Chapter 208: The Spider in the Dark
Ren spoke in an amused but commanding tone as he pointed sharply at Kai2.
"Come on, Kai! Distract it! Come on now."
And the little fish curse truly tried its best — it floated, swam, and darted in shaky circles around the grotesque spider curse. The spider moved slowly at first… Its long legs scraping the dusty floor… its swollen body twitching…
Then—
Its entire head twisted upside down, bones and flesh cracking in a revolting motion as its jaw split open, joints snapping at unnatural angles.
And the spider curse jumped.
It shot upward with explosive speed, far quicker than its sluggish appearance suggested, lunging straight for Kai2.
"AHAKK"
Kai2 let out a panicked warble, tail wagging like a frantic dog, and zipped away in pure terror—
—and immediately zoomed back toward Ren.
Ren frowned. 'Ugh, I need to teach him more than just sit and roll… Anyway, this should be enough of a distraction.'
Ren muttered calmly, "Overdrive."
Cursed energy burst through his body like a detonating engine, and he moved in a blur. The knife in his hand sliced downward with enough force to split air itself—
SWISH!
A clean, razor sound. The air split. Cursed flesh split.
Then the wet, meaty noise of cursed flesh splitting apart.
Three of the spider's legs fell off instantly, spurting sickening dark blood across the floor. The curse shrieked.
Ren frowned. "Ugh, I thought that should have one-shot it…"
He flicked the blood off the blade. 'But it didn't. Uh, this knife is not just a normal knife which has been imbued with cursed energy; it's not a cursed tool, but it's one of the knives I have been trying to imbue with cursed energy when I was in Congo…
It should have one shot it… If that was a normal curse, that means that's not a normal curse!'
Ren moved faster, jumping at the spider. Red Stitch shot out from his hand as he swung again, knife flashing.
The spider scuttled, fast now, unstable on its remaining legs. Ren sprinted in, Red Stitch flicking out from his right hand he swing towards the curse...
But the spider curse suddenly opened its mouth wide. Too wide. Its jaw unhinged grotesquely and spat out a stream of burning green liquid.
Ren didn't think. His body moved first.
A red stitch snapped out from his shoulder, hooked the ceiling, and yanked him backwards mid-swing—
—pulling him out of the liquid's trajectory.
The green sludge hit the wall behind him and sizzled, eating through concrete with speed…
"What the hell was that now? Huh? You have some tricks, do you?" Ren said, amused rather than threatened.
He hung from the red stitch casually, suspended in the air where the spider couldn't reach him. In fact, it looked like it was trying to run away—
But Kai2!
Kai2 suddenly floated forward proudly in front of the spider curse, blocking the curse's path, like he had done something impressive. Tail wagging. Head high.
Ren stared at him. The spider stared at him.
Both equally unimpressed.
But the spider turned its back toward Ren, who still hung from the red stitch.
Ren sighed.
He let go of the thread and dropped lightly to the ground.
"It's actually shameful… I can't end you with one strike. You are at best in grade 2 or 1? Maybe. I am stronger and faster than you, even more skilled clearly… But I lack firepower, and my swinging ability is greatly weakened in a building like this. The rebirth of Red Stitch should fix every one of these problems… Anyway… enough playing."
He twirled the knife once in his hand, eyes narrowing.
Ren raised one hand.
"Worm."
Ren looked at Worm and extended his hand. The worm wiggled and spat out a revolver, perfectly polished.
Ren caught it without looking, aimed casually—
BANG!
A bullet tore through another of the spider's legs. It screeched, collapsing sideways.
But Ren didn't stop.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Ren kept shooting till he emptied the whole cylinder into the curse… He only winced a little because of the loud sound. Ren rubbed his ear a little…
Ren rolled his wrist.
"Hmm, that should have done it. Even though these bullets aren't complete… they're experimental stuff I was cooking up in Congo. They have a little bit of cursed energy. They shouldn't affect a curse too harmfully, but that's if I shoot once. If I shoot more than once, then it should affect any curse. It should destroy any grade 1 curse and lower if I aim at vital spots… Still, this gun makes a lot of noise; I have to buy a silencer for it for sure."
The dust was shaking from the ceiling with each shot. The spider's body convulsed and then collapsed, dissolving into a thick, dark mist.
Ren spun the revolver once and handed it back. Worm swallowed both gun and knife happily.
"Mommy~" the curse purred.
Ren tried to ignore that.
"Good job, Worm. Kai2… You did an okay job. Still, why were you so scared to go out, huh? Don't you know I was here? You got scared for no reason, freak."
Kai2 perked up at the praise, wagging his tail. Then he slammed into Ren's chest like an excited dog before jumping back into his shadow — clearly grumpy that Ren called him scared earlier.
Ren snorted.
"You're being dramatic. Don't worry, freak… Once I'm done with Red Stitch tonight, my next project is making you stronger."
He walked deeper into the abandoned school, boots echoing on the dusty floor.
The darkness swallowed the corridor behind him.
Soon Ren reached a classroom. It wasn't completely destroyed — clean enough, intact enough.
He stepped inside and closed the cracked door behind him.
Worm immediately spat out item after item — candles, tools, papers, inks — covering the entire room in ritual components.
Within minutes, the place looked like a forgotten shrine: candelabras lined the edges, flames flickering. Talisman papers with circular symbols covered the walls.
Ren interlaced his fingers, bringing them together tightly in a precise stance.
指組み.
He muttered quietly: "Emerge from darkness, blacker than darkness… hide all that is impure and pure."
A shimmering veil spread across the room — a curtain of cursed energy that sealed the area completely.
Ren exhaled. "It's done… The room is done. Concealment, suppression, the curtain… No one will know what happens here. All the groundwork is set…."
He looked at the glowing sigils, the flames, and the closed door.
The air was thick with tension.
"It's time… to start the rebirth."
He smiled faintly.
"The second step is… Rika."
End of Chapter 208.