Demon Sword Maiden

Bishamonten had no idea who either “Kagami Lily” or “Lynne” was. Yet she never imagined that the woman who had slain that demoness’ husband would turn out to be Lily herself. She had heard tales of that man, the notorious Lord Shikikai, whose name was known across the realms.

“Riyuki, look carefully. Is it this wretch who killed Lord Shikikai?” Furaku asked coldly.

Riyuki hesitated for a moment but still nodded.

Furaku glared at Lily, her fury so intense it twisted into a chilling smile. “Heh… I can’t believe it. I came all the way to Takamagahara for your sake, to have the heavens themselves deal with you. Never did I imagine you would walk straight into my hands of your own accord!”

She turned to Riyuki. “Riyuki, stand guard outside. Without my order, no matter what noises you hear in here, no one is allowed to enter.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Riyuki replied softly and stepped out. Before closing the heavy cell door, she hesitated. It was one thing to guard over Lily’s torment, but Bishamonten… she had once been the leader and idol of all Celestial Maidens. The thought of standing watch while her former idol was tortured filled Riyuki’s heart with unease.

Yet what could she do? She had no power to change this world. Even if she refused, others would take her place. Revealing Lily’s identity hadn’t been entirely intentional, but she had no other choice.

Clang.

The heavy door shut behind her.

Inside the prison, Furaku turned toward Lily, the woman who had killed her husband.

With a sharp metallic note, a short dagger appeared in her hand. She pressed it against Lily’s slender neck from behind. “For killing my husband, I should have slit your throat right here and now.”

The cold edge of the blade grazed Lily’s delicate skin, yet she sensed no true killing intent. What replaced it was something darker—desire.

“You… What are you trying to do!?”

“Hand over that old b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲’s treasures!” Furaku hissed. “Kagami Lily, don’t think you can deceive me again. You stole the Lord Shikikai’s relics. Where did you hide them? And his divinity, where did you conceal it?”

Lord Shikikai’s divinity was priceless, though not particularly useful to Lily. Yet she could never reveal the secret of her Jomon markings, for doing so would expose her mirror.

“Furaku, do you truly think I possess the strength to slay a Supreme God? The treasures aren’t here. If you want them, go to Hekiraku Realm and ask my sisters,” Lily replied icily.

“Don’t lie to me!” Furaku sneered. “According to Riyuki, the Boundless Imperial Princess was the one who killed the Lord. But she saw you take the treasures. Your true strength, they say, is at the peak of the Celestial Stage, enough to stand against a Supreme God. Even so, you’re still no match for me. My, my… it seems this Maiden’s Ensnaring Collar works even better than I expected. Tell me, just how weak are you at your core, you pitiful little woman?”

“Your husband, Lord Shikikai, brought ruin to countless women. His death was well deserved. As for his treasures, believe whatever you like. I have nothing you seek,” Lily said coldly.

“Hehehe… girl, that old fool is already dead. If you hand over his treasures, perhaps I might even let you live. Don’t fool yourself, I didn’t come to Takamagahara to serve those hypocritical gods. I came for the reward.”

Furaku’s mind was already scheming. If she could force Lily to surrender the treasures, she would not only gain immense wealth but also be rewarded by the heavens for torturing Bishamonten. Twofold rewards, an irresistible fortune. Having just broken into the rank of Supreme God, she desperately needed divine-level treasures and secret arts to strengthen herself. If she reclaimed the Lord’s artifacts, she could wield the power of an ordinary Supreme God. As she was now, her arsenal contained only torture-based tools, far inferior to those of true deities.

“Let me live? Even if I believed you, I still have nothing to give,” Lily replied curtly.

“Is that so?” Furaku’s expression darkened.

She had originally intended to let Riyuki humiliate Lily as a form of punishment, but since the secret of the treasures was at stake, she had to handle this personally.

“Fine. I know that without tasting real pain, you’ll never speak. For someone like you, standing at the peak of the Celestial Stage, a Supreme God’s treasure must be as precious as your own life.”

She sheathed her dagger, lifted Lily’s long hair, and whispered beside her ear. “Do you know why I won’t kill you? Because I know women like you. You’re not afraid of death, are you? But as a woman myself, I know what you do care about most.”

“Kagami Lily… will you choose the treasures, or your purity?”

“What?” Lily’s whole body trembled. Both she and Bishamonten turned to her in shock.

“Hehe… but before that, let’s build some anticipation,” Furaku said, a wicked smile curling her lips. A thick double-sided paddle appeared in her hand, and she swung it before the two women’s eyes.

“You both know the feel of this board, don’t you? Let’s play a little game. You can try to guess, which side will land on your poor, trembling backsides this time?” she purred, licking the edge of the paddle.

“Furaku! If you have any means, use them on me! You’re not to touch this girl—Lynne… Lily!” Bishamonten shouted angrily, her silver hair flaring behind her.

Smack!

Her only reply was a heavy crack.

Even with her endurance, Bishamonten could hardly resist the sting of that enchanted paddle.

