| Author: Carrot Sauce | Original Source: SFACG | Word Count: 3151 characters |
| Translator: LazyButAmibitious | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1809 words |
| Editor(s): Robinxen | ||
“Lily!”
“Sister Lily!”
Seeing Lily return ignited a spark of hope in the eyes of Kimiko, Shimizu, Rei, and their fellow sisters1. The willowy Ayaka was lifted effortlessly by Lily.
“Lily…”
Burying her head bashfully, Ayaka found solace in Lily’s embrace. Though I stand at death’s doorstep on a perilous battlefield, why do I feel such security? As though any danger is insignificant as long as she’s by my side… A blush tinted Ayaka’s cheeks and her eyes glowed with enchantment and compliance2.
Cradling Ayaka’s lean, fragrant form, Lily took in the scene around her. The cat demon, Natsu, had been critically injured in the back. If she had been a human woman, she would have been long dead, but Natsu clung to life by a thread.
In spite of the demons’ desperate attempts to shield her, Tamamo had sustained severe injuries, yet she persevered. Shimizu was also hurt, knocked down by an opponent.
Rei seemed caught in the grips of her wounds and the drug’s side effects, prone and panting, unable to get up. The remaining Tsunaga Sisters were similarly worse for wear.
“Sister Ayaka, can you still move…?”
“Lily, my injuries aren’t severe…” Although Ayaka had taken quite a beating, it paled compared to the previous blow from Daitengu. She had been knocked around but without serious damage.
“Sister, you have a variety of healing treasures, right? Please treat yourself and others quickly. Natsu’s situation is most critical,” Lily instructed, seemingly undeterred by the surrounding host of archdemons, familiars, and monsters.
“Lily…” Ayaka expressed surprise at Lily’s demeanor but chose to obey rather than question, nodding in her arms, “Mmh.”
Lily had communicated with Kimiko and the others through a voice transmission orb, so she knew Ayaka carried half of Kimiko’s crucial treasures.
A transparent, radiant fruit appeared in Ayaka’s hand. The fruit melted into her hand and pervaded her body, healing her wounds.
“Lily, I’m okay now. You can put me…down,” Ayaka murmured, her face flushed.
However, Lily continued to hold Ayaka as she made her way to Natsu, who had collapsed by the side of the road. Only then did she set Ayaka down.
“Mi-Miss Kagami…” Natsu whimpered weakly.
“Don’t speak. Sister Ayaka will start treating you now,” Lily crouched down, gently holding Natsu’s hand, assuring her, “Hang on, you’ll recover soon3.”
Meanwhile, Ayaka had produced a peculiar herb and started using her skills to treat Natsu.
The monsters surrounding them watched Lily silently, slightly baffled.
Who was this woman who appeared out of nowhere?
“Huff, huff… You, you are…” Tokimasa, the robust old man who lost an arm to Lily, finally managed to catch his breath and focus on her from afar, “I remember seeing this woman at the execution ground— Kagami Lily…”
Lily handed over Natsu’s care to Ayaka and turned to face him.
Tokimasa glared at Lily angrily, his large gauntlet accumulating a mass of formidable demonic energy.
“Kagami Lily, you dare to launch a surprise attack and sever this old man’s arm! Your audacity is astonishing, but this old man is…”
However, Lily seemed to disregard his existence and his status as a powerful Big Dipper Stage powerhouse. She walked past him as if he was a nonentity and approached Uesugi Rei.
“Sister Uesugi, how are you feeling?”
“Lily…” The potent battle had accelerated the drug’s effects on Rei. Her face was a burning red, and she was in a state of delirium.
Lily gripped her hand tightly, “Sister, endure a little longer. I’ll fetch the antidote for you shortly.”
“Be careful, Lily. Be careful…”
At this time, Tokimasa was livid, having been ignored. As an esteemed Big Dipper Stage powerhouse and the father-in-law of Minamoto no Yoritomo, he had been disarmed by this woman!
“You insolent girl, you dare to disregard this old man?! You, you’re merely at the Throne Stage. You only prevailed through underhanded methods, yet you dare to strut in front of me?!” Tokimasa was seething! Upon further observation, he realized that without her Tsukuyomi Swordstyle or purple lunar force, Lily was only radiating an aura similar to a Throned Saint.
“His Highness Shuten Doji desires to capture you alive, so I will break all your limbs!”
Boom! Tokimasa erupted with power and charged towards Lily’s back.
“Little…Lily…” Although confused, Rei sensed the danger and shook Lily’s hand to alert her.
To her surprise, Lily only tightened her grip.
“Lily?” Rei seemed to rouse slightly, looking up at her in bewilderment.
At this moment, Tokimasa’s immense brass gauntlet came crashing down on Lily’s delicate back with mountain-crushing force.
Boom!!! A shockwave rippled through the surroundings as the massive gauntlet met Lily’s frail back.
“Lily!!!”
“Sister Lily!”
“Miss Kagami!”
Tokimasa’s eyes flickered a fierce, triumphant gleam. He believed that even if a Throne Stage expert survived this direct blow, they would be crippled or gravely injured.
The potency of the demonic power began to dwindle, with dissipating smoke marking its ebb. Lily’s back was bared as her red dress was torn by Tokimasa’s fist, revealing her milky-white skin. Yet, Lily remained in her kneeling position in front of Rei, undeterred by the forceful impact.
“What?!” Tokimasa could hardly believe his eyes.
“You… you aimed to cripple Sister Ayaka’s power, didn’t you?” Lily inquired, her voice low and serious. She let go of Rei’s hand, resting her own on Yasutsuna’s hilt. The sword seemed to resonate with a haunted, persistent hum.
