Rules of the Deal

The short man did not dare say another word.

He remained bowed as he led Ren out of the alley, but his steps grew faster with every breath.

Not long after the two of them left, the walls around the alley changed.

Strange veins rose across the concrete. The color deepened into a wet, rotten red, and foul blood crawled through the cracks as if the alley itself had become a giant heart.

The red-haired thug, who should have been unconscious, slowly stood.

His face was calm.

He lifted his left hand and flexed it.

Fresh flesh grew from the severed stumps at visible speed. In the blink of an eye, all five fingers had returned.

"Ren Zenin," he whispered. "I'll remember you."

Several streets away, Ren reclined in the passenger seat of a sports car with his eyes half-closed.

"How much longer?"

The messenger behind the wheel did not dare relax.

"Almost there, Mr. Zenin. We are very close."

"I'll help you, then."

Ren lazily lifted one hand. Blue light brushed across the car's frame.

The engine roared.

The sports car shot forward so violently that its shape blurred, tearing down the road as if some invisible force had blessed it.

The messenger's eyes brightened.

He turned an ordinary car into a cursed tool at once. It can work. He really can repair the Kusanagi Sword.

Less than half a minute later, the car stopped in front of a supermarket.

"Mr. Zenin, you have finally arrived." A cold voice greeted him. "Welcome to the Orochi Society."

The messenger hurried out and opened the door.

Ren did not move at first.

Still lying in the seat, eyes half-open as if he had not fully woken up, he glanced toward the black-robed man standing at the entrance.

The supermarket should have been crowded.

Instead, not a single ordinary person could be seen. In the heat of an Osaka afternoon, even the surrounding street had gone lifeless. For several blocks, the area felt like an abandoned city.

The black-robed man made no attempt to hide his cursed energy. Dark purple power coiled around him, making him look less like a human than a curse.

His face was hidden beneath the hood, but Ren sensed something familiar.

"Oh. I was wondering why that cursed energy felt familiar." Ren's voice was faint. "It's you, skull."

His smile deepened.

"Looks like I guessed right. Devouring part of your soul didn't do much to your main body after all."

"You..."

Ren's words struck a raw nerve.

The humiliation from that night had not faded. The pain carved into his soul still pulsed days later. With a roar, Kuki released his cursed energy.

It burst outward like a storm.

"Are we fighting?" Ren asked, unmoved.

His smile did not change, but disappointment stirred inside him.

So this is the real body. Six Vaults Devourer can't drain him freely the way it did before. What a shame.

He had planned to provoke Kuki and enjoy a proper meal, but the chance was not there.

Kuki seemed to know he could not touch Ren for now either.

Now that he was standing in front of Ren, he finally understood how terrifying the boy's pressure was. Ren did not radiate much cursed energy, but the memories sent back by that severed piece of soul were more than enough.

Until the Kusanagi Sword was repaired, Kuki could not attack him.

"Follow me," Kuki said, forcing down his murderous intent.

He turned and walked into the supermarket.

Ren did not provoke him further. He only shrugged and followed.

The short man remained outside like a guard who did not have the authority to enter.

The moment Ren stepped inside, mist rose around him.

Cursed energy filled the smoke, blurring the scenery until even he could not see clearly.

Then the world shifted.

When the mist faded, Ren and Kuki stood in a sealed chamber.

A crystal display case sat in the center of the room. Inside it lay a long, traditional Japanese sword.

At first glance, it looked plain.

Then Ren's eyes were drawn to it.

Only for a breath.

That was enough to make him wary.

Divine Forge ? Hundred Refinements refined the heart before it refined matter. With the technique mastered completely, Ren's mind should have been as steady as stone. Yet even he had lost focus for a heartbeat.

Kuki was far worse.

Ren could not see his face, but the cursed energy around him rippled with naked greed.

He coughed lightly.

"This is the cursed tool you want repaired?"

Kuki's voice remained dazed, as if he were still drunk on the sword's presence.

"Can you fix it?"

"You know my rules."

Kuki did not answer with words.

He lifted one hand. Dark purple cursed energy opened a hidden seal, and thick smoke rose from the floor.

When it cleared, three cursed spirits appeared, each bound in chains.

They struggled violently, but their cursed energy was impossible to hide.

All three were Grade 1.

"Three Grade 1 cursed spirits," Kuki said. "Proof of our good faith."

Ren rubbed his chin.

They really do have a way to capture Grade 1 cursed spirits alive.

"Fine. I don't like being watched while I work."

"Impossible," Kuki said immediately. "This sword is sacred. You will repair it under my supervision. That is the rule."

Ren smiled.

"Rule? When I take a job, what I say is..."

His voice paused.

"The rule."

Murderous intent exploded from Kuki.

Ren did not bother looking at him. His eyes remained on the sword.

"You have a death wish."

"If not for those three Grade 1 cursed spirits," Ren said softly, "you would already be dead."

"Try it."

Dark purple cursed energy formed strange patterns behind Kuki.

Ren said nothing.

The pendant at his chest released a cold, terrifying light.

"Kuki. Listen to him."

A young man's voice echoed through the chamber.

Kuki's face twisted with rage. In the end, he snorted and withdrew his technique.

Before leaving, he turned back to Ren.

"You had better fix it. Otherwise..."

He laughed coldly and walked out.

Ren's gaze turned flat.

Anyone who threatened him had already made their choice.

The best way to deal with trouble was to remove the source.

In Ren's mind, Kuki had already been sentenced.

"What is this sword called?"

He knew the speaker was still watching the room.

"Are you sure you want to know?" the young voice asked. "Some things are better left unclear."

"Name."

Ren said only one word.

After a long silence, the answer came.

"This sword is the Kusanagi Sword."

"Got it."

Ren showed no shock at the legendary name.

"Five minutes. Come back to inspect it. Now, leave."

"You..."

Anger sharpened the young man's voice. No one had ever spoken to him that way.

"I hope you truly can repair it."

The presence faded.

The next instant, blue light flooded the chamber.

Every hidden connection woven into the sealed room snapped at once.

"The link was cut?"

On the mound of heads far away, the fox-masked youth shot to his feet.

The sealed chamber had taken decades of effort and countless members to create. Its hidden channels connected the room to the entire leadership of the Orochi Society.

And a sixteen-year-old boy had severed them all.

"Ren Zenin," he whispered. "What are you?"

Inside the chamber, Ren opened the crystal case without ceremony.

The Kusanagi Sword, which the Orochi Society worshiped as a divine relic, sat in his hand like a toy.

He flicked his wrist a few times.

"Too light. Doesn't suit me."

Then he sat on the display case and ran his fingers along the blade.

From the outside, the sword looked flawless. The steel was clean, the edge bright.

But Divine Forge ? Hundred Refinements told Ren the truth the moment he touched it.

The sword's soul was broken.

The curse inside the Kusanagi Sword had been torn apart by some force.

For most people, such damage would be irreversible.

For Ren, repairing it barely counted as trouble.

Blue light rose from his fingers and sank into the blade.

Click.

Click.

The Kusanagi Sword trembled violently.

Something inside it began to wake.

Dense cursed energy poured from the sword like a tide, filling the chamber at once.

The three chained Grade 1 cursed spirits stopped struggling.

Then they began to shake.

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