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HWE Nozuchi

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Description

Name: Nozuchi

Alias: Wild Mallet, God of Fields, Wild Priest, 'Japanese Graboid'

Alignment: True Neutral - Neutral Evil

Rank: 1-2 Kaijin/Megafauna

Race: Yokai

 

Size:

Length - 1-3 meters (3-9 ft long)

Weight - 500-3500 lbs.

 

Powers:

 

O-Ring Orifice- Nozuchi can eat things many times their own size. Capable of contracting them down their gaping and elastic jaws and into their gullet where matter is compressed into a fraction of its original size. The giant worms do not bother chewing, merely clamping down and gradually forcing their prey into its matter compressing stomach, swallowing them whole. Even the smallest of Nozuchi can swallow an entire deer in this way.

 

Mr. Tumbles- Nozuchi get around by either rolling laterally down slopes and hills, dropping from trees or by taking their tail tips in their mouths and rolling end over end like a wheel to catch otherwise speedy prey. They are quite fast and carry a lot of momentum when they do this, capable of knocking over even large prey with the largest of them being able to jackknife a semi-truck through sheer inertia. Their bites can leave horrific wounds and they are strong enough to knock over something the size of a hippo without much effort...which usually means swallowing it not too soon after.

 

Smooth and Steely Fur- The fur that covers the topside of a Nozuchi is as soft and flexible as cat pelt but tough as steel. This makes the creature extremely hardy and resistant to damage...at least from the outside. This fur also acts as the worm's primary sensory system, allowing it to 'feel' everything around it so long as it has contact with the ground or something touching the ground.

 

Lethal Halitosis- Nozuchi eat a lot of things and this collects in the trenches of their gums and jaws. This creates a festering tunnel of fever inducing bacteria that is so malignant it can kill from close proximity alone. A single bite or even a brush with a Nozuchi can inflict this fever and it's a very dicey thing to recover from. Enriched by their own spiritual power, the fever has a notable but less lethal effect on other Yokai and Enigma Sensitives. More akin to catching the flue.

 

The Spice Must Flow - Nozuchi excrete the spiritual energy of those they devour as a 'Bounty Field' that promotes the growth and regeneration of natural resources. Animals breed quickly and in great numbers, plants, trees and crops yield large harvests and grow many times their original speed. Water becomes clear and sweet, etc. The Nozuchi imparts the effects of this field to everything immediately around it, making nests of Nozuchi very fertile places for much of the year until the winter when they hibernate. It's also the reason why the bacteria in their mouths is so powerful, as it too enjoys a constant and intimate exposure to the Bounty Field.

 

Hyakki Yagyo: Order of Beasts - A Nozuchi is the second key component  of a Night Parade, representing the man eaters and bestial Yokai. Acting as both Army Cook and Quartermaster, the Nozuchi's Bounty Field keeps resources available to feed the legion of Yokai on the move and draws the more animalistic Yokai to said resources. Effectively forming a roaming ecosystem unto itself. It keeps the more monstrous Yokai from predating on each other and other members of the Hyakki Yagyo through both ample food supplies and the threat of it dining on any Yokai that is out of line. If often takes its humanoid form when it travels with the Hyakki Yagyo so as to keep pace and blend in better with the group. Keeping a lid on its fever inducing breath while transformed.

 

Wild Priest Form - Nozuchi are often created from wicked or heretical (nature obsessed) priests that were exiled into the wilderness before they died. As such some Nozuchi predominately adopt the form of an utterly featureless priest or monk. The sole difference being that of their toothy jaws atop the priest's head which when closed looks like a large scar. They are not to be confused for a noppera-bo.

 

Weaknesses:

 

Inch Worm - Nozuchi in their natural form are rather slow and have to slowly inch and flop their way up hills and slopes or grind up trees to get to the higher ground that allows them enough leverage to roll. Attacks by Nozuchi can be avoided by simply seeking higher ground like the top of an embankment or a tree. As long as you're running uphill, they would have great trouble following you.

 

Enigma Resistance - Those with a lot of Enigma such as Kaiju or an Enigma Sensitive are resistant to the Nozuchi's feverish breath and bite. Reducing what normally are horrifically mangled and disease ridden bites to bloody contusions and a light flue. They also take much longer to crush should the Nozuchi even get them past its jaws. In general anything above rank 2 cannot be swallowed whole.

 

Hard on the Outside, Squishy on the Inside - If one can survive for a moment inside the jaws of a Nozuchi or simply fire down the throat of one, one can wound it a great deal more than trying to just hit it from the outside. The trick being not utterly delirious with fever before the Nozuchi swallows you entirely and you proceed to get crushed into a ball of matter the fraction of your original size.

 

No Mouth, No Problem - In their humanoid priest guise a Nozuchi does not exude a feverish breath or bite. They are still super humanly strong and durable in this form.

