Demon Sword Maiden

The method of concealing the mirror became clear to Lily once Rinne had taught her.

The space within the mirror was an exception, containing a true, independent world. But ordinary storage treasures merely contained a pocket of space.

In fact, it did not have to be the traditional types of storage treasures people were accustomed to, rings, bracelets, pouches, and so on. Any kind of artifact could serve as a vessel for storage space.

However, as long as it was a storage treasure, it would inevitably be detected by the probing of the strong. No matter what form it took, it could never remain truly hidden.

The reason it was detected was because the treasure contained a spatial rune, which emitted spatial fluctuations. Yet, there existed a very ancient type of rune that did not radiate such waves. It might even have been the source of the ancient runes. It was not a spell refined into energy, but rather an externalized, tangible inscription. For that reason, it required no force to sustain it, yet it could still lock a pocket of space or bind other spells.

These were the Jomon runes.

An exceedingly ancient pattern, so rare that even in Takamagahara few recognized it. Even if someone did, it was only because they had once seen a specific artifact carved with such runes. Yet Lily’s way of concealing it misled the eye. Even if one saw the Jomon runes, they would never think of it as an inscribed rune containing arcane spells.

Because Lily had simply tied the thin string of her suspender panties into a knot at her hip. That knot itself took the form of the rune Rinne had taught her. Even if her body was searched, those who saw it would dismiss it as nothing more than a knot. Visually, they would ignore any other possibility. Who could imagine that a knot in the string of her underwear was, in fact, a spatial rune, and within that confined space, she had hidden the ancient mirror?

This crude and archaic Jomon rune could only seal a very small space, scarcely a foot square. It could only contain a single mirror.

But within the mirror, countless more treasures could be stored.

Indeed, whether it was the Celestial Maidens who searched her or Furaku herself, they all carefully examined Lily’s body. They all saw the little knot on the thin strap, yet each one overlooked it entirely.

“Hmph, so this self-proclaimed noble young lady wears such wanton underwear?” During the body search, Furaku had even used it as an excuse to humiliate Lily, but she never realized the knot’s hidden secret.

The search yielded nothing. Or rather, no treasure was found. Yet Furaku still took the opportunity to conduct a most “thorough inspection,” which was not a complete waste of effort.

“I told you already! My treasures were stolen by those Celestial Maidens. Why must you still search me?” Lily cried, both humiliated and furious.

“Not necessarily.”

“Huh?”

Furaku eyed Lily’s coiled hair. “Though I sense no fluctuation from storage treasures, there are artifacts that do not emit such waves. Perhaps you hid something in your hair.”

sweating profusely. So she’s actually aware of such artifacts but has no idea of the Jomon runes itself." title="" aria-describedby="qtip-0">¹

“Such wild imagination! I would never do something so foolish!”

“Who can say?” Furaku pulled out Lily’s hairpin and examined it carefully. Though it was an exquisite and precious item, it was no storage artifact.

She let Lily’s long hair fall free. And could not help but gasp.

“How is this possible? Her hair was already beautiful pinned up, yet with it down she looks even more stunning… Then why would she keep it tied?”

Why a woman changed her hairstyle was, Furaku suddenly realized, a meaningless question. Perhaps it was just whimsy. Yet Lily with her long hair cascading freely was all the more enchanting. Furaku could not resist leaning down to kiss the bare skin of her shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Lily trembled, her delicate body shuddering.

“Silence. You had best understand your situation. Whatever I wish to do to you, I can.” Furaku laughed.

“Hmph, b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲!”

Before coming here, Furaku had already inspected Lily’s confiscated treasures. After all, this woman valued her advancement, strength, and possessions above all else. With the authority to search her, Furaku naturally intended to profit from it.

Yet Lily’s belongings were only what one would expect of someone at the Celestial Stage. Nothing caught Furaku’s eye. She would not stoop to covet such ordinary wealth.

But she found it strange. With talent like Lily’s, did she truly possess no unfathomable secret arts? How else could she have progressed so rapidly?

There was another possibility. Perhaps Lily was cunning, destroying her secret arts after mastering them, or hiding them elsewhere before embarking on her rescue mission.

But Furaku doubted it. A woman who would risk herself to save others was not the type to destroy such priceless methods after learning them. Which meant her true secret arts and treasures were almost certainly hidden away.

The whereabouts or secrets of the Celestial Maiden rebels meant little to Furaku. At most, torturing them could win her a sliver of credit in Takamagahara, nothing more than routine merit and connections.

But to interrogate a genius like Bishamonten herself, that was a true achievement. As for those additional spoils, they were trivial. Yet if Lily truly possessed incredible secret arts, that was an entirely different matter!

To reach the Celestial Stage by twenty years of age, such a feat was unheard of since antiquity. Secret arts that could achieve this would not stop at that stage. They would be invaluable, perhaps worth no less than the treasures of Lord Shikikai himself. After all, in terms of wealth, Lord Shikikai was only middle to lower tier among the Supreme Gods.

