Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 13 - Takamagahara: Chapter 36 - Fierce and Swift

At this point, there was no way Lily could put down her weapon. She had already rescued Bishamonten; there was no turning back now.

Breaking into the heavily guarded Yuten Castle, a place she knew nothing about, was already a reckless act. She knew the Great Imperial God’s formations and Ame-no-Tajikarao himself would stand in her way. Under such conditions, rescuing Bishamonten should have been impossible. Yet now, though she still had to face Ame-no-Tajikarao, Lily understood that she could not defeat him, but she did not need to. She only had to escape.

“Lady Bishamonten, I’ll find a way to hold off Ame-no-Tajikarao. Use that time to flee with all your strength!” Lily raised her blade toward Ame-no-Tajikarao while sending a telepathic message to Bishamonten.

“What? That’s impossible! If we leave, we leave together! I would rather be captured again than abandon you alone! Lily, do you think I’m that kind of person?”

“Lady Bishamonten, what I mean is—you should run first. As long as you escape, I’m confident I can find a way to slip from his grasp!”

“Lily, are you truly that confident? Your opponent is Ame-no-Tajikarao himself!”

“Please, Lady Bishamonten, believe in me.”

“…Very well. Then let’s act as the situation demands.”

Their brief exchange through spirit transmission lasted but an instant. Meanwhile, Riyuki and the others had all retreated. At this moment, they naturally turned to side with Yuko’s subordinates, keeping their distance and surrounding Lily and Bishamonten from behind.

“Lay down your weapon!” Ame-no-Tajikarao thundered, his voice rolling like thunder. “Girl, if I make a move, you will not withstand it! The one I seek to capture is Bishamonten. If you set down your blade and do not aid her, I will overlook your offense and allow you to leave!”

“What!? My Lord!” Yuko cried in shock, pointing toward Lily. “I’ve already reported to you! That woman is Kagami Lily, a wanted criminal of Takamagahara! How can you possibly let her go?”

“This…” Ame-no-Tajikarao looked at Yuko, visibly troubled, then gave a wry grin. “I— I am of the Yuten Army, not a law enforcer. Only an imperial decree can command the Yuten forces. Our orders were to guard Bishamonten, not to hunt down other fugitives. As long as this girl poses no threat to Yuten Castle, I may let her go. That is my decision.”

“My lord…” Yuko protested in frustration, but as a formal soldier under Takamagahara, she knew only the Imperial Decree could compel the Yuten Army. If Ame-no-Tajikarao said so, she had no grounds to object.

“Lily, let me stay behind,” Bishamonten transmitted. “Even if you can escape him, I cannot. You can’t block his power. Go, Lily. I’ve been imprisoned so long, my strength is all but gone. Even if I escape, what would it matter? Leave me.”

“Lady Bishamonten,” Lily replied firmly through telepathy, “I came all the way to Takamagahara to save you. How could I abandon you here? Sister Uesugi is waiting for you.”

“What? What did you say? Uesugi…?” Bishamonten’s steely, frost-like eyes suddenly softened. “Which… which Uesugi?”

“Kagami Lily!” Ame-no-Tajikarao roared. “I have no wish for needless slaughter! If you still refuse to leave, I will capture you as well! Do not mistake my mercy for weakness!”

“If my lord would allow me to leave together with Lady Bishamonten, I will someday repay this kindness,” Lily said.

“Absurd! I, Ame-no-Tajikarao, act under military command! How could I possibly let her go!?” he shouted furiously.

“My lord!” Hirotake, his face still marked with whip scars, forced himself to stand. “This woman wounded over a hundred Yuten soldiers, killed several members of the Kegaretsu, and even slew the union master of the Military Courtesans’ District! If we let her go, the Yuten Army will become the laughingstock of all Takamagahara!”

“What!?” Ame-no-Tajikarao turned to Lily, the pity and hesitation in his eyes hardening into stern resolve. “Then I can show you no mercy!”

Ame-no-Tajikarao’s overpowering aura erupted with blinding might as he reached out a massive hand to seize Lily.

Lily’s speed was astonishing. In an instant, she leapt, flashing to the space above him beneath the roof beams. From above Ame-no-Tajikarao, her fair, slender leg lifted high, then came crashing down.

The kick, beautiful yet devastating, came like a giant axe cleaving through the air. Its force could have slain a powerful Celestial-stage warrior. But a calloused, iron-strong hand intercepted the strike with precision, gripping Lily’s ankle tightly.

“What!?” Lily was shocked.

Ame-no-Tajikarao might appear burly and clumsy, but his reflexes were unnaturally sharp. To catch her sudden attack, there were few in the world capable of that. His strength was clearly not brute force alone.

“Ah!” Ame-no-Tajikarao squeezed, and even Lily cried out in pain.

Yet the sound made his heart falter for a moment. He loosened his grip and released her. In truth, being grabbed so suddenly had left Lily unguarded, but even so, with her strength and defense, she would rather be struck in retaliation than be pitied and let go. To her, that was a humiliation.

Landing lightly, she did not counterattack out of anger. Doing so would only disgrace both her blade and her spirit.

Red welts now marked her snow-white ankle, burning painfully.

‘He’s incredibly strong… and yet so fast. I underestimated him. I thought he’d be slow,’ Lily cautioned herself inwardly.

