Demon Sword Maiden

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"Miss Yoshiya!" Lily sprang into action, rushing toward the three Infernal Stage Yomi demons.

"Hmm?" A demon, its body entirely red and resembling amber, turned to face her. "Isn't this… that woman? She's actually delivered herself to us?" Surprised yet thrilled, the demon thought, "If I could have this woman… she'd be ten times better than that fallen celestial maiden!"

The demon’s body flared with Infernal Stage power as it lunged at Lily, its enormous ghostly claws reaching out, not to strike, but to seize her.

"Out of my way!" Lily drew Oborozuki Muramasa, releasing a radiant arc of lunar blade light.

One of the demon’s ghostly claws was severed! The red demon’s eyes widened in terror as it stared at Lily, its bright yellow eyes quivering. "You… you're a Celestial Stage adept?"

As it retreated, the demon attempted to regenerate its arm using divine power, but to its shock, it was impossible. The moon’s energy not only blocked regeneration but also drained its divine power mercilessly.

"How can this be!?" cried the red demon. Meanwhile, the rhinoceros-headed demon and another gaunt creature with a single green eye and gray skin, both of the Infernal Stage, turned in stunned disbelief.

The shock was even more profound among the Asura and Rakshasa followers, especially Renka. She knew Lily’s abilities intimately from their time in the Rakshasa dojo. It was impossible for her to have concealed such strength. How could Lily have transformed so drastically in just a few days?

"This can't be happening!" Renka muttered, sweat forming on her brow. That red demon was a powerful Infernal Stage opponent, possibly stronger than herself. If she had been facing three such demons, she could have ended up just like the fallen celestial maiden—captured and helpless.

Yet Lily, who had once been so easily handled by Renka, had now severed a demon’s arm with a single strike. Even if the demon had underestimated her, Renka had to admit—Lily’s strength now surpassed her own.

Renka had seen Lily, from a distance, grievously wound the Sovereign—an authority figure among the Yomi beings, even if on the lower spectrum of power. The Sovereign had wielded a weapon designed specifically to subdue female warriors, yet Lily had still managed to severely injure him.

"This Kagami Lily… she’s terrifying," Renka thought. "Normally she acts so weak, earning sympathy from Her Highness Rakshasa. But when it comes to killing, she’s decisive and ruthless! Where is this strength coming from? I’ll have to be more cautious around her…"

The rhinoceros demon summoned a pair of massive golden hammers and swung them at Lily. A single blow from one of these hammers could shatter mountains in Yomi and rupture the rivers of the underworld.

Lily could sense that contending with those hammers would be troublesome. Though she could withstand them, their slow speed made it unnecessary to risk engaging directly.

Just as she prepared to dodge, she realized the swing of the hammers carried a force that constricted the surrounding space, restricting her movements.

With a surge of effort, Lily narrowly evaded the blow, though the gust from the golden hammer sent her clothes whipping about, revealing flashes of her body—much to her embarrassment.

Lily quickly realized that, despite their slow speed, the hammers could constrict space around them, making them difficult to dodge. If not for her powerful physique, allowing her to break through the constraints, she would have been at a serious disadvantage.

Next, the emaciated demon with its ever-watchful green eye extended its limbs, now covered in spiky, bamboo-like blades that stretched hundreds of meters. The barbed appendages slashed toward Lily with vicious intent.

Lily prepared to dodge, but the golden hammers descended once more, their space-constraining power even more potent. Evading the hammers was nearly impossible, not to mention the spiky blades advancing from behind.

With no other option, Lily raised her Oborozuki Muramasa to meet the dual hammers head-on.

Simultaneously, she unfurled her Sakura Parasol, using it to shield her from the attack behind.

The hammers crashed down on her blade, sending a jarring shockwave through Lily's arms, filling them with searing pain.

The majority of the spiky blades were deflected by the Sakura Parasol, but one managed to tear through Lily’s skirt, grazing her pale thigh and leaving a red mark. Though her strong defenses limited the damage, the sharp pain was intense enough to bring cold sweat to her brow. Yet, Lily endured the pain in silence, refusing to cry out. To cry in the face of a man’s attack would symbolize weakness, powerlessness, and humiliation—Lily would not give them that satisfaction.

“No wonder Miss Yoshiya was captured by these three Infernal demons,” Lily thought urgently. “Their coordination is formidable, making them difficult to face all at once!”

At that moment, the demon with the severed arm produced a chain flail, twirling it through the air, whipping up gusts of wind as it prepared to strike. Facing three opponents at once, even Lily knew it would be hard to manage. Though victory wasn’t impossible, it would be a grueling fight.

"Hey! Are you really just going to stand by while a sister of the Rakshasa dojo is bullied by these creatures?" Rakshasa-Onna called out from high above, her voice carrying across the battlefield. Though she wouldn’t normally interfere in a fight between Infernal Stages unless absolutely necessary, seeing Lily ganged up on clearly irked her.

Renka hesitated, but Isshiki and another captain of the Rakshasa dojo immediately responded to the command. Isshiki’s straight sword shimmered into a streak of cyan light as it slashed toward the red demon, while the other captain’s twin scimitars spun, creating golden ripples that sliced toward the bamboo-bladed demon.

