July 2005.
Harsh sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, dappling the ground in shifting spots of light. The relentless, rhythmic droning of cicadas only added to the pervasive sense of irritability brought on by the heat.
"It's too hot," Satoru Gojo groaned. He was sprawled in a lounge chair, lazily waving a fan with one hand while holding a cocktail glass—complete with a tiny umbrella—in the other. He took a shallow sip.
"We're in the suburbs, aren't we?" Suguru Geto had already shed his school jacket and was leaning against a tree in a state of total academic surrender. "How is it actually hotter out here than in the city?"
Woof! Shoko Ieiri set down Hachi, whose head was practically steaming from the heat. She boredly traced crosses in the dirt with the toe of her shoe. "Hachi has turned into a literal space heater."
"So, why is that guy still running in this weather?" Gojo rolled his eyes toward the track.
As if he had heard them, Hasegumo turned his head and flashed a bright smile. "Want to come join me for a workout?" he shouted.
"Hey!" Suguru cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone. "Gumo! Aren't you dying out there?"
Hasegumo didn't answer until he finished his lap. He grabbed a can of Coke from a nearby vending machine and strolled over to the group.
K-chink.
"Ah... ice cold. Perfection." Hasegumo took a long pull of the soda and turned to Suguru. "I've spent years getting my body used to this kind of weather."
Shoko brushed her hair back, her nose twitching slightly. She looked him up and down with sudden intensity. "I smell a liar."
Gojo noticed it too. He vaulted out of his chair and latched onto Hasegumo like a koala. "Wait a minute. Why the hell is there cold air coming off you?"
"Seriously? He's like a human air conditioner!" Hearing this, Suguru immediately lunged forward and hugged Hasegumo's leg.
Shoko watched the two of them act like shameless idiots, sighed, and then quietly moved her chair a few inches closer to Hasegumo.
Hasegumo tried to shake them off, but Gojo and Geto were stuck to him like industrial-strength Velcro.
"Alright, alright, knock it off. I'll teach you. It's just a way of applying Cursed Energy. It's simple." Seeing he couldn't escape, Hasegumo stood perfectly still, trying to use words to negotiate his freedom.
"Oh, Gumo-sensei, please, tell us more," Gojo said with a shamelessly lecherous grin, tightening his grip. "Let me just bask in this icy breeze a little longer."
"…Fine. You just have to do this and that, and it's done," Hasegumo explained, outlining the technique.
"Genius!" "Amazing!" Gojo and Geto began clapping mockingly. Hasegumo seized the moment to slip away, immediately occupying the lounge chair—the supreme tactical position of summer comfort.
The two boys crowded around him again.
"Any other tricks?" asked the earnest Student Suguru.
"Got any new moves to show off?" asked the perpetually shameless Student Satoru.
"Plenty, but I'm not sure you guys can learn them." Hasegumo hovered his hand over Gojo's glass and lifted it slightly. The glass actually rose into the air, following his palm.
"Is that a magic trick?" Suguru asked.
"Idiot, he's using Cursed Energy to pull the glass up," Gojo said, his Six Eyes instantly deconstructing the move.
"But how can Cursed Energy that's left the body exert a force other than pure impact?" Suguru pressed.
"This is clearly the time for a lecture from Gumo-sensei," Gojo joked, though he was genuinely curious.
"It's a circuit," Teacher Hasegumo explained. "You make the Cursed Energy move in a curve, looping it repeatedly between the inside and outside of your body. It creates a sort of inertial suction between the object and yourself."
"Speaking of which, I recently mastered a very useful technique." Hasegumo sat up and pointed to his chest. "This took me an incredibly long time to figure out, so watch closely. Satoru, punch me. Hard."
CRACK!
A bolt of black lightning erupted from Hasegumo's chest.
"That's a bit much, Satoru! I've never even seen you hit a Black Flash, and you use one on a classmate?" Suguru shouted, stunned.
"Huh? Wait, that's weird." Gojo looked at his hand in confusion. "Shoko, heal my knuckles."
"Injuring yourself while punching someone... what a pathetic piece of trash," Shoko muttered, placing her hand over Satoru's and channeling Reverse Cursed Energy.
"What happened, Gumo?" Gojo asked, his brain working overtime. He had thrown a normal punch, yet a Black Flash had occurred—and he was the one who took damage, while Hasegumo's chest didn't have a scratch on it.
"I was the one who triggered that Black Flash," Hasegumo revealed.
"What?" "Huh?" "Wait, really?" Even Shoko looked skeptical.
"I call it the Counter-type Black Flash. See, while the Sonic Wave is in flight..." Slap! Hasegumo cut himself off with a light smack to his own mouth. "Sorry, force of habit. Basically, at the exact moment of impact, you flex the muscles of the area being hit while simultaneously releasing a Cursed Energy pulse outward. If the timing error is within one-millionth of a second, you can trigger a Black Flash defensively."
