In the dim underground space, the once-dead puddles suddenly defied gravity.
Without warning, the murky water gathered around the aquatic curse's feet began surging violently.
In an instant, the current was compressed to an extreme degree, forming a high-pressure water blade with an edge as thin as a cicada's wing. It sliced upward from below at a diagonal angle with terrifying initial force.
Shk!
Hard scales and muscle parted beneath the water blade like rotten leather.
With a teeth-grating tear, the curse's thick right hind leg was cut cleanly off at the root. Black, filthy blood sprayed across the surrounding water like a fountain.
Losing one of its supporting legs, the curse's massive body immediately lost balance and tilted violently to the right.
But as a semi-Grade 1 curse, it erupted with a fierce survival instinct in the face of death.
Its cloudy yellow compound eyes went bloodshot from the pain. It instantly gave up suppressing the crescent-shaped wound spreading across its abdomen and poured every last bit of black cursed energy in its body into its throat.
"Gwaaah!"
With a shrill roar, a highly compressed sphere of cursed energy, reeking of rot, formed inside its gaping mouth. Before its body could collapse, it tried to fire one final destructive blast at the boy in front of it, dragging him down with it.
"Now!"
But a dark blur had already torn through the underground gloom.
The instant the water blade cut away the curse's balance, Kaede shot forward like an arrow loosed from the string.
His boots struck the water without even kicking up unnecessary spray.
The replica of Mikazuki Munechika drew a cold, stunning silver crescent through the air.
The slash cut precisely into the blind spot at the curse's exposed neck as it leaned off-balance.
Crack!
The sharp blade broke through the thick cursed-energy defense and severed the hard cervical bone.
The edge passed through without the slightest resistance and emerged from the other side.
The enormous misshapen head flew upward with a gush of black blood.
The cursed-energy sphere, still not fully formed, lost control and veered off course, slamming into a load-bearing pillar nearby and exploding into a storm of broken stone and dust.
The headless body collapsed with a crash, smashing into the standing water and throwing up a huge wave.
"It's over."
Kaede's cool, steady voice spread through the echoing underground reservoir.
As his words fell, the head rolling in the water and the headless torso began to boil violently.
The crescent wounds left by Mikazuki, now free from the curse's suppression, spread and multiplied at a horrifying speed, devouring what remained of the curse's flesh.
Within seconds, the huge body had turned into clouds of purple-black ash, dissolving into the damp air.
Vmmmm.
A strange vibration came from overhead.
The black veil covering the abandoned facility began breaking apart from its highest point, dissolving into black particles that melted into the night sky.
Cold moonlight spilled back down through the ruined entrance stairs.
Gojo stood at the top of the steps, both hands still casually tucked into his pockets.
He leaned forward slightly, white hair stirring in the night wind.
Although he wore his blindfold, that assessing gaze seemed almost tangible as it crossed the darkness and settled on Kaede below, standing there with blade in hand.
"Oh? Done already? That was a full three minutes faster than I expected."
Gojo let out a loud whistle and started down the stairs at a relaxed pace.
The sound of his shoes stepping through the puddles echoed clearly through the open underground facility.
"The instant it gave up defense and prepared a death-throes counterattack, you closed the distance without hesitation and completed the beheading from an extremely... no, a very tricky angle.
The transition between water-blade control and katana strike had no wasted pause at all."
Gojo stopped three steps away from Kaede, his mouth spreading into a bright grin. He even raised his hands and applauded.
"To coordinate your own technique and a newly acquired cursed tool this smoothly... should I call you a born practical fighter, or a cold executioner?
As your first individual placement test after enrolling, I'd call this a perfect score."
"I guess... but I had an innate technique advantage, and you were watching from the side, Gojo-sensei..."
Kaede thought for a moment before answering.
Gojo stopped walking, ripples spreading from where his shoes touched the water.
He casually brushed aside the white hair falling over his forehead, and that trademark brilliant smile faded a little.
What replaced it was something more purely analytical, the rational gaze of a top-tier sorcerer.
"Innate advantage? That's not an excuse you need to be modest about."
Gojo stepped forward, walking straight into the water. Limitless automatically parted the liquid around him, keeping his shoes perfectly dry.
"In the jujutsu world, technique compatibility can absolutely decide where you start. But what decides whether you live or die is your instinct for seizing the moment.
That curse just now wasn't intelligent, but at the very end, choosing to abandon suppressing its wound and focus on a cursed-energy counterattack was a very decisive tactical shift."
Gojo raised his right hand, one long finger pointing toward the water where purple-black ash floated.
"If you had hesitated for even half a second, or chosen to retreat for safety, that cursed-energy cannon would have used the water in the terrain to guide the blast and drag you into it completely.
But you didn't retreat. Instead, you used the water blade to break its balance and forcibly cut off its casting motion."
The tall white-haired man walked up to the boy and bent forward slightly, looking down into those dark red eyes. His tone turned light again.
"That kind of combat logic, squeezing your own advantage to the limit and cutting off every path your opponent has to survive, doesn't appear out of nowhere just because I'm watching.
That's your instinct."
Gojo straightened, tucked both hands back into his pockets, and turned toward the stairs leading back aboveground.
He left his back completely exposed to Kaede, who was still holding a blade, his steps unusually light.
"At its core, fighting as a sorcerer is a survival game of deception and exploitation.
Relying too much on environmental advantage can definitely become a weakness. But knowing how to use everything available to reach your goal? That's an impressive talent all on its own."
At the foot of the stairs, Gojo glanced back and waved.
"All right. Since the practical exam wrapped up perfectly, it's time we head back.
I missed the nighttime special sale for my favorite Kikusuian zunda whipped cream daifuku because of this. So as your reward for passing with flying colors, tomorrow's errand duty goes to you."
Cold moonlight spilled down the stairway, stretching Gojo's long shadow across the floor.
The damp night wind poured in from the entrance, scattering the last of the rancid stench lingering in the underground facility.