Demon Sword Maiden

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Yaiba thrust his sword into the ground, his grayish-white hair wildly flying about, as rock spikes resembling giant dragon fangs thrust towards Lily. She waved her hand, a misty blade of moonlight slicing through all the rock spikes, turning them to ash. From within the ash, an empty space appeared, and Yaiba charged through.

Boom! Yaiba swung his sword, the blade's light carrying the fractured vibrations of the earth, resembling the rugged lines of barren mountains, full of vigor and unyielding strength. Lily, with her feathered robe fluttering, dodged like a butterfly, her form elusive. Her speed was too fast, her movements too swift.

Yaiba's eyes widened in disbelief. How could this woman be so fast and possess such immense strength? It was as if she embodied the ultimate form of combat, integrating strength, speed, and skill. His own swordsmanship was highly advanced, and to prevent Lily from counterattacking, he swiftly swung his sword backward while turning mid-air, attempting to push Lily back.

However, Lily anticipated his intent. With just a slight step back in mid-air, a blade of light carrying the marks of barren stones brushed past a short distance from her waist. In truth, such a light slash wouldn't injure Lily given her current spiritual defense and physical condition; at most, it would feel like a whip on her fair skin, but Lily preferred not to be hit unnecessarily.

After dodging his slash, she countered with a horizontal swing of her own, her blade of hazy moonlight effortless and light. Yaiba, however, didn't possess such agile movements.

Pfft! Her slash grazed Yaiba's shoulder, light yet inflicting a significant wound. This gentle cut also drained some of Yaiba's divine power.

"Argh! You, you…" Previously injured by Lily, whom he thought was far inferior in strength, he considered it a fluke. But now, the force behind her gentle slash was so intense, causing no small damage to his divine form. It was as if her power was naturally god-slaying.

After receiving this slash, Yaiba hastily retreated. Lily's exquisite movement and superior swordsmanship were one thing, but the strength within her blade's edge presented an unprecedented danger to him.

"Ugh…" Yaiba clutched his bleeding shoulder, "Who exactly are you? What are your intentions? Why hide your strength?"

To others like Jamako, Lily hiding her strength could be speculated upon, but to Yaiba, it made no sense. He had personally captured Lily months ago, and there was no indication nor reason for her to hide her strength then. So why had Lily suddenly become so strong? Why did she bizarrely pretend to be captured time and again, and why reveal her strength now?

"I have no obligation to explain to you," Lily stood at a distance, launching an attack through the air.

"Moonlight!"

Lily's understanding of the Lunar Heavenly Path had dramatically deepened and broadened, allowing her more fluid control over the moon's power, achieving an intuitive and spontaneous mastery. This moonlight was a technique Lily created on the fly, integrating her insights into the Lunar Heavenly Path. It compensated for her longsword's lack of long-distance, rapid thrusting capabilities. Quicker and more concealed than her slashing blade beam, it was less powerful but faster!

As fast as a flash, a beam of moonlight shot towards Yaiba. He desperately dodged, but his left arm was still hit, leaving a horrific wound that was difficult to heal. The advantages of Empyrean Stage powerhouses, when facing Lily's lunar force, became very unclear, even turning into a disadvantage. The lunar force inflicted greater damage on beings from Yomi and Takamagahara than on ordinary fighters.

"Enough! Thinking about these things will only disturb my blade!" Having been through countless battles, Yaiba had come to a realization in that moment. "From now on, I will no longer see you as a woman, a fleeing slave! You are my life-and-death adversary on the path of the sword!" Yaiba declared loudly.

Boom! Waves of yellow Yomi power surged as flames, Yaiba burning his divine power, significantly amplifying his might compared to usual.

Lily's gaze grew solemn, her sword pointing at Yaiba, "Just for that remark, I will take you down seriously!"

"Arrogant! That's not how a woman should behave!" Yaiba erupted with all his strength, charging towards Lily.

"Have you gone senile? Have you forgotten what you just said?" Lily didn't dodge in the face of Yaiba's mountain-splitting strike; instead, she chose to confront him head-on!

Her Oborozuki Muramasa, swift and fierce, whipped up endless gusts.

"Arcane Moon!" The bright, dazzling, and stunningly beautiful blade of Arcane Lunar Force met Yaiba’s blade in a clash!

"Ah!" Yaiba felt as if his old yet still resilient bones were about to shatter. An undeniable force from the clash sent him flying backward.

Pfft! He spat out a mist of blood, with multiple internal organs shattered, his body tumultuously overturning, countless bones cracked, and meridians injured. This strike's fierce tremor and the moon's vibrations depleted over twenty percent of Yaiba's divine power!

And using divine power for healing would consume even more, besides being difficult to recover from. Yaiba did not possess a divinity. Although his strength might have been stronger than Jamako's, he lacked divine protection for his vitals.

Lily's blade wielded such might that, had it directly hit a vital spot, Yaiba likely wouldn't have withstood even a single strike!

