Fighting as a Oni

The trees tremble and fall by the dozens, the ground quivers and shakes, and the footsteps sound like thunder in the distance.

*HREEEEEEE!!*

"Damn...so they brought THOSE monsters, huh?" I said.

Their loud trumpeting sounds are the Boulder Elephants. They're just as big as a full grown Ogre, but Mountain Elephants makes them look like children by measuring at a whopping 30 feet tall.

*THOOOM!!*

"Oh...I don't remember seeing these things in the forest." Onizakura said.

"That is because they don't belong here. They're too large to be in this forest and the ground is uneven." I said.

Boulder Elephant's are giant walking walls of destruction, even more destructive than Taudera's charge attack. However, they have one major weakness. It's their feet.

Boulder Elephants are very cautious where they place their foot. If they injure their foot or land on a sudden slope and slip, they'll come crashing down.

I dashed forward through the forest and my monsters followed suit. We meet the elephants that are just walking through the trees without a care in the world...because they're hypnotized.

"So, what's your plan?" Onizakura said, appearing behind me.

"I'll attack their feet from the ground." I said. "No building can exist without a foundation."

Although they resist Earth Magic, I created a bump that can most likely cause the ankle to rotate. But if a being like that steps on that, it'll spell doom.

*CRACK!!*

The Boulder Elephant steps on the rocky bump I made and its ankle snapped under its weight just I expected.

*CRUNCH!*

"Hold on..." I said, realizing something is wrong.

*KRRRNNK!!*

"Uh...it should be falling, right?" Onizakura said.

That Boulder Elephant kept walking with that mangled ankle and worsening the damage. Even so, it still marches on with the group.

"Even if it can't feel pain, they should've fell over regardless." I said. "Schwarze, Dichrome, support me with your Dark Magic!"

*Guoooh....*

I covered myself in Dark Magic and used my shadow as a weapon and then used the other shadows as weapons.

*Shoom!*

The shadows shoots out and pierces the elephants by the dozens.

*STAB!*

*CRA-THOOM!!*

The elephants fell down instantly, letting out a wave of crashing bodies hitting the ground, taking trees along with it.

[50 Rank C targets slain. 2,500,000 EP acquired.]

"That should take care of them." I said.

*FWREEEEE!!*

[Attention. A stampede has occurred.]

Another trumpeting cry is heard and I see another wave of Boulder Elephants, now double the number than previously.

"Damn, just how many did you hypnotize?" I muttered.

*Ding!*

[A distress call from Hyoran.]

"Kain! There's big trouble!" Hyoran yelled with urgency.

"What's wrong?" I asked with telepathy.

"A whole lot of monsters are attacking the village! They're using Fire Magic!" Hyoran yelled.

Fire Magic in a forest!? That's one way for a recipe for disaster and it could spread to multiple villages if left unchecked.

"How are the goblins?" I asked.

"They're fine, Zherk led them away and made underground shelters by digging so the fire doesn't get to them. Noire is holding them back with her Earth Magic and Gris is with me." Hyoran said.

So, it's happening...I better get moving.

"Gris, take out the enemies quick and then stop the fires from spreading." I said.

*Woof!*

Gris barked and I spoke to Hyoran.

"Keep me informed." I said.

[Transmission ended.]

This cannot be held off, I better stop the Hellkins before it gets too out of hand. I summoned a large wave of spikes pointing towards the elephants in hopes of slowing down the stampede.

"Dichrome, Fennec, Schwarze, Viri, Paura, hold them off for me." I ordered. "Zala!"

*Neiiigh!*

Zala ran through the trees, heaing towards Onizakura and I. She then skids to a stop and sputters. This surprised Onizakura, finding a oni who can command animals so proficiently.

"How can an oni tame these animals? What's more, he was a human who turned into our kind. Never in my 150 years have I seen this kind of event." Onizakura thought.

"Onizakura, the rest up to you." I said.

*Voom!*

I jumped on top of Zala and used Space Magic to create a rift. I then jumped through with Zala and closed it behind us.

I returned to our base and called out to Xydrid.

"Xydrid! Xydrid, where are you, buddy?" I called out to him.

"Arrr!" Xydrid cried out and walked towards us. I got off of Zala and walked to him.

I petted him and Xydrid nudged his nose at my forehead. I used my Overvision to see that all my monsters are fighting against armies of monsters.

