Chapter 26: The Dynamics of Red and Blue Oni

Uzman looked at the creature before them in trepidation. He had heard the stories of their strength and constitution. What all the stories agreed on was that the red oni was savage beyond belief. Additionally, it was less intelligent than the blue-hued oni.

“Get some space and use your bow whenever you have a shot. I will engage it at close range,” Uzman shouted to Fatima.

He did not want her to get hurt by the beast as it was on the cusp of ascending to Rank three. Uzman decided to use a glaive as it would have a better chance of hurting the resilient demon beast.

The oni attacked furiously with no plan but relying on its brute strength. Every parry made Uzman’s hands sting from the force. He used fire to remain mobile as the strength of the blows was too much. He chose not to create a shield as the difference in power would have led to internal injuries. He circled placing the oni between him and Fatima providing her with an unobstructed view of its back. She started peppering its back with arrows. The oni simply shrugged off the attacks and continued to pursue Uzman relentlessly.

Uzman realized that this was a good opportunity for tempering his body. He knew that the leaves of the Alcoca were a strong stimulant and also helped a person to ignore pain for some time. He danced from the Oni and stepped quickly backward. Uzman plucked a number of leaves and started chewing them as he continued the fight.

He increased the tempo of the fight by switching from fire to vapor. These forms were lightning-quick but lacked the force to be fatal. They only seemed to annoy the Oni instead of dealing any lasting damage. However, between the arrows peppering its back and the many wounds that were decorating its front, the oni was starting to weaken from the accumulated effect.

The blows of the oni weakened gradually until Uzman judged it prudent to allow the beast to hit him. Instead of dodging the blows, he allowed some of them to hit his body only parrying or dodging when a critical part was targeted. The Alcoca leaves helped to dull the pain allowing Uzman to receive injuries that he could heal. To improve his regeneration, Uzman threaded water and earth to wood Chi which was useful for healing injuries.

Suddenly, the Oni started to emit a reddish glow which gradually increased in intensity. The specter created a déjà vu moment as Uzman recalled facing the Grillion and almost dying. This was a desperate strategy where the beast would use its life energy to increase its strength and speed for a few minutes. The best counter would be to ensure that he received no fatal blows as the Oni burnt itself out.

The wood Chi and Alcoca leaves combined their healing properties to make Uzman more resilient. He could withstand the strikes of the Oni without being fatally injured while continuing his onslaught. Once the Oni entered the berserker mode, its speed increased to the point where it could rival Uzman augmented with fire even though it had a base earth affinity. Uzman withstood the flurry of blows to his body ensuring to keep his head away from the rampaging beast. After a few minutes, the Oni slumped down dying as it expended its life energy.

“Damn that this is ugly” Fatima said as she moved closer to Uzman from the safety of the trees where she had been decorating the Oni’s back with arrows.

“We need to be careful, the Oni usually travel in pairs. The red Oni is a brawler while the blue Oni is a thinker. If the blue Oni shows up, we can expect it to make use of basic affinity techniques. That will make the fight harder,” Uzman cautioned.

Uzman harvested the core, tusks, horns, claws, and fangs as Fatima stood watch.

“We should also take its pelt. It was very hardy and can be turned into some type of shield covering or cloth,” Fatima suggested.

“Haha, it cannot be worth much since you turned it into a pincushion as your archery target. In addition, the front has many nicks from my glaive. But every coin counts.”

Uzman agreed with Fatima and harvested the Oni’s pelt. He stored the items in his pendant to ensure that they would remain fresh. In addition, they harvested the Alcoca leaves and added them to the herbs they had already collected.

Suddenly, a debilitating pain lanced through Uzman as the analgesic effect of the Alcoca leaves faded. Uzman keeled over abruptly, his legs turning to jelly. The pain hit him full force making him cry out.

Fatima hovered around him confused by this turn of events. After the fight had concluded, Uzman had ignored the injuries he had sustained, high on adrenalin and Alcoca. He tried to chuckle at this oversight and coughed out blood.

