Demon Sword Maiden

CHAPTER 9 – FIERCE BATTLE

Witnessing Lily’s incredible speed, the red-robed onmyoji was astonished. With a swift incantation, he vanished into thin air.

“What!?” Lily was taken aback. He had escaped?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Three fiery serpents lunged at her from behind!

Reacting swiftly, Lily spun around and unleashed a powerful slash at the three serpents!

The blade’s wind extinguished the flames and shredded the serpents into pieces, but the residual heat still burned Lily. Although her spirit armor easily withstood the flames, her clothes and stockings suffered significant damage, turning to ashes.

The onmyoji had reappeared a hundred meters away!

“A Warp Talisman?”

Most teleportation spells had long casting times or were designed for specific locations, making them susceptible to interruptions. However, this teleportation talisman was not only near-instantaneous but also short-range, making it suitable for combat!

Little did Lily know that such teleportation talismans were exorbitantly expensive, and the red-robed onmyoji possessed only one.

A barrage of arrows and arcane arts came flying towards Lily, many of which were unfamiliar and sinister. With careful agility, Lily skillfully evaded the projectiles as she landed and once again charged towards the red-robed onmyoji!

“You killed the young master! I’ll kill you!” a deranged throned saint samurai attacked from the side.

In a sudden change of speed, Lily staggered her step and retaliated with a powerful backhand slash.

Chop! Lily swiftly severed the samurai’s two hands and then pivoted, driving her blade forward in a piercing stab.

Pshh! The blade pierced through the samurai’s heart.

Boom! Boom! Two powerful Yomi arcane artes slammed into her back, sending her hurtling to the side.

“What powerful artes!”

Before she could even regain her footing, two figures loomed in her vision.

Two massive men, one wielding a spiked club and the other brandishing a peculiar wild boar-adorned sawtooth machete, launched their attack.

No longer concealed by cloth, their revealed forms were that of immensely burly evil spirits, both single-soul big dipper devils!

They were comparable to the big dipper devils she had encountered in Yomi Hirazaka!

Lily swiftly rolled away as their attacks crashed into her previous position, leaving behind a massive blade scar and a crater in the ground.

The relentless assaults pursued Lily as she rebounded off the ground, retaliating with a powerful kick aimed at the pursuing spiked club.

Bang!

The spiked club staggered backward under the impact of her forceful kick1, and Lily utilized the recoil to propel herself into the air. At this point, she paid no heed to her exposed thigh; instead, she unleashed a thunderous dropkick onto the head of the big dipper evil spirit.

Boom!

The dropkick descended like a falling mountain, forcing the evil spirit to its knees. Cracks spiderwebbed across its skull, and the shockwave created a deep crater in the ground beneath it.

Meanwhile, the other evil spirit swung its sawtooth machete, aiming for Lily’s waist with a full-powered strike. Lily’s defensive capabilities were relatively weak compared to her offensive power, and a direct hit could prove lethal.

She swung her blade to intercept the attack.

Clang!

The impact sent Lily soaring several meters into the air, while the evil spirit skidded back several dozen meters.

As Lily landed, she swiftly slashed out, even as she sank to one knee.

Bzzt! A crimson blade beam cleaved through a black-clothed onmyoji who was attacking Ayaka, continuing its path to sever the leg of another evil spirit.

The onmyoji was split in two, and the evil spirit collapsed to the ground.

With the Confinement Spell on herself broken, Ayaka took flight and released a white lotus. Although its power was not as potent as before, the lotus split into multiple blade-like petals that converged toward the red-clothed onmyoji.

Reacting swiftly, the onmyoji sacrificed a treasure to summon three gong-like shields. The shields twirled around him, blocking the majority of the lotus blades but still bearing several blade marks on each.

Meanwhile, the fourth single-soul big dipper devil hurled a chained sickle at Ayaka, managing to wrap it around her ankle before giving it a forceful tug.

“Ah!” Ayaka let out a cry as she was pulled towards the evil spirit, roughly ten meters away.

“The red-clothed girl is proving to be difficult. Focus on killing the white one first!” the red-robed onmyoji commanded.

Drawing a machete from his waist, the big dipper evil spirit slashed at Ayaka. Despite her ankle being caught by the sickle chain, Ayaka swiftly scissored her legs, kicking the chain off.

The evil spirit stumbled backward as the chain went slack, and his machete slipped from his grasp.

However, even as one big dipper evil spirit fell, two more samurais launched their attack from behind, one wielding a sword and the other a spear.

Clang!

Ayaka swiftly brandished her ninth-grade naginata, positioning herself on her back to fend off the incoming strikes. Though she successfully defended herself, her arms and feet were occupied, leaving her vulnerable with her belly exposed.

A powerful ninja materialized in the sky above, descending with claws aimed at Ayaka’s abdomen. These two women, having taken the life of their young master, exuded immense power. With no more restraints holding them back, this encounter had transformed into a battle of life and death, each strike infused with a relentless determination to kill.

“Not good!”

In a split second, Ayaka reacted by concentrating her strength and forming a white lotus between herself and the descending ninja. The throned saint ninja’s claws pierced into the lotus, only for the lotus to suddenly blossom into several dozen blade-like lotus leaf projectiles.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

The lotus leaf blades shredded the ninja into pieces, ending their threat.

Though Ayaka’s strength had diminished, she stood at the pinnacle of human capability. Her tactics, experience, and combat reflexes were not to be underestimated.

