Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 13 - Takamagahara: Chapter 18 - Lily Takes Action

The Celestial Maidens stared in disbelief at the woman who had suddenly appeared before them.

What was that explosion just now? Even if Asazora swung her blade with all her strength, she could not possibly shatter a pile of massive boulders several feet thick, yet they had been pulverized in an instant. What kind of technique was this? These rocks were among the hardest in Takamagahara, even more durable than the finest Grade 9 Tamahagane of the Heian Dynasty!

Could it have been this woman’s doing? That’s not possible!

“Lynne? Why are you here?” Asazora shouted.

“Who goes there!?” The Yuten soldiers were equally shocked.

“A woman?”

Through the haze of smoke, the Yuten general made his judgment. He pointed at Lily with a large hand. “She must be an ally of the rebels. Seize her at once!”

The Yuten Army was not thrown into disarray by the explosion. Dozens of their towering soldiers surged toward the Celestial Maidens and Lily.

“Hmph.” Facing the black-armored soldiers, their bodies strong, fierce, and exuding ruthless killing intent, Lily let out only a cold laugh.

And who was Lily? She had faced ten Abyssal Supreme Gods, countless powerful warriors of Yomi, and the siege of a million fiends, yet she had never been defeated. What were a mere hundred Yuten soldiers compared to that? Nothing!

Along her journey, she had witnessed so many Celestial Maidens humiliated, seen the so-called disciplined Yuten Army treat countless women as camp slaves, seizing them from conquered tribes or abducting them from nearby lands. Lily had been suppressing her fury all this time.

If not for Rinne’s repeated warnings, that Takamagahara was unfathomable and that she must not underestimate it, Lily would have erupted long ago.

The Yuten Army? Worthless. Even Yuten Castle itself, she could split in half with a single strike!

Yet Lily, though she knew her strength stood among the highest tiers of Yomi-no-kuni, was never reckless or arrogant. Rinne had insisted she must not cause too great a commotion, and Lily trusted she had her reasons.

This time, even though Lily had chosen to act, she could not unleash her full strength in a massacre.

Whoosh!

Her figure flashed, and she appeared before the Celestial Maidens. A black-armored soldier swung a massive hammer down toward a fallen Big Dipper Stage maiden.

Lily brandished a long-handled naginata and struck with sudden force. The blade of her naginata caught the hammer’s head, and with a twist she swung the weapon’s shaft.

The long haft smashed into the Yuten warrior’s body, hurling the Celestial Stage fighter backward. He crashed into five or six of his comrades, sending their bulky, heavily armored forms sprawling across the ground.

“What incredible strength!” the nearby Yuten general exclaimed in shock.

“What!?” Asazora was equally stunned. This wealthy young lady actually possessed such power? Even among the Celestial Stage, she was already frighteningly strong. That she could casually produce a hundred Blood Spirit Magatama had been suspicious enough, but no one had imagined Lily was this powerful.

Yet at this moment, Lily had used only seventy percent of her physical strength. As for divine power, Lunar Force, or True Intent, she had not drawn upon them at all.

Her body alone was formidable enough to stand out even among the Supreme Gods. Against these Yten foot soldiers, it was more than enough.

Her weapon, however, was not her usual blade. This naginata was called Dannen, a top-grade spirit treasure she had seized during the Battle of the Boundless Abyss. Legend had it that a master swordsman who ventured deep into Yomi once slew his beloved by mistake. In a fit of despair, he struck his sword against the godsteel pillar, snapping the blade, then vanished without a trace. A demon craftsman later reforged the broken tip into a naginata by attaching it to a long shaft.

Lily found the story interesting, but the weapon itself was nothing exceptional. At this moment, however, she deliberately chose a naginata instead of her usual katana, using it to match her overly extravagant attire and makeup, further concealing her identity.

She had never practiced the naginata before, having only once seen Ayaka use one.

But Lily was innately gifted with mastery over all weapons. Once in her hands, even this temporary makeshift armament flowed as if it were an extension of her own body, more than sufficient for dispatching Yuten soldiers.

After all, today Lily needed to demonstrate enough strength to save the rebels, but not so much that she revealed herself as “too extraordinary.”

“Careful! This woman’s naginata technique is exceedingly refined. She must have cultivated the weapon for over a thousand years! Use spears against her!” the Yuten general roared.

At once, four Celestial-Stage warriors stepped forward, each wielding a long black spear nearly eight meters in length. They moved with balanced speed and force, their strikes imbued with divine power as they thrust simultaneously toward Lily.

Lily raised her naginata with both hands and thrust upward, lifting all four spears at once.

But when the four warriors pressed down with their combined might, the overwhelming force drove Lily to one knee, her arms trembling under the weight.

“Lynne!” Asazora cried, cutting toward the spear-wielders with her blade.

“Sister Asazora, do not mind me! Take your people and flee!” Lily suddenly fell back onto her back, rolling aside to create an opening.

The four spears plunged into the ground where she had been. With a nimble flip, Lily sprang upward and lunged at one of the Yuten warriors. Her naginata cleaved through the air, severing his arm in a single stroke.

“Curses!” Several soldiers immediately loosed arrows at her.

Still airborne, Lily spun her naginata, sweeping aside every arrow before they could strike.

