Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 13 - Takamagahara: Chapter 2 - Infiltration

“Is it possible that Riyuki and the other celestial maidens who caused havoc in the Hekiraku Realm are actually within this fortress?”

“If that’s the case, then the interrogator might also be here,” Rei said.

“If that’s true, then even if we risk being discovered, we must stop that interrogator. I’ve heard she’s the wife of Lord Shikikai, so she must be a demoness!” Lily said coldly.

“Lily, we’re also very close to the route back. Even if we’re found out, the enemies from the deeper regions of Takamagahara might not make it here in time,” said Rei.

That faint silvery river was still hidden amidst the clouds. If they retraced their steps along it, they should be able to return to the Hekiraku Realm.

“Sister Uesugi, let’s infiltrate this fortress and investigate!”

“Mm.”

Lily and Rei continued approaching the fortress, circling around using giant trees, shrubs, and boulders for cover, until they reached the base of the fortress.

“Be careful. We don’t know if this fortress is protected by an alert spell,” Rei warned.

Neither Lily nor Rei were skilled in spells or formations.

“Lily, don’t worry. This is just a border fortress. Its warding formations are quite crude,” Rinne said via sound transmission. “These ancient strongholds were built long ago to fend off demonic invasions. Unless overwhelming power is unleashed, even if there are passive detection spells inside, they can only detect creatures with Eldritch Energy. Since both you and Rei are celestial maidens, you won’t trigger these ancient warnings. From here on, the only concern is whether the celestial maidens and guards inside can visually identify you. Just make sure not to get spotted.”

“Could there be mechanical traps?” Lily asked with concern.

“Lily, this is akin to a frontier fortress in the human dynasties, built with the intention of defending against large-scale enemies. It’s a crude and cheaply made low-grade war outpost, not some treasure vault. Other than a few rare hidden chambers, most of the structure would never be laced with traps,” Rinne said with absolute certainty.

“That’s a relief!” Lily fully trusted her words.

“But, Senior Sister… how do you know so much about Takamagahara?”

“That’s a matter for another time. There’s no time to waste, hurry and infiltrate now,” Rinne replied.

“Understood.”

And so, Lily and Rei took advantage of the night, carefully avoiding the patrolling celestial maiden guards’ line of sight as they slipped beneath the colossal fortress. With their skills, it was no difficult feat.

They jumped up from the massive, damp, and rotting tree stumps and wooden beams below. It was effortless for them.

They reached the lower middle levels of the structure, where stockpiles of military equipment and various storage rooms were found. Lily noticed that most of the armaments were damaged, covered in thick layers of dust and rust, as if they hadn’t been used for many years.

‘These must have been the defensive weapons used by Celestial Battle Maidens to defend the borders back in the day. Now, all long abandoned,’ Lily thought to herself.

She also noticed that apart from celestial maidens, another kind of guard existed between the wooden floors and shelving beneath the fortress tower. These guards were all male; tall, muscular, with dark skin, and clearly weaker in strength than the celestial maidens.

Lily and Rei climbed up to a central level, where several celestial maidens stood guard at various posts. The two of them hid behind a stack of crates, waiting for the right moment to ascend further.

“That villager said earlier that Riyuki seemed to be in charge of managing the fodder. We need to locate the fodder storage,” Lily transmitted.

“Mm…”

“What’s wrong, Sister?”

Rei looked puzzled. “If Riyuki brought the interrogator back to Takamagahara, that should be a major achievement. Why would she be assigned to manage something as lowly as a fodder store?”

“Who knows? There’s no point overthinking Takamagahara’s arrangements,” Lily replied.

Just then, when the two celestial maidens on patrol turned to leave, a tall, burly male guard wearing filthy black armor made of exotic beast hide came striding over. Though half a head taller and far broader than the celestial maidens, he was only at the Throne Stage.

“You two, get over here!” the man barked rudely at the celestial maidens.

Both women were at the Triple-soul Big Dipper level. No matter where one stood in the Three Realms, strength was law, respect was given to the strong. Yet this coarse, hideous Throne Stage man dared to order around two beautiful, high-ranking celestial maidens? Lily found it utterly baffling.

Even in the Land of Yomi, where all manner of demons hunted women, if a low-ranking Throne Stage male dared provoke a Big Dipper maiden while she was alone, he would be courting death.

Yet here, these two celestial maidens walked over with utmost humility and respect. Faced with such blatant disrespect, they showed no anger at all, as if they were long used to it.

“Honored Kegaretsu guard, what do you need from us?” one of the maidens asked.

“I bought some herbs and a cauldron from a skyborne merchant yesterday. I was going to refine them today, but my spiritual power is limited and I can’t get a strong enough flame going. Besides, I don’t feel like wasting my energy. You two go and handle the refining for me,” the tall guard said.

“Um…” The maiden looked troubled. “But we’re still on duty…”

“Hmph! What duty? This rotten fortress hasn’t seen a proper battle in a hundred years. What difference does it make if two of you slack off?” The guard scanned the two maidens up and down. “Look at the way you two dress, like s̲l̲u̲t̲s̲, always wandering around here giggling and chatting. You call that patrolling? You’re just milking your pay! If not for Lord Kuromon’s charity, you lot wouldn’t even have food to eat!”

