Demon Sword Maiden

“That’s right. That female interrogator was someone I invited to Takamagahara from the Hekiraku Realm. Her name is Taira no Furaku. Just laying eyes on her from afar is enough to make one feel how terrifying she is! I’m afraid there’s no one in the Three Realms more skilled at torture than her. She came specifically for Bishamonten. The leader of the Celestial Battle Maidens? In my eyes, Bishamonten’s nothing more than a fugitive, a failure.”

Riyuki, panting and disheveled, spoke through her messy short hair.

Without warning, Rei, who had remained silent until now, slapped Riyuki hard across the face. A bright red mark instantly bloomed on one side of her cheek.

“Mm…” Yet at that moment, Riyuki, still reeling from the waves of Maiden’s Command Technique, let out a seductive moan. Even Rei’s slap seemed to stir something within her, as if the pain was not entirely unpleasant.

“You b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲!” Rei grabbed a fistful of Riyuki’s hair, forcing her head up. “Where is that so-called Furaku now!?”

Riyuki’s cheeks were flushed red, her voice trembling, but a mocking smile curled on her lips. “Too bad. You’re too late. She really did spend the night here, but over half a day ago, she was already escorted away by the Celestial Battle Maidens.”

“What?” Both Lily and Rei looked alarmed.

“Where did she go?” Lily asked urgently.

“Is that even a question? Naturally, she’s gone to fulfill the mission she came here for, to interrogate Bishamonten,” Riyuki said with a smirk.

“I’m asking where she went! Where is Lady Bishamonten being held!?” Lily pressed anxiously.

Seeing Lily so frantic, Riyuki remained silent for a moment. Deep inside, she didn’t want to give everything up so easily.

She had trained for so long, served as a Celestial Maid, and now, she was being interrogated and forced to confess by two younger women. The humiliation was unbearable. But she had already seen through the rulers of Takamagahara and had no intention of dying for their secrets.

Still, she wanted to claw back some dignity, if only a little.

“Aren’t you going to speak!?” Rei’s cold gaze bore down on her.

Riyuki looked at the two of them and said, “It’s not hard to get me to talk, but you have to agree to one condition.”

“You really think you’re in any position to negotiate?” Rei’s eyes were icy.

But Lily interjected, “What condition? Speak quickly!”

If the interrogator had already left over half a day ago, she was either en route or already at her destination. Lily didn’t have the luxury to waste more time on Riyuki.

“Give me payment. I want Blood Spirit Magatama.” At this point, Riyuki had already lost all dignity in front of the two young women. There was no chance of salvaging her pride. She had accomplished a great task for Takamagahara and got nothing in return, even ended up being beaten by Kuromon.

Since she didn’t intend to die for Takamagahara and couldn’t bear to submit completely to Lily, she figured if she had to spill the information, she might as well trade it for resources.

At least if she got something tangible, it wouldn’t be a complete loss for being humiliated like this.

“What?” Lily looked at her in disbelief. There was still a trace of shame and restraint in Riyuki’s expression, and Lily hadn’t expected her to ask for something like this.

“You… You shameless woman! After all that, you’re still asking for money?” Lily couldn’t comprehend her at all.

“Kagami Lily, I don’t know where you learned such powerful interrogation techniques. But no matter how skilled you are with women, all I feel is resistance. I can never truly submit to someone like you. Shameless? Yes, I am shameless. I’ve done plenty of despicable things to achieve my goals, hurt others, humiliated them. I even ruined innocent girls from the Shizutake tribe, delivering them as playthings to the nobles of Takamagahara! You think I care about extorting a little money from you?”

“You should have plenty of wealth, no? I saw it with my own eyes, you and your sisters killed Lord Shikikai and seized his treasures. I know you’re in a hurry. Think about it. That Taira no Furaku may have already reached her destination. She could already be interrogating Bishamonten. Under her methods, how long do you think Lady Bishamonten can hold out?”

“No matter how powerful she is, Bishamonten is still a woman. And all I’m asking for is a little money. For a young and powerful lady like you, this shouldn’t be an issue, should it… oh high and mighty Lady Lily?”

Riyuki stared at Lily. She had already lost all dignity in front of her, the least she could do was gain something tangible in return.

¹

“Hmph. So you want money? If I had known, we wouldn’t have wasted so much time.” Lily said coldly. “Fine. Take it.”

A small pouch appeared in Lily’s hand. She shook it before Riyuki, then turned it over.

Clink, clatter— clear, crimson Blood Spirit Magatama spilled to the ground, sparkling brilliantly in a dazzling crimson pile.

Riyuki gasped sharply. Just a rough glance told her there were over a hundred!

So this was the true strength of the noble young lady who had slain a Supreme God with her sisters. Over a hundred Blood Spirit Magatama, tossed out like pocket change. At that moment, Riyuki’s last shred of pride crumbled completely.

Why? Why was the gap between women so wide?

She had endured harassment and violence from the likes of Kuromon, struggled for centuries to earn just five Blood Spirit Magatama, and even had most of those confiscated. Yet this young, beautiful woman casually scattered over a hundred?

She didn’t know why, but the sound of those crystalline gems hitting the ground shattered her final thread of dignity. It struck harder than Lily’s Maiden’s Command Technique ever had.

