Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 12 - Yomi-no-kuni: Chapter 229 - Whose Doing Was This?

“Sister Lily!” From the ruins of Herikaku City not far below, Nanako was still fighting alongside the Dark Celestial Maidens in the city’s desperate defense. Clutching the Sakura Parasol, she happened to see Lily in danger. Without hesitation, she began leaping and weaving through the rubble, trying to rush toward her.

But with only Throne-level strength, how could she possibly reach Lily in time?

“Stay back!” Lily shouted.

At that moment, a figure wreathed in yellow lightning swiftly closed in on Lily’s location.

“Oh? Could that parasol be a treasure too?”

Seeing Lily wield the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and the woman impersonating the Imperial Princess absorb Kuroyodai’s dark energy, Fushirai grew wary. There might be other powerful treasures among them. He abruptly changed course and sped toward Nanako.

Originally, someone like Nanako was beneath Fushirai’s notice, she was among the weakest Dark Celestial Maidens defending the city. But now that she had called out to Lily, things changed. Even if she didn’t have a treasure, she was clearly important to Lily. Killing or capturing her could be a significant advantage.

“Heheheh! What do we have here? A little girl? What’s your relationship with Lily, hmm? Hahahaha!” Fushirai let out a perverse laugh as he hurtled toward Nanako, closing the gap in an instant.

“B̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲! Stay away from her!” Lily screamed in fury, but the colossal fist from before was already bearing down on her, she couldn’t break away to help.

Suddenly, without any warning, enormous chains erupted from the dark void overhead. These blood-red chains shimmered faintly and radiated an overwhelming power.

The chains wrapped around Kuroyodai’s limbs and neck, halting his massive punch just before it could strike Lily. Although the fist was only inches away from her, the chains held firm. Even with all his boundless strength, Kuroyodai could not move another inch.

The fist… actually stopped.

The violent wind from the halted blow whipped Lily’s hair and garments wildly as she surged toward Nanako at full speed.

“Hahahaha! Little girl, you’re not like those other women at all! How old are you, huh? I don’t like those big-butted, overripe women. You’re just my type! Electrifying a sweet thing like you with my lightning… oh, how delightful! Hahaha!” Fushirai cackled madly. Twin claws crackling with lightning stretched from his back and slashed toward Nanako.

“Huh? What?” Fushirai moved too fast, Nanako couldn’t even register what was happening. All she saw was a blinding flash of lightning surging toward her, as if to tear her apart.

A streak of crimson light suddenly swept over Fushirai’s head. In that brief instant, he flinched and twisted, but the blade still grazed his cheek and sliced off one of his ears.

“AAAHH!!” Fushirai clutched his bleeding ear, retreating as he howled and thrashed in pain. “It hurts! It hurts so much!”

With the blade infused by lunar force, regenerating the severed ear wasn’t going to be easy, even for him.

Lily landed beside Nanako, flicking the blood from her blade.

“Big Sister Lily…” Nanako couldn’t even see clearly what had just happened, but some instinct deep in her soul told her she had narrowly escaped disaster. Overwhelmed by fear and relief, she threw herself into Lily’s arms and clung tightly to her waist.

“Sister Lily!” she cried, kneeling and pressing her face against Lily’s stomach, seeking warmth and comfort in her embrace as if only then could she feel truly safe.

“What’s going on!?” The surrounding demons stared in astonishment at the massive chains descending from the sky. None of them could comprehend what kind of technique could possibly bind the mighty Kuroyodai.

“Who dares do this?! Who dares restrain me?! I am the Great Demon God Kuroyodai! Master of the Abyss! My existence predates even the founding of Yomi itself!” Kuroyodai bellowed, his rage shaking the heavens and earth. The mountainous muscles of his massive body bulged with power. Veins like thick cords pulsed as he roared and struggled with all his strength, yet the chains held firm.

Even Kuroyodai was stunned, and so were the other demons.

“Who is it? Who dares?! Show yourself! Have you no spine, coward?! Come out and fight me face to face if you have the guts!” Kuroyodai shouted furiously. The other demons echoed his cries, but no one responded.

No one could tell what this technique was or why it had been used, only that it had rendered Kuroyodai completely immobile. His colossal form could no longer budge an inch.

After that, no further sign of this astonishing and unfathomable technique emerged. It simply bound Kuroyodai without warning or reason.

“Nanako, get into the depths of Herikaku City right now! Don’t come out again, no matter what happens, you must not come out!” Lily shouted, locking eyes with her.

“But, Sister…”

“No buts! You know full well this isn’t a battle you can be part of!”

“Of course I know! I’m not trying to get myself killed fighting Supreme Gods. But aren’t plenty of other Dark Celestial Maidens with strength similar to mine still out there, defending the city from the invading demons? I can’t fight the powerful ones, but I can still handle some of the lesser monsters! Kagura’s training wasn’t for nothing!” Nanako cried out.

“Shut up! I don’t have time to explain! Just get inside, hurry!”

“I won’t! If you’re not afraid of death, if the Dark Celestial Maidens aren’t afraid of death, then I’m not either! I want to fight, to do what little I can! I’m tired of being ignored by you, Sister!” Nanako yelled.

“You…” Lily was momentarily speechless.

Even though Kuroyodai had been inexplicably bound by those chains, the other demonic Supreme Gods remained. They had been stunned by what happened, but if that was all there was to it, they would soon resume their assault. And if they did, the shockwaves alone could kill Nanako. Lily had managed to protect Rei in such a situation, but Nanako was simply too weak, there was no way to shield her completely.

“Get inside already!” Lily raised her hand high into the air.

“What now? Are you going to hit me, Sister? Then go ahead! Kill me if you want. Dying by your hand would be better than living uselessly!” Nanako stood her ground defiantly, staring at Lily’s hand.

Lily’s raised hand hesitated, then slowly lowered.

“You really…” she muttered, then abruptly grabbed Nanako and hoisted her onto her hip. With one hand, she snatched the Sakura Parasol and opened it as a shield before them. With the other, she flipped Nanako’s short skirt up.

The hand that hadn’t struck her face instead landed firmly on Nanako’s snowy white bottom. Lily didn’t use her full strength, but even so, after just a few smacks, Nanako’s petite backside was bright red.

“Sister…” Nanako’s eyes glazed with tears. She cried out softly as the stinging pain made her blush, but it also snapped her out of her emotional state.

“Now get inside! Stop arguing with your sister! If we survive this, I’ll explain everything to you later!”

“Yes…” Nanako’s breath calmed, and her voice softened into something far more docile and sweet.

“Take the parasol and go.”

“No… Sister, you need this parasol more than I do.”

Lily didn’t waste time arguing. She kept the Sakura Parasol herself, holding it in front of them as a shield. She watched as Nanako slipped through a gap in a broken wall and disappeared back into Herikaku City.