The relaxed look on Toji’s face disappeared, replaced by unprecedented seriousness.
He crouched down, put both hands on Yukio’s small shoulders, and spoke in a low, stern voice, “Listen, Yukio.”
“Until you truly become strong, you can’t tell anyone about this.”
“Not a single word.”
“No one.”
Yukio wasn’t an ordinary child.
He immediately read the danger in Toji’s eyes.
He nodded hard, his little face tense.
“I understand.”
Seeing the curse Yukio summoned sink into the black shadow beneath the curse’s feet and disappear without a trace, Toji’s brows furrowed even tighter.
He stood up and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Your ability…
at first glance, it looks like Cursed Spirit Manipulation.”
“But the strange thing is.”
He looked at Yukio.
“There isn’t a trace of cursed energy fluctuation in your body.”
“What drives this ability seems to be another kind of power system…
something more hidden, harder to detect.”
His tone became heavier.
“Before you can stand on your own, you have to stay careful at all times.”
“Human hearts are hard to predict.
Once this kind of unreasonable, unexplainable ability gets exposed…”
He made a slicing gesture.
“Some lunatics will capture you and ‘study’ you.”
Yukio imagined himself tied to an experiment table, and the hair all over his body stood up.
“That’s way too terrifying…”
Seeing that he got scared, Toji softened his tone and patted his head.
“But you don’t need to be too afraid.”
“Before you grow stronger…”
He grinned, showing a smile that was both wild and reassuring.
“As long as I’m here, I won’t let that happen.”
Yukio immediately regained his energy.
He rushed over and hugged Toji’s leg, his eyes sparkling.
“As expected of my dearest, most reliable, number one best oni-chan in the universe!”
Toji got a little carried away from all the flattery.
He clicked his tongue like he disliked it, but the smile at the corner of his mouth exposed him.
He quickly returned to the main topic and asked the key question, “What exactly are the rules of your ability?”
“How many curses can you store?
What’s the upper limit?”
“Do the stored curses keep their self-awareness, or do they completely become your puppets?”
Yukio closed his eyes and carefully sensed the newborn power inside him that resonated with shadows.
A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, looking a bit uncertain.
“It seems like…
there’s no limit on quantity?”
“As for grade…
right now it feels like as long as I can ‘defeat’ and ‘extract’ the shadow, I should be able to store them.”
“As for awareness…”
He scratched his head.
“They seem to keep their instincts and part of their awareness from before, but I can suppress and control them anytime.
It’s like…
there’s an extra layer of absolute control?”
Even someone as experienced and mentally strong as Toji couldn’t help sucking in a cold breath after hearing that answer!
“This is way too…
ridiculous.”
He muttered, “If we take you to hunt enough curses…”
“Wouldn’t that mean we could build you a ‘curse army’?”
Yukio’s eyes instantly lit up, and he jumped excitedly.
“Right, right!”
“In theory, that should be correct!”
But Toji quickly calmed down and shook his head.
“No.”
“Every ability should have some kind of limit or cost.
You just haven’t discovered or triggered it yet.”
“Observe for a few more days first.”
He pressed down on Yukio’s shoulders and spoke seriously, “And the premise for all of this is.”
“You need enough strength to completely control them.”
“Otherwise, if one day all the curses you stored suddenly riot together, or you run into an enemy who can interfere with your control…”
He made a throat-slitting gesture.
“You’re done for.”
“You’re right.”
“The stronger the power, the more control you need to match it.”
Toji nodded in satisfaction.
“Let’s go back and rest first.”
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll officially teach you martial arts.”
“Your self-taught fighting style is painful to watch.”
On the way back, the night grew darker.
Toji suddenly asked out of nowhere, “Yukio, do you want to…
go to school?”
Yukio suddenly stopped walking and stared at Toji like he was an alien.
“Hah?!”
He shook his head like a rattle drum.
“No!
Absolutely not!”
“I’m not going to rely on some diploma to survive in the future, so why would I go to school?
To listen to those old fossils lecture all day?”
Toji scratched his head, somewhat confused.
“But…
kids your age all go to school.”
“I thought maybe you’d envy them and want friends to play with.”
“Now we’ve got some money and a way to earn more.
Tuition isn’t a problem.”
Yukio put both hands on his hips with a “you just don’t get me” expression.
“I’m not jealous at all!”
“A place like school has too many rules, no freedom, and homework too!”
“Unless…”
His eyes rolled around.
“Unless there’s some school that specifically teaches sorcerers and improves combat strength.
Then I might consider it.”
Toji raised a brow and replied casually, “There might actually be one.”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
[Half A Month Later]
From that remote and deserted little courtyard of the Zenin family, the sounds of banging and smacking, along with a child’s miserable screams, could be heard every day.
