Demon Sword Maiden

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The energy swelled rapidly, forming nine grotesque, pitch-black wyverns. Their beady eyes shimmered with hypnotic light, aimed to shatter a woman's will. As they opened their bloodstained maws, thick purple mist poured out in heavy waves.

"Be careful! Don't breathe in the purple gas! Even we could lose control!" Riyuki warned as she and the other Celestial Maidens swiftly retreated. They formed defensive formations and channeled divine energy in an attempt to block the spreading haze.

This gas was no ordinary miasma. It expanded with uncanny speed, crawling across space as though it had a will of its own.

Lily weaved between the wyverns, avoiding their strikes while lashing back with counterattacks. But during her movement, some of the gas slipped into her lungs. Her body began to heat up and a flush crept across her cheeks, though it was nothing compared to the potency of the Fragrance-Breaker Pill.

With sharp, fluid motions, Lily swung Oborozuki Muramasa, sending out waves of hazy lunar blade energy. Two wyverns were nearly beheaded by the cascading strikes.

"Interesting. A mere third-stage Sword Heavenly Path has this much force? So this is the famed lunar energy. Fascinating," Lord Shikikai remarked, his tone both impressed and amused.

The nine wyverns were not living creatures but manifestations summoned through the Lord's weapon. Though two were damaged, they quickly regenerated when infused with his divine energy. They circled Lily, lunging and snapping, forcing her to split her focus between dodging and striking back. All the while, she endured waves of mystical power designed to afflict women.

These attacks could not overwhelm Lily's mind or fully break her concentration, but their cumulative effect gradually suppressed her power. She was formidable, yet still fell short of a true Supreme God's might.

'This cursed artifact of his is such a nuisance,' Lily thought as she darted through the air, her form flashing between wyverns. Even when she decapitated one of their heads, they would regenerate moments later. Worse still, the Lord's divine energy reserves seemed almost limitless.

Riyuki let out a cold laugh. "This Lily… her sword looks like something a Celestial Battle Maiden would carry, and it's a fine blade. But the Lord's Nine-Headed Wyvern and Black-Gold Nugo Bangle are Kunitsukami Divine Artifacts. Compared to those, her weapon is inferior, and her strength doesn't even come close. It's only a matter of time before she's subdued."

"Divine Artifact… Kunitsukami level?" Lily was taken aback. She had little understanding of Divine Artifacts. She knew that Rei's Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and Shimizu's Murasame-Anko were such weapons, and that she too possessed powerful treasures. Her Oborozuki Muramasa had grown stronger after absorbing Anima from Infernal elites, but at best it remained a Pinnacle Spirit Artifact. Compared to a true Divine Artifact, it was lacking.

Even so, Lily could feel it. Her own blades were still far weaker than Rei's Divine Sword. And more importantly, she was not yet strong enough to draw out their full potential.

'His power surpasses mine, and my weapons can't match his. I can't kill him like this. How can I land a real blow?' Lily thought as she continued to dodge and strike.

'Not good!' Her body began to heat up again, and her movements faltered. Even with her strength, she couldn't shrug off the effects of so many attacks tailored to harm women like her.

Lily ducked beneath a wyvern's strike, then narrowly slipped past a flurry of whips and snapping jaws. Stepping onto scattered cherry blossom petals, she propelled herself toward the Lord in a desperate charge.

"Go!" the Lord barked, flinging the Black-Gold Nugo Bangle at her with a heavy sweep of his arm.

The bangle shot through the air with terrifying force, spinning like a black comet. Its energy twisted the space around it, creating a pressure that seemed to warp the world itself as it flew toward Lily.

"He's fast!"

Lily had no choice but to retreat. Unable to get close, she flashed to the top of the cavern and drew Himiko's longbow. She loosed three arrows in rapid succession, each imbued with lunar energy potent enough to wound even a god.

The Lord failed to dodge in time. One arrow struck his chest, another grazed his arm. He slapped them aside with brute force, dismissing their impact, but the embedded lunar energy dug deep into his thick hide and sinew, inflicting damage that he couldn't ignore.

"Impressive. This woman is more troublesome than I expected."

The black wyverns lunged once more. Lily evaded with full effort and repositioned herself, ready to nock another arrow.

A heavy thud echoed through the cavern as something massive connected. The Black-Gold Nugo Bangle, dense and devastating, struck her from behind, slamming directly into her waist.

The world spun around Lily as searing pain shot through her waist. Had her body not possessed the resilience of a Supreme God, the blow would have killed her outright. A lesser Celestial Maiden would have perished instantly.

Lily let out a sharp cry. That one blow drained her energy almost entirely. Just as her lunar energy was lethal to divine and demonic beings, the Black-Gold Nugo Bangle was tailored to devastate women like her.

