Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 12 - Yomi-no-kuni: Chapter 227 - Target of All Arrows

“Watch out for that Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!”

“Why? Why does that woman have such a divine weapon?”

“That’s a peerless treasure!”

While the Supreme Gods and demonic entities grew increasingly wary and fearful of Lily, another desire began to swell within them beyond the impulse to capture or possess such a beautiful woman.

“Defeat her and seize the divine artifact!”

“No! I want both the woman and the treasure!”

In that instant, the Supreme Gods of both the Abyss and Yomi ceased to heed Kunhiza’s commands. They no longer cared about Ayaka, now obsessed only with capturing Lily—or, more urgently, snatching the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi from her hands.

That blade was a supreme treasure, one powerful enough to reshape the hierarchy of strength itself. Fear, greed, and desire surged through the masses of demons and gods, focused entirely on Lily.

From the depths of the Abyss, malevolent greed roared to life.

“……”

“Even if we have to kill Kagami Lily, that sword must be taken!”

Though Lily was strong, most of the Supreme Gods knew it would be difficult for any one of them to take her away under Kuroyodai’s nose. A woman, no matter how beautiful, was not something one could simply take and use. But the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was different. Whoever grasped it would instantly gain overwhelming power and deterrence. It was a treasure that could be claimed and wielded immediately!

“Go!”

Even the Abyssal Supreme Gods like Kuralan turned from Ayaka and Shimizu and charged toward Lily. The three Yomi Supreme Gods under Umashi did the same, abandoning their assault on the Rakshasa sisters to converge on Lily. As for the Thunder Gods, Wakarai and the rest, there was no need to ask.

At this moment, nearly every Supreme God and demon in the Boundless Abyss was surging toward Lily.

Although the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi had already made an appearance at the wedding, it had been in Uesugi Rei’s hands and only a few had recognized it. It had not caused a stir like now, when, before countless eyes, Lily wielded it to slice a Supreme God’s body in two with a single stroke.

The vast majority of monsters had neither realized nor fully understood at the time that this was the legendary peerless divine sword, once wielded by Amaterasu herself and perhaps the strongest weapon in the Three Realms.

“Lily, be careful!” Queen Kaguya cried out as the demon Supreme Gods surged toward Lily. She could not stop them and could only give chase.

Though unexpected, the situation was not the worst Lily had anticipated. She had feared the Supreme Gods might go after her sisters to threaten her instead. That would have been far harder to deal with.

Lily had overestimated their alliance. Even after living for thousands or tens of thousands of years, these gods and demons could not resist the temptation of absolute benefit and quickly turned on one another.

Why bother trying to take Lily’s companions hostage? Even if they could coerce her into handing over the sword, it would surely be snatched by others. Besides, Lily’s companions were not so easy to capture. If one of them went after the sisters, someone else would just gang up on Lily and steal the sword, it would be a fool’s move.

Now that all the Supreme Gods and demons were converging on Lily, while dangerous, but far better than having them pursue her friends. Lily would rather fight than be distracted trying to protect everyone at once.

“Come, then! Let me fight to my heart’s content!”

Facing the encircling onslaught of Supreme Gods, Lily was not afraid. On the contrary, she felt exhilarated. Her battle spirit surged. Though she was a woman, it was as if her very bones pulsed with an ancient, primal hunger for combat and slaughter!

With a thought, Lily recalled Oborozuki Muramasa to her hand. All focus was now on the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, and no one paid any attention to the blade still stuck in Chiroku’s corpse.

But Lily needed both swords.

“Lily, I can’t help you anymore… please be careful,” said Rei. She released Lily’s hand and leapt downward, fleeing toward Herikaku City below.

A mere Big Dipper-stage woman, Rei drew no attention from the demonic horde. Lily gathered her power and shot upward, trying to draw the fight farther away from Rei.

“You killed my brother! We were born together of the same force, how dare you!” howled Utopan, the remaining Twin Oni. With a frenzied cry, he lunged at Lily, both massive claws cleaving toward her.

Lily stepped midair, spun, and slashed with both blades. Silver and crimson arcs of light whirled into a dazzling storm.

Oborozuki Muramasa shattered Utopan’s strike, and the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, empowered by the Silver Lunar Force, carved the demon into pieces.

Far from avenging his brother, Utopan died even faster than him. It was a shocking sight. Though foolish, Utopan had still possessed power on par with a Supreme God, yet he had been reduced to scraps in one dazzling flurry of swordlight, killed beyond all doubt!

A Supreme God had been slain! Even the other gods charging toward Lily now felt a shiver of fear.

“But without risking your life, how can you ever seize such a treasure?”

“If this sword can kill a Supreme God in a single blow, then I must have it all the more!”

The sword’s power inspired both fear and madness in the crowd.

“Kagami Lily! You think a seductive woman like you deserves such a divine weapon? Hand it over!” roared Umashi, the first to reach her. He glared at the rain of Utopan’s blood and hurled nine golden rings at Lily.

These rings were Umashi’s most prized artifact. They could capture gods or shield against overwhelming foes, and he had hidden them for millions of years in Yomi as a last resort. But before such a priceless opportunity, he no longer held back.

