WARNING : I am not a native speaker. One of my reasons to re-write this fict is because I want to practice my English even just a little. So, read it with a grain of salt and please enjoy yourself.
—OoOoO—
Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami
Oregairu by Wataru Watari & Ponkan8
Genre : Supernatural, Action, Freindship, Slice of Life, and Little Bit Romance
Summary : Not the romantic comedy of youth that he experienced, not the quiet and normal life of youth he had. He never missed his day-to-day cursing his strange and annoying life. He is Hikigaya Hachiman and this is all his complaints as a jujutsu sorcerer.
Chapter 11 : The Deadly Night at Chiba Folk Museum Part 2.
—OoOoO—
"You really showed up, huh? I thought you would act like a coward."
Hikigaya Hachiman was standing on the grass around the grounds of the Chiba Folk Museum. About 50 to 60 meters behind it, the castle walls surrounded the Chiba Folk Museum.
"Don't be too confident, kid. What if I wasn't the sniper who tried to shoot you just now? What if there's more than one sniper around here?"
Quanxi, standing not far in front of the high school boy, smiled disdainfully at Hachiman's decision.
"I could dodge the shot even though the sniper shot me right as the curtain lifted. With my current state, I can certainly avoid the sniper's fire from those buildings," Hachiman replied in a disdainful tone, "Unless the sniper is an idiot, he will probably keep shooting at me and show his own position."
Being a sniper was a job that required one shot, one kill. If your first shot failed to kill your target, or worse, your target was still as fit as Hachiman's, your reputation as a sniper would be ruined. Because once your shot failed, your position would be immediately known. Even if you change positions later, you still need time to disassemble your sniper rifle, put it in your bag, go to another spot, and then reassemble it again. Not to mention you still have to pay attention to the direction the wind blew.
Being a sniper meant having to work efficiently, quickly, and precisely. If these three elements were not possessed, you fail as a sniper.
"That's good bragging, kid. I know you had a hard time dodging even that shot earlier," Quanxi replied with a grin, "Well, but you have a point. Constantly attacking people in the same way even after that person can dodge your attacks, that's stupid."
Hachiman just stared blankly at the white-haired woman in a ponytail. Saying that he had a hard time dodging the shot, indirectly confirmed that the woman before him was indeed the one who had tried to shoot him earlier. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to judge that Hachiman was having a hard time or something.
'The shot was not normal. The bullet speed was too fast. Nothing else could explain it if it wasn't using her cursed technique. Acceleration, speed manipulation, momentum, mass manipulation, friction manipulation, … surely her cursed technique has something to do with one of those.'
"Don't stare at a woman with such fierce eyes, Illusionist Boy. That's disgusting, you know?" Quanxi said with a slight shrug,
At this moment, both Quanxi and Hachiman were throwing nice words at each other, words that sounded quite casual. However, in reality, they were trying to observe each other's abilities.
Moreover, Hachiman had to be a little surprised because the woman standing not far in front of him called him an "illusionist boy". He didn't know if it was a coincidence or not. However, one thing was for sure, he had to think that Quanxi already knew of his cursed technique. This proves Hachiman's earlier theory that there was someone else who could see through the curtain. This fact also relieved Hachiman a bit. Because his bad thoughts about Iroha being a traitor were proven wrong.
However, on the other hand, it also harmed Hachiman. Hachiman liked to perform the binding vow of 'Showing One's Card'. The condition for activation was that the user must reveal his own cursed technique. However, with Quanxi already knowing his technique, Hachiman couldn't use that binding vow.
"Recently, there have been a lot of foreign sorcerers infiltrating Japan to kill some officials," Hachiman said casually, "Considering there isn't a single important official around, I can assume that your goals are different from theirs, right?"
"We're both East Asian, but you can tell that I'm not Japanese? In fact, I'm very confident in my language and accent, which is like Japanese."
"You're Chinese, aren't you? Your eyes are a little smaller than normal Japanese eyes," replied Hachiman, pointing at his own eyes.
"Heh, you racist."
"Well, and you are the one who infiltrated the people's land and pretended to be a local for your own benefit."
Quanxi smiled in response to Hachiman's reply. From this conversation, she knew that the young man before her was very good at playing with words.
"Fine, I am indeed from China and infiltrated here. However, my goal is not to kill the officials you refer to."
Hachiman continued to stare blankly at Quanxi. He chose silence and let the woman continue her speech.
"There is someone who likes to collect antiques. Incidentally, the item he wants is now in the museum over there," Quanxi said while pointing at the Chiba Folk Museum, "I'll take the item and then leave quietly. So, we can avoid unnecessary fights."
Listening to the explanation from his interlocutor, raised various other questions in Hachiman's head
"What do you want to take? And who is your client?"
"I can't say that. I'm bound by a binding vow," Quanxi replied with a shrug.
A binding vow was not only to be done to gain an advantage in battle or improve certain aspects. In fact, a binding vow could be used in various situations. For example, made a contract between a sorcerer and another, or sorcerer with their client.
In employment contracts involving sorcerers, just signatures on a letter alone would not suffice. Ordinary contracts like that wouldn't deter sorcerers from treason. However, if you made a binding vow with your life at stake if one of the parties betrayed you, it would discourage sorcerers from deceiving their clients.
'As far as I remember, not a single cursed tool or cursed object is stored or exhibited in this museum. If there was, the association wouldn't have missed such obvious information. So, what the woman said might be true.'
If this was the usual Hachiman, he might just turn a blind eye and let the woman pass. As Quanxi said, there was no need for him to put up unnecessary fights. Since the thing Quanxi wanted to stole wasn't cursed tools or cursed objects, Hachiman didn't think he should bother fighting Quanxi.
However, he was unable to do that. Or rather, something on his mind wouldn't allowed it.
"Then there's nothing more to discuss."
With that sentence, Hachiman shot off at high speed. In just the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Quanxi.
He thrust his right fist into Quanxi's face, but it was parried by the woman easily. However, Quanxi didn't stay still. She elbowed Hachiman's jaw. But with trained reflexes, Hachiman was able to catch the elbow.
