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“Why did my hair grow longer again? But well, it looks pretty nice like this I suppose…”

Lily’s pretty, chromatic hair within the mirror space long reached 2 inches past the shoulders, and while it had really grown to an embarrassing extent as a boy, she actually found the sensation of this long hair somewhat pleasant.

“I might as well shoulder this shame, as well as senior sister’s sorrow, and blend them both into the Tsukuyomi Swordstyle!”

For some reason, the closer Lily got to the summit of Tsukuyomi Swordstyle’s 1st segment, the clearer she was able to perceive the eternal sorrow contained within the sword intent of Tsukuyomi Swordstyle. Although her minuscule power and insignificant identity might’ve been nothing comparable to the Prime Battle Goddess of Takamagahara, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the sorrow and emotions she felt were nevertheless the same.

The sorrow she felt and the obsession she harbored towards her senior sister were no inferior to any of the eternal emotions prevalent in this Heian World.

Although this sorrow originated from a substantially distinct lifeform, puzzlingly enough, it felt a little familiar to Lily.

Lily seemed to hear a melancholic, ethereal singing from the bygone immemorial times.

“You and I are a bit alike…”

Lily’s eyes shone as she began dancing gracefully and even though she was a boy, the swordplay exhibited the utmost womanly charm without any inhibitions!

“Soon. Quite soon. The 1st segment of Tsukuyomi Swordstyle has a total of 10 stages. The 10th stage is just a step away from perfection now!”

The demon hound arrived inside the mirror space once again at this moment.

Kagura, who was in the middle of meditation, questioned it in exasperation, “Why have you arrived yet again, hound?”

“Lily’s been meditating for quite some time now, so I came over to take a look since it was worrying me a little. Is she still within the cave room? What’s she doing?”

Kagura answered impatiently, “Who knows. She’s probably getting aroused?”

“Aroused?” The demon hound’s fluffy ears turned up as it slanted its head over to gaze at the tightly closed stone door in puzzlement.

Around the same time, Haihime had been confined to her room in the rear courtyard temporarily after getting stripped of all her privileges.

“This is nothing. Although the punishment made it look like I was the one who got disgraced, the one who actually got infuriated was Amanojaku now, wasn’t it? I haven’t lost. As long as I express indifference, the outcome of this bout shan’t be my loss.”

“I haven’t lost.”

“I just need to hold on for one more day no matter what happens, and the villagers will be safe! These hellish days that have lasted for over a decade will finally end!”

“Inciting those monsters to kill Amanojaku got me nowhere in the end, but it doesn’t matter. This wasn’t the only move I had to make after all these years.”

“I can just escape!”

“With my strength, no one except Amanojaku can stop me, besides the villagers overseen by the monsters.”

“I’ll just escape once the villagers are safe!”

“Although my plan of vengeance might’ve failed, I can at least regain my freedom!”

“Soon! I’ll regain freedom quite soon and finally escape from Amanojaku!”

Haihime recalled the past once again, when she had adopted the guise of a pretentious, vile woman and yielded to Amanojaku, finally earning the hate of her cherished clansmen and getting a traitor’s treatment…

“Wash my feet, Haihime!” Amanojaku stepped on Haihime’s breasts directly with his filthy feet, but all she could do was make an effort to appear docile and wash his feet affectionately.

“Haihime! It’s no wonder she likes the strong. After all, she’s a woman who showed no change in expression after watching her mother get murdered and sponged onto the murderer! Hahahahahaha!” Amanojaku’s sarcasm-filled omniscient and vicious remarks had drowned her in darkness several times and made her feel like going all out in a battle to the death, yet she had no choice but to endure.

“Haihime. Do you really like power that much? You haven’t been misbehaving with my subordinates recently now, have you? Oh, yes. I forgot to inform you about this, but some monsters ignored my orders and killed a few kids after rushing into the underground village. An accident like this is unavoidable, but isn’t it pretty interesting though? Watching these humans fight for their lives under such excruciating circumstances makes even me feel moved sometimes.”

“By the way, I feel a little weary sitting on the floor in a seiza like humans. I’m going to meet with some Great Demons of Mutsu later, so why don’t you lie over for me at that time and let me sit on you? You love things like this anyways, right? Hahahahahaha…”

Haihime recalled the untold humiliations she had undergone this past decade or so and smiled unnaturally with her darkened face, “Hehehehehehe. In any case… I’ve at least remained staunch and kept my promise with you by living on, Mom.”

“Soon… Mom. I’ll be able to fulfill the promise I made to you quite soon and rescue those clansmen. I’ll be able to escape from this hive of demons then! It’s impossible for Amanojaku to keep watch over me at all times. As for the other monsters, heh, it’s too easy for me to escape from their hands!”

“Even though my body has long become tainted back then, I will keep living on as you asked me to, Mom! I will keep living on in this dark world even with this filthy body and shameful personality of mine!”

“Where should I go after escaping?”

Haihime suddenly realized that she hadn’t put much thought into this aspect of the plan since anywhere out of Amanojaku’s sight was a paradise for her as long as she managed to regain her freedom.

“Hmph! I guess there’s no need to seek that woman, the mirror girl. After all, it’s quite easy for me to find an obscure region to live in this expansive Heian Empire with my strength.”

“I’ll finally regain freedom. I won’t have to bear such dreadful humiliation any longer! I can finally escape this hatred that has almost torn me apart!”

“Mom. I actually find it hard to hold on even a second longer, let alone a day. I really don’t want to share a room with the demon who killed you cruelly, but this final moment is the hardest moment! That demon desires my body even now… but I must preserve, preserve through this final ordeal! For you and my clansmen!”

“Once I’ve overcome this ordeal… I’ll be free!”

Haihime’s eyes dimmed, and her body shuddered as if it were going to crumble apart at any moment, but she persevered tenaciously by relying on her will.

“Lady Haihime…”

“Who is it?” Haihime asked astonishedly.

“It’s me,” A cat-masked kunoichi slid the door open stealthily and arrived before Haihime after closing the door vigilantly.

Haihime regulated her mood hastily and adopted a nonchalant expression intentionally, “Oh, it’s you. Didn’t you all go over to that snake’s side? Why have you come looking for me now?”

“Lady Haihime. My two sisters were wounded pretty heavily in front of those monsters and then got dragged inside a group of monsters to become their playthings, getting toyed to their deaths in a miserable and humiliating fashion… I would rather die after getting found out by them than show loyalty to those monsters!” The cat-masked kunoichi’s mask was expressionless, but the strong resentment emanating from her shuddering body was enough to evoke sorrow in others.

“So what? For what reason have you come looking for me?”

“L-Lady Yumi got caught by Genga, Lady Haihime.”

“Yumi? Didn’t I tell her to leave? Why did she return?”

“It seemed like she wanted to report something to you quite urgently, Lady Haihime, but she got caught by them before she could meet you.”

Yumi should’ve gone to the underground space where the clansmen live based on what I told her, so what was so important that she returned to report to me?

The most important thing is that I’ve yet to announce Yumi’s banishment publicly, so she still holds her status as one of the subleaders of the demon ninjas in the Land of Hundred Demons. Why did those fellows grab her all of a sudden?

A bad premonition welled up within Haihime’s heart instantly.

“Answer me. Where have they imprisoned Yumi right now?”

“Inside the temple’s dungeon,” the cat-masked kunoichi answered with a slight shudder.