“What business does an orchestra have in a place like this? This isn’t a festival stage.”
A group that was obviously suspicious.
Thinking that they were the main event, I decided to speak to them while assessing the situation.
From their atmosphere, I could tell that they were also fully prepared.
Furthermore, I had to do something about this heart-like object, but unfortunately, I had no means to do so.
However, letting them realize that I could do nothing would put me at a disadvantage.
In that case, there’s no harm in bluffing that I could do something.
I directed my gaze towards the group, then casually shifted it to the heart.
However, I continued to sense their presence so as not to let my guard down.
This was to ensure I could act immediately if anything happened.
They looked similar but were different, and the atmosphere of an Oni was unique and easy to recognize.
Instructor Kio was, by far, the most obvious example.
Despite possessing a very wild aura, that Oni had an aura that made others aware that he possessed immense heat within, like a volcano before eruption.
Oni, as a race with horns, all share a similar aura to some extent.
Perhaps because their hearts are straight, or perhaps simply because they want to act, all Oni possess an inner heat.
This was something I could feel from the preceding group.
Perhaps that’s why I tried speaking to them.
Normally, no one but a complete idiot would listen to such words and respond.
Well then.
“We cannot have our long-cherished wish hindered.”
If you were to ask if the one who answered me was an idiot.
“A long-cherished wish, huh…”
I don’t think he’s an idiot.
The one who responded to my words was an Oni who was playing a flute at the front of the group.
His voice was low and firm, carrying a sense of weight.
Whether he had reached a certain age, as his voice suggested, or if it was related to the long-cherished wish he mentioned earlier, his words conveyed something.
I realized this wouldn’t be as easy as before. Without changing my expression or demeanor, I shifted my inner gears to top speed.
I gauged the remaining time based on the magic power I had fully exerted for about fifteen minutes, and turning towards the group, I knew this was no time for looking away.
He slowly lowered his flute, and the music and dance stopped in unison.
He was likely the one who led the group of Oni.
His bearing suggested as much.
Then, one person from the group dancing behind him stepped forward as if to stand aside, to his right and behind.
Was she a lover, a副官 (fukukan – adjutant/second-in-command), or someone of similar standing?
Although her face was hidden by her clothing, I could tell she was a young girl.
“We cannot allow anyone to touch the spirit of our Divine Oni. Our clan’s long-cherished wish will be accomplished soon. Those who would hinder us…”
“Hinder us?”
“Shall die here.”
Ah, so they are indeed Oni.
There was no mistaking the homicidal intent in their words.
They had come to kill me, purely and simply.
It felt like a blow to the gut, a pressure that made my body creak.
But.
What is this sense of incongruity?
The opponent should undoubtedly be an Oni; in fact, the man speaking before me was an Oni I knew.
He should be.
But somehow, I felt his Oni-like aura was faint.
“…There’s no point thinking about it now.”
I had no choice but to put that incongruity aside for the moment.
The opponent was fully committed to fighting, and I had been warmed up nicely from the previous battle, preparing myself fully.
Then there was no problem.
“Well then, shall we begin!”
From here on, we would simply communicate with our fists.
I took a strong step forward with a thud, a smile gracing my lips.
I threw off my bothersome jacket and rolled my shoulders.
Prioritizing ease of movement, I equipped only my police baton, which could serve as a weapon, and discarded my helmet.
Such equipment that would hinder vision, which I was not accustomed to using against Oni, would be a disadvantage.
Metal is like scrap paper to them.
It would be better to remove the weight.
“Are you coming, human?”
The opponent’s tone was stiff, as if he clearly saw my intention to fight.
That’s strange.
An Oni would normally welcome such a display.
Yet, instead of loosening his lips, he furrowed his brow and showed disgust.
“I await your challenge, Oni.”
“Your reckless bravery, knowing we are Oni, will make you regret it.”
“Recklessness is fine, audacity is welcome. Make me regret it.”
I felt even more incongruous about this, but I couldn’t point it out right now.
I am an employee raised by an Oni.
It’s only natural to accept a fight that’s been offered.
“With that unimpressed look on your face, I doubt you’ll be able to make me regret it!!”
The opponent was fully energized, and they rushed at me, their instruments and costumes swaying.
Their demeanor was literally fierce.
While trying to suppress my smile, I responded to their fighting spirit with my full power.
Keeping the remaining magic power in mind, I stepped forward with all my might.
The timing of my initial lunge, the control of my hip rotation, and the power of my fist transmitted from my legs were all optimal for a single strike.
A thunderous roar.
