Demon Sword Maiden

“I had imagined all the shameless, hypocritical faces of you vile lackeys, but I never thought you would be so utterly devoid of shame!” Even with her divine power exhausted, the Madam still stood at a realm that looked down upon heaven and earth. Though her fury no longer carried its former strength, it still made the world tremble and sent shivers through the soul.

“Eight Thunder Gods, you once followed me, and I did bear some affection for you. No matter how much chaos you caused in Yomi, I tolerated it again and again. Yet today, you dare utter such treasonous, deranged words? Do you realize that by those words alone, you deserve to have your bodies destroyed, your divinity extinguished, your souls scattered forever, never to be reborn?”

Who was Izanami, after all?

She was the Empress of Yomi, the consort of Izanagi, father of the three greatest gods of heaven and earth, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo. She was nothing less than the primordial Mother Goddess of all realms.

Such an exalted divine station, subjected to such blasphemy—how could she not be enraged?

“Hehehe… Madam, times have changed. You should know when to submit. As the ruler of Yomi, you should willingly atone for what you have done. Otherwise…” Wakarai cast a glance toward Orai, “don’t blame us eight brothers for being ruthless.”

Orai’s white beard suddenly whipped about as thunderous power surged violently through his body. The Octathunder Heavenlock Formation was activated, and a single beam of lightning descended from the heavens. Though it was only one bolt, the lightning unleashed by the formation already rivaled a full strike from the strongest Supreme God.

With a thunderous boom, the lightning crashed down upon Izanami’s head. At that instant, Izanami raised a black parasol adorned with golden phantom butterflies and tinkling wind chimes.

The chimes rang out, and across tens of thousands of kilometers of Yomi, countless demons fell into a dazed, soul-lost trance.

“The Yayoi Parasol?” The Eight Thunder Gods were visibly startled.

The Madam held the parasol aloft, her pale arm trembling as the strain showed. Yet her divine presence transformed into boundless crimson Charm Intent, spreading across heaven and earth.

“You really dared to strike,” Izanami said lightly, breathing a little unsteadily yet sounding relaxed. “I had intended to give this parasol to a future daughter-in-law. I truly didn’t want it sullied by mad dogs like you.”

“We know how many treasures you have, Madam. Stop pretending to be composed,” one of the Thunder Gods sneered. “Just holding that parasol is already exhausting you, isn’t it?”

Since they had already acted, the Eight Thunder Gods no longer hid their true nature. Their faces twisted into ferocious, savage expressions.

Izanami was far too proud to accept such humiliation. The Eight Thunder Gods knew they could not truly kill her, lacking one of the two weapons capable of piercing a Great Imperial God’s divinity. Still, they never intended to remain in Yomi for long. After receiving that information, they planned to cripple Izanami before leaving, venting their long-held resentment. Once they departed Yomi and her vitality was severely damaged, even if she recovered after centuries or millennia, she would be unable to touch them.

“That strike just now was merely a greeting,” Wakarai said smugly, his gaze lingering shamelessly on the Madam’s chest. “One bolt already left you barely standing. Imagine what would happen if all eight colors of thunder descended together.”

“Eight-colored thunder?” Izanami replied calmly. “You chose your moment well. Using it now may not kill me, but it would indeed severely wound me, perhaps even plunge me into a long slumber. And then you intend to do as you please to your own mistress?”

The Charm aura between heaven and earth thickened, and the Eight Thunder Gods gradually sensed something was wrong.

Beside the Madam, a stream of crimson radiance condensed into a humanoid form. A long-haired girl in a red kimono appeared at Izanami’s side, her legs wrapped around a thick, long katana.

The moment Fushirai saw the girl and the blade, he nearly lost control of his body.

“Ka… Kagami Lily?!” Wakarai broke into a cold sweat, his expression twisting.

If a fully capable Lily joined the battle, combined with the Madam’s many treasures, the situation would become disastrous.

But how could Lily be here? Hadn’t she ascended to the human realm from Herikaku City? If Lily were here, how could the Madam have exhausted her divine power?

Wakarai, though tall and handsome, was no sharper than his brothers. For a moment, he could not make sense of it.

Then, before the stunned Eight Thunder Gods, the Madam pulled Lily into her arms. Her long, shapely legs flashed pale beneath her skirt, tangling with Lily’s thigh and the long blade. Grasping Lily’s hair, Izanami kissed her deeply in front of the gods.

The scene filled the world with limitless beauty, the Charm Intent reaching its absolute peak.

Aside from Sairai, the Eight Thunder Gods felt their desires surge uncontrollably, each wishing to rush forward and claim the pair at once.

Yet despite their crude intellects, their willpower remained firm. They were ancient Supreme Gods, not fools. If they gave in to temptation and disrupted the formation, losing the support of the Octathunder Heavenlock Formation, then even with her divine power exhausted, the Madam’s incomparable Great Imperial God physique alone would be enough to crush them.

So no matter how violently their desire exploded, they endured—forced themselves to endure.

But one of them was the one who had reached the absolute pinnacle of the Path of Charm.

Among the gods, who did not know the Himemiya Sen-no-hana Paintings? Yet who, even among the divine, truly knew who had painted those eight sacred scrolls in the ancient age?

And the other was the foremost youthful maiden of the Three Realms.

How could this possibly be endured?

The seven Thunder Gods turned red with agony, faces flushed and strained.

Then another violet radiance appeared. A girl wearing a semi-translucent white feathered robe emerged, identical in beauty to Lily, yet carrying an aloof, commanding presence. Her ribbons fluttered, her fragrance filled the air, and with a gentle, obedient allure, she swayed beside the Madam in attendance.

“Big Brother… Fifth Brother… you…”

The seven Thunder Gods stood rigid, their bodies burning hot.

