Demon Sword Maiden

Volume 13 - Takamagahara: Chapter 78 - The Vanished Blade Mark

“What happened to the Emperor?” Lily asked.

“Under Yanagihada’s protection, he has already been escorted back to the Heian Palace. The inner court is now guarded by the Dark Celestial Maiden, so it should be safe. Sister, do you want to see him?” Nanako asked.

“No need.” Lily walked along the corridors of Herikaku City as she spoke. “If Kiyoshi had not rebelled, and if I had known he was still alive, I would have intended to pass the title of shogun to him. But now… the official ranks of the Heian Dynasty mean nothing to me anymore.”

If Lily wished, with a single command she could overthrow the Emperor and crown herself queen of the Heian Dynasty in an instant. Yet even if she did, what would it amount to?

When faced with true calamity, whether one held that throne or not made no difference at all.

“Lily.” Shimizu appeared in the corridor.

“Sister Shimizu?”

“Come, I’ll show you something interesting.”

“Something interesting? What is it?” Lily was still preoccupied with her thoughts about what lay ahead and could not quite follow.

“Just come with me, you’ll see.” Shimizu grabbed Lily’s hand and pulled her along the corridor.

“Sister Shimizu, what exactly are you showing me?”

“You’ll know when we get there.”

“Sister Lily!” Nanako hurried after them, uncertain.

“Only the two of us can see it.” Shimizu said with a hint of displeasure.

Lily had no choice but to turn back, speaking somewhat awkwardly to Nanako, “Well… Nanako, you should go back and rest first.” Before she could say more, she was already being pulled away by Shimizu.

Nanako stood there blankly, feeling unsettled. “What is Sister Shimizu doing, suddenly dragging Sister Lily away like that?”

“Go back and rest? I don’t even feel like resting right now.” Hesitating, Nanako followed behind them. When she reached the end of the corridor, she saw Lily being pulled into a room.

From a distance at the corner, Nanako watched. “At the end of this corridor… that’s only Sister Shimizu’s room, right? What exactly did she drag Sister Lily in there to see? Honestly, Sister Shimizu spends all day either training or fooling around, never paying any attention to Herikaku City’s affairs. She’s the real master of this place, isn’t she?”

“Herikaku City? Of course it belongs to you.” In the dim yet refined room, whose furnishings were somewhat too plain for a young woman’s taste, Shimizu straddled Lily, her loose hair cascading down as her gaze flickered with a teasing glimmer.

“Sister… but Herikaku City is no trivial matter…”

“What does it matter? Lily, you are the master of Herikaku City, and I… am your master.”

“Huh? Sister, what are you—”

Before she could finish, Shimizu pressed both hands firmly against Lily’s ample chest, her eyes brimming with allure. “Relax. I know you need to command authority over so many Celestial Maidens. Outside, I’ll listen to you. But in this room, I am your master. Understood?”

‘So this something interesting… was just this…’ Lily complained inwardly.

As Shimizu leaned down and began to move step by step, Lily’s cheeks flushed, her breathing growing uneven. These past days, she had been occupied with military affairs and had not spent time with her sisters for quite a while…

Lily’s hands gradually wrapped around Shimizu’s back. She even began to tug at Shimizu’s garments, pulling them upward little by little, her hands sliding behind—

Meanwhile, Nanako remained in the corridor. She had originally thought Lily would come out soon after seeing whatever it was, but after waiting for a long time, Lily still had not emerged.

“Something interesting, something interesting… what could possibly take this long to see?” Nanako grumbled inwardly. It was not as though she had no suspicions, and the longer she waited, the more uneasy she felt.

“After all, Shimizu is so powerful, so capable… and me? I’m just Lily’s little attendant, only good for holding an umbrella for her.” Nanako sat in the corner, hugging her knees, burying her head as the entire night quietly passed.

Early the next morning, Lily stepped out of the room, her hair slightly disheveled. As she adjusted the front of her clothing, her fair, full curves rose and fell with her breathing. Moving lightly, she traced her slender fingers along the wooden paper walls.

Her footing suddenly faltered, and with a soft rip, her fingertip pierced through the pristine white paper screen. Startled, Lily quickly pulled her finger back from the small hole, staring at her long, delicate fingers as if lost in thought, a faint blush rising across her face.

At that moment, she suddenly noticed a small figure sitting in the corridor.

“Nanako?”

Nanako slowly lifted her head. “Sister… Lily…”

Lily hurried over, still slightly breathless, and gently crouched down, taking Nanako’s hand. A rich, lingering feminine fragrance instantly enveloped Nanako.

“Sister… Lily… you smell so nice. But today, it feels a little different from usual… even more…” Nanako murmured, her mind drifting.

“Sister, what did you go see? Why did you only come back now? Can I see it too?” Nanako asked, blinking her eyes.

A trace of guilt stirred within Lily. After all, she had made Nanako wait here the entire night. Still somewhat dazed herself, Lily suddenly pulled Nanako into an embrace. “When you grow up, I’ll let you see it.”

