Demon Sword Maiden

“Captain Renka, here’s what you need to know: in this generation’s Night Parade, seventy-seven members remain. I have defeated seventy-six of them and taken them as my slaves.” Lily’s voice was steady, each word measured and deliberate.

“What?” Renka’s eyes widened in shock.

“Defeated members may avoid hard labor or being sold if they become a slave to the victor. This allows them to remain in the Rakshasa Dojo, training alongside their master until the end of the trial. If their master falls, they fall together; if their master prevails, they share in that victory. Isn’t this precedent already recognized by Her Highness, Rakshasa-Onna?”

“That… may be true, but it’s typically limited to a single duel, producing one or two slaves at most! This? This is unheard of! How can you take them all as slaves? It’s as if everyone has abstained1, leaving only one champion,” Renka retorted, her voice sharp with disbelief.

“The Night Parade rules never specified that I couldn’t claim all others as slaves. The trial may last three years, but if I am the only one qualified, is there truly a need to continue? Or does the honorable Rakshasa Dojo plan to disregard its own rules?” Lily replied, her tone calm but challenging.

“How dare you!” Isshiki interjected, her voice heated. “I may respect your strength, but your arrogance is going too far!”

“Kagami Lily, you claim to have defeated them all, but where’s the proof?” Renka pressed. “How do we know they’re not simply cooperating with you?”

Lily met Renka’s gaze steadily. “Captain Renka, you know I possess that strength.”

“Captain Renka, Captain Isshiki, I, Takiri Rie, swear on this land of Yomi that every word we’ve spoken is true.”

“We, too, are willing to swear,” the other women echoed, their voices firm.

“You all…” Renka muttered, momentarily taken aback.

“What’s wrong, Captain Renka? Still don’t believe me?” Lily asked coolly. “I’ll fight them again right here if you want—even if they all attack together, I’ll still come out on top. And if I fail, you’re free to punish me.”

“Arrogant fool!” Renka shouted, her temper flaring. “Don’t think a few lucky breaks2 make you invincible! Her Highness alone will judge the Night Parade competition. Guards! Restrain this disruptive woman—I’ll see to her punishment personally!”

A group of Rakshasa Dojo guards closed in around Lily.

“Strip her and bind her to the stone pillar,” Renka ordered, her voice cold. “I’ll make her confess the truth myself!”

“Master!” Hyozuhi cried, clinging to Lily’s feet. Lily knew that most of the Hundred Maidens had submitted to her strength alone, but Hyozuhi was different—she had submitted wholeheartedly. Still, Lily understood that her approach had been unconventional, so she bore no resentment.

“Stand aside!” Lily commanded, sweeping her arm. A surge of power sent several guards stumbling backward.

“Kagami Lily, are you defying the Rakshasa Dojo?” Renka’s eyes narrowed, her hand resting on the hilt of her weapon.

“Of course not.” Lily dropped to one knee, though her aura remained undiminished. “I’ve followed the rules set by the Rakshasa Dojo. There’s nothing wrong with what I’ve done.”

From afar, Queen Kaguya observed the scene from above.

“Your Majesty, it seems Lynne’s in trouble. Shall we intervene?”

“Hold,” the queen replied. “Lynne fears no one here. Unless absolutely necessary, we won’t interfere in Rakshasa Dojo’s internal affairs. I trust her—if she’s taken action, she’ll find her own way.”

Lily and Renka’s wills collided, tension crackling in the air as conflict loomed.

“Wait!” Isshiki intervened, placing a hand firmly on Renka’s weapon. “While I may not approve of the way she’s exploited these loopholes, she hasn’t technically broken any rules. Captain Renka, this isn’t something we can decide here. Let’s report to Her Highness.”

Isshiki rarely spoke, but her words were always grounded in reason.

Regardless of how logical Lily’s arguments sounded, only Rakshasa-Onna could decide the victor of the Night Parade. Their opinions ultimately didn’t hold weight.

“Lily, are you willing to return and await Her Highness’ decision?” Isshiki asked directly.

“Of course.” Lily had considered the potential risks of returning to the Rakshasa Dojo, but she was counting on Rakshasa-Onna to honor her word.

If Lily doubted Rakshasa-Onna’s trustworthiness, she could simply flee; Renka and Isshiki weren’t strong enough to stop her.

But she owed a debt to the Rakshasa Dojo and had made a vow to complete the Night Parade. Lily wished to win honorably, within the established rules, and then find a way back to the mortal realm—without resorting to escape or betrayal.

“I am a member of the Hundred Maidens. Naturally, I’ll return. Is there really any need to ask?” Lily replied calmly.

