Run, run, keep on running.
Maintaining a constant distance from the cursed spirit approaching from behind, Naoya continued to run as if to just see how things would go. The distance he had covered so far was approximately 100km.
Since the hag's speed itself was stable at around 100km/h, it seemed this cursed spirit was neither Turbo, Mach, nor Jet, but a '100km Granny'. It didn't particularly attack him; it seemed to be a monstrosity that merely ran with an original smile plastered on a wrinkled face that looked like a drawing by Man-Gatarō-sensei, swinging breasts like wrinkled dried daikon radishes.
"No, that's gross. Who benefits from this? My eyes are rotting."
In fact, Naoya had enough composure to spill such complaints. For Naoya, who could stably run at around 100km/h using only his physical ability without using any technique or cursed energy, this was a cursed spirit with almost no risk of death.
However, what was terrifying was the endlessness of this domain. And the immortality of the hag closing in from behind. Just a moment ago, Naoya had sent flying blades of cursed energy intending to slice those two unpleasant, swinging black dried daikon radishes into a thousand pieces, but far from being effective...
"Most likely, in exchange for not being able to attack itself, it has made itself invincible... You focused too much on the domain, you shitty hag. This would probably be a one-hit kill if you get stuck in it."
While spilling such grumbles, Naoya deactivated 'Falling Blossom Emotion' amidst the endless marathon. Since he could sustain it sufficiently with just his naturally recovering cursed energy, he could have kept it up, but Naoya decided to make a move to settle things here.
"Then let's raise the gear by one, you wrinkled hag."
Immediately after declaring so, the cursed energy swirling in Naoya's body rushed through his five limbs using his blood vessels and lymph as pathways. The flow of cursed energy, beautiful and without stagnation, began to grant inhuman Herculean strength to Naoya's body.
Crushing the asphalt, he sprinted through the dark tunnel while the glow of surging cursed energy trailed behind like tail lamps.
His speed easily exceeded 500km/h, comparable to the linear motor car exhibited as the vehicle of the future at last year's Aichi Expo. His figure running as if flying in a super-forward leaning posture had a gross beauty resembling a tiger beetle, surpassing a cockroach, but unlike a tiger beetle, Naoya had good brains and eyes, so there were no problems with visual information processing even during super-high-speed movement.
However, behind him, the hag who should have been left in the dust accelerated to the same speed as Naoya and continued to chase him without change.
The distance between the two was almost the same as before. Most likely, this hag cursed spirit could automatically accelerate up to 'the top speed the opponent put out within this domain'.
In other words, if one pushed themselves momentarily to accelerate and try to gain distance, they would fall into a deeper trap. It was a truly nasty cursed spirit, and at the same time, the base speed being 100km/h spurred on its shittiness.
—If you stop, you're out. If you force acceleration, you're out. If you stall, you're out. Even if you continue running constantly, a car would run out of gas, and a human would eventually reach their physical limit.
At a glance, this cursed spirit seemed invincible. However, the hint to maintaining such an effect lay in the disappearing space behind the hag.
—Why is it specifically erasing the space instead of killing the human with a technique effect?
The hypothesis raised from that doubt turned into conviction when 'asphalt with crushed traces that were being repaired' came into view as Naoya ran.
"I knew it, the hag behind is just decoration! The main body is the tunnel! Look, it's that thing... a room runner sort of thing...!"
Yes, what Naoya envisioned was a torus-shaped structure. A mechanism where the space turns inside out 'like rolling up a sock' behind the hag, moves along the outside of this tunnel, and comes out from the front again.
[Illustration Display]
Seeing that the pavement that should have been crushed was in the middle of being repaired, it didn't seem to be merely circulating, but that made Naoya all the more convinced of the existence of a 'Binding' imposed on this domain.
"There is no way your own supply of cursed energy is enough to maintain a domain of this size...! It's obvious you've incorporated a rule allowing for escape!"
Yes. By 'allowing the escape of those captured', this domain drastically lightens the maintenance cost. Naoya, convinced of this by his intuition which was hypersensitive to 'Bindings' more than others, made a bet to exorcise the cursed spirit along with the domain.
That is the reason Naoya was certified as a Special Grade Sorcerer. The activation of a wide-area annihilation technique capable of overturning a nation.
"Maximum: Technique Activation—"
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