Riyuki’s face burned crimson, her hair disheveled, the mocking expression gone from her face. Instead, a dazed, dreamy look overtook her. She gazed at Lily with something like yearning, at this young, beautiful, and immensely wealthy lady.

Her legs tightened instinctively, trembling as she said, “I’ll tell you. Whatever you ask, I’ll answer.”

“Taira no Furaku was escorted by the Celestial Battle Maiden Yuko. They departed east from here, heading to Yuten Castle. That’s where Bishamonten is being held.” This time, Riyuki spoke with complete honesty, revealing everything she knew.

It was just a little over a hundred Blood Spirit Magatama, less than one percent of the liquid wealth in Lily’s possession. Besides, Blood Spirit Magatama had limited value to her at this stage. She had thrown them on the ground deliberately, intending to humiliate Riyuki. Yet unexpectedly, Riyuki didn’t show the slightest embarrassment and confessed everything so readily. Had Lily known this would be the outcome, she would have simply slapped her across the face with the coin pouch instead.

“Yuten Castle? What kind of place is that?” Lily asked. “Do you have a map of Takamagahara? Show me the exact location and route to Yuten Castle.”

“What, Yuten Castle…” Lily didn’t seem particularly concerned, but from within the mirror, Rinne’s voice sounded with concern. “It’s not even one of the three places I predicted! Those people from Takamagahara are truly despicable! This complicates things…it’s an even more dangerous place than the three prisons I had considered.”

Hearing Rinne’s message, Lily began to feel uneasy as well.

But Riyuki, surprisingly cooperative now, continued to confess on her own.

“Yuten Castle is the stronghold of Amenotajikarao-no-Kami. Deep within the castle, there’s said to be a hidden, secret prison specifically for detaining women. However, I’ve never actually been inside Yuten Castle myself. Lady Lily, if you release me, I may not have a complete map of Takamagahara, but I do have one for the far eastern region where I carried out my missions. I’ll hand it over and mark the location for you.”

Thinking it through, Lily had no fear of Riyuki retaliating given the gap in strength, so she loosened the bindings.

Once free, Riyuki looked at the glimmering pile of crystals on the ground and couldn’t help but fall to her knees, scooping them up with her hands. The Blood Spirit Magatama sparkled before her eyes, and her face showed a strange mixture of bliss and contentment.

“……” Lily looked at her with disdain.

She stomped down on Riyuki’s hand as she was gathering the magatama. “Confess first. All of these are yours. What’s the rush?”

“Y-Yes, I’ll show you the map right away.” Still kneeling, Riyuki took out an aged beast-hide map. Its surface was faintly weathered and stained, perhaps passed down through generations of Celestial Battle Maidens.

She spread the map on the ground before Lily, pointing to a faint, obscure dot near the edge. “This is the floating island. Please memorize the location, my lady. Its name isn’t even labeled on most maps.”

Her slender fingers, exuding a subtle charm, traced across a portion of the map to the southeast. There, a large fortress was sketched in broad brushstrokes, so rugged and imposing that even from a crude drawing, it seemed far more fearsome than the Herikaku City.

“This is Yuten Castle. Although it would only take about seven or eight days to fly there directly, the route is riddled with raging black thunderclouds. Not even Supreme Gods dare to cut through them. For someone at the Celestial Stage, charging through would mean certain death; even a Supreme God would risk injury. The thunderclouds are laced with violent gales and chaotic flows, both are extremely dangerous weather phenomena of Takamagahara. The gales could kill even a Supreme God, while the chaotic flows might sweep one away to unknown parts of the cloud ocean, forever lost in the vast skies of Takamagahara.”

Riyuki explained all this with remarkable clarity. After all, when one is paid, one must deliver proper service, and in that, she excelled.

“If the thundercloud region is that dangerous, how do we get through it?” Rei asked.

Riyuki pulled out her lipstick and, without hesitation, drew a route directly onto the precious map, since she was handing it over anyway.

“Follow this path. Travel through these scattered Hakanajima and Hizan. Be careful, some of them are home to powerful monsters and divine beasts of the Heavenly Realm. They’re extremely hostile. However, given your strength, my lady, they shouldn’t pose much threat.”

“Also, I’ve heard that rebel Celestial Maidens operate within these treacherous zones. Be cautious.” It seemed Riyuki had slipped into considering things from her own perspective. But for Lily and her companions, the so-called Celestial Maiden rebels were clearly no threat.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Riyuki added, suddenly realizing her blunder. “Along the way, there are two major checkpoints that cannot be avoided. They’re guarded by powerful Celestial Maidens and warrior gods. You’ll need to be extremely careful.”

“Is there any way to pass through them?” Rei asked.

Riyuki shook her head. “Even Lord Kuromon would need a special dispatch order from the top to pass. I’m afraid you’ll have to figure something out on your own. I truly can’t help with that part.”

There was a trace of guilt in Riyuki’s eyes as she spoke.

“Understood. We’ll handle the checkpoints ourselves,” Lily said, and took the map into her hands.

Footnotes:

1. 
   
   

   Syl: The author really loves repeating himself…