Chapter 3: Stalling for Time
"The curse that managed to consume Sukuna's finger and is about to transform into a special-grade curse or whatever it's called?" Haruhiro glanced at Mai, seeking clarification.
"Yes," she replied, her brows knitting together. 'This situation is beyond my expectations.'
Mai went to speculating mode. 'An innate domain, huh... We probably entered it the moment we stepped into the house.'
The monstrous curse energy she anticipated didn't match the current reality of the situation. Even though she knew the demon finger seal could break at any moment, she never anticipated being ensnared within it herself.
'Still, aren't innate domains created at birth?' Mai puzzled over this, quickly recognizing the anomaly.
"!" A sudden force shoved Mai, sending her sprawling to the side of the road, completely unprepared for the impact.
"Iima-kun?!" she called out, concerned.
"I'm fine!" he assured her, having managed to evade the danger after pushing Mai out of harm's way.
Mai hastily glanced back, her eyes widening at the sight before her.
A creature with predominantly white skin stood, its round face contorted into a toothy smile. Four eyes in four black lines jutted above its bald head. Its fingernails and toenails matched the black stripe on its head. It would have been entirely nude if not for a cloth covering its private parts. Most notably, its right fist bore a faint yellow mark, signifying curse energy.
'An illusion?'
Mai swiftly regained her footing. "We need to-"
Her words were cut off.
'Where is he?' Mai couldn't find the curse. She scanned the area.
Just then, an explosive "Boom!" reverberated. The sound came from right beside Haruhiro. Attempting to check on him, her vision was obstructed by debris.
Haruhiro, on the other hand, instinctively covered his left ear. He felt as if he was going to be deaf if he didn't. As he did, he noticed an unfamiliar liquid trickling down his cheek.
'Blood...?' The brief, searing sensation somehow led him to believe so.
Ignoring the little pain, Haruhiro turned his gaze towards the source of the explosion, right beside him. He saw a two-meter-high cement wall had collapsed entirely. Three to four houses behind it suffered significant damage, rendering them uninhabitable. Standing at the epicenter was the special-grade curse.
'What's happening?' Mai felt a surge of alarm. 'Was he attempting to attack Iima but failed? Is he can't control that much power?'
Either way, the curse appeared agitated. Its smile vanished, replaced by a furious glare aimed at the still-shocked Haruhiro. A yellow bolt of concentrated negative energy crackled through the air, aimed at Haruhiro. In a swift response, Mai fired her revolver at the curse's hand. To her dismay, the curse remained unaffected, his advance relentless.
Mai clenched her teeth in frustration.
"Hk!" Haruhiro stifled a gasp as he realized the imminent danger.
With lightning reflexes, Mai yanked him to the side just as the curse released the yellow projectile. An explosive shockwave followed, obliterating Haruhiro's childhood friend's house in its wake. The devastation left in them staggering.
'How do we escape this hopeless situation, that's the main question.' Mai racked her brain for a viable plan.
Running seemed futile, and seeking refuge within the curse's domain would be a fool's errand. If this was a complete domain, they wouldn't have been here at all.
Haruhiro was wrestling with his own thoughts as well.
'Should I unleash it?' He wondered.
The situation appeared increasingly bleak, after all.
It didn't take a genius to realize their predicament was dire. Haruhiro had confronted countless curses, both intentionally and unintentionally, since childhood. There were moments when he felt death's icy grip. However, there were also moments, many ones, where his ability had saved him. Albeit they were unconsciously, much like what just happened.
'You see, my technique is almost automatic,' he reflected, analyzing his powers. 'As long as doubt lingers within me, it would surface unintentionally. This has detrimental effects on both me and those around me. And it's very likely the reason the curse's attacks miss.'
Though unaware of its calling, Haruhiro had certainly placed a Binding Vow upon himself. This one old desire to hold back his powers, when confronted with the realization of him cannot control his cursed energy sufficiently, resulted in a unique contract. Upon uttering the word "Release," all the stored curse energy he had unconsciously held back for an entire day would surge forth.
"Huh?!" Mai noticed the sudden surge in Haruhiro's curse energy. 'It's doubled, no, tripled!'
Of course, with some bonus along with it.
'What did he do?' she wondered, her eyes narrowing in confusion.
"I won't be able to use it until the day after tomorrow," Haruhiro stated. His power had limitations, a fact he acknowledged. Within that one day of restriction, he could expend a maximum of 40% of his curse energy. Without constraints, he could manage up to 80% output, but the nature of his cursed techniques meant he had to be in a state of distress for effective use. Consequently, he typically operated at a range of 50% to 60% capacity. With this pact, he not only retained enough energy for daily life but also gained a bonus of up to 120% curse energy capacity and control of up to 100% output. It was a win-win situation, enhancing his yet-to-be-mastered powers while easing the burden of having too much of them. Haruhiro's curse energy reserves had been fully restored after a full day of replenishment yesterday, allowing him to fight at full capacity.
A noisy commotion erupted from the direction of the demolished housing estate, and from the midst of the debris emerged the special grade curse, a sinister smile decorating his face.
