Demon Sword Maiden

“Follow those Yuten soldiers! They’ve eaten and drunk their fill, so they’re bound to return inside the castle,” Asazora whispered an order. A group of Celestial Maidens in dark feathered cloaks moved stealthily, using boulders, backstreets, shadowed walls, and scattered debris as cover.

“Leader, I just saw a group of sisters who looked like they were from the Hekiraku Realm. How could they have been captured and forced to become military courtesans here? This is far too tragic… what should we do?” The one who spoke was also from the Hekiraku Realm, one of the gifted girls who had long dreamed of becoming a Celestial Maiden. She was among the rare few who succeeded, yet who could have imagined the fate of Celestial Maidens would be so cruel.

In the Hekiraku Realm, nearly all humans were female, and there had long been a tradition of regarding the path of the Celestial Maiden as the highest aspiration. It was one of the sacred small worlds where the Celestial Maidens recruited prodigies from the lower realms to expand their strength. There were many such worlds, but the Hekiraku Realm held a special place in the hearts of Celestial Maidens. It was said that one of the six great Celestial Maidens, Tsukikage-hime

¹, had hailed from Hekiraku.

Asazora frowned. To think those dream-laden girls from Hekiraku had suffered such a fate… as a Celestial Maid herself, how could she bear it? Yet she hardened her heart. “For now, Lady Bishamonten must take priority. Though we long to overturn this age of darkness and rescue every sister, at this moment we are powerless. Let’s go.”

The Celestial Maidens were heavy-hearted. Who among them did not wish to save these innocents, the very girls who once trusted and admired the Celestial Maidens? Yet as rebels, they too were utterly helpless in this moment.

“Leader, I cannot sense Lady Bishamonten’s presence here…” one Maiden said as she produced a heavily worn treasure of gold and jade. Its luster was dimmed.

“Yuten Castle is simply too vast. We are still beneath the fortress foundation of Hizan, separated by formidable bulwarks. Lady Bishamonten’s aura may not reach us here. We must first infiltrate the castle before we can search further. Surely she is confined within the most heavily guarded core of Yuten Castle.”

“What if their prison can completely seal off Lady Bishamonten’s aura?”

“Bishamonten is a peerless female Supreme God, second only to Tsukuyomi. To block her aura entirely would be near impossible. This treasure was forged specifically to seek her out. I believe it will lead us to her.” Though Asazora was not fully confident, she forced herself to sound so, lest her sisters falter.

The Celestial Maiden rebels continued forward. The swaggering Yuten soldiers ahead never noticed. The women followed them out of the courtesan district and into a secluded cavern road, lit here and there by campfires.

“Such a winding, hidden path… so why bother building that courtesan district at all? These Yuten soldiers boast of their righteousness, but in truth they’re no better than scum!” one Maiden muttered.

The soldiers strode into a vast cavern chamber where towering stalagmites rose from the ground and massive stone columns hung overhead. The Celestial Maidens kept utterly silent, the only sound the steady drip of water echoing through the dark.

The Yuten soldiers swaggered through a doorway on the far side of the chamber, where a staircase leading upward could already be seen.

“This must be the passage into the castle. Go!”

The Celestial Maidens slipped into the chamber only after the soldiers had passed, moving toward the door. Just as they were about to step through and ascend the stairs into the castle, a sudden clatter rang out.

With a thunderous crash, a heavy godsteel portcullis dropped down, sealing the way forward.

“What!?” Asazora exclaimed in shock.

“Not good! We may have been discovered. Retreat at once!”

But as they turned back, another deep tremor resounded. Countless boulders crashed down behind them, sealing off their retreat.

“Hahahahahaha!”

The cavern rang with the rough, triumphant laughter of a Heroic God.

From the surrounding cliffs and high ledges, enormous black-armored Yuten soldiers appeared, numbering in the hundreds. Each held almighty bows and heavy weapons, encircling the Celestial Maidens completely.

The women were stunned but did not panic. As Celestial Maiden rebels, they were trained, battle-hardened, and had long prepared themselves for death. At once, they tightened formation, leaving measured gaps between each other, forming a circle. Together they turned outward toward every direction, drawing blades, naginatas, and bows.

“How could this be!” Cold sweat beaded Asazora’s brow.

At that moment, a Yuten general with black-and-white war paint upon his face stepped onto a massive boulder. He held a heavy double-edged greatsword and looked down at the women.

“The rebels’ information is swift indeed. The interrogator arrived only yesterday, and yet here you are. Did you think the Yuten Army would be unprepared?” the general said.

Indeed, just as the Celestial Maidens had suspected, there had been no regular garrison around the courtesan district. In truth, the moment they believed themselves hidden aboard the ship and slipped into Yuten Castle, they had already been discovered. The Great Imperial God had laid a profound formation capable of sensing “hostility.” Unless one achieved a state of pure selflessness and possessed power at the level of a Supreme God, their ill intent could not be concealed. The Celestial Maidens had no such ability, and the Yuten Army immediately knew that enemies had infiltrated.

