Demon Sword Maiden

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Lord Shikikai had dwelled within the Hekiraku Realm for countless years and understood its power intimately. Yet now, he realized with dread that this power no longer responded to him. It had begun flowing elsewhere.

That power now gathered around the young woman before him, her dark blue hair flowing as she hovered in the air. In that moment, he sensed it clearly—she had become the center of the Hekiraku Realm.

"Impossible! How… how can this be?" Lord Shikikai cried, trembling in disbelief. Even without the realm's support, his divine energy remained vast, yet Shimizu's first strike had wounded him so severely that he found it nearly impossible to recover.

"Hmph. You're nothing more than a native born of this realm, a creature of lust and darkness," Shimizu said coldly. Without warning, her figure blurred into a streak of black light as she charged toward the Lord.

"Wait… wait!" the Lord shouted, his voice cracking. For the first time in ages, true fear took root in his heart.

As Shimizu struck, it felt as if the entire realm had turned against him. In desperation, he raised his black bangle to defend himself.

Shimizu's dark blade crashed against the bangle, but the angle was slightly off, and the blade slipped downward along its edge. In the next instant, her blade sliced clean through his arm.

He screamed in agony and stumbled back, blood pouring from the stump where his arm had been.

The severed limb dissolved into divine energy and attempted to return to his body, but the realm's power blocked it, scattering the energy into nothingness. With no other option, he poured an immense amount of divine energy into reconstructing his arm. While Supreme Gods with divine bodies could achieve such regeneration, the cost was steep beyond reason.

Shimizu, her eyes cold with killing intent, refused to grant him any respite. She launched another assault before he could recover.

"You dare steal my treasure?" the Lord roared, swinging the Nine-Headed Wyvern whip toward her in fury. But she moved like a phantom, somersaulting through the air. Empowered by the Hekiraku Realm itself, her agility defied logic, as though every part of the world offered her a foothold and shield.

Defeating a Supreme God who had claimed control of a dimension was nearly impossible. Just as Lily wielded full dominion over her Mirror Dimension, using abilities designed to combat other spirit forms, defeating her within it was nearly unthinkable for any intruder.

Within that space, Lily could draw upon every mechanism, force, and element to battle her enemies. Only someone with overwhelming power, capable of destroying both Lily and her dimension, could ever hope to defeat her.

Though Shimizu possessed the strength of a Supreme God, she had not yet mastered swordsmanship or abilities at that level. In raw technique, the Lord surpassed her. But the surprise attack had left him grievously wounded, and the Hekiraku Realm now actively suppressed him. He was restrained and overwhelmed at every turn.

Holding the black bangle high, Shimizu spoke coldly. "Your treasure? Then take it back." The bangle hummed with energy as she hurled it straight at the Lord.

The artifact, now strengthened by the realm's power, struck the Lord with overwhelming force. He was hurled through the air and slammed into the mountain wall, the collision sending out a shockwave that killed or maimed hundreds of nearby demons.

"What's happening?"

"How is she stronger than the Lord?"

"How can any woman in this world surpass him?"

The Lust Demons stared in stunned silence. Panic spread quickly, and they scattered in every direction, fleeing into the labyrinth of tunnels within the cavern.

Even the demons that had originally surrounded Lily sensed something was wrong and scattered in all directions. Though they were strongly drawn to her, self-preservation quickly overcame desire when death seemed imminent.

In a distant corner of the cavern, the Celestial Maidens had formed a defensive array to shield themselves from the aftermath of the fierce battle between Shimizu and the Lord. Yet they stood in confusion and awe, completely at a loss.

Riyuki stared at Shimizu in disbelief. She seemed like a goddess of death, omnipresent and untouchable. In this world, she held almost complete dominion. The mighty Lord, once unstoppable, was now helpless before her. His attacks missed their target, his treasures paled in comparison to Shimizu's Murasame-Anko, and even his divine abilities were suppressed by the Hekiraku Realm itself.

Despite possessing immense reserves of divine energy, he could not withstand such relentless, punishing blows.

In contrast, Shimizu was continuously strengthened and restored by the realm's power. It was as if her stamina had no limit. With each passing moment, her swordsmanship improved and her control over her Supreme God body sharpened. She was growing stronger with every move.

Lord Shikikai had become little more than a target. He flew desperately through the air, trying to evade her strikes, but his body was riddled with blade wounds, and the dark energy surrounding him steadily drained his divine power.

Riyuki stood frozen, dazed and overwhelmed, "What… What is happening? Wasn't she from the Shizutake Tribe? Lily's companion? Why is she here now, and why is she so terrifying?"

Riyuki's eyes narrowed as she watched Shimizu's movements. "That sword, that style, the energy… A Dark Celestial Maiden?" She had heard little about the mysterious lineage, but the signs were undeniable. "It can't be. The Dark Celestial Maidens are nearly extinct in Takamagahara. Who is this woman?"

"Wait… A Supreme God Dark Celestial Maiden? And the original master of the Hekiraku Realm?" Riyuki's eyes widened in sudden realization. "Could it really be… her?"

