Trick and Trigger - Chapter 120

Chapter 120 – Trick and Trigger

"DON'T MOVE!"

Ren's voice cut through the chaos like a gunshot.

The battlefield froze.

Ren smiled, and across his face, the mark of fangs and twin serpent eyes glowed faintly—a cursed tattoo across his mouth. The mark of Cursed Speech.

Mahoraga stopped mid-swing, blade just inches from Geto's chest.

Geto froze. His arms locked. His eyes widened.

The curses—Mirror Yokai (Kagami no Yōkai), Waltz of the Wraith (Yūrei no Mai), and Tamamo-no-Mae—halted like marionettes with their strings cut.

Everything stopped.

Geto thought fast, panic creeping in:

"Cursed Speech…!? How?! That's the Inumaki Family's technique!"

But before Geto could move—

CRACK!!

Rika tore through the air like a shadow bursting from the sky.

She came behind Mirror Yokai, and in a blur, her massive jaw clamped down.

CHOMP!!

The entire creature vanished inside her mouth in one snap. Eaten whole.

At the same time—SHLASH!!!

Ren's arm flung forward.

Water blades burst outward from his palm—Flood Maw in full effect. They sliced through Waltz of the Wraith in a clean triple arc, cutting the ghostly dancer into three spinning, vanishing fragments.

The cursed speech began to crack.

Mahoraga was the first to break free—its massive body surged back to life, and without a second of hesitation, it swung its Sword of Extermination.

The blade tore through Tamamo-no-Mae, slicing the special grade in half like paper.

The body scattered. Gone.

Seconds passed—all this in mere seconds.

Geto gasped.

His mind spun.

"I was winning… I was winning. How does he have cursed speech?! What the hell is that shikigami?! It doesn't die! It even broke through Tamamo-no-Mae's domain!"

"The reports lied. They said Ren was weak. That Rika was the threat. But so far, Rika's only been ambushed. Ren—he's the real danger!"

Everything wasn't just falling apart—it had already fallen.

Because Geto didn't know the truth.

Flashback.

Ren, mid-fight, watching Mahoraga dodge his strikes—Geto summoning unknown curses—his plan forming as he barely kept up.

He clenched his jaw, eyes narrow.

'This… won't do. I can't use Rika to the fullest limit with Mahoraga around. I can't use Love Cannon. I need at least one card to take out Mahoraga… So Rika right now is useless…'

Ren looked up at the sky, then down at the chaos.

'Rika won't help in a brawl. Not now.'

He moved fast.

"Rika…" Ren whispered quietly, hidden under the shadow of crumbling debris.

Ren looked at her and spoke firmly:

"Find Inumaki. Eat him."

Ren continued.

"Just enough for the copy to work. Then return as soon as you can!"

It was a gamble.

But Ren knew—he'd need cursed speech. Ren knew he needed a card, a wild card, which can catch both Geto and Mahoraga off guard!

He knew Geto could keep summoning. That Mahoraga would adapt.

He needed more weapons.

So he sent his greatest weapon away—not to fight, but to hunt.

And the plan worked…

Back to the present.

Ren stood calmly on the ground, watching.

Geto was now locked in a back-and-forth with Mahoraga.

Steel and flesh clashed. Sparks flew.

Ren didn't interfere.

Instead, he turned to Rika and ordered,

"Eat the remains of Tamamo-no-Mae before they fade."

Rika moved instantly, clawing through the dissipating cursed corpse and devouring it before the cursed energy could disperse.

Then—

BOOM!!!

Mahoraga's body smashed through stone—slammed backward by the Playful Cloud.

Geto leapt back, chest heaving, eyes wide.

He shouted:

"MAXIMUM: UZUMAKI!!!"

Behind him, a swirling vortex of curses erupted into existence. A massive sphere of cursed energy, twisting and shrieking, formed above his head.

Ren's eyes narrowed.

He smiled faintly.

'That's right. Use it. Take out Mahoraga. Then I take you out.'

But then—Geto turned.

The swirling mass of energy turned with him.

And Geto aimed it at Ren.

Ren's eyes widened.

'Wait—not Mahoraga?!'

He started to move—but then felt it.

The weight. The shift.

Rika's fingers started to fade.

Her outline shimmered like heat haze.

The five-minute timer—

—was up.

Rika was disappearing.

Ren felt the connection slip.

His cursed energy dipped.

And the Uzumaki was coming.