Demon Sword Maiden

Volume - Yamata no Orochi: Chapter 11 – Sky Plowing Silver Sword

The perception of one’s domain was inherently profound. When Lily first grasped her domain, inspired by the scattering cherry blossoms symbolic of her fate and the ever-changing world, she had an epiphany. The miracle of comprehending and improving one’s domain differed from the steady progress of spiritual energy training, hinging instead on subtle perception and sudden enlightenment, making it more unpredictable than grasping true intent.

True intent involved understanding the principles of the heavenly way, a blend of steadfast spiritual energy training and the occasional random domain insights, marrying subtle perception with long-term accumulation. However, domain comprehension was unpredictable and couldn’t be actively sought, and many quadruple-soul Big Dipper experts failed to realize a high-level soul world. Yet, Lily, with her natural perceptiveness and ability to grasp the subtle meanings in simplicity, possessed a high talent for comprehending domains.

Previously, she had ascended to the highest level of her domain, the seventh level, standing at the threshold of achieving a soul world. Now, in the face of crisis against Minamoto no Yoritomo, and reflecting on her journey from a powerless girl to her current strength, Lily felt her understanding of the world and fate elevate, propelling her domain into the realm of a soul world.

Already adept in domain manipulation, Lily, with her new soul world and the support of her domain treasure Unmelted Snow and the sakura parasol, was able to suppress Yoritomo’s soul world and dispel the murky darkness, revealing a bright and serene night sky.

“This woman has a soul world?!” Hikomoto’s teeth ground in frustration and envy. In the dark realm of Yomi, he was exceedingly arrogant, and seeing Lily, a younger talent, achieve what he had not, stirred a deep jealousy within him. Back in Carefree City, he quashed any burgeoning talent, driven by his pride in his innate abilities.

Lily observed the vast black army emerging from the forest, their presence exuding an ancient and dark aura. This force was not just the black-armored soldiers of before, but included various Yomi demons, vicious beasts, and mostly, the souls of ancient soldiers resurrected to serve Yoritomo—a disturbing act indeed.

These soldiers, once dead for centuries, still held onto their souls, which didn’t necessarily signify life but rather ancient and eerie existences. “Could Minamoto no Yoritomo have extracted souls from Yomi to reanimate ancient bodies?” Lily wondered, chilled by the thought of such bizarre methods.

The ancient soldiers and generals, once formidable in life, had not fully decayed even after centuries, a testament to their power. Reanimated, their souls, now imbued with the profound resentment wrought by their suffering in Yomi, granted them a fearsome new strength.

The tortures of Yomi served not to enhance their strength directly but to transmute their anguish, resentment, and hatred into a formidable force. This was evident in the tales of the four great vengeful spirits who, despite not being particularly formidable in life, rose to prominence among the world’s mightiest due to the depth of their posthumous rage.

“No wonder these resurrected soldiers possess strength far surpassing ordinary warriors. But Minamoto no Yoritomo is truly detestable to come up with such a method to create powerful vengeful spirits and undead soldiers!” Lily exclaimed, her voice a mix of awe and disgust. Even as she faced Lord Kamakura’s formidable strength, it was not the might of their arms that unsettled her, but the cold, remorseless cruelty of the man behind it all. She shuddered, not from fear, but from the chilling realization of the depths of depravity some would stoop to without a flicker of emotion crossing their faces.

As the ancient soldiers began their grim sacrifices, a sinister energy, tinged with a morbid greenish glow, started to coalesce above the magic platforms—a dark power spawned from the twisted ritual. “How heinous! May these vengeful spirits find eternal rest!” Lily whispered, her heart heavy with the weight of the unfolding horror.

Lily, undaunted even without invoking her soul world, knew she could still give a robust fight by leveraging full-force maneuvers and strategic combat. Yet, her soul world offered her a significant edge, allowing her to swiftly quell the enemies en masse.

The sky was aflutter with cherry blossoms, glowing under the soft caress of the moonlight. They coalesced into an immense katana, its silver blade stretching towards the heavens, its hilt a mere shadow against the night. At Lily’s command, this colossal blade cleaved through the air with a resonant hum, striking a magic platform and slicing it asunder, demonstrating that its presence was no illusion but a force intertwined with the fabric of the world itself.

The platform fell apart effortlessly. Those who had reached the Big Dipper Stage could resist; a single-soul Big Dipper Stage combatant might sustain injuries, while any weaker would face obliteration.

Lily’s sword, a manifestation of silver moonlight and hallowed cherry blossoms, bore the intrinsic might to vanquish malevolence. This force, the nemesis of the formidable undead, reduced the resurrected soldiers to dust with its sweeping ferocity.

