Screaming Steel and Shaking Hands - Chapter 69

BOOOMMM!!

The roof trembled as smoke and dust exploded through the air. Maki blinked hard, her breath caught in her throat. Her glasses? Cracked—completely broken. But her body? Not hurt. Not even a scratch.

Because she wasn't on the ground.

She was in someone's arms.

Held against a chest, breathing hard. Steady hands under her back and behind her knees. She blinked again and looked up, stunned.

"Ren…?"

Yeah, it was Ren—his eyes locked on the clearing dust, not even acknowledging her yet. His body still lightly glowing with a faint afterburn of cursed energy. Overdrive. He'd used Overdrive again—just like before.

Everything had happened too fast for Maki to even notice.

One second, the curse exploded—her spear eaten, her defenses down—and the next, she was airborne, then yanked through space by a red thread slinging them through safety. Ren's red stitch had fired fast, latched onto the far wall, and flung them both away just before the explosion. He'd timed it perfectly.

Maki looked away quickly, her cheeks hot, and squirmed, trying to stand on her own…

Maki gritted her teeth, eyes scanning. Her cursed tools were her everything. Losing one to a random curse? Not just frustrating—insulting.

But then—Ren spoke.

Quietly. Coldly.

"…It's floating."

Maki blinked and followed Ren's gaze.

The curse hovered in midair, its grotesque shape becoming clearer. A twisted, mangled thing—six eyes, a warped deer-like skull fused with something humanoid, and now metal wrapping around its body like armor, pulled from the building itself.

"What the fuck is that?" Ren, thought. "There was no curse like this in the manga… not one that can fly and control metal. And the cursed energy it's giving off—it's the same as the one chewing on Sukuna's finger…"

His eyes narrowed.

"No fucking way. That's a special grade curse."

Maki couldn't sense it. Her glasses were gone. She was blind to cursed energy, blind to the fear crawling in Ren's spine.

But he felt it.

The intensity.

The sheer pressure.

And then, everything got worse.

CRACK!!

The ground beneath them shuddered and suddenly began to collapse.

And just then Maki yanked herself out. "Tch—dammit, that idiot ate my spear!!"

Maki turned, fury in her eyes. She couldn't see cursed energy, couldn't feel it—but she was ready to go head-on. Ren could see that.

"No, wait—!"

He grabbed her wrist before she could charge, pulling her close again, not even looking her in the eyes, just muttering, "That thing's too strong."

Maki's cheeks lit up even more as she thinks…. "What the hell is he doing?!"

Before she could react—

CRACK.

The floor split.

The rooftop beneath them fractured like eggshell. Chunks fell away, metal and stone collapsing. Gravity betrayed them. The two fell through the floor—Maki clung to Ren out of reflex, and Ren activated Red Stitch mid-air, flinging them between falling beams and through a narrow space before landing hard on another level.

"HE'S CONTROLLING THE METAL INSIDE THE FUCKING BUILDING?!" Ren's mind screamed.

Where the hell was Gojo?! Was this some kind of suicide mission?!

Meanwhile… Outside the curtain

Gojo sat on the hood of a car, munching on potato chips.

He had headphones on. A cartoon was playing on his phone.

He chuckled softly. "Mmm. I should give the kids some privacy, right? Let them bond, y'know?"

He took another chip and munched.

"Ren's strong. Maki's tougher than she looks. Nothing to worry about."

And so, he watched nothing… while everything inside burned.

Back to Ren and Maki, falling fast.

"Fuck, this is special grade!" Ren shouted. "GOJO!! You bastard, you didn't tell me it was like this!! Maki, hold on!"

Ren fired Red Stitch. His thread latched onto a support pillar deep below, and he yanked—hard. They swung again, faster this time, skimming rubble, ducking between falling steel bars. Maki held onto him tightly, her heart racing.

"Special grade?? No way!" Maki shouted over the roar of destruction. "You've beaten one before, right?! You can beat it again!!"

Ren didn't answer.

Because he didn't know.

He didn't even think this was winnable.

As they flew downward, Ren's eyes locked onto the basement—wide open now, a gaping chasm.

Inside—three teenagers.

Two girls, one boy. All of them bound in some weird metallic thread. Cursed traps. The air was thin. The building groaned again.

And all around the kids?

Floating metal. Dozens of rods. Hundreds of nails. Pipes. Shards. Blades.

It was a death trap.

Ren clenched his jaw.

He wanted to run.

But then Maki saw them, and her voice cut through his thoughts like a blade.

"Ren! There are people down there! We have to save them!"

He froze.

Then he gritted his teeth.

"…Yeah. You're right."

Ren thought. "If I run from this… What am I going to do when it's Sukuna? When is it, Gojo?"

Ren pulled hard—slam!—he landed in the basement, letting Maki down as rubble fell around them.

"Keep the three safe," Ren muttered. "Stay out of my way. I'm going all out."

His voice didn't shake.

He smiled.

And Maki, for once, didn't argue. She stepped back, eyes wide.

Ren turned toward the curse. Floating above. Metal swirling around it like a tornado of knives.

"Fucking hell, it looks like a lost brother of Magneto… What was Magneto's weakness? He had a weak body…"

And then—

"RIKA, COME OUT!"

A black shadow formed instantly in front of him.

Rika burst out, screaming, her massive claw slamming away a wave of iron rods.

BANG! BANG!

The entire basement shook.

Maki nearly fell over. She couldn't even process what she was seeing. She'd heard about Rika. But seeing it? Feeling her cursed energy—like an earthquake had come alive?

Ren charged cursed energy in his hands—his body burning with crimson light. Rika's bottomless cursed energy pool was now linked to Ren… and Ren felt the 5-minute timer start in his head… 

Ren did not even wait he already started preparing for the Love Cannon.

But then—

"Shit!"

The curse darted backward—faster than expected—and launched another wave of metal, this time with greater speed and in wider arcs. Deadly shrapnel.

Rika shielded Maki and the kids. Ren dodged, flipping mid-air, kicking a pipe back. Another wave came. He couldn't keep up.

Ren grunted, arms bleeding.

"I can't keep them safe and fight! I can't use the love cannon. That bastard is moving too fast! If I miss, I'll hit the others!"

His thoughts raced.

Flood Maw? No, no, it will be useless, and also it might tell Maki or maybe even Gojo, if he is still looking, that fucker… that I have more than one cursed technique! I can't do that!! Fuck, fuck!! 

Plus Flood Maw takes charge up time… It's impossible to do that right now!

Another wave of nails. Ren flipped again—barely dodged.

A nail scraped across his arm—blood spilled.

He landed, staggering. Breathing hard.

This wasn't like the other special grade.

This one was a real special grade… 

This one was smarter. Tactical. Like a machine made for war.

Ren could feel it.

The 5-minute timer of Rika…

And worse…

He was starting to panic.

"No… No, I—I can't win. I can't fucking win."

"I am going to…"

"DIE"