Demon Sword Maiden

Lily’s strength had already recovered, but when it came to sheer brute force, how could she possibly match Ame-no-Tajikarao. The colossal pillar struck with a thunderous boom, sending her flying.

But this was no longer the Heavenly Cage of Combat from before. Lily had ample room to maneuver. She swept through the vast night sky in wide, long-range arcs, executing large-scale evasive flight while pushing the Celestial Maiden aerial combat technique to its absolute limit.

“That flight trajectory… it’s far too beautiful… damn it. I really have to admit it.” Even the enemy commander General Hirotake could not help but sigh in reluctant admiration.

Lily continued to pull away, striking from afar through her Lunar Sakura Domain as silver lunar blade arcs carved paths across the night sky toward Ame-no-Tajikarao. Each strike was intercepted by the massive pillar, yet even so, he was unable to immediately close the distance.

When Ame-no-Tajikarao fully unleashed his speed, he was actually slightly faster than Lily. However, in midair, during wide turns and abrupt directional changes, even with his massive frame moving at an almost inconceivable pace, he was still less agile and less responsive than her.

In such an immense expanse of space, as long as Lily did not seek outright victory, it was exceedingly difficult for her to lose against Ame-no-Tajikarao. This time, she was far more familiar with his combat style, her strength was fully restored, and she would no longer be forced into the same passive state as before.

“So you really are that b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲ daughter of Bishamonten, huh. Ah, then I truly misspoke. Knowing full well what was going on, I still called that old woman a virgin. Bishamonten, I apologize to you and your mongrel daughter. A goddess of Takamagahara, letting some lowly human man have his way with her, even getting pregnant. Sin upon sin indeed!” Tennin-Mikoto spat viciously.

“Shut up! I have never touched a man. Do not measure others by the filthy standards of a prostitute like yourself!” Bishamonten roared in fury, releasing countless frost-forged flying swords once more, yet none of them could truly harm Tennin-Mikoto.

Faced with the torrent of abuse, Rei erupted with blazing fury. Behind her, the colossal phantom of the ancient god Bishamonten manifested, shining brilliantly across the night sky.

She spoke not a single extra word. Her speed exploded as she charged straight toward Tennin-Mikoto, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi cleaving downward in a single decisive slash.

“Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi! Oh hell, that’s not something to take lightly,” Tennin-Mikoto said with exaggerated seriousness.

Woooosh!

A streak of red light shot in, colliding head-on with Rei’s blue-silver radiance. It was Amani, one of the Five Shining Stars under the new Celestial Maiden War God.

Yet after only a single exchange, cracks appeared on the divine-grade katana in Amani’s hand, a weapon whose form and numerical integrity were nearly flawless.

The pillar wielded by Ame-no-Tajikarao was a fragment of the Heavenly Pillar left behind by an ancient god. As a heavy blunt weapon, it could barely withstand Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, and even then, each strike carved several inches, nearly half a foot, into it. The pillar was simply too massive and too hard. With Rei’s current strength, even Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi could not cleave it in two with a single blow.

Amani’s overall strength was not necessarily inferior to Rei’s, but her sword clearly could endure no more than two or three exchanges before breaking.

“What?!” Amani cried out in shock, retreating rapidly. With a sharp flick of her crimson sleeve, she sent out streams of red ribbons. These ribbons surged with intense divine power, yet they lacked the profound subtlety of Blood Lunar Force. Compared to Lily’s ribbons, they were inferior in conceptual depth. Even so, Amani was a top-tier expert among Supreme Gods, and the sheer foundational might of her divine power was far greater.

Rei danced with Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. It was said that a blade could not cut water, yet this sword defied all reason. Its edge was light and flowing, and Rei’s technique seemed as though she had been born for the sword itself. Slash after slash rang out, slicing cleanly through the supple, drifting ribbons.

“Th-this sword… and this woman’s swordsmanship. Just how far has her understanding of the sword reached?” Amani was utterly stunned.