In an instant, the three-on-one battle shifted into a three-on-three. Now facing the rhinoceros demon’s golden hammers, Lily seized the initiative. The spatial constraining power of the hammers diminished significantly once she switched to the offensive, allowing her to evade more easily.

Lily’s powerful strike caused the rhinoceros demon’s teeth to rattle violently, blood seeping from its mouth as her blow tore through its divine body.

Renka, unwilling to hesitate further, joined Isshiki in attacking the red demon. "Women of the Rakshasa dojo! We’ve no quarrel with you! Why side with that woman against us?" The red demon, already injured, dared not stand against two captains of the Rakshasa dojo and began retreating, shouting as it did.

“This woman is a member of the Hundred Maidens, personally recruited by the Rakshasa dojo and the Asura dojo! Do you think we’ll let you harm her?” Captain Isshiki snapped back.

“The Hundred Maidens?” The three Infernal demons were visibly taken aback.

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you say so sooner?” the rhinoceros demon growled, grinding its teeth. The captains from the Asura dojo hadn’t even acted yet, and if a real fight erupted, they’d be in serious trouble.

“Let’s retreat!” The rhinoceros demon swung its golden hammers, releasing a wave of spatial constriction to hold back Lily and the others before turning to flee. The other two demons followed in haste.

Lily and the captains chose not to pursue. Lily hurried to the ancient wooden rack, slicing through the ropes that bound Yoshiya, freeing her.

“Lynne…” Yoshiya gazed at her in disbelief. It hadn’t been long since they last met, yet Lily’s strength had increased so dramatically.

“Miss Yoshiya, are you okay?”

“If not for your timely arrival, I… I don’t know what would have happened…” Yoshiya’s eyes brimmed with tears as she grabbed Lily’s sleeve. “But never mind me! Hurry, you must go help the Queen!”

"Where is she?"

“She’s in the Banjo Female Prison Hell, roughly six or seven hundred miles west of here! I was on my way to help Her Majesty, knowing she was in dire straits, when those three ambushed and captured me. Lily, I can sense Her Majesty’s location—follow me!”

“Then lead us quickly!” Lily urged.

“Lynne?” Rakshasa-Onna, who had been following leisurely behind, called out in mild confusion.

Though ordered by the madam to assist in the battle, Rakshasa-Onna couldn’t help but feel a sense of reluctance. She was willing to help the Queen, but the prospect of possibly facing Wakarai again did little to excite her. After all, his strength was formidable.

“Lynne, those three took all my treasures… Do you… have any Blood Spirit Magatama?” Yoshiya asked, guilt evident in her voice. “Could you lend me a few? I promise I’ll return them to you.”

“Don’t mention it, Miss Yoshiya. Just take this and use it.” Lily tossed a large Blood Spirit Magatama towards her.

“This… this is a Great Magatama!” Yoshiya’s eyes sparkled with gratitude.

She gratefully accepted the magatama, quickly absorbing the divine power within. Though the recovery process using Blood Spirit Magatama was not fast, it was sufficient to restore enough of her strength to maintain full-speed flight.

Meanwhile, Lily was darting swiftly between rocks and boulders. The several hundred miles to their destination were covered in mere moments.

As they passed through deep ravines and jagged wilderness, a terrifying surge of power erupted ahead. It was more fearsome than a raging inferno—thunder roared across the sky, the earth shook violently, and waves of force leveled the surrounding peaks and rocky spires.

Boom—

General Chiya, her clothes in tatters, was struck by a ferocious lightning bolt and hurled into a deep ravine. Her hair was disheveled, her aura weakened, and her body barely clothed, with only a broken sword left in her hand. Yet, with sparks still crackling around her, she stubbornly rose to her feet. “Release the Queen! Let her go!” she shouted, defiantly clutching the broken blade.

In the sky above, Wakarai, his form composed entirely of lightning, hovered menacingly. “Hehehe, General Chiya, you can barely stand, yet you still worry about others? Your defeat is inevitable. Soon, you’ll both be our prisoners! Once they capture Kagami Lily, everything will fall into place,” Wakarai laughed, his body riddled with wounds from the long battle, but his overwhelming presence and confidence remained unshaken.

A few miles away, Umashi had bound the Queen’s ankles with an ancient dark chain. But despite this, the Queen continued to resist, soaring into the sky as she wielded her golden jade branch, firing divine spells at him.

Umashi, wearing enormous golden-orange gauntlets, effortlessly dispelled the Queen’s weakened attacks with a mere wave of his hand. With a firm grip on the chain, he yanked it violently, attempting to drag the Queen closer while she fought desperately to resist mid-air.

Umashi unleashed a massive palm strike. The force hit the Queen, tearing through her sacred robe, exposing her snow-white legs, arms, and revealing the straps of her purple undergarments.

“Hahaha! It’s over! Your divine defenses are finally shattered!” Umashi laughed triumphantly, his thick lips curling in satisfaction. “My Queen! You are mine now!”