Chapter 40 – Oni God

The fight started with the young red Oni crouching to tackle the jumping monster. He gritted his teeth, caught the monster by its claw, and slammed it to the ground.

The excitement went through the roof when the red Oni decided to wrestle the now-downed monster. He grabbed its neck with his arm and leg-locked the monster's body, so it was unable to move.

It was so ridiculous that Kai even chuckled a little, enjoying the show. Come to think of it; it was called a show and not a monster fight.

"Since the start, they know that the young Onis could win the fight easily." He concluded.

Even so, it was exciting. If he needed a comparison to it, then this Oni vs monster show was similar to a certain wrestling entertainment in modern society. Entertaining.

The fight continued for more than 10 minutes before both sides looked exhausted. The monster claw injured the Oni, but it was closing slowly, regenerating. Oni's vitality was really great; their regeneration was fast, but still not as fast as Phoenix, though.

Kai also wanted to try to fight the monster, but he held himself back. Staying in one place would be counterproductive to his goal of enjoying the festival, so he began to walk away. He noticed Meryl gaze at him, and he waved his hand, gesturing he would walk around the festival.

The playful noble Devil waved back and pointed at her side. Kai moved his sight and noticed that the other Devil on the second floor, someone called Silvi Valac, was looking at him.

He nodded his head slightly to show his respect toward the noble, as he didn't know whether it was the correct thing to do. The man smirked and nodded before whispering something to Meryl, which made her face flush red.

Kai didn't know what they were talking about, but maybe they were talking about something personal. He quickly left the place and went to another attraction located on the other side of the village.

As he walked, he sent a telepathic message to Amber.

'Amber, I am walking around the village. Let's meet in the plaza when you're done.'

[Sure thing, Kai.]

Hearing her reply, he smiled a little and put his hands in his pocket. Youkai and Oni dominated the street. Only a few humans could be seen here and there.

Due to the barrier, the sun was hidden, so it was a bit hard to tell the time. Fortunately, Kai wore a watch and noticed it was only 10 AM. Still a bit early for lunch, so he didn't buy anything.

What excited him the most about this festival was the variety of exotic food made by the Onis. As a chef, he was really interested in it and wanted to try all of them.

But that was impossible. His stomach could only handle some, not all. He stopped at a few attractions as he walked around. There was an arm wrestling stage, a normal wrestling stage, and a sumo stage.

Most attractions were filled with fights due to the Oni tribe's nature. It was no wonder they loved to watch a fight as they were a fighting tribe.

One of the stages took Kai's attention. It was the one close to the central plaza, right in front of the mansion, facing the many restaurants around the plaza. Unlike other stages, this one was filled with neon lights and complete sound equipment. It was also the most crowded among the others.

Kai noticed that the restaurants were open to the public, unlike the one near the arena, so he entered one of them curiously and went to the second floor.

Of course, he got a VIP-like treatment because the Onis already saw his strength and respected him, which confused other people and made them question his origin.

'This will invite some trouble, no?' He guessed with a wry smile but still accepted Oni's kindness.

The restaurant's second floor was filled with important-looking individuals, probably the riches from their respective races.

With just a glance, he noticed three vampires sitting around one table and a family of Devil at the others. Two humans with black coats bearing a Slayer organization logo sat on the table behind Kai, which was located at the edge of the balcony and had the best view.

Sitting alone in such a place was awkward.

"Thanks for waiting!"

Suddenly, a cheerful voice came from the stage, and everyone turned their heads to look. The people around Kai and himself weren't an exception.

A smoke puffed at the center of the stage, and a short girl with fair skin appeared. She looked like a middle-schooler with long black hair, and two red horns jutted out from her forehead.

The clothes she wore could be described as black Kimono clothes with frills and golden ornaments, remodeled to look like idol clothes.

She held a golden microphone in her right hand and jumped with her other arm lifted. Everyone cheered at her appearance. They were excited. But what caught Kai's attention was the color of her eyes.

'Golden?!' He screamed in his mind, but the others didn't seem to care about it as they chanted her name.

"Shuten Douji!!"

"Kyaa!! Shuten! I love you!!"

"Oni god for love!!"

Those shouts came from many Onis, humans, and Devils alike. The Vampire was almost nowhere to be seen except on the second floor, seeing the spectacle with a small smile.

"Everyone! How are you today?"

"We are good!" They shouted at once."

"That's great to hear! I hope you guys enjoyed the festival!"

"We are!"

The exchange continued as Kai held his wry smile. He was familiar with the name and all, and his mind began to remember Oni's legend.

'No no no, this is too much!' He was in denial as the legend he knew was shattered instantly.

Shuten Douji. The name that those Onis shouted belonged to the Oni leader, an Oni god. It was said that Shuten Douji wreaked havoc in Kyoto with their subordinates and trusted Oni named Ibaraki Douji. They were feared all across Japan and were said to be sealed in Mount Oeyama, this place.

Far from being sealed, the truth was something hard to accept for Kai. He didn't even notice the waiter put some meals on his table and only looked at the stage, his gaze focused on the small Oni who greeted her fans excitedly.

'The feared Shuten Douji, the Oni leader, has become an idol? What kind of nonsense is that!'

If possible, he wanted to scream. Though that would be impossible, seeing where he was right now. He got a VIP seat on the restaurant's second floor from being respected by the Onis.

Then, when he was about to avert his gaze away to just enjoy his meal, Shuten Douji turned to where he was. He thought it was his imagination, but she looked straight at him and then smirked.

Bad feelings were overflowing. He just knew something would happen. His luck was somehow nonexistent since he met Amber.

[Let's meet later, young man. I will wait for you~]

It was then proved as Shuten Douji's voice rang in his head, and blew a kiss toward him.

"I hope you have a good day, too, people on the second floor! Especially you, a man with shoulder-length hair in a black suit!"

'I am totally screwed.' He thought as he felt people's sharp gaze on him, especially the Slayers who sat on the table behind him. 'I don't want to be found by the Slayer organization this way.'

***

Shuten Douji loved something interesting and entertaining. For that reason the Oni Festival was held; it was for the same reason she became an idol. So when she noticed something interesting, like nostalgia, she suddenly wanted to do something.

The nostalgic feeling came from a man on the second floor. She had heard about that human from the Oni Chief, Kirimaru. That boy, from Shuten Douji's perspective, said a human had defeated his son easily.

With just a glance, Shuten could identify the man who sat on the second floor as that human. Why? Because she had instructed the Onis to do so. To make a spot for that said human so she could meet him.

What she didn't expect was the nostalgic feeling. Something that tugged inside her heart, making her remember the past when she wreaked havoc in Kyoto. It wasn't from the one who was said to slay her, but it was still nostalgic.

The legend was twisted. Minamoto no Raiko wasn't the one who slew her. Instead, she was defeated and fell to one human said to be the strongest. Yes. The feeling she got from that human was similar to that person.

Hence, she decided to mess with him slightly and send him a telepathic message.

[Let's meet later, young man. I will wait for you on the back of the mountain~]

And then she blew a kiss to him as fanservice.

"I hope you have a good day, too, people on the second floor! Especially you, a man with shoulder-length hair in a black suit!"

She thought that she might finally be able to fulfill her promise to one of her trusted subordinates.

'Ibaraki will be glad if she meets him~ Her lifelong desire to serve will finally be fulfilled.'

But now, she had a concert to do. So she turned around to the crowd and shouted excitedly.

"Alright! The first song is 'I am an Oni God!' Let's sing together!"

"Yeah!!!"