NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: A little art project for Mommy
“Hmm~ so let me get this right, you want to bring the chuckle-sisters with you to attend a school outside the forest?” <Ebony?
“Mmm!” <Violet>
Currently the mother & daughter pair were sitting in Ebony’s office - Violet with her arms around Ebony’s slender waist and face firmly planted in her bosom. Ebony of course was kneeling on a cushion while gently passing her hand through her daughters mid length hair.
“Not possible… At least I won’t let you leave the village until you're of age. When you grow up I have no problem with you doing whatever you want - hell you could destroy one of those Great Empires for all I care Ehehehe~!” <Ebony>
Violet began to grind her fangs in response to being denied but Ebony just prodded the girl on the tip of her right crimson nub.
“Now, now~ don’t get snappy with me, my little Oni! It’s a scary world out there with a lot of people who want to do bad things just because you’re pretty. There are even those who are worse - whole factions that will hunt you down just because you're a [Hannya Oni]! Every part of our body can be useful for those cultivators - far more than those brutish men who are already have to face discrimination as demons. Certain Merc Guilds may even place bounties on their or our heads despite us having done nothing wrong simply because we appear to have no influence.
Although the {Merc’s Union} as a whole has recognized us as a people, those guild chiefs are often corrupted by those in power inside their area. Those strong cultivators, whether a family or sect, often see themselves as gods with absolute power in their little slice of the world. The Merc Guild’s in their area often get closer than they should due to greed of ‘sharing some benefits’; though some stronger willed oppose them. It’s a very annoying and complicated situation filled with tons of double backing!
But we have been known to profit from it ourselves… Often ‘removing’ those corrupted guild chiefs or other people. Whether from their higher ups or lower down we don’t really mind and it has become a normal but important job for our {Little Hannya Family} of the {Asura Yakuza}~! We call this a ‘hit’, remember that as it’s a very important job for our family and isn’t to be mixed up with an assassination as that’s another type of job.” <Ebony>
Half way through it turned into a lesson all about ‘Mommies business’ - a lesson Violet passively took in due to her interest in the matter. She didn’t know exactly what their ‘family’ did but she had plenty of ideas about what they could be doing.
Though the term ‘Asura’ couldn’t help but bring back images of that glorious battlefield...
“Anyway back to the main point! Many ancient arts exist just for the purpose of attempting to utilize a fraction of our power; whether through pills, potions, powder or artefacts; if we have it they’ve figured out a way to use it for their own purposes! Though it’s not only ourselves. I know there are even many cultivation arts that benefit from bathing in a virgin's blood! Who’s to say whether there may be some secret pact or organization out there just to target us Oni?
I simply want to make sure you’re as safe as possible - even with those two crazy kids following you something could go wrong as two people can’t win a battle of attrition against hundreds! Well, unless you’re an Immortal ranked being...” <Ebony>
She simply shrugged her shoulders and ruffled Violet’s hair - Violet who had to begrudgingly accept. Although she was strong it would be a pain if she was hunted down and had to rely on her vassals to help her out constantly. Not to mention if she kept summoning her vassals into the world {The Scaleless Bitch} may begin to complain.
Not to mention there would be a ton of chaos about it being the ‘end of the world’.
Also, not like her method of ‘summoning’ her vassals was a perfect one. It would be very likely to let [Demonic Spirit Vessels] begin to invade from the holes in the {Dimensional Barrier} that she forcibly opened. This alone would likely make those {Righteous Sects} run all over the place and convince the {Orthodox Sects} to help them while the {Demonic Sects} would also try to take over those all important [Demonic Spirit Vessels] with the {Evil Sects} taking advantage of both sides!
It was a trick she usually did but it would be far more troublesome for her if she was caught in the middle as she currently was!
Having her shoulders droop slightly at the thought of her new family getting caught in such a disaster made her sad as she began to pout. It really was more troublesome to have people in this {Mortal Realm} she cared for - with that thought she began to stare at Ebony. Taking in every inch of her; especially her eyes which had a crimson surrounding them.
She hadn’t ever really cared about her mommy’s strength before but she couldn’t help but be a little surprised. No wonder she assumed Violet was safe here - Ebony herself was stronger than her father ever was even without being in [Hannya Form].
