Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 12 - Yomi-no-kuni: Chapter 232 - Slaughter Beneath a Darkened Sky

“Ah—!” Fushirai howled in agony as both his severed legs spun through the air, spraying blood in twin crimson arcs.

“Kagami Lily!!” roared Kurorai in fury as he saw his brother’s legs cut off. He charged forward with twin warhammers crackling with savage lightning, aiming straight for Lily.

At the same time, on either flank, Kuralan-Chiyu’s eight weapons slashed toward her, and Wakarai’s spear thrust followed close behind. From the rear, the Spider-Demoness launched a stream of venom. This venom, imbued with Supreme God-tier power, was wicked enough to corrode even top-grade spirit artifacts.

There was no room for Lily to dodge. Staring into the path of the twin hammers crashing down from above, her eyes flashed coldly. Rather than retreat, she surged forward, diving straight between Kurorai’s two massive arms. His enormous frame worked against him at such close range; his own hammers were too large to strike her at that angle.

The venom splashed across the twin warhammers with a sizzle, but Kuralan-Chiyu and Wakarai could only hesitate—Lily had moved too close, wedged tightly between Kurorai’s thick arms, and they couldn’t attack without risking friendly fire.

“Rrah!” Kurorai bellowed in rage, attempting to crush her in a bear hug with arms thicker than her waist. His entire body crackled with lightning, trying to subdue her on the spot.

But suddenly, Kurorai felt a burning sensation in his gut.

Lily, gritting her teeth against the lightning, drove the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi deep into his bloated abdomen.

“AAAGH!” Kurorai let out a guttural scream. Lily kicked against his leg and slipped free from his arms, then delivered a swift kick to his face, sending the injured giant flying backward.

“B̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲!” Wakarai’s lightning-charged spear stabbed forward. Lily twisted her body to the side and caught the shaft with one hand. The violent current surged through her arm and across her entire body, causing searing pain, but she gritted her teeth and brought her blade down with her other hand.

The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi cleaved into Wakarai’s shoulder with a wet slice.

Wakarai howled with a twisted face, then leapt back, blood pouring from the wound.

Behind Lily came a piercing screech, Kuralan-Chiyu’s eight blades slashing at her in succession. She jumped high into the air, narrowly evading the deadly wave of blades.

Before she could fully land, Kuroyoku’s fist crashed into her. The sheer force of the punch sent her flying, her mind reeling from the impact. Her clothing tore in wide patches under the pressure of the punch winds. But in this kind of life-and-death battle, even a woman like Lily had no time to worry about torn clothes or exposed skin.

To Lily, every direction was filled with enemies. Every second meant either killing or being struck. It was pure chaos.

“Lily!” Shimizu, instead of locking into a head-on fight with Kunhiza, had come to Lily’s side. Her blade slashed into the back of the bloated demon god just as he was about to charge at Lily from behind.

The bloated demon god roared in rage and turned, swiping at Shimizu with a massive hand, but she dodged skillfully. Then, with her Murasame-Anko, she struck again, cleaving into his chest.

With enemies on every side, where could Lily run? Even if she tried to escape, could she succeed? Even if by some miracle she did—if she left, wouldn’t her sisters die for sure?

Even surrounded by more than ten Supreme Gods, Lily had no choice but to keep fighting!

There was no escape. Surrounded on all sides, with no breathing room, Lily fought like one possessed. She unleashed a wave of unrelenting battle spirit and charged directly at Wakarai.

Dark Lunar Force surged through the blade as they swept toward him. Wakarai was stunned.Lily had previously fought with precision and restraint, weaving between feints, counters, and evasions. But now she was ignoring all others, focusing solely on him. She dodged or blocked other attacks without retaliation, keeping her blade fixed on Wakarai alone.

The ringing of metal against metal echoed harshly as Wakarai’s wounded form struggled to endure. Each strike of Lily slammed into his spear, sending violent reverberations through his arms and shaking him until blood spilled from his lips. He was barely able to keep up with the relentless assault.

“Damn it! Has this woman gone mad? Why is she only targeting me? Cough—ah!” Wakarai spat blood as he roared in both fury and disbelief.

“Lord Kuroyoku! Help me!” Pride had kept Wakarai from retreating earlier, determined to stand his ground against Lily. But his divine power was running dangerously low, and his body had taken too much punishment. He had no choice but to fall back while fending her off.

A sharp crack echoed as Kuroyoku’s massive hand grabbed Lily by the ankle and flung her with terrifying force.

The force of the throw was immense, Lily had no time to resist before being hurled through the air. With a bone-jarring thud, she crashed into the charging bloated demon god from the opposite side, the impact smashing into her like a boulder. The collision flung her in the opposite direction yet again.

Behind her, the Spider-Demoness waited with eight venomous limbs spread wide, poised to impale her the moment she reached. But Lily caught sight of a dark silhouette darting behind the bloated demon god.

Without hesitation, and completely ignoring the Spider-Demoness’ looming assault, she made an unthinkable decision and hurled the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi straight toward the bloated demon god.

“What?!” gasped the surrounding demon gods. No one expected Lily to willingly throw away her most dependable weapon.

The blade sliced clean through the bloated demon god’s massive belly, leaving a gaping, horrifying cavity. Lily had purposely aimed away from the divinity, preventing the sword from lodging in his core.

Across the battlefield, Shimizu caught the sword perfectly. Now dual-wielding Kusanagi in one hand and Murasame-Anko in the other, she pivoted sharply and counterattacked.

