Chapter 162: Grudge Collapse
"Die!"
Ren screamed.
He shot up like a cannon toward Sutoku, cursed energy flaring red around his body. The force of his flight cracked the air, and Sutoku, amused, only smiled in response. Their fists collided mid-air—Ren's punch slamming into Sutoku's guard with a thunderous BOOM—and in that instant, Ren's hands burst apart into Red Stitch, cursed threads spiraling outward like a spider's snare.
The red threads latched onto Sutoku's limbs mid-block. Without wasting a breath, Ren yanked his hand down, slamming Sutoku straight toward the earth like a meteor.
But as Sutoku fell, his finger moved through the air with graceful precision, drawing a glowing kanji: 無—Nothing.
The character pulsed once and shattered, and in that moment the Red Stitch bindings dissolved into thin air like they had never existed. Sutoku's descent stopped. He floated midair with elegance, untouched, unbothered.
He looked up at Ren and thought,
"Oh? That cursed energy burst… It's sustained now. His cursed energy—it's not only denser, it's almost… boundless. And he's flying? HA! This brat is amusing."
Sutoku smiled with genuine interest as Ren hovered above, half of his shirt torn from their close-quarter brawl. Sweat streaked his brow, but his eyes were focused.
'Ah… my body feels so numb… This world… it feels so different.'
Ren's thoughts were calm despite the pain surging in his limbs.
'The binding vow that sealed Rika for six months… It broke because I died. Makes sense. And now I'm back… But my soul and body are still unstable. I have to finish this quickly.'
His gaze snapped down to Sutoku.
'But I was going to finish it quickly anyway.'
'Five minutes. That's all I have with Rika.'
He steadied his breathing.
'His cursed technique… He draws kanji in the air, and whatever he writes happens. It's like cursed speech, but written… Which means if I close the distance, I limit his advantage. But wait—he hasn't actually attacked me directly with his technique. It's always evasive or manipulative, never lethal. Why?'
'Maybe… his technique can't affect living beings directly? But no, Mei Mei's birds were affected. So maybe… it takes a massive amount of cursed energy?'
'If that's the case… then his technique is one of the most dangerous in existence…'
Ren narrowed his eyes.
'But right now… I'm stronger.'
He spoke calmly:
"Veil of Still Darkness."
A deep hum echoed as an unnatural black mist burst out of Ren's body like a suffocating wave.
In seconds, the entire 20-meter radius of the mansion was engulfed in the thick, cursed fog. Sutoku blinked once, then smiled again.
"Oh? What's this?"
Before he could move further, Ren's voice came again:
"Magnetic Decree: Iron Rule."
CLANG! WHOOSH!
Two massive iron rods shot out of the mist at Sutoku like javelins. He narrowly sidestepped them, his feet barely grazing the ground. Without hesitation, Sutoku moved his finger and carved a new glowing kanji into the air: 落—Fall.
BOOMMMM!!!
The mist surrounding them slammed into the ground like it weighed tons, flattening like a tidal wave made of shadow. Dust surged upward.
But as the haze cleared, Sutoku looked up—Ren was still there in the sky, chanting something under his breath:
"Dark eyes bear witness…
To the silence of God and the scream of iron.
Fall, false order—"
But before Ren could finish the chant, Sutoku's finger moved. A glowing kanji formed fast: 黙—Silence.
"Silence," he commanded.
And in an instant, Ren's voice stopped. His mouth moved, but no sound came out. The chant was cut off.
Sutoku smirked.
"Did I allow you to chant?" he said in a voice laced with mockery.
But—
From somewhere else… A voice finished the chant:
"Beneath my will."
Sutoku's smile froze. He turned his head slowly.
There—down below, standing amidst the fog still thick on the floor—was Ren, a second one.
Ren's voice rang out:
"Foxflame Mirage: Fox Decoy."
"What—?" Sutoku thought.
Then—
"Now die.
Maximum Output: Grudge Collapse!"
BOOMMMM!!!
From behind, an iron rod impaled Sutoku through the chest. His body recoiled.
His eyes widened.
The Ren in the sky… faded away like a mist in the sky…
The real Ren had never stopped chanting. The foxflame illusion had misdirected Sutoku from the start. The mist had never been for concealment—it was for distortion.
And now…
Every piece of iron in the area—nails, pipes, wires, rods—ripped free from the ground, walls, and mansion.
With a shuddering metallic howl, hundreds of iron fragments flew like bullets toward Sutoku.
His body was hit in an instant—thousands of pounds of twisted metal converging on him, embedding, crushing.
And in that moment—
For the first time—
Sutoku was actually shocked.
His voice caught in his throat.
His lips parted.
"…!"
The ground shook…