Demon Sword Maiden

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Shimizu's words didn't shake Lily. Instead, they gave her a quiet sense of reassurance.

The sash drifted down from above, folding gently as it landed off to the side.

If Shimizu had truly let go of her torment and no longer hurt herself out of guilt, then Lily wouldn't mind losing to her again and again. Ten times, or even more—it wouldn't matter.

Even though that was what Lily truly believed, she didn't let it show outwardly.

Lying beside the glistening pond, Lily rested on the soft earth. Without her sash, her kimono was disheveled and spread loosely around her, mingling with her scattered hair.

"So what if I lost?" Lily murmured, gazing up at the starry sky. She turned her head and pouted, her voice filled with light annoyance.

"You're the one who's supposed to win, aren't you? I want to repay everything I owe you, but you won't let me. Why?" Shimizu had reclaimed Hekiraku Realm and defeated Lord Shikikai to save Lily, yet no peace followed. The weight of guilt and self-loathing still clung to her heart.

Even without a clear memory or certainty of the truth, Shimizu could not forgive herself. Somewhere in her broken recollections, blurred between dreams and reality, she had killed a goddess with her own hands.

"Sister, if you're still thinking about what happened on the cliff, that was a misunderstanding. We already made peace with that a long time ago. Is there something else weighing on you?"

But Shimizu couldn't bring herself to speak. The pain of her past was still too raw, too cruel to confront aloud.

Lily longed to know the truth, but when she saw the torment in Shimizu's eyes, her heart ached. 'I'm not hurt. Then why is she suffering so much?'

"No matter what it is, if you're not ready to tell me, then I won't ask. Because I believe you've always seen me the same way. If anything ever happened between us, it must have been a misunderstanding or something forced on us by fate. You keep saying you hurt me, but aren't you the one who's been hurting the most?"

As she spoke, Lily bent her legs and gently caught Shimizu's bamboo blade between them. Then, using her own sword, she lifted it and slowly traced it along her waist and up across her chest.

Her fingers moved with the delicacy of a musician tuning her strings, alternating between tension and ease.

Their deep understanding of the Sword Heavenly Path had created an intimate bond between their souls and their blades. Shimizu could feel every subtle motion Lily made through that connection.

"Sister Shimizu, you're the one who's been hurt the most. But are you really going to keep drowning in self-pity? You provoked this duel and beat me… so what now? Are you going to stop here?"

Lily's gaze was soft and bashful, yet unwavering. She lifted the bamboo blade to her chest and gently parted her clothes.

"Tell me, Sister Shimizu. What happens… if I lose?" Her breath came out warm and unsteady, casting faint wisps into the cool night air.

Lily's face burned with heat and color. Shame and confusion had gripped her before, but now she understood. Shimizu had been willing to die for her. More than anything, Lily wanted her to choose life—and to desire it with her whole heart.

Shimizu's modest chest rose and fell with each breath, her face flushed. A playful smile tugged at her lips, but behind it lingered the trace of sorrow that had yet to fade.

"What happens if you lose?" Shimizu whispered. "Don't you already know the answer, sister?"

Shimizu smiled softly, as if lost in a dream, and slowly slid Lily's robe open with the tip of her blade. Her warm, supple skin was fully revealed, capturing every ounce of Shimizu's focus.

At that moment, Shimizu felt the weight of guilt in her chest slowly melt, replaced by a fierce and overwhelming love that took hold of her completely.

Shimizu knelt on one knee, her posture intimate, pressing gently against Lily as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the warm, curving figure that filled her vision.

Shimizu delighted in teasing and taking control. Lily's body and heart held everything she had longed for but believed she didn't deserve. And now, she wanted to claim it completely. She wanted to make it hers, and hers alone.

Slowly, Shimizu stirred a whirlwind of conflicting emotions within Lily. Yet, those feelings did not weaken her. Instead, they only strengthened her resolve.

After a heated exchange of kisses, Lily gasped for breath. Her expression carried both a flustered flush and a faint frown, as though she had been thoroughly teased but couldn't hide her excitement.

Shimizu lifted Lily's chin and met her passionate, fragile gaze with tear-filled eyes. She couldn't understand how someone so strong in battle could now look so yielding. Didn't Lily know such a gaze only fueled her desire to punish her more?

But for Shimizu, who had lived in loneliness for more than twenty years and wandered alone under the moonlight for what felt like eternity, this night was the turning point of her entire existence.

And for the first time, Shimizu asked the woman beneath her for permission.