“You… how dare you insult us!” the younger maiden blushed in humiliation, eyes flashing with fury.

“So what if I insult you? I’ll even smack you if I want!”

The burly Throne Stage guard actually slapped the younger Big Dipper maiden across the face. Her spiritual energy surged as she almost struck back, but the older maiden quickly grabbed and restrained her.

“Have you lost your mind? He’s a Kegaretsu officer!”

Even though it was the maiden who had been struck, the older one held the younger back and kept apologizing.

“Who the hell did the placements here? Stuffing so many useless people on this level, wasting precious Blood Spirit Magatama!” the tall guard cursed. “Don’t forget the rules, you two! In a fortress under the control of the Kegaretsu Clan, whatever we demand, you celestial maidens are not allowed to refuse!”

The two maidens looked helpless. Judging by their expressions, this rule did indeed seem to exist.

“No choice. Even if it wastes our spiritual power, we’ll just have to help him. After all, we sisters are stuck doing menial tasks here anyway…” the older one said with resignation.

The younger maiden was still seething with humiliation, her heart full of unwillingness, but she could only bite her lip and follow the tall guard.

“You should’ve just obeyed from the start. You celestial maidens are such a pain. Always need a slap to behave. And you, little girl, you’re clearly stronger than me, should be able to take a good beating, huh?” As he spoke, the guard pulled out a whip.

“W-what are you planning to do?” the young maiden asked warily.

“Hmph. What do you think? Relax. I’m not wasting spiritual energy lashing your filthy bodies. Hurts my own hand more than it’s worth!”

As the three of them disappeared down the corridor, even though this floor now had fewer guards, Lily couldn’t calm her heart. Even if both the male guards and the celestial maidens were technically enemies, as someone with a Celestial Maiden Physique, she felt a natural fury seeing her kin treated so disgracefully and trampled upon.

“What kind of trash dares to treat celestial maidens like that?” Lily clenched the hilt of Oborozuki Muramasa at her waist, barely able to contain herself. She wanted to cut that Throne Stage guard down like a stray dog.

“Lily, don’t lose your head. Don’t forget, you’re an infiltrator. All of these people are your enemies,” Rinne transmitted. “That man is from the Kegaretsu Clan. He’s one of Lord Kegaretsu’s descendants, possibly even a direct relative. In Takamagahara, that makes him a high-ranking noble. Naturally, the celestial maidens have to show him deference.”

“Why is it like this…” Lily’s chest heaved with each breath, unable to suppress the rising frustration.

“This is reality. The strong rule while the weak submit. That’s just how the world works. Even in the Heian Dynasty, weren’t there emperors, nobles, samurai, commoners, and slaves? There’s nothing unusual about this. Now hurry up and keep moving,” Rinne said.

Lily had no choice but to continue. She and Rei cautiously slipped through the gap left by the two celestial maidens.

Creak…!

It was completely unexpected. Just as Lily and Rei crept along in front of a dilapidated storage room, the wooden door suddenly swung open right in front of them. No matter how careful they were, they could not have anticipated this, it was simply bad luck.

They had avoided using Spirit Probe, and it was precisely because of that, such accidents became possible.

From inside the room emerged a man so broad he nearly filled the entire doorway. He wore loose, aggressive-looking black-gray armor made of ancient beast hide, his round belly exposed, and a pair of drooping mustaches giving him a foolish look. He squeezed out from the room, and came face to face with Lily and Rei.

Lily and Rei were startled. A flicker of cold resolve passed through their eyes. If the man made even the slightest move to shout, they would strike immediately.

Yet, the man stared at them without the slightest surprise.

“Aha! The herbs and ingredients from the military provisions are delicious as always. Too bad there haven’t been any fine goods lately.” The burly man wiped his mouth without a care, then looked over at Lily and Rei. “So? Are you two in charge of this provisions storehouse? I helped myself to a bit. Got a problem with that?”

Lily and Rei were momentarily stunned. They exchanged glances, then both shook their heads at the same time.

“Heh, I figured you wouldn’t dare complain. If you do go tattling, I’ll skin you both alive!” The man, who was only at the Single-soul Big Dipper level, actually dared to speak so shamelessly to Lily, a Supreme God powerhouse.

“Hm?” The lighting was dim, and he had been eating in a daze. Only now did he take a proper look at the two of them. He gasped sharply. “Oh!”

Though most celestial maidens were born beautiful, few could compare to the transcendent allure of Lily and Rei. They were like goddesses descended together.

“You two… must be new around here, right? I don’t recall seeing either of you before,” the man said as his eyes locked onto them. He began sweeping his gaze over their bodies again and again, his pupils roving without restraint.

That lewd gaze was different from the lustful stares of the demons in Yomi. The desires of demons evoked instinctive resistance and enmity. But the eyes of this Kegaretsu man filled Lily with nothing but disgust and revulsion.

“Yes, we just arrived,” Rei said coolly. After all, not far away were celestial maiden guards, along with various spiritual and divine detection wards. Unless it was unavoidable, she did not wish to resort to violence. Rei wanted to try bluffing their way through.