 

----

 

Day 19: The Rolling Quartermaster and Mighty Commander of the Hyakki Yagyo

 

The next day gave Kaitheros more time to think. Ruki had taken his various requests and need to keep in touch with her people to heart. It was likely he'd hear about her attempts soon enough. He was for once grateful that Ruki would likely be showing up a bit later than usual as it gave him time to sort out all the various nuances of the two other leaders of the Night Parade. The only question that remained on his mind was which one to cover first? The Quartermaster of Beasts whose very breath could induce fever and death? Whose appetite could consume things many times its size? Or the actual leader and Commander of the Night Parade, a figure that was as slippery as oil and yet hid power formidable even among the leviathans that were the Ayakashi. One whose elderly smile hid a deviant and perverse intellect. The answer came rushing up to him as Ruki for once showed up with an excited smile on her face.

 

"Guess what I did today!" Ruki exclaimed.

 

"Terrorized the elderly? Stole candy from children? Kicked a few puppies?" He rambled off.

 

"No no, none of that!" Ruki retorted, too excited to be flustered. "I asked the farmers if there was anything I could do and they asked me to bless the fields for them so they'll be full of good karma when they plant again in the spring! Of course it was nowhere near as hard as what they have to do but I think they appreciated it!"

 

"Farmers always have superstitions about their fields, comes from a lifetime of kowtowing to the whims of nature." Kaitheros explained. "It was good of you to perform such a service for them during this time, it helps set their minds at ease if only for a moment. Such blessings were much more mandatory in your ancestor's time. There were all manner of Yokai that pillaged, stole and ruined crops if they weren't appeased or warded off. I have a bit more sympathy for the down to roots farmer as the same applies to those that ventured into the forest to gather and hunt as well. Whenever the natural world met that of man, Yokai were sure to be there along its border."

 

"What sorts of Yokai? I've heard of big ranches and fields in the west but we don't have that kind of thing here."

 

"For good reason." Kaitheros added curtly. "But there is one Yokai of great importance that had to be placated before a farmer could even till his field. For this Yokai is the resident 'God of Fields' and doesn't take well to having its territory infringed upon by humans."

 

"So another super grumpy Yokai that eats people and may or may not have some positive benefit?" Ruki asked.

 

"I wouldn't know about grumpy but they are fairly predatory and they are one of the three leaders of the Night Parade which I shall disclose the rest of to you now. The Quartermaster and leader of the Order of Beasts: the Nozuchi."

 

"The wild mallet? Does it have a head like a huge hammer? Because I can see something like a ceratopsian being a 'God of Fields'. It otherwise sounds like a big deal."

 

"It actually has more to do with Yokai's general body shape. A Nozuchi looks like a large segmented serpent or worm, covered in dark grassy green fur that is usually 3 to 9 feet long. It's head or what amounts to one is devoid all features save for a gaping elastic mouth. The interior of its maw ringed with sharp stout teeth aimed at clamping down on prey and contracting it down its gullet, swallowing its prey whole."

 

"Giant worms! Oh that is scary...probably burrow under your house and nom you right out of your bed!" Ruki squeaked, remembering a certain movie she'd seen awhile back that was a part of her 'monster reasearch'.

 

"Heh, Nozuchi are not burrowers, for that you can be grateful. A Nozuchi's primary form of locomotion is actually rolling."

 

"So they roll into balls and run things down?"

 

"More or less. Nozuchi position themselves on large hills, in trees or river banks and when they sense prey nearby, they either laterally roll themselves like a log or take a hold of their tail tip and throw themselves in a wheel like loop. In either case they can cover a lot of ground very quickly this way and do intend to knock you over upon collision. Their weight and speed is heavy enough to shatter a large wagon and send its occupants flying, let alone a person."

 

"A Yokai can never do anything normal can they." She surmised in amusement of the idea of giant hairy worms rolling down roads and getting into Yokai traffic accidents.

 

"Thankfully that is the extent of their mobility, at least in their natural form. Nozuchi are otherwise very slow and clumsy creatures that have to inch and wriggle their way back up those same hills. Which means it's actually very easy to evade them."

 

"Yeah, you'd just need to seek higher ground and they wouldn't be able to catch you. It's kinda sad actually. How do they catch anything like that?"

 

"Nozuchi, like Waira and Otoroshi feed primarily on small game and pests. The real danger from an Nozuchi comes when you are in close quarters with it. At which point it becomes exceedingly dangerous. Nozuchi have a mouth that is filled with bacteria of all kinds, it's bites can leave not only malformed wounds but also a deadly fever that is so virulent that it can easily kill."

 

"Oh, like a Komodo Dragon or Megalania right? If you don't get bit then you should be okay."

 

"That would be the case except this particular gift basket of disease is also airborne. It's breath and even its fur can inflict this 'filth fever' through just simple contact or close proximity. It was too the point that many believed that just SEEING an Nozuchi would give you the near terminal fever."

 

"Well, I guess that makes up for having to roll everywhere, they sound like a walking-err rolling plague!"

  

"It even effects other Yokai and Enigma Sensitives to an extent."

