Book of Cursery Rhymes

### Abilities

Contains powerful demonic spells, curses, and rituals in the form of nursery rhymes.

## Possessors

### Formerly

Crooked Man
Lavinia Reni

**Book of Cursery Rhymes**, also known as the **Demonic Tome of Cursed Nursery Rhymes**, is a grimoire with the power to create cursed items. It is currently sealed within the Grigori's Containment Department.

## Overview

A **nursery rhyme** is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term "Mother Goose rhymes" is interchangeable with nursery rhymes.

From the mid-16th century nursery rhymes begin to be recorded in English plays, and most popular rhymes date from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The first English collections, *Tommy Thumb's Song Book* and a sequel, *Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book*, were published by Mary Cooper in 1744. Publisher John Newbery's stepson, Thomas Carnan, was the first to use the term Mother Goose for nursery rhymes when he published a compilation of English rhymes, *Mother Goose's Melody, or, Sonnets for the Cradle*.

## Summary

Book of Cursery Rhymes is an ancient grimoire created by Mother Goose, an infamous demon whose name became associated with nursery rhymes. While it's commonly believed that the tragedies caused by Mother Goose using the grimoire were the inspirations behind popular nursery rhymes, however, upon deep research into the infamous grimoire, a new question was raised: Were the tragedies the inspirations for the nursery rhymes? Or vice versa?

Nevertheless, the grimoire was a greatly sought-after artifact within the occult community, much like other demonic items, due to the information written inside. Legends said it was stored beneath the Vatican, placed under hundreds of angelic runes. Rumors said it was buried inside the abandoned castle of an "evil fairy". Some stories, though, just said it was destroyed when Mother Goose was killed.

However, because of its creator's mysterious nature, much of its existence is covered in anonymity and most denizens of the supernatural world tend to treat it with the same regard as mundanes to the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant: "Most likely fake, or if it was real, then overly exaggerated."

Later on, in early 20XX, it's revealed to the supernatural world that the grimoire was very much true, much like other horrors originated from the Three Factions, and was in the possession of the Crooked Man, a former victim of Mother Goose whose tale transformed into the nursery rhyme "There Was a Crooked Man". It's unclear how he managed to get his hands on the grimoire, though it's implied it was a "gift" from another demon, but he claimed to have owned it for nearly three centuries.

With his powers, he created for himself an army of thousands of cursed victims, each victim borderlining God-class in terms of sheer destructiveness, in an attempt to kickstart another Holy War between the pagan pantheons, plunging the Earth into chaos in the conflict between multiple mythological factions. His attempts, however, were foiled by Tobio and Team Slash/Dog, and the Crooked Man was exercised. The grimoire was given to the Grigori and later sealed within its Containment Department under barriers of angelic runes.

## Appearance

Despite its horrifying powers, the Book of Cursery Rhymes looked no different from any other books on Earth. It is a large book wrapped in leather, with the word "CURSERY" in gold metals in the front cover and a heart-shaped clasps. Its pages are faded yet still beautifully illustrated, while the words can automatically translate itself into any language most familiar to whoever reading it.

Embedded upon the front cover, right above the word "CURSERY" is a portrait of a white goose wearing a red wide-brimmed bonnet. Many believed it to be the symbol of Mother Goose.

## Abilities

The Book of Cursery Rhymes contains hundreds and thousands of demonic spells, ancient curses, and forbidden rituals, many of which are at a nation-destroying level of destructiveness. The spells and curses are written in the form of short poems and/or rhyming songs, and others can also be tricked into singing them by others.

The spells themselves are words of power, written in the blood of a "recently-bloomed" girl (i.e. just got her first menstruation) with the sharpened rib of a pagan priest, meaning they can be instantly activated without any chant or preparation, as well as virtually having no limits to how often they can be activated continuously. According to Lavinia, it's an example of how "broken" items created by the top-tiers figures of the Three Factions can be.

Its most powerful power, however, is its power to create powerful cursed items called **Cursery Rhymes** (悲劇の装置カーサーリー・ライムズ, *Kāsārī Raimuzu*). These items were once given as "gifts" by Mother Goose to unsuspecting individuals who believed these magical gifts would help them make their wishes come true. However, once given, the items would begin corrupting the person, and their desire, who owns them and uses them until their worst sins and characteristics took over their entire body and mind.

Soon, a metamorphosis would begin, in which the victim would transform into a monstrous daimon that inspired the nursery rhymes in the grimoire. These daemon are immensely powerful, many of which are Ultimate-class while some of them even reach God-class in power, though it came at the cost of their soul becoming tainted by demonic power, never to be saved and forever tormented by their sins.

In addition, when Lavinia was viewing the spells on how to return cursed victims back to their original state, a large amount of its additional content was also revealed. Some of the revealed contents included:

* Experiment notes on best ways to slow-roast "arse of a 7-years-old lassie".
* Beauty and skincare products made of blood.
* Methods of poisoning water and breeding a docile population.
* A recipe to overthrow a regime, which spells for various methods of sabotage and assassination.
* 'A spell to reveal hidden inscription [...] Perhaps even the location of individuals in hiding'.
* Spells for 'unleashing the hidden energies of matter'.
* Various marginalia on 'The manipulation and corruption of the faithful'.
* 'A divine punishment for heathen and atheists who ignore the glory of God'.

## Weaknesses

At first, the only weakness of the "Cursery Rhymes" seemed to be moonlight, as pointed out in the secret poem written on a blank page of the grimoire in dried blood. However, after leaving Mephisto Manor when they got the information they wanted about Mother Goose, Tobio found out Mephisto had revealed a second weakness of the "Cursery Rhymes": Other "Cursery Rhymes".

## Trivia

* The grimoire's cover is believed to be bound in human skin, specifically, the skin of Mother Goose's first victim who was supposedly inspired the nursery rhyme "Ding Dong Bell".
* A "Cursery Rhyme" is, by definition, - At least according to Mephisto - a twisted, macabre version of a regular nursery rhyme.
* Although they're called "Nursery Rhymes" by others, Mother Goose and Mephisto Pheles simply called them Cursery items.