"It took a lot of practice to get the hang of it. Pretty cool, right?" Hasegumo put his hands on his hips, glowing with pride.
"I'm going home," Gojo muttered, slinging his jacket over his shoulder and walking toward the dorms.
"What kind of freakish skill is that? Can a normal person even learn that?" Suguru followed close behind.
"I'd like to know where the actual utility in that move is," Shoko added, still sitting on her rock, though her eyes betrayed her interest.
Hasegumo's smile faded, replaced by a look of gravity. "What if the day comes where you're in a fight and you can't use your hands?"
"Just use RCT to fix them," Shoko said plainly.
"And what if you can't use RCT either?"
For years, Hasegumo's Cursed Energy reserves and physical stats hadn't grown an inch. To become stronger, he couldn't afford to ignore any theoretical path to power. It was this drive that led him to create a technique that almost no one else could use, but was devastating in its niche.
Present Day.
As Laplace's Domain fully expanded, the group realized with a shock that they couldn't see a barrier.
"An open-barrier Domain? Is that even possible?" Cold sweat began to bead on Suguru's forehead.
"Wait, is that a good thing?" Hasegumo asked. "If there's no boundary, can't we just leave?"
"You moron, your barrier studies really were a waste," Gojo snapped. "A Domain is constructed using barrier techniques. A Domain without a shell is like a masterpiece painted on thin air."
"So what?" Hasegumo scratched his head.
"There is no canvas."
Though it sounded impressive, Hasegumo felt the concept was lightyears beyond him. All his recently acquired math knowledge had been sucked out by the three-eyed curse.
Back to square one, Hasegumo thought. Whatever. Just gotta survive first.
Unlike Hasegumo, Satoru Gojo's understanding of barrier techniques was profound. Even with his math knowledge gone, he was a man whose birth had shifted the balance of the world. His mind immediately went to the nature of their opponent's technique.
If stripping knowledge causes mental stagnation, then what happens if you inject too much information? Gojo could feel the seeds of his future self—his ultimate technique—beginning to sprout.
The Limitless naturally flooded his brain with massive amounts of raw data; he had to maintain his technique just to keep his brain from frying. Because his mind was already adapted to high-speed information processing, he was recovering from Laplace's "logic-drain" much faster than the others.
Suguru Geto, while good at math, wasn't on Gojo's level. His head was still throbbing, and strange, disjointed whispers echoed in his mind. Hold on... the fight isn't over, he told himself.
"You really are persistent," Laplace said, his third eye scanning the area warily. He looked battered from the previous assault. "To damage me so badly while I was digesting your knowledge... but it ends now."
"I didn't want to kill humans," Laplace said coolly. "Gathering knowledge was simply a prerequisite for me to become a true Laplace's Demon. I held a shred of respect for the race that created mathematics."
His voice grew colder. "But I've changed my mind. You have shown me nothing but human disorder and chaos. Once I have collected enough data, I will wipe humanity out. A species this discordant shouldn't exist."
"My Domain, Inversion Paradox, utilizes a massive bank of chaotic knowledge to manifest mathematical paradoxes. Have you ever heard the theory that the more cheese you have, the less cheese you have?"
Domain Expansion: Inversion Paradox A Domain constructed from Cursed Energy and disordered knowledge. Within a 500-meter radius, the user can designate two rules based on the "Cheese Paradox." These rules apply to all living beings except the caster.
The more cheese, the more holes. The more holes, the less cheese. Therefore, the more cheese, the less cheese.
Almost the moment Laplace finished speaking, Satoru Gojo, who had been trying to lunge forward, collapsed to the ground.
Suguru was in even worse shape. His Cursed Energy signature flickered and died before he hit the floor, joining Gojo in a state of total paralysis.
You've got to be kidding me. Two Grade 1s just went down like that? Hasegumo thought. So it's really up to a Grade 2 to finish this?
"Gumo... his technique is weird," Gojo reported, his Six Eyes still feeding him intel. "My body has zero strength. I can't move a muscle, but my Cursed Energy is fine. Suguru's energy and strength are both gone."
Then why am I okay? Hasegumo wondered. Is he trying to save me for last so he can kill me personally?
"Hm?" Laplace looked confused. "Why are you still standing?"
"What did you do?" Hasegumo asked, buying time.
"My Domain allows me to define two rules based on the Cheese Paradox," Laplace explained, falling into the classic trap of explaining his technique. "I chose Cursed Energy and Strength. Both follow the same logic: The more Cursed Energy you have, the more energy you waste. The more energy you waste, the less energy you have. Therefore, the more energy you have, the less you have. The same applies to physical strength."
But it didn't work on Hasegumo.
Having reached the absolute zenith of martial arts, Hasegumo didn't waste a single ounce of his physical power. Because there was zero waste, the rule "more waste = less strength" couldn't find a foothold. It was a logic error.
