The Oni charged straight through the rest of its stone prison as if it wasn’t there. Each footstep stopped my heart as, while I had dodged the first attack, I could no longer move. My waist was trapped within a large, white branch that extended out of the ground.

“Minamoto! I’m thankful for the save, but please get me out of this!” I yelled in a panic, trying and failing to get out of the branch wrapped around my waist. Damnit! Why is this piece of wood so strong?!

Everyone hadn’t been ready for such a sudden engagement with the white Oni, and the Samurai and Exorcists were scattered around the area due to dodging the initial attack. I understood this was a surprise attack, but still, them being so unorganized after this was just demoralizing to me.

I could only scream as the Oni charged straight at me with eyes filled with unrelenting hate.

“Seriously, I just teased you a little! Do you have to take things this far?!” I yelled in fear. There was no way out of this branch, and I would only be able to become an easier target for the Oni to rip to shreds. The only good thing that came about its fixation on me was that it ignored the reeling Samurai.

[Amatsu Mikaboshi has his eyes on you]

Is now really the time, you bored stalker?!

“Sorry about that.” Minamoto’s angelic voice appeared next to me, and I nearly gaped as the man’s head had been budding out of a white flower. Is this an… illusion?

Minamoto smiled wryly at my confusion, and an arm popped out from the flower and he slowly pulled the rest of his body out of the flower. I blinked at the old man. He seemed more relaxed than anyone with a 12 foot tall humanoid mass of muscles and anger bearing down at the two of us.

My heart jumped into my throat as I saw the Oni cock its arm back before sending it towards us with the intent at pulping the two of us. However, Minamoto just scoffed and waved his hand. Suddenly, a large wall of interlocked trees burst through the ground easily blocking the punch without even a shudder.

I was reeling. The whole situation was happening faster than I could actively understand what was going on. Minamoto, my friend, were you always so strong? Can you share some of that main character energy with me?

Minamoto was frowning at the wooden wall that obscured the Oni from us. “To think it was an Oni Variant… Still, how did it become so strong.” He glanced at me, offering an awkward smile. “Sorry for the panic. I hadn’t thought we would be attacked like this and reacted before I could think. Age makes people act oddly, I guess.”

He reached out to touch the white branch wrapped around my waist, and the branch shuddered before rapidly shrinking into the familiar white, branch that he held in his hand. Honestly, I’m just impressed at all it can do. Where can I get one of these?

“Nishimuro, I’ll provide the backup for your little group. You won’t need it too much, will you?” Minamoto spoke to the side, but I couldn’t see the man anywhere nearby. He caught my confusion and smiled my way. “It’s one of his skills.”

“Ah,” I fumbled, realizing that was all the explanation I was going to get. “That’s cool.”

“He had heard me. Now let’s back, Mister David. This is not your fight.” Minamoto said, moving away from the wooden wall.

I glanced at my friend/teacher/menace of this world and could only give him a wry smile as I followed. Sure, I wanted the Oni to die, but going and doing that myself was next to impossible. Instead, I was just in awe at the spectacle happening in front of me as the wall in front of us untangled itself and the individual trees sunk back into the ground.

The Oni, the massive 12 foot tall, humanoid monstrosity, shook the ground with each step. Every time it swung its arms winds would blow hard enough that I could feel it despite not even standing nearby. Its pure white skin and rippling muscles didn’t even register the attacks of the fifty man-strong force sent to take it down.

On the other side, Nishimuro commanded the men like some giant beast. The Samurai moved in a rotation. They corralled the Oni with their bodies, planting their feet into the ground and bracing against their swords every time it swung its arms. I could see some wisps of bluish vapors wafting off of them that would wrap around their swords right before the Oni’s attacks connected.The ground cracked, the men stumbled back continuously, some even tripped and fell only to be hoisted up by the man next to him, and with my better Body stat I could hear them groan in pain. However, despite the massive difference in size, they held their ground.

As it realized its attack did nothing, the Oni began sucking in air.

