The Oni Slayers: Chapter 15

“Lord Digger, I have brought forth the guests,” said the oni. The large behind the trio shut dramatically. The loud boom reverberated through the room. The suffocating air was heavy with murderous intent. Fires lit to reveal an extremely grotesque looking oni. It had extremely long and thick nails. Its skin bumpy like a lizard’s and its color a sickening mulch green. The oni seem to be sitting on a pile of rubble shaped like a throne. Still the face was still obscured in the shadows. “What is this? Humans coming to see me, a lovely surprise,” croaked the monster. His voice left a nasty feeling of death and despair. Digger leaned slightly forward to take a closer look at the party. “We’re here to take your head,” stated Saiyou. “This is all a joke,” he said now shifting back onto his decaying throne. “Why did my guards let them in! They should have been barred from the beginning!” “I don’t know. Maybe you’re a terrible leader,” Saiyou commented in a snarky way. “Interesting remark,” said Digger maliciously. “How do you propose we correct this? Why don’t we play a little game to introduce ourselves a little better? Each one of you will fight against my subjects.” “We accept your challenge,” said Saiyou.

The throne room was now lit with more torches. Three oni were brought out as contestants for the match. A set of crudely carved wooden sticks in a hollowed tube were brought out. Contestants that picked the same color would be pit against each other in a death match. Each member of the party took their changes and grabbed a stick. Saiyou got red, Shimura got blue, and Takuya got yellow. A brown skinned oni with long gray hair entered the makeshift ring first. He was lean and wiry, not at all intimidating at the first glance. The oni held a yellow painted stick in his hand. He started jumping lightly on his feet like a boxer. Takuya focused his eyes on the oni and then on his feet. The crucial thing in any fight is to strike first, Saiyou’s voice echoes in Takuya’s head. Take the initiative to control the match.

Takuya charged forward with some swishing punches and attempted to sweep the oni off the ground with his concealed kick. The oni spotted the hasty attack and leapt into the air. As he leapt, the oni kicked the vulnerable Takuya in the chin. Takuya fell with his back on the stone floor. He was already feeling light-headed like a helium balloon. “Level B oni,” whispered Saiyou. “He doesn’t stand a chance against it. All he’s ever fought against were lower levels.” “I thought you would have a little more faith in our friend,” said Shimura. “Weren’t you the one who said Takuya easily could take on level D? Why not a higher level?” “The kid has no experience. He’s only been hanging with us for a few months,” argued Saiyou. “Besides there’s no way that monster Digger is going to play fair with us.” “Sure he wants to manipulate us one by one, but he’s here to see us as entertainment. Digger is very confident in his subjects,” answered Shimura.

Takuya stood on his two legs and maintained his fighting stance. The gray haired oni kept landing kicks and punches. Takuya tried his best to dodge the sharp jabs before they hit him. Still he fell too short as the attacks swiped away his skin. His arms were getting sore from blocking kicks or preventing himself getting knee-ed at the head. This is not good, Takuya thought to himself. I need to think of something quick. The following happened in a matter of seconds. As soon as the oni’s feet touched Takuya’s stomach, the pain spread throughout the body. Takuya inhaled sharply as he had no time to wince. He grabbed the oni’s leg by surprise and flung him around. When he finally let go, the oni crashed into the stone wall letting out a reverberating echo. Half buried in the wall, Takuya drew out his gun and fired three times. Two shots landed near the abdomen and one landed above the left eye. The oni flinched a little showing meager signs of life. Takuya fired the remaining bullets. He watched as the blood spewed from the wounds. “Round one. Visitors win,” announced an oni. Takuya hobbled back to his friends and flopped to the floor. Saiyou shook him, but Shimura shook his head to stop Saiyou.

The next contestant stepped forward into the ring. A centaur-like oni threw his blue stick to the ground. Shimura removed the sheath of his sword and tossed it aside. He ran up to the oni to slash it and the centaur oni stopped the blade with its arms. Shimura’s movements immediately quickened and multiplied until the slashes became blurs. The oni remained unscathed from the biting blade. The battleground was gaining more scars and debris. “Hey, what’s going on?” asked Takuya groggily. “It’s Shimura in the ring,” answered Saiyou. “What’s he doing?” “The Shadowless Sword.” Takuya raised an eyebrow. “What’s that suppose to be?” “It’s Shimura’s best offensive move. 100% attack,” explained Saiyou. Shimura was then kicked by the oni’s fore legs. He stumbled to the ground and immediately picked himself back up. “But it’s 0% defense,” said Saiyou. The oni knocked Shimura to the ground again. “Human, your sword is useless against me. My skin is tougher than you think it is,” the oni said arrogantly. Shimura plunged his sword into the ground. He chanted. “Transformation: Oni no Te Dual!” Both Shimura’s arms were replaced with black arms and white talons. Using his new hands, he dug his claws into the oni. However, the talons refused to sink below the skin. It was like using a razor to cut into concrete. Red aura formed around the black arms and Shimura proceeded to attack. The speed of his slashes increased furiously until they became blurs. Still, the oni’s skin was impenetrable. Shimura’s claws were still helpless.