But to Furaku, the “bare-trained Supreme God,” even such wealth was immense.

She had not long since broken through to the rank of Supreme God. After her ascension, the Lord no longer had the strength to force her. But bonds of sentiment remained. He had treated her well, providing abundant resources. She had no reason to abandon him, only the wish to lessen her time by his side, hence her constant seclusion.

Because of this, her own possessions were meager. Aside from the interrogation tools bestowed upon her by the Lord, her other treasures were pitifully few by the standards of Supreme Gods.

“I must extract the whereabouts of her treasures and her secret arts! Even if this little b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ truly destroyed them, I’ll make her write them out obediently!” Furaku resolved grimly.

“What is your name?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“Well then, if you will not even give your name, it seems asking for other secrets is nothing but futile, isn’t it?” Furaku sighed.

“Naturally. Since you understand that, let me down at once!”

“Hehehe… Little girl, are you pretending to be stupid? Let you down? Just because you refuse to confess? Do you think that’s possible?”

As she spoke, a thick wooden board appeared in Furaku’s hand. It looked extremely ancient, yet etched upon it were unique runes.

“What are you…” Lily’s heart quivered slightly at the sight of that board.

Furaku rubbed the board against Lily’s delicate face and asked, “Let big sister ask you again, will you confess or not?”

“Demoness, and you dare call yourself ‘sister’? Old hag, if you think you can make me confess, you’re dreaming!” Lily shouted. Her defiance now was mostly an act, for she felt uneasy inside. She was not afraid of the board itself, but of the fact that her hair had been undone. With her long hair falling past her shoulders, she feared being recognized.

“It seems without a taste of suffering, you’ll never admit anything.”

Furaku casually lifted Lily’s skirt. Beneath it, from the back, there was only a pair of thin straps falling straight down, so for punishment there was no need to remove anything further. She raised the heavy board, runes glowing, and brought it down.

Smack!

A searing pain tore through Lily, forcing a cry from her lips. It was not that her body could not withstand it, but the agony itself was unbearable.

“Hehehe, how is it? Are you frightened now? Do you wish to beg for mercy? Too late. First, I’ll let you savor it properly.”

Furaku lifted Lily’s hair and whispered into her ear, “Do you know why? Because I already know your weakness. This Yin-Yang Punishment Board is forged with twin powers, one on each side.. The front side, the Yang side, inflicts more pain the more a woman is weak in her heart. The reverse, the Yin side, the weaker a woman is, the more intense the pleasure she feels. Now tell me, which side would you prefer?”

“Stop it… you wicked woman…” Lily’s voice weakened noticeably.

“Hehehe, afraid now? Too late.”

Without mercy, Furaku struck her again and again, alternating between the front and back of the Yin-Yang Punishment Board. It fell upon her flawless, snow-white skin, each impact echoing with an ambiguous sound. Lily, the so-called “young lady,” could not suppress the cries that spilled from her lips, cries which Furaku found herself disturbingly entranced by.

Far away, several thousand miles from Yuten Castle, at the stormy edge of roiling thunderclouds, stood a dark, jagged Hakanajima.

Beneath its towering forest trees, hundreds of Celestial Maidens in feathered robes had gathered. Their garments were revealing, their figures slender and graceful, their faces fair and beautiful. Yet at this moment, their expressions were all stern and resolute.

Among them was Asazora’s Azure Squad. This time, it was not merely the dozen she usually led, but nearly a hundred. The squad’s full strength had assembled.

Around the mountain forest, arrays flared to life in bursts of light, while squads of Celestial Maidens continued to arrive one after another.

The news of Bishamonten facing imminent calamity had already spread among the rebel Celestial Maidens, and they had long prepared to rush here.

When Asazora’s first rescue plan failed, she began executing the second.

This plan was to gather a large rebel force and launch a direct assault on Yuten Castle. Even if it meant perishing together with the enemy, they would rescue Bishamonten at all costs.

Yet this plan would inevitably bring enormous casualties to the Celestial Maiden rebels. It was a desperate measure, taken only because there was no other choice.

Following the original design of the second plan, Asazora used the treasures contributed by various rebel squads to reactivate a great teleportation array at the border of Yuten Castle. This array had originally been established during the era when Tsukuyomi no Mikoto commanded the Celestial Maiden army. It was a war-time deployment array for Celestial Battle Maidens, and such formations still remained scattered across Takamagahara.

After the great war, this particular array had only been lightly sealed by the Kegaretsu, who had been sent by the new ruler. They had not gone to the expense of destroying each one, and so, with enough treasures, the array could be reactivated.

Once reactivated, all the rebel groups who still possessed the wartime deployment arrays could teleport here, gathering together in this place.

Besides the Azure Squad, there were also the Sakura Squad, Chrysanthemum Squad, Crimson Squad, Tangerine Squad, and others…

At that moment, Rei also stood among the Celestial Maidens of the Azure Squad, leaning back against a tree within the forest.

Footnotes:

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   Syl: sweating profusely. So she’s actually aware of such artifacts but has no idea of the Jomon runes itself.