Ebony of course noticed the little surprise on Violet’s face; although it was hard to tell how Violet felt for someone who wasn’t used to her; for those who knew her it was as clear as water.
“Surprised your mommy is so tough? Shouldn’t be! I’m the youngest and strongest matriarch afterall! you should know yourself that other than items containing the [Aura of Antiquity] today as a whole is far stronger so of course I can’t be compared to those who hadn’t had a chance to develop their powers through the eons.” <Ebony>
To this, Violet could only nod.
She was curious how an Oni knew something that only those in real positions of power within the world could know. Regardless, she didn’t mind someone knowing such ‘shocking information’. Afterall it was actually a demon’s favourite pastime to pass on this ‘forbidden knowledge’.
As for how strong her Mommy was…
Although she wasn’t ‘True’ levels of strength; certainly couldn't be contend with monsters like Mother or Cheshire; she wasn’t far from being considered a [True Ebony Hannya Oni]. In other words, she could be considered an [Oni God] or (as they were decreed by Atlas) a [Kijin].
Other than herself Violet cannot think of another Oni to reach such levels and considering she’d already achieved the requirements to be an ‘immortal’ she had plenty of time to explore her options!
Whether Ebony herself knew it was another matter though since Oni didn’t exactly have a defined ranking structure… Well not openly at least. Though, of course, intent could be used to gain an idea of how strong they were. The accuracy of such a ranking system is questionable at best as a genius in a sword sect will have a sword intent far surpassing their cultivation.
And, as creatures of intent, they could be said to be genius’ in intent!
A cultivator could be ranked on cultivation and a demon based on their [Demonic Dao Heart] - Oni weren’t obvious though. The men were as they grew larger the stronger they were but even that wasn’t exactly accurate since they had already fucked so many giants that could contribute to a few meter height increase. Same existed in reverse as female Oni take full advantage of any genes they could get.
Even more troublesome for the women who were the ‘same’ no matter how strong they got.
Though those outside didn’t seem to care and treated female Oni with the same ‘respect’ no matter which Oni it was. Violet couldn’t help but be amused when she thought of the possibility of a young master trying to forcibly enslave a powerful female Oni… That would never happen though. All the powerful female Oni seemed to work under her mother as elders of their family.
“Right, go ahead and see if you can find that sloshed Granny Wine! She is actually a skilled Talismen Calligrapher as well as artist and was looking forward to teaching you - I’ll take care of your Kanabo training at another point.” <Ebony>
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A couple years had gone by and Violet was now 12.
Just a bit away from a little cabin further into the wood than the main {Oni Village} Violet found herself kneeling in front of a table - a scroll in front of her - her steady brush passingly gently across an already beautifully made artwork. Despite the seemingly casual flicks of her brush more and more detail was added.
It seemed both simple but profound and each stroke was just as simple as the first.
The artwork itself was a depiction of the first [Hannya Oni] climbing out from a giant 6-armed black skeleton (molten red cracks all across it’s flayed skeleton) into a landscape of what would become the {Demon Realm}. However, the piece didn’t stop there as a familiar white [Hannya Oni] climbed out of the skull where a load of ‘divine beings’ would seem to be either running away or attempting to fight. The scene of hell and heaven only split by a watery lake that seemed to signify how weak the barrier between the two realms truly was.
There were even some particularly long ones that the red-haired elder could recognise based on the legends. This elder was obviously Granny Wine - despite her name as ‘Granny’ though she didn’t seem any older than Ebony. In fact due to her tiny chest she appeared younger than the matriarch - though she truly was the oldest known Oni currently in the village. It was possible some other Oni wasn’t as famous as her or was off in some other land doing an important task.
Wine herself thought this was very likely.
She was also very pleased with the disciple in front of her. Just nodding gently as she admired the artwork Violet had just about finished. She doubted she could make a more beautiful piece herself but that wasn’t all to it. Not only was it beautiful but she believed when the final touches were placed upon it, it would become the greatest treasure of the Oni.
