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Renka hoisted the chain, compelling Lily to rise into a kneeling position. Tracing a finger along Lily’s chin, she marveled, “Can there truly be a woman of such beauty in this world?”

Her eyes wandered down, observing the exposed white skin through the torn attire, a tinge of envy in her voice. “Such an enticing figure, flawlessly perfect.”

“Ahahahaha!” Glancing down at the two formidable beings, she declared, “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t contest you degenerates¹. Yet, by Her Highness Rakshasa’s command, I am to seek out blade maidens and adepts of unparalleled beauty and potential. Among the vast reaches of Yomi, this woman stands unparalleled. By Her Highness’s decree, I shall take her. Hold no grudge against me; this is all by Her Highness Rakshasa’s bidding!”

“Silence! Were Rakshasa to appear herself, dissent would not cross my lips. However, you are but a mere captain. Am I right in assuming you’re the notorious Amethyst Hook Renka?”

“It seems your seven eyes do see.” Beside Renka, the short blue-haired Wakaki Michi quipped, adorned in a semi-transparent, light pearl-colored kunoichi garment.

“Wakaki! Hold your tongue. Do you not recognize who this is?” Renka reprimanded.

Mauro Kidou was a tyrant of his era. If feasible, she desired only to whisk Lily away without conflict.

An overwhelming and ferocious aura enveloped Mauro, with golden flame motifs beginning to illuminate across his form.

“Amethyst Hook Renka, release the maiden! Ideally, I wish to avoid conflict with Rakshasa!”

Tsukou ascended and hovered midair, protesting, “I was the first to seize this mirror girl. Why do others now challenge my claim?”

Renka regarded the two titans with a frosty demeanor, “Were this any ordinary woman or blade maiden, I’d readily relinquish her. However, Her Highness Rakshasa has specifically tasked me with delivering this woman. I am bound by her commands; I implore you not to complicate matters, lest it reflect poorly on us all.”

Tsukou disclosed his allegiance to Wakarai of the Eight Thunder Prisons. A swordsman of millennia, he wouldn’t normally duel to the death over a single woman. Yet, bound by his master’s directive, how could he permit Lily’s removal?

“Wakarai?” Renka’s brow furrowed in concern. She scrutinized both Tsukou and Mauro; although all were formidable forces within Yomi, she stood as their equal. The trio found themselves at an impasse, each acting under their masters’ directives.

“Renka! Release the woman!” Mauro bellowed, his patience waning rapidly.

Tsukou was content to bide his time; isolated and at a disadvantage, he relished the prospect of Rakshasa’s forces clashing with the bull demons.

Lily, too, was inclined to wait. Despite a modest recovery, she recognized the peril of her predicament. Opting to let the three titans battle, she planned her next move cautiously.

“Forward!” commanded Renka. The earth dragons coiled, priming themselves to flee.

“You may depart only once the woman is left behind!”

Mauro vaulted skyward, his form akin to a dark deity enshrouded in golden, supernatural clouds, each of his six formidable arms brandishing a weapon as he assailed Renka, with his bull demon minions in tow.

“Foolhardy bovines! You dare to assail the Rakshasa dojo?” Renka seethed, commanding, “Give them a lesson they won’t forget!”

Renka’s cohort of twelve female warriors directed their twelve earth dragons against the bull demons. With might equating to quintuple-soul Big Dipper entities, the dragons unfurled their fanged maws, spewing corrosive green acid.

While bearing Lily, Renka was constrained from joining the fray. She secured the chain to her earth dragon’s horn and, deeming it insufficient, withdrew and activated a mid-tier spirit treasure rope, tailored for ensnaring formidable blade maidens or adepts. The rope spiraled around Lily, binding her securely to the earth dragon.

Launching herself with a vigorous leap, Renka manifested a pair of purple crystal hooks in her grasp, ready to engage in combat.

In mid-leap, she hurled three kunai, each pulsating with eerie energy and inscribed with luminescent ancient runes.

Utilizing his six limbs, Mauro parried two of the kunai; the third nicked his arm, a wound he deemed negligible.

He delivered a mighty cleave towards Renka with his great axe.

Dodging rather than confronting the strike, Renka closed in and launched a claw attack at Mauro’s chest.

Mauro intercepted the assault with arms wielding a short club and a serpent-headed dagger, while two others, each gripping a machete, aimed for Renka.

With precise agility, Renka dodged the assaults and landed a kick, imbued with purple arcane energy, on Mauro’s head as she darted by.

However, as her kick connected, Mauro countered by striking her abdomen with his axe handle, propelling them both backwards. The collision’s shockwave sunk the ground and reduced myriad stones to dust.

Observing Renka’s confrontation with Mauro, Tsukou sprang into action, leaping onto the earth dragon’s head to seize Lily, only to realize he couldn’t sever or untangle the enchanted rope.

Swiftly altering his approach, he decapitated the earth dragon and extricated Lily. With her wrists still bound, she was powerless to resist, and he slung her over his shoulder.

Tsukou wasted no time, pivoting and hastening his escape.

