Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 12 - Yomi-no-kuni: Chapter 231 - Bitter Struggle! Driven to a Bloodthirsty Frenzy

Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, Kuroyoku erupted with overwhelming force. Then, in an instant, hurled a punch toward Lily from over a kilometer away!

That punch roared through the air like a comet, fierce and unstoppable, as if a lightless celestial body forged from countless shattered irons was crashing down upon her.

“What! This shockwave…!”

Lily suddenly recalled what had happened earlier, when the colossal fist of Kuroyodai had struck her. Though she had already dodged, she had still been forcibly knocked back. Only now did she realize, the one who had actually thrown that punch had been Kuroyoku!

Due to Nanako’s sudden peril and the appearance of those binding chains afterward, Lily had lost track of him in the chaos.

‘He talks about one-on-one duels, but he clearly ambushed me earlier! This so-called Kuroyoku is not to be trusted! In the Boundless Abyss, there is no code of honor, no trace of a warrior’s pride!’ Lily’s thoughts raced as she raised the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and slashed at the oncoming punch with a single, fluid stroke.

The punch’s force was sliced apart like waves crashing against a sharp blade!

Though Kuroyoku’s physical power vastly exceeded Lily’s, the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was unstoppable. It could cut not only enemies, but force itself, dispersing even the destructive energy of the blow!

As the shockwave was split, Kuroyoku had already closed in, riding the momentum of his punch. In a blink, he was right in front of Lily, hurling another heavy blow with the force of a divine weapon, his blackened, metallic fist sweeping down like a hammer from the heavens.

Lily showed no mercy. She raised the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and slashed directly at Kuroyoku’s heavy punch.

“Hahaha! So what if it’s the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi? That so-called peerless divine sword is just an inflated legend! My fists are as strong as Divine Artifacts! I dared to take on the blade of the Boundless Imperial Princess, what makes you think yours scares me?”

With a thunderous blow, Kuroyoku slammed his iron fist straight toward the divine blade.

In the next instant, his fist was sliced halfway through.

“Urgh—!” Kuroyoku let out a strangled cry as blood burst from the wound, the edge of the blade revealing pitch-black, unyielding bone where half of his palm had been cleaved away.

Yet Lily felt almost no resistance from the strike.

‘Just how sharp is the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi?’ she wondered in shock. If Kuroyoku’s fists truly rivaled Divine Artifacts, she had expected at least a severe recoil, but instead, the cut had been clean and effortless.

Her gaze turned icy. Without hesitation, she followed up with another sweeping slash.

“Wretched woman!” This time, Kuroyoku had suffered a setback and didn’t dare take the strike head-on again. He abruptly retreated, narrowly dodging the slash.

Suddenly, a cold chill crept up behind Lily.

“Lily, watch out!” With a flash, Shimizu appeared behind Lily and cleaved through a serpent’s shadowy head, sending venom spraying through the air.

Not far away, Kunhiza wore an expression of disappointment.

“Didn’t you say this was a duel? The Boundless Abyss truly knows no dignity or honor,” Lily said coldly.

“Hahahahaha! You were the one who struck first, woman! You ambushed me with that divine sword!” Kuroyoku barked in return, but with his plot exposed, all that remained was the shamelessness of a scoundrel.

If Shimizu hadn’t teleported in time, that venomous serpent likely would have bitten Lily. Its poison was highly potent, nearly as deadly as the Fragrance-Breaker Pill. It was a vile, underhanded tactic.

“Lily, there’s no need to waste words. These scum are beyond shame. All we can do now is fight to the death and carve a path through!” shouted Asura-Onna.

“Asura-Onna, Rakshasa-Onna, out of respect for the Madam, we’ll let you two leave first. Just don’t interfere with Kagami Lily,” Kunhiza suddenly offered. He had initially expected an easy victory, but the combined force of Lily and the false Imperial Princess had proven far more troublesome than anticipated, especially that unpredictable blade in Lily’s hand.

“Shut up!” Rakshasa-Onna shouted back. “What kind of people do you think we are?”

Without hesitation, the Asura-Onna and Rakshasa-Onna charged at two Yomi Supreme Gods.

“Hold those women back, they’re no real threat! Focus everything on Kagami Lily! We seize the treasure first, take down these women after, then let strength decide the rest. Don’t give them any opening!” Kunhiza roared.

“Aaa—aa—aaah!” Kuroyoku let out a primal scream as he burned massive divine power to purge the silver lunar force from his wound. At last, his severed hand regenerated. Consumed by pain and fury, he launched himself toward Lily once more.

At the same time, the three Thunder Gods, each previously wounded by Lily, attacked from multiple directions, hatred burning in their eyes.

“Imposter Imperial Princess! Your opponent is me!” Knowing how unpredictable Lily and Shimizu’s coordination could be, Kunhiza lunged at Shimizu to tie her down.

Kuralan-Chiyu hesitated for a moment, then charged straight toward Queen Kaguya.

Chiya quickly stepped in to intercept him, engaging in fierce combat under the cover of the Queen’s divine arts. But Kuralan-Chiyu was too powerful. Even with Queen Kaguya and Chiya working together, they couldn’t hold him back for long.

Meanwhile, on the Abyssal side, six or seven Supreme Gods still had energy to spare. Among them, Kyupigaki led five of the Abyss’ major demon gods in a coordinated assault on Lily.

Elsewhere, a bloated, black-gray demon god with a distinctly lecherous aura barreled toward Ayaka.

“Hehehe! Miss Dancer! I’ve been mesmerized by your performance since this battle began! Forget Kagami Lily’s divine sword, I want you! Come, beautiful one!” The bloated demon god charged toward Ayaka with a terrifying aura.

