by Nikita Thorn
Seiki’s two Slides would be enough to kite the demon about halfway toward the pit, and his plan was to position groups of villagers in at regular intervals to cover the rest of the path.
“I’ll get his attention first,” said Seiki. “Then when I say so, those of you with Rumi start throwing bamboo sticks at him.” He pointed out their spot behind one of the houses along the dirt road. “As soon as he turns to you, stop attacking immediately and run as far away as possible. Then, people in the second group, standing further away over there, start launching your bamboo sticks, all right? Then, again, when the demon goes after you, archers start shooting from back there. We don’t have a lot of arrows, so make them count.”
He had positioned the archers behind the pit, so that when the demon went after them it would fall into the trap. Seiki had no idea if this would work, or whether the Onihitokuchi would even behave like the giant skeleton, but it was all he could come up with.
The strategy relied on subsequent groups of villagers doing more and more damage, so as to take the demon’s attention away from the previous groups and lure it along the path. Thus, Seiki had eight people in the first group and the rest in the second group. Seiki also had them dip their bamboo sticks in Rumi’s Oni-Slaying Venom [Instance Item], which seemed to always refill magically, no matter how much of the poison they used. He took that as a good sign that they were doing the correct thing.
“This looks nasty,” said Genta, inspecting the tip of the bamboo stick, now covered with the thick tar-like poison that seemed to have a sickly purple tint.
“Let’s hope it is nasty,” said Seiki. “All right. Take your positions.”
The villagers organized themselves according to the plan, and silence fell as Seiki made his way toward the rice shed. Glancing back at the villagers, he could see their apprehensive faces peering out at him. Without the villagers’ chatter, things were now deathly quiet. The sky was overcast and an eerie wind had lifted, dragging dry leaves across the surface of the dirt road and pushing against the thin bamboo door as if teasing the demon inside with grating creaks.
It was not until right in front of the door that Seiki was reminded that the demon was still a full seven levels above and, no matter how good of a plan it was, he was most likely not meant to take on this content yet.
He glanced back at the villagers again, who were shifting anxiously in their hiding spots. At the end of the path, he could make out a tiny Saburo, as well as two other archers, readying their arrows.
It was too late to turn back now. Seiki drew his sword, took a deep breath and kicked the door open, trying not to shudder at the sight in front of him.
As tall as three men—and equally wide—, the Onihitokuchi looked like a giant disembodied head with thick arms attached slightly below its large pointed ears. In the middle of the head was a large single eye, under which were two slits that served as nostrils, and thick dark lips that stretched all the way to the earlobes.
It appeared to be in a squat, its two legs folded like a frog’s. Its skin was the color of dried blood, and a horrible thought flashed through Seiki’s mind that it could very well be dried blood.
The demon’s golden eye slowly opened at the intrusion. Upon seeing Seiki, its lips parted in a snarl, before its jaws separated and it let out a shrieking roar. In a snap, the whole face had become nothing more than a gaping mouth with sharp triangular teeth.
Seiki shot himself to the right with Slide, just as the demon charged forward with alarming speed—jumping up high and diving down, mouth-first, as it tried to take a bite at him. Seiki had no more doubt now that it could devour a grown man in a second.
While he sped across the dirt ground, Seiki could feel the building collapsing behind him as the monster burst through the front wall.
“Now, Rumi!” said Seiki, when his second Slide propelled him toward the first group of villagers slightly ahead.
Horrified by the sight, the villagers were standing there with their mouths hanging open. Rumi, assuming her role, was in front of her group with her weapon ready in hand. “Go!” she shouted.
At the sound of her voice, the villagers burst into action. Seiki threw himself aside to avoid the poisoned bamboo sticks shooting forward at the demon behind him. The demon, at first, did not react to the attacks and continued to lunge after him. But then, one bamboo grazed it on its lips, and it slowly turned toward Rumi’s group.
Onihitokuchi [Level 17 Rare Elite]. HP 2829/2840.
