Kyodai looked around at the three viking warriors and widened his stance, tightening the grip on his spiked kanabo. They had him surrounded.
Fools, he thought as he watched them spread out. This was his home. Did they really think they could sneak into the Forbidden Forest without his knowledge? At any rate, he couldn't let them walk out of here alive.
This trio was clearly a small force sent to scout ahead and find safe passage for an awaiting army. As the sworn protector of this region and all of its inhabitants, it was his duty to halt any intruders before they reached the monastery or the prayer garden.
One of the vikings, a berserker, decided to make the first move by yelling and leaping into the air with dual axes raised high. At the same time, a viking foot soldier rushed Kyodai from the left, rönd first. Their shield-maiden just stood there, proud, as if dealing with the massive, club-wielding forest ogre was somehow beneath her.
Summoning the strength that only a true demon could possess, Kyodai lifted the heavy kanabo and swung it in a wide, devastating sweep. He felt something give upon impact and knew that his strike had completely shattered the jaw of the falling berserker.
As his first victim's body smacked lifelessly against the forest floor and vanished beneath the rising fog, Kyodai turned and braced his shoulder against the next charging warrior's gokstad shield. Unfortunately for the viking, a shield bash at full sprint had zero effect on Kyodai's inhuman size and did absolutely nothing to knock him off balance. He reached out, grabbed the viking by the head and pulled, then pivoted and let go.
As a result, the soldier went stumbling off to the side until he tripped and fell from sight. A sound like crunching apples confirmed that he had fallen into one of the jungle's many bamboo spike pits. All that remained was the shield-maiden.
Kyodai's final opponent clashed her spear and shield together before declaring something in her native tongue. He didn't need to understand to know what she was saying. That she would be the one to slay the mire monster. It wasn't the first time an arrogant warrior wandered into his lair.
They always made the same mistake of letting whatever reputation they had amongst their people trick them into walking into the path of his kanabo. Did she know how many others like her lay mangled in this section of the forest alone?
To make matters worse, there were even more dangers of this place that the shield-maiden hadn't accounted for. A shadowy form dropped down from one of the trees behind her and landed as soft and silent as the leaves.
Keeping the shield-maiden's focus, Kyodai bellowed and pounded his chest with a fist. Then, for the first time since their encounter began, the Oni advanced.