Chương 18: Cursed

Ch 18 - Cursed Goosebumps rose all over Evan's body as he locked eyes with Isaac. How had the man managed to stand back up after being slammed into the ground like that? He should've had at least a few broken ribs. Evan cursed himself for not killing the man when he had the chance. He had wanted to interrogate Isaac afterward to learn more about the church and the Demonic Artifact, but that decision was now coming back to bite him.

"You'll pay for killing Draemir!" Isaac roared. Instead of hurling dark flames, he lunged forward and wrapped both hands around Evan's throat.

"Urgh!" Evan clawed at Isaac's wrists, desperately trying to pry the iron grip from his neck, but it did not budge. Isaac's fingers only dug in deeper. Already battered from the fight with the wyvern and drained of every last ounce of strength, Evan could barely muster enough force to struggle. Air refused to reach his lungs. Every desperate attempt to breathe ended in a tighter choke. His heartbeat pounded wildly in his ears, drowning out every other sound. He drove a weak fist into Isaac's side. Once. Twice.

The blows barely made the man flinch. His arms grew heavier with each passing second. The frantic struggle slowed to feeble tugs at Isaac's wrists. A burning pressure built inside his chest, demanding air that simply would not come. His lips parted soundlessly, but no breath entered. Darkness crept inward from the edges of his vision. Isaac's furious face gradually blurred until it became little more than a shadow. Evan's hands slipped from the man's wrists and fell limply to his sides.

Just as everything began fading to black, the crushing pressure around his throat vanished. WHACK! Evan blinked as his blurred vision slowly cleared. Standing before him was a man dressed in a black compression shirt beneath a reinforced tactical jacket and dark tactical trousers. His white hair framed a face with refined, almost delicate features that contrasted with the cold intensity of his dark red eyes, now fixed on Isaac in undisguised disgust. He appeared to be the one who had just kicked Isaac away.

Even through the haze of oxygen deprivation, Evan recognized that unmistakable face. Shinomiya Ryusei. An S-rank Awakener working for the Nova Terra government. Why is a big shot like him here? Evan thought. Isaac clutched his side but still struggled to get back to his feet.

"Shinomiya Ryusei! You bastard! You dare stand before me, you government lap dog?"

"For a piece of filth, you sure talk a lot," Ryusei said.

"I'll give you one chance to surrender so you don't get hurt any further. If you cooperate willingly, the government is more than happy to give you nothing worse than a life sentence."

"Ha! And become nothing more than a puppet like you?" Isaac sneered.

"I refuse! Nobody understood my brilliance! Nobody understands the corruption in this world! Nobody! This world must be burned! Only from its ashes shall a new and pure humanity be born!"

"You truly have lost your mind," Ryusei said.

"Die!" Isaac thrust out his hand and unleashed a torrent of dark flames. Ryusei didn't even bother to dodge. He merely raised his right hand and opened his palm. The flames that should have engulfed him suddenly bent toward his hand before being swallowed into his palm as though they had never existed.

"Is that all?" Ryusei asked.

"Die! Die! Die!" Isaac fired one dark fireball after another as Ryusei strolled toward him with an almost lazy gait. He casually batted each fireball aside with the back of his hand before stopping directly in front of Isaac and looking down at him. Isaac stared back, his face twisting between rage and horror.

"Done?" Ryusei asked.

"Aaaaargh!" Isaac pulled a knife from his pocket and lunged for Ryusei's chest. A shadow beneath Ryusei suddenly writhed. A black spike shot upward, severing Isaac's hand and sending it tumbling across the stone floor.

"UAAAAAAARGH!" Clutching the bloody stump, Isaac let out a scream. Ryusei answered with a single kick to the stomach. THUD! Isaac was launched backward, crashing across the rooftop until he nearly tumbled over the tower's edge. Ryusei approached at the same unhurried pace, grabbed Isaac by the front of his hoodie, and effortlessly lifted him over the void.

"Last chance," Ryusei said. Isaac's face twisted with hatred. He spat at Ryusei, but the saliva missed completely and drifted into the abyss below. Ryusei merely narrowed his eyes.

"Let me show you how to use that fire." Dark flames erupted from the hand gripping Isaac's hoodie. In an instant, Isaac's entire body was consumed.

"AAAAAAAH!" He writhed and screamed as the black fire devoured him, yet Ryusei never loosened his grip. He simply watched in silence as the flames continued to burn. They burned... And burned... Until nothing remained except drifting ash carried away by the wind. Evan looked on numbly. His oxygen-starved mind could only process what was happening one piece at a time. Ryusei dusted off his hands before turning toward him. Crimson eyes met Evan's vacant stare.