Despite being unbound, Haruhiro still harbored lingering doubts. 'Will my technique actually work on him?' he pondered.
Understanding the opponent's overall personality was crucial for his technique to be effective.
"Mai-san," he called to his companion.
"What is it?" Mai replied, her focus still on the approaching curse.
"Can this creature communicate?" Haruhiro inquired.
Mai pondered briefly before responding, "Most likely not."
"That's unfortunate."
"What's your plan anyway?"
"Just to confuse him," Haruhiro explained.
'So he really can channel his curse energy into sound,' she noted.
"If we're going to escape this situation, what's your best idea?" Haruhiro continued.
"Buying time," Mai replied promptly. "I have an acquaintance who can engage him in a one-on-one battle. He should be here soon."
Mai's thoughts drifted irritably, 'That said, why should a Kyoto student like me be involved in Tokyo students' problems in the first place?' She quickly pushed aside her frustration, resigning herself to the situation. 'Well, it doesn't matter now. This is the only option I could come up with.'
"How long exactly?" Haruhiro pressed for a time frame, urgency lacing his words.
Mai contemplated for a moment before responding, "Five minutes. Even if he's an eccentric fellow, he's not the type of man that would arrive later than the agreed time."
With that information in hand, Haruhiro took a deep breath, preparing himself. 'So I can still use this technique, right?' he wondered.
As the curse readied himself to make a run for him, Haruhiro shouted, "Get lost!"
Another deafening "Boom!" reverberated through the air.
Haruhiro didn't hold back with his attack.
Both Mai and Haruhiro instinctively dropped to the ground to avoid the impact of the curse's collision, which was dozens of times more powerful than the previous one. Fortunately, they sustained only minor injuries.
"Let's search for him," Haruhiro declared, leaping into action.
'Right,' Mai concurred. 'We can't afford to let him attack with that yellow projectile again.'
They weren't particularly physically gifted, and an attack as swift as a bullet left them with no means of defense. Their fate would be at the mercy of the heavens.
Mai glanced at Haruhiro. 'Depends on how he uses his power,' she noted. 'He can defeat enemies without even laying a hand on them.'
'Just now, instead of inflicting harm, the curse suffered self-inflicted wounds instead,' Mai observed. 'Though unlikely to eliminate it, even some significant damage, it should have inflicted some deterioration at the very least.'
They likely could have easily healed themselves if that's not the case.
'Where's the curse?'
Mai meticulously combed through the rubble, and soon her keen eye detected it.
"Be careful!"
"Gh?!"
Mai's warning barely escaped her lips as Haruhiro nearly stumbled amidst the debris from the ruined residential area. Mai, being more experienced in this field, managed to keep her footing, but Haruhiro was not as accustomed to such situations. The curse seemed to pay Haruhiro little attention, fortunately, as if he were lost amidst the chaos.
In that moment, Haruhiro reached into his pants pocket and withdrew something.
'A coin?' Mai stared in perplexity. 'But this aura... a cursed tool.'
Unperturbed, Haruhiro took on a grave demeanor. 'As if I'll hold back. I'll throw you my strongest arsenal right away.'
"Negative Coins."
These were ordinary coins infused with Haruhiro's curse energy. To achieve the desired effect, Haruhiro often needed to infuse his cursed technique into an object, a process that could be quite time-consuming. However, in rare cases, Haruhiro managed to craft four High-Level Negative Coins, each with distinct effects, in a matter of minutes, even second. With these four, he carried a total of 27 coins, always at the ready.
Positioning one of the coins between his index finger and thumb at a specific angle, Haruhiro launched it with precision.
Given the curse's agility, it should have easily dodged the coin, but it seemed to be affected by the residual effects of Haruhiro's cursed technique.
"Hrk...?!"
The curse recoiled as though something ominous lurked behind it. In reality, there was nothing but the wreckage of its own destruction.
'Negative Coin: Illusory Rate.'
The coin induced a sense of anxiety to the point of making the curse perceive things that should not have been there.
As said before, understanding the opponent's overall personality was crucial for his technique to be effective.
'Because instead of sitting still, they might have blindly attacked.'
The curse energy aspect was secondary.
Haruhiro had encountered foes who, when frozen by his cursed technique, would recklessly charge to eliminate him nonetheless. Such an outcome was undesirable for him at the moment.
'Why am I even here?' Mai pursed her lips in frustration.
She possessed the tool to attack, but as it was already apparent, it was proved to be utterly ineffective against this special grade curse. Even her cursed technique, "Construction," had limited utility, as it consumed nearly all her curse energy after just a single bullet of her revolver.
'Is Todo still occupied with his idol fixation?'
As Mai pondered, an aura she was well-acquainted with emanated from their vicinity. Haruhiro noticed the new presence as well. He glimpsed the figure's eyes, but before he could fully discern their identity, he felt the fabric of space itself warp, finding himself standing in front of the ruins of Choco's house before he could process what was happening.
A "Huh?" escaped his lips without him meaning to.
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