Even with the poison, the villagers were doing very little damage, but at least the strategy seemed to be working. Seiki was already back on his feet and sprinting forward. “Run!” he said, and the villagers turned and dashed out of the way. “Genta, now!”
A second, larger volley of bamboo sticks flew at the Onihitokuchi from the right, causing the demon to hesitate for a moment, before turning toward Genta and the dozen or so villagers with him. The bamboo sticks that had managed to find their target grazed the demon’s skin, and Seiki thought he could hear the poison hiss. The creature roared in fury, but seemed to be taking very little damage.
“Stop attacking and run!” said Seiki. The villagers needed no further prompt and, at the sight of the menacing demon charging at them, they turned and fled with terrified cries.
“Saburo, arrows!” Seiki said.
They were now more than two thirds of the way to the pit. An arrow whisked past the demon and missed. Another arrow flew, and also missed it by a few feet, and the demon was still going after the fleeing villagers.
Seiki cursed under his breath. These were untrained common people, he reminded himself, not ryoushi.
The demon was preparing to leap up and take a dive at a group of older men who were not as fast on their feet. Another arrow missed.
“Save your arrows until it’s closer!” Seiki said, as he rushed in and went for a normal Sweeping Blade on top of his newly recharged Slide, just before the demon could launch itself off the ground. The villagers had been doing so little damage to the monster that Seiki’s slash immediately caused it to turn on him. He had mapped out an ample length with his Slide, and that got him out of range before the monster could turn around and bite. Still, he could hear the jaws snap shut with a thunderous sound.
Out of Slide again, Seiki could only sprint as fast as he could toward the pit. Behind him, the demon roared again, and suddenly charged forward on all fours, almost doubling its speed.
Seiki felt a chill run down his spine. He did not know it could do that!
The pit, hidden under hay and leaves, was almost in front of him, and on the other side were a few very nervous villagers, their hands shaking as they aimed their hunting bows. The ground shook behind Seiki when the giant demon leapt above him.
Still seventeen seconds away from his next Slide, Seiki turned and drew up his sword in a desperate Parry, wondering how it would be possible to block this terrestrial version of a great white shark. The blade of the Hikari struck the hard red skin below its lips. And the impact threw Seiki out of under the demon’s massive body, as if an invisible force had exploded beside him.
“Arrows!” he said, as he landed on the ground, hoping the villagers would do better this time, now that the demon was right in front of them opposite the pit.
The Parry had gotten him out of harm’s way, but had taken all his energy. If the demon came after him again, Seiki had a pretty good idea now how it would end. He could hear bowstrings singing and arrows whisking by as he scrambled to his feet.
The Onihitokuchi had set its eye on the archers.
Villagers were running. Some had picked up bamboo sticks from the ground but were still keeping a safe distance behind the demon.
The Onihitokuchi made a dash at the archers.
“Fall back!” said Seiki, and Saburo and his men turned and ran. The demon’s right foot slammed onto the hay cover… and the monster was suddenly gone from sight, as it sank into the pit. Dust flew and the groun
d shook, and the Onitokuchi let out a furious roar.
There was a split second of apprehensive silence before Seiki noticed that, at the far end of the pit, still holding on, was a large red hand with thick, crooked fingers.
Cursing, Seiki sprinted around the pit as fast as he could. Perhaps a Sweeping Blade would force it to let go. Even before he could take two steps, the other hand reached up and smashed against the adjacent side of the pit. The demon was already dragging itself up.
Onihitokuchi [Level 17 Rare Elite]. HP 2317/2840.
Seiki clenched his fists. He could no longer see how this could end happily. The demon was halfway up the pit. One of the villagers tripped and fell, and the Onihitokuchi set its eye on him.
“This way!” said Seiki, as he ran toward it, trying to catch his eye and hoping that it would come after him. He had no way to fight it, but this was his instance, after all, and perhaps when he died, it would all reset.
But he was too late. In front of the demon, the village chief’s daughter, Rumi, had calmly stepped out, her hair now loose and flowing in the wind. Her eyes shone with determination as she stared at the demon, and Seiki could note that she was no longer afraid. Nested securely in her arms against her chest was the bottle of Oni-Slaying Venom.
