Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 13 - Takamagahara: Chapter 49 - After the Rampage

The rampaging Ame-no-Tajikarao was even more terrifying than he had been back in the days when he fought Bishamonten at her absolute peak.

He swung the massive pillar in his hands with insane fury, smashing it down on the Fivefold Tower again and again. Each impact sent violent shockwaves rippling outward, blasting apart the surrounding seas of clouds, cracking the Hizans, and shaking loose countless ten-thousand-year-old ancient trees that fell from the skies.

Both the Yuten Army and the Celestial Maidens retreated in haste, fleeing far away to avoid being caught in the aftermath.

A few Big Dipper-level Yuten soldiers were too slow to escape. They were struck head-on by the residual divine force, hurled straight into the Hizans, and killed on the spot upon impact.

Several of the retreating Celestial Maidens were injured as well.

This was merely the aftershock. Even so, it carried such dreadful might. At the center of the storm, heaven and earth were plunged into darkness, as though the sky itself were being torn open.

Having fled to a distant vantage point, Asazora and the others could not help but marvel in shock.

“If Ame-no-Tajikarao had attacked us with this level of power from the very beginning, we would have been reduced to bones and ashes long ago.”

“Lady Bishamonten… Miss Lily…”

Yet within the very heart of the storm, the exterior of the Fivefold Tower was shrouded in a faint halo of light. No matter how wildly Ame-no-Tajikarao bombarded it, he could not shatter that thin radiance, nor could he damage the tower itself. The ancient structure did nothing more than tremble under the blows.

Inside the tower, things were hardly comfortable. For reasons unknown, the interior was stiflingly hot. A space originally meant to shelter only one person now held three, pressed together so tightly that flesh was nearly against flesh. Lily was caught between Bishamonten and Rei, and with every strike from outside, the tower shook violently, sending tremors through their bodies.

Skin pressed together, sweat flowed freely, and the constant vibrations left Lily flushed and tingling, her body hot and numb all at once.

On top of that, no one knew whether the tower could truly withstand such a terrifying assault. That uncertainty only heightened the tension, making all three of their hearts pound faster.

Lily, trapped in the middle, felt especially at a loss. She could not even turn around. From the very start, her position had left her facing Bishamonten, while her back was pressed tightly against Rei’s remarkably elastic chest. Along her sensitive, slightly slender back, Lily could distinctly feel two points whose texture differed from the surrounding softness…

Her slim waist was not much of a concern, but lower down was another matter entirely. Her lifted, rounded hips were braced against Rei’s lower abdomen, and with every tremor from the outside, they were thrust against once more. Combined with the oppressive heat, the scant layers of clothing felt as though they were plastered directly onto bare skin, almost indistinguishable from direct contact.

In front of her, she was pressed just as tightly against Bishamonten’s towering bosom, with no room to spare at all.

Wave after wave of tremors left Lily’s expression caught between embarrassment and an awkward, unintended intimacy.

“To think such a treasure exists. That is quite an impressive method,” Rei murmured softly, her breath brushing against Lily’s ear.

Speaking so close to her ear at a moment like this made Lily shudder uncontrollably.

“Lily, do not be afraid. We are here. Even if the tower were to break, we would never let you fall into the hands of that crazed brute,” Bishamonten said in a reassuring tone. Yet the distance between them was far too close. Whenever the tower shook and swayed, even speaking carelessly could make their lips brush together.

Lily was hardly frightened. She had complete confidence in the treasure Izanami had given her. If a defensive artifact bestowed by a Great Imperial God could be smashed apart by a rampaging Supreme God through brute force alone, that would be nothing short of a joke.

In truth, Lily had absolutely no reason to worry at all. That was because this Fivefold Tower had originally been Izanami’s own life-preserving artifact.

Its defensive power far exceeded Lily’s expectations. Forget brute force from Ame-no-Tajikarao. Even if he truly brought in massive reinforcements from the Palace of Ritsuten, assembling Takamagahara’s top formation masters and supreme spellcasters, experts specializing in breaking arrays and dismantling artifact mechanisms, they still would not be able to pry open so much as a single crack in the Fivefold Tower.

The more impossible it became to shake, the more frenzied Ame-no-Tajikarao grew. He attacked with utter abandon, pouring out enormous amounts of divine power without restraint. Maintaining such a prolonged state of berserk fury was already beginning to damage his body.

Blood began seeping from countless pores across his skin. Those blood droplets were instantly vaporized by the surrounding energy currents, turning into a thick red mist that made the scene even more horrifying.

Unable to break the tower, Ame-no-Tajikarao grew even more enraged. Roaring madly, he flung aside the massive pillar and tried to seize the Fivefold Tower itself, intending to lift it up and smash it to pieces. Yet despite his overwhelming strength, even Ame-no-Tajikarao could not budge it in the slightest.

He then switched to attacking with his fists and palms, unleashing one ultimate technique after another. Colossal palm imprints slammed down like thunderbolts, their echoes spreading across millions of kilometers, striking terror into the hearts of the surrounding Yuten soldiers and Celestial Maidens alike.

And yet, the Fivefold Tower remained completely unscathed.

Ame-no-Tajikarao began ramming it with his head and kicking it with his feet. Blood streamed from his shattered forehead, his fists reduced to mangled flesh. The Fivefold Tower, however, remained utterly intact.

Far beyond countless distant reaches.

Within the vast Yomi-no-kuni, upon a desolate and ashen land, eight colossal demon gods tens of thousands of meters tall dragged Herikaku City forward at a slow, ponderous pace.

Inside Herikaku City, Izanami sat alone within an elegant hall, quietly embroidering.

