Chapter 182 - 182: Manually Creating a Counter Force

"It's over."

As [Pseudo-Osiris] transformed into a true god of the underworld, following Emiya Shirou's will and the stakes laid out by Fushiguro Toji, it began seizing the souls of all Cursed Spirits and Curse Users globally who had been wagered on the gambling table. As the Stand User of [Pseudo-Osiris], Emiya Shirou naturally felt this movement. One soul chip after another was continuously delivered into his hands by the Stand.

"Come to think of it, what was my original plan?

After realizing the world I traveled to was the Jujutsu Kaisen world from my past memories, I initially wanted to find Hakari Kinji and project his [Idle Death Gamble] Domain.

However, because a sorcerer's technique is inherited through blood and the principle of Domain Expansion is based on that technique—much like a Magic Crest—I couldn't project the [Idle Death Gamble] Domain through projection alone.

I needed to find Okkotsu Yuta, have him use his Mimicry to copy the domain, and then, during the expansion, turn those copied techniques into one stored-technique katana after another.

Only then could I use Projection Magecraft to replicate those weapons..."

It sounded tedious. In reality, it was indeed tedious. However, that trouble only existed in how Shirou would convince Okkotsu Yuta to show him the domain and how Okkotsu would acquire Hakari's technique. As long as those two points were resolved, Emiya Shirou would effectively possess the ability to force others into gambling.

Combined with the Stand abilities of [Pseudo-Osiris] and [Pseudo-Atum], except for the fact that he couldn't strictly guarantee the outcome of the gamble, he would be essentially invincible. Even after returning to the Type-Moon world, he could use this to force a gamble with [Pandora's Box] and resolve the issues it caused.

So, the question was: how would Shirou resolve those two points?

The answer was simple—find Gojo Satoru!

Okkotsu Yuta went without saying; he was a steadfast supporter of Gojo. As long as Gojo agreed, Okkotsu would rarely refuse. As for Hakari Kinji, although he was currently suspended...

That was only because his technique was filled with modern elements, and his [Idle Death Gamble] domain was based on Pachinko. This caused him to be loathed by the traditionalist conservatives among the jujutsu higher-ups.

In other words, Hakari might hate the conservatives and the school that suspended him under their pressure, but toward Gojo Satoru—who wanted to overthow those conservatives and had looked after him—Hakari was undoubtedly loyal. Just as in the original story, once he

confirmed Gojo was truly sealed, he would risk his life without hesitation to help Itadori Yuji and the others.

This was why Emiya Shirou chose to cooperate with Gojo Satoru, using the intel that Kenjaku was occupying Suguru Geto's body as his leverage. Once Gojo was handled, Shirou's objective for traveling to this world was effectively achieved.

Of course, just as things are never static, Shirou's plan underwent a major shift as he became more involved in the plot of Jujutsu Kaisen. It wasn't that he failed; rather, after successfully convincing Gojo and reaching a point where he could project the katana containing Hakari's technique from Okkotsu at any time, Shirou suddenly discovered that the power system of this world was slightly different from what he had imagined.

He had thought the "Technique" in a sorcerer's blood was exactly like a Magic Crest in the Type-Moon world, and that Domain Expansion wasn't a Reality Marble, but some ordinary barrier technique relying on that "Magic Crest."

The result... one can only say that Akutami Gege knows nothing about Jujutsu Kaisen!

"Even though the inferences I made based on my past life's memories were all wrong, this error wasn't necessarily a bad thing."

Shirou felt his [Pseudo-Osiris] bringing those wagered soul chips back to his hand. Because he had specifically used the mouth of [Pseudo-Osiris] to announce its name while seizing the souls of those Cursed Spirits and Curse Users, something else followed those chips back.

The fear those spirits and users felt toward [Pseudo-Osiris]; the fear of the name of the Egyptian God of the Dead; the fear of their own deaths and the seizure of their souls... this sequence of terror was, under the world rules of Jujutsu Kaisen, gradually forming a Reality Marble.

To put it simply, it was a phenomenon trying to turn his [Pseudo-Osiris] into a Cursed Spirit.

After Shirou mused on this, [Pseudo-White Snake] appeared beside him. Before the "cursed-spirit-ization" could succeed, it directly extracted the mental DISC and said: "Undoubtedly, the experiment is a success.

As long as enough fear is collected, any object can—within this Reality Marble's modification of reality—metamorphose into a Counter Force known as a [Cursed Spirit].

The legendary [Pandora's Box], blessed and cursed by the gods, will naturally be the same."

Why was Emiya Shirou so troubled by [Pandora's Box]? Was it not because [Pseudo-Osiris] and [Pseudo-Atum] couldn't find a "gambler" to play against?

Darius, the final boss of Oath Under Snow, wouldn't work. His use of Displacement Magecraft to swap the world inside the box with Miyu Sakatsuki's world wasn't something achieved overnight; it was the result of a thousand years of continuous work. Seizing Darius's soul wouldn't eliminate the box's erosion of the world.

Unless the opponent of the gamble was [Pandora's Box] itself.

Either forcing a soul-stake gamble against the Box, or—much like how Avenger invaded the Great Holy Grail in Fate/hollow ataraxia—creating a Counter Force belonging to the world inside the Box. Both would work.

And now...

"As long as I place this Cursed Spirit Birth DISC into [Pandora's Box], the world within it will give birth to its own Cursed Spirit (Counter Force)."

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