Shimura breathed heavily as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. “I told you my skin is tougher than anything,” laughed the oni. The centaur galloped towards Shimura, but Shimura evaded him. He grabbed his sword plunged into the ground awaiting the oni’s next move. Once again the centaur galloped in Shimura’s direction. He stood on its hind legs and crashed its fore legs into the ground, smashing the arena floor into bits. Luckily, Shimura leapt away in time. He was panting hard. His energy was depleting quickly. The oni’s skin was getting scarred, but no blood came out. Scars? thought Shimura and an idea popped into his head. “I’m getting sick of your attempts human,” said the oni pawing the ground impatiently. “You keep sticking your sword at me and I can’t catch you. This is plain annoying.” The oni lowered its head and its arms pulled out what looked like a segmented white spear right out of its spine. The segmented spear contained spikes that open upon will. Proud of his own weapon, the oni charged towards Shimura holding the spear like a javelin. The spear and the sword clashed loudly creating red hot sparks as they slid against each other. Both opponents leapt into the air. Shimura held his sword with both hands and slashed across the oni’s torso. The spear pierced through the air aiming for Shimura’s heart. Shimura clenched his left hand around the spear and chanted a spell. Green flames from Shimura’s hand snaked around the spear and channeled through the oni. “Argh! What is this!” the centaur shouted in pain.

Shimura released his grip on the white spear and pulled out the pommel of his sword grip. A long thick chain emerged from the hilt. Takuya exclaimed in bewilderment. “What the hell does Shimura have!” “That is the beauty of demon swords,” said Saiyou. “Shimura can create a materialistic chain with his own aura that can extend as far as he wills it.” Shimura twirled his behemoth sword by the chain at an alarming speed. The weapon was now akin to a buzz saw. He flung the spinning blade at the centaur and cut off its arm cleanly. The arm flew towards Digger’s throne with flecks up blood staining the ground. Blood gushed like a fountain from the oni’s wound. The oni screamed in agonizing pain. He dropped his spear and grabbed at his own shoulder.

Shimura withdrew the weapon and began twirling the sword again. He ran towards the oni who was still guffawing at the loss of its arm. By the time it turned its head, the oni was halved by Shimura’s hungry blade. A clear cross section of the body could be seen for a few seconds before the entrails started pouring to the ground. The blood splattered loudly onto the torn up arena. “Round two. Visitors win,” announced the referee oni. Digger scoffed at the results. He glared at the remaining oni contestant in the shadow. “Shimura! How did you do that?” asked Takuya. The black arms and claws were now reverted back into human hands. “I noticed that the oni was getting scars from my Shadowless Sword. This technique requires extreme speed so I’d figure that if I can make the speed accelerate, it would be enough to cut through the skin,” explained Shimura. “You used Painful Fire as a distraction,” noted Saiyou. “Physical attacks can only do so much,” smiled Shimura. Takuya pulled at Saiyou. “You’re up.” “Don’t worry Takuya. It’ll be easy,” said Saiyou ruffling through Takuya’s hair.

The confident contender walked into the battered arena and turned to his comrades. He removed his coat and tossed it in Takuya’s direction. “I don’t like to get my trench coat dirty so take care of it, ok?” The removal of the coat revealed Saiyou’s muscular and tattooed arms. His sleeveless shirt clung tightly around his well toned body. He wore a chain of bullets as a belt and a gun holster around his waist. Shimura tossed Saiyou his two trusty handguns and large sword uniquely different from Shimura’s.

Saiyou’s opponent appeared from the shadows. Surprisingly, his opponent’s size was rather small like a human. It appeared to be a male with short green hair. He had human-like features such as a pointed face and fingers. Along with that, he possessed a pair of black wings and two horns on his head. The yellow eyes studied Saiyou. Saiyou also looked back at his opponent with his aqua green eyes. His attire consisted a high collared sleeveless blue shirt and white hakama pants. His black waistband was embroidered with a golden dragon. He also carried a sword like Saiyou in the form of a katana. “What’s your name, oni?” asked Saiyou. “It doesn’t concern you, oni,” the oni replied flatly. “I wish to know the name of my opponent,” said Saiyou. “Very well. I am Ryuu,” said the oni. “Suits you pretty well. Horns and wings. You look very much like a dragon,” noted Saiyou. “Are you not afraid of me?’ “Why should I?” “You welcome your end so easily.” “I am anxious for my victory.”

Ryuu disappeared from his spot and reappeared in from of Saiyou. Landing a punch, Saiyou blocked it with a single arm. He bent his knees and pushed Ryuu back. Ryuu slid back creating a cloud of dust. He zoomed right back into Saiyou with a downward kick to the face. Saiyou blocked the kick with his right arm, but struggled to keep it away from him. Ryuu’s leg came crashing down on the arena floor smashing the ground into pieces within a ten feet radius. Ryuu was in the air waiting for the dust cloud to clear. Saiyou was nowhere in sight. He felt a slight wind blow on his neck. Saiyou had slipped behind Ryuu with his sword ready to slice off his opponent’s head. Ryuu quickly drew his katana and turned to clash with Saiyou’s sword. Both opponents landed on the brittle ground with their weapons still held against each other.

Ryuu sheathed his sword. “It is not up to the degree of swords yet. You are weaker than that,” declared Ryuu. Saiyou let out a short laugh. “Ok. What is it that you want then?” asked Saiyou. “Close combat,” stated Ryuu. “Sure,” agreed Saiyou as he buried his sword into the ground. “This can be a good turnabout for us,” said Shimura. Takuya gave a puzzled look. “Why is that?” “Saiyou’s best moves often are his fists. His martial arts are second to none.”

A/N

hakama (Japanese) - loose pants with pleats worn in traditional Japanese attire

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