Thirty-Fifth Tensei: Humans and Oni
"Sakata...Kintoki..." Akuji rumbled as he glared at the Golden man.
"Nice to meet you, Akuji no Takamaru." Kintoki smirked, "But honestly, I expected more from an oni of your caliber."
"Kintoki..." Akuji growled, "Were I at my full strength, I would gladly give you a worthy fight...but...right now I am famished."
"Famished?" Kintoki scowled, "After eating all those humans? What a glutton. Hey! Master! Go check up on Nimue. Don't want her dying on us now."
As the two began their fight, Alice and I made our way to the shattered home and began to dig through the rubble. Buried under piles of lumber, Nimue's form was already starting to leak mana as her form began to dissipate.
"Sorry." Nimue smiled shamefully as I propped her up and began to give her a bit of my mana, "This wasn't how it was supposed to go...This entire training...was supposed to be a test...to see if you were capable of handling my power. Hehe...I just couldn't let you all return home like that again...but things got more serious than I thought."
→We'll win together.
I need your power too.
"Thank you." Nimue said as she slowly pulled herself up and picked up her sword, "But we cannot afford to waste time here. Akuji is dangerous. We have to-"
Nimue began to push herself up with her sword only for it suddenly snap under her weight. Nimue looked at her broken sword in shock.
"Ah! N-No! Don't worry. My sword is a projection. Made entirely out of magic, you could say. All I need is some magic and it'll be right as rain. ...But to think that I am this low on mana..."
→If you need mana then use mine.
Stop being so stand-offish.
"S-Stand-offish, you say?!"
"...It's...it's just weird." Nimue blushed, "You were like a child when you arrived and now I'm looking to you for help. It just feel a bit...too intimate you know...like...I won't be able to teach you...to talk to you the same way again."
I grabbed Nimue by the arm.
→That is what it means to be Master and Servant.
…
"Indeed." Nimue smiled, "I have forgotten what it's like to have a Master for so long. To think that the day will come for you to give me support. But...let me tell you. Even if I come to rely on you for my mana...I still think of Kanjo as my true Master."
"Blow em away. Lethal...Golden SPARK!"
Kintoki slashed at Akuji with enough lightning and force to send the giant oni flying back to the opposite side of the camp.
"How's that?" Kintoki sneered, "Does that satisfy you?"
Akuji picked himself up from the rubble of what was once the camp's base. Kintoki's Noble Phantasm had caused a huge gash across his chest and for much of his skin to become charred from the lightning that he had stuck him with. As he got up, he noticed something stuck under the rubble of the building. Akuji reached out, scooped up a trapped and unconscious human and without hesitating, ate her whole.
"No!" Kintoki cried, "You monster!"
"Monster?" Akuji growled as he got up again, "It was you humans who gave us that moniker. Us onis couldn't give less of a damn what you call us. We take what we want when we want it. What's strange is you humans. So tied to everything that you lay there starving while at the same time, taking everything around you."
"What?"
"You...you work for Shuten don't you?"
"I-I serve under Minamoto no Raikou! Shuten Douji is just...an acquaintance of mine!
"What makes Shuten Douji so much different from us?" Akuji scowled, "That drunkard. Who has she been lying to? To you, promising safety for you? For humans? Or to herself for believing that is something she capable of?"
"What do you know of Shuten Douji!" Kintoki roared, "She...she is weird to be sure but...I would lay down my life to save her!"
"You? A human? For an Oni?"
"Yeah!"
"Was it not your job to slay onis as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Minamoto no Yorimitsu?"
"I..."
"And you're saying you would die for an Oni? Would your teacher really be happy to hear you say that?"
"..."
"Oni are oni. Humans are humans. We could never live together." Akuji sneered, "So why bother hiding who we are? I will eat as many of you as I want. To do so otherwise is foolish!"
Akuji slammed his fist on the ground and lunged at Kintoki. Kintoki blocked Akuji's attack, the impact dragging him back a few feet. Akuji attacked again and again, giving Kintoki no opportunity to attack back or do anything other than block until his arms began to feel numb.
"What...you want?" Kintoki gritted his teeth as he did his best to weather the assault, "Don't...make me laugh...you're just...making an excuse to do whatever you want!"
Kintoki roared and pushed against the next attack, sending a jolt of lightning out and sending Akuji stumbling back. Seeing the opportunity, Kintoki leaped towards Akuji's head, readying his axe to cut his head off. Akuji's arm jumped out and grabbed Kintoki by his axe arm, pulling him off course as Akuji regained his footing.
"Excuses? Indeed. I make excuses for what I do. Why? Because of you. You humans that must ask for why we oni do things. Why other humans do things. You cannot accept the idea of doing something merely because you wanted to do it. Or even for the idea that we must do it. For survival. I make excuses because humans make excuses. And I am tired of them. I will eat because I want to."
"You make excuses because of us?" Kintoki growled, "Don't make me laugh. What humans want are answers. All your pathetic brain can come up with excuses. That is why you will never be anything other than a monster!"
