Chapter 76

Reeling from the botched escort, Satoru and Suguru wrestle with what it even means to be a sorcerer. A year on, Satoru sharpens his power and earns the title of strongest, while Suguru withdraws into isolation, increasingly troubled by his own feelings toward ordinary people.

Reaching the House of the Star, Suguru is startled to find Toji's inventory curse wounded on the ground, then enters to see Satoru cradling Riko's shrouded body amid worshippers applauding her death. The change in his friend disturbs him so deeply that he questions whether Satoru is the same person. Satoru muses that killing every non-sorcerer present would leave him feeling nothing, but Suguru calls it pointless since the leaders fled. With sorcerers now involved, the Time Vessel Association can no longer wriggle free, and the Star Religious Group will dissolve on its own. Satoru wonders if a reason is even needed, and Suguru insists one is, especially for sorcerers.

By August 2007, Satoru shows Suguru and Shoko his ability to keep the Limitless active automatically, using a targeting function that gauges the mass, speed, shape, and intensity of incoming objects to judge any threat. Pairing it with a reverse cursed technique spares his brain the usual strain. As he lists further improvements, Suguru cannot ignore that Satoru alone has become the strongest, meaning Suguru will now face more solo assignments. The previous year's disasters spawned curses across Japan, and the endless loop of exorcism and consumption through his Cursed Spirit Manipulation begins to wear on him as he grows sickened by humanity. After a shower, Yu Haibara joins him for company and, asked whether he is content being a sorcerer, replies that giving his all to help feels great. The two are then approached by an unfamiliar woman wanting to know what kind of girls they like.

The chapter introduces Yuki Tsukumo and references Shoko Ieiri's Reverse Cursed Technique alongside Suguru's Cursed Spirit Manipulation. The pages were spread across the twenty-fifth, twenty-eighth, and twenty-ninth anime episodes.