As Kenjaku departed, the cursed spirits he had released to intimidate Konoe Mayoru faded away with him.
The bone-chilling presence disappeared, and the sunlight falling upon them finally seemed warm again.
Looking back on everything that had happened in such a short time, Togawa Sakiko felt as though she were trapped in a dream.
She had received a basic education in jujutsu, but she had always believed that world was far removed from her daily life.
Now she had been chased by a special-grade cursed spirit and encountered Geto Suguru, the strongest curse user who should have already been dead.
Calling the situation unbelievable would have been an understatement.
However, the strangest person was still the boy standing before her.
Mayoru appeared genuinely disappointed that the strongest curse user had fled.
An ordinary person acting like that would only seem arrogant.
Considering Mayoru had actually frightened Geto into retreating, however, it seemed he had been hiding far more than anyone realized.
“Konoe, are you a jujutsu sorcerer?” Mayoru immediately turned and looked at her as though she had asked the stupidest question imaginable.
Sakiko’s face reddened.
“I mean, did you have any contact with sorcerers before today?” “Of course.
You’re one, aren’t you?” Mayoru sighed.
“You’ve really been keeping secrets from me.
I introduced you to plenty of part-time jobs, yet I never knew you were a sorcerer!” By now, Mayoru could clearly perceive the cursed energy flowing through another person’s body.
Someone like Kei was obviously a complete beginner.
Sakiko’s cursed energy, however, circulated with considerable refinement.
She had clearly trained since childhood and had not awakened her technique today.
Sakiko was left speechless.
‘Was I supposed to casually tell an ordinary person that I was a sorcerer?!’ Even so, she maintained the minimum composure expected of a proper young lady and forced a smile.
“I meant…
have you met any sorcerers other than me?” What she really wanted to know was whether Mayoru was a modern awakened sorcerer like Mutsumi.
“Definitely not.
Today is the first time I’ve ever used this cursed-energy stuff.” Sakiko fell completely silent.
She had already expected that answer, but hearing it directly from Mayoru still left her unable to respond.
How could the difference between people be this enormous?
A person really could awaken cursed energy and a technique, then defeat a Domain and force Geto Suguru to retreat on the same day.
‘I should probably be grateful that he’s someone I know…’ “I’m only curious.
Really, just curious.” “You don’t have to answer, but if you don’t mind…
could you tell me what your cursed technique is?” Sakiko desperately wanted to know what kind of technique could accomplish so much immediately after awakening.
However, revealing one’s technique was a sensitive matter.
Information often determined victory or defeat in a battle.
Gojo Satoru had lost the initial Domain clash against Sukuna partly because he did not know about Sukuna’s open-barrier Domain.
Of course, revealing one’s technique could also form a Binding Vow that strengthened its effects, but that was a separate matter.
Mayoru had no intention of hiding it from them.
In a sense, the general nature of his technique was rather easy to deduce.
The ancient sorcerer had partly understood it, and Kenjaku had done the same.
Since that was the case, telling his companions would do little harm and allow them to prepare themselves.
“Kenjaku said I manipulate energy, but that isn’t entirely accurate.” “More precisely, I manipulate the direction of energy.” Mayoru planted one foot firmly against the ground.
After fighting the special-grade cursed spirit, his cursed-energy flow had become smoother, naturally improving the efficiency of his technique’s activation.
Manipulating vectors still required extensive calculations, but the necessary preparation time had shortened.
The easiest way to help the two girls understand his technique was to demonstrate it directly.
Mayoru began manipulating the vectors contained within the ground beneath his feet.
He did nothing especially outrageous.
He merely extracted a small portion of the force produced by the movement of the Earth’s crust and redirected it for his own use.
Even so, Kei and Sakiko immediately felt the ground begin to tremble.
An earthquake…
The scale was small because Mayoru was only demonstrating his ability, yet it was still enough to make both girls’ eyes widen.
Mayoru then extended one hand as though grasping something invisible.
A moment later, the flowing wind seemed to gather within his palm.
When he swung his hand, a violent gale suddenly swept across the street and hurled a nearby car through the air.
Mayoru was quite satisfied with his demonstration.
There was still a noticeable delay, but as his cursed-energy control became more precise, the true performance of Vector Manipulation was gradually beginning to emerge.
“As you can see, my technique allows me to manipulate the direction of energy through contact.” “Kinetic energy, heat, wind, and even the forces produced by the movement of the Earth’s crust beneath us.” “As long as I can perceive it, I can control it.” “Is your reflection based on the same principle?” Mayoru nodded.
Sakiko finally understood.
She had already prepared herself for an absurd answer, yet she still felt a lingering chill.
Creating an earthquake with a stomp and a storm with a wave of his hand…
A technique that controlled the direction of energy was simply far too unfair.
No wonder Geto Suguru had fled.
Sakiko could not imagine anyone breaking through that defense.
Kei recalled Mayoru’s first battle against the ancient sorcerer and finally understood how he had collapsed an entire building so easily.
In contrast, she still struggled to summon cursed energy and could barely activate her innate technique.
The comparison left Kei feeling strangely frustrated.
She ranked among the finest students even at Shuchiin, where talented people gathered from across the country.
However, cursed energy was simply too unfamiliar to someone who had only just awakened it.
It was like expecting an elementary-school student with no foundation to immediately understand calculus.
Then Kei heard Mayoru stop and address Sakiko.
“I want to know you…” His tone was extremely serious.
Both Sakiko and Kei froze.
Although all three were neighbors, Sakiko was not as close to Mayoru as Kei was.
Mayoru and Kei had naturally become familiar because both attended Shuchiin.
Sakiko, meanwhile, left early and returned late.
She was either attending school, working part-time, or preparing her new band in the hope of rebuilding everything after MyGO and staking her future upon it.
She and Mayoru were merely ordinary neighbors who exchanged greetings and occasionally shared information about available jobs.
Hearing him suddenly speak with such a serious tone, as though he were placing his entire life on the line, left Sakiko flustered.
Kei’s cheeks also turned red.
‘So Konoe-nii likes Sakiko?’ She had never noticed, but it was not particularly strange.
After all, Sakiko was very cute.
While both girls were lost in their own thoughts, Mayoru realized that his words could easily be misunderstood.
He quickly corrected himself.
“I want to know your cursed energy!” “Please teach me, Great Sakiko-sensei!” …