âPhewâŠâ Under the heavy rain water beaded on Lilyâs long eyelashes, and her glossy lips parted as she exhaled white mist. A glimpse of fascination emerging in her eyes.
Her bare feet stepped on a pair of wooden shoes as she made her way through the mountain trail, which was full of dry leaves, and muddy puddles. In front of her was now an extremely dark and ominous forest.
The big and rough1 tree trunks scattered around like countless pillars, looking as though they were supporting the dark clouds rolling in the sky. The rain obscured vision, hindering people from seeing anything beyond the mountain. Bushes grew lushly under the giant trees with layers of flowers and leaves. The fog grew thicker and enhanced the darkness. All those contributed to the eerie feeling that something nasty was hiding within the forest.
âDemon fury. Itâs so heavy here.â It would be a lie if Lily said that she wasnât scared.
No matter what, she was a woman, who innately had fears of monsters.
Even if she had enough strength for self-defense, there were still powerful monsters in the deep mountain capable of finishing her within a second. Thereâs also the possibility those monsters would occasionally wander around the outer region of Mount Tama. If she bumped into those monsters, she would surely be dead.
Nanako was much weaker than Lily, and she was going through Mount Tama by herself to reach Suruga Province. How could Lily linger here in her fear!
Nanakoâs strength was comparable to the time she took the samuraiâs qualification test, she hadnât made much progress since then. And Lily, on the other hand, had mastered the first stage of Genji Swordstyle. At this point, her strength was equivalent to that of a low-tier Kengo in their later stage. Even if Nanako agreed to be her vassal, it still wouldnât be very realistic to take her out on an adventure due to the big difference between their power.
âA Demon Sword Maiden is a talented but lonely female samurai.â Thatâs what Sakura told her.
âDemon Sword Maiden can use the katana to seize the souls, control the souls, or to supplement her own spirit power and strengthen herself. The other samurais and onmyojis couldnât do that. Thatâs why Demon Sword Maiden can work alone as she can continue to refill her energy by slashing the demons or monsters while her teammates have to drain their power fast. The Demon Sword Maiden has a powerful destructive force and comes with great dodging skills, but she has no skill to protect her teammates. When her teammates run out of spirit power, they will be in danger! Unless they were originally a top-class expert, any other teammate with equal power level could never keep up with a Demon Sword Maidenâs growth.â
âBecoming the Demon Sword Maiden means youâre predestined to walk on a beautiful but lonely path. This is the Demon Sword Maidenâs gift, yet also a misfortune in some aspect.â
Lily thought that perhaps Uesugi Rei had walked the same pathâŠ
âEven if Nanako canât go on an adventure with me, nor can she take on special ninja missions like Shiu, I still hope that after I get home from a dangerous trip, someone will tell me: Youâre home.â
It was very important to Lily who didnât have any friends or family in this otherworld. That was why she had hoped Nanako and Shiu could become her vassals. Deep in her heart, Lily had even considered them her family in this otherworldâŠ
Since being alone in the otherworld felt so forlorn, no matter how strong she became, she would still be afraid of the darkness.
âI must find Nanako. At least, I have to confirm that sheâs safe and sound. If she really insists on getting back to Suruga Province, I wonât force her to come back,â Lily thought under the downpour.
The rain grew even heavier. A tree branch that looked like a giant serpent appeared in front of Lily.
Lily slowed down. Is that a serpent or just a tree branch?
It doesnât move in the rain. Is it a tree branch?
The middle section of the âbranchâ, which was unnaturally fat and reeking of demon fury, sold it down to the river.2
âSssss ââ!â A strange hiss arose. The giant serpent opened its red mouth and jumped at Lily with lightning speed.
âItâs a Nozuchi! A serpent-type monster that specialized in sneak attack!â Lily was startled!3
Lily threw the Sakura Parasol into the sky to cover her from the rain and drew the Seiwa Tamashi in the same breathe!
The quick draw was so fast that even with the Nozuchiâs speed, it couldnât react in time. The cold tip of the sword had already pressed against the serpentâs wide-open mouth.
âSssss ââ!â
Extremely accurate, powerful force, and unwavering slash!
The powerful slash force caused the Nozuchi to straighten in midair. With added momentum from the opponentâs attack, the sword cut through its red flesh from the mouth to the tail!4
Lilyâs sharp sword gashed along Nozuchiâs body as it flew past Lilyâs shoulder. The strong wind caused her hair to flutter.
Nozuchi had a several-meter cut at its belly before it fell into a muddy puddle. Through the cut at its massive belly, white bones and clothes of some people it had swallowed before could be seen.
Lilyâs Sakura Parasol left a red streak in the sky. It gently swayed in the rain before returning to Lilyâs hand.
After that one slash, Lilyâs shoulder wasnât even wet.
That Nozuchi hadnât died yet. It struggled to lift its head in an attempt to counterattack. Lily stabbed the Nozuchi with Seiwa Tamashi. Sparkling red magic runes emerged on the sword, forcefully claiming Nozuchiâs soul.
âA Low-Rank+ anima, hmm,â Lily muttered.
Lily was startled when she felt her Seiwa Tamashi take in this monsterâs soul. The Seiwa Tamashi was vibrating and glowed with a layer of red light that seemed to contain some unknown power.
Sakura told her that when the rank of the anima was high enough, not only could it be used to refine the spirit power, it might even possess some special power that could temporarily strengthen the katana! The Mountain Imp was the lowest rank anima, no matter how many she killed, none would possess that sort of power.
The essence of the monsterâs soul flowed into Lilyâs body through the sword. The red Magatama collected it and stored it in the magical space in Lilyâs lower abdomen. Afterward, it would be refined, becoming the scarlet Demon Maiden spirit power to supplement Lilyâs body.
âYeah. . . It feels so good to refine the spirit power there.â Lily closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling. It had been a long time since she last used Soul Eater to supplement her spirit power. The spirit power stockpile she got from hunting the Mountain Imp was starting to run low. If they were used up, her strength would be greatly reduced. Thus, instinctively, Lilyâs desire to kill more monsters had swelled up in her heart.
After consuming that anima, Lily didnât bat an eye at the monster. She cared not whether the Nozuchi was dead or alive as its Demon Fury was already dried. Turning towards the dark, misty Mount Tama, Lily continued to delve deeper under the curtain of rain. Her tight butt wrapped by the kimono gently swayed in the night as she walkedâŠ5