Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 13 - Takamagahara: Chapter 8 - Amidst the Thunderclouds

Because Lily had previously used the Maiden’s Command Technique on Riyuki, she was able to sense fluctuations in Riyuki’s soul. While it wasn’t absolute, Lily could roughly judge from the resonance of her soul, along with her expression and spirit, that Riyuki wasn’t lying.

“Riyuki, you may have committed a grave mistake, but since I’ve promised not to kill you, I won’t go back on my word. For the sake of training, I’ve also done things by any means necessary—perhaps, in that sense, I’m no better than you. However, I would never lay a hand on fellow sisters of the same race,” Lily declared coldly, standing tall and aloof.

“…Can I pick up that money now?” Riyuki asked hopefully. Yet from the look in her eyes, Lily caught a glimpse of hidden sorrow.

Riyuki wasn’t greedy for wealth. She was simply obsessed with achieving greatness on the path of training.

What Lily didn’t know was that if Riyuki had been given better opportunities or more treasures, she could have become stronger. Then, she could have lived freely, unshackled, without oppression. Perhaps, her beloved wouldn’t have died…

Watching Riyuki crawl on the ground, obsessively gathering the scattered coins, Lily couldn’t help but feel disgusted.

Though they had been enemies, these Celestial Maidens were still part of a persecuted people. What else could they do? Resist? Not everyone had Lily’s fortune or talent. For ordinary women, resistance often only led to more tragic ends. If every Celestial Maiden had chosen to resist unto death, perhaps their entire race would have already been wiped out…

“Riyuki, are you really planning to spend your whole life living in such humiliation, like a slave?” Lily asked.

But Riyuki had already finished gathering the coins. “Thank you, my lady… with this money, I can become stronger… I can…” She trailed off, unable to finish her words.

“You… take care of yourself.” Lily left those words behind, turned around, flipped her long hair, and departed the room with Rei.

Although Rei still held anger toward Riyuki, she didn’t question Lily’s decision. In her eyes, Riyuki was nothing more than a weapon, just a tool in the hands of the true enemy. Taking revenge on such a person felt meaningless.

Once again, Riyuki was left alone in her room.

“One hundred thirty-seven Blood Spirit Magatama…” Riyuki clutched the money to her chest. “It’s still better to debase myself in front of a woman… than to do so before a man…”

Lily’s question had indeed struck a chord in Riyuki’s heart.

Yes… was this truly all a Celestial Maiden like her could hope for in life? To live in constant fear, beneath eternal oppression? Should she take this money, venture out, take risks, and pursue her path? Or even…shamelessly beg Lily to take her along?

It wasn’t like Riyuki hadn’t thought about it.

But although Lily looked wealthy, free, and unrestrained, a woman like her truly walked a razor’s edge. Her every step was like treading on thin ice. One misstep, and she could be captured, like Bishamonten was, and made an enemy of all Takamagahara. No matter how rich or powerful, what good would it do?

At least staying here, even while suffering pain, humiliation, and coercion, was relatively safe. Only then would money and treasure still hold meaning.

Riyuki made her decision. She would continue living in humiliation and remain here in service.

After leaving Riyuki’s room, Lily and Rei did not linger in the fortress. They immediately slipped out and, following the map Riyuki had provided, headed in the direction of Yuten Castle.

“We need to speed up as much as possible. That female interrogator left only half a day ahead of us. If we can catch up with them en route, all the better,” Lily said as she raced through the massive trees.

“Even if we manage to intercept that female interrogator, it might not stop Takamagahara from using other means to torment Mother,” Rei replied, her gaze intense.

“Sister Uesugi, since we’ve come this far, we must rescue Lady Bishamonten before we return. If we can intercept the female interrogator, at the very least we’ll gain a bit more time to look for an opportunity,” Lily said. Her determination to save Bishamonten was no less than Rei’s.

“Lily…” Rei looked at her and smiled with satisfaction.

The two soared between the massive trees, moving in perfect harmony like wings in flight.

“Lily, your judgment is sound,” Rinne’s voice echoed telepathically. “If you can intercept the female interrogator en route, you’ll buy more time. As for Yuten Castle, with your current strength, even without the reinforcements of the rest of Takamagahara, it’s not a place you can break into by force.”

“What? Senior Sister, is Yuten Castle really that well defended?” Lily asked.

“Yuten Castle houses some of the fiercest elites among the Heroic Gods of Takamagahara. They are one of the three core forces of Takamagahara’s male deities. But what makes it even harder is their leader, Ame-no-Tajikarao,” Rinne replied, with a trace of helplessness in her tone at the mention of his name.

“Senior Sister, just how powerful is this Ame-no-Tajikarao? Don’t tell me he’s a Great Imperial God?”

“No, not quite. But among the Supreme Gods, Ame-no-Tajikarao is one of the few whose power comes closest to that of the Great Imperial Gods! Even the former Boundless Imperial Princess had no choice but to retreat when facing him,” Rinne explained gravely.

“What? Even the Imperial Princess back then wasn’t a match for Ame-no-Tajikarao?” Lily was genuinely shaken now. Though she had the strength to contend with ten Supreme Gods, she still lacked confidence when it came to facing the former Imperial Princess.

