Demon Sword Maiden

It had been so long since Bishamonten had last touched a blade!

But compared to her long years of training and countless battles, the time she had spent imprisoned was but a fleeting moment. What truly scarred her was not the confinement itself, but the relentless draining of her divine power and the destruction of her Spirit Palace, wounds that were nearly impossible to heal.

As one of the top Supreme Gods of Takamagahara, a goddess of war, having her Spirit Palace defiled was an insult far worse than being physically violated.

Though Bishamonten had never been tainted by a Heroic God, she was not a fragile woman. To her, battle had always been the essence of life itself. This kind of damage cut too deep—far too deep.

Yet Bishamonten’s resilience exceeded imagination.

In an instant, she recalled the feeling of wielding her blade from the old days.

A sharp metallic hum filled the air as a silver arc of sword light flashed forth, her strength had diminished greatly, but the sharpness of her technique remained undiminished!

With a series of thunderous crashes, dozens of Yuten soldiers in black armor were struck down by her strikes, their bodies flung into the air, crashing through the courtyard and scattering debris everywhere.

“Well now, as expected of Bishamonten! Even after suffering such severe losses, her swordsmanship remains so fierce!” one Yuten general exclaimed in awe. Even as enemies, these warriors, men who prided themselves on martial prowess, could not help but feel respect for her unmatched mastery.

“Give up! You can’t escape!” shouted Ame-no-Tajikarao as he extended his hand from midair. A vast surge of divine power condensed into a golden hand that lunged toward Bishamonten. In her current state, she could neither dodge nor resist.

But Lily leapt forward, her blade slicing through the golden palm from the side, dispersing it in an explosion of light.

Ame-no-Tajikarao had only meant to capture Bishamonten alive, not kill her, so his attack had been held back.

“Kagami Lily!” Ame-no-Tajikarao’s voice roared with fury. “Military orders cannot be defied!”

He moved with astounding speed. A massive black shadow lunged toward Lily, his palm cleaving downward like the might of the heavens crashing upon her.

Lily dared not block it head-on. She accelerated in midair, narrowly avoiding the strike. Yet Ame-no-Tajikarao’s reaction was faster than she expected, his other hand already formed a fist and shot forward like lightning.

The punch came faster than she could dodge. Lily could only brace herself and meet it with a counterstrike.

The collision burst with a deafening roar. Her blade split through the golden divine energy, but his fist was harder than steel, tougher than her sword. It left only a shallow mark before the tremendous force sent Lily hurtling backward through the air.

Meanwhile, Rei and her band of Celestial Maidens were storming toward Yuten Castle from above. Yet the fortress was far too formidable. Even though the Great Imperial Formation had not yet activated, they could find no viable breach. All they could do was clash fiercely with the Yuten soldiers stationed atop the walls.

Then, something below caught their attention.

Asazora’s gaze fell upon a courtyard several kilometers beneath them, on one of the castle’s lower levels. There, surrounded by countless Yuten soldiers, stood a tall, silver-haired woman clad in only fragments of armor, her beauty as radiant as her defiance.

“Lady Bishamonten!” Asazora gasped. She had only met her once long ago, but as a Celestial Maiden of Bishamonten’s own clan, she recognized her instantly. Her eyes then moved to the nearby figure, a black-haired woman dressed in torn green garments. Though her hair was messy, Asazora recognized her as well.

“Miss Lily!”

“What!?”

Rei, Meishin, and the squad leaders all turned their eyes toward the two figures below.

“Lily!” Rei shouted.

“That’s Lady Bishamonten and the girl who came to rescue her! Let’s break through!” Meishin commanded.

The Celestial Maidens abandoned the siege and dove downward through the air, landing in the courtyard below. Meishin, Asazora, and the others touched down beside Bishamonten.

“Lady Bishamonten!”

“You all…” Bishamonten’s cold eyes softened as she looked at the unfamiliar faces. She didn’t know most of them, but Meishin and Asazora she remembered faintly.

“Lady Bishamonten! We finally found you—finally!” Asazora said, her voice trembling with emotion.

“All Celestial Maidens, protect Lady Bishamonten!” Meishin ordered.

Dozens of Celestial Maidens dove from the skies, joining the fray. The courtyard erupted into chaos as their blades clashed with the armored Yuten soldiers.

At that moment, Rei stood only a few meters from the tall, silver-haired woman whose features bore such a striking resemblance to her own; though this woman looked more mature, her beauty refined by time.

Rei’s eyes froze. She remembered the days when she had sworn vengeance for her mother, charging into Mount Ooe itself, risking her life to assassinate Shuten Doji.

No matter how much Rei had changed, the face before her now was identical to the mother she remembered as a child.

Time seemed to stop. The chaos around them faded into silence. Bishamonten turned, her cold and resolute eyes softening to the gentleness of a mother seeing her daughter again.

Her pink lips trembled as she spoke in disbelief, as though asking herself, “Rei… Rei… is that you?”

“Mother…” Rei’s heart was a storm of emotions. Every part of her wanted to rush forward, to throw herself into her mother’s long-lost embrace. But she knew…right now, she was a warrior. She could not falter.

What she needed to do was not to seek warmth, but to stand beside her mother, back to back, and fight.

Since fate had brought her here, she would do whatever it took to bring her mother out alive!

“Rei… is it really you?” Bishamonten whispered, unable to believe her eyes.

Suddenly, several spears flew toward Bishamonten.

“Mother!” Rei became a blur, her form vanishing into a streak of light as she leapt in front of Bishamonten. With a single sweep of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, she effortlessly sliced the incoming spears into fragments.

