Thirty-Fifth Spell: Oni Attack
As Dōmeki foretold, the trek up Mount Ōe was a strenuous one making the students who brought food and drinks feel good about their extra preparations. But for the others, it was exhausting. Many hours later, they reached the summit of the mountain where a stone statue stood depicting a towering male oni with three sharp horns, big muscular limbs, carrying a metal club in one hand and a giant gourd jug in the other.
"This is Shuten-dōji, the former leader of the oni on this mountain," Dōmeki stated. "But since his demise, no living oni has dared to take away his title. So they carved this statue made from a giant boulder they rolled up here to honor him."
"I didn't know oni were expert sculptors," Seita remarked. "This statue is amazingly detailed for being made by a bunch of lunkheads."
"Lunkheads?" Haru turned to Rui.
"Most oni are pretty stupid," Rui whispered. "It's why they were easily tricked by Yorimitsu and his men."
"Can we please save discussions till after Dōmeki-Sama is done talking?" Shō said to Rui, which forced her into silence. "Thank you."
Dōmeki then continued her lecture, talking about how the legend of Shuten-dōji wasn't accurately portrayed by the Manai storytellers. For instance, it was the Emperor's court onmyōji Abe no Seimei that ordered Yorimitsu to take care of Shuten-dōji and not the Emperor. Also Kintaro enchanted both the sake and the iron helmet Yorimitsu wore to prevent him from being killed by Shuten-dōji's floating head after Yorimitsu cut it off while Shuten-dōji and his oni had passed out from drinking the enchanted sake.
"Now this all took place before the International Statute of Secrecy, hence the open correspondence between Manai and wizards," Dōmeki said. "But once the Japanese Ministry of Magic was established, these tales were heavily censored to make the Manai believe none of it really happened."
Cheng yawned. "I didn't realize this field trip was going to be more educational than fun. What's the point of climbing all the way up here to hear a lecture we could've gotten back at school?"
"There are some things that are better shown than told, Chun," Shō said to Cheng. "Now can we please not have any more interruptions, or I will send you all straight home!"
After that, no one spoke during Dōmeki's lecture again. While the sun dipped lower on the horizon, a bunch of blankets were spread out on the cool green grass and under the shades of trees. From there, everyone shared their food and drinks in a picnic-style lunch/early dinner.
"Wow, these chicken soboro onigiri are really good!" Cheng said as he sat with Rui and Haru. "I didn't know you cooked, Rui."
"Only in my spare time," Rui said modestly. "Sometimes I helped my mom in the kitchen when she prepared meals for my sisters and brother."
"Did Peri-Sempai ever help?" Haru asked.
"Sometimes, but she was too busy with her schoolwork," Rui said.
Haru then glanced at where Hikari and Sumi were sitting and exchanging bento boxes. But when Hikari glared at Haru, this made him look away.
"You're still thinking of apologizing to Hikari, aren't you?" Rui guessed.
"Is it that obvious?" Haru said.
"For the last week, you've been either staring at her or trying to approach her. I don't know why else you would be doing those things."
"Maybe she's not mad at you for calling her out on trying to cheat Seita, but for tying with her at Tenbutsu," Cheng suggested. "I mean, no one has come close to doing that except for Daizō. He's a pretty good Tenbutsu player too."
While Cheng was talking, Haru noticed Shō leave the summit. But he didn't think much of it as he continued eating the meal Rui had prepared.
After the sun set, an eerie twilight settled over the mountain causing the shadows to stand out. This made the sound of rustling trees startle the students as Shō returned with the sleeves of her black robe torn and a fresh cut on her forehead.
"Dōmeki-Sama!" Shō said breathlessly. "We have to get off the mountain now!"
"Tell me what happened, Shō, and don't leave any details out," Dōmeki demanded.
"I was patrolling the summit when I ran into…an oni," Shō answered. "Unfortunately, he spotted me and attacked... I barely managed to escape."
Hearing that, many of the students got up and started packing. A few scoped the parameter of the summit, but were dismayed by the steep slopes around them.
"We're going to die up here!" shouted one student.
"No, we are NOT!" Dōmeki insisted, causing that student to shut up. "We mustn't panic, children. Instead, we shall descend the mountain in smaller groups to avoid being seen by the oni."
"Can't we just use the Body Evaporation Spell to get away from here?" Cheng asked.
"If you had paid attention to my earlier lecture, Chun, you would know that Shuten-dōji put a curse on this mountain before he died that prevents wizard magic from being used," Dōmeki said. "Only when we reach the bottom of the mountain can we use the Body Evaporation Spell."
So in haste, the students got into groups of three. Dōmeki led the first group down the summit, followed by Shō's group, with Midorime's bringing up the rear. It became increasingly difficult to see where they were going in the dim light. But as their eyes adjusted, the trek got easier.
"Where's Hikari?" Rui asked, looking back. "I don't see her anywhere."
"Maybe she got lost while we were heading down," Haru suggested.
"No," Sumi spoke up, looking nervous. "Hikari saw Shō-Sensei leave the summit earlier, and followed her out of curiosity. I thought she would come back soon, but she didn't. What if…the oni got to her?"
Haru was about to leave Midorime's group when Rui held him back.
"Did you forget we can't use magic on this mountain?" Rui said. "If we go after the oni now, it'll kill us for sure!"
"But we've got to do something, or Hikari will die!" Haru broke from Rui's grip and ran off into the forest.
To be continued…