“Ow!
Lighter!
Bro!
Real brother!”
“My arm’s gonna break!
My leg!
My leg cramped!”
“I’m done!
I surrender!
Timeout!”
Zenin Toji’s daily routine of one-sidedly “guiding” (beating) Zenin Yukio in martial arts let Toji experience the “joy of education” again after a long time.
Honestly speaking, occasionally bullying his tough and durable little brother was pretty stress-relieving.
This day, training (beating) finally came to a stop.
Yukio lay spread out on the ground in the shape of a “大,” panting heavily, his whole body sore.
He didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.
Toji pulled back the fist that had almost landed on Yukio’s face and stretched his wrist, feeling refreshed.
Yukio lay on the ground, staring at the gradually darkening sky, and suddenly said, “Bro…”
“What kind of sister-in-law are you planning to find for me in the future?”
Toji’s movements paused.
“…?”
Yukio didn’t notice his brother’s subtle expression and continued in curious-baby mode, “Come on, tell me.
What kind of woman do you like?”
“Gentle and caring?
Sexy and hot?
Or the domineering older-sister type?”
Toji’s eyelid twitched, his tone dangerous.
“You little brat…
what kind of nonsense are you thinking about all day?”
Yukio blinked his big eyes innocently.
“I’m just curious.”
“What kind of peerless beauty would it take to win over my wise, mighty, handsome, overwhelmingly strong oni-chan?”
Toji was a little speechless from all the rainbow farts.
But…
it really did get him thinking.
He stayed silent for a few seconds and actually thought seriously for once.
“Virtuous.”
“Someone who can honestly live a stable life.”
Yukio immediately followed up, “What about looks?
Figure?
Age?
Family background?”
“Do you have specific standards?
Like over 165 centimeters, long hair, knows how to cook…”
Just as Toji was about to answer…
Ring!
Ring!
Ring!
The phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
It interrupted his rare “relationship consultation session.”
Toji pulled out the old flip phone and glanced at the caller ID.
Shirou.
He pressed the answer button and casually turned on speaker mode.
Shirou’s voice came from the phone, speaking quickly like he was listing dishes off a menu.
“Mr.
Toji, there’s a job that matches your requirements.”
“The target is complete scum, part of a second-rate sorcerer family, with plenty of blood on his hands.”
“The client is offering 10 million.”
“Cash.
Paid immediately after the job is done.”
He paused, then added, “If you’re interested, I can arrange a meeting with the client so you can confirm the details.
I only know the general situation myself.”
Toji didn’t answer immediately.
He looked to the side.
Zenin Yukio, who had been lying on the ground pretending to be dead, had already sprung upright.
His little face was filled with excitement that practically screamed, ‘I want to go!
Hurry and agree!
Let’s make money!’
Toji withdrew his gaze and said calmly into the phone, “Alright.”
“Time and place.”
On the other end, Shirou clearly let out a sigh of relief, and his tone became more enthusiastic.
“How about tomorrow night at eight?”
“I’ll wait for you at the entrance of the Central Boat Racing Venue.”
“Okay.”
Toji hung up.
He looked at Yukio, who had already jumped up and was eager to try, and mercilessly poured cold water on him, “Don’t get excited too early.”
“Killing people and killing curses are two different things.”
“Curses are pure ‘evil,’ twisted creations.
Killing them doesn’t carry a psychological burden.”
“But killing people…”
He stared into Yukio’s eyes, his voice low.
“Even if the other side is human trash, they’re still ‘human.'”
“The feeling of taking another person’s life gets branded into your soul.”
“A lot of people can’t sleep after killing for the first time.
They get nightmares.
They throw up.”
“Some people even become addicted to that feeling of controlling life and death, completely falling into corruption and turning into murderers even more twisted than their targets.”
He reached out and poked Yukio’s forehead.
“Not to mention a little brat like you who’s only exorcised one curse.”
Yukio slapped his hand away.
There was no fear in his black eyes, only a calmness beyond his age.
“I know.”
“But in this world, there’ll definitely be times in the future where we have no choice but to act.”
“Rather than panicking then and ending up with mental scars…”
Yukio clenched his fist.
“It’s better to adapt ahead of time and get a ‘vaccine shot.'”
“And besides…”
He looked up at Toji and suddenly grinned, revealing his little tiger teeth.
“You’re still here, aren’t you, oni-chan?”
“You’ll watch over me, right?”
Toji froze for a moment.
Then he snorted and forcefully rubbed Yukio’s hair.
“Stupid brat.”
“Fine.”
“Get a good rest today.”
“Tomorrow night, we’ll go take a look.”
“And see what exactly this is about.”