Oni

The Oni Clan (鬼族, Onizoku) were a race of demi-humans that were once considered the mightiest. Though they existed for a long time, they have nearly been wiped out by the Witch Cult.

Information

The Oni Clan were at one point considered the mightiest of demi-humans. They had strong bodies, and their mana quality potency was rather high, giving them powerful military might. Their strength made the onis very prideful, giving them an elitist mentality. As a way to maintain the purity and pride, the onis lived far away from other races, often living in remote villages in the mountains and in a Social Darwinist and isolationist way. As such, the number of onis was relatively small.

Physically, onis shared roughly the same appearance as humans. However, one thing that set them apart from other races and distinguished this race were the horns that, while normally retracted, could protrude from their heads. Their horns were often long and curved, and they would ordinarily glow white or a very pale shade of another color, such as blue or pink. Their horns were organs that rapidly drew mana from the atmosphere, greatly enhancing an oni’s physical strength and magic capabilities. However, it was possible for an oni to lose oneself while their horns were protruding, acting on instinct and attacking everything in their path.

In the case of twins, the babies were often born with only one horn each, much smaller in size when compared to other onis’ horns. According to the onis themselves, they believed that being born this way made them significantly weaker than the rest of their clan. As such, when twins were born, it was not uncommon for the clan to kill them after birth as a way to maintain the clan’s place as the strongest of demi-humans.

The horns, while magical in appearance, were, in fact, tangible organs that could be severed from an oni’s body. If this happened to an oni, they were mocked as hornless (ツノナシ, Tsunonashi). The lack of their horns prevented them from using their full strength, but more than that, it also left onis in a predicament that left them to struggle to take mana into their bodies, making them considerably frailer. Attempting to use their power for more than a few seconds while in this state also left them bleeding from the strain. The only way for this to be treated is for someone to directly insert their own mana into the spot where the onis horns once were.

The onis worshiped the strongest member of their clan to ever exist: the Oni God. This person was apparently a powerful figure that existed centuries ago, and not only did his strength dramatically hang over the heads of almost every other being in any race besides Dragons, but he was even capable of smelling the scent produced by the Witch. The onis believed, after seeing her strength after birth, that Ram was the Oni God’s reincarnation,^[1] and her strength only increased with age, roughly doubling. Moreover, when Ram still had her horn, she often had the impulse to attack others, and after it was cut off, this impulse stopped afflicting her.

Uniquely, there is a case in which twins were able to share their power with each other. After Ram lost access to most of her power after losing her horn, she was able to draw on her comatose sister’s power via Synesthesia (共感覚, Kyōkankaku), an ability that she shares with her sister that allows them to share their feelings and emotions with each other through telepathy,^[2] to access her own power, Rem’s own horn protruding from her head in response.^[3] As an oni herself, her body was better built for handling the power. However, as the power Ram had was excessive even for a member of her clan, the backlash left her sister unable to walk without assistance, as the sharing of her power interrupted the mana flow within her body.

Like the Oni God, the Oni Clan were supposed to be able to smell the scent of the Witch. However, most onis did not have this ability, and very few of them ever manifested it. They also possessed certain secret arts that were passed down through the tribe, one such ability being Clairvoyance (千里眼, Senrigan),^[4] which allows the user to synchronize with the vision of other living beings, which, while leaving the user defenseless, allows the user to surveil over a wide range.

Most of the oni villages seem to have been completely wiped out, with the final village, the home of Rem and Ram, being slaughtered by the Witch Cult. According to Roswaal L. Mathers, the onis’ demise was due to natural selection rather than discrimination or prejudice, as they refused to accept new ideals and were left in the past as a result.

List of Onis

• Rem
• Ram
• Setanta (deceased)
• Temae (deceased)
• Quark (deceased)
• Chikya (deceased)
• Oni God (deceased)
• Reize (non-canon)

Trivia

• Non-canonically, Reize, a survivor of a Kararagian oni village destroyed by the Witch Cult, awakened her ability to smell the scent of the Witch after someone poured a strange liquid into her ear. Whether this unlocked this ability from within her or gave her the ability artificially is unknown, and the purpose this was done for is unknown.
• The Oni Clan, like spirit eaters, were said to have been a race specifically made to oppose Witches.^[5]
• After Ram’s horn was severed from her body, it was fashioned into a wand.^[6]
• The Oni Clan seemed to have something akin to kindergarten within their village; Ram, and maybe Rem, had apparently once taken such classes.^[7]
• It is believed that the Oni God once lost in a drinking competition with Reid Astrea,^[8] and according to legend, they were rumored to have been felled by the Dragon Sword Reid at some point.^[9]

References

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