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Frank and Matsuo rested above the wooden floor of the shrine, as the Domain set over it began to slowly fragment, carrying them to reality, inside of the real shrine, which was desolated and filled with dust.
"I have to report this to the Clan… This whole territory is supposed to be part of our clan, those Onis are breaching the limits of our domain… And that one with glasses… His strength and the density of Mana that he exuded were simply off the charts… And that is not even counting his Spatial Magic, perhaps one of the strongest Attributes of Magic in the world…" said Matsuo.
"Onis… Have them and your clan been on quarrels for a long time? The look in the eyes of those two. They seemed to despise us, even when we have never met them before…" said Frank.
"Don't you remember anything, Frank? What did I tell you the other day? About the three Demon Gods that tormented Japan in the past?" asked Matsuo.
"Oh right… Are they the descendants of one of them?" asked Frank.
"Yes, they're these Onis… By seeing how one of them was able to wield Abyss Magic… They seemed to be descendants of the Oni Clan of Shuten Doji… Unlike the mischievous and evasive Kitsune, descendants of the clan of Tamamo no Mae, or the secretive and solitary Tengus, descendants of the clan of the Emperor Sutoku, Onis are more vicious, malicious, and barbaric… And of course, they all hold a strong grudge against our bloodline, seeped into their bloodline, as our Goddess, Amaterasu-sama, alongside the other Gods killed the Three Demon Gods to save humanity from destruction," said Matsuo.
"Have they appeared before? It can't be that they just appeared now, right?" asked Frank as he took out two bottles of cold water and offered one to Matsuo, as both drank almost the entire bottle.
"Phew… Yes, they had appeared before. There were several smaller wars between our clans in the past, where even the Vampires or Werewolves helped us out a bit… Thanks to all of that, we had managed to fend them off several times… Well, I never participated in one myself, but I've fought Onis before when I went to certain higher-ranked missions with my father," said Matsuo.
"(If Matsuo is so strong to be capable of doing so much damage to that monster of an Oni, how strong would his father be…?) I see…" said Frank.
"However, since the latest war that happened around eighty years ago, the Oni numbers had lowered a lot, and they had stopped roaming most of Tokyo or the surrounding regions… This is why it is strange, from where did these guys even come from? Perhaps they were preparing their comeback for a while, and this guy here was simply working as some kind of spy, overseeing Tokyo and our movements while relaxedly eating the innocent people in this small village unprotected by us… Damn it…" said Matsuo, as he quickly realized most of what was happening.
"If it is really like you put it… Then the Onis are planning to begin war again? Can't they understand that if they lost many times already, they will surely lose again?" asked Frank.
"I have no clue what is in the mind of these barbarians, aside from the thirst for blood and revenge against our Clan… However, that Oni that rescued the one we defeated… He is strong enough to be qualified as an… S-Rank threat, or higher, depending on how much ability does he has with his Spatial Magic… We would have to deploy all of our strongest clan members and even grab some of the strong artifacts we possess to defeat him…" said Matsuo.
"That much? Wait, and what are those Ranks?" asked Frank.
"Hm… I guess I haven't explained them. Well, they're rather similar to the Ranks that Magic Crystals and Monsters have, to an extent. If we compare the to the strength of monsters, an S-Rank Threat is a being who is near Rank 16-17 within Monster Rank standards…" said Matsuo.
"What?! And I already had some complications with Rank 3 Monsters… Wait, and how strong are you in that chart?" asked Frank.
"Hm, I could be considered to be a B-Rank," said Matsuo with a humble tone.
"Really? But you are so strong… I thought you were at least A-Rank!" said Frank.
"Hahaha, you flatter me. No, I am actually quite weak, I have recently gotten into B-Rank this past year… That Oni, however, the one that we defeated… Could be considered to be A-Rank, this is why, even if you did not deal any damage to him, if I did not have your help, I would have most likely died… I own you my life, Frank," said Matsuo with a grateful smile.
