Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 13 - Takamagahara: Chapter 54 - Three Pinnacle Supreme Gods

The Celestial Maidens fled one after another through the teleportation array.

However, through Bishamonten’s divine probe, it became clear that on the mountain road ahead, some of the slower Celestial Maidens, especially the younger ones of the Bishamonten lineage, were about to be caught. Asazora and Meishin, together with the elite rear guard they led, were utterly incapable of stopping the pursuit.

Three overwhelmingly powerful auras surged forth. The three Supreme Gods had already discerned their intentions and were accelerating straight toward them, killing their way forward.

These young Celestial Maidens were the final generation of the Bishamonten bloodline. Even if none of them might grow into a heaven-defying genius capable of turning the tide, Bishamonten could not abandon them here and watch these little girls fall into the hands of the Kegaretsu Clan.

“Lily, Baby Girl, we move!”

The teleportation array had been repaired, and enough materials for teleportation had been left behind. There was nothing more here that required Bishamonten or Lily to stay.

The three exchanged a glance and nodded. With a single surge, they shot into the sky and flew to meet the oncoming army.

Before long, the three arrived above the mountain road, hovering in midair.

They happened upon Asazora and Meishin, who were escorting a large group of young Celestial Maidens as they retreated up the mountain. Yet behind them, dark clouds rolled violently, and the slope itself was black with troops pressing in. At the speed of these young Celestial Maidens, there was simply no way they could safely reach the teleportation array.

“Lady Bishamonten!”

“Asazora, Meishin, after you pass through the teleportation array, destroy it from the other side,” Bishamonten ordered.

Asazora estimated the distance of the pursuing forces and was horrified. “Then, Lady Bishamonten, what about you?”

“Enough!” Lily snapped sharply. “If it’s just the three of us, even without a teleportation array, we can still escape. Go, now. Do you want to get in the way?”

Lily’s words were harsh but clear. Asazora immediately understood the intent of the three goddesses. Indeed, all three were at the Supreme God level. To them, an army meant very little. Even though the enemy’s three Supreme Gods were stronger, escape should still be possible if it came to that. But bringing so many young Celestial Maidens along was utterly impossible. Trying to do both would doom everyone. How could Asazora, out of feminine weakness or irrational sentiment, end up harming the three goddesses instead?

Having endured countless trials since childhood as part of the rebel forces, Asazora and Meishin were resolute and strong-willed. They immediately ordered the young Celestial Maidens and the guards to flee forward with everything they had.

As for destroying the teleportation array from the other side, Asazora understood the reasoning as well. The exposure of Mount Mikokage could only have been caused by an internal traitor. Even if they escaped to the next stronghold, it might be exposed again.

Only by destroying the teleportation array first could they buy time. Even if their location was compromised, the Chrysanthemum Squad’s hidden ground was extremely remote and treacherous. The pursuers would not be able to reach it quickly. That would give them time to hunt down the traitor and then choose another route of escape.

In truth, however, their worries might have been unnecessary. Faced with such a force at the pinnacle of power, who would care about a handful of rebels? The true purpose of this army was to capture Bishamonten and Lily.

The rebels were only useful as hostages if they could be taken. If the rebels were separated from Bishamonten, then it was obvious whom Tennin-Mikoto would personally pursue. Capturing these three women was worth far more than wiping out all the rebels combined.

Because of this, the traitor who had been hiding in the shadows, one of Riyuki’s subordinates, did not foolishly follow the teleportation. Taking advantage of the chaos, she slipped away and continued to observe from the dark.

If Bishamonten and the others entered the teleportation array, she would certainly follow. If they did not, she would seize the chance to flee back to the main army and report to Yuko for her reward.

Tracking these minor rebel forces would yield little merit, and following them further would be far too dangerous. Without question, the ones most suspected as traitors were Furaku and Riyuki’s group. Once they reached the other side, they would inevitably be subjected to strict interrogation, and it would be hard not to reveal flaws. Infiltrating once had been easy, but attempting it a second time would be far more difficult. For that reason, the spy did not dare to follow them further. Of course, none of this was something Lily and the others could have known.

Watching the Celestial Maidens depart with such clear understanding of the greater situation, Bishamonten and Lily finally felt at ease.

The three stood suspended in the air, blocking the advance of the army.

The army also came to a halt, spreading out in a semi-encirclement. Their ultimate goal was obvious: to surround and capture the three of them.

Tennin-Mikoto lounged lazily atop her palanquin. A leather whip appeared in her hand, and she lashed the Celestial Maidens carrying the palanquin several times without restraint. The Celestial Maidens trembled, none daring to resist.

Tennin-Mikoto looked at the three of them, coiling the whip and raising it to her lips. “Heh heh. I was planning to lure you out somehow, but I didn’t expect you to come knocking on your own. Fine, that saves me the trouble.”

“How did you discover this place?” Bishamonten asked coldly.

“Hmph, do you even need to ask?” Tennin-Mikoto sneered. “Use those things on your chests to think for a moment and you’d understand, wouldn’t you? Hehehe.”

“Tennin-Mikoto! You traitor to the Celestial Maidens!” Bishamonten stared toward the distant sea of flames, smoke filling the heavens. “Do you intend to destroy the sacred mountain of the Bishamonten lineage? Do you even know the weight of your sins?”

“Shut up!” Tennin-Mikoto snapped. “You hypocritical Celestial Maidens, dressing so indecently while constantly accusing the Heroic Gods of lust. I’ve been sick of you for a long time! I won’t just burn your mountain, I’ll strip you naked and roast you over the flames. Hahahahaha!”