With a sharp, choking sound, fresh crimson blood stained the trousers of the seven mighty Thunder Gods.

¹

The stimulation was too overwhelming. Forced to maintain the formation while suppressing themselves, they finally broke. One after another, their lower bodies violently failed.

Cries of pain rang out as their vital essence scattered uncontrollably. Their faces turned deathly pale, yet they still had to hold their positions.

“Brothers! Brothers, what’s happening to you?!” Sairai was on the verge of tears.

At that moment, the two crimson figures, Lily and her identical counterpart, transformed into Rakshasa-Onna and Asura-Onna.

“Hehehe… hehehehe…” Izanami laughed weakly, nearly spending the last of her strength. “You planned this well. Scheming carefully, striking when my divine power was depleted. Indeed, this was the best chance in countless ages. But do you truly think I learned nothing? I am someone who was once nearly killed by her own son.”

Bathed in overwhelming Charm Intent, the Madam looked at the Eight Thunder Gods, though now only seven of them suffered all the more.

“You seven once had a chance to force me into slumber. But after so many years of indulgence in Yomi, your will has decayed. With hearts steeped in such vile desire, you still think you can stand against me?”

Izanami had perfected the Charm Heavenly Path.

Even someone like Furaku, whose Supreme God strength barely qualified as such, possessed interrogation methods sufficient to subdue a woman like Bishamonten. And she had only reached the seventh stage of the Charm Heavenly Path.

But Izanami stood at the ninth stage! If there truly existed anything beyond the ninth stage within the Three Realms, then it could only be her. She, after all, was the originator of the Charm Heavenly Path itself.

The moment even a trace of lust was directed toward her, one would inevitably fall into her Path of Charm.

And now, the Seven Thunder Gods wore faces ashen as death. Although their grand formation still stood and they still held an overwhelming advantage, challenging the Madam had already exacted a heavy price.

“Big Brother… I… my…” the second brother, Kairai, was on the verge of tears.

“Shut up!” Orai roared. “We are all Supreme Gods. Even if injured, we can reincarnate and recover later. Hold your positions!” He continued harshly, “This was nothing but her scheme! Our strength hasn’t been severely diminished. Don’t let her keep playing tricks. Push the formation to its full power and strike her into slumber. After that, she’ll be at our mercy… Owowowowow!”

But the moment he thought of “doing as they pleased,” the places where he had already suffered grievous damage throbbed with unbearable pain, making him cry out involuntarily.

Still, the willpower of Supreme Gods was formidable. The Eight Thunder Gods converted pain into resolve, forcing out power even greater than usual. Within the formation, eight streams of lightning converged, transforming into eight ancient thunder dragons that manifested in the sky.

“Attack!”

“Kill!”

The Eight Thunder Gods, pale-faced and ferocious, roared in unison.

Eight-colored thunder dragons, each capable of forcing even a Great Imperial God to retreat, surged and twisted within the thunderclouds. With sky-shaking howls, they lunged toward the Madam, tearing at her with murderous fury.

“Hahahahahaha! Die, Izanami!”

“So even you have this day, Madam! Hahahahahaha!”

The Eight Thunder Gods laughed wildly, their expressions grotesquely distorted.

Yet Izanami, facing this annihilating eight-colored divine thunder, calmly withdrew her parasol. She made no attempt to resist. Unhurried, she produced a smoking pipe and placed it to her lips. She did not light it, merely taking a gentle draw.

In an instant, heaven and earth twisted, stars and constellations shifted. The eight thunder dragons continued rushing toward the Madam, yet their savage draconic faces gradually softened. Their forms grew smaller and smaller. Their power did not diminish in the slightest, yet for reasons unknown, all killing intent vanished. They transformed into eight streams of multicolored smoke, playful and innocent, and flowed directly into the pipe.

“Hah…” The Madam exhaled slowly, clearly savoring it.

“What?!”

“Pff!”

“Pff!”

“Pff!”

The Eight Thunder Gods clutched their chests as blood sprayed from their mouths.

‘What… what is happening!?’

That had been the strongest strike of the Octathunder Heavenlock Formation, an attack capable of injuring a Great Imperial God! Countless ages ago, when the Eight Thunder Gods were ordered to pursue and kill Izanami’s consort, Izanagi, that very strike had been able to wound even that immensely powerful Great Imperial God.

“T–That’s impossible! This can’t be possible!” Wakarai lay sprawled on the ground, face deathly pale. Veins throbbed on his forehead as blood continued to spill from his mouth.

Izanami calmly took a few more draws from her pipe, her complexion visibly improving.

“Not bad,” she said lightly. “I was thinking it would take several decades to recover. This at least cut the time by half.” She exhaled a satisfied plume of smoke.

“Why?! Why?!” Kurorai shouted hoarsely, blood pouring from his mouth as he lay collapsed. “Our Eight Thunder Formation can force back a Great Imperial God at full power! Your divine power was exhausted. How could this happen!?”

The other Thunder Gods also coughed up blood, voices filled with endless resentment as they demanded answers.

“Tsk.” The Madam shook her head helplessly, looking at their miserable state with a trace of pity. “Indeed, the Octathunder Heavenlock Formation is extraordinarily powerful. It is the strongest Supreme God formation in the Three Realms. In theory, it was enough to severely wound me in my current state.”

She paused, a flash of wisdom and mockery passing through her eyes. “But have you all forgotten… who taught you the Octathunder Heavenlock Formation in the first place?”

Footnotes:

1. 
   
   

   Syl: … … …. Wow… they got so hard their pee pee bursted?

2. 
   

   Syl: Yea… it was unwise to use the same skill your master taught you to defeat them. You’d have to improvise and improve the technique to surpass your master.