Chapter 187 - 188: Losing Face

One minute, ten minutes, one hour...

Gradually, two and a half hours passed.

During this time, Gojo Satoru, whose DISCs had been extracted by [Pseudo-White Snake], remained lying on the ground of the training field. In fact, by the time things reached this point, many had already realized something was wrong.

This was especially true for Okkotsu Yuta and the others at Jujutsu High who were most familiar with Gojo Satoru. It was true that, given Gojo's personality, no one would be surprised by anything he did in a duel. Never mind playing dead—even if he suddenly left mid-fight to go buy sweets, it would be considered par for the course.

But precisely because Gojo was that kind of person, he would never lie on the training field floor for this long. In modern society, most school training grounds are paved with concrete. They are sturdy and hard, but by no means comfortable.

If Gojo really wanted to slack off for a few hours, he would have used his [Limitless] to move at high speed to his dorm room, grabbed a soft bed, and brought it back before lying down. He wouldn't force himself to lie on hard concrete for several hours straight.

'Could it be...'

"...Am I actually not in an illusion, but Gojo really lost?"

The thought that naturally occurred to Okkotsu Yuta and the others—who trusted Gojo most—naturally occurred to Emiya Shirou as well.

The reasoning was similar. Just as Okkotsu and the others thought Gojo would at least provide a bed for himself if he were lying down, Shirou, who possessed memories of his past life and wasn't a stranger to Gojo's character, knew that Gojo was extremely confident in his own strength.

A man like him, unless he encountered an opponent who truly defeated him completely, would never create an illusion of his own miserable defeat, even within a dreamscape.

"Forget it, thinking about it further won't yield results. Whether it's an illusion or not, wouldn't I know just by trying?

Judging by Gojo's personality, if this really is an illusion and I truly believe I've won and start giving a victory speech, he would definitely jump out at that moment to prove he hasn't lost and end the illusion.

As for what happens if the 'illusion' before my eyes remains unchanged after I make this choice..."

After thinking for a while, Shirou felt both that this might truly not be an illusion and that such a result wasn't impossible. With the mindset that Gojo Satoru surely couldn't be defeated that

easily, he took the two DISCs—which had long since been recorded by

Thus, just before Okkotsu Yuta and the others could break into a worried commotion, Gojo Satoru, having had his DISCs reinserted by Shirou, began to slowly wake up.

With a face that was a mix of shame and lamentation, he looked at Emiya Shirou and said: "...I didn't expect you to specifically choose that Cursed Tool to break my [Limitless].

Instead of using another tool similar to the [Inverted Spear of Heaven] to break it, you didn't actually want me to increase my Cursed Energy output to exhaust me. You wanted to use your invisible Shikigami to trick me into an opening the moment I deactivated the [Limitless] for a sneak attack... No, looking at the sheer volume of your Mimicry storage, Emiya...

I imagine you were fully prepared regardless of whether I chose to deactivate the [Limitless ] or not."

Though Gojo Satoru had lost miserably—having his DISCs seized by [Pseudo-White Snake ] without even knowing what happened, falling into a brain-dead vegetative state—he had nothing left to say once his consciousness was restored and he realized what had occurred.

Even if they did it again, even if Gojo was prepared for [Pseudo-White Snake]'s sneak attack, it would be difficult to deal with the various follow-up attack methods Shirou would have refined.

After all, any counter-strategy he could devise was based on the abilities Shirou currently possessed. But were the abilities Shirou had shown truly his limit? Mimicry-type abilities have almost no upper ceiling on their utility.

This was why the conscious Gojo Satoru, after mentally reviewing the fight, chose to admit defeat so straightforwardly. Compared to trying again and attempting to trigger [Unlimited Void] to interrupt Shirou's attack before being taken down once more, Shirou—who clearly had more diverse means and better intelligence work—would likely just defeat him again.

Losing face once was enough. As for a second time...

He decided he'd rather think about the few things from this battle that brought him comfort: thanks to his wise decision to call Okkotsu Yuta and the others to watch, Okkotsu—whose technique also involved mimicry—would surely grow to be even more powerful than him in the future with Shirou as a role model.

Carrying this mixture of comfort and complexity, Gojo began to gloss over the topic, hurriedly shifting everyone's attention: "Since this battle is over, Emiya, you should tell me the intel I want.

[

Unlimited Blade Works

]

—and reinserted them into Gojo Satoru to confirm what was actually going on.

You should know my body is starting to ache all over right now. Don't tell me that after giving me a beating, you don't intend to fulfill the Binding Vow?"

Gojo, having already lost face once, was deathly afraid that Emiya Shirou might feel the previous fight wasn't satisfying enough and want to go again—at least until Gojo could figure out how to deal with an opponent whose utility was maxed out and whose methods seemed endless.

"Of course, I won't break the agreement. If anything, even without the Binding Vow, I wouldn't go back on my word regarding this."

While his internal thoughts were quite different from his spoken words, Emiya Shirou nodded in response to Gojo. He pulled out the soul chips of Mahito and the others, waving them in front of Gojo.

"After all, Gojo, your request is truly simple for me.

The Cursed Spirits you're looking for are basically all right here. If you still feel that's not secure enough, you can also give me Sukuna's fingers, and I'll help you resolve the Sukuna problem once and for all."

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