Gojo and Geto, however, had massive pools of energy. Gojo used the Six Eyes to reduce his consumption to near-zero, so his energy remained, but his physical movements—which he never refined to Hasegumo's level—were caught in the paradox. Suguru, who used CE for everything, was drained of both.
Hasegumo's Cursed Energy Liberation also had a hidden effect: it allowed him to mobilize energy with zero internal friction. His technique required no energy to maintain. These two conditions made him effectively immune to the paradox.
Hasegumo didn't wait for a further explanation. He vanished, reappearing in Laplace's face. Laplace's reaction speed was now on a different level. He tilted his head to dodge the punch and countered with a kick that sent Hasegumo flying.
A bolt of black lightning flickered for a microsecond.
"What?" Laplace paused. Even though he had landed the kick, his right foot was gone. "How? I kicked you, but you hit me with a Black Flash?"
Hasegumo was surprised that the curse had identified the technique so quickly.
"Surprised? You're full of surprises too," Laplace said, pointing to his forehead. "My third eye isn't for show."
Unlike his other eyes, the third eye possessed god-tier dynamic vision and could perfectly analyze the flow of Cursed Energy. Hasegumo's movements were laid bare before him.
Hasegumo clutched his side. That kick had hurt. Because he had used the Counter-type Black Flash, he had diverted most of his defensive CE into the offensive pulse. His internal durability had dropped to nearly nothing.
Why can't I use RCT? Hasegumo realized with a start. Wait... is the process of 'reversing' Cursed Energy considered a mathematical operation? Negative x Negative = Positive?
Even without his math knowledge, Hasegumo's intuition had provided the answer. He was locked out of his healing.
"This is going to be a pain," Hasegumo muttered, charging back in. He channeled energy into his left leg and launched a flying kick. He couldn't retreat; his friends were behind him.
"A pain? Then don't bother," Laplace sneered, meeting him with a punch. "You think you can win with that counter-trick? With your pathetic Cursed Energy reserves, you'll be empty in ten minutes. No, five."
The two engaged in a brutal, high-speed melee.
Laplace had the advantage in raw power. Having digested the knowledge of Gojo and Geto, his Cursed Energy had reached new heights, and his output was staggering.
Hasegumo had the advantage in skill. The mental processing speed from Shindigunken allowed him to find the perfect gaps to attack and defend in the blink of an eye. Even against a Special Grade with perfect vision, he held his ground.
This is bad. If this continues, I'll lose. Hasegumo was burning through energy too fast. Without RCT, every minor hit was accumulating.
Cursed Energy... Barrier... Technique... Vow... there!
Hasegumo ducked a right hook and forced Laplace back with a knee-strike to create space.
Before he even landed, his hands formed the Ram sign.
"Binding Vow: I swear to never use a weapon for the rest of my life. In exchange, increase my Cursed Energy recovery speed."
Hasegumo's mind raced. He was worried that his "Cursed Energy cannot grow" restriction might block a Vow for more capacity, so he gambled on recovery speed instead.
"…Vow established."
He lunged back in. His nearly empty reserves surged, refilling to fifty percent in an instant.
"Damn it! This kid is like a cockroach that won't die!" Laplace was growing agitated. He was a Special Grade with an open Domain and a god-tier mental technique; how could he not put down a single "weak" sorcerer? "Just die already, you pest!"
Despite the Vow, Hasegumo could feel his recovery speed beginning to plateau. Against the curse's massive pool of energy, the scales were still tilted.
Then, Laplace slipped. In his agitation, his form wavered.
Laplace threw a heavy punch at Hasegumo's left shoulder. Instead of dodging, Hasegumo channeled only a tiny amount of energy into defense.
The punch tore through Hasegumo's shoulder, the fist emerging from his back in a spray of crimson. Laplace grinned, a manic light in his eyes. Finally. He's done.
In the next heartbeat, the fist inside Hasegumo's shoulder was pulverized by a Black Flash.
"What?! You hit a Black Flash... with your shoulder bone?!" Laplace's mind went blank.
Hasegumo mirrored the curse's grin. "If you want knowledge, go create it yourself!"
"Even a math idiot like me knows that you can't progress the world just by studying what already exists!"
Hasegumo's left knee, carrying every last drop of his remaining energy, smashed into Laplace's abdomen. A massive, gaping hole appeared in the curse's torso. Without a pause, Hasegumo shifted his entire energy flow into his remaining right fist.
The final blow.
Laplace's head evaporated. The disordered, stolen knowledge began to flow back toward its rightful owners.
My... knowledge... Laplace's final thought flickered and died as his consciousness dissolved into nothingness.
"That curse's technique was interesting. It seems quite effective against Satoru Gojo. It might be useful later."
"Is he dead? Well, idiots like that are better off dead anyway. With the technology from 'Meteor,' I can just come back and harvest the data when the time is right."
A man with a stitched scar across his forehead watched from the shadows, slowly melting back into the darkness.
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