Demon Sword Maiden

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“Sister, that jailor was so brutal, and his behavior was as disgusting as the prisoners! Is there any difference between him and them?”

“We can't really complain, can we? After all, we’re the intruders here. If a female invader gets caught, no matter what happens to her, she has no right to protest. We’re the ones who started this…”

“But… isn’t the purpose of Okai Prison to send experts to execute the criminals?”

“Maybe this is just part of the heavenly way1. It’s not something people like us can question.”

“Hmm…”

These two were sisters who had been captured together. Even now, they stayed by each other’s side, relying on their bond for survival. But an unspoken question lingered in their hearts: if they made it to the end of the competition, what would become of them?

For now, though, that wasn’t something they had to worry about.

Suddenly, Lily appeared before them.

“You? You’re that woman who seduced the Queen of the Female Queendom!” the green-haired younger sister exclaimed when she saw Lily. It wasn’t meant as an insult—back in their dormitory, that’s just what everyone called her. It wasn’t because Lily had done anything wrong; they were just jealous.

The green-haired girl wasn’t truly envious, but since that’s what everyone else called Lily, she had gotten used to saying it too.

“Quiet! Don’t be disrespectful!” The elder sister, dressed in blue armor, was well aware of Lily’s reputation in the western dormitories. While some whispered that Lily was just pretty and only won by charming her enemies, she had once seen Lily fight in the Empty Spirit Cave. She knew Lily was far more powerful than the rumors suggested.

“You must be Miss Lily. Please forgive my little sister—she's simple and doesn’t mean any harm,” the elder sister said cautiously, stepping forward.

“It’s fine,” Lily replied calmly. “I’m the one who should apologize.”

“Huh?” The sisters looked bewildered.

Before they could react, Lily moved faster than they could see, appearing behind them. Two devastating energy pulses struck the backs of both sisters, the immense force instantly rendering the triple-soul and quadruple-soul sisters unconscious.

Masako had considered escaping, but having sworn an oath in Tsukuyomi’s name, fleeing would change nothing. She would still be Lily’s slave, no matter where she ran.

Resigned, she sat quietly in her cell, realizing she had lost control of her future. Her once fierce fighting spirit began to fade.

Soon, Masako heard footsteps outside.

The green-haired onmyoji and blue-armored samurai entered, their heads lowered in submission.

“What are you two doing here?” Masako asked, drawing her blade halfway in suspicion.

The samurai raised her hands in panic. “Wait, sister Masako! Don’t attack! We’re not your enemies. We’ve already become her slaves… we pose no threat to you.”

“What?” Masako paused, confused.

After that, nearly every day, more members of the Hundred Maidens ended up in the prison cells. Just as Lily had predicted, those who arrived first had the luxury of choosing the best locations, and soon, all the prime cells were taken.

Lily’s only instruction to them was simple: stay in the cells unless they were in immediate danger.

Within just a few days, over a dozen Hundred Maidens were confined in the cells.

“What is Kagami Lily even doing!?” A kunoichi dressed in white, with brown skin and green hair, grumbled. “She doesn’t care about the prisoners; she’s just focused on enslaving the Hundred Maidens!”

“Remember to call her master,” the green-haired onmyoji corrected.

“Hmph, she’s not here. Who’s going to tell her?”

“Enough! We’ve all been beaten by her and enslaved. Do we really need to keep humiliating ourselves?” A samurai dressed in dark green armor shouted, correcting herself, “Kagami… no, Master! Damn it, why is she so strong!”

“What’s her goal, anyway?”

The group continued venting their frustration for a while, but soon realized how pointless it was and retreated to their cells. They were all disheartened. Each of them had entered the Hundred Maidens hoping to train for three years, aiming to win fame and glory. Even if they didn’t come out on top, they expected to gain valuable experience. But now, their journey as Hundred Maidens was already over.

How could they not feel defeated?

But as more and more Hundred Maidens were captured and enslaved by Lily, the overwhelming sense of defeat began to fade into numb acceptance.

Meanwhile, Lily pressed on with her search.

In a pit created by the collapse of a cell, Tamai Tomoko, along with her two slaves and three followers, was locked in battle with a group of prisoners.

Whether former Hundred Maidens were brought into the prison as slaves was entirely up to their master; the Rakshasa Dojo did not interfere in such matters.

The group of prisoners was formidable, led by a massive sextuple-soul Big Dipper adept—a grotesque eight-meter-tall man with soggy gray skin who radiated a violent, oppressive aura.

He commanded hundreds of prisoners.