Her sudden move caught Kunhiza off guard. His weapon was knocked aside by the dark glow of Murasame-Anko, and the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi tore a deep line from his face down to his chest.

Staggering back, Kunhiza screamed in agony. That single strike had been devastating, Lily’s Silver Lunar Force still clung to the blade, destroying one of his eyes and severing several of his serpent-locks. The wounds refused to heal, and he howled, clutching his ruined face.

“Kagami Lily doesn’t have the Kusanagi! This is it, kill her now!” Wakarai shouted from nearby.

The spider-demoness lunged from behind, her eight poisoned claws slashing forward. From the other side, a mantis-like abyssal demon—wielding twin serrated scimitars—charged in to cut Lily in two. This was Kunpikasha the Black Scythe, one of the Ten Abyssal Demon Gods, his strength ranking near the bottom alongside the bloated demon god and the spider-demoness.

Lily was defenseless without her sword, or so it seemed. But just as danger closed in, a ripple of moonlight flashed behind her. Shimizu arrived at her back. The two women stood back to back, silent, instinct synchronized. Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi returned to Lily’s grip as they spun together, switching places in a smooth arc of motion.

Shimizu held off Kunpikasha while a flicker of killing intent flashed in Lily’s eyes. She spun around, and the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi began to whirl at blinding speed.

All eight of the spider-demoness’ legs were severed in an instant. Screeching in madness, the demoness lunged straight at Lily with her fangs bared, but Lily thrust her blade directly through the demoness’ skull, the sword twisting inside with violent force.

With a sickening squelch, the entire head was shredded into flying bits of gore.

A savage gust of force suddenly tore through the air as Kuroyoku’s fist came crashing toward Lily and Shimizu. If Lily dodged, Shimizu behind her would take the full brunt of the strike.

Instead, Lily spun and kicked the mutilated spider-demoness sideways.

With a thud, the spider-demoness’ limp body was launched directly into Kuroyoku’s incoming black fist, which slammed into it like a falling star. The demoness’ already-wounded body was crushed, her abdomen smashed to a pulp.

Lily struck from behind, thrusting her blade into the spider-demoness’ Divinity. Silver Lunar Force surged from the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, annihilating her spiritual sea and shattering her spirit crystal.

The spider-demoness, ranked tenth among the ten Abyssal Demon Gods besieging Lily, and the only female among them, was dead.

Furious and humiliated, Kuroyoku tore apart the spider-demoness’ corpse and stormed toward Lily through the rain of blood and flesh. But Lily showed no fear. Even if it meant taking a direct blow to her chest, she refused to retreat. She swung her blade directly at Kuroyoku’s chest in return.

“You’re insane!” Kuroyoku roared, but at the last moment he withdrew, diverting the power of his fist and retreating. He refused to clash head-on.

Though his brute strength was overwhelming, Lily’s body could take punishment. One punch, no matter how brutal, wouldn’t take her down. But if the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi cut into his chest, he didn’t dare risk it.

Even if such a strike wouldn’t kill him outright, if his spiritual sea was damaged, it might take countless years to recover, especially with Silver Lunar Force on the blade, which was known to suppress Yomi beings. Kuroyoku flinched.

“You… you woman, how can you be this ruthless?!” Kuroyoku, renowned for his brute might and mastery of close combat, found himself completely suppressed. Once he lost the nerve to fight Lily head-on, much of his strength became unusable.

He never wielded weapons, his fists alone were as powerful as divine artifacts. But Lily’s blade was too sharp, too terrifying.

Elsewhere, Gokakuzo and Masen were locked in fierce combat against Queen Kaguya and Chiya. Though the queen’s side was clearly at a disadvantage, the gap in strength wasn’t insurmountable. With Queen Kaguya’s restorative incantations, they weren’t easily subdued.

Meanwhile, Rakshasa-Onna and Asura-Onna were battling two Yomi Supreme Gods evenly. Neither side could break the deadlock, and the fighting raged on.

They lacked Shimizu’s teleportation technique, and were too entangled in their own fights to support Lily.

‘Huff… Huff…’ Amid this relentless slaughter, Lily had no moment to breathe. Her energy expenditure was enormous. Though her divine power was vast like an ocean, even a Supreme God’s body had limits. Physical fatigue was inevitable.

Her garments hung in tatters, fragrant sweat poured from her skin, trickling from her chin and down her heaving chest. Her breaths came heavy and deep, but her eyes remained fierce, still filled with unyielding will to fight.

“Hahaha! So, even this woman gets tired after all!” the bloated demon god sneered.

“We’ve been attacking her without pause, there’s no way she can hold out much longer!” Kunhiza, still bleeding from one eye, growled with venom. “No matter how fierce or stubborn she is, she won’t last! Everyone, together! Kill her!”

Compared to Lily, Shimizu’s condition was even more dire. Her stamina was never as high as Lily’s, and her divine power had long been running low. Now, both were nearly exhausted.

Just then, soft silvery light drifted through the air, interspersed with sparkling motes like stars in the rain. These droplets carried a celestial fragrance, sweet and revitalizing.

The starlight and rain settled gently over Lily and Shimizu, washing away their fatigue and beginning to restore their divine power. While the effect on Lily was modest, the recovery was much more significant for Shimizu.

On the contrary, Lily’s physical fatigue seemed to fade even faster, as if her strength had returned in full.

Far in the distance, Ayaka danced.

Her graceful steps painted a silver, misty river of starlight that flowed through the vast darkness and streamed toward Lily and Shimizu, transforming into a shower of stardust and celestial dew, gently nourishing their bodies and spirits.