Just then, she heard cries from the Celestial Maidens behind her. Several Yuten soldiers had already bound their captives and were carrying them away.

“You dare!” Lily roared. With a sudden swing, she smashed the flat of her blade against a stalagmite.

Crack!

The stone pillar burst apart, scattering shards that were harder than low-grade spirit weapons. Propelled at deadly speed, the fragments struck the backs of several Yuten soldiers, felling even those at the Big Dipper Stage.

Lily unleashed her Soul Domain, the sakura blade severing the ropes that bound several Celestial Maidens. The freed maidens immediately scrambled to their feet and fled toward their companions.

All around Lily, the other maidens and the Yuten soldiers were already locked in fierce battle.

“Hurry and go!” Lily shouted, fending off the thrusts of several spear-wielding Yuten warriors with sweeping arcs of her naginata.

Though countless questions weighed heavily in Asazora’s heart, this was not the time to hesitate. She cried out, “Sisters, retreat at once!”

“Lynne, you must go too!”

“I know!”

Lily and several Celestial-Stage maidens stayed behind to hold the line, fighting as they fell back step by step, while the others slipped into a cavern beyond the rubble.

But the Yuten Army pursued them in force. At times clashing, at times fleeing, Lily pressed on without faltering, leaving a trail of badly wounded Yuten soldiers in her wake.

The Celestial Maidens fought as they retreated, but the relentless Yuten Army chased them all the way into the courtesan district. The once shadowy underground den of entertainment had erupted into chaos.

Servants, slave laborers, heaven’s outcasts, and monsters who managed the brothels all scattered in panic. The cries of unfortunate prostitutes echoed in every corner.

“Get the hell out of my way!” The Yuten soldiers pressed their pursuit of the Celestial Maidens but suffered heavy losses at Lily’s hands. Several of their brothers were gravely wounded, yet not a single strike landed on her. Enraged, they hurled the fleeing peasants and monsters aside, even smashing through houses as they pushed forward.

“Lynne, how did you end up here!?” Asazora fought side by side with Lily.

“Of course, I followed you, Captain Asazora.”

“What? Then… you too came here to—”

“There’s no point talking about it now. The Yuten Army laid an ambush from the start. Success is impossible!” Lily cried, striking with her naginata and sending a Big Dipper Stage soldier flying.

“How do we get out of this!?”

“Fall back to the ship. Sister Uesugi is waiting there to receive us!”

“Understood!”

But the situation grew worse. More and more Yuten soldiers swarmed in, and two generals each led five hundred reinforcements into the fray.

From the distant crags, a black tide of soldiers came surging forth.

“Quickly!”

The Celestial Maidens hurried back along their path of retreat.

“Trying to escape? Not so easily!” The union master, once a member of the Yuten Army, had been expelled for crimes, though his strength still stood at the Celestial Stage.

Now he led a motley crew of former soldiers, mercenaries, wandering strongmen, and even monsters, all hired as enforcers for the courtesan district, to block their way.

“Hmph!” Lily’s eyes glinted coldly.

“Ohh! Even among the Celestial Maidens, this girl is peerlessly beautiful!” The union master was stunned at the sight of Lily. “I swear, I’ve seen her somewhere before… No matter! If we capture her, why would I need to waste away in this filthy brothel? The mighty Heroic Gods of Takamagahara would pay any price for her!”

“Seize the woman in the green dress!” the union master commanded.

A dozen enforcers of various races lunged toward Lily. Lily swung her naginata in a sweeping slash, releasing a shockwave as fierce as a storm. The enforcers were hurled away, crashing violently into the ground.

Before the union master could react, Lily was already upon him.

“What!?” He was once a seasoned warrior, hardened by countless battles, yet her speed was unbelievable. He reached for his weapon to defend, but in that instant her figure blurred again.

It was unthinkable. Lily had already moved at a speed beyond human comprehension, yet somehow accelerated even further in that final moment. The union master’s body could not respond.

The naginata cleaved cleanly, splitting the corpulent union master in two. The strike was merciless, cutting through both his spirit sea and divine soul. The union master died on the spot.

Though Lily had spared lives in her battles with the Yuten Army for her own reasons, this man who ruled the courtesan district had ruined countless women, even capturing and enslaving fallen Celestial Maidens. His crimes were unforgivable.

It had not been part of the plan, but since he dared throw himself into her path, Lily struck him down without hesitation. To ensure the kill, she had used the full strength of her body, though neither Lunar Force nor divine power was needed.

Seeing Lily cut down the union master, Asazora felt a surge of grim satisfaction. At last, some of their rage had been answered. “Well struck!” she cried.

The mercenaries scattered in panic at the death of their leader. But the main Yuten forces pressed in from behind.

“Inside Yuten Castle, and you think you can still flee?” A Yuten general erupted with divine power, swinging a massive double-edged greatsword down toward Lily.

“Lynne, look out!” Asazora cried in alarm, for she herself had once tasted the might of that very blade. Her arms still ached from the memory, this general’s strength was terrifying.

Yet Lily showed no fear, meeting the strike head-on with her naginata.

The weapons collided in a shuddering crash that shook the heart. Lily was blasted backward by the sheer, overwhelming force of the blow.

“Ahhh!” She let out a sharp cry as her body was hurled through the air, her expression tightening in pain.

“Lynne!” Asazora shouted in anguish.