Despite Tomoko and her group being seasoned experts, the fight had dragged on for too long. Their enemies were simply too many, with seven or eight Big Dipper adepts among them.

“I didn’t expect there to be this many enemies!” Tomoko shouted. She wore a revealing kimono, with a long blade strapped to her back, all the while releasing offensive arcane artes from her hands. As a dual adept in both arcane artes and swordsmanship, and possessing the strength of a septuple-soul, Tomoko was one of the most skilled members of the Hundred Maidens.

The sheer number of enemies made this battle difficult even for someone of her caliber.

“Master! We’re surrounded! Ah!” One of Tomoko’s slaves cried out, but before she could finish, two burly prisoners tackled her to the ground. In an instant, a swarm of prisoners overwhelmed her, dragging her deeper into the tunnels.

"Master, save me!" the slave cried out in desperation.

"Rimo!" Despite her unruly and arrogant nature, Tomoko wasn’t about to let her slave be dragged away to suffer. She quickly pulled out a blood-red talisman, ready to hurl it at the prisoners dragging her slave away.

But before she could throw it, a massive meteor hammer from the sextuple-soul adept came hurtling toward her!

With a thunderous impact, Tomoko was forced to dodge, and by the time she regained her footing, her slave had already been pulled out of her reach.

The atmosphere shifted dramatically as cherry blossoms filled the dark cave, and a crushing suppression from a soul world descended upon them.

Every prisoner below the Big Dipper realm exploded violently, instantly dying.

Weaker Big Dipper adepts screamed in agony as their defenses were torn apart by a relentless barrage of cherry blossom blades.

"Who…?" Who could wield such a powerful soul world? Judging by the artistic style, it had to be a woman. Could a captain from the Rakshasa Dojo have come to their rescue? Tomoko looked around hopefully, but the suppression soon fell upon her as well.

She, along with the other six Hundred Maidens, found themselves trapped under the same overwhelming force, though they weren’t being attacked.

"What is this soul world? Why doesn’t it distinguish between friend and foe?" Tomoko wondered in confusion.

"Whose soul world is this? Are you helping or attacking us!?" Tomoko shouted, glancing upward.

Out of the darkness, a young woman in a red kimono appeared, walking calmly through the air, each step placed on floating cherry blossom petals. Her serene expression and divine aura made her seem like a god looking down from above.

"Ah… it’s… you?" Tomoko gasped in shock as she recognized Lily. Not only was her soul world beyond anything Tomoko had ever encountered, it was powerful enough to manipulate Yomi’s space, allowing her to walk on air. This was something no Big Dipper adept could achieve without wings or a flying treasure.

Flying was second nature to Empyrean Stage adepts, but for someone like Lily, walking in midair was incomprehensible to Tomoko.

"You… you killed so many of my men!" the eight-meter-tall brute roared, glaring at Lily. "You may have a strong soul world, but you look fragile! Let’s see how you handle real combat!" He swung his massive meteor hammer and hurled it straight at Lily.

The meteor hammer hit with the force of an actual meteor, capable of severely injuring a septuple-soul adept. But Lily didn’t even flinch. Instead of dodging, she lifted one long leg and brought it down in a precise kick.

A wave of lunar energy collided with the hammer, sending it flying back with such force that it warped the air around it. The blow connected with the brute’s head, which exploded on impact.

"What!?" Tomoko stared in disbelief.

Lily raised her hand, summoning six rosary beads that glowed like stars, each weighing as much as a mountain in Yomi. With a simple gesture, the beads shot forward, striking the brute’s remaining stellar souls and origin soul with deadly precision.

These rosary beads had been Lily’s prize after slaying Yaiba on the ancient battlefield. There were twelve in total, and under Lily’s mastery and the influence of her soul world, they were far more powerful than when Yaiba had wielded them.

After killing the leader, Lily sent her rosary beads flying towards the remaining Big Dipper prisoners. Those of Triple-soul or lower were eliminated with a single strike, while the Quadruple-soul or Quintuple-soul adepts struggled to survive a few hits before succumbing to the inevitable.

Witnessing their leader's brutal demise and the relentless weapon that followed, the prisoners’ morale crumbled. Those who weren’t struck down fled in terror2.

Lily didn’t bother chasing them, and within moments, the battlefield fell silent. Only Tomoko and the six other Hundred Maidens remained, still trapped under the oppressive force of Lily’s soul world.

“Kagami Lily! What are you doing? Release us!” Tomoko yelled, her voice frantic.

Lily’s voice, though warm, was anything but comforting. "Release you? I’m afraid that’s not an option."