What the human doing in the sky? Chapter 100

"Phew! I did it, hehe. I did it!! Hell yeah!" Ren muttered to himself, breathless but beaming. His red-tinged cursed energy buzzed through his body like fireworks under skin. Sparks of euphoria still pulsed in his fingertips, flickering lightly through the air.

But then, his grin dipped into a squint. "Ahh, but now I have two problems." He looked around, face falling at the sight of the torn-apart room. "First, I broke the curtain…" He gestured at the shredded remains of his concealment veil, now just a limp mass clinging to a wall. "Which I made to hide myself while doing this," he sighed. "And my other problem is… well, I'm not used to this amount of power. Not at all."

His fingers twitched slightly, cursed energy humming just under the skin. It was refined, rich, and overwhelming.

"I might actually have to learn hand-to-hand combat... ugh!" He groaned, dropping his head back. "I don't like it. I was hoping not to do it, but ugh... I need it for sure." He let out a long sigh before letting the smile return slowly to his face. "It'll help me get used to my new Perfected Red Cursed Circuit. That's something…"

Ren stood up slowly, the light from the broken window hitting his face just right—half bright, half shadowed. His eyes were calm now. Determined.

"Ah, I should get moving, huh? It's afternoon; I still have a little time. I could do something for sure…"

Without wasting a second, he started gathering all the scattered papers, notebooks, diagrams, and scrawled calculations from the floor. Meticulous movements. Notes from weeks of obsession.

"Rika, keep all of these papers for now," he said, lifting a handful of notes.

A tear in the air opened—a black spot hovering like a floating ink drop. From it, Rika's clawed hand emerged, gently taking each item from Ren. Then, just as silently, she vanished back into the darkness.

"Thanks," Ren said softly.

Kai2, meanwhile, had been watching from across the room. The little fish-like curse was still hopping in place, wide eyes fixed on Ren as if trying to confirm he hadn't turned into some kind of cursed monster.

"Hey," Ren said, crouching slightly with a smirk. "I'm still me, okay? Come back in the shadow—let's get out of here. I also want to test myself a little…"

In one smooth motion, Kai2 dove into Ren's shadow. Ren looked around the room one last time before walking to the broken door. Half off its hinges, just like before. That odd sense of déjà vu hit him.

He stepped out. The light hit his skin strangely, and the wind felt just a little… different.

Was it the world that felt weird? Or me? Ren couldn't tell.

Jogging now, his feet carried him almost on instinct. Down cracked sidewalks and past rusted fences, until his steps slowed… in front of a place that felt like a memory.

The shrine.

He clapped his hands once—an old habit—and sat on the stone steps, the late afternoon sunlight spilling over him.

"Hmm... The last time I was here was when I had just gotten Rika… back when I was struggling to even reach my limits. And now? I'm sitting here with a Perfected Red Cursed Circuit, Rika, a bunch of copied cursed techniques…"

Ren rested his chin on his palm, lost in thought.

"I wonder how strong I am without Rika right now… Grade 2? Maybe. Can't say for sure unless I test myself. But my cursed technique, Red Stitch, is still bad… real bad."

His eyes narrowed with new resolve.

"But no need to worry. Now that I've completed the Red Cursed Circuit, next is the technique itself. I'm going to shape it. Sharpen it. Make it strong—way stronger."

He stood again, tugging his hoodie up and over his head, then pulled out a black face mask from his pocket.

"One month before Geto starts the war…"

His fingers brushed the mask across his cheek as he slipped it on.

"Ah, this is going to be fun…"

With a steady breath, Ren coated himself in cursed energy. Not a hint of it leaked out. He looked—by all appearances—like a completely normal person.

Then—

He bent his knees and launched himself up.

The air cracked with force.

He shot into the sky...

And from high above the world, wind roaring in his ears, Ren laughed—loud, free, and fierce.