Moreover, though there were no regular troops guarding the courtesan district, the merchant unions had long embedded sinister formations there to prevent escapes. Many creatures that looked like geckos or small animals were in fact watchers, surveying all movement.

Every action of the Celestial Maidens had already been seen by the union masters and reported to the Yuten Army, allowing them to prepare this trap.

Now, they were completely surrounded.

They did not know how they had been betrayed, but pondering it was meaningless now.

Asazora’s eyes grew cold. “Hmph. If that is the case, then sisters, we fight to the death! Carve a path out with blood!”

They had been discovered. To force their way into the castle to rescue their comrade was now impossible. All they could do was fight with everything they had to escape. The Celestial Maidens had already embraced death, but that did not mean they would wait to be slaughtered.

“Hold!” the Yuten general shouted. “Celestial Maidens, why fight to the death? If you lay down your weapons and surrender, I can spare your lives. More than that, I can see to it you earn far greater riches!”

“Shut your foul mouth, scum!” Asazora snapped. Having just come from the courtesan district, she knew all too well what the general’s words implied.

“Better to die in battle than live as slaves!”

“Better to die in glory!”

“Better to die in glory!”

The Celestial Maidens cried out the rallying slogan of the rebels. Their voices thundered with defiance as they prepared for a final, desperate clash.

“In that case, there’s no choice. A pity, truly… Men! Seize them—alive, if you can!”

Arrows hissed through the cavern. Each shaft carried tremendous force, but the Maidens had already formed a defensive circle, unleashing a combined protective formation. It barely held against the rain of arrows.

Even so, the relentless pounding of arrows—clang, clang!—upon the barrier drained their strength quickly. The weaker Maidens trembled violently, on the verge of collapse.

“Forward!”

With a roar that shook the cavern walls, over a hundred Yuten soldiers surged in from all directions.

“Fight with everything we have!”

The defensive array could not withstand close-quarters assault. The Maidens dropped their shield and drew steel, clashing with the Yuten soldiers blade to blade.

But the Yuten soldiers were towering giants, powerhouses of Takamagahara. At equal ranks, their raw strength gave them absolute dominance. Many Maidens were hurled aside in a single exchange.

Some veterans fought with nimbleness, weaving through stalagmites and shadows to harry their foes, striking from blind angles. Yet even then, the disparity in both numbers and strength was insurmountable.

The Azure Squad of the Celestial Maiden rebels had only three warriors of the Celestial Stage with them this time, including their leader, Asazora. In contrast, the Yuten Army numbered over a hundred, divided into more than a dozen squads, each led by a Celestial-Stage soldier. The general himself was far stronger, a Celestial powerhouse who had already attained Divinity.

Boom!

Asazora clashed with the general, only to be struck by a single blow that sent her crashing against a stone pillar. Yuten Castle’s foundations were carved into Takamagahara’s solid bedrock, renowned for its unbreakable strength. That the pillar snapped apart revealed just how fearsome his strength truly was.

Blood spilled from Asazora’s lips as she fell, but the general surged forward once more, black wind surging around his greatsword.

“Damn it!” She dodged and parried desperately. To her shock, the general hurled a chained iron ball that slammed into her back, sending her tumbling across the ground.

Elsewhere, several Maidens below the Quintuple-soul Big Dipper Stage were struck down and bound on the spot, their cries of anguish echoing through the cavern.

One Celestial-Stage Maiden managed to slash into the thick back of a Yuten soldier of the Septuple-soul Big Dipper Stage, wounding him. But three more Celestial-Stage soldiers immediately surrounded her, hammering her with blows. Her divine power waned, her garments tore, and her situation grew dire.

Against such overwhelming power, the Maidens were hopelessly outmatched. Fighting as they retreated, they were quickly driven back to the massive boulders that had sealed their escape.

Asazora, already wounded, summoned her divine power and brought her blade down upon the stone barrier. She only managed to shatter a few rocks in front, leaving the great heap largely untouched. Behind her, Yuten soldiers pressed in relentlessly.

Several young Maidens were already forced to the ground and bound. Though they cried out, none begged for help, they accepted their fate in silence.

“Leader, go! Save yourself!”

“Forget about us!”

Yet even if Asazora abandoned them, where could she run?

A thunderous detonation shook the cavern. The wall of boulders behind them suddenly erupted, blasted apart into a storm of rubble.

When the smoke cleared, a girl stood revealed. She wore a revealing green dress, her hair coiled up, her face painted in bright, alluring colors—attire that seemed anything but suited for battle. A long blade rested in her hand, her long, slender legs set firmly apart as she stood tall amidst the dust.

Footnotes:

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   Syl: This is the same reading as the previously translated “Moon Shadow” that the Dark Celestial Maidens referred to Shimizu as… might become relevant later?