Ayaka was instinctively repulsed by monsters like this. But he was a full power level above her, she didn’t dare engage him directly. She could only unleash divine spells while circling through the air, evading with all her strength.

At that moment, Lily was completely overwhelmed by the siege of too many Supreme Gods, and had no way to assist her.

Ayaka quickly realized that the demon’s thick skin and heavy body made her spells completely ineffective. She had no choice but to focus on evasion, using her spells only to slow him down.

The bloated demon god continued his relentless pursuit. Fortunately, he was slow, while Ayaka was fast. She was especially skilled in sudden directional changes and bursts of speed. Her agility allowed her to just barely stay out of reach.

As the Supreme Gods battled in the sky, the fighting atop Herikaku City’s walls grew ever more brutal.

Ansha and Yinzuhi were leading the Celestial Maidens in a desperate stand, holding the city at all costs. Although most of the main defense formations had been destroyed, many smaller arrays and traps were still functional. The city’s solid structure remained, and the Dark Celestial Maidens used it as a final stronghold.

Uesugi Rei, though no longer wielding the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, still fought with a standard spirit artifact katana at her side. She joined the Dark Celestial Maidens in resisting wave after wave of demonic invaders.

Her blade flashed, silver light danced with every strike. None of the demon beasts at the Big Dipper or Throne Stage could withstand her. One by one, they fell. The more Rei fought, the more valiant she became, sweat pouring like rain, yet rather than fear or despair in the face of endless enemies, her expression brimmed with exhilaration.

All along the way, Rei had felt the widening gap between herself and Lily’s group. It had once left her disheartened. But now, with danger pressing from every direction and enemies surging without end, she had no time to dwell on such thoughts in this life-and-death struggle.

Instead, Rei entered a state of complete immersion in combat, forgetting her disappointments, forgetting her confusion. In battle, she found clarity and release.

Thanks to her Blade Maiden Physique, she fought tirelessly, without exhaustion.

When Lily awakened her Silver Lunar Force earlier, a trace of it had passed into Rei through previous contact. Though it was only a sliver, even that was enough to threaten Yomi’s Supreme Gods. Against demons of the Big Dipper and Throne Stages, it was like slicing through paper, completely unstoppable.

Even without the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, Rei, empowered by that sliver of Silver Lunar Force, was still invincible against any opponent below Big Dipper Stage, and even against Infernal Stage foes, she posed a serious threat.

Countless demons fell beneath this silver whirlwind.

“They say we Dark Celestial Maidens are cruel and warlike… but that silver-haired girl, she’s the true incarnation of a Celestial Battle Maiden,” Ansha said in admiration as she watched Rei from a distance, her silver whirlwind cutting down demon after demon.

“That girl…” murmured a Dark Celestial Maiden captain beside Ansha, moved with emotion. “I’m the one who brought her back from the plains of Yomi.” As she recalled how she and her subordinates had once whipped Rei along the journey, a deep guilt stirred in her heart.

‘Even back then, I could tell she wasn’t just any ordinary warrior woman. Even if she was a descendant of the Celestial Battle Maidens, her bloodline was far from ordinary,’ the captain thought to herself.

At that moment, the one in the most perilous situation was Lily. She was under siege by ten Supreme Gods, including the monstrous Kuroyoku.

Lily spun her Sakura Parasol, blocking a barrage of venomous barbs launched by a fish-like abyssal demon god covered entirely in spines. With a swift breath, she folded the parasol. Just then, a hulking bald demon god with copper-purple skin and glowing violet sigils charged in. Lily swung the closed parasol with force, slamming it into the demon and sending him hurtling backward.

But even with her reflexes, there were limits. A heavy kick struck her hard in the back, and her elegant form was flung violently forward through the air.

A searing-hot cord suddenly wrapped around her, it came from a grotesque female monster whose lower half resembled an enormous spider, though even more alien and twisted. Her upper half was humanoid in form but hideous and deformed. The ribbons she spat were lined with burning violet infernal flames, coiling around Lily’s slender, fair ankle and searing her flesh with excruciating heat.

Lily twisted around and slashed, cutting through the burning spider silk.

But before she could regain her footing, Kuroyoku had already closed in on her.

He drove a massive punch into Lily’s stomach. The impact sent her mind reeling, her vision spinning. Had her body not been as physically strong as it was, any ordinary female Supreme God would have been seriously injured from that single strike.

As her world tilted and spun, Lily caught a glimpse of Fushirai lunging at her from one side, lightning-charged claws aimed straight at her chest. From the other side, Wakarai thrust his spear toward her.

In the middle of her backward flight, Lily arched her back just in time to let the steel claws pass over her chest, slicing through the fabric of her upper garment with a hiss.

At that moment, her eyes turned fierce. She spun her body midair and slashed.

Blood sprayed—one of Fushirai’s arms was cleaved off.

Though Lily twisted her body with all her strength, Wakarai’s spear still scraped harshly across her thigh and hip, tearing her long skirt and sending a burning pain surging through her.

Just as she gripped the shaft of Wakarai’s spear, an opening appeared in her defense. Fushirai, crazed with fury over the loss of his arm, launched both feet forward and stomped her chest with brutal force, sending her flying once again.

She hadn’t flown far before a sudden, fiery sting burst across her back. She had crashed into the spider-demoness’ web.

“Hahahaha! We got her!” the demon gods shouted in glee.

But Lily summoned her Lunar Sakura Realm. Each petal surrounding her became a blade infused with Blood Lunar Force. These blood-forged edges were born to destroy, and they shredded the cursed, flaming spiderweb as if it were nothing.

Seeing this, Fushirai, who had just rushed in to finish her off, was stunned and veered off course in panic. Lily’s eyes burned with ruthless determination as she locked onto his retreating figure.

With one merciless slash, she severed the very legs that had dared to stomp on her chest.