Lily could feel every strike that landed on Bishamonten’s body resonate through her own, the tremors echoing down to her very core. Before long, she too suffered the same humiliating punishment, alternating with Bishamonten under Furaku’s ruthless blows.

Had she been alone, perhaps she could have endured it. But being shamed together with Bishamonten made the humiliation twice as unbearable.

And guessing which side of the paddle struck the other was not as difficult as Furaku made it sound.

Both women, helpless and bound, suffered together under her punishment. Yet within their shared endurance and mutual resistance, something strange began to form, an emotion both humiliating and indescribably intimate.

Deep within Lily, the Charm Heavenly Path stirred violently. With every strike, its resonance grew richer, its allure more potent.

At that moment, Lily sensed their Spiritual Palaces nearly touching. From Bishamonten’s body, she felt the pulsation of another Charm Heavenly Path, one far more mature, profound, and steeped in experience than her own.

Gentle, distant, elegant, and intoxicating…

And so, amid this torment, Lily’s comprehension of the Charm Heavenly Path deepened faster than ever before. In the throes of punishment, she attained an understanding she had never reached through meditation alone.

After the long session of punishment, not only were Lily and Bishamonten left trembling and soaked as if in spring rain, even Furaku herself was drenched in fragrant sweat.

“Hah… that was exhausting. Don’t tell me you two actually enjoyed that?” she mocked.

“Shut your mouth, witch!” Bishamonten gasped, still resisting between ragged breaths.

“Relax, I know. A few slaps with the paddle aren’t enough to make you talk. That was merely the warm-up.”

“What?” Lily’s delicate body trembled. She was already at her limit, and she could sense that even Bishamonten was nearing hers, yet this was only the prelude?

“You vile woman! What are you trying to do to us?”

Furaku raised her hands, releasing waves of divine energy that tore apart Lily’s already tattered clothing. In her grasp appeared a dark, ominous artifact, identical on both ends, its purpose too sinister to imagine.

¹

Seeing it, a rare expression of fear crossed Lily’s face.

“Furaku! What are you trying to do?!” Bishamonten, bound tightly together with Lily, struggled to shield her as much as she could.

“Oh, don’t be so impatient, Lady Bishamonten. Don’t worry, there’s enough for both of you. But first, I want to enjoy watching our lovely Lily squirm. Seeing that frightened, blushing face as she loses her last line of defense.”

Furaku walked behind Lily.

“Furaku, if you dare do this to me, you’ll regret it,” Lily warned between heavy breaths, her body trembling all over.

“Hehehe, regret? To conquer the final defense of a beauty like you, even if I regret it later, it’ll be worth it! Come now, I’m sure you’re ready for it already.” Furaku held the artifact in one hand and reached out with the other, grasping the small strip of silk still clinging to Lily’s body. Slowly, she began to pull it aside.

“This is your last chance, you know. Would you rather feel big sister’s touch, or tell me where the treasures are hidden?” she whispered threateningly behind Lily.

“Lily…” Bishamonten could do nothing but watch, her gaze full of sorrow and pity.

“Hmph. There’s nothing left to say. But I’ll warn you one last time, whatever you dare to do to me, I’ll make you taste it tenfold yourself,” Lily said defiantly, though her face burned crimson.

“Hmph, still so stubborn. It seems the only way to make you yield is to truly break you,” Furaku sneered, yanking the silk aside.

But just then, an unimaginable surge of divine energy erupted.

Clack!

The Maiden’s Ensnaring Collar around Lily’s neck suddenly came undone on its own, the lock springing open as if shattered by invisible power. In that instant, her strength came flooding back.

Streams of divine power swirled around her, slicing through the ropes that bound both her and Bishamonten. Her hands and feet were free once more, though the heavy shackles restraining Bishamonten would not break so easily.

Lily’s body was still slick with sweat—hers and Bishamonten’s mingled together—and her last drenched scraps of clothing clung to her skin, but none of it slowed her movements. Her strikes came swift and fierce.

“What!?” Furaku gasped in shock. Before she could even understand what had happened, Lily had already spun around, seizing the wrist that held the dark artifact.

Though Furaku was a Supreme God, she had only recently ascended and was no close-combat fighter. Lily, on the other hand, was powerful enough to battle ten Supreme Gods at once. Furaku never stood a chance.

Lily’s palm struck aside Furaku’s arm with such force that the woman’s hand went numb. Then Lily’s long, toned leg snapped upward, her knee driving mercilessly into Furaku’s abdomen, directly shaking her Spirit Palace.

That one blow was devastating. Furaku’s Spirit Palace spun with dizziness. Her body weakened, folding over as she gasped soundlessly, crystal-clear saliva dripping from her mouth.

Her opponent was, after all, a Supreme God. Lily wouldn’t give her the chance to ignite her divine power. Though she had no fear of such a confrontation, it could cause too much noise and alert the guards of Yten Castle. Seizing the instant when Furaku’s Spirit Palace reeled from the sudden blow and her mind went blank, Lily made her move.

Clack! She took the collar she had just removed from her own neck and fastened it around Furaku’s throat, snapping the lock tightly shut.

Footnotes:

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   Syl: is it a big black di… no, I cannot say that word here…