Chapter 52: Horus's Substitute
"So it's true that Ryomen Sukuna suppressed the entire era a thousand years ago."
Mei Mei saw the thirteen four-armed demon gods being worshipped like deities.
Such an absurd sight appeared in an ancient tomb that had been built a thousand years ago.
Mei Mei once read a record in an ancient history book that during one year's Niiname-sai (Harvest Festival), the common people were actually made to worship Ryomen Sukuna.
This was quite laughable, meaning they were praying to Ryomen Sukuna, whose hands were stained with the blood of sorcerers, for a bountiful harvest the following year.
Little did she know that these ghost-god statues were not constructed when the tomb owner was interred, but were added later by future generations.
And that ritual just now, where living Cursed Spirits were captured and placed in the blood pool, Mei Mei felt like she had seen it somewhere before.
"It's the [Bath]."
Hikigaya Hachiman also recognized this ritual; he had seen a similar one in the Kamo family.
"It was originally meant to be a ritual to actively turn a Kamo family's secret heirloom into a Cursed Tool to prevent it from being tainted by outside enemies.
But here, it seems to be for preservation."
Hikigaya Hachiman could tell the guy was still alive.
It was akin to being in a stasis field.
Stasis fields originated from the Dark Age of Technology. This process gradually creates a causal vacuum until the passage of time within the area is virtually halted, typically used to treat the wounded and store veteran Astartes for future use in Dreadnoughts.
And the method of simply erasing Hikigaya Hachiman's Cursed Technique with a single wave of a hand just now felt very concerning.
But no matter what kind of monster or demon was down there, surviving through such an evil method, neither human nor ghost, it was no different from an alien.
To quickly smash that guy's head in, Hikigaya Hachiman planned a direct path through the dense, labyrinthine roads leading straight to the bottom of the earth.
It was a massive cliff, a seemingly bottomless abyss that could be visually estimated—a fault line left behind by a past earthquake. Only because the four of them were all seasoned sorcerers could they stand on the edge without feeling terrified.
Hikigaya Hachiman's probing Cursed Technique had reached the very bottom, and the path below was unobstructed.
What looked like a dead end was actually a shortcut, naturally bypassing almost all the hidden mechanisms and Cursed Spirits in the ancient tomb.
It was just that no ordinary person would descend, as the vertical drop beneath them was nearly four kilometers.
Hikigaya Hachiman, carrying his chainsword and without any safety gear, was the first to jump.
Then came Todo Aoi, who shouted, "Wait, my brother," and jumped down with him.
Finally, Mei Mei tied Ui Ui to her back using the bandage originally wrapped around her axe and also leaped down.
Nothing could stop Mei Mei's zeal for making money.
The bottom was out of sight, but with the probing Cursed Technique in place, everything in the vicinity was actually under Hikigaya Hachiman's control.
That's why Hikigaya Hachiman jumped first; he could act as a reference point to warn his companions behind him.
However, even without Hikigaya Hachiman's announcements, the time to land from four kilometers can be calculated with a mathematical formula.
To ensure they didn't splat on impact, the conservative freefall time was set at about 40 seconds, leaving at least a dozen seconds for deceleration. At that point, Hikigaya Hachiman would once again release a Cursed Energy Cannon to pierce through the entire deepest level of the tomb.
Straight to the bottom!
Perfectly executing the idea that the straight line is the shortest distance between two points.
Hikigaya Hachiman, constantly accelerating into the abyss, heard the whistling wind in his ears, his eyes steady and his heart calm. He even felt an incredible stillness within himself.
He was so relaxed that he could clearly hear the heartbeats of the three people behind him.
This method even made Hikigaya Hachiman feel like it was a boarding action, striking directly at the enemy's heart for a more direct and exciting frontal combat experience.
"Sister, isn't it a bit too fast?"
Ui Ui, tied to Mei Mei's back, could most directly feel the light above quickly receding from him, until now it was pitch black and they couldn't see their own fingers.
A third of the forty-second freefall time had passed, and every second felt incredibly slow.
"I even feel it's a bit slow."
Beside Mei Mei, the three lingering crows were also diving down with them.
"Everyone, half of the freefall time is up. Please prepare for deceleration."
Although Hikigaya Hachiman couldn't be seen ahead, his calm voice was still transmitted through the darkness to their ears, giving his colleagues a sense of reassurance.
In the pitch-black environment, Hikigaya Hachiman, operating at the highest level of computation, had a brain like an astonishing supercomputer. The other automatic search Cursed Techniques in other areas had not been deactivated and were observing the surroundings for any potential developments.