Beyond her own insights, Rei had inherited the accumulated swordsmanship essence of the Bishamonten lineage across countless generations. With her ascension to divinity, the Sword Heavenly Path had leapt directly to the seventh stage. Within the Three Realms, aside from a Great Imperial God, no one’s comprehension of swordsmanship could rival hers. Amani stood only at the sixth stage. Though her talent was extraordinary, without Bishamonten’s divinity, her Sword Heavenly Path could advance no further.

“Amani! Do not clash with her head-on. That is Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. You cannot fight it directly!” Tennin-Mikoto shouted.

“Attack!” After retreating to a distance, Amani gave the order. Over a hundred red-clad Celestial Maidens formed a formation on the spot. From each of them emerged a phantom double, each radiating power even greater than its original body. A hundred phantoms charged toward Rei with swords raised. Though Rei cut down several with flashing blades, these were mere projections and naturally did not fear a divine sword. Attacked from all sides, Rei was forced to withdraw.

At that moment, Amani seized the opportunity and struck from another direction.

In addition to her long blade, she drew a divine short sword. Rei turned and slashed with Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. Amani first used the short blade to strike the flat of the sword aside, then followed up with her long blade, forcing Rei to evade. Just as Rei prepared to counterattack after dodging, a mass of red Celestial Maiden phantoms surged in again.

Rei was pushed into extreme passivity. She barely carved out a sliver of space, swung her blade, and sent a silver lunar blade arc blasting from afar toward the red-clad Celestial Maiden formation.

“Don’t even think about it!” Tennin-Mikoto snapped open her black fan. It expanded midair with a heavy boom, transforming into a massive shield-like artifact that blocked the blade light completely.

The blade arcs unleashed by Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi were, after all, far less sharp than the sword itself. With Tennin-Mikoto’s strength, she could block them with ease.

As for Bishamonten’s attacks, she ignored them outright.

“You’re still standing around watching? What are you waiting for? Pin that annoying old woman down! Once she’s restrained, you can do whatever you want!” Tennin-Mikoto released a seductive aura that bewitched heaven and earth. Many members of the Kegaretsu Clan, and even soldiers of the Yuten Army, became deranged, charging madly toward Bishamonten and Lily’s group.

Lily was already struggling just to hold off Ame-no-Tajikarao. Rei, fighting Amani and her hundred elite Celestial Maidens, was likewise at a disadvantage. Bishamonten herself was no match for Tennin-Mikoto, and there were still tens of thousands of troops remaining. These were the true elite forces of Takamagahara, each possessing ancient formations. Once Lily and the others were surrounded, the situation would become truly fatal.

This battle had never offered any chance of victory.

From the very beginning, Lily and the others had been willing to burn through vast amounts of divine power at full force for a single purpose.

To buy time.

At this moment, over by the mountain shrine, all the Celestial Maidens had fled into the teleportation array and sealed it shut from the other side.

‘Lily! All the Celestial Maidens have successfully evacuated. It’s time for us to retreat as well!’ Bishamonten transmitted to her.

The three of them had long since prepared for this. Instead of fleeing into the mountains, they charged straight toward the main army.

This completely concealed their true intention to escape. Tennin-Mikoto remained seated in her palanquin, intermittently releasing spells and secret techniques, thinking only to whittle them down bit by bit. The three deliberately feigned evasive maneuvers. Lily even used her clash with Ame-no-Tajikarao, allowing herself to be struck by his pillar and blasted away with a heavy boom. In the next instant, the three suddenly accelerated together, streaking off in the same direction to the side.

They ran.

“What?! Don’t even think about escaping!” Tennin-Mikoto roared in fury and immediately took to the air in pursuit.

Ame-no-Tajikarao, Amani, and her hundred-member formation were all exceptionally fast and gave chase at full speed, while the main army was rapidly left far behind.

As she fled, Lily continuously released Lunar Sakura Blizzard, unfolding her domain world. Endless cherry blossoms filled the sky, bolstered by Lunar Sakura Force, hindering the pursuers’ advance.

“Damn it, you b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲!

¹ You think you’re the only one with a domain world?!” Tennin-Mikoto cursed as she flew. She spread her wide sleeves, and countless seductive blossoms poured forth, carrying pollen that could drive women into infatuation and men into madness, surging head-on toward the Sakura Blizzard.

