At first glance, the fishing village of Waukasha appeared to be a pleasant, off the path community. Like many Akashiman fishing villages, the simple wooden buildings clustered together, huddled around the bobbing piers that extended from the shore like greedy fingers reaching to claim the sea’s bountiful harvest. A gentle breeze flowed away from Waukasha, bringing the scent of rotting seaweed and old fish along with it. Closer inspection revealed that there was something off about Waukasha however. Despite the hour, the village’s numerous fishing vessels remained lashed to their berths, and there were no signs of motion through the barren, windswept streets. Though this was William Arcus’ first trek into Akashima, his burning eyes took in Waukasha’s visage with the experienced eyes of one who has seen much in his life and travelled far, leaving only one thought in his mind.

Seen one fishing village, seen them all.

Six warriors accompanied the Revenant, dragging along a steel-laden wagon filled with thick boar spears and heavy crossbows. Each of the six, as was William, were members of Sei Orlouge’s Ixian Knights, and each was well versed in the specialized field of combating monstrous creatures. They had drilled, and fought, and bled together on numerous occasions, a close-knit team forged into a single cohesive unit in order to bring down the mightiest terrors that Althanas could breed.

“Heigei, to me,” William called, never taking his eyes from Waukasha. The lone Akashiman from the squad bounded up the trail to attend his Captain, his sheer black hair swaying lightly in the salty morning breeze. Heigei had spent the better part of the squad’s two day run from Radasanth to Waukasha filling his comrades in on the particulars of Akashima’s history, culture, and lore.

“Heigei?” William questioned, making sure he had the Akashiman’s attention.

“Yes, Captian?” Heigei replied, scanning the village himself.

A moment of silence passed as William finished his study before finally turning to his subordinate. “Well?”

“There appears to be no sign of the creature aside from the charred buildings on Waukasha’s south end.” Heigei paused for a moment, but seeing the questioning look in William’s gaze continued, “That alone is no indication that the creature isn’t still around though. If the report given to Sei-sama was correct, then this creature is likely to be a bound oni.”

“Which means what?” asked Jerrick, former mercenary and current second-in-command of the squad.

William inclined his head briefly in Jerrick’s direction, acknowledging the mercenary’s arrival, while Heigei bowed his head low in respect. Jerrick grimaced, waving off the formality and gesturing for Heigei to continue.

“As I have mentioned, Akashima is called the Land of a Thousand Spirits for a reason. Oni are the malevolent, chaotic spirits which infest the land, though they normally have little more influence than to whisper their corruption in one’s ear. All that changes when a summoner manages to connect one of the oni with a powerful soul however, at which point the oni is given a physical form.”

William grimaced at Heigei’s description. The entire process sounded far too similar to the soul-binding process that had been used to turn him from a human to the creature that he now was and the thought of another Kal’Necroth rising to power was something he could not abide.

“So where is this oni now?” William asked, his voice gritty and on-edge.

“Since oni are just spirits, their physical forms can be banished back to the spirit world by their summoner and then called back as needed,” Heigei paused for a moment before adding, “though doing so repeatedly would put much strain on the soul that the oni is bound to.”

“So we’ve got a giant monster lurking in the shadows, waiting to be sprung on us like a trap,” Jerrick grimaced. The day was not turning out well for the Ixian Knights’ monster hunters.

“Well then,” William waved for the rest of the squad to start driving the wagon towards Waukasha, “let’s not keep it waiting.”