Since this invasion wasn't just him alone, Hikigaya Hachiman was being extra careful.
"Attention, everyone. We have a situation."
Hikigaya Hachiman's announcement caused the expressions of the three freefalling people to tighten. After all, if anything unexpected happened during this freefall, they would truly be at their wits' end.
"I'll handle it."
Hikigaya Hachiman did not explain the specific situation but decided to deal with it alone.
But Hikigaya Hachiman didn't have much time left. He had 20 seconds before he used the Cursed Energy Cannon, and the three behind him would enter their deceleration phase in just over 10 seconds.
This made every second precious.
The situation Hikigaya Hachiman discovered was an unknown figure ascending straight up from the deepest part of the ancient tomb, surpassing the probes' maximum capture speed.
The opponent possessed a Cursed Technique similar to flight, and it seemed its destination was them, the invaders.
If a single probe couldn't detect it, what if all the probes along the way were used to bind it?
Moreover, the Cursed Energy emanating from the opponent was tremendous, shining in the darkness like a dazzling star.
Observing the target wasn't the difficulty; the problem was how to intercept it.
Hikigaya Hachiman's goal was to kill the ill-intentioned foe cleanly and decisively before it could use its own Cursed Technique, thereby minimizing the risk and preventing any major problems.
Sorcerers' Cursed Techniques are bizarre and varied; even a strong individual could be caught off guard by the opponent's strange Cursed Technique.
Due to the time crunch, Hikigaya Hachiman chose to use a substitute to forcibly elevate his state and focus.
Hikigaya Hachiman had his own method: he would imagine the enemy before him as Horus, the greatest traitor of the Imperium.
Hikigaya Hachiman's impression of Horus was negative.
That was because, before Horus and his forces truly rebelled, Horus, under the name of Warmaster, ordered their gene-father Sanguinius to deploy the entire Blood Angels Legion to the Signus Cluster, a remote corner of the galaxy.
But who would have thought that there, the Blood Angels nearly faced complete annihilation?
The entire Blood Angels Legion was 'well-hosted' by the Chaos Daemons, with two top Greater Daemons, ranked high in their respective Chaos God hierarchies, ambushing Sanguinius one after the other.
Hikigaya Hachiman, activating the Red Thirst and the Black Rage, fought the Khorne Greater Daemon Ka'bandha but still couldn't save Sanguinius. The two Greater Daemons awakened the Black Rage within Sanguinius.
And they somehow found the corpse of a Blood Angels Captain who had died some years ago. Through charging the corpse with Chaos Warp Energy, they performed a fallen psychic ritual, radiating Sanguinius's Black Rage throughout the entire Blood Angels Legion.
The Blood Angels Legion began to kill each other uncontrollably.
For some reason, Hikigaya Hachiman was unaffected. He could only watch helplessly as his brothers slaughtered each other, which still caused him immense pain.
Therefore, Hikigaya Hachiman truly hated Horus.
This was clearly a conspiracy to destroy the Blood Angels; without Horus's command, the entire Blood Angels Legion would not have suffered this fate.
And Hikigaya Hachiman's final regret was not witnessing Horus's death.
So, by simply imagining the enemy before him as Horus, the rage in Hikigaya Hachiman's heart became uncontrollable.
He wished to drink his blood! Eat his flesh! Sever his tendons! Gnaw his bones!
His entire mental power was mobilized, reaching 200% focus.
Hikigaya Hachiman's hatred for Horus was genuine.
The sudden change in Hikigaya Hachiman instantly sent a chill down the spines of the three people freefalling behind him.
It felt like a sharp blade was tracing their necks, and a slight effort would tear their skin and leave them bloody.
"Hey, hey, brother, what's going on?"
Todo Aoi, who was feeling excitement and novelty from the freefall, now had beads of cold sweat appearing on his forehead—all thanks to the terrifying pressure Hikigaya Hachiman was exerting.
Little did he know that his brother had just taken a simple mental 'substitute,' but the effect was so good that he completely flew off the handle.
Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes were icy, dark red, like a bloody abyss, sending shivers down their spines!
Filled with a thirst for vengeance, Hikigaya Hachiman's perception was maximized; his condition couldn't be better.
He now saw everyone as Horus.
Especially the one approaching him.
Hikigaya Hachiman leaned back slightly, pressing against the rough and uneven rock wall, but this wasn't to slow his speed. Instead, he had seen "Horus."
Hikigaya Hachiman felt as if the arrogant Warmaster was standing right in front of him.
