Another Side
This is fun. What a fun time.
Oni King Raidou felt a certain emotion in this battle.
To think that a mere human would boldly challenge him. What a daydream scenario that would be.
And for the human before him to have grown to this extent, even if he himself had nurtured him, the Oni King Raidou of just a few years ago would never have imagined it.
“Instructor!”
Chasing after the strength he had accumulated over many years was a human, trained in just a few short years, a human who could be called Raidou’s disciple. This human attacked with all his might, recklessly yet cunningly aiming to win, using literally everything to challenge the Oni King, Raidou.
Jiro Tanaka.
Clad in white armor, with a smile hidden within his stern face, he met Raidou’s charge as if to say this battle was fun. Raidou welcomed him with great joy.
“Jiro!!”
Raidou had thought that he would probably only unleash his genuine full power against a Demon Lord or a hero during a decisive battle. He never imagined even a shred of a possibility that he would have to reveal it here.
That particular technique was that powerful, and for Raidou, it was truly his trump card.
Kimon Zekkai.
A supreme technique, attainable only by a select few among the Oni who possessed innate talent in their physique. Normally, it involved suppressing one’s physical abilities through the Fūinmon, thereby amplifying magic power. The technique then involved training one’s body by imposing a burden on it to withstand the increased magic power while in a weakened physical state.
However, while this technique might sound simple, it was one that would lead to regret for anyone lacking the proper resolve. It involved constantly activating a spell within the body to amplify internal magic power and retain it. If the amplified magic power was only a small amount, it would serve as moderate training with corresponding effects. But this was an Oni secret technique. It could not possibly be a casual training method.
High risk, high return. It was said to require innate physical talent and mental fortitude, but in reality, only one in ten thousand Oni could perform this ritual, and even then, only one in ten thousand among them could perform the highest-tier spell. That is to say, to etch this spell into one’s body without being one in a hundred million, only death awaited.
This state was achieved by pushing the body to its limits to amplify magic power internally, creating a state where explosive magic power constantly raged within. It forcibly compelled growth indefinitely, and even for a completely healthy body, it was quite dangerous. Furthermore, it weakened the body, attempting to increase the amplitude of that growth. It was not mere “burdening” the body, but growth through destruction.
How to make the vortex of magic power that threatened to break through the seal flow normally within the body and forge a physique that could withstand that torrent—it sounded simple when put into words, but as mentioned repeatedly, it was far from an easy act. The process involved imposing a load, and once accustomed to it, increasing the load on the accustomed body. The flow was monotonous, which made its effects immense. This was repeated endlessly. Until the person on whom the spell was etched died. A double-edged sword that, once etched, could never be removed.
If Oni King Raidou endured this spell, it would imply he was talented.
“This is fun! Jiro!!”
“I can barely keep up!!”
“You don’t deny the fun part, do you!!”
From a third-party perspective, this was only natural. Even in retrospect, they might say the Oni King was talented. The Oni King, with his trained physique, countered Jiro’s attacks, who was constantly moving at near-supersonic speeds and exceeding the speed of sound at his peak moments. Although he could clearly see Jiro with his own eyes, his gaze darted ceaselessly, as if not missing a single moment. Seeing the reality that he could do so, no one would doubt the Oni King’s talent.
However, if, hypothetically, one considered multiple “ifs” and arrived at an answer, everyone would surely exclaim in surprise if Oni King Raidou had been devoid of talent. Even Jiro, for that matter. His true form as an Oni was that of a feeble imp when he was born. He was not blessed with magical aptitude, nor with a nurturing environment, and naturally, he had no teacher. His Oni King was undoubtedly one of the lowest-ranked beings among the many Oni. So why did such an Oni now reign at the pinnacle of the Oni? The reason was that this Oni found a path in something that could be called extraordinary.
This Oni was born loving to fight. Even if weak, even if defeated, as long as he wasn’t killed, he could fight again and again. A born battle-maniac. Knowing this, the Oni never forgot to strive, never set limits. He knew the weight of a single push-up, he understood the necessity and danger of resting. Because he was weak, he became greedy for strength, and he could stake his life for strength. While most ordinary Oni set their limit at a certain point, he unhesitatingly believed “I can still do more, I can still do more. I can still become stronger.” Because he was weak, he was grateful for the good fortune of having stronger beings above him to challenge, rather than lamenting his weakness.