“Hmph!” Lily’s gaze turned sharp as a blade. The nine golden rings radiated immense power, their movement governed by complex and ever-changing laws. Their speed was astonishing. As expected of Umashi’s trump card!

Lily timed her strike perfectly and swung Oborozuki Muramasa.

Nine crisp, soul-shaking clangs rang out. Oborozuki Muramasa directly pierced through the nine golden rings, stringing them together like beads. The rings continued to spin rapidly on the blade, blurring from sight.

“What!?” Umashi was stunned. He had expected Lily might dodge or block a few of the rings, but some would surely latch onto her body or limbs and bind her. He had charged in expecting to land a heavy blow once she was restrained and then seize the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.

He had not imagined that the nine rings would all be caught on her blade, unable even to hinder her use of the divine sword.

Now, flying at full speed toward Lily, Umashi had no choice but to grit his teeth and throw a full-force palm strike.

At the same time, from behind Lily, Wakarai launched a sneak attack, utterly devoid of a warrior’s honor. His electrified spear thrust toward her slender waist.

“Go!” Lily flicked her hair and spun around, flinging the nine golden rings. The rings flew like wild stallions loosed from reins, each one shooting toward Wakarai.

“Ahh!” Wakarai cried out in alarm. He failed to dodge in time, and several rings struck him. His once-handsome face contorted from the impact, his chest and abdomen hit hard. His chest caved in, sparks exploded from his body, and he was sent flying backward.

Meanwhile, Lily met Umashi’s palm strike with a sudden upward kick of her long, graceful leg, its pale skin gleaming as it sliced the air.

Without even using her sword, she shattered the palm strike with just her leg.

“What!?” Umashi was aghast. He already knew he was no match for Lily in direct combat and had relied on his trump card to gain an advantage. Now, his trump card was foiled, and his full-force strike was casually broken.

“You think I won’t kill you just because you’re a woman!?” Enraged and humiliated, Umashi threw himself at Lily, his massive frame barreling forward like a boulder.

But Lily raised her leg like a mighty axe and brought it down hard.

The crushing kick landed squarely on Umashi’s head. His enraged howl was cut off as his teeth clashed together and shattered. The world spun around him, and blood burst from his mouth and nose.

His giant body plummeted to the ground.

A bluish demonic shadow loomed as Kuralan charged forward, his eight weapons fanned out in a deadly arc, slashing toward Lily. But Lily darted downward in a flash, slipping past Kuralan’s strike. She closed the distance to the falling Umashi, diving beneath his massive form.

With a sudden, brutal strike, she drove her snow-white knee upward into Umashi’s chin. His jaw shattered with a sickening crack, and his face contorted in agony from the force of the blow.

Lily’s eyes flashed with a winter-cold killing intent as she vaulted upward, raising the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi high above her.

“Die, b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲!”

The divine blade descended with the cold finality of death, a gleam of silver moonlight slicing cleanly through Umashi’s thick neck.

Blood erupted in a violent arc, spraying into the air as Umashi’s severed head dropped from his shoulders.

Yet the headless body of Umashi still moved. Four massive arms lashed out, seizing Lily’s legs and pounding her lower abdomen with two brutal, hammer-like strikes. The blows struck hard, thudding into her stomach with bone-jarring weight.

Although a Supreme God could survive decapitation, the Silver Lunar Force gnawed at the severed wound, making reattachment or regeneration nearly impossible. The loss of his head had already drained nearly twenty percent of Umashi’s divine power, yet he still possessed enough strength to retaliate, an attack Lily had not anticipated.

Yet Lily’s body, even among Supreme Gods, was exceptionally resilient. Though outwardly delicate, her feminine form was far more flexible and enduring than it appeared, able to withstand punishing force.

The twin blows sent waves of pain through her and stole her breath, but caused no serious harm.

Regaining her composure, Lily brought Oborozuki Muramasa crashing down onto the monstrous hands clutching her legs. The blade bit into thick flesh, but their clashing divine forces caused the weapon to momentarily jam, lacking the force to cleave through.

At the same moment, she thrust the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi downward, driving the divine blade into Umashi’s broad, muscular back.

Amid the chaos, her strikes remained unnervingly precise, guided by instinct and deadly intent.

The blade struck with a piercing ring that echoed like a soul’s scream, it had met something unbreakable. Lily’s strike had collided with Umashi’s Divinity.

Divinity did not reside within the flesh, but in the spiritual sea and spirit palace, an inner world unique to each adept.

Any blade that breached the spiritual sea and approached the divine spirit crystal would first strike against the indestructible shield of the Divinity.

Though a Divinity could not be shattered in one blow, such an impact was enough to rupture the spiritual sea. The divine power within was thrown into disarray, suffering heavy damage and fragmentation.

The impact struck the Divinity directly, and the resulting backlash rippled throughout the spiritual sea, unleashing further waves of destruction.

Piercing the spiritual sea and striking the Divinity would not lead to instant death, but the consequences were devastating, inflicting deep and lasting harm.