Horror struck Seiki as he understood her intention. The demon swallowed its victims quickly. And with herself as bait, she would feed it poison. Further away on the other side of the pit, Genta, running toward her at top speed, was screaming out in anguish as he too realized what was about to occur. All around people seemed to be shouting out at once.
Perhaps it was scripted this way, with more loss, more sorrow, more things out of his control.
“No!” Seiki yelled as he shot ahead, spending whatever little energy had recharged in a short sliding Sweeping Blade. He would not let this happen. “No one’s going to die today.”
Seiki’s slash left a shallow cut across the demon’s foot, and the Onihitokuchi turned towards him. However, Seiki had no plans. Fighting the thing was out of the question, but perhaps he could lead it away. If he ran out of range, maybe he could reset the instance, and he would come back later, when he was ready to fight it.
They were at the end of the village, and ahead of him were the woods with thinly-spread red cedar trees. Not daring to waste time looking back, Seiki ran as fast as he could, hoping the trees would slow the demon down. He could hear the thing crashing through the forest, sounding uncomfortably near.
A Sika Deer [Level 16] was grazing peacefully on his right.
Seiki had now left the instance, yet the demon was still giving chase. Dang!
At least this meant one other thing. Seiki grabbed his horse whistle, and almost immediately Fubuki came galloping out from behind a tree alongside him.
Despite knowing that his chance was slim, his heart filled with gladness at the sight of the snowstepper. Seiki leapt awkwardly onto the running horse, making a mental note once again to learn how to do it properly at a later time. Pushing energy down on the stirrups, he dashed forward in a full gallop, speeding up just enough to put a tiny bit of distance between him and the mobile, monstrous mouth.
Glancing behind, he could see that the uneven forest ground and the roots were slowing the Onihitokuchi down somewhat, but ultimately you could never outrun monsters. Without energy to gallop forever, Seiki knew he had very little time before it caught up with him. At least, the village was probably safe, and the only thing he needed to worry about right now was how to save himself from a highly unpleasant death.
Trees flew by as Seiki tried to zigzag around them, when he spotted a Gray Wolf [Level 15] a bit ahead of him. He steered away from that direction, knowing it was stupid to charge blindly through a higher-level zone, and he looked around as he struggled to find his bearings. Perhaps if he could locate the stream he had been following earlier, he would be able to find his way to the Main East Road, and allegedly there would be Rangers there to help him. If they were anything at all like the City Patrols, they would be Level 30, which would hopefully be more than enough to get rid of this horrid demon.
It did not take long for Seiki to come to the conclusion he was dreadfully lost. The woods looked the same in every direction, and the demon was closing in very quickly, thrashing through the trees.
“When are you going to give up?” he said, as the Onihitokuchi leapt up again like a vengeful red and heavily-toothed cloud. Seiki pulled Fubuki in a sharp left away from it in time. The bite missed, but at the last second it swung out its arm. Seiki winced as he felt the impact on Fubuki’s side, which immediately threw both of them off the ground. The poor snowstepper let out an alarmed neigh as she landed on her side, scrambled to her feet and bolted off. Seiki jumped behind a tree before the demon could take a bite at him. Its jaws snapped shut like a hunting trap, taking a big chunk out of the trunk of the tree.
This was not going to be pretty. He grimaced as he made a mad dash ahead, wondering if he was only stretching out the ordeal and that he should just let it catch him and be done with it. That was when he noticed a splendid giant camphor tree ahead of him, as tall as a four-storied building, with heavy branches stretching out in every direction. Around its wide trunk was a hemp shimenawa rope, hung with ritual paper along its length.
“Kodama,” Seiki whispered. There was no time to think anymore, and he was desperate enough. Seiki spent the last bit of his energy in a hasty Slide, thrusting himself forward across the fern-covered forest floor, his hand dragging his Hikari across the bark of the kodama. “I’m sorry!” he said, as he shot past the tree and left a very shallow cut.
