In the middle of the night, I feel that something is wrong.
I sit up on the futon, look around, and see that my father is also awake, lighting a candle.
BANG!!
A violent beat shakes the fragile door, nearly breaking it and waking the women.
"Dad… what is that?" A chorus of growls and canine snarls seems to answer my question.
"Wolves… but this isn't normal. Get ready, Usan."
My father grabs the two-handed axe, already positioning himself beside the door.
I grab my hatchet, standing next to my father, while my mother tries to calm the girls.
BANG!!! CRASH!!!
The door bursts open in front of my father, who immediately delivers a precise strike to the wolf's head, killing it instantly.
He quickly pulls the axe back, causing some blood to splatter onto his clothes.
He steps outside calmly, looking around.
I follow right after, gripping my hatchet nervously.
see the wolves' glowing eyes in the dark.
Their snarls echo, threatening, sending a chill down my spine.
My father spots a humanoid figure in the distance.
"…Wait… Hey, you! It's full of wolves out here! Climb a tree and—"
Suddenly, I'm shoved by my father, causing me to fall to the ground.
I barely have time to blink or complain before I see my father's face pierced by the man he was trying to help.
My father's body collapses.
I feel frozen.
The man turns toward me, his eyes glowing with a dark green light.
His face is horrible and animalistic, with a massive scar covering much of it.
He has long, sharp nails, now dripping with my father's blood. He smiles, his teeth terribly yellow, sharp like a wolf's, and then he speaks in a hoarse, deep voice:
"This one's yours. Have fun..."
I snap out of my shock and stand up, already raising my hatchet toward the man's torso, but I'm suddenly knocked down and dragged away by the arm by a wolf.
The wolf then tries to bite my face, but I wedge the handle of my hatchet into its jaw and, twisting my body, push it away.
I start to get up again, only to be knocked onto my back once more.
"Arghhh." I groan as my head hits the ground, leaving me dazed, my hearing briefly replaced by an irritating ringing.
The second wolf begins biting my leg.
I try to push it away with kicks. The first kick narrowly misses its eye, making it whimper.
I raise my foot for a second kick, but the first wolf leaps onto my chest, pressing its full weight onto me.
"AHHHHH!!!" It bites into the area between my chest and shoulder, violently tearing away a red piece of fabric, flesh, and blood.
I stop the second bite by once again placing the handle of my hatchet against its jaw, but because of its weight, and the other wolf biting my leg, I can't get it off me.
The sounds begin to return little by little. I start lifting the wolf above me with the hatchet.
It growls furiously, striking my chin and cutting me with its claws, but it seems dazed as I raise it higher and higher.
But I freeze as my senses fully return.
I turn my face toward the cabin, where I hear the horrifying screams of terror from my mother and my sisters.
My eyes widen when I hear Chiyo's final sharp scream of pain, along with the last jingle of her bell.
My tears begin to flow down my face, mixing with dirt, blood, and the wolves' saliva.
The world seems to slow down.
Then, the memories return, an entire past life, the darkness, the shop, and the abilities of a game character, everything flashing before my eyes.
I grit my teeth, and with a sudden surge of strength, I finish lifting the wolf and throw it aside.
Crack!
With a thud and the sound of breaking, it falls from a considerable height and rolls on the ground, whining in pain.
I raise the upper half of my body, also lifting my hatchet.
The wolf that had been gnawing at my leg continues the same action with a focus completely unnatural for an animal.
The hatchet is driven straight into the middle of the wolf's head, killing it instantly.
Trembling in pain, I raise my hand, trying to grab something in the air in a desperate gesture.
Then, out of nowhere, a flask with a greenish liquid appears in my hand, which I drink without hesitation.
I stand up, limping, and walk to the wolf rolling in pain on the ground, delivering a firm strike to its neck.
The warmth of the potion fills my body, slowly regenerating my flesh.
I remain in position as I see the other wolves approaching.
