Read Novel Full Volume 13 - Takamagahara: Chapter 20 - The Heroine
A violent blast had erupted, and a golden gust shoved the retreating ship outward even faster. Asazora felt as if that gust carried another gentler, vast force that helped push the vessel away, but she could not dwell on it then.
“Lynne! Lynne!”
“Miss Lynne!”
Wind howled. The ship was hurled backward. One by one the Celestial Maidens could not even keep their footing on deck; they braced themselves and called Lynne’s name with strained voices.
Still, the ship was carried out and clear of the Yuten Castle cavern mouth, which remained shrouded in smoke, yet Lynne did not appear.
“Lynne…”
The ship used its momentum to turn in midair and sped away. At that moment the cavern entrance collapsed in heaps, choking the air with thick smoke, and the Yuten Army did not come chasing out.
Asazora clung to the rail, tears welling in her eyes as she stared at the cavern mouth. “Lynne, why did you do this… why…”
“No one expected our rescue to end in such a rout,” a small Celestial Maiden said with worry. “If not for Miss Lynne, our Azure Rebel Squad would have fallen into the hands of those Heroic Gods. Miss Lynne always looked delicate, yet when faced with true life-or-death danger, she was unbelievably brave.”
This young maiden, who had once envied Lynne, now felt deeply ashamed.
“Lynne, you are the hero of our Celestial Maiden Rebels,” Asazora said solemnly.
Rei and Yuki-Onna stood atop the upper deck, watching as the enormous fortress gradually disappeared from view. Their eyes reflected concern, though unlike the Celestial Maiden Rebels, they did not seem overcome by grief.
Inside the cavern, the golden explosion had slowly faded. Lily, her clothing in tatters, used her naginata for support as she stood with difficulty. In front of her stood hundreds of towering, powerful Yuten soldiers.
She could barely remain upright. Her torn clothing exposed much of her pale chest, and she was gasping heavily, breath ragged and uneven. Yet in her eyes, there was a glint of unyielding strength and unwavering resolve.
“No one goes past here!” Lily said quietly, but her voice left no room for doubt.
That a young girl, after enduring such a brutal blow, could still exude such overwhelming presence stunned the Yuten Army. They were not like the monstrous demons who acted purely on instinct, nor the lecherous and chaotic Kegaretsu clan. These men held respect in their hearts for true warriors who faced death without fear, sacrificing themselves for righteousness.
“What a remarkable woman,” Hirotake couldn’t help but exclaim. “A small woman like her… Her willpower and courage surpass many men. Her strength is among the finest of all Celestial Maidens. She took a direct blow from me and still managed to stand. But now, she has no strength left to swing her blade, she’s enduring through sheer willpower. It was her desperate stand that gave the rebels a chance to escape. For us to have let the other maidens get away because of her, there’s no shame in that.”
“Truly, a worthy opponent,” murmured another Yuten general who had just arrived as reinforcements.
“My lord! This woman’s the reason we lost all the military courtesans. Even the union master was killed in the chaos, we don’t even know who did it. Why not hand her over to me? I’ll break her in and make her a military courtesan. Let the brothers enjoy themselves and make up for the loss!” A proprietor from the Kegaretsu clan came trotting over, eyeing Lily with vile lust.
He was the vice-chairman of the brothel, and rather than mourning the death of his superior, he seemed more interested in recouping their “investment.”
“Scram!” With a single slap, Hirotake sent the Kegaretsu man flying. If the man didn’t die, he was certainly left half-dead.
“Men! Seize this woman!” Hirotake commanded. “She is exceptionally strong and risked her life to cover the rebels’ retreat. She must be an important figure among the Celestial Maiden Rebels. Turn her over to the Celestial Maiden Division’s prison in the castle. Interrogate her thoroughly.”
“My lord, why give the credit to the Celestial Maiden Division? We can interrogate her ourselves.”