They were Oni, and if I held back, I would be the one to lose.
With that thought, I attacked with full force, without any hesitation for observation.
“Gahaha!?”
“Huh?”
I had attacked…
“It lacks substance…”
This was surely the feeling of losing one’s enthusiasm.
It was too easy.
No, it was far too easy.
The opponent also looked bewildered.
“What did you do?”
“No, I just punched normally…”
Yet, I had easily blown away the leading Oni, and the blown-away Oni was now lying there.
Honestly, I wondered if they were truly Oni?
They were weak, to the point where I doubted it.
Compared to the human troops I had fought earlier, they felt more resilient, but that was all.
“Ah, I see. So that’s what it is.”
From that lack of substance, I understood.
These guys…
“Haa, so this is what it feels like to be disappointed.”
They were weak.
And for the first time, I truly felt it.
The disappointment of having the enjoyment of battle stolen from me.
“Oh well, a job is a job.”
My motivation waned with that emotion, but I couldn’t just go home on a whim.
I couldn’t leave that thing behind either.
I had a fleeting desire to leave the heart-like object in my sight and go home, but I knew I couldn’t.
So, clicking my neck with one hand.
“Let’s finish this quickly.”
I decided it was better to finish the job quickly.
After all, I was currently strengthening my body with magic power.
If my magic power ran out, I would be forced into a difficult battle.
Therefore, it was best to end it quickly.
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind: wouldn’t it be more fun to fight with a little magic power depleted? I immediately pushed that thought away, prioritizing efficiency over enjoyment.
“…”
I felt a lack of satisfaction.
As I dealt with them with such detachment, I thought they weren’t Oni at all.
“…”
I thought that if they were Oni, they wouldn’t run but would confront me.
Why were they so afraid?
“…”
They weren’t running, but seeing them hesitate made my stomach churn.
Ah, I felt an urge to shout, “What are you doing?!”
“……..”
Pathetic, pathetic.
Are you truly Oni?
Are you the type of race that, when they hear the word “battle,” mistakes it for a festival or something, rushes forward gleefully, and seems eager to die?
“……..”
No, my heart screamed, absolutely not.
Are these people Oni?
Could such beings be Oni?
“…………………………That’s enough, you bastards.”
My tone grew rougher due to the accumulating irritation from their pathetic display.
While the initial encounter was the worst, that instructor had helped me in many ways.
At first, I thought he was violent, but he was just rough while being caring.
He was rough, but he also had a kind side.
His drinking habits were bad, but they made the situation enjoyable.
Most importantly, I respected his strong back.
Ah, I never said it, but in my heart, I respected that Oni.
Are you, fellow Oni, the ones tarnishing the image of such a strong Oni?
“What is this state of yours? Hesitating before merely one human, fearing merely one human, and finally giving up on being unable to win against merely one human?”
I will not acknowledge such beings as Oni.
My eyes, which should have held fierce fighting spirit along with a smile on my lips, were filled with pure fear.
My arms, which should have crushed rocks and easily snapped human bones, trembled with fear.
My fangs, which should have bitten and crushed heads, had been reduced to a percussive instrument playing the sound of fear.
Come to think of it, I didn’t like them from the start.
The fact that they avoided fighting was one thing, but above all else.
“What’s with that glum face? Do you have the will to fight?”
It was infuriating to see such pathetic beings, who spoke of a long-cherished wish yet failed to pursue their will.
The Oni I knew would pursue their will even unto death.
Even if their actions led to death, those Oni would fall forward without regret.
How do you compare to them?
“What do you know about us?”
“Who cares.”
They can’t do anything.
If they are hindered, they can’t do anything.
Just by standing in their way, they can’t do anything.
They become helpless just by being hindered, like a child tripping on a stone by the roadside and crying.
“I don’t want to know.”
I lit a cigarette, trying to suppress my irritation, but it didn’t have much effect.
While complaining to them, I continued to suppress and defeat the Oni to vent my frustration.
As a result, most of the Oni had their bodies sprawled on the ground.
Those who tried to get up were trying to distance themselves from me.
Pathetic. What a sight.
There was a male Oni, with his cloth torn and kneeling on one knee, glaring up at me with eyes that seemed trapped, devoid of their own will, and a female Oni, who seemed to be by his side but was actually hiding behind him, trembling.
I didn’t want to know their circumstances.
I spat out my words.
Thinking they could do nothing more, I walked past them and slowly began to walk towards the heart.
“Wait, what are you planning to do?!”
“What do you think? I’m going to shatter this.”