Her body collapsed mid-air, and for a fleeting second, she lost control over her limbs completely.

"Bind her!"

The nine wyverns darted toward her. In an instant, they coiled around her waist, neck, chest, and thighs, binding her with force from every angle.

"No!" Lily cried out as a wyvern caught her wrist. The whip lashed across her arm, its brutal force knocking Oborozuki Muramasa from her grip and severing her flow of spirit power.

"Damn it!" she hissed. Her pride would never allow her to submit. Gritting her teeth, she fought back with everything she had. The black wyverns quivered as cracks began to split across their hardened forms.

"So much resistance from such a frail woman!"

The bangle came flying once more. Bound tightly and drained, Lily was unable to avoid the incoming blow.

The bangle smashed into her again and again—chest, spine, stomach. The brutal impacts sent shocks through her entire body. Her heart faltered from the chest strike, her back arched in agony, and the blow to her stomach violently shook her Spirit Palace. Her spirit energy scattered, dangerously unstable.

Lily cried out as her body slackened. The blow had struck the core of her Spirit Palace, robbing her of nearly all strength.

A wyvern slithered around her throat while another yanked her hair upward. Her face tilted up in pain, her expression full of anguish. But her eyes held no surrender.

"Now, show me that face," the Lord said coldly. With a flick of his hand, a pulse of divine energy tore the veil away.

Beneath the veil was a face so breathtaking it could stir the heavens, shake the underworld, and silence all who beheld it.

"What a sight…" The Lord froze midair, eyes wide as he hovered closer. His gaze dulled with awe, clearly entranced by Lily's beauty.

"I knew it," Riyuki muttered. The moment she saw Lily's unveiled face, recognition struck her. It perfectly matched the face etched into Takamagahara's wanted records, though in person, her beauty was far beyond any drawing.

"You… You're Kagami Lily! Mirror Girl!" Riyuki pointed with shock. "Ranked twenty-seventh on Takamagahara's most wanted list!"

Unbeknownst to Lily, her feats in Yomi-no-kuni—slaying powerhouses and injuring Banjo from the Female Prison Hell—had been reported to Takamagahara. As a result, her bounty ranking had recently been raised.

"What?" The Lord blinked in surprise. "She's on Takamagahara's bounty list?"

Riyuki pulled a glowing talisman from her sleeve. With a flick of her fingers, an official bounty poster unfolded in midair.

"Please take a look, my Lord. I had doubts from the beginning, but couldn't place her. Now it's clear. This woman is none other than Mirror Girl Lily, a dangerous fugitive sought by Takamagahara!" Riyuki declared.

"Fifty-eight thousand Blood Spirit Magatama," the Lord chuckled. "Even for me, that's a handsome reward." His eyes gleamed with greed.

Riyuki's heart sank with sudden regret. All she had needed was to bring the Lord to Takamagahara to handle Bishamonten. Had she known Lily's true identity earlier, she could have lured her into the heavens, captured her, and claimed the bounty herself. That would have been far more rewarding.

Although the bounty paled in comparison to Bishamonten's Divinity, even if she inherited that title, it would take centuries to accumulate such wealth. Letting that prize slip through her fingers stung.

"Heh. Miss Riyuki," the Lord said smugly, "you offered Lily as tribute. You're not thinking of taking that back, are you?"

Riyuki clenched her fists. As much as she wanted to protest, she knew it was useless here. This was his domain. Defying him now would only cause more trouble.

"Of course not," she answered through gritted teeth. "But Kagami Lily is still a wanted criminal. When the time comes, I ask that you deliver her to Takamagahara for judgment."

"They want her alive, not untouched," the Lord grinned, his voice dripping with malice. "I doubt they care what happens before she gets there."

Riyuki forced a nod. "So long as she's still breathing, do what you must. When the time comes, bring her to Takamagahara. The bounty is yours, dead or alive." Her voice was steady, but inside, she was seething. Fifty-eight thousand Blood Spirit Magatama, gone just like that.

Lily's face was flushed, a mixture of sorrow and shame painted across her features. Yet her thoughts remained sharp and composed.

Her blade was gone, and her limbs were bound, but her mirror remained secured at her waist. If there was no other option, she would call upon her senior sister. That would at least preserve her life and dignity.

But Lily knew the cost. If her senior sister intervened again, she might fall into another deep slumber. That outcome could only be accepted as a last resort.

"Sister Shimizu! Please answer me. Can you hear me? Where are you?" Lily called out in her heart, pleading for a response.

"Lily… I'm sorry," came Shimizu's quiet voice, tinged with pain.

"Sister Shimizu?" Lily gasped. Her voice trembled. "Please, can you sense where I am? I need you. Hurry, come to me!"