Ryuran's face hardened and her smile disappeared.
She has underestemeted this elf woman to the point that she managed to actually wound her.
This meant that playtime was over.
Ryuran raised one of her arms and swung it backwards to smash Erisha's skull.
But Erisha managed to duck under it which she was only able to do by leaving her sword inside Ryuran's abdomen.
"Tch-" Erisha exclaimed.
It was not that she didn't have the time to pull it out.
She simply couldn't.
In the moment her attack started Ryuran tensed her muscles, which held the sword in place as if it was inside a wall.
Not only that, she couldn't activate the runes on her sword for some reason.
Ryuran then charged at Erisha with tremendous speed.
She threw out a punch that Erisha could barely avoid.
Then came another and another.
Gusts of wind and craters were created where Ryuran's fists missed Erisha.
Erisha knew that if she is pushed back now she will lose.
But then again what was she supposed to do?
This oni was stronger and tougher then her.
She tried landing a few blows with her fists but it was a futile attempt at a counter attack.
"If I had my sword!" She cried out in her mind.
Thats when a bold idea manifested inside Erisha's mind.
It was a terrible plan, but currently it was her only option.
In the split seacond where Ryuran missed one of her punches Erisha gathered every bit of darkness left in her body inside her fist.
This caused her fist to turn pitch black and crackle with a strange dark lightning.
And once Ryuran winded up for another strike, Erisha did the same.
Then, utilizing her smaller size, Erisha dodged Ryuran's fist and delivered an uppercat with all her might directly on to her chin.
The mana inside Erisha's fist exploded on impact, which sent the massive oni matriarch in to the air while blowing Etisha back in to a wall and faint on the spot.
Once she regained consciousness she was immidietly overrun by pain.
She looked at her hand which contained her darkness just a few moments ago.
Her fingers were missing.
"GRAAAAAA!" Erisha cried out in pain while holding her hand.
The pain was unbearable.
That was when Erisha noticed an approaching shadow.
She looked up to see the oni matriarch without her jaw.
Blood spewed everywhere from both combatants.
For half a minute both women were staring at each other.
Erisha was breathing heavily with sweat drooling down her forehead.
Ryuran on the other hand didn't even make a sound.
She simply stared.
With no other plan Erisha tried to raise her arms, but before she could, they were grabbed by Ryuran's large right hand.
With a shocked expression Erisha looked up to see the enraged oni's left fist come down on to her like a boulder.
With her hands restrained Erisha could do nothing, but brace herself for the impact.
She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes.
But the hit never came, instead gushes of wind blew her hair back.
Hesitantly Erisha opened her eyes.
She saw Ryuran's fist inches away from her face.
Then, she pulled back her fist and released her arms.
Immidietly Erisha fell to the ground.
Her legs were shaking.
She looked up at the towering oni before her.
Her jaw was reforming at an incredibly fast speed.
Erisha could hear the muscles and bones regrowing and forming.
It disguated her.
Her face quickly distorted.
She tried summoning her tendrills, but Ryuran's feet pinned her to the ground.
"This was a good fight, elf." Ryuran said while pulling out the sword from her abdomen.
"I expected less, but it seems I have severly underestimated your will to live."
"Excecuse you!? You attacked me!"
"I did. But if I didn't then you would have became a threat."
"What?"
"Don't take me for a fool! This is my home! I know about everything that happens here. Even your struggle to control your curse!"
Hearing this Erisha's eyes widened.
"How-?"
"Drell reported it to me. Did you honestly think I would let you, a cursed abomination, walk around freely? The machine you stepped inside was not only for your disguise, but it also scanned your entier anatomy. We scanned every single cell in your body to find out how you could resist the curse, something that should be impossible."
Hearing her words, curiousity bloomed inside Erisha aswell.
"What did you find?"
Ryuran sighed.
"You are not immune."
Erisha's eyes widened.
"What do you mean by that?" Erisha asked in a shaky tone.
"Because of some unknown variable you are able to resist it for now, but you will eventually succumb to it. Sadly that is a fact."
"Are you saying that I will become a monster? That whatever has happened to me only delayed the inevitable?"
"Yes"
Erisha was compleatly devestated at hearing this.
Being told that your fate is sealed, that you will become a mindless beast would have caused the same reaction inside every being in existance.
"But i seems not all hope is lost."
Hearing this Erisha looked up at the towering oni who flashed her a wild smile.
"DRELL! GET YOUR ASS INSIDE!"
With the creek of a door Drell, the oni with a ponytail entered the room.
In his hand was a bottle, containing a red liquid.
After taking a few steps he stopped and bowed.
"I greet the matriarch."
Ryuran scoffed as a response.
"Don't waste time with the formalities. The elf is suffering from her wounds."
Drell looked at the Erisha whose hand was still bleeding.
Thus without delaying it further he threw the bottle in his hand at Erisha.
Erisha was too weak to react and the bottle broke on impact.
In the next moment Erisha a strange feeling throughout her body.
She then looked at her hand which was injured.
Her fingers were now reforming.
It reminded her of Dawn and Ryuran.
"Now you can start explaining Drell." Ryuran said as she removed her feet from Erisha's chest.
Drell nodded as a response.
"After going in to the results, me and my team came up with a hypohesis. Right now your body creates two types of cells. One is your regular elven cells and the other ones are the cursed cells that allow you to tap in to your dark powers. The amount of normal and cursed cells in your body are currently not equal. Each time you experience something negative or use your powers, your body slowly gives in to the curse, creating cursed cells, but on the other hand if you experience something positive-"
"My body begins returning to normal?"