“As a mother, I have never even made clothes for my daughter. Would this be… too alluring? Hehehe…” Izanami chuckled softly as she held the embroidery needle.

In her hands was a small, triangular piece of purple fabric. Thin ties extended from both sides, while at the back a slender strap no thicker than a little finger connected to the bottom of the triangle. Izanami carefully stitched delicate patterns along the lace edging of the tiny cloth.

Suddenly, for reasons unknown, Izanami pricked her fingertip. She sighed faintly and murmured, “Was I too focused? I wonder how Lily is doing right now in Takamagahara…”

Gazing through the window toward the far horizon, a trace of subtle, hard-to-notice worry flickered in Izanami’s eyes.

Ame-no-Tajikarao’s relentless bombardment went on for a very, very long time.

Boom!

One of his punches rebounded against himself, forcing him to stagger backward several steps before his massive body dropped to one knee in midair.

Even a being as incomparably mighty and powerful as Ame-no-Tajikarao, the strongest Heroic God of Takamagahara, had his limits.

At this moment, the fierce and berserk aura surrounding him dispersed. His skin tone returned to normal, yet his expression turned ghastly.

The prolonged rampage not only left him utterly exhausted and weakened, but it had also inflicted internal injuries.

Now, Ame-no-Tajikarao was like spent firewood reduced to embers. Even standing upright was difficult. His face was ashen as he gasped heavily for breath, the masculine divine force throughout his body steadily leaking away.

Although Lily and the others were inside the tower, as its owner, Lily could clearly sense the situation outside.

“Sister Uesugi, we can more or less go out now,” Lily said softly, her breath slightly uneven. In truth, the Charm Heavenly force within her had largely recovered, and her complexion resembled springtime cherry blossoms. Yet for reasons unknown, she appeared just as fatigued as Ame-no-Tajikarao.

Outside the Fivefold Tower, Lily, Rei, and Bishamonten appeared one after another, three tall women standing side by side in midair.

Ame-no-Tajikarao lifted his head to look at them. A flicker of ferocity flashed through his eyes, but it quickly dimmed. He clearly still harbored the will to fight, yet no longer had the strength to follow through.

Ame-no-Tajikarao’s endurance was extraordinarily high. Under normal circumstances, he seemed to possess inexhaustible strength. However, the toll that the berserk state took on his divine power and body was simply too great. The weariness he felt now was something he had never experienced before.

Yet paradoxically, his mind had become clearer.

“What… what was I even doing just now? Knowing full well it couldn’t be broken, why did I go mad and exhaust myself like that? And if I had actually broken through, would I have lost control and killed Miss Lily…?” Regret, lingering fear, and dejection filled Ame-no-Tajikarao’s heart.

“Ame-no-Tajikarao,” Lily said, carrying a hint of pride and charm as she looked down at the burly god and extended her hand. “Do you still wish to continue fighting?”

“Kagami Lily, you are… cunning…” Ame-no-Tajikarao struggled to half-stand, his waist unable to straighten at all. He grabbed the massive pillar, trying to shoulder it again and resume the battle, only to find he could no longer lift it. In the end, he tossed it aside, summoned a cloud, and sat heavily upon it.

“You… are clever. I can’t outplay you… I’m done, I’m done. Huff, huff… If I keep fighting, I’ll collapse from divine power exhaustion. Huff…” Ame-no-Tajikarao said in utter dejection.

“Hehehe, what now? General Ame-no-Tajikarao, do you no longer care about military orders or the Heavenly Law?” Lily asked as she paced through the air.

“To hell with the Heavenly Law. I can’t even stand anymore. Why… why did I become so violent just now? Dangerous… to you, and to myself. Foolish… forget it! Miss Lily, I concede!”

At this moment, Ame-no-Tajikarao could barely maintain the prison. It grew dim and unstable, on the verge of collapsing.

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the prison, intending to retrieve it.

However, as the prison flew back toward him, Lily ensnared it with silver ribbons. Wrapped around those ribbons was Blood Lunar spellbreaking force.

Activating her lunar power, Lily seized the shrunken prison and pulled it over.

Under normal circumstances, seizing another powerhouse’s remote artifact would require divine power several times, or even dozens of times, greater than the opponent’s.

But now, Ame-no-Tajikarao was truly spent. Not only was his strength gone, even his spirit and vitality had scattered, allowing Lily to take possession of this owner-bound treasure.

Ame-no-Tajikarao narrowed his eyes, resentment stirring within him. Yet he genuinely lacked even the energy to be angry. The internal injuries within his body threatened his long-term advancement, and he needed to calm his mind and carefully nurture his divine body.

“I… followed law and the Heavenly Path to this point. I can face heaven and earth without shame. I was simply outmatched. Miss Lily, if you like the treasure, then take it. I had wanted to give you something as a gesture of goodwill anyway, though I feared you wouldn’t accept it. Heh, heh… I lost, hahahahaha!”

Ame-no-Tajikarao was utterly defeated, yet instead laughed with relief. Perhaps now, his heart no longer needed to struggle, no longer needed to act against itself for the sake of law and the Heavenly Path. Losing, instead, felt liberating.

“Soldiers, heed my command!” Ame-no-Tajikarao shouted. “You are no match for them. Do not obstruct them any further. Let them go. Miss Lily is no ordinary woman. If you do not provoke her, she will not slaughter the innocent.”

Rei had been gripping the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi the entire time, its blade gleaming coldly. “Mother, if we wished to kill him now, it would not be difficult. This man imprisoned and humiliated you for many years. How he should be dealt with is up to you.”

Bishamonten replied calmly, “Although Ame-no-Tajikarao imprisoned me for many years, he did not commit any acts that violated the law. As for how he should be handled, Lily, you decide.”