Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 13 - Takamagahara: Chapter 57 - Jade-Green Waters, White Lotus Blossom

“Mother, at a time like this, do you really still have the mood to admire the scenery here?”

“No. I only wanted to stay a little longer with you… and with Lily,” Bishamonten replied, her expression complicated.

“Lady Bishamonten?” Lily raised her head, sensing that there was something unspoken hidden in her words.

“Just a little while longer… only a little,” Bishamonten said, looking at Rei with reluctance, then, even more puzzlingly, gazing at Lily with deep affection.

Rei seemed to realize what Bishamonten was about to say and spoke first. “Mother, leaving you behind here while we escape on our own is something your daughter could never do.”

“But if we don’t do that, if we keep delaying, none of us will be able to leave!” Bishamonten said anxiously, yet her expression hardened with resolve. “Will you disobey your mother’s command? Go. You and Miss Lily, return at once!”

“Lady Bishamonten,” Lily said earnestly, “Sister Uesugi and I risked our lives to come to Takamagahara precisely to rescue you. How could we possibly abandon you and go back?”

“I have already passed my divinity on to Rei. Hmph. Even if they capture me now, it will be meaningless. I… have nothing left to hold on to.” Beneath Bishamonten’s tenderness lay the shadow of a sorrowful decision.

Before Rei could act, Lily stepped forward and hugged Bishamonten tightly. “No! To Lily, what do divinity, treasures, or secrets matter? What matters most is… sisters, and family!”

Having come alone to the Otherworld Heian, isolated and without support, Lily cherished her sisters and family above all else.

“Disobeying one’s mother is unfilial, but leaving one’s mother here alone to await death, can that still be called a daughter?” Rei said, her body radiating a cold, battle-ready aura as an unshakable resolve settled in her heart. “Lily is right. If we go, we go together. Otherwise, whether it is flight or a fight to the death, we face it together.”

“Can you really escape?” Bishamonten countered. “The three Supreme Gods and their armies are pursuing us. If we are entangled in battle, we will surely lose. Even if we barely escape, Takamagahara is filled with experts, stronger ones, more terrifying existences beyond counting. Do you want to fall into slavery under those Kegaretsu gods, or be brutally humiliated by those Heroic Gods? A fight to the death? I fear that death itself would be the most fortunate outcome!”

“Then I absolutely cannot let Lady Bishamonten remain behind alone!” Lily said anxiously.

“There is no other way…”

“Enough!” At that moment, a gentle yet commanding voice suddenly spread through the air. The three goddesses were startled.

“Bishamonten, you truly disappoint me.”

“Senior Sister?” Lily recognized the voice at once. Rinne had gone so far as to expend soul energy to project her voice outward. Why would she do that?

Upon hearing the voice, Bishamonten reacted with visible shock. “Ah… you… you are…”

“Come in, Bishamonten.”

Bishamonten knelt calmly by the pool, her consciousness already having entered the Mirror Dimension. Rinne did not allow Lily to enter, so she and Rei could only wait outside, unaware of what was happening within.

Yet Lily faintly sensed that the conversation inside the mirror was far from ordinary, perhaps even intense.

‘Why does Lady Bishamonten seem familiar with Senior Sister’s voice, and why does she care so much about it?’ Lily wondered to herself.

After a long time, Bishamonten’s consciousness emerged from the mirror.

“Mother? What did Lily’s Senior Sister say to you?”

Bishamonten looked at Rei with a trace of shame and shook her head. “To think that I, Bishamonten, once the Celestial Maiden War Goddess, would now have to do this with my own daughter… I can disregard my own sense of shame, but it is Miss Lily who will be wronged by this…”

“Huh?” Lily looked utterly confused. “Lady Bishamonten? What… what does that mean?”

In truth, Bishamonten had long thought of this herself. Rinne’s reminder was unnecessary. Yet how could she bring herself to say it out loud?

A crystal appeared in her hand, its interior emitting a clear, lustrous glow, dazzling to the eye.

“This is…” The crystal radiated a powerful fluctuation of the Charm Heavenly Path. Merely looking at it made Lily feel her mind drifting, and even Rei could not resist its influence.

This item was precisely the treasure Rinne had given Bishamonten within the mirror. Rinne herself was only a spiritual body and carried no personal belongings. These items had originally been stored in the simple wooden cabinet in the room where she once slept. Out of respect, Lily had never once searched through it, and thus had no idea what it contained.

“This is the Herikaku Blossoms Mirror,” Bishamonten said. “It has some connection to the Hekiraku Realm.”

“Could it be that Senior Sister gave you a treasure capable of helping us return to the Hekiraku Realm?” Lily’s eyes lit up.

There was no doubt it had come from Rinne. Otherwise, Bishamonten would have taken it out long ago. Lily even felt a flicker of grievance in her heart, wondering why Rinne had not given it earlier.

Yet as Bishamonten held the enchanting crystal suspended in her hand, she hesitated, her resolve wavering. “This… in a certain sense, yes. Though it cannot be guaranteed, there is hope worth trying. It’s just that… this sort of thing…”

“This sort of thing?” Lily and Rei asked in confusion.

Bishamonten was, after all, a mature woman, yet at this moment she was deeply embarrassed. “This sort of thing, we… how could we possibly…”

“Come on, Lady Bishamonten, don’t hesitate anymore,” Lily urged. “Since it’s a treasure given by Senior Sister, it must be safe and effective. There’s no need to doubt it. Who knows when the pursuers might find this place? Let’s use Senior Sister’s gift right away.”