"Quick, escape!" Riyuki shouted, abandoning her mission and forgetting the master interrogator. The opportunity no longer mattered. She immediately broke the defensive formation she had created with the other Celestial Maidens and gave the urgent order to retreat.

Though confused, the other Celestial Maidens were already terrified by the clash of Supreme Gods. Without hesitation, they fled into the surrounding chaos.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lily noticed the Celestial Maidens fleeing alongside the demons. She frowned slightly but had no time to act.

By now, the Lord stood on the edge of desperation. Despite his hopeless situation, he grinned with a twisted cruelty. "I nearly forgot. Your strength rattled me. But no matter how strong you are, you're still a woman!"

He drew out a set of treasures crafted to target women specifically. They were ancient and invaluable, kept hidden for ages. But in this moment, their worth meant nothing to him.

Thirteen jewel-like beads, glowing with eerie demonic light, shot toward Shimizu and began to orbit her. As they circled, they released strange pulses of energy and a peculiar fragrance into the air.

"These treasures can only be used once! I had intended them for Bishamonten in Takamagahara. Not even a Supreme God woman can resist them!" His expression twisted with both lust and pain.

Shimizu paid no mind to the jewels. In a single fluid motion, she slipped past them and brought her blade down on his shoulder. Blood burst forth in a sweeping arc, scattering like a crimson wave.

"Ahhh!" the Lord howled in disbelief. "How can this be? How is this happening? She's just a woman! Even if she's strong enough to resist pacification, she should still be affected. Why is there no reaction at all?"

The Lord's final hope shattered. If this treasure had failed, then none of his other woman-targeted techniques would have any effect either.

"I thought the woman called Lily already has terrific tolerance. But this woman is worse! Lily is just enduring it and has immense willpower. At least these her body was still heavily affected by my abilities! However, this woman is completely unscathed!"

What Lord Shikikai failed to understand was that Shimizu, though sensitive at times, possessed a mind that was remarkably pure. In her heart, no one aside from Lily could awaken her feelings as a woman.

It was a truth far beyond his comprehension.

A surge of lunar blade energy cut through the air and struck his shoulder, sending him reeling backward.

"What? Kagami Lily?" the Lord exclaimed, stunned. Her attacks might not match Shimizu's in raw power, but they were far from insignificant. Worse still, the lunar energy she wielded severely hindered his ability to regenerate.

"Sister! Let's finish him together!" Lily cried out.

Although Lily longed to punish the Celestial Maidens, she knew the greater threat stood before her. Supreme Gods were nearly impossible to kill and possessed vast, unfathomable reserves of power. Wounding him wasn't enough—they had to finish him here and now. If he recovered and ascended to Takamagahara, what would become of Bishamonten?

Shimizu and Lily now stood side by side in battle, just as they had during their journey to Heian-kyo. But this time, their synergy was even greater.

Drawing strength from both the Hekiraku Realm and the Setsugekka Soul World, they worked together to suppress the Lord. Their coordination was so seamless it seemed as if they were one body and its shadow.

They slipped past the Lord's desperate attacks and converged once more. Oborozuki Muramasa and Murasame-Anko came together in a twin strike, combining dark energy with lunar power as they struck him.

A deep, crisscrossed wound was carved into his chest by their blades.

The Lord let out a choked cry as he coughed up black blood. The gash across his chest was so deep that even the Divinity within his body was exposed. The wound was overwhelming, and the fusion of dark and lunar energy made it completely unhealable.

It was only now that the Lord understood… his death was near.

Consumed by agony and unwilling to accept defeat, his eyes burned with madness. "Impossible! I am a Supreme God! You cannot kill me! Don't you dare!" Lord Shikikai screamed as he recklessly ignited his divine energy, unknowingly hastening his own destruction.

He lashed out with the Nine-Headed Wyvern, aiming it at Lily in a frenzy, but she evaded every strike with Shimizu covering her. Together, they launched themselves at the Lord one final time.

"No! You can't kill me! You worthless women are meant to be punished, tortured, and killed by me. This is your fate! What right do you have—"

A jet-black blade of energy pierced through his neck as a crimson slash tore across his waist in the same instant. The lunar energy burned away what little divine power he had left, leaving him nearly drained.

Lily and Shimizu stood side by side, their eyes grim. Two horizontal blade arcs rose into the sky, crossing as they descended. The twin strikes pierced through the Lord's Spirit Sea from both sides. An endless spray of blood erupted from his body as the final trace of his divine energy slipped away.

Though neither Lily nor Shimizu had the strength to destroy his Divinity outright, his divine energy was completely spent. Without divine energy to sustain him, his life force crumbled. His body could no longer recover from the fatal wounds.

"I… was killed by women…" he whispered, his gaze turned hollow, and his life ended.

This was the first time Lily had witnessed the death of a Supreme God. Together with Shimizu, Lily had slain Lord Shikikai, the infamous master interrogator feared across the three realms.