"Then tell me." Akuji grabbed Kintoki's head with his thumb and forefinger, holding him in place as the giant oni looked him in the eyes, "What has Shuten been telling you?"
"Huh?"
"What kind of lies and excuses has she been telling you to gain your trust? What sort of 'truth' escapes those drunk lips that captivates you? Think of every word she has ever spoken to you. How much do you truly know about the oni Shuten Douji?"
"I...I..."
"The moment you cast doubt on your being, you begin to lose your self. That is why we oni are superior. Every word and every action is nothing more than an expression of our true self. True onis are incapable of 'lying'. Perhaps that is why that serpent tongued drunkard has curried so much favor with you. Because she is an anomaly. A lie."
"No...you're wrong..."
"We Onis do not tell lies."
Akuji swung Kintoki up and slammed him into the ground.
"I will eat you. Once I do, I will become full. That is the truth."
Kintoki laid motionless on the ground as Akuji reached down again to grab him.
"If that is the truth then there is no room for error."
Akuji stumbled back as a blade of light nearly cut his body in two. Nimue stood in his way, her Excalibur Specular glowing with new vigor.
"You are a monster. Plain and simple." Nimue replied, "It has nothing to do with humans and onis. You, Akuji no Takamaru, are a monster that shall be erased from this world."
"Erased...even if I die, I will simply return to the Throne of Heroes." Akuji growled, "I am a Heroic Spirit as well, a being on par with you!"
"No..." Nimue said as she gripped her sword, "You are not."
Nimue's dress touched the ground and expanded, forming a lake around her that reached out and surrounded Akuji. The waves suddenly leaped up, arching in the air and coming together to seal Akuji into a tunnel of spiraling water.
"What..."
"Dance upon the surface of the lake. Wind, sea and light. In rippling waves, capture in your body the image of the world. The land, the sky, the sun and the hero. Take that light and radiate it across the world!"
Nimue's sword burst into a shaft of pure light that illuminated the entire tunnel.
"Excalibur...Specular!"
Nimue slashed, throwing the beam of pure light at Akuji. As the attack roared towards him, every surface of the water reflected the light of her sword, pooling together until Akuji was struck with with all of its brilliant radiance.
The water and light died away and in its wake was Akuji. The attack had left a lethal hole upon his body and his form was finally beginning to fade away.
"I'm...so hungry..." Akuji gasped.
"You're starving. But no matter what you eat and how much you eat, you will never be fulfilled."
Akuji's eye softened for a moment as he felt his life slip away.
"...I leave it in your hands...brother."
Nimue's eyes widened as she spun around. Standing in the ruined entrance of the camp was another being. A Servant. An oni the size of a normal human.
"My hands?" He smirked, "This entire camp was always in my hands, Akuji. You were simply a glutton that gobbled up our efforts. I am not your brother...but I'll pour one out for you all the same."
Akuji let out a small laugh as he collapsed and disappeared.
"No..." Nimue grimaced as she pointed her sword at the new oni, "You can't be..."
"You sure took care of everybody while I was away." The oni scowled at Nimue, "Heh. The moment I step away, everything goes to hell. This is all your fault. Tomoe Gozen."
"Mine?!" A young woman stepped out from behind the oni as she glared at him, "I had nothing to do with this!"
"If it wasn't for your constant pestering, this wouldn't have happened."
"T-This was not what I intended nor hoped for!"
"Oh yeah? I heard you Sanctuary people can be rather tricky."
"T-Those are just rumors!"
"Sanctuary?" Nimue repeated, "No...you're not..."
"...Tomoe Gozen." The woman answered, "Archer of Sanctuary."
→You mean...like the faction?
What are you doing here?
"I was here on Sanctuary business." Tomoe grimaced, "I was to offer Akuji and Otakemaru here shelter in our Sanctuary but they kept refusing. I was here to try talking with Otakemaru again but..."
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it." Otakemaru smirked, "We were never going to join you anyway."
"..."
"More importantly." Otakemaru frowned as he turned to us, "I'm not going to let any of you leave here alive."
Nimue readied her sword only for Kintoki to grab her by the ankle.
"Don't." Kintoki grunted as he pushed himself up, "I've heard of that guy. His skin is harder than any rock. No arrows can pierce it and your sword won't fare any better."
"Your precious axe won't be any more effective either, Sakata Kintoki." Otakemaru sneered, "You're all welcome to try though. Even in your sorry state."
Kintoki gasped as he pulled him and his axe up.
"We have to get away." Kintoki grimaced.
"I told you. I'm not going to let any of you leave here alive. Ah, Tomoe. This is a good chance. You want me to join up with you? Help me out."
"..."
"Tomoe..." Nimue gulped as she watched the Archer.
"...No." Tomoe closed her eyes and turned away, "Sanctuary is not an organization that will take a side for revenge."
"Suit yourself." Otakemaru scoffed, "I will eviscerate each and every one of you then."