Steeling his resolve, he forced his hands to sluggishly obey his will and retrieved a first-grade healing pill. He threaded water and earth to create wood Chi which improved his healing prospects. Uzman smiled macabrely to Fatima as he sat down and started meditating to expedite the healing process. The high-energy environment, healing pill, and wood Chi interacted, and before long, he was as good as new.

The two continued deeper into the forest moving towards the last repelling formation. The formations had been designed by the guardians as a safeguard against stronger beasts encroaching into human villages. The formations were unidirectional and could distinguish between humans and beasts.

The ambient energy had gotten denser the deeper they went into the forest. Uzman and Fatima found many valuable herbs that could be used in making elixirs and healing potions. For the last past half hour, Uzman had felt a sense of foreboding as if he was being watched. He had slowed their advance afraid of a potential ambush. In a flash of insight, he perceived what had been bothering him. The forest had been unnaturally quiet.

Uzman stood abruptly forcing Fatima to bump into him. They had been moving in a single file with Uzman leading the way. He scanned his surroundings looking for any inkling of the source of his disquiet. Using his energy sense, he slowly checked the surrounding foliage moving 360 degrees to ensure every patch was covered. There was no variation in the energy aura in their vicinity.

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Uzman had been in forests long enough to know that they were being stalked by a powerful beast. The tingling of the nape of his neck and the quieting of the forest made his hair stand on edge. His searches revealed nothing out of place.

“Keep your eyes peeled, I think we are being stalked,” Uzman whispered to Fatima.

“Wh...What?” Fatima asked, her low voice sounding like a bell in the unnatural silence.

Just as they turned to backtrack, a blue-hued creature sprang from the foliage and tackled Fatima to the forest floor. It struck her with its claws savagely mangling her right arm. A thick fountain of blood spurted from the wound. As the creature angled for another strike, Uzman threw himself at the creature knocking it off of Fatima. Fatima clutched at her arm trying to stop the blood while grunting in pain.

Uzman augmented himself with vapor, hoping to finish off the creature quickly to aid Fatima who was still sniffling in pain. However, his flurry of rapid-fire strikes met only air as the beast jumped back sailing five meters, and landing gracefully. Uzman looked at the creature in stupefaction and amazement. The creature had seemed to float away, hovering in the air, while moving backward.

The creature that had attacked Fatima was slightly shorter than Uzman standing shy of six feet. Its humanoid body was blue-hued with two horns sprouting from the sides of its head. On its mouth, two tusks curved outwards highlighting a row of sharp teeth in its snarling mouth. The creature had yellow eyes tinged with red. Uzman recognized the blue Oni immediately; it was the partner of the red Oni they had killed, come to avenge its kin.

Uzman withdrew a healing pill while keeping his focus on the Oni. He edged slowly towards Fatima. Angling the glaive toward the Oni, Uzman squatted and pushed the pill into her mouth. The Oni simply stood where it had landed; its lips pulled back in a hideous snarl or smile observing Uzman keenly. From his bestiary lessons, Uzman had expected to fight the blue Oni at some point. He had learned that the Blue Oni was more intelligent and cunning than its red counterpart and preferred to use subterfuge instead of brute force. This would explain the reason why it had not attacked, choosing to observe its prey.

For the first time since he had started coming into the Cursed Forest, Uzman was afraid. He had faced other beasts that were of a higher rank and survived. However, looking at the yellow-red-tinged eyes observing him the way a cat may eye a trapped mouse, he did not know how to respond to the threat. If Fatima had not been injured, they could have tried a fighting retreat.

His assessment of the aura of the Oni only served to heighten his apprehension. The energy signature was strong and stable, far more than that of the red Oni. This would indicate that the creature was at early Rank 3. This was one of his main fears while training in the forest. Manifest in the flesh. He had wondered whether risking these forages for advancement was worth the benefits he was reaping.

Uzman had heard it told that the formations were failing gradually allowing higher-ranked beasts to wander into villages. This had been one of the reasons that the Northerners had agreed to a truce with the Silicians to better deal with the demon horde threats. The blue oni standing across from Uzman was a testament to this truth.

