Wilderness surrounded by oak trees.
A forgotten graveyard.
The sky hung low and gray as a thin rain drizzled across the land.
A skinny blond boy stood silently before a freshly piled mound of dirt. His clothes were worn thin, his body underfed, and his face still carried traces of childish innocence that had no place here.
His name was Denji. He looked about sixteen.
Buried beneath the soil was his father.
Denji stared at the grave without blinking. It was hard to tell whether the emptiness on his face came from grief or from fear of what tomorrow would bring. Probably both.
Standing beside him was a tall man with black hair and dark eyes, dressed in formal funeral clothes suited for the occasion. His posture was straight, his expression solemn, professional.
This was Pastor Cael.
Cael had inherited the funeral parlor after his parents were killed by a Devil. They were ordinary people who had lived quietly in Japan until they were reduced to nothing but mangled remains during a Devil incident. Death paid no compensation.
Behind the two of them, a battered Jeep sat idling. Inside was an old man wearing a white cowboy hat, a cigarette hanging from his lips as he watched Denji with open malice.
"Uh."
Cael suddenly stiffened.
His body jerked, breath hitching as clarity rushed back into his eyes.
He had transmigrated.
An overwhelming flood of memories slammed into his head, nearly making him curse out loud. He clenched his jaw, riding out the headache as the information settled.
The body he now occupied belonged to someone with the same name as his own.
Cael.
Same profession too. An undertaker. Figures.
He wasn't much of an anime fan. Everything he knew about this world came from the memories of the original Cael. Devils existed. They killed people. Society functioned around hunting them.
But at least he was not empty handed.
With a thought, a translucent panel appeared before his eyes, visible only to him.
Host: Cael
Race: Human
Age: 19
Physique: 9
Agility: 12
Luck: 5
Charm: 11
Special Ability: Dark Dark Fruit Ability
Distributable Attribute Points: 5
Cael stared at the stats.
"Jesus, these numbers are dogshit."
Physique below average. Luck straight up cursed.
Still, his special ability made up for it.
The Dark Dark Fruit.
One of the few anime abilities Cael actually recognized. A terrifying power that swallowed everything, including other abilities. The downside was brutal. Darkness absorbed damage but doubled the pain. No elemental escape. No easy mode.
That meant one thing.
He needed durability.
Without hesitation, Cael dumped every point he had into Physique.
Ding.
Physique: 14
Much better.
He also learned how to earn more points. Kill Devils. Simple. Honest. Bloody.
Just then, a raspy voice broke the silence.
"Tch. The bastard killed himself before paying this month's debt."
The old man leaned out of the Jeep window, eyes locked onto Denji.
"Listen here, kid. I do not care if you beg, steal, or sell your body. Get me 700,000 Yen by tomorrow. If you do not, I will carve you up and sell whatever is left."
Denji flinched.
He said nothing.
There was no one to help him.
Cael slowly turned his head.
The memories clicked.
Local gang boss. Loan shark. Absolute piece of shit.
And worse, the man Cael had been forced to work under.
So this was the bastard who funded his parents' funeral, only to treat death like a payment plan.
The old man started the engine.
That was when Cael spoke.
"Hey."
The voice was calm. Cold.
"Stop."
The window rolled down.
The old man smirked. "What, you want a ride? Do not be funny."
His eyes darkened.
"Your dead parents still owe me two million Yen. One week. Miss it, and I smash your shop first. Then I bury you in it."
Cael felt something twist in his chest.
Then he laughed.
A short, sharp sound.
"I am not paying you a single damn yen."
Denji's head snapped up.
The old man's smile vanished.
He pulled out a pistol and pressed it against Cael's forehead.
"Seems my ears are going bad."
Cael raised his hand.
"Then listen carefully, you old sack of shit."
Darkness poured from his palm, thick and violent, forming a swirling black vortex.
"Debts die with the dead. I owe you nothing. Denji owes you nothing. If you want payment, go dig up a corpse and ask it yourself."
The gun ripped free from the old man's grip.
Crushing sounds echoed as metal and cloth were pulverized into scrap.
Denji froze, mouth hanging open.
"What the hell are you?" the old man screamed. "A Devil Hybrid?"
Cael did not answer.
He clenched his fist.
The fragments shot forward like shrapnel.
Blood exploded from the old man's hand as his palm was torn clean through.
He screamed, collapsing against the steering wheel.
"This is your warning," Cael said flatly. "Our debts are finished. Come near us again and I will kill you. Slowly. Got it?"
The old man panted, sweat pouring down his face.
Then he laughed.
"You do not smell like a Devil," he said hoarsely. "Yet you use one's power freely."
Flesh tore from his neck.
A thick, pulsing cord burst out, ripping the roof off the Jeep as it twisted through the air. Rotten power filled the graveyard, the cord warping and merging into a massive, grotesque human face.
Cael's eyes widened.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me."
The thing grinned.
"You picked the wrong graveyard, boy," it crooned. "This is my territory."
"I am the Zombie Devil."
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