Even though there can only be a single pure-blood vampire, there are still other vampires who are considered part of the bloodline.
In one sense, once they know who you are, they will naturally show you respect.
I sat in the library reading a book about vampires.
According to it, the history of vampires stretched all the way back to ancient times. Their origin was a certain kind of curse, but because its will was strong enough, and because it also possessed the ability to reproduce, its body gradually adapted to blend in more and more with humans, until in the end it came to be called a "vampire."
I had never imagined that vampires would originate from curses.
If that was true... then Reverse Cursed Technique would work against me.
I summoned Madoka at the size of a doll and ordered it to use Reverse Cursed Technique, then I tried touching its aura with the tip of my finger.
The skin at the point of contact evaporated instantly.
It did not hurt exactly, but it was certainly dangerous.
I returned Madoka to the shadows and continued reading.
1
"Lady Kujo, it is time to meet Kurorai."
Sebastian looked at me.
...
"Kurorai is a special-grade curse sealed beneath the basement. It has the ability to absorb the negative emotions of the people around it and convert them into electricity. You could say it sustains the entire city, as if a miniature nuclear reactor were buried underground."
Sebastian continued explaining as I walked after him through the corridors beneath the mansion.
"But if it is allowed to continue accumulating power, one day Kurorai will break free from its seal."
He paused briefly before going on.
"That is why, every year, the Kujo family—led by a pure-blood vampire such as yourself—must deal with this matter personally."
By the time he finished speaking, we had stopped in front of a large door.
"And the objective is to destroy the parts of it that are not the core. Once you go inside, you will understand. My role is to wait here."
I nodded.
I formed a hand sign and summoned Mahoraga and Madoka.
Since the target was a curse, positive cursed energy would be more effective against it.
I pushed the door open and stepped in first.
The moment I entered, I could feel the dampness in the air. The space inside was clearly different from the rest of the mansion, especially because of the countless cylindrical fragments lining the walls.
Before long, I saw the target.
A massive black core, around five meters in diameter, surrounded by a murky yellow liquid that made me think of slime.
I began by ordering Madoka to release positive cursed energy, then charged straight at the target.
The outer liquid layer of Kurorai transformed into a whip and lashed at Madoka immediately.
Mahoraga stepped in and intercepted the attack instead.
I intended to use Mahoraga so it could adapt to Kurorai, which would make long-term combat—and handling it again in future years—far more convenient.
The wheel on Mahoraga's head turned once.
Even though it was my shikigami, the sight still made me feel uneasy.
Madoka succeeded in getting close to the target and slammed directly into Kurorai.
The mass of liquid where it came into contact with positive cursed energy gradually evaporated away.
But in the next instant, I suddenly realized an important problem.
If it went in too deep, wouldn't it hit the core?
And if the shikigami accidentally struck the core, things would become more troublesome than I had expected.
Once I thought of that, I knew the shikigami were not yet necessary.
So I decided to deal with the remaining outer layer myself.
I slowly trimmed away the outer shell, piece by piece, until in the end most of what remained was the core itself.
After that, I pulled both shikigami back into the shadows and opened the door to call Sebastian.
"What do you think?"
"That is sufficient, my lady."
...
After the entire mansion sank into silence, I returned to my room and started playing with my phone.
But then, an abnormally dense curse pressure began drawing closer to the mansion.
I got out of bed immediately, went to the window, and looked down toward the garden below.
The curse pressure was deep within the tree line at the edge of the woods.
Someone dared to come disturb a vampire's mansion?
I opened the window and jumped down from the upper floor without hesitation.
My feet touched the ground lightly, and I moved soundlessly through the garden until I stopped only a few paces behind it.
A head like a volcano.
Rough, coarse skin.
Its presence was even more intense than Kurorai's.
I spoke in an even tone.
"What business do you have here?"
The figure froze for a moment, then slowly turned around. Its eyes locked onto me immediately.
"..."
It visibly paused, then raised a hand as if ready to attack.
But in the very next instant, that aggressive stance loosened. Its eyes widened slightly.
"I never thought I would find a curse spirit here."
"That should be my line," I replied.
It slowly lowered its hand.
"I am searching for something inside this mansion, and it seems you are the owner of this place."
I answered bluntly.
"Yes."
"Then may I inspect the inside?"
I did not really have a problem with it. In any case, if Sebastian noticed and came out to interrupt, that was not something I needed to worry about on behalf of this curse spirit's life.
Besides, I was interested in what it was looking for.
"What exactly are you searching for?"
It narrowed its eyes slightly.
"Why would you want to know?"
I laughed softly in my throat.
"Hehe. You come all the way into someone else's house, and still have the nerve to answer like that?"
It looked away for a moment, as though weighing whether or not to respond.
In the end, it gave in.
"What I am searching for is one of the King of Curses' fingers."
"Oh?"
I had not expected this mansion to hold something like that.
But when I thought about it, it was not so different from Kurorai.
Until recently, I had not even known that such a thing had been sealed beneath the mansion either.
"By all means," I said.
"Much appreciated."
It smiled.
"But let me warn you first," I added. "No using cursed energy."
"That won't be a problem."
It led the way into the mansion and headed straight down toward the basement—the same direction where Kurorai had been sealed.
It seemed it had mistaken Kurorai's curse pressure for the thing it was looking for.
"What do you intend to use that finger for?"
"To revive Sukuna."
It answered without turning back.
"The strongest in history, you mean?"
This time it slowed its pace slightly.
"You know him rather well."
"I happened to read about him in passing."
It chuckled in its throat.
"In that case, would you be interested in helping me search for Sukuna's fingers?"
I raised an eyebrow a little.
"Before you ask something like that, let me ask first. Why do you need to revive someone who is already dead?"
It stopped walking and turned to look directly at me. Its expression had clearly grown more serious.
"Because when Sukuna returns, humans will no longer be able to resist curses."
It answered slowly, with a firmness that had not been there before.
"With Sukuna's power, the world will tilt toward our side, and curse spirits will rise to replace humans as the ones who rule."
I stared at it in silence.
"Is that really possible?"
"What do you mean?"
"For curse spirits to rule the world, when negative human emotions are the very source of curses."
"..."
It fell silent for a moment.
"I never said I would exterminate humanity to the point of extinction."
The answer was so direct that I involuntarily went quiet.
It continued as if it did not care.
"Humans do not need to disappear completely. It is enough if they fall into a lower status than before."
It narrowed its eyes slightly and continued in a colder voice.
"The balance of this world has already been broken for a long time—ever since the day a man named Gojo Satoru was born."
I turned to look at it.
"To that extent?"
"One human being, so absurdly powerful that the entire world was forced to admit that humanity still stood above curses."
It laughed quietly.
"His mere existence distorts the entire balance."
A cool draft blew through the underground corridor between us.
It looked directly at me again.
"And don't you ever think about it? About wanting to be the side that rules this world?"
I answered calmly.
"I have never thought about something like that. There are still humans living alongside me in the mansion."
It lifted an eyebrow slightly.
"You mean servants?"
"Yes."
It laughed as though it had just heard a joke.
"How absurd."
It spread its hands a little, as if presenting an obvious truth.
"My goal is not so different from your current situation, you know. You, who live in a mansion with humans serving you."
I fell silent for a moment.
"I suppose I cannot really deny that."
I looked down the corridor ahead before continuing.
"But in this world, even humans work for one another."
"And what is strange about that?" it shot back immediately. "If humans work for me instead?"
I was stunned by its reasoning for a moment.
Because, at least in terms of logic, it was not entirely wrong.
Even so, I still could not accept it.