“Halt!” With Lily being abducted, Renka ceased her battle with Mauro and pursued.

With Lily draped over his shoulder, Tsukou sensed her fervent struggle despite the bindings. Her soul world’s influence dampened his speed, rendering him slower than Renka and Mauro, who were swiftly gaining on him.

Tsukou veered sharply, dashing into a shadowy cave atop a mountain peak with Lily in tow.

“Yanami Prison Formation!” With a plunge of his blade into the earth, Tsukou activated an age-old formation. The mountain’s space solidified as luminescent green stakes materialized at the cave’s mouth, sealing it shut.

Renka launched an immediate assault on the barrier with Yomi techniques, but was momentarily thwarted from breaching it.

Behind her, Mauro charged headfirst into the barrier with his massive bovine head.

The seal’s verdant light remained unbroken as the impact resounded, holding steadfast against the assault.

Tsukou cast Lily aside and assumed a lotus position, funneling his spirit energy into the formation to reinforce its resilience.

“What’s this hideous elder attempting?” Lily pondered. Given the formation’s nature, it barred entry from those outside and exit for those within.

Unless……

A dreadful notion abruptly seized Lily.

Outside the formation, Renka and Mauro teamed up to assault it, inflicting some damage that was swiftly mended by Tsukou’s spiritual prowess. Their efforts amounted to a cycle of advance and retreat, making a swift breach challenging.

The world began to tremble.

Beneath the stone dome, towering tens of thousands of meters high, dense blue-gray thunderclouds unfurled across the sky.

The air trembled as countless thunderbolts descended in a furious cascade.

A muscular man, his skin shimmering with a metallic sheen and wild white hair flowing, traversed the sky with ease, each casual step spanning a thousand miles.

Within moments, the man took his place above the mountain.

“Your Highness Wakarai!” Joy radiated from Tsukou’s aged face.

Fear flickered in the eyes of both Renka and Mauro.

“Your Highness! Your loyal servant has captured the mirror girl. Despite invoking your esteemed name, these two persisted in their attempts to take her from me! I had no choice but to resist with all my might and await your august presence,” shouted Tsukou.

Mauro and Renka gazed upward at the man in the sky with a reverence reserved for deities, careful not to betray any hint of disrespect.

“Who dares to lay claim to one of mine?” The handsome man with white hair and eyes crackling with lightning surveyed the gathered demons from above.

Renka, drenched in cold sweat, had no choice but to kneel before Wakarai.

“I was merely executing the orders of Her Highness Rakasha; I wouldn’t dare oppose Your Highness Wakarai’s claim. Now that Your Highness is present, I can only extend my congratulations on acquiring the realm’s fairest maiden.” Despite her reluctance, Renka understood the power of Wakarai, one of Yomi’s supreme eight thunder gods, for whom taking a life was as easy as breathing. Even Rakasha’s direct intervention might not tip the scales in her favor. She hoped for mercy, given her compliance.

The bull demons bowed their heads, conceding, “Given that this woman features on Takamagahara’s wanted list and now resides in Yomi, our conflict was merely for the bounty. With Lord Wakarai’s personal presence, challenging your authority is beyond our dare.”

“Ahahahahaha, AHAHAHAHA!” Thunderous laughter, echoing alongside the booming of thunder, spread across ten thousand miles as lightning bolts struck. Many monsters fell victim, either injured or slain by the electrical onslaught.

“Your wisdom is noted. Ancient Bull, your age surpasses mine in Yomi’s lands, and I’ve no desire to end you. And for you, with Rakshasa’s regard in mind, you’ll be spared. Yet, knowing she’s mine and still attempting her capture, punishment is inescapable.” Wakarai’s gaze sparked with lightning, summoning ominous clouds above.

“What?” Renka’s voice cracked in alarm.

Scanning the crowd, Wakarai inquired, “Your name?”

“Renka, captain of the seventh division,” she replied, her voice tinged with anxiety.

“Hmm, you and your eleven subordinates² shall strip and prostrate yourselves nine times before me and the other demons for your pardon,” commanded Wakarai, his tone ruthless.

“What!?” Renka shivered, disbelief and indignation filling her. Accustomed to the pride and disdain of the Rakshasa Dojo, how could they subject themselves to such degradation before these vile demons?

Yet, with Rakshasa far beyond reach and aid too distant to summon— and considering even her arrival might not tilt the scales against Wakarai—

“Well? Disrobe and bow,” Wakarai threatened, unyielding.

The crowd erupted in cheers at Wakarai’s command, their disdain for the Rakshasa women palpable. These women, known for their formidable unity and strength hunting demons far and wide, were now subjects of a spectacle they couldn’t resist.

“If it’s me you seek, then proceed! Why involve the innocent?” emerged a soft, feminine voice from below where Wakarai hovered.

“What!? Who speaks?” Wakarai’s fury unleashed a tempest, his thunderous response claiming the lives of countless more monsters, all triggered by a single utterance from Lily.

1. Robinxen: So a contender. Lily you’re so popular!
2. Silva: 11? Did one of them die?