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Daitengu, gravely injured, failed to shake off Lily despite his desperate attempts to escape with his wings. Their distance was actually decreasing. His initial thought was to rush into the Purple Serenity Hall at all costs and take the Emperor hostage. However, his plan hit a snag when he saw a little girl with a fox tail, Tamamo-no-Mae, standing in front of its massive gate.

“What? Tamamo-no-Mae?” Unable to understand why Kimiko appeared smaller, he recognized her but had to swiftly change his course, flying into the courtyard. Tamamo-no-Mae did not follow him, knowing there was a hidden teleportation formation inside. However, activating it required time, and with Lily rapidly closing in, Daitengu didn’t have the luxury to use it. Other palace defenses and formations might delay Lily but wouldn’t effectively hinder her, and could result in more powerful figures catching up to Daitengu.

“Damn it!” Daitengu, in his desperate attempt to escape, continually launched spells at Lily. However, Lily effortlessly dodged each one with her remarkable agility, steadily closing the gap between them. Feeling cornered, Daitengu gritted his teeth and transformed into countless crows, scattering in all directions.

Lily, taken aback, exclaimed, “What?” She then activated her domain and formed numerous Sakura blades to decimate the crows. Despite their surprising strength as Daitengu’s avatars, the blades methodically ground them up, filling the air with clouds of dark feathers amid Daitengu’s frantic screeches. Though she annihilated countless crows, some managed to evade Lily’s domain and escape.

Lily couldn’t determine the exact number of escaped crows and knew pursuing them would be challenging. She could sense that destroying these crows had obliterated at least three of Daitengu’s Stellar Souls. Given that each crow carried a fragment of his demonic strength, and Lily had slain most of them, Daitengu would be severely weakened even if he managed to escape.

Lily’s attention then turned back to the battle with Ikusa. The sextuple-soul Yomi demon, typically a formidable opponent, was now surrounded by powerful adversaries and heavily injured, making escape impossible. Ikusa, driven to madness, proclaimed, “I am a noble Yomi inhabitant! You lowly humans and beasts of Ashihara dare to kill me? Dream on!” He ignited his Stellar Soul, fighting back with ferocity.

The seasoned fighters, Archdemons, experts, and Vengeful Spirits surrounding him, some centuries old, skillfully immobilized Ikusa. Ayaka, Shizuka, and Hashihime used various formations to restrain him, while Michizane, Masakado, and others continued their assault. Tomoe Gozen charged at him repeatedly, causing significant damage. Despite his rage, Ikusa was utterly suppressed.

When Lily rejoined the fray, her presence turned deadly for Ikusa. Already capable of facing him alone, her addition to the fight spelled certain doom. Her Yasutsuna, now imbued with enhanced evil-destroying powers, was deadly effective. With a swift strike, she unleashed her Purple Lunar Force on his back, causing demonic blood to burst forth. Michizane’s thunder blade and Masakado’s flaming spear inflicted additional wounds, while Tomoe Gozen kept up her relentless attacks.

Ikusa, despite his rage, was heavily hindered by the numerous formations and spells. Injured and slowed down as if in a swamp, he struggled to land a hit on his adversaries. Even amidst this, he was pummeled relentlessly by spells from Ayaka, Shizuka, and Hashihime.

Finally, after enduring a barrage of attacks, Ikusa let out a desperate roar. Severely wounded and drained of strength, he collapsed. “Humans… All of you… Will regret this… Someday, Ashihara will become just like Yomi,” he cursed with his dying breath.

Lily’s Yasutsuna then pierced his Stellar Soul. Although she was unsure if a sextuple-soul Big Dipper’s Anima would aid in forging a new weapon, she kept it, knowing that at her current stage, absorbing Anima would only boost her power reserves, not her strength. As for advancing to the Big Dipper Stage, she recognized that it would require significant time and effort and chose not to pursue it immediately.

“Still, the Cloistered Emperor escaped!” Lily remarked, slightly dissatisfied. Ayaka stepped forward, offering reassurance, “Daitengu is scary due to his identity as the Cloistered Emperor and being able to rule the world. Now that he lost his power and is critically injured, there’s no difference if he’s alive or dead.”

Shizuka Gozen, still seething with anger, expressed her desire for vengeance, “I really want to kill this Daitengu myself!
Ayaka reassured her, “We’ll definitely try to draw him out.”

