The ancient sorcerer was so shocked that his organs nearly ruptured before he could react.
Even after recovering, lingering fear remained.
He stared directly at the boy before him.
Reflection.
It was the only explanation he could imagine.
He was certain Konoe Mayoru was a complete novice.
Even if the boy possessed a technique similar to his own or could copy it, there was no way he could reproduce it with such precision.
In other words, the ancient sorcerer had undoubtedly been struck by his own technique.
Only reflection could accomplish that.
Yet a moment later, he rejected that conclusion.
If Mayoru’s technique was reflection, how could he explain the stone and vending machine accelerated beyond the speed of sound?
What about the force that had brought down an entire building?
‘What kind of cursed technique did this brat awaken?!’ Humans naturally feared the unknown, and ancient sorcerers were no exception.
As he stared at Mayoru, the man made the wisest decision available.
He could not continue fighting.
This boy was abnormal.
Whether he possessed two cursed techniques or a single technique operating on principles beyond common sense, it had already surpassed the sorcerer’s understanding.
Staying to fight after realizing that would not be bravery.
It would be stupidity.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
The ancient sorcerer had barely managed to cancel his reflected technique before reaching his limit.
It was not true technique burnout, but his cursed energy remained numb and difficult to summon.
That made his escape a fraction too slow.
In that brief opening, an invisible force pressed down upon both shoulders.
The ancient sorcerer suddenly dropped to his knees.
His legs slammed against the ground before his entire body was forced flat, as though he were prostrating himself in submission.
He could faintly hear his bones creaking beneath the pressure.
The ancient sorcerer’s eyes widened as he finally began to understand.
“Gravity…?” ‘This brat can manipulate gravity too?’ Ancient sorcerers naturally knew nothing about universal gravitation.
However, incarnated sorcerers inherited the memories of their vessels.
He instinctively understood the force pinning him down and preventing him from moving.
But how was that possible?
The boy could accelerate objects, reflect attacks, and now control gravity?
A sorcerer normally possessed only one innate technique, meaning all these effects likely came from the same ability.
That technique was…
“Manipulating direction?” As expected of a sorcerer from the Heian era, he possessed remarkable insight into cursed techniques despite being no stronger than Grade 1.
After surviving countless battles, the ancient fossil had analyzed Mayoru’s technique in an astonishingly short time.
Sadly, it no longer mattered.
Tap.
Footsteps stopped in front of him.
The ancient sorcerer slowly raised his head against the pressure and once again saw the boy’s face.
The gravity restraining him was not particularly powerful.
In a sense, it was quite crude.
Mayoru had not performed any complicated calculations.
He had merely manipulated the vectors through instinct.
Vector Manipulation was a unique technique.
Precise control was genuinely difficult.
Any experienced sorcerer could have escaped during the instant the gravitational force gathered around them.
After all, Mayoru could manipulate only vectors he touched.
Although he described that range as his skin, the actual area of contact extended slightly beyond its surface.
Under normal circumstances, crudely gathering gravity around a distant target would never have landed.
Unfortunately, the ancient sorcerer was already exhausted after nearly being killed by his own technique.
His momentary state resembling technique burnout and his damaged organs left him unable to evade.
‘It’s over…’ As the gravity grew heavier, unwillingness filled the ancient sorcerer’s heart.
‘Is this what modern sorcerers are like?’ His skill and experience far surpassed Mayoru’s, yet this single cursed technique had reduced him to such a miserable state.
Straining against the pressure, he raised his head and prepared to vent his frustration at the boy.
However, Mayoru’s calm gaze sent a chill down his spine.
That slender figure somehow overlapped with the distant glimpse of Ryomen Sukuna he had seen long ago.
‘I’m afraid…’ The thought surfaced in the ancient sorcerer’s dazed mind.
Fearing a novice who had only just awakened cursed energy and a technique sounded ridiculous.
But those eyes were unmistakable.
They were the eyes of someone strong.
The nature of Mayoru’s technique no longer mattered.
Only his survival instincts remained, screaming that he could not wait helplessly for death.
The ancient sorcerer’s mind raced.
‘Should I beg for mercy?’ ‘Would that even work?
This brat is a monster too.
He won’t pity me.’ ‘Then I have to run.
I need cursed energy…
Summon my cursed energy…’ “How…?” The ancient sorcerer’s eyes narrowed.
Mayoru had placed one hand on his shoulder.
Although the boy was manipulating gravity, he appeared completely unaffected by it.
Mayoru’s left hand rested casually upon the ancient sorcerer’s thin shoulder without any visible force.
Yet that simple contact reversed the flow of his cursed energy.
“My cursed energy…” “Did he change its direction too?” The ancient sorcerer could still generate cursed energy, but he could no longer use it for reinforcement or activate his technique.
The moment he tried to control its flow, the energy scattered in directions he had never intended.
‘My guess was right.’ ‘This brat really can control direction!’ Despite reaching the correct conclusion, the ancient sorcerer felt no joy.
He opened his mouth.
He intended to beg for mercy.
A true survivor knew when to bend.
However, the distorted gravity made even speaking impossible.
Without cursed energy reinforcing his body, the crushing force tore through his bones and organs.
The pain was unimaginable, but even that agony did not last long.
Mayoru extended his right hand.
The moment he realized the Culling Game had begun, he had already made his decision.
Mercy was far too luxurious in this place.
Even if he had never met someone before, the moment they became enemies, he had to kill them.
That was the resolve Mayoru had formed today.
When it came to killing, Vector Manipulation was frighteningly effective.
His left hand prevented the sorcerer from controlling cursed energy.
After locking onto the energy circulating through the man’s body, Mayoru did not attempt any delicate manipulation.
He simply reversed its direction and disrupted its flow.
Cursed energy was the foundation of nearly every sorcerer.
Preventing an opponent from gathering it was enough to disarm them and reduce them to an ordinary human.
Realizing that after only one battle proved that Mayoru was indeed a genius.
However, disarming someone was not enough to kill them.
Truthfully, this would be Mayoru’s first time killing another person.
It felt different from collapsing a building from afar.
At such a close distance, even knowing his opponent was undeniably evil could not completely suppress his discomfort.
However…
“I have to finish what I started.” Mayoru murmured, perhaps to himself or perhaps to the ancient sorcerer.
His left hand reversed cursed energy.
That alone turned a difficult-to-kill sorcerer into ordinary flesh and blood.
His right hand had a far simpler task.
Following Accelerator’s example, Mayoru locked onto the flow of blood inside the man’s body.
There was no need for a precise calculation.
He only had to reverse it.
The ancient sorcerer tried to beg for mercy, but pain had twisted his face and stolen his voice.
In the next instant, his body burst apart with a heavy bang.
Reversed blood sprayed in every direction.
The volume was horrifying, yet not a single drop could reach the boy.
Every splash was reflected the instant it approached him and fell harmlessly away.
Mayoru stood untouched amid the crimson filth, like a patch of pure ground born within corruption.
Surrounded by dark red, he slowly straightened and remained silent for a moment.
Then he murmured with a faint sigh.
“This time, it should really be over.” …