Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 12 - Yomi-no-kuni: Chapter 238 - Herikaku City Emerges from Boundless Abyss

The Lord of Oblivion and Sanzu Demon Queen, who had been quietly observing from a distance, finally stepped forward and paid their respects to the Madam.

“Disperse, all of you. Return to your corners of Yomi,” the Lord of Oblivion called out, beginning to dismiss the countless demons gathered in the area.

Many had already scattered earlier, but some still lingered out of fear. Now, one by one, they began to retreat.

Before long, Yanagihada was escorted back by several strange, shadowy demon gods.

“Sister Yanagihada!”

Ansha, Hyozuhi, and many of the Dark Celestial Maidens rushed forward to greet her. Yet Yanagihada said nothing of her ordeal. She turned and looked calmly at Lily and the others.

“I thank you, Lyn-hime, for remembering me and speaking up for me under such dire circumstances.” She bowed to Lily.

“No need to thank me. You should be thanking our… mother,” Lily replied somewhat awkwardly.

“Thank you, Madam.” Yanagihada immediately knelt and paid her respects to Izanami, and the other Dark Celestial Maidens followed suit.

Izanami spoke, “The Dark Celestial Maidens will be leaving the Abyss. As for Herikaku City, drag it back to the surface. I trust there will be no further surprises this time.”

“O-of course. You can rely on us, Madam. We abyssal demon gods are… beings of our word.” Kunhiza responded, though with obvious reluctance.

Lily could not help but sneer inwardly.

She turned to Yanagihada. “Since you were the one handed over during the last negotiation to have Herikaku City pulled from the Abyss, you’ll be the one to take charge of it again.”

“Eh?” Yanagihada had not expected Lily to issue her an order so directly. She hesitated, a little displeased, but eventually dropped to one knee and replied, “Yes.”

If the leader of the Dark Celestial Maidens had been anyone else, they likely would have felt resentment toward Lily for issuing orders like that, even if they didn’t say so out loud. But Shimizu, who stood right beside them, didn’t react in the slightest.

For her, power and position simply held no interest.

It was precisely because Shimizu didn’t care about such things that Lily issued orders herself. Otherwise, she would have had to explain everything to Shimizu first, then have her issue the orders, which would be too inefficient. Besides, Lily wanted to gradually train the Dark Celestial Maidens to follow her command.

Though she often appeared gentle, Lily was clear-headed and deliberate in such matters.

“Ansha, focus on repairing Herikaku City,” Lily said.

“Yes.” Ansha obeyed easily, showing little resistance.

She led the other maidens over to the damaged city and began releasing puppet craftsmen and black, humanoid shikigami from her spatial ring. These constructs were specially designed for building and maintenance.

The Dark Celestial Maidens themselves were warriors, not laborers.

“Madam, if there’s nothing more, we’ll return to the Abyss,” said Kuroyodai. There was no point staying, only more humiliation to be had.

“Are we really just going to let the Dark Celestial Maidens go?” a male spider-demon grumbled, his voice filled with resentment. “They oppressed us for years! And what about Kagami Lily? She killed our clan leader—”

“Silence!” Kuroyoku suddenly flashed before the spider-demon. With a single punch, he sent the Infernal Stage demon hurtling down into the depths of the Abyss.

“Who dares defy my elder brother’s will? From this moment forward, the Abyss has a new ruler, Kuroyodai-Okutsukokami!” Kuroyoku bellowed at the gathered demons. Though seething with bitterness, he had no choice but to clench his teeth and growl, “Let’s go!”

The abyssal demon gods turned and vanished into the darkness, retreating like a tide flowing back into the deep. Kuroyodai himself walked with heavy steps down the cliffside, each footfall shaking the Abyss.

Kunhiza, Kuralan-Chiyu, Kyupigaki, and the others followed suit, leading their followers back into the shadows. The eight demon gods previously assigned to haul Herikaku City were once again bound in thick iron chains. Under the stern command of the Dark Celestial Maidens, they began pulling the city back up the chasm wall.

Amid the endless darkness, a group of Yomi demons was making its way back to the surface along the jagged mountain paths carved into the abyss. Among them walked an undead warrior, his armor split across the abdomen with a single deep fracture. His gaze flickered as he looked into the distance.

He watched as Lily, Izanami, and the other women returned together to Herikaku City. He had thought about it. But in the end, he said nothing. Even if he called out to her now, what would it change? They no longer lived in the same world.

Lily had become the adopted daughter of Yomi’s supreme ruler, powerful enough to battle more than a dozen Supreme Gods and hold her ground.

And he, Matsuda Nagahide? He was nothing more than an undead warrior who should never have risen again in the first place. But he had done what he believed was the right thing in this life, and for that, he had no regrets. Matsuda Nagahide held no attachments to this world.

He knew that if he were to call out to Lily now, given her nature, she would surely repay him. Perhaps it would even lift him to unimaginable heights. But what would that make him?

When he had saved her back then, it had not been in search of reward. If he sought something now, what would become of his pride as a samurai?

Matsuda Nagahide had his own sword, his own path. Regardless of strength, fame, or whether the world would remember his name, he would walk his road without regret. Perhaps this was the final conviction of a middle-aged man who no longer held any longing for the world.

