The Oni Slayers: Chapter 9

“About ten or so years ago,” Saiyou began. “I was living with my parents until one day, we were attacked. My father told me to leave with my mother and we left him alone at the house. I saw our house crumble and collapse. I was confused as well. Mother didn’t say anything but, left quickly. I was afraid. No one told me anything and here I was running away from something I don’t know. I wanted to ask ‘where were we going’. But all I saw was that my mother was now cut in half in front of me.” “Was it ...” asked Takuya. “Yes, it was oni. I could do nothing, but look at my mother’s corpse. I was afraid, but at the same time, I wanted to fight them even if they were ten times bigger than me. I wanted to kill these things. At this instant, my father appeared. He was critically injured but, he didn’t hesitate to protect me. I watched him rip the oni to shreds. I had no idea he had such powers. It was to the point where now I fear my father as well.

He was getting tired from all the fighting. I hid behind a tree as he instructed. One of the oni wasn’t dead yet and stabbed my father in the heart. I couldn’t cry out, but that was also when that’s when I saw it.” “Saw what?” “No one could have lived through that wound but, I could have sworn I saw him get back up from the ground. He stood up and then transformed into something else I’ve never seen before. Horns, tail, and claws. He gave the oni the last hit and then died just like that.” “Wait, so all this time your dad was something else other than human?” said Takuya now even more bewildered. “Hell I didn’t even know oni existed. I was approached by some people who introduced themselves as ODA. They explained to me all the details of the situation, what oni were, and what had actually happened. That’s when I learned that my old man was a real demon.” “If he’s a demon and your mom assuming she’s human, does that make you half demon then?” “They came to the conclusion that I was the offspring of an oni and my human mother.” “I don’t get it. Oni always preyed on humans. How did you end up with a demon for a dad?” “I can’t say that every demon hunted humans. Most certainly you have heard of demons striking deals with humans in old lore. Maybe he was one of them.”

“Is it safe to say that he always liked humans?” “The Organization believes that. At least I believed that. Or else why am I running free instead of being quarantined? The other oni despised him.” “If your dad helped us humans, does that mean there are oni out there that won’t attack us.” “As of now, the oni entering the human world have attacked humans. There is no record so far of any new oni cooperating with humans.” “I really wish they are out there. If you are out there, please help us.” “They probably don’t want to deal with our problems,” said Saiyou. Takuya could see his house come into view as Saiyou drove closer. “I guess I’ll see you until the next mission,” said Saiyou. They bid adieu and left. “I guess not all oni are bad,” said Takuya. --- A few days later, the television stations broadcasted some startling news. “Human bodies have been ripped to shreds. Authorities suggest a psychopathic murderer on the loose. The brutal assaults in the city have greatly increased. Only 3 incidents have been reported last year,” the reporter said. “Takuya, you’ve been coming home late so often. I’m getting awfully worried,” said Takuya’s mother. “Mom, I’m fine. I’ve got important things to do,” said Takuya. “You heard the news. There’s a psychotic killer on the loose. People are dying. From now on, you have to be home by 5:00 pm or else I’m coming around to get you.” “5:00 pm! C’mon, I’m really alright.”

Takuya went straight to Saiyou’s right after school but, Shimura answered the door instead. “Saiyou’s out on a mission tonight,” said Shimura. “Did you hear the news? Doesn’t it sound like ...” said Takuya uneasily. “Yeah, I heard. We’re going right now to check out the crime scenes. It looks like there’s a new one running loose,” said Shimura. “Um, can we wrap things up quickly? I gotta get back before my curfew.” “Then don’t go. I’ll fix it up.” “No! I want to go with you.” “Don’t be such a child, Takuya.” “Okay, okay I promise I won’t get in the way.” Shimura agreed and the two drove off in his new electric blue car. “Hey, didn’t you have a black car before? What’s with the blue one?” asked Takuya. “I went and got a new car,” said Shimura. “Just like that?” “Yup.” “You’re one hefty spender.” “I have a generous salary.”

Shimura drove to a sealed off area guarded by police. Shimura and Takuya walked towards the crime scene. “Excuse me, this is a crime scene. No bystanders are allowed,” said a guard blocking their entrance. Shimura quickly showed his badge and immediately the guard lifted up the tape for them to enter. Another police officer came to them. “Fill me in on the details,” asked Shimura. “So far we’ve discovered 5 corpses. Their bodies were mangled as if something tore them apart like a wild animal. The victims died approximately 2:00 pm last night. Their bodies were scattered around this courtyard,” answered the inspector. “2:00 pm? There’s still daylight out and no witnesses.” “The courtyard is part of the abandoned lot. Most of the buildings here have been sealed off and ceased of any activity.” “Have we identified the victims?” “Their bodies have been so torn up, it’s beyond physical recognition. We have sent their blood samples to run a DNA test to see if any of the results match our records.” As the officer led them to the courtyard, blood was splattered everywhere from the brick walls to the entrance way. A metal fence had been torn down.