Taking advantage of the momentum Quanxi was using, Hachiman then turned his body inward, in the direction where Quanxi's elbow came. Next, he tried to slam the woman with a swift movement using the judo moves he had learned from Maki.
Unfortunately, Quanxi was not a lowly fighter. Even though her arm was currently locked and she was about to be slammed, the woman swiftly slipped her left leg between Hachiman's legs and then slightly pushed back.
Because one of Hachiman's legs hit Quanxi's left leg, which she tucked between his legs, Hachiman couldn't help but fall backwards. The backs of the two humans, who were six to seven years apart, both hit the grass where they stood.
Quanxi quickly locked Hachiman's right hand with both legs and was about to break the teenager's right arm. However, Hachiman swiftly took his knife he kept behind his waist. He thrust the knife into Quanxi's slender legs using his left hand. Not wanting to have a hole in her leg, Quanxi was forced to release the lock. As a result, the knife stuck firmly in the ground leaving only the hilt showing on the surface.
Even though Quanxi missed the chance to break the boy's arm, she saw an opportunity when Hachiman's knife plunged into the ground. With a hard kick, the woman kicked Hachiman in the face. Unfortunately, Hachiman was no less quick to block the kick. As a result, the kick only hit Hachiman's right hand. The attack only sent Hachiman rolling a few metres until it finally stopped.
Now, the two were standing again at about five metres using their stances. Not wanting to waste any more time, Quanxi dashed quickly toward Hachiman. She slammed hard into her opponent's face with the fist she had prepared. However, the boy swiftly warded off the fist with his left hand.
It didn't stop there. The right-handed fist that Hachiman had just warded away now quickly grabbed the back of Hachiman's head. With a strong force, Quanxi pushed Hachiman's head down. Quanxi's knees were idle, ready to deal a blow to Hachiman's head which was pushed down.
The attack heavily hit Hachiman's mouth. This suddenly made Hachiman's body stagger backwards. However, with his stance still going strong, Hachiman butted his head into Quanxi's. Not expecting that her opponent would do that, Quanxi had to be willing to sacrifice her nose bone.
Feeling the momentum, Hachiman smacked Quanxi in the stomach heavily. The blow was successfully sending the woman bouncing up to a dozen meters.
Despite being struck, Quanxi got up and balanced her body quickly. However, it was clear that her face now looked a little pale, as if she was feeling discomfort in her stomach.
'What's with that punch? The punch not only strong due to the cursed energy reinforcement but there was something else, something that made my stomach churn. It felt like he put vomit in my mouth and forced me to swallow it.'
While thinking about the strangeness she felt, Quanxi wiped the saliva on her mouth due to the queasy feeling in her stomach. At that moment, Quanxi recalled the information about Hachiman's cursed energy that she had received from Pingtsi earlier.
'Oh, I see. So, that was a special trait of his cursed energy. Fighting people like this is really very troublesome.'
Cursed energy traits, a very rare phenomenon in jujutsu society. This was a unique condition that geniuses like Gojou Satoru and Okkotsu Yuta alone did not possess.
The cursed energy was closely related to the soul and mind. Therefore. When a person's soul and mind tend to exhibit a unique pattern of life, it would cause the cursed energy to have unique traits based on how the soul and mind respond to life.
Cursed energy traits tend to be quite tricky to avoid. For example, a sorcerer might be able to use the cursed energy to protect the body from attacks based on the cursed energy. However, the cursed energy could only protect against that. So, when there was a cursed energy trait, the cursed energy alone would not be enough to protect the body from cursed energy traits.
Cursed energy traits were slightly different from the qualities shown by the cursed energy. For example, every strong sorcerer must have a high quality and quantity of cursed energy. The quality and quantity then caused a powerful sorcerer's cursed energy to feel scary and intimidating. However, for those with cursed energy traits, the aura emitted by that person would follow the unique attributes of the cursed energy.
In this case, Hachiman's cursed energy felt so disgusting due to Hachiman's cursed energy traits. The gloomy, dark, depressing, and various other negative things all seemed to come together to form a sensation that felt extremely repulsive—something that was difficult to put into words.
It was also one of the reasons why Hachiman practised so hard on his cursed energy control. Because if he can't control his cursed energy well, ordinary people who don't have resistance to cursed energy would feel nauseous and the negative aura from Hachiman.
In fact, when Gakukganji learned of this fact last year, he immediately assumed Hachiman's cursed energy was not the energy that humans should have. This was also what made Gakuganji—and the other higher-ups—suspend his promotion. Because he didn't want someone with an aura like Hachiman to be in the first-grade level, which the standard and face for an ideal sorcerer in the eyes of the association.
"For a deceitful person, you have pretty good hand-to-hand combat skills," Quanxi praised as she slowly walked towards her opponent, "Why don't you just bring out your troublesome technique, Illusionist Boy?"
Quanxi's provocation was clear enough to prove that she knew Hachiman's cursed technique.
That reason also made Hachiman not too proactive in this fight. Apart from the fact that his opponent already knew his cursed technique, he, on the other hand, knew nothing about her. Therefore, if he was too rash, he might get caught up in his opponent's rhythm.
"Then, why don't you just use your cursed technique first, Chinese Old Lady?"
Quanxi smiled faintly at Hachiman's counter provocation.
"You not only refer to people you just met by race name but also mention 'Old Lady'?" Quanxi replied with a smirk, "Haven't you ever been taught—"
However, before the woman finished saying her words, a voice shouted loudly within her ears.
Following the warning she received, Quanxi turned around to find Hachiman already behind her and about to punch her in the face. Quanxi knew that she didn't have enough time to dodge or even parry Hachiman's punch, less than 30 centimetres away.
However, it was not something that came as a surprise to her. That was what she had planned. Because of that, a wide grin graced her face when Hachiman's punch was about to hit her face.
During that time, Quanxi activated her cursed technique.
When Hachiman's punch was only three centimetres away from hitting Quanxi's head, suddenly, a mysterious force forced Hachiman's fist to turn right. No matter how hard the boy tried to get his fists back on track, at that very instant, the force provided as strong a thrust as Hachiman's so that, his punches could be deflected to the right.