"W-Wait! Don't kneel, it is not like I even dealt any damage or fought by myself, I simply used the cheats I had at my disposal to weaken him," said Frank.
"It was impressive though. Your use of your threads left me startled. And you were even capable of restraining him for more than a few seconds as well. And that without even counting in your constant supply of Mana, which should have already run out in my case after tanking the first attack that he fired to us… And because I am a pure mage, I would have been left mostly ready to die, my martial techniques are fine, but nothing outstanding… My head would have been most likely crushed like a watermelon! Hahaha!" said Matsuo.
"…I don't think that is a very funny thing to imagine in my mind," muttered Frank.
"Ah, come on, I am just trying to lighten the mood. Cheer up, okay? Life is precious… and we somehow survived, so you gotta appreciate it. I believe that it was all thanks to our teamwork," said Matsuo.
"I-I see… Well, you are right. Anyways, let's get going, it is getting dark outside… And you have to report a bunch of stuff, and I also have to grab my Task Rewards," said Frank.
"Alright then! Seraphin Wings! Seraphin Wings!" said Matsuo, conjuring the flying spell he possessed on himself and Frank, as the two took flight into the skies of Tokyo.
Meanwhile, in a mysterious place, resembling a large Japanese-styled tower that was filled with dust and dim lights illuminating the place, the figure of a man emerged from within the darkness, carrying the charred body of his brethren.
As he appeared, many other figures noticed the presence of the man, as they rushed towards him, all of these people seemed like normal Japanese people, but their ears were sharp and long, and they all had differently shaped horns in their foreheads or the side of their heads while wearing old-style Japanese clothes.
"Ah! Takai Shinji-sama!"
"Uehara! What has happened to him?!"
"Takai Shinji-sama, what had occurred to our sibling?!"
The Oni with Glasses carrying the charred body gently lowered the burnt body of his brethren.
"He's on the verge of death, quickly, heal him, Sakura," said the man.
"Yes!"
A young girl emerged, with long pink hair made into braids and a small, red-colored horn in the left area of her forehead. She put her hands over the burnt body as she started to chant incantations.
Magic circles showing Japanese letters emerged, unleashing a refreshing breeze over the burnt Oni, its burned skin began to peel off, revealing the red and cooked flesh inside, which slowly started to regain life.
"Uunnnghh…! Ahhh…!"
The process was slow and painful, but the Oni was being slowly healed.
The Oni with glasses sighed in relief, sitting near his brethren who were being intensively healed.
"It seems that Uehara was detected by the Monk Clan ahead of time… They were two kids, but they were strong enough to do this to him…" he said.
"Only two brats?! But Uehara should surely be stronger than two miserable brats!"
"He's the youngest of us, so he is reckless. He most likely lowered his guard and took it easy… He is not the most thoughtful of all of us, after all,"
"Tch… Those damned humans, I am going to find them and eat their families alive!"
"We cannot let this be! We'll wage war and kill those damned Monks once and for all!"
"We'll feast on their blood, and we shall finally avenge our ancestor's death!"
"…Calm down, everyone. We cannot be reckless like Uehara. Have you not learned anything from our previous failures? Our clan is now on the verge of extinction, and the granddaughter of our ancestor is still trying to gather enough power to fight against the Monk's Great Ancestor. We cannot go ahead of time and even less without a plan!" said the Oni with glasses, his words were firm and made the rest fall into silence, showing how much respect they had for him.
"But Takai Shinji-sama… This is…" muttered an Oni.
"I know your pain, my sibling. What they had done to Uehara will not be taken lightly. When the time finally comes… We shall exert revenge against those two brats, and against that clan of hypocrites!" said the Oni with glasses, as he raised his arms, showing his sharp and black-colored claw-like nails, as his eyes turned crimson red, leaking an aura of bloodthirst that paralyzed some of the Oni presents.
"But for now… we plan, and we wait…" he added, calming himself down and closing his eyes.
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