Volume 2 - CH 266

The sound of earth rumbling, the sound of punching the ground, and the sound of punching the air.

Three Oni were fighting in a place where various destructive behaviors were taking place.

“Come on, what’s wrong! There’s no way something like this is enough!”

Opening their hands with a powerful movement, the Oni punched the sky.

Then, a gust of wind similar to five blows is generated, blowing away the two Oni in front of him.

“Ggh!”

“Ukh……!”

Although their weapons were not yet broken, they would snap off immediately if they were handled roughly.

Gouki’s attacks were powerful and precise to such an extent.

The skill to shatter a weapon is called [Sharpen]*. (Hatsurugi)

The skill to punch the air, [Sky Strike]*. (Sora-u’tsu’)

With these two skills alone, the two were pushed to the limit.

Uchikage’s blindfold had already been removed and he had several grazes on him.

For Tenda, his katana had been so badly shattered that it looked like a sawed-off blade.

Furthermore, his armor was already destroyed.

It was all destroyed by [Sharpen].

Uchikage were fast on his feet.

Therefore, he could avoid all the lethal attacks and weapon-destroying skills, but not so with Tenda.

The only thing he could do was to run off.

“Tenda …….”

“As expected, ……. Father is strong. He’s even stronger now that he’s a spectre oni.”

“That’s not it ……, did you figure anything out?”

“I got nothing.”

Several minutes have passed since then.

Many times, he dodged and dodged between Gouki’s attacks and tried to attack…….

But none of their attacks hit.

Not only that, but they were also unable to understand the true nature of the Oni.

Would it make any difference if they knew this?

Even that question was beginning to grow in their minds.

No doubt it was a meaningless battle, but they didn’t have a clue.

Ignoring them, Gouki struck his arm, provoked them, and took a stance.

That posture was a bad sign.

Realizing this, the two of them immediately took action.

Uchikage closes the gap as fast as he can, switches to attacking with his legs instead of his claws, and aims at Gouki’s abdomen.

In the meantime, Tenda moves a little to the side and assumes the haze stance*. (a name of his sword technique I guess)

“Oni Blade Dance [Piercing].”

It is a simple and quick attack.

This is a technique that sends a slash flying, but it is not very powerful.

Instead, its speed is even faster than Uchikage.

The attack that Tenda just unleashed will reach Gouki before Uchikage makes contact with him.

That attack would hit for sure.

However, it was meaningless.

It is bounced off with a high pitched click sound.

Gouki’s skin is too hard.

A battered katana would be no match for it.

Over the past minutes, Gouki has been ignoring all of Tenda’s attacks and letting him attack on his own.

The only thing he is concentrating on now is Uchikage.

“Hhah!”

“Heave-ho”

“!?”

Gouki lightly brushes off Uchikage’s kick and grabs his leg.

With a single swing, he throws Uchikage at Tenda.

“Wha-!?”

“Guhh!”

Tenda manages to catch Uchikage and brings him down to the ground.

The force of the throw was so strong that he slid backwards off the ground.

Both of them are already gasping for breath.

The situation doesn’t change at all.

They have tried many times by now to use the skills available to them, but they have all been repelled.

If Uchikage uses a dark medium, the blast is enough to blow him away.

If Tenda used a telekinetic binding, he would send boulders flying at the same time he hit the target.

Their skills were no match for him.

So Gouki raises his foot widely and slams it on the ground.

Just a simple step.

But the earth rumbles and the ground is torn apart.

The Spectre Oni and Oni.

Both of them were astonished that there was such a difference between them.

But they cannot give up.

“Tenda, let’s get to Ouren-sama as fast as we can. ……”

“That’s what I intend to do! But, this ……”

Not sure what they are missing.

The same thought goes for Uchikage, and he grits his teeth.

They can’t beat their father, it is obvious that even if they go to Ouren, they will be of no use to him.

The two of them are not holding back because the opponent is their parent.

They are really being serious and putting everything they have into this fight.

And yet, this is the result.

They have not been able to strike even a single blow, and they are exhausted.

They feel like getting overwhelmed by their own weakness.

“If you understand the true meaning, you can overtake the situation. Understand. Try to understand. Let the instinct call out!!!!! [Sky Strike]!!!”

Gouki thrusts his arm out shouting his skill and punching the air.

Simultaneously, the two are blown away and roll on the ground again.

“Tendaaaa! The Oni sword dance you’ve been studying! You can’t master it if you don’t know its true nature! Uchikage! Is your claw just for decoration? If you are that fast, you better watch out for your feet!”

The two men were rolling around, trying to regain their positions.

Meanwhile, they could still hear their father’s loud voice.

They know what he’s trying to say.

However, they couldn’t do it.

“Guhh…. What is this noise since the moments ago ….. Is my ear busted…..?”

“Wheeze…. wheeze… its something like…. The beating rythm from a drum…”

There is still the sensation of the tremors in his legs.

It seems to give the illusion of shaking even though it is not.

This has made Uchikage’s footwork worse since a while ago.

It was the same for Tenda, who was not able to keep his feet on the ground.

The prolonged battle gradually made it more and more messy.

There was no precision in their attacks.

It was becoming nothing more than lind attack.

For Tenda, who was fond of martial arts and had done research from past documentation, that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

He would think about what to do now.

If he did not think about it, he would continue to be ignored and the battle would be finished.

“…… hmm?”

“What’s wrong Tenda……?”

“Taiko drum ……? That noise is similar to taiko drums, isn’t it?

“A-are you out of your mind ……?………..Ah.”

The two noticed something and looked around quickly.

The first thing that comes to mind is a lump of earth that has been lifted up from deep in the ground.

The rocks have also been dug up and scattered around the area.

The soil that had been punched up and spread around had turned into dust and was flying in the air.

“Tenda …… could this be ……?”

This reminds them of the source of this sight.

It was a blow by Gouki.

All of them.

And it must have been an attack with the nature of a Oni on top of all of those attacks.

These were not mere attacks.

Even if it looked like a brute force attack, there was something behind it that was being done with intention.

They noticed it.

Whenever Gouki attacked, he always did something.

It was …… that struck deep inside their bodies and seemed to stimulate their sense…..

“”Its the sound!””