Though she was still technically at the Big Dipper level, her strength had already surpassed most Septuple-soul Big Dipper warriors. In terms of raw power, she rivaled the weakest of the Celestial Stage.

She could break through any moment now. And with the legendary Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi in hand, she could shatter the attacks of even elite Yuten soldiers with ease.

Bishamonten’s presence among them reignited the Celestial Maidens’ morale. They fought with renewed courage, each one fiercer than the last, but the enemy’s numbers were overwhelming. Gradually, the Celestial Maidens began to lose ground.

Having successfully rescued Bishamonten, there was no reason for the Celestial Maiden Rebels to continue their clash with the Yuten Army.

“Retreat! Protect Lady Bishamonten! Sisters, fall back!” Meishin ordered.

“Mother, we have to go!” Rei called out as she fought alongside Bishamonten, cutting down incoming Yuten soldiers.

“Understood!” Bishamonten replied. She slashed through several enemies with a single swing, then retreated with the other Celestial Maidens.

However, reinforcements from the rear and above soon surrounded them. The Maidens were encircled.

“Break through!” Meishin shouted. She raised her katana high and charged forward, leading the assault. The Celestial Maidens gathered protectively around Bishamonten, cutting their way through the encirclement with desperate ferocity.

“Trying to flee? In your dreams!” Hirotake and several other Celestial-stage generals attacked from all directions, easily felling multiple Maidens. Those unfortunate enough to fall behind were immediately seized by Yuten soldiers attempting to bind them.

“Fools! Forget the small ones, stop Bishamonten from escaping!” Hirotake roared.

A thunderous crash followed. A towering general wielding a massive katana with a curved handle (Jintachi) struck down both Asazora and Meishin in a single sweep. Yet he did not pursue them; instead, he joined the other generals in pursuit of Bishamonten.

“Damn you!” Bishamonten growled, lifting her blade to fight back.

She stood alone against several generals, each one a peak-level powerhouse. In the past, Bishamonten could have slain such opponents as easily as chickens. But now, her strength had waned drastically; bereft of her divinity, she fought only through battle instinct and experience.

A violent kick from Hirotake struck her in the back, sending her crashing into the ground.

“Mother!” Rei cried out in anguish.

Bishamonten struggled to rise, refusing to yield, but another burly general swung his war hammer, knocking her sword from her hands.

“Ha ha ha! We’ve got her!”

“Hold her down! Tie her up!”

Several generals rushed in at once.

Rei tried to reach her mother, but she was blocked by waves of Yuten soldiers. She could not break through in time.

“Mother! Catch!” Rei shouted, ignoring her own safety as she hurled the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi toward Bishamonten.

“Don’t even think about it!” Hirotake leapt in front, swinging his greatsword at the flying blade.

A sharp metallic crack rang out—the Kusanagi cleaved through Hirotake’s sword like straw, continuing forward without even losing direction.

With a click, the blade landed firmly in its rightful owner’s grasp. Bishamonten twirled the Kusanagi, its blade gleaming with blue light. A crescent arc swept outward, severing the weapons of every general before her. Terrified by the sword’s unfathomable power, they could only retreat in panic.

Seeing his men unable to stop Bishamonten, Ame-no-Tajikarao erupted with divine fury. He stomped the ground violently.

The shockwave was more powerful than any earthquake, throwing countless Celestial Maidens off their feet; some even fainted outright. Yet even the Yuten soldiers were sent tumbling in disarray.

The entire courtyard, along with its supporting structures, began to collapse with a deafening rumble. Chunks of stone and shattered debris plummeted downward like a storm.

Bishamonten grabbed Rei by the arm, leading the surviving Maidens aloft with a flight formation, rising above the destruction.

“You won’t escape!” Ame-no-Tajikarao roared, leaping into the sky. From high above, he thrust down a colossal hand of divine energy that spread across tens of thousands of meters, blotting out the heavens like the descent of doomsday itself.

Even combined, the Maidens’ defenses could never withstand such power.

“Lady Bishamonten! Sister Uesugi! Go—quickly!” A small figure appeared beneath the massive golden hand. Lily’s form shimmered as she summoned the Sakura Parasol, which expanded into a towering shield.

With a thunderous boom, she gripped the handle tightly and took the full brunt of the strike.

“Go!” Bishamonten and the others seized the opportunity, activating their flight formation to flee into the distant sky.

“Lily! Hurry after us!”

“Got it!” Lily called back, following swiftly, her parasol folding as she soared after them.

“Kagami Lily! How dare you!” Ame-no-Tajikarao bellowed, summoning a long dark-golden chain tipped with a heavy round hammer. He knew that if he struck, not even Lily could endure, but he hesitated as he watched her fly farther away.

“My lord! They’re escaping!” Hirotake and the other generals led their troops in pursuit, closing the distance fast.

But Lily turned midair, her blade whirling as a storm of cherry blossoms swept across the soldiers, scattering them in chaos. Ame-no-Tajikarao still did not move.

“Damn it… if I truly harm her… But without striking hard, I’ll never subdue her. Yet the military orders…” He clenched his jaw, his massive hands gripping the chain until it trembled violently, but still, he could not bring himself to strike.

Then, the tattoos of ancient gods and demons across his bare shoulders and chest began to glow, slithering like living creatures beneath his skin, emanating a bewitching, soul-stirring energy.

¹

“Haah!” Ame-no-Tajikarao roared. His entire body blazed with crimson light, and his eyes burned with searing golden brilliance.

Footnotes:

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   Syl: So… is he actually being controlled against his will?