Except this Horus could fly, and the sky seemed to be his main battlefield.
Using a single leverage point on the rock wall, Hikigaya Hachiman bent his body like a spring on the wall and launched a sprint in the corresponding direction!
The rock wall instantly concaved nearly 6 meters, and Hikigaya Hachiman burst forth like an exploding cannonball, approaching the ill-intentioned "Horus" at astonishing speed.
Hikigaya Hachiman truly felt like Horus was right in front of him. He reached out and grasped him tightly.
Hikigaya Hachiman clung to the creature's back like a dangling ornament, refusing to let go.
"Horus, you seem to have lost weight."
Hikigaya Hachiman wrestled with it, his strength superior. With one hand, he tightly grasped the creature's neck bones, which crunched and cracked, his powerful grip tearing off a large chunk of flesh.
Upon sensing a Cursed Technique defense, Hikigaya Hachiman coated his palm with Spiritual Energy and simply slapped it. The defensive barrier instantly shattered like glass.
Blood splattered and stained his face.
But the violent urges inside him made Hikigaya Hachiman want to completely tear the neck and spine apart and drink the spinal fluid blood.
Tear off "Horus's" power armor, rip open his chest, and see if he even had a heart!
This was what Hikigaya Hachiman had dreamed of doing.
But when Hikigaya Hachiman actually dug his hand in, grabbed a broken section of the spinal bone, and pulled it out, the warm blood stimulating his throat, he instantly recovered his consciousness from the "substitute."
Although he regained his clarity, facing the shrill wails in his ears, Hikigaya Hachiman's heart remained devoid of mercy.
He reversed his grip on the chainsword and fiercely plunged it, crushing the unknown creature's heart, then kicked the mangled corpse away.
After doing all this, Hikigaya Hachiman didn't forget to say to the three people behind him:
"Danger averted."
It was only due to the concealment of the pitch-black environment that his companions didn't witness the preceding bloody and cruel moment of him devouring the enemy; otherwise, they would likely find it hard to look Hikigaya Hachiman in the eye.
Restored to extreme calm, Hikigaya Hachiman instantly switched back to his usual state. In its place, a Cursed Energy Cannon of extreme destructive power began to coalesce in his hands.
In such a narrow environment, the astonishing heat radiating from it was palpable.
The power of the Cursed Energy Cannon can be adjusted; the size mainly depends on the area of attack, which was a safety consideration.
Hikigaya Hachiman did not release an absurd amount of Cursed Energy but instead aimed for a precise, laser-like cut.
Using the Cursed Energy Cannon as an upward thrust, Hikigaya Hachiman's own kinetic energy was also well-alleviated.
Todo Aoi behind him, to avoid being passively caught in his brother's Cursed Energy Cannon, fiercely punched the wall behind him, driving his fist deep into it to anchor himself.
Only sorcerers specializing in physical techniques could manage this; an ordinary person attempting this would have fractured their bones or torn their flesh.
Mei Mei did the same, raising her axe with swift decisiveness and chopping into the rock wall beside her.
The three of them were slowing down their speed against the downward momentum of the freefall.
Hikigaya Hachiman's Cursed Energy Cannon, aimed at penetrating the entire underground tomb, as expected, cut through layers of hard rock and reached the final floor.
Upon contact with Hikigaya Hachiman's Cursed Energy Cannon, the millennium-old barrier below began to tremble precariously.
In the end, it could not withstand the destructive torrent. The barrier, maintained for over a thousand years, finally shattered on this day.
The destructive force descended directly upon the enshrined Ryomen Sukuna ghost-god statue, cleanly shearing off half of its head.
The destructive power of the Cursed Energy Cannon also directly affected the coffin.
Facing such an attack, the corpse lying in the coffin no longer intended to sleep.
A mummy, dressed in white court robes, walked out of the coffin. His tall hat indicated his status as a Shinto priest (or high-ranking official).
When facing the Cursed Energy Cannon from Hikigaya Hachiman, he, just like before, simply waved his hand, and Hikigaya Hachiman's attack vanished.
The mummy walked seven steps, and with each step, a Shi-on (Aster) flower blossomed. He was noble beyond words.
Moreover, his originally shriveled skin gradually became plump after walking these seven steps. The mummy-like, corpse-dry skin turned white and now looked like that of an ordinary person wearing ancient clothes.
A pair of golden eyes looked up at the deep, abyss-like hole above, and a killing intent arose.
"A truly remarkable kouhai."
However, what puzzled him most was who built these ominous sculptures inside his mausoleum.
Read ahead (40 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting