Don't come any closer..
Tu Bai closed his eyes.
The darkness grew thicker, but at least he couldn't see those things. His ears were still itching; he reached up with one hand to touch the base of his ear—the skin was burning, he could feel the cartilage wriggling slightly. Dammit, it's really going to reveal its true form, at a time like this.
He heard footsteps.
It was not an Illusion; it was real, walking from the depths of the darkness. It was very light, but every step landed on some kind of viscous substance, making squelching sounds. There was also the sound of breathing—not human, but dozens of throats inhaling and exhaling simultaneously, blending into a single, damp hum.
It was getting closer and closer.
Five meters. Three meters.
The string in Tu Bai's mind snapped with a loud pop.
Don't come any closer—!!
He screamed, simultaneously thrusting both hands forward. It was not a conscious activation of a Cursed Technique, but pure instinct. The Demon Power within his body surged like a bursting reservoir, rushing frantically toward his palms before erupting outward.
A flash of silver light erupted.
It was not the gentle, diffusing light of a Barrier, but a condensed, sharp, tangible light. It took shape in Tu Bai's hands, stretching and widening—transforming into the shape of a knife.
No, it wasn't a knife.
It was a blade of absurd proportions.
Tu Bai was stunned himself. He kept his eyes closed, but he could "feel" the object in his hands through his Demon Power: it was over ten meters long, with the widest part of the blade measuring more than a meter, its entire body flowing with silver Demon Wards, its edges so thin they were almost transparent. Weight.. it had almost no weight because it was composed of pure Demon Power, but he had to continuously supply energy to maintain its form.
And at this moment, Demon Power was pouring into the blade like an out-of-control flood.
"Stop.." Tu Bai wanted to pull back, but he couldn't stop. Fear remained, instinct was still screaming; his hand moved on its own—gripping a non-existent hilt and swinging horizontally.
There was no sound.
But Tu Bai felt resistance. The blade sliced through something, many things, varying in softness and hardness. Some viscous liquid splashed onto his face, warm and smelling of blood.
He didn't dare open his eyes and continued to swing.
The second strike, a vertical slash.
The third strike, a diagonal slash.
He didn't know what he was slashing, nor did he care about the direction; he was simply swinging wildly with his eyes closed. There was only one thought in his mind: make these things disappear, make them all disappear, don't come near me, don't take me back—
Enough.
A hand pressed against his wrist.
Tu Bai's movements froze. Demon Power was still surging, but it was being suppressed by a stronger force, forcibly cut off. The giant blade in his hand flickered a few times before turning into silver light fragments that dissipated into the darkness.
Tu Bai opened his eyes.
The darkness was receding like an ebbing tide. First at the edges, then in the center, light began to seep back in. He saw the concrete ceiling, the emergency lights, then, all over the floor—
Fragments.
Fragments of the Cursed Spirit.
The monster, composed of charred limbs and twisted metal, was now nothing more than a pile of wreckage. It hadn't been smashed by brute force, but rather precisely sliced. Tu Bai saw a charred arm with a smooth cross-section; he saw half of a melted plastic face split down the middle; he saw those eyes, each one cleaved through the center with perfect precision.
And those few swings he had made blindly with his eyes closed just now had left deep slash marks on the ground and the walls. Three of them, intersecting with each other, formed a crooked triangle. The slash marks had cut through the cement, exposing the rebar inside; the rebar was also severed, its cuts smooth.
The Parking Lot returned to its original state.
The standing water remained, but the bloodstains were gone. The Illusion had vanished; the customs passage, the Customs Official, that "self" had all disappeared. Only Gojo Satoru stood before him, his hand still gripping his wrist.
Se.. Senior.." Tu Bai panted, the itching sensation in his ears finally subsiding a little, "I..
"Don't move," Gojo Satoru said.
He didn't look at Tu Bai, but at those fragments instead. He was still wearing his blindfold, but Tu Bai felt that he was "looking," peering intently with those covered eyes. He released Tu Bai's wrist, walked over to the nearest fragment, crouched down, poked it with his finger.
A single fatal blow," Gojo Satoru said, his voice sounding a bit.. confused? "No, three strikes, but the first strike severed the core. The second strike destroyed the energy circulation nodes, the third strike completely shattered the structure. It was as precise as a dissection.
He stood up and turned toward Tu Bai.
Tu Bai still stood in place, his hands trembling. There was liquid splashed on his face; he raised a hand to wipe it away, it was dark red, but it quickly turned into black smoke and dissipated—the blood of a Cursed Spirit.
You were just now," Gojo Satoru said slowly, "keeping your eyes closed, weren't you?
.. Yes.
Why?
Because I'm afraid," Tu Bai said honestly. "Those Illusions.. I don't want to see them.
Gojo Satoru fell silent for a few seconds.
Then he suddenly laughed. It wasn't the kind of laugh he had used earlier when discovering an interesting toy, but something deeper, filled with a sense of inquiry.
Interesting," he said. "You keep your eyes closed, yet every strike lands exactly where it should. The Cursed Spirit's core is hidden within the third vertebra, wrapped in charcoal and plastic; I had intended to use Cursed Technique Reversal: Blue to suck it out and then crush it. Instead, you struck it through two layers of armor, without a single mistake.
Tu Bai looked down at his hands.
My Cursed Technique.. when using Construction Technique, I need to imagine the structure of the object. Perhaps.. perhaps I can also imagine the structure of 'living beings'..
It's not 'maybe'," Gojo Satoru interrupted him, "You can 'see' it. Not with your eyes, but by perceiving it with your Demon Power. When you close your eyes, visual interference is gone, your perception actually becomes clearer. That's why you can strike so accurately.
He walked up to Tu Bai, closing the distance even further.
Tu Bai instinctively wanted to step back, but his feet felt as if they were nailed to the ground.
"Do it again," Gojo Satoru said.
What?
Close your eyes, construct that blade, hack at something." Gojo Satoru pointed to an exposed rebar nearby. "Try hacking at that.
Tu Bai hesitated for a moment, then did as he was told.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, mobilized his Demon Power. This time it was intentional; the speed was a bit slower, but a silver light still overflowed from his palm, condensing into the shape of a blade. It was much smaller than before, roughly the size of a standard katana.
He gripped the blade and swung it toward the rebar.
He missed.
The blade was still half a meter away from the Rebar.
"Open your eyes," Gojo Satoru said.
Tu Bai opened his eyes and saw that his slash had gone wide.
As expected," Gojo Satoru nodded. "When your eyes are open, you rely on your vision, but vision can deceive you. In dark environments or amidst illusions, visual information is entirely wrong. When your eyes are closed, you can only rely on sensing with Demon Power—and that perception is far more reliable than your eyes.
He paused, then added, "At least when it comes to combat."
Tu Bai dissipated the blade, the silver light receding into his palm. He was a bit dazed; he had never discovered this trait before. During normal missions, he always kept his eyes open, his construction relied on visual positioning. It was only just now, when he was terrified to the extreme, that his instinctual reaction..
In your previous mission records," Gojo Satoru said, "there are seven notes regarding 'accidental precise exorcism of Cursed Spirits while eyes were closed.' The evaluation written by the Assistant Supervisor was 'possibly a burst of potential under stress.' But I don't think that's it.
He took off his blindfold.
Those ice-blue eyes appeared once again; this time, Tu Bai adapted slightly, but he still did not dare to look directly at them.
Your perception of Demon Power is essentially a form of Structural Scan," Gojo Satoru said. "When you use Construction Technique to create an object, you need to understand its structure, right? And the way you understand it is by using Demon Power to 'feel' through it first. This ability works on Cursed Spirits as well. Although Cursed Spirits are a mess, their core, energy nodes, weak points—those are all structures. You 'feel' them, which is why you can strike them.
He pulled back his blindfold and clapped his hands.
Wow, a blindfolded Grade 1 Sorcerer. You really are as interesting as the rumors say~
Tu Bai did not know what to say.
Gojo Satoru turned and walked toward the exit, but after two steps, he looked back. "There is no need to maintain the Barrier; the Cursed Spirit is dead. Clean up the Cursed Energy Residue, I will wait for you outside."
Only after he left did Tu Bai finally relax completely. His legs gave way, he nearly collapsed onto the ground. Leaning against the wall, he took several deep breaths before beginning to clean up the scene.
As Demon Power swept across the area, the fragments and black smoke on the ground slowly dissipated. The slash marks remained, but he used a bit of Demon Power to patch up the concrete surface, making it at least look less terrifying. Having finished this, he wiped his forehead, which was covered in cold sweat.
As he walked out of the B2 Parking Lot, the sunlight was a bit blinding. Ijichi and the Assistant Supervisors crowded around him.
"Is it resolved?" Ijichi asked.
Yeah." Tu Bai nodded, "The Cursed Spirit has been exorcised, the Cursed Energy Residue in the basement has been cleared. The Barrier wasn't fully deployed, but it shouldn't be necessary anymore.
What about Mr. Gojo?
Outside..
Before he could finish speaking, Tu Bai saw Gojo Satoru standing at the edge of the ruins, talking on the phone with someone. His back was turned toward this side, but his gestures were large, as if he were discussing something interesting.
Tu Bai walked over, intending to say hello and then take his leave.
Gojo Satoru had just finished his phone call; he turned around, saw him, smiled.
"Oh, all finished? You're quite efficient." He walked toward Tu Bai and naturally reached out his hand, letting it descend toward the top of Tu Bai's head—
Tu Bai instinctively took three steps back.
Gojo Satoru's hand froze in mid-air.
Both of them froze for a moment.
Ah," Tu Bai said hurriedly, "I'm sorry, Senior, I..
"Are you afraid of me?" Gojo Satoru lowered his hand and tilted his head.
No, it's just.. I'm not used to it," Tu Bai said with some difficulty. "I'm not very used to being touched.
It was the truth. The Rabbit Demon's true form was sensitive, his ears and spine, in particular, could not be touched. Although his head was somewhat better, he had never liked having his hair rubbed since he was a child—not even by his older brother Tu Bao or his younger brother Tu.
Gojo Satoru stared at him for two seconds, then he smiled.
Fine then." He withdrew his hand and shoved it back into his pocket. "You did a good job on today's mission. I'll write the report; I'll give you seventy percent of the credit.
There's no need for that, Senior, I—
It's just a fact," Gojo Satoru interrupted him. "By the way, there's a mission next week, a Special Grade Cursed Womb, in Saitama. I need someone who can construct a closed Barrier. Are you in?
Tu Bai opened his mouth.
He wanted to refuse. Collaborating with Gojo Satoru was too exhilarating; his heart couldn't take it. Besides, he had been seen through too much today, continuing to interact with him carried too great a risk.
But as the words reached his lips, they turned into:
The specific time?
Wednesday afternoon. I'll have Ijichi send you the details," Gojo Satoru said, taking out his phone and tapping a few times. "Give me your contact information.