Book 3: Chapter 102: Frigid Winter Thunderstorm
Book 3: Chapter 102: Frigid Winter Thunderstorm
Yumi watched this incredible woman lead her shikigami towards the tunnel leading to the outside world.
However, she didn’t catch up with them immediately as she would just become a burden to them with her current injuries. Even then, acting as a guide while escorting the villagers from a distance was the bare minimum she could do. If Lily was really able to kill her way out to the surface through the tunnel, the villagers would also be able to escape from this space. It wasn’t much of a problem for Lily to break through the tunnel after killing the Lion Mist Demon and his subordinates, but the sole challenge laid with the presence of Amanojaku and the chiefs subordinate to him inside the main hall of the temple.
Lily’s hair fluttered in the wind as she strode forward. Haihime was also a blade maiden, and this made Lily feel innately close to this woman. In fact, she hadn’t really suffered any substantive harm after getting caught by her as well.
And Yumi’s words ended up sealing the deal for her decision.
This battle was to strike back at Amanojaku for murdering Haihime’s mother, Kimiko of the Mirror Girl clan, cruelly, and humiliating Haihime via domination!
Lily was furious from the bottom of her heart!
There was no forgiveness for Amanojaku inside her.
Even Yuki-Onna, who wasn’t obliged to follow Lily’s orders, couldn’t bear it after hearing this atrocious matter and decided to act alongside her.
As for the demon hound, it had long lost its body and couldn’t manifest physically outside the mirror space as an anima. However, it was able to utilize the grudge manifestation of Lily’s cursed katana to form a conceptual body made of nothingness. Although its combat power was limited, it wouldn’t die even if it got crushed and was able to manifest once again by gathering grudge, making it the optimal choice for her investigative and crowd control purposes.
The trio of girls all had cold and decisive expressions and the demon hound’s eyes were also calm and fierce as they climbed the path leading to the surface. The tunnel’s entrance had some monsters guarding it, but this level of defense was practically nothing for the current Lily and her shikigami.
Around the same time, dark, billowing clouds blocked the moonlight from reaching the desolate and dilapidated rear court of the hilltop temple and thunder rumbled across the skies.
The messy-haired and tattered Haihime wandered in the courtyard mindlessly with an unsteady gait.
She knew she had no chances of escape as it would take her at least 15 days or more to recover her spirit power without her cursed katana and treasures, but Amanojaku would have her tonight…
However, her clansmen would definitely die if she committed suicide and she didn’t even possess the ability to confirm her clansmen’s current status right now.
Haihime finally understood the meaning behind her mother’s final words, which were to live on. Perhaps they weren’t really an expression of righteousness and just the expression of a mother’s blind love for her daughter.
Mom just wanted me to live on as she embraced death, that’s all.
How am I supposed to face Mother’s sacrifice if I’m driven into a corner in this place?
“What should I do? Just what should I do…”
“Pitter-Patter…”
Droplets of rain fell down from the sky, and these raindrops were so huge that they gave rise to a splash after hitting the body. The light shower turned into torrential heavy rain gradually along with lightning flashes and thunder calls.
“Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Haihime kneeled down helplessly at the mouth of a dried-up well while lying prone on its edge and wept mournfully in the cold with her aquamarine hair scattered messily.
At her level, even if she jumped down, she wouldn’t die.
Moreover, she didn’t even possess the right to die.
Haihime fell into deep despair.
“Mom… Mom… I was unable to achieve anything until the very end, just like the day when I saw that monster kill you before my eyes! I’m really useless! Useless! Wugh…. Wugh…”
Haihime laid prone at the edge of the well despite the lighting flashes and the heavy rain pouring down on her, her tears flowing down along with the rainwater as she bawled her eyes out uncontrollably.
The cries were full of remorse, unwillingness and womanly weakness.
The rain, however, seemed to stop suddenly.
The patters of rain were still audible from the surroundings, but the freezing raindrops seemed to have stopped falling on her.
Haihime lifted her head and saw a crimson parasol patterned with sakura blossoms sheltering her head.
Lily stood behind Haihime right now and held the Sakura Parasol in her fair arm, providing shelter to Haihime from the onslaught of the torrential rain.
Haihime’s eyes softened instantly.
The feeling of unwillingness was also fine, an opponent was also fine, a former captive was also fine, the feeling of embarrassment was also fine, all of them mattered no longer.
“Help me… kill that demon. I’ll give my everything to you, my life, my body, my soul… I beg you, please help me kill him. I’ll give you everything as long as you help me kill him!”
Haihime turned around and clutched the bottom of Lily’s kimono while kneeling at her feet. She didn’t care about her dignity as a mature woman or her pride and whatnot at this moment.
“I’ll give you everything as long as you help me kill Amanojaku, the demon who killed my mother! I hate him so much, so much!!!”
“Just kill me if you’re unwilling to do so…”
Haihime’s eyes teared up and even though she had a distinctly mature and charming face, her eyes reflected the innocence of a girl.
Lily kneeled down on one knee and embraced Haihime with her arms.
The lasting warmth caused Haihime’s eyes to freeze, and her shuddering body regained its calm.
“Leave it to me,” Lily stated emphatically and decisively.
She left the Sakura Parasol on Haihime’s shoulders and got up, her chilling gaze fixed at the tall and dark main hall of the temple. She flung her hair back and allowed the raindrops to splash down as she turned around to enter the boundless rainstorm.
Leaving behind Haihime, who held the Sakura Parasol passively with both hands and watched the slim yet staunch back of this samurai woman who wielded a cursed katana.
The lighting flashes amidst the thundering rainstorm caused Lily’s poignant silhouette to glow with a pale illumination under the rain and the eyes on her rain-drenched face flashed dimly.
A translucent hound that seemed unaffected by the rain appeared beside Lily, “Lily, the temple is protected by an anti-probe barrier and the strength of its inhabitants is quite remarkable. Amanojaku possesses unfathomable power and it’s highly likely that he’s a powerhouse at a level past the Spirit Jade Stage while there are at least 3 late-stage Spirit Jade Great Demons among the chiefs! Even if it’s you, you must tread with utmost caution.”
“I know,” Lily replied nonchalantly as the rain-drenched fabric glued to her body, emphasizing the girly curves of her tall, lean and healthy body.
“Boom!” The lighting storm shrouded the whole temple in a dark, silent and waterish gleam as Lily crossed past the two demons that the demon hound had just dealt with and stepped onto the entranceway of the temple’s main hall.
The inside was brightly lit and the sounds of singing, music as well as the decadent drinking voices of a large number of monsters reached outside.
Lily arrived in front of the sliding door and clenched the handle of Crescent Moon.
She listened to the sounds of celebration with a calm and cold look.
The cursed katana in her hand unsheathed subsequently with a flash of luminescent sword light.
“Whoosh!”
The sliding doors at the front of the main hall were all bisected at the center and flew inside messily, bringing the wind and rain from outside along with them.
Amanojaku was seated at the center underneath the massive Thousand-Armed Buddha inside the dimly lit hall with about a hundred monster chiefs of all shapes and sizes sitting around him on either side while the dancing cat-masked performers were all frightened by the development.
The hundred demons inside the temple all looked at the samurai woman dressed in a purple kimono patterned with ice-blue blossoms standing in front of the entrance with astonishment.