BLADE OF THE DEVIL

A soaring bullet of pure flame penetrated the wall, a fiery blast erupting from it. “Breach!” An Oni yelled from atop the castle walls. As the walls began to crumble, a sudden burst of lightning came down from above to the castle plaza. On the impact of the blast came a soldier covered in armor and cloth. Four oni pulled their pikes up to the soldier.

“Get him!” Another yelled. In a jolt of electricity, the soldier quickly sweeped the four up on their legs and let them fall to the ground. They jumped forward, dodging any other attacks. An axe was suddenly thrown in their direction, barely dodging the attack. A lumbering Oni appeared, it pulled another axe from its back and lunged towards the soldier. The soldier slid on the ground. They created a fist of fire in their palm, hitting the oni in the gut. The oni was blasted back against the wall as the soldier continued on through the castle interior.

Many oni tried to stop them, but all they would see pass by was a bolt of electricity, flying through the halls. The trail of the bolt suddenly stopped. In front of a great gate stood the soldier, they pushed open the gate slowly…

The room was large and empty, the middle of it having a platform of dirt and a small sapling of a tree in the ground. In the platform stood a tall and slender oni. It wore a large and wide hat, with a big black coat. “Why are you here? Perhaps to reclaim your land? Your courage?” It turned around with an ear to ear grin on it, it’s blood red red skin covered in markings. The clink of a sheath was heard, the soldier pulling out a katana.

“Oh… You’ve come to die.” The oni turned around fully looking disappointed. It pulled its hands down, its fingernails grew into the length and sharpness of broadswords. It pulled its legs back, jumping high in the air down towards the soldier. An aura of fire and electricity surrounded the soldier, the ground around them beginning to shake. The oni fell, attempting to slice the soldier with its finger knives. Only to be met by the blade of the soldier. The oni was sliced in half, falling down to the ground lifelessly. The sword had a faint red glow to it, and steam rose from it. The soldier examined it’s blade, hearing faint whispers from inside.

They quickly sheathed up the blade, stopping the noises. The soldier dipped two fingers in the blood of the oni. He took his fingers and wrote two kanji symbols.

"葉刀"

“Blade of the Devil.”

The soldier turned back out of the gate. Hundreds of oni were rushing over to their location. They held the handle of the sword, taking another look at it. The soldier walked forward, “Victory is ahead.” They whispered to themselves...