Not wasting the opportunity, Quanxi hit Hachiman's solar plexus with her right hand. And it hit Hachiman so well that it sent the young man flying a few meters to the West.
Even though she managed to land a heavy blow, it didn't make Quanxi feel happy. The woman fumbled for her right ear, where Hachiman had taken something from before Quanxi hit him.
'He took my earphone? So, he already knows that Pingtsi is watching us over the boy's illusions, huh?'
Hachiman's technique, which was able to give illusions to anyone as long as the conditions were met, does seem very troublesome. Hachiman could make his existence completely disappear and create illusions of himself and any illusions he wishes.
Since the technique only requires the condition of residual energy to ensnare his opponent directly into the illusion, it allows Hachiman to use his technique over a wide range and to many people at once. However, the most terrifying thing was that the energy consumption of the cursed was very little due to its excellent energy control.
However, having such advantages didn't mean Hachiman's technique couldn't be broken. In fact, once you can break the trick Hachiman used, you can break free from his illusions.
So, how?
The thing to note in the Hachiman technique was that only the target was trapped in the illusion. In other words, anyone other than the target would not be trapped to the illusion, which would automatically allow them to see Hachiman's actual body.
In this case, Pingtsi, who had only been monitoring from a distance using her technique, was not under the influence of Hachiman's illusion at all. That way, she could know where Hachiman's actual location was. Using earphone as a communication, Pingtsi could tell Quanxi when Hachiman activated his illusion and where he was.
Hikigaya Hachiman, who was hit by Quanxi's punch, didn't bother. Instead, he stared blankly at the earphone in his right hand. Then, with a firm squeeze, the teenager destroyed the communication device.
'Whoever made this curtain, that person is an experienced and well-prepared sorcerer. They purposely cut off our communication by blocking the incoming signal. However, at the same time, they use a certain frequency inside the curtain to communicate with each other via wireless.'
Hachiman now looked fiercely at the woman. Seeing how prepared and capable she was, Hachiman knew that the woman before him was not an ordinary sorcerer.
'Moreover, when my punch was deflected forcefully…, I thought that it was something similar to the Infinity that Gojou-sensei used. However, the sensation was very different. If I'm right, she can manipulate friction. She can increase or decrease the coefficient of friction of an object. That could also explain why the bullet's speed was so fast.'
"You already know that someone else is watching, huh?"
"This isn't the first time someone has used this method on me," Hachiman replied casually, "So, manipulating the coefficient of friction, huh? That is something very troublesome."
"Tell that to your technique, Illusionist Boy."
"Now that I think about it, how about we make peace—?"
Hachiman's words were cut short by a sonic boom that sounded from where Quanxi was standing. In fact, before Hachiman could even blink his eyes, his body had been hit by something. The punch that was amplified with ultrasonic speed hit his head heavily. The attack was able to make Hachiman bounce up to tens of metres.
Even after his body hit the museum fence, made of very thick natural stone, the boy's body still continued to move. He was only able to stop after his body hit the wall of the Museum and caused a big hole there.
"W- what was that?" commented Komachi, who hid behind the museum fence.
Megumi, who was also there, had to be stunned by what he had just witnessed. However, he knew this was not the time to be idle.
"This place isn't safe anymore. Let's find another place to hide."
With those words, Megumi carried the helpless Kamo Noritoshi. And with a low nod, Komachi followed him away.
—OoOoO—
"That was … so fast. If I know this would happen, I'd better accept her offer earlier."
Hikigaya Hachiman, now buried under the rubble of the museum wall, lamented his fate of having just been hit with an amplified punch at a speed exceeding the speed of sound. His head was bleeding, his jaw seemed to shift slightly, and his back felt like it was going to crush against the thick wall and cold of the museum.
'By manipulating the coefficient of friction, she can deflect anything that comes her way. And that speed …, she seemed to move without the slightest resistance from the friction of the air. Damn, it's so troublesome, and I want to just run away.'
By using cursed energy reinforcement, sorcerers can increase their speed. In fact, sorcerers who had reached the first-grade level could move as fast as a bullet. In Quanxi's case, her abilities were on par with a first-grade sorcerer. Of course, her speed was also at that level. However, when she removed the entire coefficient of friction hitting her body, Quanxi's speed increased drastically.
If you put Quanxi into the ranks of the top sorcerers in Japan, her full speed was equivalent to the full speed of the two fastest jujutsu sorcerers in Japan, Zen'in Naobito and Zen'in Naoya. But, of course, Gojou Satoru, with his teleportation, was in a very different league.
'With her technique, no matter how well I can trick her using illusions, it will be useless as long as she can deflect my attacks.'
At a glance, the memory of Gojou Satoru, who could manipulate space crossed Hachiman's mind.
'No, she is not Gojou-sensei. She couldn't possibly activate her technique continuously without resting. There must be a loophole that can be exploited.'
Hachiman then got up from where he was lying. With the relatively large boulders, which fell on him, he moved it even though his body was aching. With determined steps, he walked out of the hole in the wall. Although it seemed pretty long, the thought process until he got up, Hachiman only took about three seconds.
However, when he could stand up straight, he could feel a projectile aiming at him. Not wanting to end up being ridiculous, Hachiman dodged it by rolling diagonally forward.
A loud crashing sound was heard.
"That was… gravel?" said Hachiman, who looked back.
However, that wasn't the only projectile targeting the boy. one by one, the projectiles that turned out to be gravel were thrown at a very high speed aiming at Hachiman wherever he evaded.
Finally, the Sobu High School student galloped towards the grass he had fought before. Even though it seemed stupid that he decided to fought a speed-type fighter in the open, he had a plan.
There, he found Quanxi, who was also staring at him. There was gravel in the woman's right hand that she was ready to throw at Hachiman.
'This is a gamble. But, if this works, things might just be reversed,' Hachiman thought.
Simultaneously, Hachiman took off his jujutsu high uniform shirt, revealing the plain white t-shirt he wore. On the other hand, Quanxi, who saw it, smiled as she prepared her next attack.
"Cursed Technique Shift : Zero Friction."
Quanxi activated a technique that allowed her to move without any resistance from the air's frictional force with a hand seal. After that, Quanxi dashed at full speed toward Hachiman. A loud sound of a sonic boom was also heard as Quanxi ran at speed above the speed of sound.