"If you lose, then you'll become mine. But I'll give you one more chance. You can still back out."

Lily only gave a shy, blushing smile. "If I really regret it now… will you let me off—ah!"

Before she could finish her question, Shimizu silenced her with a firm kiss. Her voice echoed directly into Lily's Spirit Palace. "Of course not."

In that moment, Lily truly regretted asking. This was clearly a worse punishment than simply submitting. Then again, maybe surrendering willingly was the only path to mercy. Still, even if she was denied that path, she would never regret not trying to save herself.

After another heated kiss, Shimizu gazed at Lily's flushed and weary face. Her own cheeks burned as she parted her lips and spoke, her voice laced with obsession. "Lily, I love you."

"I've loved you for a thousand years, for ten thousand years, and even longer. And from this moment on, for the next thousand years and beyond, I will keep loving you. As long as I breathe, you'll be the only one in my heart. Everything you are is more than enough to fill all of me."

"Sister Shimizu…" Lily could barely process the whispered confession beside her ear. Shimizu's cool skin, warm only in certain places, pressed against her own slick with sweat. Their bodies seemed ready to melt together. It was almost too much to bear.

"Lily, I want you. May I?" Shimizu lifted her head, her long hair falling across Lily's face as drops of sweat traced down near her lips.

As joy and haze swirled within her, guilt suddenly pierced Lily's heart.

'Senior sister…'

The pride and self-righteousness she once clung to had only brought pain to the women who had devoted themselves to her. Rinne's understanding of life and the world far surpassed her own. And yet, Lily couldn't shake the feeling that she had betrayed her.

But Lily hadn't reached this point with Shimizu just to follow someone else's guidance. Yes, this was what her senior sister wanted. But it was also what she had chosen herself.

'I can't see the world as clearly as my senior sister. But even if others call me shameless or unladylike, I'll bear the shame and sin myself. I won't let Sister Shimizu or anyone else suffer because of me!'

In that moment, Lily faced herself with complete honesty. She accepted the truth of this world and her place within it.

'But I'm not doing this to comfort Sister Shimizu or repay her. I'm not doing it just because you asked me to, senior sister. I'm doing it because I want to.'

Lily's eyes gleamed with burning passion, free from shame. Her gaze spoke of desire, deep and genuine. But she didn't speak her heart directly. Instead, with playful coyness, she turned her head and brought the back of her hand to her lips. "If I say no… will you let me go, sister?"

"I won't." Shimizu leaned in and kissed her earlobe. Lily's body shivered under the sudden wave of heat.

"Sister, wait… please listen."

"Speak, sister."

"I… I also… but…" Lily's voice faltered. Her pale face flushed, and her body trembled under the weight of her emotions.

"Really? I see," Shimizu replied quietly, her tone suddenly calm.

"Huh?" Lily blinked, her voice tinged with surprise and a trace of disappointment.

Seeing the hint of fluster and disappointment on Lily's face, Shimizu leaned in and whispered softly into her ear, "Turn over."

"Huh? Why… Why? I already said you can't…" Lily protested, but the disappointment had clearly vanished from her voice.

From above, Shimizu could see everything. She understood Lily's intentions without needing to see her expression. At times, reading Lily's body was enough to understand her heart.

Lily's resistance felt more like a formality, as if she had already accepted there would be no escape. And that knowledge only gave Shimizu more power over her.

Shimizu didn't explain. Her voice was firm and resolute. "Now, I'll make you mine. Turn over."

"Huh?" Lily's voice trembled with nervousness. "Why… why do you want me to turn over?" Though she questioned it aloud, her body had already begun to move on its own.

Shimizu knelt behind her, wrapping her arms around Lily's waist and pressing her body against her sister's back. She leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Because I'm your shadow. Naturally, I belong behind you."

"What… what is this?" Lily murmured, her cheeks flushed as she shut her eyes, trembling with uncertainty. She didn't know what Shimizu intended to do behind her, and that mystery only deepened her embarrassment.

The night carried on as the two became one, their bodies intertwined beside the shimmering pond whose ripples danced endlessly across its surface. No one could say how long the night truly lasted in the depths of Hekiraku Realm. Eventually, the world slowed, and the intensity of the night softened just before dawn arrived.

Their bare bodies lay entangled, fingers laced and hair woven together across the forest floor, where green and golden bamboo leaves lay scattered beneath them.

When the first light of dawn filtered through the trees, the shadow of a purple bamboo fell gently across their pale, resting forms.