The spirit fire in Nagahide’s eyes flickered. He cast one final glance at the young girl, so full of vitality and hope, then turned without hesitation and followed the retreating forces of Yomi into the deep ravines of the abyss.

“Hmm?” Lily suddenly turned her head, as if sensing something from long ago, something strangely nostalgic. But there was only a vast expanse of darkness and shadow.

“Lily? What is it?” Ayaka asked beside her.

“It’s nothing…”

“Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

Together with her sisters, Lily took to the skies and flew back toward Herikaku City.

Inside the great hall of Herikaku City—

“I’ve heard much of this fortress of the Celestial Battle Maidens. I never expected today to be my first time stepping inside,” Izanami said, her long skirt trailing over the dark stone floor as she slowly surveyed the chamber.

Lily and her companions followed her into the hall.

“M-Mama…” Even now, saying the word aloud in public made Lily feel awkward and a little embarrassed. She knelt before Izanami, seated at the front of the hall, and bowed deeply. “Thank you, Mother, for saving us.”

“Our gratitude, Madam, for your intervention.”

Her sisters, Queen Kaguya, Chiya, Ayaka, Shimizu, Rei, Nanako, and the gathered Dark Celestial Maidens, also knelt in unison. Asura-Onna and Rakshasa-Onna stood flanking Izanami like guardians.

Izanami’s eyes swept across the girls before resting on Lily. “Since you’ve called me Mama, then what’s the point of thanking me? A mother protecting her daughter, that’s only natural, isn’t it? Hehehe… Isn’t that right, my dear girl?”

“Yes,” Lily bowed her head, though in her heart she thought, ‘And who was it that once used her precious daughter as a bargaining chip and married her off to the Boundless Abyss?’

“What’s the matter, Lily? You seem to have something to say,” Izanami asked with a puff from her long-stemmed pipe.

“No… I wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh?” Izanami’s brow twitched slightly. She noticed that Lily had said ‘wouldn’t dare,’ not ‘don’t have.’ But she let it go without pressing.

“Lily, what are your plans now?”

“Mother, the war in the Abyss has ended, and my sisters and I are now strong enough to protect ourselves in Yomi. Still… I keep thinking about how I first fell into Yomi, how it was all a disaster beyond our expectations. I can’t help but worry about the sisters I left behind in the Mortal Realm. I wish to return to the Heian Dynasty. But… I don’t know how.”

Izanami’s gaze grew distant. Her eyes shimmered with layered thoughts, though she gave no answer at first. She took a long draw from her pipe. “Hmm… about that matter…”

“Madam, Lily—there’s a disturbance in the Hekiraku Realm,” Shimizu suddenly interrupted.

“Hekiraku Realm?” Lily was caught off guard.

Everyone looked at Shimizu in confusion.

“What is it, Miss Shimizu?” asked Izanami, who clearly had no prior knowledge of it either.

Shimizu stepped forward and replied, “It seems… the disturbance has been going on for some time. But earlier, during the intensity of the battle, there was so much divine energy from the Supreme Gods saturating everything that I didn’t notice it. Only now, in the quiet, can I feel it clearly.”

“What happened, Sister Shimizu?” Lily asked. Truthfully, the Hekiraku Realm didn’t seem to concern her much. What trouble could it hold?

Shimizu shook her head. “I’m not sure. I’ll have to go see it for myself.”

For some reason, though Lily couldn’t guess what might’ve gone wrong in Hekiraku Realm, something about this felt ominous. She suddenly remembered leaving Inugami behind to protect Ryuen. Could something have happened to her?

Anxiety flared in her chest, and Lily quickly turned to Izanami.

Izanami said calmly, “Then go and see for yourselves.”

Thus Lily, Rei, and Ayaka followed Shimizu to the room where the Imperial Princess had once planned her wedding with Lily. In truth, this room also served as the gateway to the Hekiraku Realm.

Inside the chamber, Shimizu calmed her breath and activated a secret art. Then, she opened the door.

Beyond it lay a tranquil bamboo grove, lush and green, yet the air was thick with the scent of blood.

There, at the edge of the bamboo forest, a white Inugami lay curled up, its fur stained nearly entirely red, breathing faintly as if clinging to its last breath. Just before the doorway, Ryuen, dressed in tattered green robes, her hair disheveled, lay collapsed and unconscious.

“Miss Ryuen!” Lily cried out in shock.

So it really was her. Something had indeed happened.

Lily and the others rushed forward and helped Ryuen up.

Ayaka swiftly performed a healing technique. Ryuen’s face, ghostly pale, regained a hint of color, and her breathing grew steadier. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Her gaze wandered between Lily and the others, flickering with faint recognition.

“Sis…ter Lily…” she whispered.

“Ryuen, what happened? What in the world happened to you?” Lily asked urgently, holding Ryuen’s waist to steady her.

“Bi… shamonten…” Ryuen’s lips, drained of all color, barely formed the name before she lost consciousness once more.

“Bishamonten!?” Lily gasped. “Miss Ryuen? Ryuen!?”

Beside her, Rei stood frozen, her icy blue eyes locked in a stunned, glacial stare.