“Skill! Brace now!” Nishimuro screamed over the sounds of combat, and the Samurai instantly reacted by using the same blue vapor that blocked the Oni’s previous attack. Exorcists in the back pulled out paper cutouts of ears before placing it over their own.

Its chest expanded for a second before I felt Minamoto’s vines wrap around the sides of my head, covering my ears. Then, I saw the Oni open its mouth.

Out came something less than sound and more like a physical force. Chunks of ground around it ripped themselves free, flying straight towards the nearby Samurai. Several larger chunks knocked them to the ground, pinning them there due to weight and causing their nearby comrades to work to free them.

The more pressing situation came from the Samurai who seemed like their protections were weaker than the rest. They directly clutched their heads, mouths open in a rictus of a silent scream, as trails of blood gushed out from their eyes and ears. If it wasn’t for the nearby Samurai taking them away, I doubted they would gather the strength to guard against the Oni’s next attack.

Without a moment to spare, the Oni charged at the shocked and recovering group. I frowned as I saw the Samurai begin to panic. They were no longer as organized or seamless, and instead they seemed like a group of new recruits that had lost their commander. I looked over to Nishimuro, and found the man’s mouth opening and closing, clearly yelling out orders, but no one was moving to them.

“-ounded out of there! Exorcists provide cover!” Suddenly, I could hear again, and I looked over at Minamoto. His face had lost his jovial smile and a grim frown was spread over his face.

“What a troublesome inborn skill. Oni Variants are always difficult.” He grumbled before I saw a white branch within his hand. With a simple wave of his hand, large wooden constructs rose out of the ground around the wounded or incapacitated Samurai. They formed domes of gnarled wood around them and white flowers began to bloom on different portions of the wood.

The Oni reached one of the wooden shields before anyone could stop it and swung its massive fist down. An ear shattering bang echoed out from the punch. I felt the impact from here, and I instinctively covered my ears. However, instead of the wooden dome breaking like an egg, a roar much different from all the others came from the Oni’s mouth.

It reeled backwards, clutching its bleeding fist with the other one as it glared at the white flowers growing on the wooden dome. I understood its pain. Even I didn't know how much bullshit Minamoto had saved up.

The Exorcists came in before the Oni could recover. Little paper cutouts of humans were grasped in their hands before they tossed them out. After the cutouts made contact with the ground, their bodies inflated like air was suddenly being injected into them. Soon, there were thirty pure white puppets without any features standing within the group of Samurai.

Gripped within those puppets' hands were knives made out of different elements. Some wielded knives made out of grey stone while others had those made of flickering fires. Then, they threw the knives in their hands. Chains made of the same element as each knife connected to each puppet’s throwing arm.

The Oni roared and thrashed as the knives lodged into its thick skin and muscles. It could shake off some due to its actions, but the sheer amount stopped it from making real progress as more and more elemental knives were stabbed into newer places.

The chains themselves grew taunt and stretched with every twist of the Oni’s body, throwing some puppets like ragdolls. However, the majority of puppets stayed their ground while nearby Samurai got the hint and grabbed on the elemental chains like they were normal. I had to take in the scene a couple times since several Samurai clearly grabbed chains made out of fire like they were iron. It had to be some skill or something.

However, other than slowing it down and making the Oni angrier, they couldn’t really stop the behemoth of a creature. Its steps were no longer taking it as far, but they never stopped. The Oni continued marching slower to each Samurai like a juggernaut.

“Exorcists continue to provide support! Samurai begin formations for large enemies! I want everyone with a body stat below E to retreat and keep it tied down!” Nishimuro’s commands once again brought stability to the flustered Samurai, and I couldn’t help but notice that they moved faster than usual after he spoke.

I looked over to Minamoto, and he smiled at my gaze. Squinting my eyes, I knew he knew what I was thinking. As if to prove me right, he said, “It’s another of his skills. We hadn’t expected an Oni Variant, so he just brought a fairly new bunch of recruits to train against a newborn Oni.”