The two domains collided and neutralized each other. Yet in this situation, it clearly favored the fleeing side. With both domain worlds evenly matched, the point of cancellation lay between the two leaders. Any additional pursuers who crossed that distance would still be suppressed by the Sakura Blizzard.

“Why run?! The teleportation array is destroyed. Where do you think you can escape to? You might escape for now, but you’ll never escape forever. The entire Takamagahara wants to capture you, to take you!” Tennin-Mikoto shouted without restraint.

Indeed, although Lily and the others were difficult to catch, it was also hard for them to completely shake off Tennin-Mikoto and her companions. The situation devolved into a prolonged long-distance pursuit.

Yet unexpectedly, the three suddenly made a massive aerial loop and flew straight back toward the teleportation array from which the pursuers had come.

“What?!”

Lily, Bishamonten, and Rei had prepared for this all along. Before even reaching it, they remotely activated the teleportation array with divine power. The three of them plunged straight into the very array they had arrived through.

Tennin-Mikoto was shocked. When she, Ame-no-Tajikarao, and Amani arrived, the three had already passed through the array and vanished to the other side.

“Chase them!”

Lily and the others had no time to adjust the spatial runes of the formation. It was certain that they had been sent back to Yuten Castle.

But just as Tennin-Mikoto and the others attempted to transmit after them, the teleportation array failed to activate.

“Damn it!” Tennin-Mikoto swore harshly.

“What happened?” Ame-no-Tajikarao asked in disbelief.

“Those bitches destroyed the teleportation array on the Yuten Castle side!”

“What?!” Ame-no-Tajikarao’s eyes widened in shock.

Just like that, tens of thousands of troops were left stranded, bewildered, in Bishamonten’s homeland.

“What do we do?” The army arrived in waves, yet there was nothing they could do. Ame-no-Tajikarao was completely dumbfounded. “Tennin-Mikoto, you accused me of deliberately letting those three women escape. Now you’ve seen it for yourself how cunning they are, especially Miss Lily. Too cunning. And you still couldn’t do anything about them!”

“Shut up, you idiot brute! If I don’t catch them, I’ll make you sleep alone tonight!” Tennin-Mikoto snapped angrily.

“What? Do you take me for some kind of degenerate who jumps on any woman he sees? I am a righteous god. Aside from true love, I want no woman at all. Tennin-Mikoto, please conduct yourself with propriety,” Ame-no-Tajikarao replied solemnly.

Tennin-Mikoto shook her head dismissively. This fool was actually answering such words seriously. She could not be bothered to argue further.

“Lady Tennin-Mikoto,” Amani said calmly, “although they destroyed the teleportation array on the other side, this one is still intact. We can re-inscribe the spatial runes and teleport directly to the grand teleportation array inside Yuten Castle.”

Even under such circumstances, Amani remained composed. Despite being within Tennin-Mikoto’s domain, neither she nor the hundred red-clad Celestial Maidens showed any signs of weakness. They appeared utterly devoid of the seven emotions and six desires.

This reaction made Hirotake, who was burning with lust in the distance, feel a chill of fear. “What kind of methods does it take to train such a blindfolded Celestial Maiden army…”

Lily and the other two were teleported to a floating island far from Yuten Castle. After destroying that teleportation array, they did not pause for even a moment. They immediately flew at full speed, skirting around Yuten Castle and heading southwest toward Thundercloud Gorge.

Throughout Takamagahara, enemies were everywhere. No matter where they fled, true escape was difficult. Moreover, Lily knew the pursuers would soon make use of the teleportation arrays within Yuten Castle to return.

²

Their only path forward was the road they had come from. They had to flee back the same way, returning to the Hekiraku Realm.

Footnotes:

1. 
   
   

   Sylphie: I laughed, I never thought a day would come that I’d read the loanword of b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ (碧池) in Chinese.

2. 
   

   Sylphie: Honestly makes you think. Why did the army not use the one inside the castle to begin with if they have their own formations and chose to use the one the Celestial Maidens used instead. They already have the coordinates and everything, they need not purposely go out their way to use another’s teleportation array.