Surveying the ruins before the palace, they saw the lifeless body of the giant crimson demon, Ikusa, on the ground, and nearby, a pile of black ashes – all that remained of Minamoto no Yoritomo’s clone. The clone, artificially created, naturally disintegrated into dust upon death, unlike a typical corpse.

Meanwhile, Shimizu, having absorbed a significant amount of dark energy, had grown stronger, now equivalent to a quadruple-soul Big Dipper. The clone’s power, similar to Baku’s, derived from amassed dark energy rather than self-cultivation, making it an ideal target for Shimizu. Typically, Yomi demons offered her little energy, but absorbing the dark energy from both the Baku and the clone was a stroke of luck for her.

“Is it over already…” Lily, utterly exhausted, nearly lost her balance and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Ayaka and Haihime were there to support her. As the adrenaline of battle subsided, Lily noticed her body’s increased sensitivity. Merely being held was enough to cause her to tremble.

“No, I can’t relax just yet. It’s not over yet!” Lily reminded herself. The most significant threat, Minamoto no Yoritomo himself, was still at large. His absence from Heian-kyo suggested he was elsewhere, explaining the city’s lackluster defenses that day. It seemed he had planned to abandon defending Heian-kyo, leaving only enough forces to target Lily.

She realized that without her overwhelming strength and recently mastered fourth Tsukuyomi Swordstyle, his plan might have succeeded. This realization made Lily wary of underestimating Yoritomo, despite her victory in Heian-kyo. His willingness to give up the city indicated he might have a more sinister plan.

“Miss Lily, are you alright?” Michizane approached Lily, floating on a giant demonic cloud.
“I’m fine, thank you,” Lily replied, somewhat wearily.
“By the way, would you mind if I take the corpse of this Yomi demon? You can keep his treasure and Anima; I only need his corpse for a refinement.”
“Of course, Lord Sugawara. Please, feel free to take it,” Lily responded with a gentle smile.

She had already secured Ikusa’s Anima and treasures. As for the clone’s Anima, it was of no real value to her, being artificially created, so she also took Lord Kamakura’s belongings.

“Lord Sugawara, I’ve taken all the treasures for safekeeping. I’ll list them out later, and everyone can take what they need. We’ll divide them fairly,” Lily offered. Although Michizane and the others weren’t her sisters, they had risked their lives against Ikusa and deserved a share of the spoils.

“Hehe, Lady Kagami, your generosity is admirable. I’ll just take his corpse. As for the share, please give it to Hashihime and the others,” Michizane said, instructing Vengeful Spirits to secure Ikusa’s corpse.

With some black-armored soldiers and factions still active in Heian-kyo, chaos was imminent. To prevent this, Lily decided against allowing the entire three hundred thousand-strong army to enter. Instead, she chose thirty thousand elite troops led by Rei, Shizuru, Ijuin, and Shiina to enter the capital, control the situation, and eliminate any remnants of resistance. The majority of the army was ordered to camp outside the city.

“Lily, your expression…” Ayaka paused, seemingly a bit excited and blushing. “Let’s get you back to the Sedan Chair first.” They escorted Lily to the Twelve Nioh King Sedan Chair, temporarily placed outside the palace.

“Um… about the Emperor, make sure he’s safe,” Lily said with concern.
“Don’t worry, it’s a small matter. I’ll handle it,” Ayaka reassured her.

Inside, Lily took a bath, changed her clothes, and returned to her room. Yet, despite laying down, sleep eluded her. In the darkness, a dream invaded her senses. An alluring figure in red, both dominating and sensual, appeared, straddling her. Lily’s face turned red, and her breathing quickened as she clenched her legs tight in the dream.

“Lily, Lily!” she heard faintly. Startled, Lily woke up to find Rei and Shimizu sitting beside her. Embarrassed, she looked away. “I…” she began.

“You don’t need to explain,” they interrupted, pressing her shoulder gently but firmly. “Lily, it seems you’re suffering from that condition again after the exhausting battle. Let us help ease the tension with a massage,” Rei suggested.

“Sigh… But…” Lily hesitated.

“Enough hesitation. Turn over, unless you’d prefer a frontal massage?” they teased. Reluctantly, Lily turned over, allowing her sisters to use their special massage technique on her.

Suddenly, her thoughts drifted to Witch Momiji, the woman who had taught them this technique, who was still tied up somewhere deep inside the cabin…