An attack hit Hachiman's body. However, it was different from before. This time, Hachiman used cursed energy reinforcement to ultimately strengthen his defences. So, even though he had to be bounced dozens of metres away, the damage he took was still minimal.
The second attack hit Hachiman's stomach again. However, the teenager was not only able to withstand using cursed energy reinforcement but also briefly blocked Quanxi's blows using the hands he wrapped in his shirt. Even so, he couldn't resist the urge that sent him flying back dozens of meters to the East.
The final attack succeeded in getting Hachiman out of the grassy area and sending him onto the highway.
"Alright, this should be enough," Hachiman said in a shabby condition and gasped for breath.
Normally, Hachiman, of course, could barely keep up with Quanxi's movements. However, while Hachiman knew that Quanxi's technique was closely related to physics, at that moment, he realised that the Quanxi's movement could not deviate from the concept of physics.
That meant, no matter how fast Quanxi moved or how hard his eyes followed the woman, Hachiman could still predict where Quanxi would land her attack.
Hachiman again saw a sonic boom facing North from the direction where he was standing earlier. Quanxi didn't ran in a straight line heading straight to him, but the woman slightly turned to obscure Hachiman's concentration. Which meant the next attack would definitely come from the North side of the rotten-eyed sorcerer.
Without batting an eye, Hachiman put all his focus and concentration into his sense of sight.
"If this calculation is wrong, I swear I will kill you in the afterlife, Newton," Hachiman muttered as he unrolled the shirt that wrapped his right hand.
As Hachiman predicted, Quanxi was coming from the North—or rather—from the Northeast side. If he only relied on reflexes, Hachiman certainly wouldn't be able to dodge this attack. However, Hachiman, who let his body be hit twice by Quanxi's attacks—three if you add a surprise attack at the start—certainly wasn't battered without getting anything.
Just when he and Quanxi were only two metres away, Hachiman quickly rolled forward. Not only that, but he also threw his shirt low into the air.
Quanxi, who was at high speed, couldn't simply stop her speed or swerve her way. To be honest, she was shocked to see Hachiman, who was able to dodge at the last moment. Except for Gojou Satoru, there had never been anyone who had been able to dodge Quanxi's attacks.
However, the surprise didn't end there. The uniform shirt that Hachiman threw low was now firmly stuck to Quanxi's head. Or rather, the woman's head hit the shirt. Of course, with her target avoiding her—and the shirt stuck to her head—Quanxi increased the friction coefficient on her body and legs to drastically reduce her speed.
Quanxi's sudden braking action caused a small ditch along her path.
When she had stopped completely, Quanxi quickly picked up and threw away the shirt on her head. However, to her surprise, when she threw away the shirt, the entire scene before her eyes was completely pitch black. It was dark in the sense of being completely dark. There was nothing she could see. Even though she was currently fighting at night, normally, she should still be able to see other things.
However, they cannot be seen. Her sense of sight seemed to have died, leaving her in endless darkness.
"Fuck, what the hell is this?"
—OoOoO—
Quick question, how could Hachiman predict Quanxi's attack?
In the first place, as Hachiman thought, Quanxi's attack, which negates the friction coefficient that hit her body, made Quanxi move indirectly based on the concept of physics. In fact, anything that exists in this world, anything that can be seen by the eyes, can be explained using the principles of classical mechanics.
In fact, using physics, you can also predict what the conditions of our tiny extraterrestrial planet will be. What you needed to do was quite simple, just change the necessary variables and plug them into the existing equations.
That was precisely what Hachiman did. The hit with the speed of the first sonic boom he received really surprised him. However, with the distance and time from Quanxi moving up to hit Hachiman, this Sobu High school student could get to Quanxi's speed score.
The second attack Hachiman received was something he did on purpose. Or rather, Hachiman was trying to prove the Quanxi speed he got from his calculations. Unfortunately, Quanxi moving in a circular path and attacking his side—unlike the first attack that struck straight from the front—made Hachiman hit once again with that supersonic speed blow.
However, just like the first attack he received. Hachiman was not hit by the attack without getting anything. Using the slightly twisted path Quanxi used, Hachiman knew that even she couldn't just make a sharp turn at high speed.
In other words, with a certain distance and a certain speed, the detour options that Quanxi could use were very limited. If likened, it was almost the same as how someone measures the distance a stone was thrown high forward using the parabolic formula. However, the difference was that there was no gravitational acceleration that bound Quanxi's movement. Because from the start, this was something on a flat plane, not a vertical plane like a thrown stone.
Knowing the direction of Quanxi's attack through the direction of the created sonic boom—along with all the variables Hachiman collected—he could predict the time it would take for Quanxi to hit him.
That was why, when Hachiman avoided Quanxi, he didn't actually dodge on instinct. Instead, he was purely moving based on the time calculations he had done in such a way in his brain.
It was the fact that made Gojou Satoru think of Hachiman as a figure who never stopped thinking, something very much like him.
—OoOoO—
Even though her vision had been swallowed up in darkness, Quanxi was still trying to remain calm. Although her sight had been dulled, the woman was now sharpening other senses. She might appear calm on the outside, but on the inside, Quanxi was trying to analyse what was really going on.
'He purposely threw his shirt over my head to cover my eyes. Made me think I couldn't see around with his shirt blocking my view. He pulled that thought out and transformed it into an illusion that literally put me in the dark. He is not only intelligent but also very cunning.'
Quanxi clenched her jaw until the sound of teeth chattering was heard.
'Whatever it is, I can't stand still. Until I find a way to get out of this shit, I'll be an easy target.'
However, before Quanxi could move from her spot, a heavy blow hit her heart. The blow that was amplified using cursed energy reinforcement and seasoned with Hachiman's cursed energy trait made Quanxi feel pain and a disgusting feeling in her stomach.
Again, this time it was a hard kick that hit her jaw. At this point, she was fortunate to have strengthened her body using cursed energy reinforcement. Otherwise, her brain would have been shaken, and she would definitely faint.