The two foes stared at each other. Neither wanted to make the first move; one out of uncertainty, the other out of fear. The shoulders of the Oni bunched and its thighs trembled with tension. Uzman braced his feet, taking the fire stance for increased mobility, as he awaited the coming charge. When the Oni charged, Uzman was prepared; he stepped back from the flailing claws and riposted with a hasty lunge. His thrust caught only air as the Oni floated away. The Oni continued testing Uzman’s defenses using the same tactic to float away when attacked.

As if tiring of the sport, the oni breathed in deeply, its chest expanding, and then gestured with its arms. Uzman dove to the ground and rolled getting away from the wind blade that had been close to decapitating him. Only the fact that Uzman had his energy sense active saved him. Uzman had been wary of the Rank three oni, since it was the first foe of that level he had encountered in the forest. He had noted the buildup of energy when the oni inhaled and had been ready to evade.

There was no doubt in Uzman’s mind that the Oni was an air cultivator. It could easily float away, move quickly to attack, and also possessed a ranged wind blade. The way the fight was shaping up, it was only a matter of time before he was vanquished. His only chance was to close the distance quickly and inflict a fatal blow. Otherwise, the Oni would just stay out of range and pelt them with wind blades.

Uzman evened his breathing to achieve clarity of mind; he started threading air and fire for speed and power. On a whim, he tried to add earth to the combination. He split his attention between the Oni, whose mouth was twisted in a laughing grimace. It was enjoying tormenting its helpless prey! Uzman kept dodging the blades while maintaining a tight grip on his threads.

All of a sudden, a feathered arrow struck the golem on its stomach.

“Aiyeeee,” The oni let out a human-like scream of pain and surprise. It had forgotten that there was another prey, lying on the floor. Fatima had recuperated enough to rejoin the fight after ingesting the healing pill. Now, the odds were better; only marginally, more like having two clubs against a bear rather than one.

Uzman continued trying to thread three elements together. Creating three threads from his Chi required all of his concentration and will. He had never attempted this feat before, but the dire situation that faced them forced him to use all tools in his arsenal. Earth, air, and fire would create lightning; a combination that would be faster and stronger than any other form he had previously used. His meridians felt raw, scorched by the power of lightning as he forced the motes of energy together. He visualized his body crisscrossed with lightning and forced the threaded Chi into the surface. Meanwhile, Fatima fired arrow after arrow forcing the oni to turn its attention from Uzman.

The Oni had fought defensively relying on its ranged attack and superior mobility to harass Uzman. With the entry of Fatima into the fray, its largest advantage had been negated. Fatima fired arrows every time the oni tried to form its technique. This respite provided precious minutes for Uzman to prepare an attack. It was all the time he had needed.

Uzman felt the lightning shield congeal and snap into place. He dropped his glaive and lunged forward, blurring, towards the Oni. He had expected to be fast, combining air and fire into vapor had made him exceptionally fast when fighting with other creatures. However, adding earth multiplied power with speed. It was as if he had teleported! Before it could react, Uzman tackled it and held it in a bear hug. The lightning shield came into contact with the Oni and arced through its body.

Like most air cultivators, the oni had a weak constitution and low defensive ability. Once Uzman grabbed it, the fight was over in a few breaths. The lightning stunned the oni disorienting it. Uzman lifted the Oni bodily and smashed it into the ground. His sword whistled through the air separating the oni from its head.

Uzman sat down winded, excruciating pain lancing through his body. He felt as if he was being torn from the inside. His meridians were raw and injured from forcing too much power through.

“Do you mind standing guard?“ He croaked, forcing words through his mouth.

Fatima nodded; she moved from the foliage cover where she had crawled during the fight.

Uzman took a healing pill and started meditating. He traced his meridians from the Dantian all through his body and noted that there were many lacerations. Unlike the other times, the combination of the healing pill and the wood chi was doing little to heal the meridians. However, the bruises on his body easily healed. He decided that it was critical to consult with his master before undertaking further measures.