 

"Great, so even me and other Yokai can't touch the thing."

 

"Not exactly, the effects of its breath and bite are mitigated by Enigma and for someone like you, you'd probably catch the equivalent of a light flue rather than the terminal flesh eating disease that Nozuchi normally impart. Getting bitten by a Nozuchi is still something I would highly avoid as it leaves one delirious and fatigued from fever so it can swallow you whole."

 

"Well they don't get too big and you can fight your way out of them right?"

 

"You could...and that's actually one of better ways of exterminating them as their fur is as supple as cat hair but as strong as steel. Making an interior assault your best bet should you need to kill one or more of these creatures. Though I would recommend not getting in its mouth at all and fire projectiles or  weapon with reach into its gaping jaws as getting swallowed by it period is something to be greatly feared."

 

"What other crazy power does it have?"

 

"Remember when we discussed the Nure Onna and how they can manipulate mass? The Nozuchi can do something similar yet different and inside its stomach. Nozuchi can compress matter to a fraction of its size. As soon as something reaches its stomach it begins the process, gradually condensing something many times its size into what amounts to a small dense orb of matter rich with Enigma."

 

"Oh that's wonderful, it's like a wormy Yokai version of a wood chipper." Ruki groaned.

 

"However like its breath, things that already have a strong amount of Enigma take much longer to compress and some things like Kaiju are simply beyond a Nozuchi's ability to swallow no matter how hard they try. Your ancestors dealt with wrathful and destructive Nozuchi before and sometimes they'd get swallowed, only to blast and cut their way out as the Nozuchi had the hardest time trying to keep them down."

 

"Let's hope one of those things never reach your size Thero-Kun, that would be a serious problem." The Miko brooded over the idea, imaging a Nozuchi measured in stories rather than feet.

 

"Perish the thought, they are a cursed blessing as it is!" Kaitheros snorted. "There is a reason we try to make peace with the Nozuchi first and exterminate it only if there is no other option."

 

"What reason is that? Do they grant good luck?"

 

"A Nozuchi' peculiar feeding method has a result that is very positive for its territory and immediate surroundings. The Enigma of those it devours is excreted through its fur as what we refer to as a 'Bounty Field'. This field promotes a an much greater rate of growth and the regeneration of natural resources. Animals breed and mature faster, plants and crops have higher yields and grow back within minutes, water and soil become rich with nutrients and so on. So while it's very dangerous to encounter a Nozuchi, keeping them around can be a powerful natural boon...providing you don't disturb their nest and proceed to become food yourself."

 

"Wow! They're like Miracle Grow on EVERYTHING! No one's crops would fail with them around!"

 

"Except during the winter when they obey nature's rhythm and hibernate in clusters until spring. While Nozuchi can be a blessing, when they join a Night Parade they become a calamity."

 

"Do they do the reverse and make everything die really fast?"

 

"Thankfully no but the end result means civilization is most certainly doomed regardless. Much like how Otoroshi bring spiritual Yokai on board, Nozuchi do the same for all the various man eating and bestial Yokai."

 

"What do they carry it around? It can't roll everywhere right? What if the Night Parade has to go up a hill?"

 

"Nozuchi DO have an alternate form that will use to get around and keep pace. They can take the form of an utterly featureless priest save for a toothy mouth atop their head. While they are in this form they cannot exude their feverish breath but they are still as strong and tough as they are normally and capable of moving as least as fast as most humans despite their weight."

 

"Kinda like a Noppera-Bo then right?"

 

"Only vaguely. A Nozuchi can still eat you in that form, so be cautious. Not only do Nozuchi bring all manner of beast and monster to the Night Parade but they also bring the benefits of their Bounty Field as well. This allows the Night Parade to 'eat on the go' and not have to worry about 'salting the earth' too much when they pass. This allows the Night Parade to sustain itself and keep even larger numbers of Yokai around. The Nozuchi also keeps these same monstrous Yokai from eating each other or other Yokai in the Night Parade, either by providing a rich hunting environment for them or by threatening them with being eaten by it personally. Being bitten and devoured by a Nozuchi is not something many Yokai would wish to deal with and so even the ferocious likes of an Ushi-Oni or a Okuri-Inu are kept in line. It only takes a single touch from a Nozuchi to impart its fever and so many Yokai will not waste their time testing a Nozuchi unless they are many times bigger and have much higher Enigma than it does."

 

"Kinda like how most animals in a forest don't want to bother a skunk because the risk isn't worth the reward."

 

"That's right Ruki. Though now that you know of two of the leaders of the Night Parade and what they impart to it, it's time for you to learn of the one who outright commands the Night Parade and leads all the Yokai to whatever destination they have in mind. The one that makes even Dai-Tengu, Kappa, and Oni bow: The Nurarihyon and its alter ego, the Umibozu."

 

Ruki let out an audible gulp.

 

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Comments5
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PG1224's avatar
Isn't "yokai" more of a classification than a single species? You can't do that!