“Hey Shimura,” whispered Takuya. “Is it an oni?” Shimura took a look around and pulled Takuya off to the side. “Definitely an oni,” said Shimura in a lowered voice. “There’s very heavy youki here. You see the broken down wall there?” Takuya looked at the deconstructed remains. “What about it? It looks like a big oni broke through it.” “What else do you see about it?” “That there’s practically no bricks left?” “Not that. You see those marks?” “Well yeah. I guess it’s sorta weird. It looks like a big claw mark.” “Take a closer look.” Takuya walked closer to see that there was a giant paw print faintly stamped in blood. “I think we’re facing a canine this time,” stated Shimura. “How do we find it?” “What do dogs like?” “Bones?” “Fresh meat. This canine may be lured by food. “Does that mean it’s a level D oni?” “Possibly. They’re less intelligent and not as strong as the ones we fought. But it’ll still be hard for you to take on alone.” “So what’s the fresh meat gonna be?” “We’re having beef tonight.”

Shimura ordered a bull to be slaughtered and put in the middle of another abandoned courtyard near the crime scene. The cadaver laid waiting in the pool of blood for its consumer. A few crows came to pick at it and sipped some blood. Watching from Shimura’s car, Takuya’s eyes began to droop. He propped his head on his hand and watched the scene sideways. Shimura didn’t move a single muscle and stared intently at the dead bull. The sun crept from the sky leaving its orange glory. Takuya yawned and glanced at his watch. “Oh shit! It’s 5:30 pm!” “It’s dangerous to go now. I told you I could fix this alone.” “I’ll give Mom a call.” Takuya dialed but, no one picked up the phone. “Shit! She really went to find me.” “Let’s pray she doesn’t stumble here.”

The sky faded into a black pool of stars and the moon climbed up from its invisible ladder. A black mass emerged from behind a tree. It leaped over the tall metal fence and walked towards the dead bull. It gave it a sniff and then started to tear through the meat. The bones were crunched under the strong jaws and crushed into smaller fragments. As the monster wolfed down the bull, it left blood splattering on the ground and onto the streets. Shimura burst out the car with an assembled bazooka. He shot it towards the oni and the oni caught it with its mouth. The ammunition exploded letting out a huge fire ball. Viscous blood dripped onto the ground and the beast roared in great pain. Its smoking charred head tossed left to right and glared straight on at Shimura. Shimura charged on and fired once more. The oni dodged and lunged at Shimura. “Shimura!!” called Takuya. Takuya ran and pushed Shimura away to shoot the oni with a machine gun. The oni continued to charge forward without stopping. Takuya’s feet were stuck to the ground and continued to fire. “Takuya!!” shouted Shimura and pulled him away while slamming into a metal fence. “What were you thinking?!” Shimura shouted again. “You were being attacked!” protested Takuya. “I had everything under control until you came!” Shimura defended.

The oni ran towards Takuya and Shimura but, the two slipped away in time. The oni butted its head through the fence. It then drew back its head and ripped the fence off the ground. Next, it tore a nearby tree from its roots and threw it to Takuya and Shimura. Both parties dodged and leaped in opposite directions. Shimura jumped onto a tree and threw a grenade. A great amount of debris and dust clouded Takuya’s vision. Shimura threw another grenade and abandoned his post. The grenade exploded which set fire to the tree he just abandoned. The blazing fire now lit up the empty courtyard and the monster. It was indeed a large canine as Shimura predicted. Possessing pupil-less green eyes, the menacing stare was sure to send chills down anyone’s spine. The oni had short folded ears that were barely visible and grayish skin with a few bristles. It gave a low growl and focused its attention on Shimura. Shimura began zipping around the oni with quick speed. Revolving around the oni were Shimura’s after images and the oni tried hard to claw through each of them. Takuya tried to aim at the oni with his machine gun, but saw that his packet of ammunition was low and simply not strong enough to defeat the 12 feet tall monster. Frustrated, he ran back to the car and opened the trunk. Among the assorted mess, he heard a familiar voice from behind. “Takuya!” the voice called. “Mom?!”

#onislayers