User blog:Pollux83/Beyond Light and Darkness, Chapter 28

Violence against monsters warning.

Chapter Overview

 28 Trouble in paradise



 Zipangu. This island kingdom was amazingly varied. From flat coastal plains to snow capped mountains. It was fabulous.

Our next destination took us to a mountainous region. There were more Oni than on the coast and it was not long before we were stopped by one.



 She was so drunk and muttered that even Kai did not understand a word. She only wagged her bludgeon wildly. Since she did not want to let us pass, I had to put her to sleep with a targeted blow. Then at least she could become sober again.



 In the next village, we heard that this Oni repeatedly did mischief and robbed the people in the area to get more sake. Otherwise, they were harmless.



 We continued our journey. The further it went into the mountains, the colder it got. We had been warned. Many ice spirits lived here, causing snowstorms all year long. I think they called them Yuki-onna. In the past, these ice spirits sucked out any heat from people who had lost their way in the blizzard. Today they married them. I understood better and better why they welcomed the change of the monsters in Zipangu.



 But a bit of snow could not stop us. We put on warm clothes and drove on.

After a few days we reached a village. As always, they looked at us curiously, but something was different this time. The locals seemed nervous. I let Kai ask around to find out why.



 Having as always gained their trust, he told me what was going on. The people were not scared because of us, but because of an Oni. A dangerous Oni. They called this monster Ushi-Oni. An Arachne who possessed great corrupting abilities.

Ushi-Oni were among the few monsters in Zipangu that were really dangerous. I could understand the villagers well. Although these monsters no longer ate humans, they continued to be afraid of them. The fight against Ushi-Oni had cost many lives in the past. Nobody had forgotten that.



 In me, such monsters caused bad memories. I could not help but detest them. Someone had to help the villagers. I decided to stop her. I let Kai find out where the monster was last seen and got ready to find her.



<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> At the exit of the village Frederic was already waiting for me. "You do not really want to do what I'm thinking right now, right?" "I can not let this monster run around freely." "Your readiness for action makes me happy, but you endanger the expedition. Moreover, these people are to blame themselves when they get involved with monsters." "That does not change the fact that this monster is running around out there threatening these innocent people. As a member of the Order, you should understand that best." He hesitated shortly before answering. "All right, go. I can not stop you anyway. You better not die. I do not want to have done this whole expedition for nothing."

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> I left the village and started the search. They had found her tracks in a forest nearby, so I started there.

After a few hours, I finally found a first track in the snow. She could not be far away. Remnants of her demonic energy were still to be felt. I focused to locate them. I felt a weak demonic aura just west of my current position and ran.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> It did not take me long before I stood in front of her. She seemed a bit surprised but was happy when she saw me. "Oh, a man. You do not look like one of the villagers, but I like you. Do you really want to mate with me so much that you've been looking for me out here? Well then come to me and let us have fun." I did not listen to her. I had a goal.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> I stayed calm and only raised my right hand. The crystals on my belt glowed. Their magic flowed through me and I unleashed a firestorm. Without mercy, I burned everything in front of me. Every tree, every shrub and even the Ushi-Oni burned to ashes in fractions of a second. Nothing was left of her. Even from her demonic energy left nothing. My fire had devoured everything.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> It was done. The danger was eliminated.

Slowly, I lowered my hand and closed my eyes. The tension disappeared. Only now I realized what I had done.

I opened my eyes again and looked at the still burning forest. Nothing stood directly in front of me. The flames had eaten its way across the forest. Even the ground was burned and partially melted.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> So that was the power of 6 crystals at once. Then I did realize how exhausting the attack had been for my body. I had gone to the limit of my capacity. My body ached. I had to sit down, because I was about to faint.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> Before me a sight of destruction was revealed. Was that me? There was that pain again. Was that really me? I felt like I was losing my mind. What was wrong with me? That was not me. And yet I did it.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> Gradually peace returned to the forest. The snowflakes slowly extinguished the fire. The tracks in the snow disappeared. Soon, only a burnt scar in the forest would remember everything.

After recovering, I returned to the village. The others had been waiting for me impatiently. Frederic just looked at me annoyed. He was used to my solo efforts by now.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> I ignored him and went straight to Kai. "Hey, are you alright? You look a bit exhausted." "Everything's fine. I just overdone it, that's all. You can tell the villagers that they do not have to worry about these Ushi-oni anymore." "Good, I'll do that. But only if you promise me to rest." "Promised. And now stop worrying unnecessarily. Or you will acting like my mother." He started to laugh and then went to the villagers. But he knew something was wrong. I had seen that in his eyes.

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<p align="left" lang="en-US" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 150%"> The residents did not believe it at first, but Kai finally convinced them that this monster was indeed dead. After that, they began to thank us. We accepted their thanks and stayed in the village over night.

The next morning they gave us a few gifts. Mainly food. It was not much. The gesture alone counted. We thanked them and moved on. We still had a long journey ahead of us.