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Sometimes, the most dangerous changes are the ones people can't see.
At least, not until it's too late.
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The apartment building was simple, with slight cracks showing here and there.
As Ryu climbed the narrow stairs, he could feel the strength in his legs, every step felt lighter. The cursed energy flowing through him made everything feel more real, more alive.
He knocked on 3B. The door opened to reveal a woman in her fifties with tired eyes and graying hair.
"Are you the young man Takeshi sent?" She paused, her eyebrows rising.
"He mentioned you had a scar..."
Ryu touched his cheek, the scar was there no more.
"The scar faded, I'm Ryu by the way."
Mrs. Yamamoto looked at him with confusion in her eyes.
"Takeshi was very specific about that scar. Said it was quite...different."
"Looks change," Ryu said simply.
"I suppose..." She stepped aside.
"Please, come in. I'm Michiko Yamamoto."
The living room was cramped, dominated by wooden furniture that looked heavy.
A massive wardrobe loomed against one wall.
"Everything needs to go in the bedroom," she explained, gesturing toward a closed door.
"My husband is... he's been very ill. The doctor says he needs more time to recover."
As she spoke, Ryu became aware of something else. That same oppressive feeling from the alley, but stronger. More concentrated.
His eyes picked up a dark presence emanating from behind the bedroom door.
"What's wrong with him?" he asked.
"The doctors don't know." Her voice cracked.
"He's been getting weaker for months. Barely eats, barely sleeps. They've run every test imaginable, but..." She shrugged helplessly.
'A curse'
"May I see him first? I might be able to help."
"Help? You're just a student?"
"Sometimes the best help comes from people you least expect."
She looked at him with squinted eyes, half trusting and half suspicious.
Then led him to the bedroom door and pushed it open quietly.
The smell hit him immediately, not of something dead, but something far worse. The stench of a curse.
The man on the bed was like a skeleton, his skin gray. His breathing was shallow and loud.
But what caught Ryu's attention was the thing wrapped around him like a python.
The curse was roughly humanoid but stretched and distorted, its limbs unnaturally long. It had attached itself to the man's back, fingers buried in his flesh like hooks. Ryu could see it pulsing rhythmically, drawing something with each motion.
"This is beyond what doctors can treat," he said carefully.
"But I think I can help."
"You?" Disbelief warred in her voice.
"How?"
"Trust me."
Mrs. Yamamoto looked at her husband, then nodded to him wearily.
Ryu moved closer. The curse sensed his approach and turned its head toward him, but it didn't release its grip. Too focused on feeding to recognize the threat.
'Perfect.'
He reached out with both hands, fingers finding the curse's elongated limbs. It felt like grabbing wet wooden sticks, cold and rough.
"What are you doing?" Alarm crept into Mrs. Yamamoto's voice as she watched him grab at nothing.
"Getting rid of the problem."
The curse finally realized the danger and tried to pull away, but Ryu's enhanced strength was more than a match.
He yanked hard, and the creature's fingers tore free with a wet sound.
Without hesitation, he brought it to his mouth and bit down.
The taste was more complex than before, layers of stolen vitality mixed with agony.
As he consumed it, a new technique settled into his mind:
'Life Drain.'
The man on the bed shifted, color slowly returning to his face. His breathing deepened with every passing second.
Within minutes, he sat up, blinking in confusion.
"Michiko?" he said, voice clear for the first time in months.
"What happened? I feel... I feel better now suddenly?"
Mrs. Yamamoto rushed to his side, tears streaming.
"Kenji! Oh, thank kami!"
"I don't understand." He flexed his fingers, trying to see his palms.
"I was so weak, so tired. But now..." He looked at Ryu with sudden understanding.
"You did this."
"Sometimes negative energy builds up around a person," Ryu explained.
"Usually happens when someone carries heavy guilt or burdens. That energy can literally make you sick."
It was nonsense, but believable nonsense.
Kenji nodded slowly.
"I've carried guilt for years. Things I did in business, people I hurt climbing the ladder. I thought it was finally catching up to me."
"The important thing is you're better now." Said Ryu with a nod.
"Can we repay you in any way?" Mrs. Yamamoto asked, with tears in her eyes.
"The furniture job will be fine. Maybe a little extra for the consultation."
They insisted on fifteen thousand yen, five times what he'd expected. As Ryu moved their furniture with ease that surprised even Kenji.
Ryu found himself thinking about what had happened.
'How many others are suffering from curses they can't even see?'
More importantly, how many of those curses could he devour?
---
With his newfound wealth, Ryu's first stop was a real estate office.
"I'm looking for something private," he told the agent, a thin man with nervous eyes. "Quiet neighborhood."
"What's your budget?"
"Fifteen Thousand Yen."
The agent's eyebrows shot up. "That's...low for a house. Kid you should call your parents--"
"I work for myself. Cash only."
An hour later, he was signing papers for an old, one-bedroom apartment with a functioning kitchen, and run down walls.
That evening, as he settled into his new home, Ryu experimented with his absorbed technique on a weak Frog cursed spirit.
'Life Drain.'
It worked exactly as expected, he could siphon energy through direct contact, though he found he could control the flow precisely.
'Useful for weakening curses.'
A shadow passed by his window. Another curse, no bigger than a pigeon, pecking at the glass. Weak, but it would do for some practice.
He opened the window and snatched it with Shadow Grasp, then consumed it.
The familiar rush of power flowed through him, and he felt his energy reserves grow a little.
'This is sustainable. Hunting weak curses to build strength, then using that strength to hunt stronger ones.'
Eventually, he could become strong enough to face even stronger curses.
But first, he needed to understand this world better. The Yamamoto curse had been more sophisticated than the one he ate at the alley.
it had shown intelligence, purpose. That suggested understanding of people, how much to feed to not outright kill.
'There might be others like me. People who can see curses, who can fight them.'
He'd heard whispers about some people who claimed to exorcise evil spirits. Most dismissed them as fake, but Ryu knew better now.
'I need to find them. Learn from them.'
When the time came, he could join them, but his interests lay somewhere else.
'I don't just fight curses. I devour them.'
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