As she spoke, Lily moved swiftly. Her trust in Rinne was absolute. Without the slightest hesitation, she seized the Herikaku Blossoms Mirror. Such a treasure was inherently wondrous, and the moment it touched her hands, a wave of insight surged through her, letting her instantly understand how to use it.

“Ah! Lily, no, this is—”

Before Bishamonten could finish, Lily directly poured a surge of divine power into it, activating the Herikaku Blossoms Mirror.

An unimaginable ripple spread outward like waves across water, expanding in all directions from Lily’s hands. Then the entire world was enveloped in a hazy, ambiguous glow.

The water, the mountains, and the blooming white lotus flowers all shimmered with heart-stirring starlight. It was as if everything was urging forth the long-suppressed emotions within the three goddesses.

“This… this is…” Lily’s breathing gradually grew rapid, her gaze unfocused, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

Before her eyes, Bishamonten and Uesugi Rei seemed to blur, as if veiled in an illusionary haze.

“Miss Lily… you were far too reckless. This is an ancient Celestial Maiden secret realm trinket meant only for lovers. This…” Bishamonten spoke with forced seriousness, yet as she continued, her own consciousness began to waver, and her gaze could no longer leave Lily’s figure.

A deep affection that seemed to transcend time melted within her. The Herikaku Blossoms Mirror could not truly control Bishamonten’s mind, yet that emotion had endured for thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years. Too long, too sorrowful, too filled with longing.

That emotion utterly shattered Bishamonten’s will and sense of restraint.

“Rei, my precious daughter, look at Lily. She was so reckless, misusing the treasure and turning us into this state. If she is not punished, that simply won’t do, will it?”

“Huh? Lady Bishamonten, what… what are you saying…” Lily was already dazed herself. Feeling unable to face it, she tried to retreat, but had no strength. She leaned backward instead, collapsing into Rei’s embrace.

“Sister Uesugi, what… what is going on?”

“I don’t know,” Uesugi Rei replied softly. “All I know is that you caused trouble, so Mother and I must punish you together.”

“Huh?”

As she spoke, Rei began her punishment of Lily from behind. Bishamonten also stepped closer, her long fingers gently lifting Lily’s delicate chin.

“Lady Bishamonten, you… what are you doing? You are… a mother…” Lily protested weakly, her words dissolving into a muffled sound.

Bishamonten used a certain effective method to silence Lily, while her other long fingers explored in an even more effective direction, slipping into the opening of Lily’s garments at her chest.

A dizzying, dreamlike haze followed.

Splash…

Water surged as the three goddesses became entangled together and fell into the clear pool.

Beneath the water, they were like fish at play. Upon the surface, they were like lotuses emerging from the depths.

Even the white lotus flowers nearby, faced with this sacred blossom cherished by two goddesses, seemed to pale in comparison.

Within the Herikaku Blossoms Domain, the deeper the emotions, the more slowly time flowed. Thus, no one knew how much time had passed in the outside world.

At this moment, the three goddesses were barefoot, their tender feet stepping onto the radiant bridge of light.

From afar, the sound of tens of thousands of soldiers seemed to echo, yet they walked forward through the mist, leaning against one another.

“How much longer does this road go on?” Walking upon the bridge of light, the white clouds surged violently, the wind so strong that the three had to support one another, with Lily naturally walking between them.

“I can’t remember how long we walked when we came,” Lily replied softly, her breath still carrying a faint warmth as she panted lightly. “If we keep going, step by step, we will return to the Hekiraku Realm.”

At this time, far from Mokuri Island, a vast, dark mass of troops charged forward.

At their head were the three Supreme Gods: Ame-no-Tajikarao, Tennin-Mikoto, and Amani.

The army flew onto the island.

A Celestial Battle Maiden stepped forward to report.

“Is that so? The city lord here was already killed by them? I recall his name was Kuromon, a thoroughly vile man who abused many Celestial Maidens by relying on his authority as city lord,” Ame-no-Tajikarao said with open contempt.

A man who used violence and power to oppress women was something Ame-no-Tajikarao despised most. Still, they were all officials serving Takamagahara and not under his jurisdiction, so he could only harbor his disdain in silence, thinking that his death was for the best. Though it had no real impact on the Heavenly Law, at least one scoundrel was gone.

“Ame-no-Tajikarao, the way you say that almost sounds like you are boosting the prestige of those three Takamagahara fugitives,” Tennin-Mikoto said with a frown.

“Absolutely not. I merely have my own likes and dislikes. If I find something distasteful, I will say it. What is wrong with that?” Ame-no-Tajikarao replied calmly, unafraid of suspicion.

“Lady Tennin-Mikoto, these people have been dead for quite some time. I fear those three women may already have fled far away,” Amani said.

“Flee? No matter how they run, they cannot escape this fringe airspace. Toward Takamagahara lie endless thunderclouds. Go further outward and not far ahead is the even more perilous Void Expanse, pure nothingness. Even a Supreme God who ventures too far may never return. As for Thundercloud Gorge, we have already laid an inescapable net and stationed heavy troops there. They have nowhere to run. Tighten the search. Those three bitches must be hiding somewhere within this airspace spanning several thousand kilometers!” Tennin-Mikoto declared decisively.

“Um, what… what does ‘b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲’ mean?” Ame-no-Tajikarao asked with honest confusion.

“Tch…” Tennin-Mikoto clicked her tongue, frowning as she put her hands on her hips. “Damn it, it’s just…”