"You're still awake," Ryusei said. He walked over and crouched in front of Evan, who could do little more than lie motionless on the ground.

"I'm surprised. Your body's a complete wreck, yet you're still conscious. You must be tougher than you look."

"You..." Evan rasped.

"Keep your questions to yourself, kid," Ryusei said.

"It's not like I'll answer them." He raised his index finger. Dark energy gathered at its tip before he began tracing an intricate glyph through the air. Evan's sluggish eyes followed each stroke. Then his heart skipped a beat. By the time he recognized the spell, it was already complete. His eyes widened. Ryusei gently tapped the finger against his forehead. The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"It's best if you forget about this." [You have been cursed!] [Hidden status effect acquired: Curse of Forgetfulness.] And Evan finally lost consciousness.

When Evan came to, he found himself lying in a hospital bed. White bandages wrapped around his chest, shoulders, and arms, while smaller strips covered cuts scattered across his face. An IV line ran into the back of his hand, slowly dripping clear fluid into his body. His muscles ached with every breath, and even the slightest movement sent dull pain through his battered frame. The room was quiet, save for the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor beside the bed.

Staring up at the white ceiling, he tried to recall what he had been doing to somehow end up here. He remembered leaving his apartment and heading to the park that night. But why would he do that? If he had just wanted some fresh air, he could have gone to a closer park or even a mall. So why— Bang! The door to his hospital room slammed open, and Marcus and Yuyan barged in.

"You idiot!" Yuyan shouted.

"I thought you were smarter than that!"

"Evan! Thank you, but you really shouldn't have done that!" Marcus said, his eyes welling with tears. The two stood on either side of his bed as Evan could only stare at them in confusion.

"What?" Yuyan's expression twisted, but she took a deep breath.

"Right... the doctor did say you might have trouble remembering."

"Don't you remember going back to investigate the park where my cousin was kidnapped?" Marcus asked.

"I did?" Evan said.

"Yeah. You somehow ran into the kidnapper when he returned to the area," Marcus continued.

"The police said you followed him to where he was keeping the kidnapped kids and ended up getting kidnapped yourself," Yuyan said.

"You were gone for two days! Two! Ms. Lee even contacted us in a panic asking where you were!"

"She was really worried... and angry," Marcus added.

"But it's good that you're okay... sort of." Marcus looked Evan over. He was covered in bandages from head to toe and still looked half-asleep.

"You really don't remember what happened after you were kidnapped?" Yuyan asked.

"I..." Evan frowned as he tried to remember, but a sharp pain suddenly stabbed through his head.

"Ugh!"

"Okay, don't force yourself to remember!" Marcus said quickly, gently resting a hand on his shoulder.

"You said I got kidnapped too," Evan said.

"But how did the police find us?"

"No idea. They haven't told us everything yet, but apparently you managed to escape for a bit and call the police. The kidnapper noticed you were missing, though, and... well..." Yuyan gestured toward Evan's bandaged body.

"I... I really can't thank you enough, Evan," Marcus said, his eyes beginning to tear up again.

"They found my cousin too. He's still a bit woozy and went back to sleep, but he's here at the hospital as well."

"Really?" Evan asked. He let the two teenagers pepper him with stories and questions, barely managing to answer any of them as the headache continued to pound inside his skull. Half an hour passed before they finally took their leave after Evan shooed them away, insisting he wanted to get some more sleep. As the door closed behind them once more, Evan let out a deep breath and rubbed his aching temple. Me? Going out to investigate and rescue Marcus's cousin? Impossible.

Though Evan had been hanging out with Marcus often and had perhaps even started to think of him as a friend, he wouldn't go so far as to investigate Marcus's cousin's kidnapping or chase after the kidnapper himself. The most likely thing he would have done was call the police and then head straight home. Secondly, even if he had decided for some unknown reason to chase the kidnapper, he still had his Stealth skill.

There was no way he would have been taken down so easily by an ordinary kidnapper unless there was more to the situation. Evan grimaced as he tried to recall what had happened. It felt as though there was a massive hole in his memory. His gut told him something was wrong, that there had to be something he was missing. He continued to force himself to remember. His head throbbed violently, as though it were about to split in two.