Gris and Noire is fighting against various Fire-type monsters, Santrasa and Taudera are fighting various bears, Stein and Flammen are fighting swarms of insects, Vampa, Burya, and Groza are fighting multiple flying monsters, and Dichrome, Viri, Fennec, and Schwarze are fighting the elephants.

It's obvious that my army is easily dwarfed by the sheer numbers of them even with my skeleton army.

I began talking to the system.

"System, I wish to progress his Dragon Heart to Adult-X." I said.

[Calculating EP cost....complete.]

[Now displaying total EP costs.]

{[]}

Although it was a hefty cost, but the cost of life, human or not is much more.

I placed my forehead onto Xydrid's forehead. Mentally preparing him.

"Xydrid...what we're about to fight against is much worse than the Greater Demon we faced." I said.

"Aarrr..." Xydrid let out a growl and trembled a bit, still traumatized by the Greater Demon.

"This can get us and those beyond the Telgrin Mountains killed if we don't win." I said, cradling Xydrid's head to comfort him.

"I know the time we had was short, but I want to make it the best. You did remember the time I made you grow?" I said.

"Arrr!" Xydrid growled in agreement.

"And you also remember the promise I made to you that I will make you big and strong? Better than your late older brother?" I said.

"Arrr!" Xydrid agreed again, resolving himself.

"Then...when I'm about to do next may cause you to lose your life. But if we don't do it, many more will die." I said.

"Arrrrr!" Xydrid growled and then blew steam from his nose. I look at his fiery eyes that are steady and showed no signs of shaking or shrinking away.

I smiled at his resolve and his trust in me, even if it was short. If we managed to survive the battle, I will make sure we'll make it last.

If this process fails and Xydrid dies...I can only hope that he doesn't resent me.

"Do it." I said.

[Warning. Xydrid may lose his life due to the sudden surge of power. Proceed?]

"Yes."

[Acknowledged. Now beginning process...]

With that message, a loud thumping sound came from Xydrid's heart and it began to flash through his body.

"GRAAAOOOOHH!!!" Xydrid lets out a deafening roar during his Dragon Heart Progression and Ascension began rapidly, yet slowly. This in turn puts him in extreme pain, far worse than the time he was attacked as a Hatchling.

His roar lets out a shockwave, shaking the vegetation and the ground. The monsters that were

*NEEIIIIGGHHH!!*

I covered my ears and Zala began panicking wildly from Xydrid's mighty roar as a Young Dragon. Blood spurts out of her ears, indicating her eardrums were ruptured.

"RAAAAAAOOOOORRRGGH!!" Xydrid continued roaring in pain and began thrashing around, destroying the base I made via Undead.

I'd be lying to myself if said that I wasn't hurt seeing him writhe in pain like this. But I can't turn back now. All I can do is hope he survives.

"Be strong, Xydrid!" I yelled. "Remember the promise I made for you! WE SHALL SURVIVE TOGETHER!!"

I don't know if he can hear me while he is like this, but I must motivate him. I put Zala into my shadow so that she doesn't have to suffer anymore.

"Arex!" I called out to her. "Are you above the forest?"

"Yes, even above the clouds." Arex replied.

*Voom!*

I opened the rift where Arex is at which is above the clouds, and above the mountains just as Arex said.

"Then I need you to grab me." I said and I jumped through it and closed it behind me.

As I entered the sky, the deafening roar was replaced by the howling wind above the vast sky. The clouds before me that were usually huge and unreachable by wingless hands are now below me.

A majestic view that will take everyone's breath away that every tree are grass and the mountains are the small pebbles laid across the ground.

But that would soon be a short-lived dream as I continued to fall. Gusts of wind blows rapidly into my face as I continued to gain speed, but it was not my plan to fall to my death.

I used Wind Magic to slow myself down to a point I hover in the air. Due to my weight being polarizing compared to my child human self, it wasn't as effective before. I am still falling.

*Grab!*

Something grabbed my right arm and stopped my descent instantly. I looked to see that Arex has grabbed my arm with her one hand.

"Goodness, you have changed drastically." Arex said and placing a halo of light around me to keep me afloat.

"I...don't know how it happened. But we have a bigger problem on our hands." I said.

"I am aware. Additionally, I have already located the Hellkins." Arex said looking down at Dystoark that is being seen as a green rug at this height.

However, it's only a matter of time it'll be turned into a scorched land if we don't stop the Hellkins.