“And you say you can’t read my mind…”

Minamoto chuckled, surveying the conflict nearby. The Samurai had organized themselves again. Those who I assumed were weaker had moved to the puppets provided by the Exorcists and were holding the Oni in relative pace using the chains connected to the puppets.

A smaller group of Samurai had split off from the others and were actively harassing the Oni by chucking stones at it. A rather useless endeavor unless their aim was to anger it; which, in that case, worked spectacularly. The Oni chased after them with simple-minded rage. I hadn’t really paid attention to what they were doing until I saw one of the Samurai leave the group that were throwing stones and charge at the Oni’s legs when its attention on them shifted the furthest away from him.

The Samurai charged in valiantly before slashing his sword against the Oni’s ankles and then running away before it got the chance to attack him. If anything, the wound for all that work was barely a scratch against the monster’s white skin. Feeling the miniscule wound, the Oni hadn’t even flinched or roared like it had done for Minamoto’s move. In fact, I noticed that, while they continued using the strategy in measures of success, Minamoto’s white flower was the only thing that had done lasting damage to the white Oni.

My gaze moved over to the Exorcists and was even more dumbfounded to find the ten of them sweating buckets as they sat on the ground and held their hands in different positions. They looked nothing like Minamoto who had casted his impressive magic over and over again without any sign of strain. Was a simple puppet and elemental chain really that draining?

“It’s a difference in stats, Life rank and techniques.” Minamoto spoke up, answering my question. However, that only brought up the question of how far Minamoto was ahead of them. And I had met and befriended this seemingly super-powerful grandpa in a village that was very close to executing me on crimes committed by other people.

Really, I didn’t even know how lucky I could be…

“For people close to and at Life rank D, achieving victory against an Oni Variant would be difficult. Much less now that I'm looking at it.” He glanced at me for a second. “Hoo, this guy is much stronger than you said. This is rather perplexing.”

“It wasn’t… this fast when I was running away from it. Did it gain stats like crazy in just two weeks, maybe?”

Minamoto considered it, watching as a Samurai got clipped by a retaliatory swing of the Oni. His body was sent flying through the air, and Nishimuro personally left his point of command to rescue the man and make sure no one left their positions. “Perhaps. However, don’t let this Oni be the one who sets their image in your eyes.” Minamoto gave me a smile similar to when he was focused on teaching me. “Tell me, do you know the differences between races? What makes everyone different?”

I blinked at the change in topic. Was he really going to have a lesson while a bunch of people were fighting for their lives nearby? “Are you talking about the Tengu having skills when they’re born or something?”

“Oh, so you do know a bit. Wonderful, this saves me some time. And yes, the Tengu are blessed when they are born with a technique suited solely for themselves. Similarly, Jorogumo can gain stats just by eating stronger creatures. So, answer me, why do all these races and we humans hunt Oni on sight?”

“Uh, because they’re…” I stared at the rampaging monster nearby. Apparently, it had gotten tired of chasing the Samurai pestering its legs, choosing to plant its feet in the ground and begin pulling the puppets and weaker Samurai by the chains attached to it. They held their ground for a moment before they were torn free from the ground, being yanked into the air by the chains.

The Exorcists canceled their chains instantly and the puppets shrunk back into normal paper cutouts. The unfortunate Samurai were sent flying in a bunch of random arcs through the air, crashing into the ground further away from the encirclement. They were still moving, but they were curled into fetal positions. They were desperately gasping, trying to regain the air that was just knocked out of their lungs.

I looked back to Minamoto, pointing to the conflict that was rapidly changing for the worse. “Is it because they can do that?”

He chuckled while waving the white branch in his hand. Trees broke out around the Oni, twisting around its limbs like living snakes. The white Oni roared and struggled against the onslaught of living trees, but it couldn’t hold out for long as more and more trees burst out of the ground to add to its attackers. Soon, it’s limbs were locked out as all it could do was scream in anger.

