Chapter 3: The Endless Curse
"Huh?"
Asuna Yuuki stared at Yumesaki with a completely blank expression. Cursed? What kind of curse? Cursed by whom?
It took her a few moments to snap out of it, and she pointed a finger at herself, her mind going entirely vacant.
"I'm... cursed?"
"Exactly." Yumesaki nodded calmly. "You can't see it, but I can see it as clear as day. Wreathed around your body is a very peculiar type of cursed energy."
Medea offered a faint smile, chiming in. "Indeed, it is undoubtedly a curse. Black and red, absolutely reeking of death. This is quite an intriguing curse."
Medea was someone with a vast amount of experience, yet this was the first time she had ever encountered a curse so fascinating.
Noticing the faint glint in Medea's eyes, Asuna Yuuki suddenly felt a cold shiver run down the back of her neck. A wave of dread washed over her entire body, making her hair stand on end.
She... was cursed. When did that happen? Why didn't she know anything about it?
At this point, Asuna Yuuki's mind was in utter chaos.
Her breathing subconsciously quickened, and her previously flushed complexion turned pale, drained of every drop of blood.
Smack!
Right at that moment, Yumesaki raised his hand and gave her head a gentle tap. "Alright, don't overthink it. Instead of panicking, you should think about whether you've offended anyone recently."
Asuna Yuuki fell deep into thought. After a long silence, she slowly shook her head.
"I don't know."
She had a gentle personality and always treated others with kindness. She had never offended anyone. She truly could not comprehend who would want to curse her.
"It doesn't always have to be because you offended someone."
Medea let out a soft chuckle, as if she had just recalled something. Her eyes narrowed slightly, casting a faint shadow over her face, her tone shifting to one of subtle amusement and even mockery.
"Human nature is a filthy thing, after all."
"When someone wants to curse you, it's not necessarily because you've wronged them. Maybe you're just standing in their way. Or perhaps the person they like doesn't like them back, but likes you instead."
"It can even be as simple as you being too radiant, too beautiful, or too perfect, which naturally triggers their jealousy. And so, the moment they possess the ability, they will curse you without a single shred of hesitation."
"Huh?"
Yamato couldn't bear to listen to it any longer and blurted out, "People like that are just too shameless! If you don't like someone, you should fight them out in the open! Why resort to putting a curse on them behind their back?"
In her eyes, such a person was underhanded and utterly despicable.
Nero let out an appreciative umu sound and said, "Despicable indeed, but that is how human nature has been since ancient times. Even I, the Emperor, cannot completely see through the depths of the human heart."
Asuna Yuuki knew that the human heart could be dark, but she never imagined it could be quite this pitch-black.
Just because she was beautiful, she was cursed?
"That's just too ridiculous!" Her face flushed with indignation, her entire body trembling as she got so emotional she nearly stood up.
"This world is inherently devoid of reason to begin with. Some people are born orphans, while others are born as the daughter of the Yuuki family. Do you honestly think that's fair?"
Asuna Yuuki fell completely silent.
Right then, Yumesaki shifted the conversation, steering it in a new direction. "Of course, everything we just said is merely our speculation."
"As for the actual reason behind your curse, only the person who cursed you holds the answer."
"Therefore, the most important thing for you right now is to find the culprit as quickly as possible."
"Otherwise, you will still end up dead."
Asuna Yuuki's eyes widened instantly, and her chestnut-colored pupils, matching her hair, shook violently.
"I'm... I'm going to die?"
"Yes."
"How can that be... but... didn't I already... die once?"
At the mere mention of death, Asuna Yuuki's hands subconsciously clutched her own chest, her body trembling uncontrollably.
This time, it wasn't out of anger, but sheer terror.
Death was an incredibly terrifying thing.
Precisely because she had already died once, Asuna Yuuki feared a second death far more than anyone else.
Not everyone could face death with absolute composure just because they had experienced it once before.
"True, you did die once, but Yumesaki brought you back to life."
Medea stepped closer to Asuna Yuuki, reaching out with one hand to gently grasp a strand of her soft hair, speaking in a nonchalant tone.
"The moment you died, that cursed energy actually vanished completely."
"However, the moment Yumesaki resurrected you, the cursed energy that had temporarily dissipated materialized once again."
"And that is exactly why I find this curse so incredibly fascinating."
"You die, the curse disappears."
"You live, the curse returns."
"It will persistently cling to you, and then drag you right back into the jaws of death all over again."
Asuna Yuuki's face turned completely white, her hands and feet turning icy cold. Her entire body felt as though it had been plunged into a frozen abyss, unable to feel even a single shred of warmth.
Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she hurriedly spoke up. "Is it that Youkai? Could it be that the Youkai who killed me left this curse behind, and that's why I'm..."
"Your premise is wrong." Before she could even finish her sentence, Medea cut her off.
"Huh?" Asuna Yuuki didn't understand, sitting froze in her spot.
Medea continued, "You think you crossed paths with a Youkai and got cursed, but the reality is that you were cursed, which is why you crossed paths with that Youkai."
"This curse is a hex explicitly tied to death."
"This kind of curse will manipulate the things around you, constantly forcing you into fatal crises over and over again."
