Prologue (1)

A cursed blade.

That was what one called a sword that housed a will of its own.

Was the will within born from the grudges of the dead it had cut down?

Or was it the soul of a wielder who kept cutting people apart until he became a demon of slaughter?

Perhaps it was the lingering regret of the one who had forged the blade.

The will dwelling in that edge was evil, and it slowly eroded the consciousness of its wielder.

In exchange for gaining overwhelming power, the mind would gradually be corrupted, until one was no longer oneself.

That was why it was a demonic sword.

Or so they said……

“It’s so cool!”

I was well aware that getting this excited despite being a university student was childish.

But once I got worked up, I couldn’t stop myself.

It was evening after classes ended.

I rushed straight home and immediately bought the newest volume of my favorite manga online.

Things really had become convenient lately.

Anything you wanted could be bought online, and now manga and magazines even had digital editions, making buying and storing them easy.

On top of that, some publishers had recently started releasing the early volumes for free.

The work I had just discovered was one of those.

The first three volumes were free, and although the art was a bit rough, it looked cool enough that I tried reading it.

The result was……

“Alright, I’m buying them all.”

I was completely hooked.

The setting and worldbuilding perfectly scratched that nostalgic middle-school edge.

The protagonist’s design was amazing, and above all, his partner—the cursed blade—was way too cool.

A power that grew stronger by devouring one’s life and future.

Overwhelming strength always demanded a price, paired with a broken self-sacrificial mindset that would save others even at the cost of oneself.

It was exactly the kind of protagonist and power I was looking for.

I checked online to see how many volumes were left.

“All thirty-seven volumes… about twenty thousand yen total…”

The world had become more convenient in many ways, but rising prices were seriously troublesome.

For a broke student who couldn’t live without part-time work, twenty thousand yen was a heavy hit.

Still, moments like this were when this card came in handy!

“It’s fine. I’ve got a magic card.”

As long as I had a credit card, payment could be pushed back until the end of next month.

By then, my paycheck would be in, and if it still wasn’t enough, I could just pick up more day labor.

No problem at all!

Never hesitate over something you wanted right now.

That was my motto—Soji Miyamoto’s motto.

Click.

Things really had become convenient.

With just a single action, twenty thousand yen disappeared……

Since online shopping didn’t make money visibly leave your wallet, it was hard to really feel like you’d spent anything.

That was why you ended up overspending so easily.

I was sure everyone could relate.

“Alright, time to read till I’m done!”

Tomorrow was a day off.

I had plenty of time, and staying up late wouldn’t be an issue.

I started reading the manga I had just bought.

It was a long-running series with over thirty volumes.

Even though it was manga, just reading it took hours.

Fighting off a bit of drowsiness, I kept moving on to the next volume, and before I knew it, I had reached the latest release.

“W–wait, it ends here? You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

The newest volume ended at an incredibly suspenseful point.

Closing in on the mystery of the cursed blade, the final battle was finally about to begin.

I desperately wanted to read more, but the last page said the next volume wouldn’t be out for several months.

“Seriously…?”

It was a common problem, but when a manga you suddenly fell in love with was still ongoing, wanting to read the continuation drove you crazy.

Because I had read straight through to the latest volume, I was completely immersed in the story.

I collapsed onto my bed.

“Too bright…”

Morning sunlight streamed in through a gap in the curtains.

Lying there, I checked the clock.

“Six-thirty…”

Before I realized it, morning had arrived.

I had started reading a little after nine, so it had taken quite a while.

Normally, after pulling an all-nighter, sleepiness should have hit me hard, but……

“I’m not sleepy at all.”

Because I was still hyped from being immersed in the story, I felt no drowsiness even in the morning.

If I just spaced out, I’d probably get sleepy, but it felt like a waste of time somehow, so I got out of bed.

I turned my gaze back to the computer screen, wondering if there were any other interesting manga.

I started checking whether any had been adapted into anime.

“Ugh, these ads are annoying—huh?”

Among the aggressively intrusive online ads, my eyes were drawn to a certain rainforest-themed shopping site’s product page.

What was being advertised was a single replica sword.

It was probably because I had bought a manga centered on a cursed blade on the same site.

The ad was insisting I might want to buy a similar product.

Normally I would have ignored it, but my mind was completely filled with manga at the moment.

“This… looks cool.”

An overall black design.

It was probably just a replica sword, but somehow it felt ominous.

Simply put, it looked like a cursed blade.

“Damn you, A—zon! Showing me this at a time like this is just unfair…”

As if being sucked in, I jumped to the product page.

“Hah! When did I end up on the rainforest site’s page!? What kind of magic is this…”

Running on weird post–all-nighter energy, I struck embarrassing poses and muttered cringeworthy lines, all while staring at the replica sword again.

“It’s cool… yeah, not bad at all.”

The price was… a little over ten thousand yen.

Expensive.

Sneakily expensive.

I had just bought the manga too, meaning I had already spent over twenty thousand yen.

I’d said it before, but for a broke student, this hurt.

I really should hold back here.

I was an adult now, after all.

Being able to restrain myself was only natural—

“W–what!? Impossible! Purchase complete!?”

Before I knew it, the replica sword had been moved to the cart, and I had pressed the purchase button in one smooth motion.

Seriously, the world had become far too convenient.

“C–could this be the cursed blade’s power too…?”

Staring at my own hands, I muttered another painfully edgy line.

Beep beep beep!

My alarm clock rang.

The time was seven o’clock.

Normally, this was when I would be getting up and preparing to head to university.

It seemed I had forgotten it was a day off and left the alarm set.

As my body heard the sound that woke me from my dream……

“…What am I even doing… me?”

I was dragged back to reality, quite literally.

I realized just how strange my mood had become after staying up all night.

A wave of exhaustion crashed over me, and my sleepiness peaked.

“…I’ll sleep.”

I collapsed back onto the bed.

The cost of the manga, and the replica sword I’d bought on impulse……

I decided not to think about it.

Tomorrow’s me would sort it out.

As I thought that, my consciousness slowly sank away.