The six figures standing before Ren Kuroda were members of the Greater Oni Clan from the Jura Great Forest.
The Jura Great Forest was home to countless kinds of monsters—an untamed sanctuary where magic beasts roamed freely. Among those innumerable races, the Greater Oni were unmistakably an upper-tier species.
Although their village numbered only a few hundred, it had long stood as one of the most powerful forces in the Jura Great Forest.
Yet just a few days ago, that very village—strong as it was—had been completely annihilated.
Men and women, elders and children alike… none had been spared.
The six standing here had survived only because they had been out hunting beyond the village at the time. When they returned, all that greeted them were shattered ruins—and the knowledge that the massacre had been carried out by two masked demonic beings. Beyond that, they knew almost nothing.
The Gun-Legged Demon Spider was a notorious monster within the Jura Great Forest, infamous for its difficulty. That much was clear from the fact that the six of them, working together, had nearly let it escape earlier.
And yet the human standing before them had split that same monster in half with a single slash—cleaving through its thick armored shell as if it were paper.
True, the spider had already been worn down by their earlier fight. But even so, no one capable of such a feat could possibly be an ordinary human in the eyes of the Greater Oni.
The Jura Great Forest was sacred ground for monsters. Humans almost never ventured here—let alone deep into its heart.
Their village had only just been wiped out, and now this powerful human appeared nearby. Who was to say he had nothing to do with those masked demons?
Monsters and humans were not races that coexisted peacefully to begin with. Ren Kuroda possessed the strength to slaughter their village, and his timing was far too convenient. Naturally, he became one of their prime suspects.
Hearing the red-haired man's accusation, Ren could only stare blankly in disbelief.
"If that spider was originally your prey, then yeah—I guess I accidentally killed it. I can give you the body back if that's the issue. But this village massacre thing… I seriously have no idea what you're talking about. I just arrived in this world. How could I have wiped out some village?"
The red-haired man, clearly shaken by the destruction of his home, seemed consumed by emotion. No matter how Ren tried to explain, the man ignored him entirely and drew his blade, charging straight in.
"Tch. I thought I'd finally found someone I could actually talk to. Turns out you're all just a bunch of lunatics."
Seeing the blade coming at him, Ren abandoned any thought of restraint. If words didn't work, then force would have to.
As the red-haired man slashed toward him, Ren didn't reach for the Nichirin Blade embedded in the ground. Instead, he stepped forward.
The katana in the red-haired man's hands was meant to cut Ren down—but before he could even enter striking distance, Ren vanished from his sight.
"Young master, watch out—!"
Before the red-haired man could even process where Ren had gone, Ren reappeared right in front of him. One palm strike shot upward like a rising dragon, smashing squarely into the man's chin.
The tremendous impact lifted the red-haired man's body off the ground against his will. Ren leapt after him and snapped out a whip-like kick midair, sending him flying.
The blow to the abdomen launched the red-haired man like a cannonball, crashing him through a tree so thick it would have taken two people to wrap their arms around it.
From the moment the red-haired man charged to the instant he was kicked away, everything had unfolded in a blink.
Aside from the white-haired old man, the other Greater Oni hadn't even realized what had happened.
But one thing was clear to all of them now—
The enemy before them was even stronger than they had feared.
Their young master was among the strongest warriors in the village, yet he hadn't even lasted a single exchange.
"Princess, we need suppression fire," the white-haired old man commanded calmly. "Use your flame magic to pin him down and create an opening."
From Ren's burst of speed and overwhelming strength, the old man knew immediately—this was not an opponent they could defeat one-on-one.
After giving his order to the pink-haired girl, he exchanged a glance with the others, and together they rushed Ren.
The blue-haired swordsman wielding twin daggers and the white-haired elder—whom Ren instinctively sensed as the most dangerous—used intricate blade techniques to keep Ren occupied.
Meanwhile, the black-haired middle-aged man and the purple-haired woman wielding a spiked club circled patiently, waiting for Ren to expose even the smallest opening for a lethal strike.
Surrounded and unarmed—his Nichirin Blade still stuck in the earth—Ren could only meet their assault barehanded.
Fortunately, back when he'd acquired 『Monstrous Strength and Divine Chaos』, he had taken the time to train his hand-to-hand combat.
Swordsmanship and martial arts, in the end, followed the same principles. With sufficient reaction speed, the optimal moment to strike would always reveal itself.
Whether that strike came from a blade or a fist was merely a difference in power—not essence.
Even while facing four opponents alone, Ren showed no signs of faltering.
And the remaining two Greater Oni weren't simply watching.
The red-haired man, barely recovered, condensed an orange fireball in his palm.
The pink-haired girl—who had yet to enter the fight—clearly wasn't a decoration. Unlike the others, she carried no weapon, marking her as a spellcaster.
"Everyone—now! Get out of his range!"
Through continuous exchanges, Ren had already begun to grasp their combat patterns. Just as he prepared to break through them one by one, the four attackers abruptly withdrew at the girl's shout.
At the same instant they retreated, four towering walls of flame erupted around Ren, sealing him in.
"I've been waiting for this moment!"
As the fire walls closed in, the red-haired man hurled the fireball he had been charging.
The orange sphere—already the size of a soccer ball—expanded violently as it flew. Upon colliding with the flame walls, the shared elemental affinity caused it to erupt into a blazing pillar of fire that soared into the sky.
"No matter how strong he is," the red-haired man muttered grimly, "there's no way he's walking away unscathed after taking our combined fire magic."
The air itself shimmered with heat. The sheer concentration of magical energy made the power of the spell unmistakable to anyone nearby.
The white-haired elder glanced at the Nichirin Blade still planted in the ground and spoke quietly.
"You can tell from his sword—he's a blade specialist. Ending up like this means he was too confident in his own strength. Just like how you rushed in earlier, young master. I hope you remember this lesson."
Despite his high status, the red-haired man didn't dare retort. Their swordsmanship had been taught by this very elder—when it came to combat, his authority was absolute.
Just as the Greater Oni began to relax, convinced that no one could survive such a spell—
An arm burst through the flames.
It seized the purple-haired woman by the throat.
"Sorry about being used as a cautionary tale," a calm voice said from within the fire, "but aren't you letting your guard down a little too easily? Shouldn't you make sure your enemy is actually dead first?"
A bare arm tore through the fiery barrier, lifting the struggling woman off the ground.
"Na mo sa ba da ta ta gya te…"
The sudden reversal sent shock through the group.
They watched in disbelief as Ren Kuroda calmly stepped out of the inferno, chanting a spell they couldn't understand.
The technique was called 『Fire Realm Mantra』. Its incantation was rooted in ancient Sanskrit—so it was no surprise the Greater Oni couldn't decipher it.
But understanding wasn't necessary.
The crimson glow enveloping Ren repelled the flames effortlessly. Anyone could see it—he was using magic too.
With one of their own captured, the remaining five Greater Oni tensed in panic.
They instinctively moved to charge in—but the white-haired elder raised a hand to stop them, urgently signaling the red-haired man and the pink-haired girl to flee.
That level of magic hadn't even scratched him.
The gap in power was undeniable.
If they continued, they would all die here.
Better to ensure the escape of the young master and princess.
Yet as they stared at Ren with wary eyes, they realized—
He wasn't even looking at them.
Instead, his gaze shifted deeper into the forest.
"…Tch. Looks like an even bigger pain just showed up," Ren muttered."Man, all I wanted to do was ask for directions…"