The pain was so intense that he almost passed out, but— [The Cry Later skill has been activated.] Cry Later? What? How did he have a new skill? Unless... he'd completed another quest. The possibility sent a chill through Evan, his eyes widening as the realization took hold. Desperately, he dug through his memories, trying to remember what had happened. What happened? What made me decide to do that? There has to be more. More! The truth... I have to find it!

"Argh!" [The Curse of Forgetfulness has been activated.] A curse? [The Curse of ■■■■■■ stirs.] Evan's expression twisted as a far more familiar notification appeared. [The Curse of ■■■■■■ glares at the Curse of Forgetfulness.] [The Curse of ■■■■■■ bares its teeth at the Curse of Forgetfulness.] [The Curse of ■■■■■■ consumes the Curse of Forgetfulness.] [The Curse of ■■■■■■ spits out Demonic Energy Essence.] [You have gained 50 Demonic Energy Essence.] Evan blinked. [Hidden Achievement Unlocked!] Another System window suddenly appeared before him. [Hidden Achievement: Edge of Corruption] [You somehow survived and avoided demonization despite your body being flooded with demonic energy.] [Special Reward Issued.] [Reward: New Skill — That's Not How This Works.] [By consuming 100 Demonic Energy Essence, you can temporarily transform into that monstrous thing. Are you a demon? Are you human? Who knows? Just don't use this in front of a Demon Hunter, because you're definitely going to get exorcised.] A fresh wave of pain blossomed inside Evan's head as the memories that had been locked away came rushing back. He clutched his head, digging his fingers into his temples as he struggled to process them. By the time it was over, he was trembling slightly, sweat covering his forehead and neck. Evan pinched the bridge of his nose. So he really had been cursed by an S-rank Awakener. Shinomiya Ryusei. S-ranks rarely worked directly for the government.

Most were tied to guilds, technically cooperative but effectively independent. The two sides were always competing for resources and control over the Tower's floors. Ryusei's appearance at that mysterious Rift, along with the way he had hunted down Isaac as though he already knew exactly what the man was trying to do, could only mean one thing. The device Isaac had been carrying had to be part of a government project.

Evan couldn't say for certain what it was designed to do, but from what he had witnessed, it seemed capable of temporarily reopening a sealed Rift. If that was true, it was an incredibly valuable piece of technology. But that wasn't his only concern. Ryusei himself was another mystery. The memory curse he had used on Evan... and those black flames that had reduced Isaac to ash. Was Ryusei actually a practitioner of the Demonic Arts?

Every source Evan had found online only mentioned Ryusei's ability to manipulate shadows. None of them said anything about curses or black flames. Evan collapsed back onto the bed and let out a long sigh. What a mess. He had only been in this world for a month, yet he had already become entangled in government secrets and possibly a practitioner of the Demonic Arts working for the government itself. Couldn't I have enjoyed a peaceful life for a little longer before all this transmigrator nonsense started?

And that wasn't all. Evan glanced at his status window, where a new line had appeared. [Demonic Energy Essence: 50] The That's Not How This Works skill seemed incredibly useful. During his transformation, he had managed to take down a juvenile wyvern that was likely a high B-rank or even an A-rank monster. It was undoubtedly a powerful combat skill. The problem was that it practically screamed Demonic Arts. And that simply wasn't something he could use.

If Reid caught even the slightest hint of it, he would probably whip out his holy emblem, start chanting prayers over him, and then blast him into oblivion with Sacred Light. No. No, no, no. Absolutely not. Not in a million years. As the little brother of the Legendary Demon Hunter, he had to stay as far away from anything related to the Demonic Arts as possible. The only reason Evan had resorted to pumping himself full of demonic energy was because he had been backed into a corner.

Basically, this new skill was completely unusable. Evan wiped away an imaginary tear at the loss of such a useful skill, but honestly, anything was better than having to deal with a murderous Reuel. With his memories restored, the exhaustion he'd been holding at bay came rushing back. His eyelids grew heavier by the second. Just as he was about to drift off again, the door to his room unexpectedly opened, and Reid stepped inside. Evan sat upright in shock.

"Brother! How are you here?" Holy hell, that scared him. Why was Reid here? Had someone called him after Evan went missing? Did he really rush all the way from District 1 to District 20? This wasn't good. He'd have to reassure Reid that everything was fine before the man got overprotective and dragged him to District 1. Instead of answering with his usual warm smile, Reid stared at him coldly. His dark eyes slowly turned gold as Sacred Light flared around his body. The smile on Evan's face froze.

Reid raised his gun and pointed it at him.

"You..." Reid said.

"Demon."