In his back, the tree shook angrily, and its massive branches came thrashing down as punishment for the offense. Seiki leapt off the end of his Slide and out of range before it could kill him. He landed heavily and skidded further through the low fern, before glancing behind just in time to see a heavy leafy branch crash down on top of the Onihitokuchi in pursuit.
It sounded like an explosion, and then it was very quiet. The only sound Seiki could hear was his own ragged breathing and the blood pumping in his ears. The slightly damp dirt was cold beneath him, and the spirit tree soon settled down and returned the whole forest to its peaceful state.
Onihitokuchi [Level 17 Rare Elite]. HP 0/2840. Lootable.
The demon was dead on the ground, and Seiki stared at it again just to make sure. Kodama, he thought, had to be the most powerful beings in the entire game.
As he looked up in awe at the magnificent giant camphor tree towering up in the middle of the forest, he felt as if he had never seen anything so good and so beautiful, and his heart was overwhelmed with gratitude.
“Thank you.” Sitting up on his legs, Seiki dropped into a low bow in front of the spirit tree. It must have been his imagination, but he could have sworn a gentle wind lifted then and the tree rustled in reply.
Slowly and carefully, he got to his feet and went up to the dead Onihitokuchi and dispersed its body, glad that it was all over. He did not particularly want to touch it, but he thought it would be improper to leave such a vulgar sight in front of a spirit tree. The dead demon went up in a puff of smoke, and Seiki saw on the ground in front of him a nondescript piece of grayish wood.
He stared at it for a moment, and his heart suddenly beat faster as he picked it up.
You have received: Sheathed Blade. Must be Level 18 to unsheathe.
Seiki gaped at the item in his hand in disbelief.
Sheathed Blades yielded named swords once pulled. And although he would not discover what it was going to become until much later, Seiki could no longer control his excitement.
He flipped the gray wood around, remembering the awe when he had first drawn his Hikari and how the blade had formed right in his hand as he unsheathed it. The wood was light, and it had no markings that would hint at what was to come.
“Thank you,” he said again, as he looked at the peaceful kodama, even though he suspected that it h
ad nothing to do with it. He noticed now that all around, under the shade of the spirit tree, birdsong had once again picked up.
Chapter 12
The Wilderness, as Seiki quickly learned, was generous with its rewards and unforgiving with its perils—the latter of which manifested almost immediately in the form of a Gray Wolf [Level 15] that leapt out of nowhere.
Without thinking, Seiki Parried it with the sheathed wooden sword he already had in his hand. The beast must have been accidentally aggravated when he was running away from the Onihitokuchi, and it had followed him all the way here.
His energy dropped to zero again. Seiki grimaced, telling himself that this was maybe how it went in the Wilderness, and that someone could make a lucrative career just looting dead bodies.
He would have to do it the slow way, with normal moves. And to survive this, he could not make a single mistake, since any undefended attack from the wolf would be fatal.
The beast growled and prepared itself for another leap. Seiki reached for his Hikari, only to find it was not there. In confusion, Seiki used the wooden sword in his hand to fend off the wolf again.
Gray Wolf [Level 15]. HP 1327/1350. Defensive stance.
“What the heck is defensive stance?” Seiki said, realizing once again he was not meant to be here and he had not a single clue about the Wilderness. Whatever it was, this was not going to work, and he did not even know where his Hikari had gone.
An idea popped into his head. The Wilderness was full of trees, and in any given cluster there was often at least one that was climbable. Indeed, a quick glance around revealed one climbable kiri tree right beside him.
He closed in and hit the wolf once more with Sweeping Blade, just to keep it at bay, before turning and darting toward the tree. Like any good predator, once he ran, the wolf came charging at full speed. But climbing trees was what Seiki had been doing almost exclusively for the past two weeks, and almost instantly he was more than ten feet up.
The wolf leapt as it tried to take a snap at his feet, but Seiki swung himself onto a higher branch, and the beast was left snarling in frustration on the ground.