However, the attacks did not stop there. This time, a fist that was tougher than the previous two strikes heavily hit her face. Due to the force of the fist, Quanxi had to be forced to bounce a dozen metres away.
However, before she really stopped, something grabbed her leg. With a loud bang, Quanxi's body was slammed onto the asphalt, causing a loud bang.
Even though she was trapped in the darkness, the woman could feel pain and smell the rancid smell of blood oozing out all over her body. The sour taste mixed with fishy that she felt on her tongue. The blood in her mouth was mixed with the stomach's contents that had come out a little.
In contrast to Gojou Satoru, whose technique was always activated and would automatically block anything considered dangerous and led to him, Quanxi couldn't do anything to that extreme with all her limitations. She could deflect attacks heading toward her using her friction manipulation. However, she couldn't keep her technique active to protect her entire body. As such, many gaps could be attacked when Quanxi couldn't see her surroundings.
The successive attacks stopped. Despite not knowing what would happen next, Quanxi decided to get up from where she was lying.
"What do you think humanity is most afraid of?"
Hachiman's voice echoed so clearly in Quanxi's ears, making her look around. Which, of course, was only darkness she got.
"You can answer that humans are afraid of death, loneliness, poverty, helplessness, or something else. However, did you know that the thing that humans fear the most is the darkness?"
Hachiman's voice returned to Quanxi's ears. His voice sounded cold and echoed in the ears, making it feel like she was in a dark, desolate, gloomy cave.
"In the dark, you can't see anything. If you can't see, you don't know what will happen to you, what's in front of you, and what's waiting for you. Ignorance, uncertainty, unpredictability, inability to act, everything can happen in the dark. That's why, ever since the first humans came down to earth, darkness has been the natural enemy of mankind."
Cold sweat started dripping from Quanxi's skin pores. You could say that Quanxi's mentality was on par with an average first-grade sorcerer. However, having been beaten so severely in the darkness, Quanxi's mental state was a little shaky.
However, even if it was a little, that was what Hachiman had been aiming for from the start.
"Just say what you really want to say, you bastard," Quanxi said in a slightly quivering tone.
Hachiman was silent for a moment, thinking about the words he would choose. It wasn't until a few seconds later that the boy continued his speech.
"How long do you think we have been fighting? Four minutes? Five minutes?" Hachiman paused for a moment and continued, "And you know, Tokyo and Chiba are quite close. So, how long do you think it took for Gojou Satoru to get to this place?"
Hearing the name that the young man spoke made Quanxi's breath stop for a moment. Cold sweat that had only appeared a few now felt like it was flooding her entire body.
That woman might be trying hard to control herself in the darkness. However, to Quanxi, Gojou Satoru was something even more terrifying than darkness.
Hachiman smirked at his opponent's reaction. Of course, the line about Gojou Satoru coming here was bullshit. That was obvious because if he wanted to, Gojou Satoru could arrive in less than five minutes using his teleportation. However, in total darkness, the human brain tends to be dulled by the panic they felt.
The barrage of attacks that Quanxi received had clearly made the woman's physical condition worse. If the physical condition had deteriorated, a person's mentality was very easy to attack. The bragging about the darkness that Hachiman spoke earlier was just a premise that said, "you never know what happens in the dark".
Like a boxer who will measure the distance of his punch before they launch a jab, Hachiman's boast about darkness was his way of gauging his opponent's mental state. If the opponent already had the slightest doubt in their hearts, at that moment, Hachiman would say the last suggestion that made his opponent mentally shaken.
And Gojou Satoru, there wasn't a single sorcerer in this world who didn't know him. To anyone who messed up in Japan, Gojou Satoru's name would automatically become a nightmare for them. Facing Gojou Satoru was an experience no sane person would have had. Especially for Quanxi, who had been butchered on one side by that man.
When the opponent's mentality has begun to collapse and all conditions have been met, at that moment, Hikigaya Hachiman can use his current strongest illusion.
"Maximum Technique :—."
However, before he had cast the spell, he saw an azure aura glow on the tips of Quanxi's middle and index fingers.
With those two fingers that attached each other, Quanxi stabbed her own left thigh. Then, with a pain that felt like scorching through the body to the brain, Hachiman's illusion of darkness began to crumble. Although stabbing her own thigh using the cursed energy was excruciatingly painful, the pain was well worth it. Because after that, Quanxi's eyes were able to see normally again.
"You almost got me, you damn—"
Quanxi's euphoria after escaping from Hachiman's illusion had to end after she realised that there were around 20 or so cursed spirits like flies around her. She knew the cursed spirits. They were explosive flies. The explosive power was not too big, though. However, if there were this many in number, and moreover, they were all surrounding her, the damage she would be received would definitely not be just a mere burn.
Not to mention she was already battered, so it was a little difficult to control her cursed energy.
'Cursed spirits? He asked the cursed spirit manipulation girl to release these exploding cursed spirits while I was trapped in his illusion?' Quanxi thought as she looked at Hachiman, who was grinning viciously at her.
"YOU SON OF BI—."
"Say what?" commented Hachiman.
Quanxi's cursing was no longer heard when a loud explosion engulfed Quanxi. Burning red flames and black smoke billowed into the air to decorate the explosion. The explosion also generated a shockwave enough to toss Quanxi's body and some bits of asphalt and a lamppost to the West.
Hachiman observed this and strolled toward the adult woman lying on the asphalt road.
"Unfortunately, I'm not the type to stick to a single plan," Hachiman said flatly before Quanxi.
In contrast to the illusion of darkness which was a plan he came up with after considering Quanxi's fighting style. The explosive fly's cursed spirit was a contingency plan that Hachiman had prepared from the start.
Before Hachiman came forward to greet Quanxi, he first asked Komachi to take out all the talismans that contained explosive flies inside. Generally, Komachi talismans will emit thin cursed energy because of their nature as cursed objects. However, Hachiman hid it all under his white t-shirt. In addition, Hachiman used his own cursed energy aura to cover the residual energy escaping from the talisman.
That's what made Quanxi—and Pingtsi—unaware of any other cursed energy besides Hachiman's attached to his body.