For an Oni, weakness is a disgrace. But this man who became the Oni King thought of weakness as an opportunity to fight many strong existences. When he told this to other Oni, it was taken as an excuse from a weakling. Everyone thought this audacious Oni would not survive. If he survived one day, they dismissed it as coincidence. If he survived ten days, they called him lucky. After a month, they began to find him tenacious. After a year, doubts arose. He was repeatedly on the verge of death, defeated countless times. But he never died. For Oni King Raidou, true defeat was death. Not being able to fight again was defeat; as long as he survived, there was no problem. Therefore, to challenge stronger beings, when he encountered the Kimon Zekkai technique, even after being warned that he would die, he did not hesitate and etched the technique into himself if it meant becoming stronger. In a sense, the birth of the being who would become the Oni King was at this moment.
On the first day, he could not move his body due to unimaginable pain. The Oni who performed the ritual watched him nearby, drinking alcohol. Around the time a week had passed, the Oni King, who had stopped moving completely, uttered with a parched throat, “I want some sake.” The astonished Oni, realizing he was still conscious, gave Raidou some sake. “Ah! This is the best sake I’ve ever had.” And therein, Oni King Raidou remembered it as one of the five best sakes he had ever tasted. Despite the unimaginable pain wracking his body, the Oni drank the sake sip by sip without concern. And as he adapted to the pain and trained his body, he gradually gained strength.
Was it smooth sailing from there? Not exactly. Raidou was originally a small imp, considered devoid of talent. Whether by miracle or sheer tenacity, he continued to fight and live for several decades, repeating wins and losses. Gradually, he stopped losing. Nevertheless, he continued to repeat destruction and reinforcement, succeeding in gradually increasing his magical aptitude. The increase in magical aptitude, which was repeatedly called unprecedented, was, in reality, a silent success, unnoticed by anyone, culminating in the birth of the Oni King. From the Demon Lord’s perspective, if he continued to live for hundreds of years, he might reach the Demon Lord’s level of magical aptitude, level ten, without anyone knowing. Furthermore, he was the only one in this generation to master Kimon Zekkai, the strongest Oni. His magic and physique, honed over centuries, boasted a toughness and abundance that even the Demon Lord would praise, making it impossible to exhaust in just three days.
However, even such an Oni… felt threatened by the human’s blade, which sought to tear his limbs apart. Even though this trained body would immediately regenerate after being grazed, pain would still run through it. In a sense, Oni King Raidou was the most pain-resistant general. He was insensitive to pain and, furthermore, did not feel fear from it. For him, pain was merely the meaning of existence and a process for becoming stronger.
Despite this, Jiro’s blade, swinging before him, made him feel something beyond mere pain. Raidou offered silent praise in his heart. *Excellent, you’ve made me enjoy myself so much.* And without speaking, Raidou sent Jiro the highest praise from the depths of his heart: “I have no regrets even if I lose to this person.” This was the moment Raidou, who acknowledged Jiro as a human and a disciple, implanted a new evaluation of Jiro within himself. He acknowledged Jiro as a strong being. He acknowledged Jiro as an equal on the battlefield. That is why…
Facing such a being…
“Hah! I’m going even harder!!”
“I can’t afford to lose either!!”
A stubborn streak surfaced, unwilling to lose easily. His fist, though its tip was cut, had a body that could heal. Pain ran through him, but Raidou felt this pain as proof that he was fighting. And he was grateful to Jiro, who had become strong enough to inflict pain on this long-honed body.
“Gahahaha Hahahaha!!!”
That is why he could laugh. He could rejoice. His punch struck Jiro’s armor, but judging by the feel of the impact, he marveled that it still couldn’t penetrate. Jiro’s feet sank into the ground, preventing him from being blown away. Despite suffering internal damage from the impact, causing him to spit blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes were far from lifeless. A chilling sensation ran down Raidou’s spine, and trusting his instinct, he recoiled backward, but a sword stroke flashed across his left eye, causing him pain and losing his vision on the left half of his face.