I had been thinking calmly until just now, but what was I worrying about?
The rule of thumb for my job is to ask someone who knows if I don’t understand. Failing because I act on my own is the worst thing a working adult involved in their job can do.
I understood that, but my intuition whispered that this should be destroyed, so I decided to channel my frustration into the giant object before me.
“Move.”
I gave a single warning to the Oni who tried to stop me.
I had hit him and sent him flying, but the damage wasn’t fatal.
At most, it was bruising; his body would be sore, but it would heal if left alone.
Therefore, if he ignored this warning, I intended to show no mercy the next time, conveying this with a single command.
“This is the crystallization of our long-cherished wish!! We cannot allow it to be hindered!!”
“With that face, don’t spout ‘long-cherished wish’.”
I didn’t want to see Oni clinging to a sense of duty.
I didn’t want to see Oni driven by the obsessive thought that they had to do something they didn’t want to do, forcing themselves to accept it.
The Oni I knew should have been freer. Hiding my sorrow while looking at them, I prepared to deliver a fist to the Oni who ignored my warning.
“Hmph! I have no choice. Haruna!! Do it!!”
“Brother!!”
But they were blocked by a wall of Oni.
Was this their last shred of Oni pride?
Despite their pathetic state, the Oni stood in defense of the male Oni.
And with a brief moment and a brief exchange.
I used my single fist swing to destroy that wall.
That instant was fatal. The forced activation of the ritual.
I had allowed it to happen.
The female Oni placed her hand on the ground and did something.
That alone caused the atmosphere of the place to change dramatically.
No.
“Tsk, did I mess up?”
It was that heart that changed.
The sound of its heartbeat intensified, and it began to overwrite the atmosphere of the place.
Even though my vision was dark, it seemed as if a purplish, strange aura was mixed within it.
While their action of performing the ritual without hesitation was commendable.
“This is bad.”
It was regrettable that they activated it without thinking anything through.
“With this, with this, we Oni…”
It’s fine to think the ritual is going well.
But.
“Gah.”
“Idiot.”
What were they doing not checking even after performing it?
There was no guarantee that forcing it to work would succeed, even if it were performed normally.
Who could guarantee that forcing it would work?
I was the only one who noticed that atmosphere.
“Brother?”
“You’ve caused trouble.”
The Oni did not understand what had just happened before their eyes.
This is bad, this is really bad.
An alarm bell had been ringing in my head since earlier.
I tried to assume an attack posture again, thinking I had to somehow manage this situation, but.
“Tsk.”
The scene before my eyes: as soon as the ritual activated, tentacles grew from the heart and attacked us.
That attack was truly indiscriminate, without regard for whether one was human or Oni.
I leaped backward with all my might.
Something pierced the ground.
I saw where that piercing object had come from.
“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?”
“Aaaaaaaaah!?”
“Gaaaoooaoa”
The damage was not limited to me alone.
The tentacles that emerged from the heart pierced the nearby fallen Oni and even the unconscious humans, and continued to do so.
“Stop it, please stop it!?”
“Don’t freeze, idiot!?”
The heart began to absorb the Oni.
Dozens of tentacles began to absorb the sluggish Oni and humans, one by one.
I reflexively grabbed the female Oni nearby and retreated.
If I recklessly charged in to save them now, it would cause a secondary disaster and I would be caught up in it.
Therefore, I allowed the birth of that being.
The heart instantly absorbed energy from the ground, consuming the bodies of the Oni and creating its own.
Black iron chains connected to its limbs, a collar to restrict its movement.
A colossal body that remained intact even with those restraints, and a single red horn ruling the apex of that massive physique.
Truly an Oni, its body was truly an Oni.
Even with restrictions, it stood up, as if to declare that its power was still intact.
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
Its body trembled, the air vibrated, and the forest stirred.
Cold sweat flowed from my forehead at the roar of that Oni.
“It’s no laughing matter when the first dream of the New Year turns into a nightmare.”
This is trouble right at the start of the New Year.
Today’s word:
Seriously, is this real?
That’s all for this installment.
Thank you for pointing out any typos and for your comments.
If you enjoyed it, please leave comments, ratings, bookmarks, etc.
*The first volume of the book has been decided to be published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.
It was released on October 18, 2018.
The e-book version was also released on October 31 of the same year.
The second volume was released on December 19.
The third volume was released on February 20, 2019.
The content has been revised and expanded from the content originally posted on Shōsetsuka ni Narō, with the addition of an unreleased interlude.
Please check out the new releases as well!!
Furthermore, a comic adaptation has been decided for Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.”