“Yeah! She hurt so many of our brothers, we can’t let her off easy. Letting women question her is too soft. We’ll do it! Torture her ourselves!”
“Strip her and beat her!”
The Yuten soldiers jeered and shouted.
“Silence!” Hirotake roared. “Do you intend to defy the military code of Ame-no-Tajikarao? Any high-value Celestial Maiden prisoner must be handed to the Celestial Maiden Division for interrogation!”
“But my lord, that b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ wounded so many of us! It’s humiliating!”
“Yeah! Before turning her in, at least let us teach her a lesson, make her suffer and know our strength!”
A powerful surge of divine might erupted from Hirotake as he slammed his greatsword into the ground. “Anyone who dares speak again will be punished by military law!”
The Yuten soldiers dared not utter another word.
Of course, Hirotake knew exactly what they were thinking. No matter how strict their discipline, they were still men at heart, crude beings who wanted to indulge their lust under the pretense of military glory. If such behavior were permitted, how would the Yuten Army be any different from the other corrupt and degenerate Heroic God armies of Takamagahara?
Not waiting for anyone else, Hirotake strode forward himself. At nearly four meters tall, he made Lily—tall as she was—appear incredibly small and fragile.
“Don’t… don’t come any closer… no one is getting past me…” Lily panted, bracing herself with her naginata. To Hirotake, it looked like she wanted to strike but could no longer lift her blade.
1
With a light kick, Hirotake knocked the naginata from her grasp. Without support, Lily’s body collapsed, but Hirotake caught her slender arm in one swift motion.
At that moment, a squad of Dark Celestial Maidens arrived.
Truthfully, when Lily fell into his hands, Hirotake also felt a flicker of desire to interrogate her personally. But as one of Ame-no-Tajikarao’s trusted generals, he held himself to strict discipline. If he couldn’t control himself, what right did he have to expect his subordinates to obey the rules?
After all, they were all coarse Heroic Gods, hard enough to command as it was.
Suppressing his impulse, Hirotake shoved Lily forward. “She’s yours. This woman is extremely strong. Bind her well and take her to your prison. Make absolutely sure she confesses the rebels’ secrets!”
“As you command, Lord Hirotake!”
Several Dark Celestial Maidens bound Lily’s wrists with high-grade spiritual ropes designed to restrain Empyrean-stage Celestial Maidens, and led her away.
“My lord, what should we do about the rebels who escaped?”
“Clear the cavern mouth. Then prepare the flight array, we’re going after them!” Hirotake commanded.
A full squad of Dark Celestial Maidens escorted Lily, with two Empyrean-stage elites leading the way. They ascended the cavern passage, climbed a long staircase, and entered the castle, moving through a dimly lit wooden corridor.
“She’s really tall, huh,” one of the Dark Celestial Maiden jailers remarked.
“Great figure too. As a fellow woman, I can’t help but be jealous,” another said.
“Hmph, jealous? So what if she’s tall, has a nice figure, and a pretty face? It’s all wasted on the wrong path. With looks like hers, if she’d clung to power, she could’ve lived comfortably. But instead, she joined the rebels. And now? Nothing but a common prisoner,” said the Empyrean-stage Dark Celestial Maiden.
2
Another of the Dark Celestial Maidens had her hair tied up in a bun. She was fairly tall as well, but her looks were average, neither beautiful nor ugly, though her face had a particularly fierce edge. Her figure was also nothing special.
3
As she looked at Lily, a surge of bitter envy welled up in her chest. “Hmph, pretty women always have all the luck. Normally, captured Celestial Maidens are immediately turned into military courtesans for the Yuten Army. But look at her, she gets treated like an ‘important prisoner’ and sent to us for interrogation. Hah. General Hirotake must’ve taken a fancy to her but couldn’t admit it, so he didn’t want her defiled by those brutes. He’s probably just using the interrogation excuse to protect her.”
“No way… are we being used?” another Dark Celestial Maiden asked.
