensed that his swallowing 'target' had appeared dozens of steps away.

It was the blonde, blue-eyed female Saber.

【Interesting, is this red Archer acting as bait, with this woman acting as insurance?】

【If there are no accidents, my location will soon be covered by a powerful attack.】

Cheng Xiang had already guessed the opponent's plan and decided to play another 'card' to reverse the situation.

-

The blonde, blue-eyed King of Knights stood not far away, her breath steady, but her eyes showed unprecedented determination.

Standing in this wasteland, she seemed to have expected this situation.

At this moment, her body exuded an extremely hot magical aura, like the breath of a dragon.

It was the 【Dragon Factor】 and the red dragon heart in her body that brought her extremely strong magical power enhancement.

Her gaze swept over Cheng Xiang and Fang Yi not far away.

Although somewhat surprised why there was one more Fang Yi, after confirming that the enemy's position was correct, the King of Knights still resolutely executed the original plan.

The bandages wrapped around her hand served as a good fixation for her thumb and forefinger, allowing her to reluctantly unleash the 【Sword of Promised Victory】 in an instant.

As the Holy Sword waved weakly as if 'out of control', her quite skilled and long-planned 【Magical Power Release】 was also activated.

Drawing a magical torrent in front of her, although somewhat crooked, but still extremely powerful, exuding a scorching aura, and killing towards Cheng Xiang.

【He can't dodge at this distance, but it should be enough to delay and buy some time.】

After releasing 【Magical Power Release】, Artoria did not hesitate for a moment, completely disregarding the severe pain in her hand when using 【Magical Power Release】, and instantly activated 【Magical Power Release】 in reverse, causing herself, who had unleashed this sword, to retreat backwards in a rather rough manner.

【I must keep my distance from him.】

Artoria thought so.

But looking at Cheng Xiang not far away, who was about to be covered by the magical torrent, but had a triumphant smile on his face.

With the blessing of 【Intuition】, the King of Knights faintly felt that something was wrong.

——

The red Archer, who had escaped the tiger's mouth, also made the planned response.

With a wave of his hand, thousands of longswords inserted into the hills rose in response, suspended in the air like schools of fish migrating upstream so densely that they were about to 'trample' each other.

After a rough aiming, they turned into streams of light and flew towards the opponent, covering all his advancing routes.

But this time, he did not wait until the longswords approached the opponent before using 【Phantasm Destruction】 to detonate them, maximizing the power as usual.

Instead, he detonated the 【Noble Phantasm】 before it approached him.

This caused the surrounding sword hills to become bare, and the activation of thousands of 【Noble Phantasms】 created a rather strong shock wave that made this wasteland tremble and 'groan'.

Looking at Cheng Xiang, who was sandwiched between the magical torrent and the shock wave, and Fang Yi not far away, the red Archer finally let go of his hanging heart.

【He absolutely cannot continue to advance against this shock wave!!】

After doing all this and assessing the enemy's situation, he still did not take it lightly.

While continuing to distance himself from Cheng Xiang, he also shouted loudly at Fang Yi not far away, beginning to transmit information.

“Saber!!! His ability to withstand damage must be limited!!!

“I can't maintain this scene for too long, we must kill him before this scene dissipates!

“If you want a reward, hurry up and...

“Ah——”

The painful cry in his mouth stopped the red Archer's words from transmitting information.

-

The red Archer, who had no one around him and had not suffered any attacks, had an extremely abnormal collapse on his body as if he had been 【cursed】, as if he, not Cheng Xiang, had suffered the shock wave.

In just an instant, the red Archer's limbs and torso were deformed in an extremely exaggerated and flat shape, as if they had been crushed by a hydraulic press.

The bones all over his body emitted a tooth-aching bending and shattering sound under the action of the shock wave.

The internal organs in his abdomen also ruptured, and his eye sockets burst in response.

His eyeballs were about to be crushed, and his eyes were about to go blind.

The whole person had a tendency to develop towards a paper man.

The red Archer, who barely relied on the B-rank 【Magic Resistance】 to buy a buffer time, immediately reacted when he saw Cheng Xiang surrounded by the shock wave.

【This is a curse that returns damage!!!!】

【He only used it now, which means this skill must have limitations or a price!】

The red Archer subconsciously allocated most of the magic power maintaining the 【Inherent Boundary】, and operated the healing 【Reversal Technique】 of his body as if it were fully automatic.

With the help of the 【Reversal Technique】, he maintained the survival of his brain and spirit core, ensuring that he would not disappear.

After slightly recovering his sanity and his body began to fall backwards, he, who had lost his combat power, did not continue to run the 【Reversal Technique】 to repair himself.

Instead, he gritted his teeth and chose to pour all the remaining magic power into the 【Inherent Boundary】, which was like a bottomless pit.

Stabilizing this somewhat special 【Inherent Boundary】, he pressed the pause button on the sky that was beginning to collapse and was almost crumbling.

