Chapter 47 47 – The Boogeyman

"Congratulations, Ibaraki!" Amber clapped, congratulating the Oni for successfully making a contract with Kai.

Shuten Douji also nodded proudly. She even had a single tear fall down her face as she was happy for her former subordinate too.

"Umu, I hope you can help the young man, Ibaraki."

"Yes, Amber." Ibaraki nodded at Amber and turned to Shuten. "Thank you for everything, Boss."

Sayo still couldn't process what had happened, but she also clapped her hands while smiling as the atmosphere seemed to call for that.

"Don't mention it!" The Oni god waved her hand casually with a smile. "Now then, let's deal with that thing, should we?" She pointed to the sky at where the Tear was.

It was considerably smaller. A few minutes had passed since it appeared, and it only spewed out one Malice each second instead of 3 now.

Its diameter also shrank to 3 meters. Even if they ignored it, it would close in a minute. Kirimaru and Ranga were enough to deal with the remaining Malices, but there was something that they shouldn't ignore.

"The second sentence of the prophecy had already come true. Now for the third…"

"The advent is near. Boogeymen will crawl out of their graves." Kai finished Shuten Douji's sentence with a serious face, then he continued. "With subordinate's power, the RULER will find his commitment."

"It's your turn, young man." Shuten grinned at Kai.

"I guess so." He scratched the back of his head with a bitter smile.

'The Ruler will find his commitment, huh? What kind of commitment is that, I wonder?'

The prophecy was strange. While he still didn't know whether he was this Ruler, even though Amber said he was the Ruler, he didn't think he needed more commitment than he currently had.

'As he will understand his assignment. As I expected, having a special kind of power means having a special duty, no?'

It was something that happened in all movies. Even the movie in which his favorite actor was acting as the main character was like that. A man, knowing nothing, suddenly got involved with a new world because he was special.

At first, the man was in denial, just like Kai, but then he understood his assignment and ultimately saved the world. Though he needed to be honest, he didn't quite like it when they decided to make the fourth movie when the ending of the third was already good.

'It's time to take the real red pill, I guess.' He chuckled and raised his head, looking at the Tear. It got smaller again at a fast speed.

Before long, it was fully closed, and the sky turned to normal.

"It closed, but…" Kai muttered. Then all of a sudden, he shuddered, feeling something coming from where the Tear had just closed. "It's not over yet."

"Indeed, it is." Amber nodded, affirming Kai's words. Then she turned to the tanned Oni. "You call yourself Sayo?"

"Yes." Sayo nodded firmly.

"You better return to where your lady is. Because I think you won't like what will happen next, and it will be a bit dangerous here."

"But…"

"Leave, girl. We will be the ones who greet this Boogeyman alone. You shouldn't get yourself involved in this and protect your mistress." Shuten Douji ordered the tanned Oni with a commanding tone, leaving no room to argue.

Sayo hesitated a little bit. But then, she knew she would be of no use with the people with great strength here. Compared to them, her power was not enough. She would only be a hindrance.

"Certainly. Please excuse me." As soon as she said that, her figure disappeared in a blur.

Kai looked at where Sayo was and whistled, amazed by her speed.

"She's really fast." He commented.

For some reason, Ibaraki Douji pulled the sleeve of his suit and said, "Master, I am faster."

She sounded a bit jealous. Was it because he just complimented another Oni? Even Amber giggled playfully on the side.

"Sorry. I didn't mean." He apologized and gained a nod from the Oni girl.

Still, that giggle was soon replaced by a serious face as she looked upward.

"It's here."

The other three looked upward at the same time. A swirl of unbridled Nature power created a vortex of wind at the place where the Tear disappeared. The dark sky turned darker like a night around the area as a small void appeared in the middle of the said swirl.

Wind raged, and a loud scream echoed.

"Shaaaaaaa!!!"

It was unknown where the scream came from. A crackle noise of woods forcibly moved by a certain force rang in the area. Trees and rocks moved, flying toward the vortex because of the raging wind.

Kai planted his feet on the ground, trying his best not to be sucked by the vortex.

"This is a bit bad, isn't it?" He said.

"It is. But why is there a grin on your face, young man?" Shuten Douji asked Kai with a playful tone.

"Maybe because I am excited. A real Boogeyman will appear in front of me." He replied and turned to Ibaraki Douji. "Lend me your power, Ibaraki Douji!"

"Yes, Master. My power is at your disposal."

Extending his hand, he pulled Ibaraki closer and kissed her. The Oni immediately melted into a cloud of black smoke and entered Kai's body through his mouth.

A gust of wind hit the area with Kai as the center. Amber and Shuten Douji were forced to take a step back due to how powerful the wind was.

"That's unexpected. He can bring Ibaraki's full power out just like that. Hahahaha, he's really his descendant, ain't he?"

"He is," Amber confirmed. "I am a bit jealous, though. I want to fuse with him again."

"Don't say that, Phoenix chick. He will soon be able to fuse with both of you. Give him time."

"Indeed." Amber nodded, and a small smile appeared on her face. "I will be waiting for that time."

Kai, who had just experienced fusing with another Mythical creature other than Amber, looked down at his hand. The raging wind in the area didn't affect him any longer. He could stand just fine without even being afraid of the wind pulling him into the center of the vortex.

A feeling of being powerful and undefeated filled his entire body. He felt like he could destroy a mountain with a punch when he was in this state.

[Master, are you okay?] Ibaraki's concerned voice rang in his mind. The connection was there, and he grinned while clenching his fist.

"I am fine. Can't be any better than this."

It was different from when he fused with Amber. Indeed, he could still use Phoenix fire, but it was the weak version that he could control, not the full-power version Amber used.

But on the other hand, his physical ability was at the top, similar to Shuten Douji's level due to fusing with Ibaraki Douji and adding with his own power.

"Now then…" He glanced up.

In the center of the vortex, he saw the trees and rocks that got sucked in earlier began to create a shape. A humanoid shape.

The rocks became its body and head. The trees became its arms and legs. Some grass morphed into a rag and a hat.

Boogeyman was often described as a scary figure. But the word bogey could also be translated as goblin or scarecrow. Hence, the appearance of Boogeymen varies depending on where they appear. Its existence was closer to a Supernatural disaster than to a creature.

This was Oni Village. A village where Oni lived. Around the village were fields and mountains. A goblin wouldn't appear in the East land as their legend came from the west. So the Boogeyman took a certain appearance using the rocks and trees.

A scarecrow.

Crackle Crackle–!

It floated in the sky as the raging wind stopped. It crossed its tree arms with a crackle. Its fingers were sharp and pointy like a claw. The joints that were made from a rock made a grinding sound.

Its eyes were golden, shining like moonlight in the dark sky that returned to normal. Then its face parted, showing a row of sharp teeth made from rock.

"Kschsaaaaa!!!" A loud deafening scream echoed in the area as the Boogeyman fell to the ground with a loud boom. A cloud of dirt flew into the air. And when it was cleared, the Boogeyman appeared from behind and stood tall right in front of Kai and the others.

Its height was easily 5 meters tall. Because its body was also made from rock, burning it would be hard. Kai made the right decision of fusing with Ibaraki Douji instead of Amber this time.

He raised his arms into a stance, facing the scarecrow without any fear. His Spirit Power moved, enhancing his body and increasing his physical ability further. His grin widened, and his fanged teeth that changed from fusing with an Oni were exposed.

"Let's do it, Ibaraki!"

[Yes, Master!]