“As if! The moment she’s in our prison, unless we get direct orders from Ame-no-Tajikarao himself, even Hirotake won’t be allowed in. If he wants to see her… heh, we’ll use that chance to squeeze him for everything he’s worth.”
“Huh? That uptight musclehead? You think he’d fall for that? And does he even have money?”
“If he doesn’t, then we’ll just sell her to another Heroic God. Not every Yuten soldier is as stiff and righteous as Hirotake.”
Still harboring jealousy, the Dark Celestial Maiden clutched Lily’s body with narrowed eyes. “With a body like this… plenty of Heroic Gods would kill to get a taste. Fufufu…”
Lily was still panting heavily. Humiliated by their words, she wanted to respond sharply. But then she remembered, she couldn’t act like herself. If she drew too much attention or resembled her true identity, she risked being recognized. After all, bounty posters were just drawn portraits—close, but not perfect. The real danger lay in how closely one resembled the image. Since the portrait had been drawn by a deity, even a strong resemblance could easily lead to being identified as the same person.
Had it been her usual self, she would’ve responded to such depraved Celestial Maidens with a cold, unyielding defiance.
But now, though Lily appeared utterly drained as she allowed herself to be dragged along by several women, her slender body suddenly trembled ever so slightly. Keeping her head lowered, she deliberately spoke in a feeble yet scornful voice, “Just a bunch of lapdogs enslaved by the Yuten Army, what makes you think you’re qualified to judge me?”
“What?” The Dark Celestial Maidens hadn’t expected the barely-breathing Lily to still have the nerve to speak. All of them stopped and turned to look at her, malice rising in their expressions.
To their surprise, Lily showed not a hint of fear. She raised her head and stared at them with open disdain.
“Hmph. And what kind of filthy vermin do we have here? You dare insult me like that? Listening to you, I can’t help but wonder, are you even real Dark Celestial Maidens? No, you sound more like a pack of dark w̲h̲o̲r̲e̲s̲ to me!”
The Dark Celestial Maidens were stunned. Lily was their prisoner now. They could do whatever they pleased with her, so where did this woman get her nerve?
“What did you just say?” One of the Dark Celestial Maiden jailers stepped forward, grabbing Lily’s chin and forcing it upward. “You’re just a captive, ours to do with as we please. And you dare insult your captors? Haven’t you ever tasted pain?”
“Afraid of you?” Lily scoffed. “You’re just slaves drunk on the borrowed power of the Yuten Army. I lost to them and was captured, fine, I can accept that. But you? What are you without their backing? Do you really think you could’ve captured me on your own? Don’t like what I said? Then how about this, unshackle me and face me in a proper fight. I’ll teach you what it really means to be a woman.”
“……”
The Dark Celestial Maidens froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“This one’s got a death wish! I’ll shut her up right now!”
“Wait. No need to rush. Too many soldiers around, too many eyes watching. We’ve got orders to escort her back to the prison. After that, we’ll see who teaches who what it means to be a woman… hehehehe.”
Footnotes:
Syl: I know we’ve said this before but damn, someone give this woman an Oscar award!
Syl: The author is being rather inconsistent with the Dark Celestial Maiden’s stage, sometimes using Celestial Stage, sometimes opting for Infernal Stage. I know, I know, it’s not impossible for Dark Celestial Maidens to advance in either path, but I’ll bet my lunch tomorrow that the author is just being high and made an honest mistake. With that being said, I’ll just go for the middle ground and use Empyrean Stage.
Syl: Point in case, the author even had to re-explain the differences between Infernal Stage and Yomi-no-kuni in the previous paragraph, which I’ve deleted. It says something about how the so-called Infernal Stage does not refer to the region “Yomi-no-kuni” but one of the two advancement paths. It made sense to explain to the Chinese audience because Infernal Stage (黄泉境界) used the same characters for Yomi-no-kuni (黄泉国), I can see how it can confuse the Chinese readers.