"Not exacly, you see you while you are an extraordinary case, you are still cursed. You will never be able to fully return to normal. Your body can create elven cells, but it is much harder. But if you can keep the two cell groups relatively equal, hypothetically, you will remain in control of your body."
Hope returned inside Erisha's cursed heart.
If she could remain in control until Cain gets home then that is all she needs.
She would gladly give up her life for him.
"However if you fully lose yourself then there is no coming back."
"I understand, so that was the reason for your sudden attack matriarch."
The onis raised their eyebrows at this.
"You attacked me to see how I fight. If I didn't use these newfound powers of mine then you woudn't have had the need to warn me, right?"
Suddenly Drell let out a small laugh, but immidietly tried to contain, by putting his hand on his mouth and turning away.
Seeing Drell's strange reaction Erisha was left confused.
She then looked towards Ryuran for an answear.
"Oh, that was only part of the reason I attacked you. I was mostly curious."
"YOU WHAT!?"
Erisha was enraged at the insolance of the oni matriarch.
And the fact that she was laughing in her face didn't help.
Now both onis burst out laughing while Erisha was shouting racial slurs at them in the elven tounge.
Elsewhere, Dawn has entered the oni settlement.
The guards at the front greeted him with loud pounds to their chest.
This was a sign of respect.
For a moment an old image entered Dawn's mind.
He travelled back to time when he talked to one of the first oni.
"Three pounds! This greeting will be reserved only for those worthy of respect!"
His loud and beastly voice still lingered in his head.
He was one of the first to ever use the term "oni" and he was wise enough to recognise he will never be "human" again.
But that was a distant memory from a time long forgotten.
A usless sequence of pitchures in his head that refuse to go away even after nearly a hundred years.
Then Dawn raised his right hand and returned the greeting with the same one.
He then walked past the guards and entered the the first district.
The oni settlement had 5 districts that were stacked behind one another.
They all served a purpose a city would need to function like a market district where the onis trade amongst themselfs or a housing district where their homes were located.
At the very end was the arena where oni from all ages would fight against one another to the amusement of the rest.
That was also where Ryuran's mansion was located.
It was inside a space that was about half the size of the smallest district.
It took Dawn about an hour to walk from the entrance to the mansion.
But in most cases Dawn would wander around the settlement, thus taking far longer to reach it.
And he intended to do this today aswell.
He waljed around, observing the oni around him living their lives.
He saw the decorations that were finally finished on almost all houses.
Red flowers were placed on almost all buildings along with lamps that lit up with the color of a setting sun.
The magic crystals on the cieling were turned off thus leaving the job of lighting up the town solely to the lamps and torches.
Dawn looked around and saw happy people who were having a great time.
They talked and laughed.
The children were running around and playing with each other.
"If only they could share their joy with the upside world." Dawn thought to himself.
If only they were half as happy as the oni are.
When someone lives for a long time they start to apprichiate the small things in life.
A fully bloomed flower's smell, the sun's warmth on your skin.
These things kept Dawn from going insane in his isolation.
After 30 minutes of walking Dawn entered the blacksmith district.
It was the last district he went through before reaching the arena.
It was not only his favourite district but today he had a purpose here.
It was time to look for a weapon.
Dawn did not waste time looking through the weapons that were put on display.
He had pleanty of time looking at them.
Only 2 blacksmith's managed to catch Dawn's eyes.
And in that very moment he reached the first.
The smith was currently sitting by a leg-powered sharpening disk.
He was sharpening a large greatsword.
It was about half the size of Dawn himself.
Dawn leaned against a wood pillar and waited for the oni to finish.
After 20 minutes of sharpening the oni was finally done.
He inspected the blade and was quite satesfied with his work.
Suddenly, without saying a word the oni tossed the greatsword towards Dawn.
He caught it with his right hand and held it in the air without much trouble.
He too inspected the blade.
"What do ya think?" Asked the oni
"A remarkable weapon." Dawn answeared without delay.
"Oh? And what do ya like 'bout it?"
"It is sturdy, most likely able to whitstand many attacks."
"Hmph, and what do ya not like about it?"
It was a strange question to ask, but Dawn answeared nonetheless.
"It is heavy. Only those with great streanght may wield this weapon and even them must use it casciously. A wrong swing may leave their side open for an attack and result in them dying."
"But not you. You are able to wield it. You came here for a weapon. Consider it a gift."
"No."
"No? Why not?"
"In my hands a greatsword is nothing more then a club. While I am able to wield it I am not proficient at using it."
Dawn then walked up to the still sitting oni and he held the blade out to him"
With a sigh the oni took it back.
The dissapointment was showing on his face.
"So what do ya use then? A feeble sword? A crude mace?"
"No, I came here for an axe."
"Greataxe?"
"No."
"A regular axe? One that is used for cutting wood?"
"Yes."
The oni held his head in annoyance.
Ever since he heard about the arrival of a human berserker he has been working none-stop.
He was trying to look inside his gead, to see what weapon would he use.
But his ideas were limited.
He did not personally witness the way he fought and thus could only try and guess from the stories told by others.
The crude bastards only talked about his streanght and resiliance.
"Do you not have one?"
"No, I do not. I have been working on heavy weapons ever since your arrival. You will have to look for another smith."
Dawn noded as a response.
Before leaving however Dawn's mouth opened.
"You should stop making weapons for warriors like me. Turn your attention to the younger folk. They could use solid weapons, not the trash the others make."
With those words Dawn left the oni with his thoughts.