Demon Sword Maiden

Despite the fear of the Path of Yomi, Lily felt that the dark forces in Heian-kyo were even more dangerous. She believed that a slim chance of survival on the Path of Yomi was still better than no chance at all. Lily thought it would be preferable to die at the claws of ferocious demons rather than be captured by demons in human skin.

“Even if it’s just a one in a million chance, it’s still a chance! I’ll do it!” Lily declared with a flick of her long hair as the cold wind whipped her red skirt and sleeves around. Despite her slender and graceful figure, her eyes blazed with a determination that surpassed that of most men in the world

1.

“Even if it’s a trap, I must go to the Path of Yomi!” Lily no longer hesitated. She lifted her gaze to the sky, focusing on the bright, round moon that loomed over the Rashomon. It felt as if the moon was beckoning to her, offering her an infinite source of power.

Knowing that midnight was approaching with the moon in that position, Lily did not hesitate and strode towards the Rashomon.

“Miss Lily!” Tokiwa cried out in worry as Lily approached the Rashomon. Lily stopped and turned back to face Tokiwa, her face illuminated by the moonlight.

“Thank you for your warning and concern, Madam Tokiwa. Lord Yoshitsune also warned me about Madam Gozen, so how could I not believe the both of you? But… I have no choice.”

Lily’s determined eyes glimmered in the darkness, as she swiftly strode towards the Rashomon. The girl in red did not look back, her resolute steps taking her deeper into the unknown.

“Miss Lily!”

Lily walked into the gate and disappeared from Nara’s abandoned capital.

……

It was not a simple matter of taking a step. It was like crossing into another realm, where the heat was scorching and her body felt heavy. The first sensation that hit Lily was the extreme heat, and she found herself in a vast cavern. In front of her lay a dark, steep passage leading downward. As she looked around, she noticed that the cave was riddled with cracks and ditches filled with bright red magma, and the air was distorted by the intense heat. It was clear that the heat emanating from the magma was the cause of the oppressive temperature in the cavern.

“This… is the Path of Yomi?”

If Lily didn’t know better, she would still think this was a path to Yomi. The opposite end of the tunnel was blocked by a solid wall of rock, and there was no sign of Rashomon or Nara-kyo. She was trapped. The scorching heat was enough to instantly incinerate an unawakened person, and the gravity felt like a hundred times heavier than the outside world. Even an ordinary stone would weigh six thousand kilos under such gravity, a hundred times more than in the outside world. This level of gravity would be unbearable for anyone below the spirit jade realm, but for Lily, it was still manageable.

“Mm?” Lily might be able to tolerate this environment, but her clothes weren’t able to. Her kimono started to burn like parchment, and holes appeared in the cloth, turning it into black ashes that scattered in the hot air.

In just a few seconds of staying in the environment, Lily’s delicate body was left with only her Celestial Maiden Garments and her ninth-grade wooden clogs. Her kimono and even her undergarments had turned to ash, leaving her lower body completely exposed. Despite no one being around, she felt a sense of shyness. However, she knew that any clothes she brought out would instantly be incinerated due to the extreme temperature.

As Lily pulled out the celestial maiden dance dress, it started getting charred and smoking within half a minute. She quickly put it away, realizing that the dresses within her mirror space were regular items that celestial maidens used and couldn’t be compared to her treasured Celestial Maiden Garments.

“What am I going to do now?” Lily muttered to herself. “I’ve never focused on defense, so I don’t have any suitable armor.”

Even though Lily was the only person here, she couldn’t walk around here wearing just a camisole and nothing below.

As Lily stood in the cave, she suddenly heard heavy footsteps approaching from the depths of the dark tunnel, accompanied by a powerful aura. She was taken aback to realize that there were two sets of footsteps headed in her direction, both emanating strong and eerie energies. While Lily could sense their power, she was used to suppressing her own aura. If she were invincible, she would have no need to do so.