Tokimasa, taken aback, gazed at the red mark on Lily’s fair and flawless back. “This… this is impossible. How… how can you be unharmed after receiving such a powerful blow?”
In terms of defense and offense, Lily had always been stronger in the latter. However, since becoming a celestial maiden and consuming Yomi Hirazaka’s lunar crystal-infused delicacies, her physical limitations had long been surpassed. Her body, more formidable than that of average celestial maidens or male human beings, was now on par with top-ranking celestial battle maidens dwelling in Takamagahara4. She retained her elegance and grace while embodying the power rivaling most innately strong demons and spirits.
“Inconceivable!” cried Tokimasa, as he swung his enormous brass gauntlet towards Lily once more.
Suddenly, Lily’s eyes flashed with a fierce light. The trembling Yasutsuna was drawn faster than the strike of Tokimasa’s fist.
A gruesome sound marked the moment Yasutsuna sank deep into Tokimasa’s right shoulder, severing muscles, tendons, and bone. The force behind his gauntlet dwindled considerably. Lily then turned on her heel, pushing away the gauntlet with her palm before slashing her cursed blade across his torso.
“Ah! Ugh!!” Blood spurted from Tokimasa’s mouth, causing his body to convulse violently. He teetered backward, struggling to maintain his balance as he looked as if he was about to fall.
However, Lily was incredibly swift. Her voluminous sleeves danced in the air as she struck with her sword: once, twice, thrice! She didn’t give Tokimasa any opportunity to fall.
Her sword sliced through his chest and waist.
“Argh…” Blood continued to spurt from Tokimasa’s mouth as his eyes bulged wide open.
Seizing the moment, Lily darted forward and slashed at the back of Tokimasa’s leg.
Thud! Tokimasa crumpled to his knees, his body covered with gashes. His eyes, bloodshot, glanced feebly at Lily as he stretched out his massive gauntlet in an attempt to reach her.
But Lily’s sword moved with a swift, unrelenting ferocity.
Swish! Swish! Swoosh!
Blood erupted from his shoulder, his elbow, and various parts of his gauntlet, rendering his remaining arm limp and useless.
“Ah, ugh…” Kneeling on the ground, Tokimasa weakly lowered his head as he choked on his own blood, “Wait, wait, girl, please… I- I am Minamoto no Yoritomo’s…”
Thud! Lily’s sword, Yasutsuna, plunged from above, impaling his head and driving all the way through his body until it punctured his heart.
He didn’t get the chance to transfer his Big Dipper origin soul as Yasutsuna claimed it outright!
Once the origin soul was seized, the stellar souls couldn’t escape either. They were all absorbed by the cursed blade.
The old man’s colossal gauntlet fell to the ground. He remained on his knees, lifeless. Hojo Tokimasa was dead.
This entire sequence may seem long-winded in its narration, but in reality, Tokimasa’s death transpired in a fleeting moment. Those of weaker strength couldn’t even perceive it clearly. All they saw was a streak of sword light and a shower of blood, and then, the battle was over.
Everyone was left in a stunned silence.
Soon, a terrifying gaze zeroed in on Lily.
She stood tall, her hair tossed wildly in the gusts of her demonic power.
Turning around, Lily met the gaze of the towering, devilish red-haired man, Shuten Doji, who was not too far off!
“Kagami Lily!”
“Shuten Doji!”
As Lily faced Shuten Doji, her sword, Yasutsuna, trembled uncontrollably in her grasp, radiating unprecedented sword energy. She had to hold the hilt firmly to suppress the vibrations, or else it felt as though the sword would launch itself at the supreme archdemon standing before her.
“It’s been mere days since we last met, woman, yet you’ve grown immensely. It’s astounding… If you are not destined to be my slave wife, then you can only be my fated adversary!” Shuten Doji’s mesmerizing demonic eyes, capable of enchanting women worldwide, flamed up with a fiery, obscene, and brutal glow. They bore into Lily, causing the surroundings to shimmer and the earth to tremble.
Yet, Lily remained stoic.
“Hagewashi, handle the rest. As for this woman…” Shuten licked his lips in anticipation, “Lily, my lovely lady, I can’t wait to engage in a fierce battle with you, be it on the battlefield or in the bedroom, hehehehe…”
“Shuten Doji, our feud concludes today!” Lily tightly gripped the trembling cursed blade, Yasutsuna, and stared fearlessly into Shuten’s demonic eyes. His unusual demonic charm had no effect on her.
Her body might appear frail, but her spirit was as resilient as hardened steel!
“Yahahahahahaha! Fujiwara no Ayaka! You’ve taken the lives of two of my old friends, so I’ll take yours first! Lord Shuten, we’ve come this far; it’s alright if I kill this woman, right?!” Hagewashi, who was left with only the upper half of his body, raised a potent ball of demonic energy in his hand and aimed it at Ayaka.
He twitched his large red nose and bellowed, “My familiars, what are you waiting for? Kill them! Destroy those b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲s̲; wipe them out!”
Roar!
Howl—!
The horde of familiars and monsters, initially stunned by Lily’s sudden arrival, charged forward at this moment, prepared to attack the sisters and Suno affiliates.
Bzzt! A profound and divine power descended, causing cherry blossoms to flutter in the sky.
The cherry blossoms transformed into scarlet blades!
Crick! Crick! Crack! Within the blink of an eye, several of Hagewashi’s familiars and numerous monsters were crushed to death within Lily’s domain!