And with the signal that Hachiman gave to Komachi—who was watching the fight from a safe distance—the cursed spirits in the form of explosive flies came out and exploded at Hachiman's command.
The young sorcerer crouched in front of the prone Quanxi, watching the woman's body covered in wounds. Whether it was a blow, a burn, or even a cut, Hachiman could see everything from the woman.
Grasping Quanxi's white hair, Hachiman pulled it up so that the woman's face was face to face with Hachiman's face.
"So can you answer my question earlier?" asked Hachiman dryly, "What thing do you want to steal from the museum and who is your client?"
Quanxi's breath was heavy. Blood and burns on her head made her condition worse. In addition, the blindfold on her left eye was now slipping off somewhere and revealing her empty left eyelid. To her, the wound in her left eye was a reminder, a sign of her hatred for Gojou Satoru. However, she hated it when others saw her long-lost left eye wound.
"You think… you… already won, huh?" said Quanxi with difficulty.
"Just answer my question, and I might consider releasing you and your three friends."
During the fight, Hachiman received information through Iroha's telepathy. His junior said that Nishimiya Momo found the places where Quanxi's allies were within this curtain.
Even though Momo's reported number of Quanxi allies was three, Hachiman guessed that the woman still had other allies outside the curtain. He didn't know how many there were, though. Clearly, a strong sorcerer like Quanxi would have already secured a path for them to escape. And the task must have been entrusted to that female companion outside the curtain.
With the rest of her strength, Quanxi looked at Hachiman with hatred. The woman's mouth curled into a grin, indicating that the fire of resistance in her eyes had not yet been extinguished. Then, gathering her cursed energy in one spot, Quanxi spat something out of her mouth.
'Shit!' Hachiman thought.
Everything passed for one second, a time which, of course, was very fast. Hachiman noticed that there was a cursed energy activity inside Quanxi's mouth. However, with only 30 centimetres of the distance between him crouching down and Quanxi looking up, it was very difficult to react correctly.
The stone shot from inside Quanxi's mouth and pierced through Hachiman's neck. By pierced here, it meant that from front to back, Hachiman's neck had gotten an additional hole through which air could freely enter and exit.
Hachiman took a few steps back while holding his neck. Excruciating pain was clearly felt from the hole with a diametre of four centimetres. Because he still had time to react, Hachiman could dodge the attack to not crush his throat. However, because Hachiman's response was far from perfect, the attack hit the walls of the capillaries in his neck.
Therefore, a great deal of blood was pouring out like a faucet from the hole in Hachiman's neck. It was fatal, making it even harder for Hachiman to breathe and concentrate.
Even so, he still tried to concentrate his cursed energy, doing his best to slow the bleeding. However, Quanxi certainly didn't waste this golden opportunity. Grabbing the scrap metal lamppost lying next to her, Quanxi stabbed the iron into Hachiman's stomach.
Without any significant obstacles, the iron successfully penetrated Hachiman's stomach. In addition to blood splattering everywhere, the teenager also vomited a thick red liquid due to the attack.
Quanxi didn't stop there. After the iron stuck in Hachiman's stomach, she swung it to the right, destroying the entire left side of Hachiman's stomach. Intestines, kidneys, and a lot of fluid besides blood came out of the teenager's stomach.
Hachiman fell to his knees with a weak body, still trying to support his weight. Seeing this, Quanxi was furious and slammed the iron into Hachiman's back.
"JUST DIE, YOU FUCKING SHIT!"
With the prone position, now Hachiman was in a completely helpless condition. The situation that had been reversed by Hachiman was now once again reversed by Quanxi.
The woman thrust the iron into Hachiman's back as a finishing touch. The iron pierced his back to his lungs and even stuck firmly on the pavement where Hachiman lay.
Feeling that was enough, Quanxi looked flatly at Hachiman's helpless body.
"You said earlier that you are not a person who only relies on one plan," Quanxi said dryly, "Unfortunately, you are too self-confident to think that other people have backup plans too."
Pausing her speech to catch her breath, Quanxi then continued again.
"You're always toying with other people using your illusions, making them swirl around in your grasp. You have a brain so smart that you can predict my speed. With your technique and intelligence, you always think that everything will go according to your plan.
I don't know how people view you. However, to me, your arrogance reminds me of Gojou Satoru. Unfortunately, you are not Gojou Satoru. You're not an invincible genius like him. That's what breaks you down, Illusionist Boy."
After saying that, Quanxi walked away, leaving behind a dying Hachiman. With limping steps, the woman sauntered towards the Chiba Folk Museum.
However, after only taking a few steps, a giant worm-like creature five meters long attacked her from the front.
The woman easily dodged the worm. Then, using her punch, Quanxi could exorcise the cursed spirit. The only thing left before her, was a girl with a tattered appearance.
"I SWEAR I WILL KILL YOU, FUCK!"
With her reddened eyes and a few water crystals at the corners of her eyes, Komachi looked at Quanxi with hatred. From head to toe, all the cells in Komachi seemed to be screaming to kill the woman before her.
Quanxi knew the girl with a cursed spirit that looked like an upside-down eggplant at her right shoulder. Pingtsi had mentioned that she was the girl who could control cursed spirits. However, other than that, Quanxi didn't know anything about the girl.
"If you think you can beat me, you're too cocky, brat. Even though I'm battered, overcoming a brat or two like you isn't a big deal to me. Besides, your condition is no less bad than mine."
"I DON'T CARE. EVEN IF MY BODY IS DESTROYED, I WILL KILL YOU."
Just as Komachi was about to dashed toward Quanxi, suddenly two hands grabbed her from behind.
"Calm yourself, Komachi!"
"DO YOU THINK I CAN CALM DOWN AFTER SEEING ONII-CHAN KILLED BY HER?"
"I understand your feeling. However, you saw it yourself, what kind of her cursed technique is," Megumi replied as he tightly locked Komachi's arms.
"STILL, I WILL KILL HER."
"WE CAN'T KILL HER IF WE DON'T FIGHT WITH OUR BRAINS!" Megumi snapped.
That was successfully pierced through Komachi's head. Although her entire body was still filled with hatred and anger, she was now calmer than before. She remembered that even her older brother needed a tough effort to overcome Quanxi's speed.
