Demon Sword Maiden

Wakarai tuned into his divine senses.

"What? Her? Kagami Lily?" After releasing the arrow, Lily immediately retreated. At that moment, apart from Lily, the only others nearby were the subordinates of either Wakarai or Lord Umashi. "This woman wields Lunar Force?" Wakarai was astonished.

Months ago, when Lily first arrived in Yomi, she had injured his subordinate, Yaiba, severing his finger—an injury that couldn’t be reversed. Yet, Yaiba lacked deeper knowledge of such powers.

"It’s clear now why Takamagahara pursues her. She must be linked to the Celestial Maiden!" While Wakarai had no intention of killing Lily, the scar she left on his face was unforgivable. Channeling his anger, he conjured a small orb of lightning on his fingertip and hurled it towards her.

"What?" Both Queen Kaguya and Chiya were too distant to intervene. The small orb of lightning, swift and unyielding, tore through the layers of boulders. By the time Lily detected the attack, the lightning was mere inches from her face.

She dodged with all her might. Yet, the orb was too swift, outpacing her reflexes. Just as she attempted to evade, the lightning struck, enveloping her in fierce electric currents that further shredded her tattered clothes.

"Ah!" Lily cried out as she hit the ground.

"Lynne!" Queen Kaguya attempted to assist, but Lord Umashi blocked her, launching a devastating punch her way with his enhanced gloves.

Umashi's strength was formidable, and his punches were rapid. Struggling to parry all his blows, Queen Kaguya conjured multiple barriers with her Jade branch as she retreated. His powerful fists shattered these defenses, sending her reeling backward.

"B̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲!" The attack drained some of Queen Kaguya's divine power but did not injure her.

Lily lay on the ground; Wakarai, cautious not to overexert his power, inflicted severe pain but only superficial injuries, underestimating her resilience. Indeed, Wakarai had moderated his attack, having traveled great distances for this encounter, he was not about to end her life.

"Are you all daydreaming? Capture her!" Lord Umashi bellowed.

At that moment, of his eight Infernal Stage subordinates, two engaged Seki in combat. The chaos wrought by the clash of the Supreme Gods had scattered them; the remainder focused solely on aiding Lord Umashi against Queen Kaguya, leaving Lily momentarily unnoticed.

Upon receiving the command, a rare demon known as Enki, distinguishable by his emaciated frame and a striking red mohawk, happened to be nearby, a few kilometers away. Enki is known for their formidable strength despite their frail appearance.

With a burst of speed and a cloud of red smoke, Enki charged forward, his massive feet thundering toward Lily. Having barely recovered from the lightning strike, Lily rolled across the ground, narrowly avoiding a large stone. Unfortunately, Enki used this moment to stomp forcefully on her back and kick her aside.

Lily's body crashed against a boulder with a heavy thud. Struggling to her feet amidst the debris, her tattered clothes hung loosely, barely covering her. Gasping for breath, she leaned on her blade for support, her breaths causing the remnants of her shirt to flutter.

Enki's eyes gleamed with excitement upon seeing her. "No wonder our boss ventured so far for you! Just the sight of you is worth the journey! Surrender now; only our Supreme Lord has the right to claim a prize like you!"

"Dream on! No one can claim me," Lily retorted, gripping her Oborozuki Muramasa tightly and swinging it with force, sending a wave of hazy blade energy towards Enki.

"Pathetic," Enki scoffed, choosing not to draw his scimitar but instead deflecting the blade energy with a swipe of his sharp claws. Despite his average strength for an Infernal Stage demon, he managed to dissipate the attack effortlessly. Yet, the force of the strike left cuts across all three of his claws.

He gasped in surprise, "What?" Though he expected some injury, he hadn't anticipated the failure to regenerate as quickly as usual. Unfamiliar with the peculiar properties of Lunar Force1, Enki grew more cautious. Although Lily lacked the strength to pose a significant threat, her Oborozuki Muramasa was exceedingly sharp; even its ranged attacks could sever digits. However, inflicting a serious injury on the Infernal Stage Enki was nearly impossible.

Without warning, a figure emerged from beneath the ground right behind Lily.

A quintuple-soul horse demon with long, stick-like arms emerged, swiftly wrapping them around Lily's neck in a chokehold. This demon, hailing from the Hell of Torment, utilized its ability to travel underground, catching Lily completely off guard.

Cackling, the horse demon exclaimed, "Hehehe! Beauty! I caught you!" He tightened his grip, preparing to drag her underground.

A look of extreme disdain crossed Lily's face. She quickly spun around, her blade slicing through the air and plunging into the thick neck of the horse demon. Blood erupted like a fountain as she then grabbed and hurled the demon aside.