As she spoke, Tennin-Mikoto stood up and grabbed her own hair, yanking off the fluffy purple-red wig in one violent motion. Beneath it was a head of jet-black hair that fell over half her face. Her features were smeared with heavy, seductive makeup. Any trace of the noble dignity of Takamagahara’s top goddesses was gone, replaced by the true face of a Takamagahara harlot.

Dressed in wide-sleeved robes, Tennin-Mikoto was tall, her waist slender. She deliberately tugged at her collar, pulling it open as it trembled on both sides. A pair of pale, full mounds rose prominently on her chest, and even standing there she struck a deliberately provocative pose.

“What’s wrong with this woman?” Lily muttered under her breath. At a time like this, why was she acting like this?

With the straight-cut wig gone, Tennin-Mikoto’s true nature was fully exposed. Her entire body exuded a lewd aura that seemed to taint heaven and earth alike, one that even tens of thousands of soldiers could scarcely resist. Every gesture was like that of a peerless calamity capable of toppling realms. Even more unbelievable was that beneath such shameless wantonness, her expression carried an extreme, self-assured brazenness.

‘Shameless!’ Lily continued to curse inwardly.

“Tch, Kagami Lily, right? I’ve finally caught you. Why are you looking at me like that? Do you really think your outfit is any better than mine?”

“What?” Lily’s face flushed red as she instinctively covered the collar at her chest.

When Lily had still been a mortal, she dressed that way simply because she feared the heat and preferred breathable clothing. Every time someone pointed it out, she would feel embarrassed. How could she possibly be compared to a harlot of the Three Realms like this woman?

Beyond her visceral disgust at the woman’s appearance, Lily also sensed something else. Now that Tennin-Mikoto had revealed her true self, the soul fluctuations she emitted carried an aura that filled Lily with fear and intense revulsion. It felt eerily familiar, as though she had experienced this sensation deeply and painfully not long ago.

“What’s going on? Why do I feel this way? This woman… her presence is completely different, yet this feeling from her soul fluctuations… could it be…”

Lily’s pupils contracted as she stared wide-eyed, disbelief flooding her expression.

Seeing Lily’s reaction, Tennin-Mikoto fixed her with an aggressively provocative gaze and let out a sultry laugh. “Hehehe. Kagami Lily, you remember now? The connection between you and me goes far beyond just today.”

At that moment, Ame-no-Tajikarao and Amani flew in from opposite sides, facing Lily and the other two.

“Miss Lily… I, I mean, thank you again for treating me to a drink that day. But if we weren’t enemies, I, I would actually rather share a ceremonial cup with you!” Ame-no-Tajikarao panted heavily, his words turning muddled the moment he saw Lily.

“Ame-no-Tajikarao, what nonsense are you spouting? Are you trying to betray your loyalty?” Tennin-Mikoto snapped angrily, whipping the Celestial Maiden carrying her palanquin and leaving a red welt across her back.

“I’m just saying what’s in my heart! What I should say and shouldn’t say, I’ve said it all! Kagami Lily, surrender like a seasoned warrior!” As he spoke, Ame-no-Tajikarao’s massive, masculine aura erupted, and he charged straight at Lily.

“Sakura Blizzard!”

A storm of cherry blossoms swept through the air, surging toward the army. In an instant, the Kegaretsu Clan’s forces fell into chaos.

“Formation! Defend!”

One by one, the Yuten Army soldiers roared boldly. The army reorganized into layered formations, forming defensive arrays. Even Big Dipper soldiers could join forces to resist Lily’s Domain World. Still, even a thousand-man formation found it extremely difficult to withstand the Domain World empowered by Lunar Sakura Force.

A hundred Celestial Maidens clad in red, their divine raiments fluttering, joined hands in perfect coordination. Using a Celestial Maiden formation, they calmly blocked Lily’s Domain World attack.

Every one of these hundred Celestial Maidens was at the Celestial Stage. Though few in number, they were elite beyond measure. Acting together, even without Amani presiding over the formation’s core, they were enough to defeat an ordinary Supreme God.

Bishamonten continued to use her divine probe to monitor the retreat of the Celestial Maidens behind them. They still needed to buy more time.

She swept her long sleeves, and strands of divine power condensed into ice arrows in the sky, shooting straight toward Tennin-Mikoto atop the palanquin.

Tennin-Mikoto did not bother to defend. She merely flicked the whip in her hand, its strange mechanisms shifting and merging until it transformed into the black fan from earlier. She gently fanned it before her pale chest.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bishamonten’s ice arrows shattered just inches in front of Tennin-Mikoto, scattering into fragments.

“Oh? No way.” Tennin-Mikoto exclaimed with exaggerated shock. “Is this really all the strength you’ve got now? You’ve deteriorated way too much. With power like this, you still dare to call yourself Bishamonten? You’re a huge disappointment.”

“Tell me, you frigid old virgin, are you pent up or something? Did all your power leak away?” Tennin-Mikoto’s eyes flashed with contempt. “Watch closely. This is what real power looks like, the kind only a woman who truly knows how to take care of herself can possess!”

With a sharp flick of her black fan, streaks of deadly black light tore through the air toward Bishamonten.

“You Takamagahara harlot. Watch your words!” Rei flashed in front of Bishamonten, swinging Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. An unfathomable power burst forth, cleaving all the black light apart.

“Oh?” Tennin-Mikoto raised her brows slightly. “I see.”

At that moment, a thunderous roar shook the battlefield. Ame-no-Tajikarao, now fully recovered, clashed fiercely with Lily, who had likewise regained her strength. This time, Ame-no-Tajikarao immediately brought out his strongest weapon, a colossal stone pillar, and smashed it down without mercy. The blade light from Lily’s Oborozuki Muramasa was blown apart, and Ame-no-Tajikarao charged at her with brutal force.