"Instead of arguing like that, why don't you guys just take the boy's body away?"
"I will kill you, bastard!" replied Komachi.
Quanxi rolled the only eyeball she had and snorted tiredly. However, before she could reply, she saw two girls approaching.
The first girl approached from the air. The girl got on the broom she was using to fly. While the second girl ran like an average human.
Nishimiya Momo—the broom girl—came down right in front of Komachi and Megumi. Not long after, Iroha caught up and joined the three.
'Hikigaya has been defeated. It's hard to believe that someone like him would let his guard down at the last moment,' Momo thought as she tightened her grip on her broom, 'Even with her condition, I doubt the four of us have any chance of winning against her.'
Momo looked back, noticing the condition of her juniors, who were also not in good shape.
'I've contacted Hiratsuka-san, and Nanami-san about the appearance of a special grade cursed spirit earlier, and Hiratsuka-san said she's going to our place. So, until she comes, we have to hold her, at any cost.'
"You know yourself, don't you, that you can't beat me?" Quanxi said, "Instead of wasting your time fighting me, you'd better care for your friend who was hit by me earlier."
"Shut your damn mouth, you fucking bitch. I assure you that you will perish this very moment," replied Komachi as she took out several talismans from Ten's stomach—the cursed spirit that rested on her right shoulder.
However, before she could extract the cursed spirit from her talisman, Komachi suddenly slumped down with her breath roaring.
Cursed Spirit Manipulation was indeed a fairly practical cursed technique. However, the quality of the user's cursed energy would largely determine the effectiveness of the technique. If the quality of the energy was only that of a second-grade level, the user required a greater amount of cursed energy to summon a more powerful cursed spirit.
Therefore, for an immature sorcerer like Komachi, she still couldn't to bring out the true potential of her cursed technique.
Quanxi looked down on the four sorcerers. They weren't as troublesome to her as the teenager she had fought earlier, Hikigaya Hachiman. The four sorcerers in front of her were just the typical sorcerers she'd often met, sorcerers who depended solely on their cursed techniques.
They were sorcerers who utilised by cursed techniques, not sorcerers who utilise cursed techniques.
It was precisely sorcerers like Hikigaya Hachiman that she feared the most. Although at first glance, the illusion technique looks like a trivial technique, it turns into a deadly weapon in the hands of a shrewd person. Quanxi was such a person. Her friction manipulation technique looked like a mediocre technique. However, she used the technique based on physics, so she could put the technique to good use.
With her cold gaze, Quanxi said, "Little girl, if you were that affectionate with your brother, I would gladly send you to where your brother is currently at."
"Who are you going to send and to whose place, ha?"
Quanxi's back hair suddenly stood on end when she heard that panting baritone voice.
It was not the voice that came from any of the four sorcerers before her. It was a familiar voice to her ears. Or at least, it was the voice that frustrated her just now. Moreover, along with that voice, the woman could feel the activity of the cursed energy from behind her.
Not only Quanxi but the four young sorcerers were also surprised to see the appearance of the figure.
"Onii-chan!" Komachi shouted excitedly.
"Hachiman-san."
"Senpai!"
"Hikigaya!"
The hope was still there. The four young sorcerers shouted happily to see the person rose.
Quickly, Quanxi turned around. At the place of the boy who should have bled to death, the young man whom she had confirmed that the left side of his stomach had been crushed stood up again. His body staggered slightly, but he could hold it in using the iron that had previously stuck to his back.
"How could that be?"
Quanxi looked at Hachiman with a look full of question marks and disbelief. Quanxi was absolutely sure that the Hachiman she had attacked earlier wasn't an illusion. It was also evidenced by the left side of his white t-shirt, which was crushed. Although the woman was confused at first, she got the answer after seeing the red energy that covered the fatal wounds that Hachiman had received earlier.
"Positive energy? Damn it, you can use the Reverse Cursed Technique?" asked Quanxi tremblingly.
Since this was the first time he had been able to use the Reverse Cursed Technique, his healing ability was not optimal either. It could be seen on his left abdomen, which still left a quite large black scar from his normal skin colour.
"Well, it's the first time I can use it after learning a few months ago," Hachiman replied.
The Reverse Cursed Technique was one of those high-level techniques extremely difficult to learn. In fact, the difficulty level was higher than modern style domains. There was no definite explanation for how the Reverse Cursed Technique could be created. Everything was very abstract. Those who can use this technique all have their own understanding, and those understanding were very different from one another.
People like Ieri Shouko and Okkotsu Yuta were geniuses who could naturally learn the Reverse Cursed Technique in just one glance. Some people get the Reverse Cursed Technique through binding vow because their cursed technique required one part of their body. However, people who get this technique through binding vow generally could only regenerate the sacrificed body part.
In addition, there were also people with a very high understanding of cursed energy, such as Gojou Satoru and Hiratsuka Shizuka. Therefore, they can use the Reverse Cursed Technique after going through various trials and errors.
Compared to geniuses like Ieri Shouko and Okkotsu Yuta, Gojou Satoru and Hiratsuka Shizuka had a very high understanding of concepts. That was because they had to grope around a very abstract concept just to master the technique. However, Gojou Satoru and Hiratsuka Shizuka also had very different understandings of this concept.
However, in essence, the only thing that could explain the Reverse Cursed Energy was a method to reverse the nature of the cursed energy. The cursed energy created from various kinds of human emotional turmoil was called negative energy. If the nature of the negative energy was reversed, it would create positive energy. And then, this positive energy was called the Reverse Cursed Technique.
And by reversing the concept of the destructive nature of negative energy, you can use positive energy to regenerate your wounds. In fact, with a sufficient amount of positive energy, you can regrow lost body parts or organs, except for the head.
"That's even more absurd. How can someone who is using the Reverse Cursed Technique for the first time can regenerate such a wound so quickly?" asked Quanxi again.
Hachiman didn't answer the question right away. He was silent as he looked at the expression Quanxi had, enjoying the expression on her face full of question.
Hachiman closed his eyes and snorted, "That has nothing to do, you know? Besides, as Hiratsuka-sensei said, everyone has a different understanding of Reverse Cursed Energy."