‘Ugh… what am I even saying…’ The moment the words left her lips, Lily inwardly reproached herself. Yet even with her strength, she could not take back what had already been said. What if Nanako were to demand that promise be fulfilled in the future?

That very night, in another part of Herikaku City, within the encampment of the Dark Celestial Maiden army where the generals resided—

As the second-in-command of Herikaku City, Yanagihada naturally possessed an expansive estate of her own, with more than a dozen rooms, as well as a private courtyard nestled among the rocky slopes outside the city.

Inside a dimly lit room, Emperor Narinaga still wore that elegant and delicate feminine kimono.

“Your Grace, why did you put this on this one?” Emperor Narinaga gently touched the leather collar around his slender neck.

“Have you forgotten again? In front of me, you are not allowed to refer to yourself as the Emperor. Do you want to be punished again?”

“Ah… I’m sorry. Your Grace, please don’t punish me anymore. Though… your punishments are for my own good. I won’t dare again. I won’t refer to myself as the Emperor in front of you.”

“Good. That’s more like it. This collar is a magical artifact. It will protect you.”

“Protect me? What kind of artifact is it? How does it work?” Emperor Narinaga asked, his wide, innocent eyes glimmering.

“Hehe… this collar signifies that you belong to me. Tell me, who would dare covet you now? No one… except me.” Yanagihada leaned down slightly, her smile soft yet her breath heavy with meaning.

“I see… I’m… I’m scared of this dark world.” His voice trembled, then softened further. “This little sister is so afraid of the schemes and deceit outside. I once thought of submitting to Sister Lily. If she wished to become queen… this one—ah, no… I… I wouldn’t have minded giving everything to her.”

He clutched the collar, trembling. “But she looked down on me, wanted me to be strong. But I don’t want to be strong! I hate that world, where the strong devour the weak! I hate it…!”

His voice broke as his fingers traced the smooth leather at his throat. “Still… wearing this… makes me feel so much safer.”

“Hehe… how obedient. You’re even calling yourself ‘little sister’ now? What happened to your pride as a man?”

“I don’t know… As long as I don’t have to face that terrifying world anymore, I’ll do anything you ask. If Your Grace orders me to call myself your little sister, then I will. Even if you punish me… I don’t dislike it…” Trembling, Emperor Narinaga clung to Yanagihada’s leg, pressing his face against her stocking-clad thigh, as if only that warmth and scent could calm him.

“As a reward, I’ll take you out to have some fun.”

“Really? But outside… there are those terrifying forces that covet me.”

“They won’t dare. With me here, no one will try to take you again.”

As she spoke, Yanagihada fastened a leather leash to the collar around Emperor Narinaga’s neck. With a gentle tug of her slender hand, he immediately understood her command.

Deep beneath the land of Ashihara, tens of thousands of kilometers below the earth’s crust, lay the ancient battlefield of Yomi—cold, desolate, and steeped in darkness.

Across that vast expanse of ashen wasteland, the final, mournful traces of moonlight, faint as drifting sand, flickered softly, then faded away completely.

At the same time, the blade mark that had once severed the Three Realms in a single strike lost its final remnants of power and resentment, dispersing into nothingness. Near that world-shaking scar, behind a barren rock, a mature woman clad in a blue martial kimono opened her eyes.

She approached the abyss-like blade mark, gazing upon it with solemn reverence, her expression grave.

“As the Madam foretold… the power within the blade mark has completely vanished just now.” She stepped back and knelt before the scar, bowing nine times in succession. “Tsukuyomi no Mikoto… have you truly lost all attachment to this world? Or… have you already found a new hope for it?”

“Tsukuyomi no Mikoto, though Yoruko is unworthy of witnessing your divine might in life, to bear witness to the disappearance of this miraculous blade mark—unrivaled across the Three Realms—is already a blessing across lifetimes.”

Fayumi no Yoruko had once been punished by the Madam for violating the laws of Hyakki Street. Later, Lily repeatedly pleaded for mercy on her behalf. It was not that the Madam refused her beloved daughter’s request, but rather that she had other plans.

Those plans were to secretly assign Yoruko to monitor this blade mark left behind by Tsukuyomi.

Since the end of that ancient war, this scar had stood as an absolute chasm across the Three Realms, an insurmountable boundary acknowledged by all powerful beings and factions alike.

Thus, its disappearance would not be noticed immediately. But sooner or later, word would spread.

“From this moment on… Yomi, the mortal world, and Takamagahara are once again connected without obstruction.” Yoruko spoke with deep gravity. “Those ancient gods and demons slumbering beneath the earth, and the countless deities enthroned in the heavens… will descend upon the mortal realm once more. To them, humanity is no more than ants.”

“And Takamagahara and Yomi will once again wage boundless war, driven by their desires. Humans… are nothing but insignificant droplets upon the surface of that raging tide.” Yoruko drew a deep breath.

“I thank the Madam for granting me a new body. This life of mine was given by her. I will fulfill the mission she entrusted to me, even at the cost of my life. No… I feel that this is the very purpose of my existence within the Three Realms.”

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