Meanwhile, the phantom spirit battle maiden had already beheaded a throned saint demon monk, adding to the casualties on the battlefield. The terrain lay in ruins, with shattered rocks and devastated earth. Hakure, a big dipper evil spirit, and two throned saints had been eliminated.

On the opposing side, the double-soul big dipper red-clothed onmyoji, three evil spirits, and four throned saints remained. In terms of power, they still held the upper hand.

“I’ll stall the girl in red! Focus on killing the white one first!” the red-robed onmyoji shouted as he unleashed another confinement spell.

“Ah!” A confinement spell targeted Lily’s spiritual fluctuations and was unleashed almost instantly. Although costly to cast, it was unavoidable.

Lily found herself trapped once again, while Ayaka, grappling with the onslaught of multiple assailants, was dragged to the ground by the evil spirit wielding the sickle chain.

As the red-robed onmyoji prepared to send three flame snakes hurtling toward Ayaka, he suddenly sensed a terrifying gleaming blade beam hurtling toward him.

Utilizing his skill in manipulating the gong shields, the onmyoji managed to slow down the trajectory of the blade beam, altering its course and allowing him to evade. With two gong shields still at his disposal, he believed he had the opportunity to unleash arcane artes and eliminate the white-clothed woman.

Just as he was about to turn his attention to manipulating the fire snakes, something unexpectedly coiled around his waist. Startled, the onmyoji was pulled towards Lily by a white ribbon.

“What!??” he exclaimed.

Pfft!! In a swift motion, Lily severed the onmyoji’s head.

But beheading alone wouldn’t necessarily be lethal for a double-soul big dipper expert. Turning her blade, Lily ruthlessly stabbed through his heart, piercing the soul jade within and causing the spirit sea to collapse.

The head and body of the red-robed onmyoji fell to the ground successively, freeing Lily from the confinement spell that had bound her legs.

Witnessing Ayaka’s peril, Lily transformed into a purple phantom, her form blurring as she charged towards the samurais and demons positioned a hundred meters away.

Puff! Crash! Lily barged into the midst of the crowd, her blade slashing with a flurry of strikes, causing blood to spray through the air.

With multiple purple-glowing blade strikes, she swiftly severed the remaining two throned saints, reducing them to mere pieces.

Crack! Ayaka drove the naginata into the ground, channeling waves of spirit power deep into the earth, akin to the roots of a tree. Gripping the naginata tightly, she prevented herself from being dragged any further.

The chain tightened around Ayaka’s ankle, the intense pressure making her feel as if her thigh bone was about to shatter. Despite the excruciating pain, she clenched her teeth and endured.

Crack! Lily swiftly dashed over and cleaved the chain apart, causing it to whip loose. The dark-red, black-furred, and grotesque butcher-like demon staggered in disarray.

Meanwhile, not far away, the demon with a cracked skull delivered a heavy club strike, sending the phantom spirit battle maiden flying. However, Ayaka had already freed herself from the chains and retaliated by kicking the remaining half of the chained sickle at an onmyoji, interrupting his arcane art and inflicting a wound.

Before the onmyoji could regain his composure, a crimson blade beam materialized right before his eyes, flooding his vision with red. Lily’s blade beam sliced him in two, ending his existence.

The remaining samurai, filled with hatred, ignited his soul and unleashed a powerful blue aura all over his body. He let loose a barrage of cannon-like arrows at Lily, but she moved swiftly, continuously shifting her position and skillfully deflecting arrow after arrow with her dancing blade.

Simultaneously, Ayaka began chanting, summoning a white lotus petal blade with crystalline ripples. The blade pierced through the samurai’s body, resulting in a colossal explosion that scattered flesh and blood in all directions, leaving only his two legs standing briefly before toppling over. All the throned saint experts had been exterminated.

Despite the numerous exchanges of attack and defense, the actual battle had transpired within a mere few breaths. Only three injured big dipper evil spirits remained, undeterred by the dire situation. Similar to the deranged archer, they refused to retreat and instead grew more ferocious, more feral.

The demon with a single leg staggered toward Ayaka, wielding a machete with enough force to cleave mountains. Reacting swiftly, Ayaka leaped into the air, skillfully evading the strike, and suspended herself mid-air. From her hand, she unleashed a continuous barrage of sparkling fireballs, bombarding the demon. The resulting explosions tore open his flesh, leaving him charred and blackened. Ayaka’s arcane artes still wielded formidable power.

Meanwhile, the butcher-like evil spirit advanced toward Lily with earth-shaking strides. One hand spun the remaining chain, while the other brandished a giant blade. At the same time, the last evil spirit, with the skull injury, wielded the spiked heavy club and launched an attack from behind, attempting to trap Lily in a pincer attack.

With hurricane-like force, the spiked club came crashing down towards Lily.

Boom! The impact shattered the earth, causing the ground to tremble.

Gracefully, Lily’s form fluttered, executing a nimble backward leap to evade the crushing blow. Landing behind the demon, her blade gleamed with a flash of light.

Slash! Her blade sliced through the hamstring of one of the demon’s muscular legs. Howling in agony, the heavy-bodied creature collapsed to one side, landing on one knee.

Yuki: Isn’t this club a ‘spiked’ club… Lily.. you’re wearing wooden clogs that have been partially incinerated… not very wise there.