“Hmph, that attitude!” Renka scoffed. “You think you can act arrogant just because you defeated those others?”

Isshiki placed a hand on Renka’s shoulder. “I believe she means she has no intention of betraying the Rakshasa Dojo, correct?”

“Yes,” Lily confirmed.

“Good. In that case, let’s not argue over the competition rules here. Her Highness will make the final judgment. Lily, although you think there’s no need to wait, rules are rules. We’ll wait one more day, then return to the Rakshasa Dojo and report to Her Highness,” Isshiki concluded.

“I understand,” Lily replied. She had anticipated this decision.

Lily trusted that Rakshasa-Onna was not the sort of woman to deny logic and reason.

Though she’d acted within the rules, it was an unconventional way to win, and she knew the risks involved. Still, it was a gamble she was prepared to make.

After waiting an additional day, no one else emerged. The few remaining women had indeed perished within Okai Prison. In every Night Parade trial, there were always a few casualties within the prison—a reality the Rakshasa Dojo had come to expect.

They mounted the earth dragons and began their journey back to the Rakshasa Dojo.

“Kagami Lily! You insufferable woman!” Renka seethed. “You’ve thrown the entire Night Parade competition into chaos! Just wait—Her Highness will see to your punishment! We put in so much effort to select and capture the candidates—I alone captured half of them3! How dare you mock this competition? I won’t forgive this!”

Throughout the journey, Renka cast furious glances at Lily, but Lily ignored them entirely. Sharing the same earth dragon, they traveled side by side. Now that Rakshasa-Onna would make the final judgment, Renka had no room to cause further trouble.

Lily, not wanting to stir any trouble, closed her eyes and focused on her training.

Yomi stretched endlessly, blanketed in silence. Under the towering stone dome, which loomed tens of thousands of meters above, dark clouds swirled, casting an eerie, oppressive glow over the jagged mountains and towering rock pillars that pierced the sky.

The earth dragons, bearing the Night Parade members and Rakshasa guards, lumbered over the sandy terrain, rising and falling with each step.

Suddenly, an explosion ripped through the silence, hurling the lead earth dragon to the ground. It tumbled across the sand, stirring up thick clouds of dust.

The Hundred Maidens and Rakshasa guards were flung from their mounts, their startled cries filling the air.

“What’s going on?” Women on the other dragons looked around, alarmed by the sudden chaos.

Lily’s eyes snapped open.

From the sand, powerful demons emerged, attacking the other earth dragons without hesitation, wielding artes, claws, and weapons.

Two earth dragons were swiftly beheaded, their eldritch blood splattering across the sand. Though their bodies continued to move, chains with hooks pierced their torsos, dragging them down and throwing their riders into the air.

With a fierce roar, several cloaked, sinister spirits leapt from the sand, lunging toward the earth dragon carrying Lily.

Renka reacted instantly. With a flash, a pair of crystalline purple gauntlets appeared on her hands. She lunged at the incoming spirits, her claws slashing twin purple scars across their dark forms.

As Renka dispatched the two spirits, a hulking evil spirit in a tattered gray cloak stepped forward. With cold, gleaming blue eyes, it raised a massive greatblade and swung it toward the earth dragon’s neck.

“No!” Renka cried, but she was too far to stop the attack.

With a metallic clang, Oborozuki Muramasa intercepted the enormous blade, deflecting it with ease. Lily had raised her sword, blocking the attack single-handedly. The sheer power behind her strike overwhelmed the spirit, sending its greatblade skittering aside.

A slender beam of moonlight shot from Lily’s blade4, piercing deep into the evil spirit’s chest and striking its spirit core with unerring precision.

The spirit’s form split in two, its halves collapsing onto the sand.

Thanks to Renka and Lily’s swift intervention, the other women managed to draw their weapons and engage the attackers.

The demons were not necessarily stronger than the Night Parade and Rakshasa guards, but their overwhelming numbers and strategy to destroy the transports first were clear.

“This isn’t good!” Lily realized that the women and guards who had been riding the slain earth dragons were now scattered and isolated from the main group.

“Who dares to attack the Rakshasa Dojo? Are you fools tired of life?” Renka’s power flared as she rose into the air, her voice booming through the swirling dust.

“Ahahaha! Rakshasa Dojo? Night Parade?” A deep, mocking laugh echoed through the sandstorm as a towering figure cloaked in black appeared overhead. “I, Umashi Ku, have been waiting for you!”

“Umashi?” Lily murmured, standing amid the group, her expression hardening. Though this figure’s aura was not as fearsome as Lord Umashi’s, it radiated a formidable, oppressive energy. Lily had never encountered an Inferno Realm adept with such an intense presence before.