'By Hiratsuka, did he mean that Hiratsuka? This boy is her disciple?' Quanxi thought.
The boy lifted his head to the sky, seeing the night sky—which was sad—covered with a curtain made by the Quanxi gang. Then, a moment later, he looked back at Quanxi.
"I thought converting negative energy to positive is easiest way to understand. However, in truth, be it negative energy or positive energy, the two have become one package in the cursed energy. Unfortunately, you need extra effort to see and understand that positive energy."
Quanxi didn't stay silent as she watched Hachiman, who was about to activate the binding vow of Showing One's Card. Instead, the woman swiftly shot toward Hachiman and attacked him. Unfortunately, the figure of Hachiman that she attacked turned into dozens of bluebirds and flew into the sky.
'Illusion?' Quanxi thought.
"The concept of two properties possessed by the cursed energy is the same as light, which also has two properties, a wave and a particle. With the naked eye, you can immediately tell that light has properties as a wave by using proofs for the appearance of diffraction and interference patterns."
"The law of wave-particle dualism! I know it. So, stop bragging, damn it!"
Cut Quanxi as she turned her head to the right, finding Hachiman standing in the middle of the road. Luckily for her, who also understands physics, Hachiman's attempt to activate the Showing One's Card failed.
Hachiman smiled sadly and replied, "Well, you used your technique based on the concept of physics. Of course, you'll understand where my explanation is going."
"Quantum mechanics theory, I hate that subject."
"I don't like it either, though. That's too confusing," Hachiman replied with a wry smile.
Basically, Hachiman's understanding of positive energy departs from his understanding of the law of wave-particle dualism. The law of wave-particle dualism does not necessarily refer to light, but more broadly, it also applies to other elementary particles, such as electrons, protons, neutrons, to quarks. In this case, Hachiman uses light and its particles—photons—as an analogy.
As Hachiman said, by looking at the diffraction effects and interference patterns, humans could easily conclude that light was a wave. However, in reality, if you look much deeper into a tiny scale—the Planck scale—you will see why light can be used as a photoelectric effect and the ionisation of gases, which shows that light also has particle properties.
To capture the phenomenon of light as a particle, you need extra effort. You must observe every light shot without blinking and without taking your eyes off. In addition, you also need a plate that has high sensitivity. If any of them was missed even a little bit, the phenomenon of light as a particle would disappear, and there will be light as a wave.
Until now, no theory can explain the phenomenon of wave-particle dualism with certainty. The only thing that could explain this phenomenon was the concept of probability in quantum mechanics. However, scientists can narrow those probabilities even though those were all probabilities. So, the conclusion that can be drawn was that the highest probability that those particles would appear was in a wave with a high amplitude.
Departing from that theory, Hachiman increased the intensity of his cursed energy. By increasing the intensity of the cursed energy, the probability of positive energy will appear. Although he couldn't fully see the true form of positive energy, only by knowing the probability of positive energy appearing Hachiman could release the cursed energy that contained the probability of that positive energy. With that, he succeeded in producing the Reverse Cursed Technique.
"Even if you use the concept of quantum mechanics, it still doesn't make sense to see you can rise so fast."
"Well, maybe because I am the honoured one throughout heaven and earth?" quipped Hachiman nonchalantly, "Nah, that's an exaggeration. As an older brother, I just can't stand hearing my little sister say such obscenities."
"Can't stand to hear your sister say such obscenities, you say?" Quanxi said in annoyance, "Then it's not just her. I will kill everyone here. That way, you can rest in peace, bastard."
Simultaneously, Quanxi released all the remnants of her cursed energy. A blue aura emanated from her body as if dancing ferociously following Quanxi's emotions.
On the other hand, Hachiman, who heard the woman's intention to kill his sister, was very upset. The main reason Hachiman was angry was that Quanxi almost killed him, after all. However, involving Komachi to defeat him was something he couldn't forgive.
"Then keep this in your head. Today, I will kill you not because you infiltrated Japan. But I will kill you because of your own words."
Hachiman linked his ten fingers into one grip. At the same time, red energy slowly leaked out from inside Hachiman's body. Then, in a cold tone, the teenager cast his spell.
"Cursed Technique Reversal : Superposition."
—To Be Continued—
Author's Notes : Lol, this is longer than I thought (again). I've tried my best to summarise it, but this is the best I can come up with. Moreover, I find it difficult to summarise further the explanation of the theory of wave-particle dualism without losing the concept. By the way, this is my record because I wrote this chapter in just two days and three nights (from Friday night to Sunday night). and i did check it just now.
First of all, Gojo took a mathematical approach to his technique. So, why didn't Hachiman just use a physics approach? Lol.
Okay, here, I will clearly explain where the idea for this Hachiman technique came from. When I think of this idea for his technique, I think of a quote from my favourite physicist, Niels Bohr.
He once said, "Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real."
Those were the words of Niels Bohr when he was researching quantum mechanics. If I remember correctly, he also once said something like, "What if the moon wasn't real? What if we don't see it, the moon is not there?"
This shows the concept of probability experienced in quantum mechanics. Or, more simply, you can look at the Schrodinger Cat experiment. Well, that's enough for an explanation of quantum mechanics, though.
The point is, as Mr Bohr on, it "cannot be regarded as real" and "What if the moon is not there if we don't see?". In other words, it's all about perspective.
Something that is not real and regarded as probabilistic can become something real if we see it. On the other hand, even something real can be considered an illusion if we can't see it. This is the basic idea of Hachiman's power.
Actually, from the start, I wanted to directly use this idea for Hachiman's cursed technique without the need for any illusions. However, I know Hachiman is a thinking person who understands something between the lines. So, it didn't feel right for me to give something ready-made to Hachiman.
Because of that, he had the illusion technique as his cursed technique. With the illusion technique, he learns anything he can with various approaches. And yes, be like this. He uses a physics approach to his illusion techniques.
Well, that's all from me. I think it's been very long, lol. If something you want to ask or something is not right, you can directly say it in the review column.
So, what do you think about this chapter? And thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed. Please leave your review for this chapter because your review is my encouragement. See you in the next chapter and stay safe.