Professional mangaka Rohan Kishibe has seen the blackest color in the world—and this elusive color is connected to an incident where a French translator, the curator of the Louvre's Far East art section, and two firemen disappeared without a trace.

Three hundred years ago, a Japanese artist named Nizaemon Yamamura discovered the darkest pigment known to mankind. But because he cut down an ancient tree to retrieve it, he was executed. Following his death, it is said that a curse existed on every painting he used the color on, imbuing them with hatred. When Nanase Fujikura recounts the legend to him, Rohan is immediately intrigued and learns that one of Nizaemon's artwork had been saved by a curator, who took it to the Louvre.

Ten years later, Rohan heads for Paris to search for it. As he prepares to unearth the ominous painting from the archives, Rohan quickly finds that the curse is far more powerful than he could ever imagine.