Yaiba flew thousands of meters, landing on a distant hill, coughing up blood profusely, with blood seeping from many parts of his strong body and severe internal injuries.

"Cough… cough… Just the recoil from two strikes holds such power, Kagami Lily…" Yaiba lifted his head, only to see Lily standing on a stone pillar opposite him, looking stunningly beautiful and unharmed.

"To think it would come to this; not only are this woman's sword strikes so powerful, but her physical resilience far surpasses mine…" Yaiba admitted, "Kagami Lily, I am not your match… But between you and me today, only one can live! Even if I were to win against you, I wouldn't take you as a slave to present to Wakarai. Because, without a resolve to face death, harboring even the slightest hesitation in my heart, I will definitely not be able to defeat you!"

Lily raised her Oborozuki Muramasa, "If you can respect your opponent, then I will give you respect as well."

"Hehehe, Kagami Lily, I didn't expect that in my twilight years, with breaking through to the realm of Supreme God beyond hope, I would encounter such an incredible opponent. A woman, unbelievably disguised as a Big Dipper Stage fighter. To this day, I cannot understand it, but at this moment, I no longer wish to know! Because from now on, only one of us can survive! This answer is irrelevant to both you and me!"

"Behold the strongest technique I've grasped in my lifetime!" The ground shook as Yaiba unleashed a torrential surge of Yomi flames, transforming into a bright yellow figure of a hellish demon, his prayer beads scattering. Twelve heavy prayer beads, like twelve stars, revolved around him.

Boom! Yaiba, along with the giant demon figure, charged at Lily, his blade gathering terrifying divine flames, while the demon phantom also wielded a sword of divine flames. The twelve stars, a top-tier spiritual treasure, raced towards Lily ahead of Yaiba. They aimed not at Lily's vital points but at her joints and limbs, intending to impede her movements just enough for Yaiba's ultimate move to clinch victory by a hair's breadth.

"Hmph!" At that moment, Lily, her face serious, responded with a cold laugh.

Perhaps your strength far surpasses that man's, but your so-called combat techniques are far inferior to his.

"That man, he's a true demon god who could even use his soul as a hidden weapon! Do you have such resolve?"

Lily, with a shout of defiance, leapt up, her movements elusive and agile. Like dancing in the sky, she dodged all twelve prayer beads in a succession of movements that flowed like water, resembling a dance routine. Amidst her dance, Lily evaded all the beads and met Yaiba head-on.

"Behold my ultimate strike— Yaksha Infernal Transformation1!" With the giant demon phantom behind him, Yaiba's blade descended!

Lily’s Oborozuki Muramasa, with just a few meters of movement, unleashed a blade light stretching tens of thousands of meters! Moonlight swirled within that blade, embodying the essence of the moon’s eternal cycle.

With a resounding crack, Oborozuki Muramasa cleaved through Yaiba’s battle-worn sword, unleashing a blade light that relentlessly struck Yaiba.

Pfft! The robust old man seemed to be pierced through by a crescent moon from the heavens.

"Ah…" The tens of thousands of meters of crescent moon blade light turned into a thin arc, gradually disappearing. Yaiba remained suspended in midair, a huge hole in his chest.

"I've lost…" Suddenly convulsing, he fell powerlessly to the ground. The demon swordsman Yaiba, who had made a name for himself in Yomi with a broken sword, couldn't have imagined his life would end this way just minutes before.

Lily, accompanied by a few cherry blossoms, gently landed, sheathing her silver-glittering Oborozuki Muramasa.

"Cough… cough…" Yaiba, lying on the ground, coughing up blood, his aged hand trembling as he reached towards Lily, "Kagami Lily, the beauty of your swordsmanship… is no less than your visage."

“……”

"Kagami… cough… cough… you might already possess the qualifications to stand alongside the top existences within Yomi, or perhaps, you're still a bit short. I, an old man, can no longer judge. Honestly, at this moment, I do not wish for you to fall into the hands of a powerful being and become a slave to beauty due to your looks… You have overcome my swordsmanship; I hope you can go further on the path of the sword…"

"No one can enslave me. I know which path I should take, where I should go," Lily answered with a calm spirit.

"Kagami Lily…" Yaiba suddenly convulsed, trying to lift his blood-soaked hand to rise halfway, and asked, "That technique you just used, it was truly exquisite… what is its name? Could you let me know? This is my last wish…"

Lily, with a touch of detachment and sorrow, looked at him, slightly shaking her head as her long hair fluttered in the wind of the ancient battlefield.

"I'm sorry… that technique was an impromptu insight I had; I haven't had the chance to think of a name yet." Saying this, Lily walked past Yaiba with her long strides, heading into the vast wasteland.

Pfft— Yaiba spat out a more tumultuous stream of blood, convulsed violently, his eyes rolling back, and fell to the ground, dead.