Chapter 10: Overwhelming;Ordeal

“There's no end to them!” Sven shouted as he kept shooting monster after monster. He didn't need to wipe them out. He only needed to buy time until team Alpha was able to retreat. Thankfully, the other staff officers arrived and made things easier. Given their situation, he couldn't complain.

Sera ended up with the shorter end of the stick. She was keeping the blue oni at bay. But it was still a daunting opponent. It was one that would be classified as a raid boss. A party of veteran breakers would be able to take it down. But all she needed to do was buy as much time as possible.

The blue oni roared and Sera was immobilized for a moment. It swung its large fist down on her. Quick on her feet, she leaped back and swung her blade. The blade extended like a whip and pierced its eye.

“Sera! Time to retreat!” Sven shouted as he activated a skill to clear out a path. The newbies were able to retreat.

“[Turbulence].”

For a few seconds, Sven was able to fire his revolver without needing to pull back the hammer. He took out all the hobgoblins that surrounded them. His 

This gave Sera the opportunity to make a hasty retreat. But not before leaving a parting gift for the blue oni. She retracted her blade to its normal length and poured her magical energy into it. It then shot out a ball of flame towards the blue oni.

“[Flare Bomb].”

On impact, it exploded and engulfed the behemoth in flames. The flames wouldn't be put out easily. The blue oni howled and writhed in pain, violently swinging its arms to try and hit Sera. Suddenly, it started to melt into a liquid that smelled oddly of alcohol.

The flames reacted with the liquid and exploded. Sera was resistant to fire but she felt the need to create barriers of her own flame. She was sent flying back, landing a short distance away from the center of the explosion.

“Are you alright?” Sven ran up to Sera. The horde stopped spawning so they were in the clear.

“I'm fine.” Sera brushed herself off. She was a bit battered but none the worse for wear. “We need to get back.”

They were able to meet up with the other officers. On the way back, they were briefed that another oni had appeared. The colors of the onis baffled them but they were confident that the commander would be able to handle it.

---

Commander Zacharias was evenly matched with the red oni. As more of the hobgoblins died, he was able to summon more minions. He also summoned walls of bone whenever the red oni tried to approach. But the red oni seemed to have an unlimited source of energy and focused on replenishing its horde. It became a battle of attrition.

“There's another one that did what?” Estelle received the news that team Alpha encountered another oni, a blue one. She was relieved that they were able to get the newbies out. But this raised a concern. This was an abnormal occurrence. Even hobgoblins shouldn't have spawned in this low level archway. This was deliberate. The melting incident didn't make sense either.

“Focus on regrouping. Watch over the newbies,” she ordered. She took a look at team Omega. Most of the newbies were in a fearful state. Arian was biting her fingers in anxiety. Estelle thought that it was out of fear. But Arian's eyes were focused as she was looking at the battlefield.

Beside her, Q was watching the clash between the undead and the hobgoblins. His calmness was unnerving.

“What are you two doing?” Estelle approached the two of them. Their priority was to keep the newbies safe. Onis can be dealt with with enough breakers. They should be able to deal with the red oni once Sera's team returns. They could then deal with the blue oni after that.

“Something's wrong,” Arian said. “We're in trouble.”

Even though it seemed that there was a stalemate, the red oni was slowly wearing out the commander. Arian could tell by examining the battlefield. That aside, she had an ominous feeling about the oni. There was something about it that felt foreboding.

Estelle placed a hand on her shoulder and consoled her. “Go rest,” she said. “We'll handle it from here.”

Arian nodded and joined the other newbies.

Meanwhile, Q continued to watch the battle. It was then that the other team arrived. The newbies were grouped up together.

Zeke was in a foul mood. He felt the difference in power. He felt high on the feeling of defeating the weak goblins. That all went down the drain when the blue oni appeared. The roar made him unable to move. He felt powerless and he hated it. He could see that the other members of team Omega were in a similar state. That said, he glanced at Q.

‘What's with him?’ He asked himself. His frustration rose but it died down as someone sat beside him.

“That was scary, wasn't it?” Caitlin smiled. Her hands were shivering and it was clear that she was frightened. Still, she was trying to put on a calm facade for Zeke.

“Just a bit,” Zeke admitted.

“You're not going to quit though, are you?”

“Definitely not,” he declared. “I'm going to be the greatest breaker there is.”

Zeke calmed down. There was no need to rush it. Right now, he was a newbie with a good start. That should be good enough. There was no point in getting frustrated just because there's someone better than him. There will always be one.

He wasn't the strongest nor was the best. But that wouldn't stop him from trying. He swore then and there that he wouldn't give up until he reached the top.

With the arrival of Sera and her team, they were able to reduce the horde's numbers. Zacharias was able to focus on sealing the red oni's movements with his undead minions. The battle was finally turning to their favor.

But just like the blue oni, the red oni started to melt into a similar liquid. The scent of alcohol permeated the battlefield. Sera avoided using any of her flame skills due to the previous incident.

The liquid started to absorb the remaining hobgoblin horde. The monsters melted into the liquid on contact.

“Fall back!” Zacharias ordered and used his undead summons to block the liquid. They took distance as the summons melted and were absorbed. After absorbing everything within its reach, it sank into the ground.

[The Territory of Oeyama emerges.]

The air became heavy and the skies turned dark. Everyone felt a dreadful presence watching them. They felt unsteady on their feet. Some stumbled, unable to keep standing. It was as if everyone was getting drunk. Some people have already lost consciousness. Whatever it was, it would be bad if they were all incapacitated here.

A territory is something that extremely strong monsters could create. They create areas with advantages for allies and disadvantages for enemies. Raid bosses tend to have the ability to create territories. But this territory was not only large but its influence was very dangerous.

[The Territory of R'lyeh emerges. The territories have clashed.]

There are breakers capable of creating territories. A breaker capable of creating a territory is considered a huge combat asset. When two territories are created, they clash. The weaker territory will be extinguished after some time passes.

Estelle's eyes turned completely void black. The ground started to turn a dark purple color. The drunken feeling was starting to go away. Everyone was starting to sober up as long as they remained on the purple soil.

“Impressive,” Q praised her. He didn't know about the mechanics of territories. But the magical energy oozing from her was very noteworthy. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

“I appreciate the compliment but I can't maintain this for long,” Estelle snapped back. She panted and gasped for breath. It was taking her all to maintain her territory. She can only infer that the monster that created the territory was a very strong one. Unless they defeat the raid boss, they wouldn't be able to leave. The territory caged them in. There was definitely something or someone behind this. Level one archways are not supposed to have raid bosses.

“Everyone prepare for combat!” Zacharias took command of the situation. He was still a bit exhausted but they had to do everything they could. He was not new to raids. But those take time to prepare for. Raids are not something you just jump in without preparation. They also have newbies that they need to watch over.

“Tch, so the blue one let us go on purpose.” Sera bit her lip.

“I see.” Sven looked over the direction they came from. “It needed to gather us in one spot to catch us in its territory.”

The raid boss appeared from the edges of the territory. The earth shook with each step. It was almost twice as large as the red oni. Its skin was a dark crimson, riddled with scars. It wore strings of beads on its ankles, wrists, and around its neck. It held a large cleaver in one hand. It had two pairs of horns that emanated a dark aura.

[Shuten-douji has descended.]