Outside, thunder boomed in the sky, and for a moment, it was as bright as day. The lightning, accompanied by earth-shattering thunder, illuminated the world as if it were broad daylight.
Projection Sorcery.
Zen'in Naobito did not hesitate, activating Projection Sorcery.
His time within this second was divided into 24 movements.
He started, stepped, and ran; one movement after another was compressed into continuous images.
Mahito's perception was pushed to its limit at this moment.
He clearly saw Zen'in Naobito's movements, which were unlike normal running motions.
Instead, they were 24 separate movements, as if the entire world's time had paused and one frame after another appeared before his eyes.
Mahito gripped his sword with both hands, imagining how Zen'in Naobito would attack him.
Zen'in Naoya's Cursed Technique was the same as Zen'in Naobito's, but there was a clear difference in their proficiency.
Zen'in Naoya deeply believed in his own Cursed Technique, so as long as he touched Mahito, he would subconsciously assume Mahito would also be frozen, allowing him to attack at will.
However, Zen'in Naobito would never make such a mistake.
Zen'in Naoya died because of that self-confidence.
So, Zen'in Naobito... what about you?
Zen'in Naobito's answer was—
a direct frontal impact.
Mahito's pupils widened, because the preset actions of Projection Sorcery are completed during movement, so they always account for the target's possible counterattack.
Using a direct frontal impact is the most conventional approach, as it is the most suitable position from which to launch a counterattack.
How dared Zen'in Naobito do this?
Mahito did not hesitate.
Kirigiri slashed diagonally downward.
Kirigiri was originally a long-bladed greatsword, and its attack range combined with Mahito's arm span exceeded three meters.
Now, with Kirigiri's diagonal slash, all the space in front of him was covered.
Zen'in Naobito could only collide with Kirigiri, and with Kirigiri's sharpness, it would easily cut Zen'in Naobito in half like a hot knife through butter...
right?
A streak of black appeared on Zen'in Naobito's fist.
—Black Flash.
Setting the preset action as a frontal impact is indeed the most conventional approach.
But what if this frontal impact carried a Black Flash?
Would it still be conventional?
Zen'in Naobito proved it with facts.
The Black Flash slammed into Kirigiri, and Kirigiri, which severed all things, actually let out a wail.
The Cutting Line was not etched onto the Black Flash at all, because Zen'in Naobito did not strike the blade's edge.
He struck the flat of the sword.
He had predicted Mahito's swing trajectory.
Mahito immediately understood:
he had been tricked.
Before this, Zen'in Naobito had learned from Zen'in Naoya that Projection Sorcery was ineffective against Mahito.
Zen'in Naobito had already deduced the condition under which Projection Sorcery could be nullified—
the 24 movements within 1 second must be visible to Mahito's naked eye.
For the current Mahito, he had to be able to precisely discern Zen'in Naobito's movement trajectory.
Is it possible to see 24 movements in 1 second with the naked eye?
Although common sense told Zen'in Naobito that this was absurd, there are indeed such people in this world, and more than one:
Fushiguro Toji, who was expelled from the family, and Gojo Satoru, hailed as the strongest in modern times, both possess this ability.
So, there was no need to be surprised if Mahito possessed it as well.
Therefore, no matter how he circled, it would be ineffective against Mahito.
Because Mahito did not need to predict Zen'in Naobito moving at divine speed.
He could simply see Zen'in Naobito circling with his own eyes, then set up Kirigiri and wait for Zen'in Naobito to collide with it.
Then, what if he simply did not circle?
It was not that he had to use a frontal impact—
rather, he could only use a frontal impact.
This was Zen'in Naobito's true intention.
Since it had already been determined that a frontal impact was necessary, how would Mahito, who possessed Kirigiri that severed all things, respond?
Only a large diagonal slash that covered all the space in front was the optimal solution.
Within this massive diagonal slash, whether above, below, or directly ahead, everything could be covered.
Zen'in Naobito believed that Mahito would definitely use the large diagonal slash, which is why he preset his movements this way.
If Mahito had not used the optimal solution and instead chosen a large horizontal slash that disregarded attacks from above and below, or a swift thrust, then Zen'in Naobito, facing Kirigiri's edge directly, would surely have died.
But Mahito chose precisely the large diagonal slash—
the optimal solution.
At this moment, Zen'in Naobito's blood was boiling, as if his entire body were on fire.
Not only was his prediction correct, but he also imagined the deaths of his clansmen, the arrogance of the Zen'in Family, the family's decline after failure—
imagining everything.
Finally, he transformed all this anger and fear, arrogance and uncertainty, into Cursed Energy.
Resonance.
Then, a punch.
Black Flash appeared.
Mahito saw cracks appear on Kirigiri from the corner of his eye.
This tsukumogami, forged from an ancient blade, was severely damaged by a direct hit from Black Flash.
Mahito decisively let go.
Kirigiri let out an unwilling whine as she flew away from the impact.
The unexpected Black Flash knocked Kirigiri away, and Zen'in Naobito finally reached Mahito's embrace.
His fists were clenched, his entire body tense, his muscles twitching from the immense exertion, and the veins on his forehead pulsed as if his whole body were brimming with power.
Mahito immediately used Soul Creation.
—Awasaka Jiro, Inverse.
The next moment, Zen'in Naobito's fist violently struck Mahito's abdomen.
As long as it was not a Black Flash, even a fully charged punch would not be able to harm him.
At that moment, Mahito would have been able to kill Zen'in Naobito with a single blow, just as he killed Zen'in Jinichi.
But that fist—
it carried black sparks.
—Black Flash.
The second Black Flash.
Accompanied by an explosive sound, Inverse was pierced through without hindrance.
Mahito's abdominal cavity was blown open, but the immense destructive force had not yet fully dissipated.
That vast destructive power pierced through Mahito's abdomen and spread outward, making his body seem like that of a commoner in cloth robes struck by a distant cannonball.
As his body exploded, he was sent flying backward.
This was because a powerful shockwave formed with the release of destructive force, and Mahito was swept away like a withered leaf caught in a storm.
The power of Black Flash grows with the growth of the sorcerer.
In terms of sheer force, even Zen'in Naobito, as the Family Head, was far inferior to Special Grade 1 Sorcerer Zen'in Jinichi.
Zen'in Jinichi could directly blast Mahito's body into minced flesh with a Black Flash.
Zen'in Naobito could not.
Mahito still attempted to use Soul Creation while airborne.
He had already been attacked by Zen'in Naobito, and his body was already stained with Zen'in Naobito's Cursed Energy.
Before this, Zen'in Naobito had learned from Zen'in Naoya that Projection Sorcery was ineffective against Mahito.
This information had already allowed Projection Sorcery to be nullified.
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