The next second, his eyeballs burst and his eyes were already blind.

And he, who had completely lost his combat power, showed a satisfied and trusting smile on his face.

【It seems that I can only do this little thing in this difficult battle.】

【Next, it's up to you.】

【If you want that man to kill that immortal 'monster', you must maintain this 'domain' to lock up that immortal 'monster'.】

Before he went blind, he had already seen the longsword drawn by Fang Yi.

And he had absolute and blind confidence in that sword.

-

Artoria, who retreated to the side, although she did not get rid of the influence of this curse, was much more decent than the red Archer.

Of course, it was only a little more decent.

The trigger of 【Intuition】 made her, when she unleashed the 【Sword of Promised Victory】, instinctively mobilize the magic power in her body based on her A+-level magic power attribute, constructing a layer of magic power defense in her body.

The returned 【Magical Power Release】 then experienced multiple weakening effects: the powerful body blessed by the 【Dragon Factor】, the 【Magic Resistance A】 skill that invalidated most magic and could even resist the 【Command Seals】, and the armor worn by this King of Knights that had the effect of protecting against 【Curses】.

Therefore, in the end, it only made the King of Knights kneel on the ground in an instant, snorting a few times with blood overflowing from the corner of her mouth, and then barely stand up with the Holy Sword.

Although it was much better than the red Archer over there who was unconscious and only had one breath left.

But obviously, it was somewhat difficult to let this 'disabled person' who could not even walk smoothly continue to participate in the battle.

Looking at Cheng Xiang, who had 'the same' injuries as herself and the red Archer, instantly recovered from his injuries, and stood up to continue charging, Artoria, who was barely standing, felt a little despair in her heart for the first time in her life.

【This monster! He actually hid such abilities!】

【The plan to seriously injure him and kill him was instead used by him!!】

At the same time, she also subconsciously deduced her 'ending'.

【It seems that I am going to retire here.】

【I didn't expect to leave after only a few battles?】

【It seems that no matter what, such an ending cannot be changed.】

But looking at the 'monster' who was charging towards her unswervingly, after deducing her 'ending'.

Looking at Cheng Xiang, who was running towards her and was already unstoppable, and Fang Yi, who seemed to be still standing in the same place not far away, at the last moment, the unwillingness in this King of Knights' heart still overcame despair.

【Unwilling!!】

【Unwilling!!!】

【Although there is really no way, before I die completely, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, I must not give up!!】

She staggered her body, closed her eyes, and waved the Holy Sword in her hand weakly like a drunkard, making a ridiculous and insignificant struggle.

——

Cheng Xiang, who was running towards Artoria, did not say any taunting words at this moment.

He was in a very bad mood at the moment.

The unexpected 【Domain】 and ambush forced him to show a 'card' with an extremely strong effect in front of the imaginary enemy - the 【Curse】 of returning damage 【Blood for Blood】.

In order to ensure that the effect of this 'counter-injury' could defeat the two in one fell swoop, he deliberately stopped running the 【Immaculate Body】, which had extremely strong damage reduction capabilities.

Actively stopped the 【Talent】【Undying Creation】's ability to 【Consume 【Temporary Health Limit】 or health to nullify damage】, as well as the 【Implant】 that cost him tens of thousands of points, had not yet fully integrated, and would drop upon death, which brought the ability to resist damage.

Relying on the 'health bar' that he had gained from five missions far beyond ordinary people with 【Undying Creation】 and 【Flesh Accumulation】, he simply took these two devastating damages head-on.

At the same time, he gambled and let the 'alien limb' in his abdomen eat once.

He consumed most of the 【Temporary Health Limit】 obtained by 【Flesh Accumulation】 devouring limbs, and also ate two recovery Gu worms to quickly restore his body and continue fighting.

But looking at Fang Yi in the distance, who was hesitant to approach for fear of hitting the rat and breaking the vase, and Altria, who was within reach and had already become meat on his lips, Cheng Xiang felt another surge of secret joy.

[Indeed, the HP limit is the best kind of 'limit'.]

[This 'limit' has once again helped me escape danger and obtain benefits.]

[With the fault tolerance brought by this HP limit, I will definitely be able to survive to the end in this death game!]

However, the next moment, Cheng Xiang found that the scene in his eyes changed and shifted again.

But this time, what appeared before him was not an unfamiliar scene, but a scene that he was all too familiar with.

—

At the same moment, the voice of a strange man came to Altria's ears, causing her to open her eyes subconsciously.

“Although that archer’s plan was a bit of a blunder, causing me to swing my knife in vain once, and then swing it again.

“Making that man with the thick HP bar live a little longer.

“But it doesn’t seem to be entirely a bad thing.

“You are the patient that archer mentioned who will provide a reward after treatment?”

It was Fang Yi who had already completed his strike.