ZZZZZZZZ—!!!
Without warning—
Hajime Kashimo moved.
His body exploded forward like a lightning bolt tearing through the atmosphere.
The speed was terrifying.
For an instant it looked as if Kashimo had become pure electricity.
A blue flash streaked across the battlefield, leaving a crackling afterimage in the air.
The surrounding atmosphere shrieked as it split apart from the velocity.
Kashimo's cursed energy possessed a unique trait.
Electricity.
Every strike he landed implanted electrical charge inside the opponent.
Once enough charge accumulated—
The difference in potential would release a guaranteed lightning strike.
An attack that could not be dodged.
An unavoidable bolt of death.
Four hundred years ago, countless powerful sorcerers had fallen to this exact technique.
And now—
That lightning was aimed at Yagami Sora.
"Die."
Kashimo's fist crashed forward.
Thunder roared around his arm.
Electric arcs snapped violently across the air as his punch tore toward Sora's face.
His eyes burned with battle frenzy.
This was the moment he lived for.
But just before the punch landed—
Something impossible happened.
The lightning shifted.
Like iron filings suddenly pulled by a magnet.
The bolt veered sideways.
It grazed past Sora's ear—
And blasted into the container behind him.
BOOM!!!
The metal container exploded open.
Molten steel splashed across the ground.
Red-hot fragments dripped like liquid iron.
The heat wave roared outward.
Yet—
Not a single strand of Yagami Sora's hair moved.
Kashimo landed several meters away.
His feet carved deep craters into the concrete.
"…What?"
For the first time since reincarnating—
Kashimo looked surprised.
That punch should have connected.
His lightning never missed.
Yet it had bent away from the target.
Yagami Sora stood calmly in the same position.
Hands still in his pockets.
"Electricity."
He said quietly.
"In essence, it's just the movement of charge."
"When electrons move, they follow direction."
"And direction…"
His eyes gleamed faintly.
"…is a vector."
"As long as it has a vector."
"I control it."
Kashimo's pupils shrank slightly.
Vector.
The word meant nothing to someone from four centuries ago.
But instinct told him something important.
This ability…
Was interfering with the flow of his lightning.
Instead of anger—
A grin slowly spread across Kashimo's face.
"HAHAHAHA!"
His laughter echoed across the ruined harbor.
"Interesting!"
Electricity exploded wildly around his body.
Blue arcs danced across the air like living serpents.
"Then let's see something!"
"Is your vector faster…"
"…or my lightning?!"
Kashimo vanished again.
This time he didn't attack directly.
His body flashed around Sora in rapid bursts.
Left.
Right.
Above.
Behind.
Each movement left trails of lightning.
Afterimages filled the battlefield.
Then—
CRACK!!!
Lightning rained down from every direction.
A storm of electric strikes surrounded Sora.
Dozens of bolts formed a deadly net that sealed every escape path.
But Sora simply glanced upward.
"Too slow."
He raised one hand.
A faint electric current swirled around his fingertips.
"You want to play with electricity?"
"Fine."
"Let's play."
"Vector Manipulation — Electron Redirection."
BUZZ—
The electric field shifted.
Instantly.
The electrons in the air changed direction.
The chaotic lightning storm suddenly stabilized.
Like soldiers receiving new orders.
The lightning no longer obeyed Kashimo.
It obeyed Sora.
Kashimo's eyes widened.
For the first time—
His cursed energy felt… hijacked.
"What the—?!"
The lightning that had surrounded Sora suddenly reversed direction.
Every bolt locked onto a single target.
Hajime Kashimo.
Then—
The storm collapsed inward.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
Lightning devoured the harbor.
The port exploded in a blinding white inferno.
Containers melted.
Concrete shattered.
The sea itself erupted under the shockwave.
The strongest lightning user of the Edo period—
Had just been struck by his own lightning.
When the light faded—
Smoke drifted across the battlefield.
And Kashimo stood in the center of the crater.
His body charred.
Electric sparks still crawling across his skin.
Then slowly—
He started laughing again.
Low.
Excited.
"Good."
His eyes shone with terrifying anticipation.
"Finally…"
"…someone worth killing."
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