"For instance, maybe while you're walking down the stairs, your calf will suddenly cramp up, causing you to tumble down to your death."
"Perhaps as you walk past a tall building, you'll be crushed by a falling object and die instantly."
"Even if you're just strolling down the street, a runaway car might lose control and plow right into you."
"And even if you just sit right here and do absolutely nothing, a Youkai will burst through the door and slaughter you on the spot."
"That is the death curse bound to your body."
"It will utilize any and all means necessary just to see you dead."
At this exact moment, Asuna Yuuki finally understood what Medea meant by the word fascinating.
As it turned out, this was a curse that would never truly end until she was dead.
But as the actual victim of the curse, she didn't find it fascinating in the slightest.
In fact, she felt this curse was entirely too malicious.
Just who on earth could it be, and why go to such lengths to curse her like this?
Asuna Yuuki trembled with burning rage. At the same time, a sudden realization sparked in her mind.
"Hearing your explanation, this type of curse must be incredibly powerful, right?"
"Indeed it is. An ordinary person wouldn't possibly be capable of unleashing a curse of this caliber."
"Then I find it strange. I don't recall ever knowing such a powerful figure, nor have I ever offended anyone like that. Why would someone so formidable go out of their way to curse me?"
"Regarding that matter..."
Yumesaki was just about to shake his head when he suddenly heard Asuna Yuuki speak up.
"Unless... this person isn't actually targeting me directly."
Yumesaki muttered softly under his breath, his gaze shifting intently toward Asuna Yuuki. He felt as though she had figured something out, as her entire demeanor had suddenly shifted.
"It seems you've realized something?"
Asuna Yuuki didn't deny it, nodding her head firmly. "I did think of one possibility."
"Let's hear it." Yumesaki grew quite interested.
Asuna Yuuki explained, "SAO, which is the Sword Art Online game you mentioned earlier. That game currently isn't fully completed yet, but our Yuuki family apparently holds a significant amount of early shares in the studio developing it."
Yumesaki arched an eyebrow. "Meaning, your family invested in Akihiko Kayaba?"
Asuna Yuuki said, "My mother, Kyouko Yuuki, is a professor at the University of Tokyo."
"As for Akihiko Kayaba, he happened to be a brilliant graduate from the University of Tokyo."
"Back when he was still a student, my mother used to praise him endlessly."
"After he graduated, he established a studio. Our Yuuki family apparently made an investment into the studio he founded."
Well, that was rather interesting.
Hearing this, Yumesaki found that the situation had taken quite a fascinating turn.
In the original story, Akihiko Kayaba didn't really have any significant connection to Asuna Yuuki's family in the real world.
But in this crossover world, it seemed a slight divergence had occurred.
Was Asuna Yuuki's mother, Kyouko Yuuki, a university professor?
Yes, that much was true.
In the original lore, it was also written that Kyouko Yuuki held a position as a university professor.
However, in this anime crossover universe, Kyouko Yuuki had become a professor at the University of Tokyo, and even Akihiko Kayaba had become a graduate of the very same university.
The two of them apparently shared a connection rooted in their academic background.
And what made it even more intriguing was...
Even though Akihiko Kayaba was an absolute genius, no matter how gifted a person might be, it was fundamentally impossible to complete a massive, groundbreaking project like SAO completely on his own. He required assistants, funding, and solid connections.
Thus, Kyouko Yuuki, who highly admired him back at the university, encouraged her husband to invest in this young genius.
Subsequently, they secured a portion of the early shares in his studio.
And those shares, as the development of Sword Art Online neared its completion, had skyrocketed in value.
Asuna Yuuki continued, "Not too long ago, during a family gathering, I overheard my father mentioning that some company wanted to buy up the early shares of the studio in our possession, but my father turned them down."
"And that happened exactly one week ago."
"What's more, the reputation of this particular company doesn't seem to be very good."
Yumesaki's eyes flashed with insight, instantly catching her drift. "So you suspect this company wanted to acquire the early shares of Kayaba's studio held by your father. After being rejected, they sought out someone capable of placing a curse on you."
"It's highly probable." Asuna Yuuki reasoned, "The primary heir to the Yuuki family is my older brother, Kouichirou Yuuki. If they were to curse my brother, it would only drive my father into an absolute, unbridled rage."
"But if they only curse me, it will cause my father immense grief and anger, but it won't drive him completely insane, and he won't necessarily launch an all-out retaliation using every single resource at his disposal."
Though it sounded harsh, that was the grim reality of the situation.
Asuna Yuuki knew all too well that while her father cared for her, she still placed far below her older brother.
Because her brother was the designated successor of the Yuuki family.
She spoke with a calm, somber tone. "They can not only use my death as a severe warning to my father, but they can also strike absolute terror into his heart, eventually forcing him to surrender the studio shares just to satisfy their demands."
Yumesaki rested his chin in his hand, pondering aloud. "That does sound quite plausible. In that case, what is the name of this company?"
Asuna Yuuki recalled, "I believe it was called..."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
50 Power Stone = 1 Bonus Chapter (Up to 5 bonus chapters per week).
Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters from Webnovel here:
patreon.com/FaaanzKun