Cursed Gear

Cursed Gear (鬼呪装備,) are weapons used by the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. Anyone using Cursed Gear risks becoming a namanari or a demon. The Demon Army's standard routine is to kill those who lose control on sight.

It is developed during the Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen light novel series and plays an important role in Vampire Reign manga series.

Creation
Cursed gear is created by directly calling on demons and sealing them directly into sacred items using a demon curse (鬼呪,) so that they could serve the wielder.

The items used to seal demons are almost exclusively weapons: swords, axes, and even bows.

The weapons need to be consecrated and purified - a process that takes years before a demon can be trapped inside.

These weapons are so powerful that they revolutionized the world and forced traditional magics to fall into disuse. It can increase a normal person's standard ability by seven fold. The top rank of cursed gear is the Black Demon Series, and anyone bearing one of them is capable of killing multiple vampires armed with second-class weapons. With lesser cursed gear series, the bearer can have an even one-on-one match against a vampire armed with a second-class weapon.

Enchanted Gear
Mass-produced cursed gear, which Yūichirō Hyakuya uses in Vampire Reign chapter 2, is a much weaker form of cursed gear, usually a yaksha- or myo-o- class weapon. These can increase a regular human's strength by three to four times. Seven humans with these weapons should be able to kill one unarmed vampire, but an entire unit of them would have a difficult time against even one vampire with a second-class weapon.

Manifestation
This type of cursed gear has the convenient ability to remain in a smaller, more portable size or manifest into the full-sized weapon at will. These weapons may have the power to cast blessings or curses.

Possession
This type of cursed gear cannot change into a portable size or manifest as the demon's malice is too strong and is ferocious and refuses to submit so easily.

They are more well-balanced for offense and defense than manifestation-types because activating the demons particular capabilities does not leave the host vulnerable. The demons increase the physical strength and power of their user. They are typically limited to close-range combat for melee fighting.

Black Demons
The strongest cursed gear because they contain first-rank demons. There are very few people capable of wielding a Black Demon weapon, and anyone capable of doing so has been experimented on previously. Anyone bearing this rank of weapon can easily kill multiple vampires armed with second-class weapons.

The death rate of those who challenge Black Demons is exceedingly high compared to other Demon Weapons. Only those with strong willpower and resolution are able to challenge them.

The users must undergo operations to significantly alter their minds and bodies. The must also understand the demon's curse, have a strong ability to control magic, and have the right disposition for controlling a demon. Even so, the success rate is less than 20% in the Catastrophe light novels. Guren catches Kureto Hīragi's attention when he has three teenagers successfully wield black demons in the manga.

Bodhisattva
No information. Known demons: Kakuze

Rakshasa
No information. Known demons: Genbushin, Kagutsuchi, Kuronagi

Dakini
No information. Known demons: Tenjiryū, Kukuri

Fiends
No information.

Wisdom Kings
Cursed gear from the Wisdom Kings Series and above are used by the Vampire Extermination Unit.

Yaksha
Weapons from the yaksha series and below are considered Enchanted Gear.

Myo-o
A myo-o demon inhabiting an axe posses a trespassing student named Yūji in the Vampire Reign manga.

Story: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen
Cursed gear is something many magical organizations have tried to develop for its great power. Mahiru Hīragi teamed up with the Thousand Nights to develop it and succeeded in making the gear usable. She originally steps on that path in order to save her sister and herself from becoming demons.

Once the Imperial Demons get their hands on cursed gear, they begin to develop hundreds upon hundreds of them for their followers. However, they put restrictions on cursed gear to prevent the users from becoming demons right away.

By the end of Book 6, the Imperial Demons are confident enough to use their cursed gear and destroy the Thousand Nights, but the vampires beat them to it. With this technology, they believe themselves to be the strongest humans.

Trivia

 * Aside from their possession or manifestation abilities, cursed gear can also be summoned from across the room directly to its contractor's hands.