“It is one of the reasons.” Minamoto answered easily. “However, if you were going to talk about why, it’s because Oni’s are born with everything. Bodies so strong that every increase in their body stat only elevates them to a higher pinnacle. Souls so overbearing that the amount of Life Energy stored inside are several times that of those on the same level. They have skills, techniques and whatever you can think of, too. They have everything from birth, and how do you think they get stronger?”

I audibly swallowed as I listened on. Legends of oni were not uncommon to hear back in my world. I knew they were a thing in Japan, but the Oni here seemed to be on a completely different level. Why did they sound like some contrived plot device that an author put in by saying ‘fuck it, let’s give them everything for the lols?’

“The more they fight, the stronger they get.” Minamoto finished his question, and stared grimly at the Oni. “Oni are a nuisance to everyone because of that constant need for conflict, and this one seems to have gotten into quite a number of fights for some reason.”

“Sorry Nishimuro, it looks like you cannot let your men get more experience.” Minamoto apologized. “Sadly, my technique is almost purely defensive, so I cannot actually kill it.”

Nishimuro shook his head in the distance. I could see him mouth some words, but I couldn’t really read his lips due to the different language. Of course, I hadn’t really cared about them too much as I was more preoccupied with looking at the Oni’s breathing in heavily to use that same scream from before. It’s chest bulged and I covered my ears to get ready for it.

Then, it lost its head.

Thick, red blood shot out from the clean cut from where the Oni’s head just lay. Such a seemingly unbeatable opponent had died without me even seeing what happened. Then, there was the sound of a boom followed by a rush of wind as my eyes found Nishimuro cleaning blood off of his sword.

Neither the Samurai or Minamoto reacted to the sheer physical display, and I was left hanging in amazement at such a feat. Did no one else see what I saw? Were they blind to the fact that the man had literally broken the sound barrier with his body? Was this such a common occurrence that it was boring to these people?

I felt… left out. Why was I reacting to such a cool scene alone?

Minamoto, finally not reading my mind, walked over to Nishimuro and the various Samurai and Exorcists fell on their butts, breathing heavily. Some of the more able ones began helping treat their comrades injuries from the fight. I saw more than a couple people setting their limbs from broken arms or legs, and I promptly turned my head away from such a nauseating sight.

Hurriedly, I made my way to where Minamoto and Nishimuro were poking the head of the Oni. Ignoring them, I paid more attention to the first thing I had seen in this world. It’s golden eyes had been burned in the back of my mind since the first time I had seen them, but now it was on the ground dead while I was looking over it’s cooling corpse. It had seemed so strong and unbeatable even when I looked at its unmoving body. Honestly, I felt that there should have been a bit of emotion when it was finally dead, but now, all I felt was more apprehension.

Minamoto and Nishimuro were only here to train the Samurai and Exorcists nearby. Every action it took against them was something like a child trying to fight against an adult. No, more like a newborn baby trying to outbox Floyd Mayweather. It was ridiculous and not even worth the effort.

That casual disregard for something that had put the fear of god in me was more motivating than the Oni had been. I felt that no matter how many years I spent training in this world I would never reach the ankles of these two people that I had met through a series of fortunate and unfortunate struggles. It put into perspective just how out of my depth I was.

In the middle of my wandering thoughts, my ears were listening to what the two monsters were saying. Originally, I thought that they were just playing with the Oni’s head like kids kicking around a rock before I actually listened in.

“Well, that confirms it.” Minamoto said, and I couldn’t help but see something I had never expected from the normally jovial man. I had seen him serious and joking, but this was completely new.

And considering the uneasy look on Nishimuro’s face, this was the first for him, too. “Y-yes, all signs are pointing to one that’s nearby. Still, that begs the question of how a Nurarihyon was able to subdue an Oni into its Hyakki Yagyo.”

“That’s easy to answer.” Minamoto said, and that look on his face once again sent a shiver down my spine. “It’s a Nurarihyon with a Dungeon.”

I think both Nishimuro and I shared the same thought at the moment. There was nothing that could explain the biting ice that flooded my veins and stopped my heart for a moment. Nishimuro swallowed audibly, not even daring to make a sound. All because-

Minamoto’s smile was murderous.