“Curse you!” Kamakura growled as he attempted to counter with his soul world. However, his influence extended only about a hundred meters, with Lily’s Setsugekka suppressing the majority of his range. He swung his tachi in a desperate bid to parry the ethereal blade, only to witness it reform and descend once more within the bounds of Lily’s dominion. Alone, he could not hope to cordon off the area.

With a ground-shaking rumble, the immense silver blade scythed through the land. Its path was one of carnage—apart from the demon generals, the resurrected army was decimated, sorcerers included, with several magic platforms demolished in its wake.

Thousands of lives snuffed out in mere moments, thousands more maimed. Faced with such devastation, Kamakura, commanding an army two hundred thousand strong, found his resolve wavering at the sight of such a vast multitude eradicated by a solitary stroke.

“Disperse!” he commanded, fury edging his voice. “Spread out and assault the maze! Whoever you find within, show no mercy!” His countenance twisted in anger, a rare departure from his usual composure.

The maze’s effectiveness notwithstanding, it spanned roughly three hundred kilometers. With his forces now scattered, the likelihood of them stumbling into Cherry Blossom Valley’s entrance increased exponentially.

“Kamagi Lily, your prodigious talent even outshines the famed Yoshitsune of old,” Kamakura conceded with steely eyes. “You stand as the brightest prodigy this world has witnessed in a millennium! Yet, that brilliance ends today. For the future of this world, you must be extinguished! Your talent has bred conceit, and your naive interference with the tide of progress will see you drowned by its relentless surge. This, I declare, is your inevitable doom!” With that, he advanced towards Lily, his presence like a tempest sweeping across the battlefield.

Lily, unfazed, countered, “You are the true harbinger of doom for this world and its people! Claiming foresight and wisdom, you’ve discarded the very essence of humanity.” As she spoke, she directed a segment of her consciousness to wield the gargantuan blade that cleaved through the sky, her purple lunar force crystallizing on its edge, gleaming with the pure and serene light of Setsugekka, her soul world.

The ensuing clash of their blades, resounding with a metallic clang, cast a fleeting light across the dark forest, momentarily revealing the lurking soldiers. The spiritual energy unleashed by their duel caused monstrous fluctuations that roared across the landscape.

Amplified by her soul world, Lily’s strikes grew in potency, and Kamakura’s vulnerabilities began to surface. A precise thrust from Lily’s sword found its mark, and black blood jetted from his shoulder.

A dark blade, steeped in malevolent energy, arced viciously towards Lily. She pivoted on the air itself, her form a study in grace as she evaded the imminent strike. Her might belied by her agility, Lily countered while aloft, her snow-white feet in their celestial wooden sandals touching lightly yet forcefully on the back of Hikomoto’s sword. The seemingly effortless contact sent his blade veering downward. Lily spun with the poise of a dancer, her leg extending in a powerful arc towards her adversary. Her limbs, though delicate in appearance, carried the devastating force of nature’s wrath.

The impact resonated with a thunderous boom, propelling Hikomoto through the air. His face, once the pride of his visage among the grotesque denizens of Yomi, was now a mangled wreck, a testament to Lily’s hidden ferocity.

Hikomoto’s agonized cry tore through the chaos of battle, a warped echo of pain and indignation. As he reeled backward, Kamakura seized the moment to launch a vicious cut towards Lily’s thigh.

With a metallic ring, Lily realigned her stance and deftly parried with her sword, Dojigiri-Yasutsuna. She harnessed the momentum of the block, retreating with such fluidity to evade a follow-up strike from Kamakura.

In the midst of her calculated withdrawal, Lily unleashed a swift, thoughtless slash of purple lunar energy. The speed and suddenness of the attack left little room for evasion.

Kamakura, formidable in stature and strength, narrowly sidestepped, yet the crescent blade still managed to carve a path across his arm. Despite his arm’s girth, nearly a meter thick with muscle and power, the cut was deep, hindering its function.

Refusing to be incapacitated, Kamakura hastily ingested a black pill, its potent energy knitting the flesh of his wound together. But Lily’s tactics were as unpredictable as they were swift. As he swallowed the pill, she cast a silver ribbon his way, striking his chest with the impact of a spirit-infused whip, forcefully expelling the air from his lungs.

Lily’s speed was blinding; she appeared before Lord Kamakura in an instant, her blade singing through the air. Though the ribbon lacked the lethality of her sword or the devastating impact of her kick, it struck perilously close to his spirit sea, causing internal turmoil within Kamakura.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Kamakura retreated hastily, his sword sweeping out in rage. Yet, the momentary distraction had cost him. Lily’s subsequent slash carried a weight that seemed impossible for her delicate form, and with a brilliant flash, it forced Lord Kamakura to expel a torrent of dark blood. His retreat turned into a rout as he careened through the ancient forest, ultimately cleaving a mountain in twain with his massive form.