“Kagami Lily, Bishamonten—you are no match for me,” Ame-no-Tajikarao declared. “I, Ame-no-Tajikarao, have no wish to bully women. Resist or not, in the end, I will capture you both. Why bring shame upon yourselves? Surrender now.”

“Ame-no-Tajikarao, you are a god of honor, I can see that. I don’t wish to be your enemy either. But don’t force my hand…” Lily’s eyes grew sharp, glinting with cold determination.

“I have a divine order! I cannot disobey! Surrender!” Ame-no-Tajikarao bellowed, unleashing a palm strike. A massive gust of force blasted toward them.

Lily and Bishamonten dodged in opposite directions. The wooden floor splintered where they had stood, leaving a cratered palm print.

A golden energy manifested before Ame-no-Tajikarao’s palm, a colossal golden handprint that reached out and seized Bishamonten mid-air.

“Ah…” she gasped in pain, the immense grip crushing her with unbearable force.

“Let her go!” Lily shouted, swinging Oborozuki Muramasa. A crimson crescent of blade light, imbued with Blood Lunar Force’s spellbreaker ability, cleaved through the golden handprint. The divine seal shattered, and Bishamonten fell helplessly to the ground, gasping for breath, her body drenched in sweat. That one grip had nearly crushed her unconscious.

Once, Bishamonten had never feared Ame-no-Tajikarao, but now, weakened as she was, she could hardly endure even a single exchange.

Seeing the scarlet crescent blade, Ame-no-Tajikarao froze, his face flickering with both shock and regret. He stared at Lily but hesitated to speak.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Just then, a string of violent explosions erupted outside Yuten Castle.

“What was that noise?”

At that moment a Yuten soldier came rushing down from the upper steps, halted on the stair, and reported to Ame-no-Tajikarao, “My lord! Enemy attack! A large number of Celestial Maidens, accompanied by swarms of shikigami and mechanical puppets, suddenly assaulted this place!”

“What?” Ame-no-Tajikarao blinked. “The Celestial Maidens attacked here? Were they looking to die? Hirotake, deal with them!”

“Yes!”

“Lady Bishamonten, it must be Sister Uesugi and the Celestial Maiden rebels coming to relieve us. We must go now!” Lily said as she vaulted forward, hauled Bishamonten up, and seized the chance to dash for the courtyard.

“Trying to run? Not on my watch!” Ame-no-Tajikarao swung a palm at Lily and Bishamonten.

“Out of my way!” Lily had no desire to kill if she could avoid it, but her opponent was too strong to handle with half measures. She answered with a full reverse cut.

Oborozuki Muramasa’s bright blade struck the dark, callused hand.

Ame-no-Tajikarao’s palm was thick and unyielding, wrapped in a potent, masculine golden divine power. Lily’s Oborozuki Muramasa bit into flesh but could not cleave through his skin.

Instead, she was slapped and sent flying.

Lily, however, already knew the measure of Ame-no-Tajikarao’s strength. She fired a silver-white ribbon from her hand that coiled around his arm. Using the tether and the momentum, she swung widely through the air and crashed together with Bishamonten into the wall, smashing great chunks free and rebounding outward toward the gate.

Ame-no-Tajikarao proved more agile than she had assumed. With his other hand he seized the ribbon and yanked hard, pulling Lily back.

While airborne, Lily shoved with all her might and sent Bishamonten tumbling into the courtyard; Lily herself was hauled down toward Ame-no-Tajikarao.

“What!?” he realized and turned to seize Bishamonten, but Lily’s Oborozuki Muramasa, now blazing with a terrible black radiance, slashed toward his chest.

Dark Lunar Force was a bane to the Amatsukami line; Ame-no-Tajikarao instinctively felt the threat and could not ignore it. He thrust out his giant hand and produced rippling golden waves to block.

The Dark Lunar blade met the golden waves, scattering showers of divine light. A deep cut scored across Ame-no-Tajikarao’s huge hand.

“Oh?” He treated such wounds lightly outwardly, yet he was astonished that Lily had managed to wound him. “What a fierce girl. This wound… it won’t heal…”

With his other hand he smote Lily’s lower back, slamming her away with brutal force.

“Catch her!” From the shadows, several Yuten soldiers flung a massive net that spread open midair. Caught off guard while airborne, Lily became momentarily entangled as the burly men pulled hard, trying to drag her down.

“Hahaha! We’ve got her!”

“That woman hurt my brothers in the Courtesan District. I’ll make her pay!” a bald-headed soldier snarled as he lunged at Lily.

“Lily!” By then Bishamonten had been forced outside into the courtyard. She stood and called out anxiously.

Clang, clang, clang— Threads of crimson sakura-blade light sliced through the net and shredded it as if it were paper. If a mere net could have held Lily, she would have been captured in the Boundless Abyss a hundred times over already.

Crimson blade arcs flew in all directions, badly wounding the soldiers who had rushed to finish Lily and sending them crashing to the ground.

“Lady Bishamonten, catch!”

An arc of light streaked forward. Bishamonten, who had not moved her body for so long that it was automatic memory that stirred her limbs, grimly reached out and caught it; it was an upper-grade katana that radiated chill.

“Seize her!”

“Don’t think you can escape!”

At that moment, the courtyard’s edges swarmed with dense ranks of Yuten soldiers charging in.