In the few moments it took for his vision to recover, Jiro would not wait. Trusting the intuition honed over many years rather than dealing with the remaining vision, Raidou chose to advance. He slipped into Jiro’s blind spot, and his arm, swung with all its might, caught something solid as he searched for Jiro’s whereabouts.
“That’s quite a sturdy sword!!”
“Conversely, why doesn’t your fist cut a blade when you punched it!?”
“If you want to cut my fist, you’ll need something sharper!!”
Jiro’s blade had dug in slightly. If he hadn’t concentrated magic power into his fist to ensure its strength, Raidou’s fist would undoubtedly have been severed. Further tightening his muscles to prevent the blade from embedding deeper, Raidou used that fist as a pivot and swung his other fist toward Jiro, whose location he had pinpointed. Though his hand would be numbed by lightning magic for a few seconds, Raidou intended to break Jiro’s bones by cutting his flesh, considering it a small price to pay to inflict a fatal blow.
“Pile Regret!!”
However, as the Oni King’s vision returned, the first thing he saw was Jiro, releasing his grip on the Ore Tree, stepping forward with all his might, and preparing to cast a magic spell to match Raidou’s punch. An attack that could resist Raidou’s full-powered fist.
Raidou’s eyes widened, and he was surprised. He felt the impact from the tip of his fist. His full-powered punch had been blocked. But, he also realized from the feel of the impact that Jiro’s left arm had been crushed in exchange. It was not a wrong decision to intercept with his left arm to avoid a fatal wound. Raidou understood that and wanted to praise Jiro’s spirit for continuing to fight. However, from Raidou’s years of combat experience, he knew that the tide of this battle had been decided. Jiro, unable to instantly heal his broken arm, would have to fight with one arm from now on. Against an equal opponent, it might be manageable, but against Oni King Raidou, this reduction in combat power was a fatal blow. A tinge of disappointment flickered across Raidou’s face. No, it had surfaced. He needed to give his all, and with all four limbs in perfect condition, he could barely cling on. Jiro’s body, having transcended humanity, possessed considerable combat power and had pursued him more than anyone else in this venue. That is why Raidou, with a hint of loneliness, offered a slight, somber smile, thinking the end would be swift.
“Don’t make a smile that doesn’t suit you!!”
However, a man’s voice echoed, indicating that someone here refused to give up.
“If your fist is no good, you have your legs!!”
Even as his left arm was shattered and repelled by Raidou’s fist, Jiro’s eyes remained alive, refusing to give up, and a magic circle glowed at the feet of the human determined to win.
“Take three times what you got earlier!!”
A leg is said to possess three times the power of an arm. A single blow, delivered without any reservation, as if to awaken it, shattered towards the Oni King, who had worn a slightly lonely smile.
“Pile Regret!!”
An unexpected double-strike of the same magic. As if demonstrating that what can be unleashed by an arm can also be unleashed by a leg, Jiro’s flying knee kick, launched like a rocket, directly struck Oni King Raidou’s face. His massive body lurched backward, and for the first time in this battle, the Oni King was knocked to the ground.
“….Did you wake up?”
Standing before the Oni King, who was panting deeply, wiping the blood from his nose with his chest held high despite his fatal left arm injury, Jiro said, “I haven’t given up yet!!” He pointed his Ore Tree at the Oni King as if to say, “Don’t underestimate me.”
“Gahahaha!! You’re right! That was my fault! It’s a killjoy for me to give up!!”
“Thank you,” Raidou murmured inwardly, thinking that if he drank alcohol now, it would be the best he’d ever tasted.
“Let’s play more!! Jiro!!”
He became as boisterous as a child.
Today’s Word:
It is a joy to witness growth.
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Currently, I am serializing another work: Pandora Pandemic Panic. The Pandora’s Box has been reopened, but we are fighting back with various activities in secret bases!! Please check that out as well!!