“[The Records of The Hannya Origin] - appears to be a suitable name for it, but this doesn’t appear to only be mere art…” <Granny Wine>
“It seems to hold both unbelievable power and knowledge inside - I believe that if I could comprehend it I would know fully about the history of the world from our ancestors perspective…” <Slate>
“Yes, it does appear to already hold a very strong [Aura of Antiquity]. I was worried about Ojou-Sama’s method of using her own blood to treat the scroll but seeing this piece of art… To call it a masterpiece would be offensive…” <Ahsue>
Even Granny Wine sobered upon this either beautiful or haunting scene.
Beautiful for the Oni as it showed their great [Hannya Oni] ancestors overcoming all odds to gain revenge for their men who were unjustly slayed as a warning to other races. A harrowing tail that displays their iron wills! Haunting to others because it showed the terror which was the [Hannya Oni]. Creatures with so much malice they would willingly fall all the way down to hell just so they could climb back up to tear Heaven asunder!
Suddenly the clouds above would darken as Violet finally, calmly, settled her brush down. After doing such she would gently place some simple Calligraphy Talismans around the table and calmly step back as Granny Wine did the same with shining eyes. Many may not recognise what these clouds meant but how could an artisan not?!
“Brat, you really are her reincarnation aren’t you! No, you’ve already surpassed her at this aspect! The size of these clouds - this is a treasure which would send the whole world alight yet it’s owned by our Oni! Gwahahaha~!” <Granny Wine>
While being dragged by the collar away from the scene by Violet she pulled out a Talisman that would emit light from the sole character on it before a wine gourd appeared. A wine gourd she quickly began chugging between laughing at this disaster. It took an entire day for the black clouds to completely fill the sky - thick purple bolts of lightning could be seen jumping between clouds as if exercising before getting to work.
Due to the size it was hard for many to know where these clouds came from but it still didn’t take long for Ebony to arrive.
“Oi oi oi, what the fuck did you do to anger the heavens this time you damn drunkard!” <Ebony>
“Oi oi oi, watch your language you damn brat! Also this wasn’t my fault but your own god damn brat, brat!” <Granny Wine>
“Painting for mommy!” <Violet>
The sudden cute but loud shout from Violet stopped the two ‘mature elders’ in their tracks as they turned around to look at her. It may have been 2 years but Violet had been focused on fulfilling her promise of making a pretty picture for her mommy. And, what was more pretty than the violent demise of the {Primordial Gods}!
Before the two had the chance to say anything else, the sound that could only be said to be the sound of the fabric of the {Mortal Realm} being torn apart filled the ears of everyone present.
Luckily they were all either Oni or with insane natural defense or it may have resulted in them going deaf. Certainly the flash of purple that appeared for a moment didn’t ease the ‘this is going to harm you one way or another’ presence of this attack. It wasn’t just one bold either but a constant raining down of 9 full bolds of lightening, followed by a short break before repeating again. This occurred for a long time but trying to count them was difficult for Violet’s current abilities.
Perhaps only her mommy could understand in the tribe.
Either Way it was clear to all that this was an artefact that would become a legendary treasure that could be paraded around as one of the most precious pieces within all the realms.
3 days and 3 nights later the clouds finally vanished - the area now also filled with demonic qi as it appeared that the {Nakara Tribulation} from the {Demon Realm} tempered the treasure as well. The artwork was fine - though emitting a level of intent so terrifying that it would tear apart most experts that were trying to claim ownership. Based on Violet’s senses it would seem that power unique to the Hannya was also present so only an Oni could even begin to attempt to approach. Only a {Kijin} would be able to tame this treasure in other words.
This made sense though.
The scroll had only become more vivid after bathing in the {Lightening Tribulation} and this included the intent that was included within it. To representing the battles that made the [Hannya Oni] what they were - this in turn had expanded to becoming something past even Violet’s own information. Becoming an evolving piece that displayed the full extensive history of the Oni but it’s ability had still yet to be tested and nobody could assume anything… Anything other than it being worthy of being called a [Realm-Class Treasure].
Her sight fell onto the ground in the shade of the table that was waving gently in the frightening intent coming from the scroll; she seemed to come to a sudden realization that caused her own weapon intent with the Kanabo to begin to form.
But then, her mind seemed to suddenly become heavy and her consciousness foggy.
She didn’t even know when but she was tightly hugging a metal object. The last thing she recalled was the floor where she fell darkening and the sound of Heaven preparing once more. A cold metal appeared against her bosom.