With a loud thud, Enki dismissed the horse demon with a swipe and then turned his focus back to Lily, wielding his scimitar with increased caution and determination.

Lily, knowing better than to engage directly with an Infernal Stage demon, retreated swiftly. However, Enki was faster, rapidly catching up and landing a forceful kick to her waist, which sent her hurtling through the air and crashing into the ground.

Just as Enki prepared to continue his assault, a powerful aftershock from the distant battle between Chiya and Wakarai swept through, forcibly pushing him away.

Struggling to her feet amidst a field of debris, Lily's clothing was reduced to mere strips barely clinging to her body, leaving little to the imagination. Sweating profusely and breathing heavily from the exertion and pain, the aftermath of Wakarai's lightning attack and Enki's relentless aggression weighed heavily on her.

"Kagami Lily! I will capture you!" boomed a voice, as two more Infernal Stage demons approached rapidly from a distance.

Gasping with burning lungs, Lily fled without a moment's hesitation, realizing the imminent danger.

"Don't you dare run!" shouted a female demon, adorned in purple skin and a sharp horn, her modesty barely covered by a tiger pelt. She brandished a red whip, swinging it menacingly at Lily.

Lily leapt to dodge the whip. Suddenly, a corpulent septuple-soul Big Dipper demon appeared, seizing her ankles and pulling her downward with a thud.

"Let go!" Lily exclaimed, dizziness overwhelming her. In a desperate effort, she thrust her weapon at the hefty demon clutching her ankles.

Out of nowhere, a pitch-black septuple-soul demon with a goat head emerged from behind a boulder and delivered a powerful kick to Lily's head. Although her Spirit Armor prevented injury, the blow deeply disoriented her, rendering her unable to dodge further attacks.

A whip, crackling with bright red energy, lashed across Lily's nearly exposed back. She winced in intense pain. Just as Lily opened her mouth to scream, the goat demon in front of her delivered a swift punch to her stomach, silencing her abruptly.

Simultaneously, the fat demon behind her yanked her hair, but Lily's eyes only hardened in response. With a swift motion, Lily swung her sword and severed the goat demon's hoof just as it was poised to kick her again.

Quickly bending at the waist, she thrust her weapon upwards, targeting beneath her own crotch. With another swift strike, Lily's blade pierced the fat demon's crotch, causing him excruciating pain despite his regenerative abilities, forcing him to release his grip.

As the fat demon staggered back, Lily landed deftly and executed a sweeping leg kick, using the momentum to enhance her next sword strike.

Her blade sliced cleanly through the fat demon's leg, causing him to tumble and collapse onto one knee. Just then, the whip was once again poised to strike Lily. Defiantly, Lily chose not to dodge; instead, she gripped her blade with both hands and plunged it deeply into the fat demon's neck, targeting his vital Anima.

"You want to humiliate me? Come then! I'll kill you all!" Lily screamed with wild defiance, her ferocity halting the surrounding Big Dipper Archdemons in their tracks.

However, the female Infernal Stage demon was undeterred and struck Lily again with her whip, leaving a deep gash on her pale skin and knocking her to the ground.

"Lynne!" Queen Kaguya cried out, swinging her jade branch and unleashing a powerful spell towards the female demon. The force of the spell, though not her specialty, was formidable enough to send the Infernal Stage demon hurtling through the air.

Amidst the chaos, as Queen Kaguya focused on aiding Lily, Umashi closed the distance and landed a devastating punch. Despite her layers of divine energy barriers, the force drove her deep into the ground.

The earth shook violently under Lord Umashi's feet, creating a massive crater over ten meters in diameter on the surface of the Hell of Torment.

"Queen Kaguya! I shall capture you!" shouted Lord Umashi as he dove headfirst into the crater.

Simultaneously, Lily, dazed and disoriented from the whip's strike, was sent flying. Overwhelmed, she could only sense distant commotion, unable to grasp the unfolding events.

"How can this woman be so resilient?" Wakarai mused, unfazed. Noting Lily's unyielding spirit despite being whipped away, he conjured another lightning ball between his fingers, this one significantly more potent than the last.

"I'll let you taste this one. Let's see if you can stand after this," he taunted, readying the lightning ball.

"Don't think about it!" Despite her tattered clothing and visible electric burns, Chiya charged at Wakarai without a moment's hesitation2.

She thrust her weapon forward. Wakarai, powerful as he was, could not afford to disregard her furious assault. He was forced to abandon his attack on Lily and instead swung his lightning spear to parry hers.

"Lynne! Run! Run quickly!" Chiya, her divine power nearly spent, continued her relentless attack on Wakarai, determined not to let him harm Lily again.

However, Lily's position had now been exposed. Three Infernal Stage Archdemons had encircled her, and numerous Big Dipper demons began their assault…