“How… how could this Ame-no-Tajikarao be so powerful?” Lily asked, a hint of worry in her tone.

“Ame-no-Tajikarao’s greatest strength lies in his body. Relying solely on his brutal physical strength, he can easily tear apart ordinary Supreme Gods. His name means ‘Heavenly Hand Power’—and those hands of his are said to rival the mightiest divine weapons of Takamagahara. Not only is his strength boundless, but his power is also inexhaustible. He once tore a Supreme God to pieces using nothing but raw strength, without invoking any divine power,” Rinne explained.

Hearing Rinne’s description, Lily couldn’t help but feel a chill in her heart. She hadn’t imagined there could be such a terrifying Heroic God.

“Lily, although your physical body is also quite strong, compared to Ame-no-Tajikarao, you’re still far from his level. If you tried to compete with him physically, it’d be like a graceful and beautiful young woman challenging a hulking, iron-bodied giant,” Rinne said.

“In terms of physical strength alone, even the legendary Great Imperial Gods may not surpass this brute,” she added with a heavy tone.

“That’s why… having Bishamonten imprisoned in Yuten Castle is even worse than being held in any of the three great prisons. Right now, it’s nearly impossible for you to defeat Ame-no-Tajikarao in a head-on fight. On top of that, he has many formidable subordinates, and Yuten Castle itself is a fortress even more heavily defended than Herikaku City.”

“I understand, Senior Sister. I’ll move faster,” Lily said.

But no matter how fast Lily wanted to go, Rei was still only at the Big Dipper level, how fast could she possibly be?

Although they still had the Hachiwan chariot, the Inugami that pulled it had been left behind in Herikaku City to watch over the sisters. Lily had no other vehicle fast enough. Besides, using a carriage openly or flying through the skies while dragging Rei behind her would make them too easy to spot.

“Forget it! Sister Uesugi, let me carry you. I’ll fly us both there to catch up!” Though she said it casually, Lily knew this would hurt Rei’s pride. But there was no time to worry about that now.

Rei’s reaction was the same, she was disappointed, but she knew she had to agree. “All right. I’m counting on you.” Compared to her mother’s safety and dignity, what did her image as the elder sister in front of Lily even matter?

And so, Lily took Rei in her arms and soared into the sky. She unleashed her divine power and shot forward like a streak of silver light.

Among all the lunar forces, the Silver Lunar Force was the fastest. And with Rei by her side, the effect of her Silver Lunar Force became even stronger. Lily’s speed was truly astonishing!

In a flash, they flew past Mokuri’s Hakanajima, racing across the skies that spanned 500,000 km.

They didn’t even stop by the next floating island. Lily carried Rei straight past it, heading toward Yuten Castle. She had already memorized the route by heart. In this boundless sea of drifting clouds, the cloud formations constantly shifted and changed. They looked nearly identical in all directions. For someone like Rei, trying to memorize the route and navigate was hellishly difficult, but Lily could do it.

On one of the floating islands, two guards of the Jōun Tenson Clan stood watch on a stone platform.

“Bro, the Wraithfowls in this area have been appearing more often. A few of the village kids were already taken,” said the younger guard, staring into the vast cloud sea.

“Yes, we need to strengthen our vigilance and keep a close eye on the sky,” the older one replied.

The Jōun Tenson Clan was said to be descended from the royal family of the Heian Dynasty, one branch of the Tenson lineage. Back then, the Tenson, as descendants of the gods, had split during a time of turmoil. One group ascended to Takamagahara with the deities and had lived here for generations. In the social hierarchy of Takamagahara, they had no status at all, classified as the lowest of the low, even beneath legally recognized Celestial Maidens.

Just as the two were on patrol—

Suddenly.

“Bro! Look! What… what is that?!”

“What the…?”

They saw a streak of silver moonlight flash across the skies above Takamagahara. Moments later, it had already vanished without a trace. The two guards stared, mouths agape.

“A god! That must have been an incredibly powerful god!” the younger guard exclaimed.

“Haha… seems like we’re in luck today. We got to witness a powerful god fly past,” said the older one.

However, not every floating island that Lily and Rei flew over would view them with such awe. As they passed over a pitch-black mountain, a group of tengu flapped their dark wings and gave chase, shouting furiously. Armed with all sorts of weapons, they shot arrows and cast spells toward Lily and Rei.

But all of these spells were blocked by Lily’s domain power, and she flew faster than their arrows. In no time, they had lost her trail.

At such high speeds, even if they were spotted, it didn’t mean they’d be identified. Nor would it necessarily alert Takamagahara’s authorities. Most would not immediately suspect them to be enemies of the realm.

This breakneck flight was exhausting, but Lily had divine power like the sea, and her body was in peak condition, she could easily endure it. In fact, it was Rei, being pulled along, who suffered more. But how could Rei possibly show weakness in front of Lily? She endured it no matter what.

At this pace, they might really catch up.

Lily burst through a mass of white mist. In the distance, the horizon looked like a towering black continent rising from the ground, connecting heaven and earth. It was an endless expanse of thunderclouds.

The heavens and earth quaked. Thunder roared. Within the clouds, terrifying flashes of lightning burst forth, each one emanating power far beyond even the full might of a Supreme God’s attack, some even dozens of times stronger.