One lunges, running and snarling, then leaps toward my throat.
I dodge to the side, almost falling due to my injuries.
When the wolf lands, it immediately turns with its mouth open to bite me.
I strike its forehead, killing it, but the hatchet head gets stuck in the corpse.
One of the circling wolves takes the chance and charges at me.
In my right hand, a dark sphere gathers in my palm.
I throw it.
The moment it leaves my hand, it instantly takes the shape of a large, completely dark shuriken, which decapitates the wolf and disappears like smoke after spinning through the air for a few moments.
The remaining wolves seem to hesitate at the sight.
The sound of the wolves' whining brings the Oni out of the house.
He is covered in blood, scratching his head with a disdainful expression.
"Tsk, what's all this noise?? I had just started eating… Ah, you're still alive…"
He then looks at the wolves' corpses.
"You little shit! Do you know how much trouble it was to get these flea-ridden mutts??" He raises his claws and charges toward me.
I can see him approaching, but he's too fast for me to dodge.
─── ◆ ───
Third-Person POV
Just before being hit, the Oni finds himself attacking a figure with the same silhouette as the boy, but completely dark, like a shadow, with only its eyes glowing purple.
The Oni's claws and body pass through the shadow.
He looks at his own claws in surprise, then turns behind him.
Usan charges at the stunned Oni.
The shadow beside the boy mimics his hatchet strike.
Both hit the Oni at the same time from different directions.
The blades meet in the middle of the creature's neck, decapitating it.
'What?? Kekki Jutsu? No… he's human, I'm sure of it!' the Oni thinks as he struggles not to scream in pain, trying to deceive the boy by pretending to be dead.
The wolves that were dragging the bodies of Usan's family out of the cabin freeze mid-action, clearly terrified by the shadow and the boy staring at them with eyes glowing an unnatural purple.
Despite the animals' clear terror, they advance, as if they were puppets.
'That's it! It doesn't matter if he has strange abilities! I'm an Oni! I'll regenerate and… and… Why am I not regenerating???'
The Oni watches his own fallen body in terror, then notices something upon closer inspection.
'It is regenerating… but why so slow? What did he do??' The neck finally seems to start reconnecting, but he is still paralyzed.
So focused on his slow regeneration, the Oni doesn't notice that the rest of the wolves are already dead. Usan appears above the Oni, holding some wooden stakes.
He drives them through the Oni's arms and legs into the ground, hammering them with the back of the hatchet's head.
─── ◆ ───
Usan's POV
"You bastard! I will—" I don't let him continue, striking his face with the hatchet. I pull the axe back and raise it again.
"Why??" I strike again, not even allowing regeneration to begin.
"Why??? Why give me all of this if it was just going to be taken from ME???!!" I wasn't speaking to the Oni, and I doubt whatever brought me here could hear me.
"WHY???"
"Why give me these abilities if I won't be able to use them to save the ones I love?????!!!!!"
The weapon comes down again.
I breathe heavily, tears flowing freely down my face.
"DAMN IT!!!... if I had… if I had my memories… I could have… I could…"
The hatchet trembles in my hand.
I strike the Oni again, feeling some resistance this time, probably the blade dulling.
I keep hitting the Oni.
Time passes.
At some point, the blade comes loose from the handle, already dull and completely worn out.
I throw the handle aside and start punching the Oni's face, again and again.
I have to drink a potion to regenerate my fists, and I keep punching, continuing even after the lit candle in our cabin starts a fire, burning what was once the humble home of a happy family.
The rays of sunlight begin to cover the Oni's body, which finally starts to turn to dust.
I take a deep breath, trembling.
I try to stand, but I just fall face-first onto the ground.
With my last strength, I grab the hatchet's handle… and pass out.
─── ◆ ───
If you'd like to support my work and receive bonuses such as 5 to 10 advanced chapters, spoilers, early access to my new books, polls, and more, check out:
P @ t r 3 0 n - Condor7