Gazing at the radiant rainbow bridge that shimred through the sea of clouds, Tennin-Mikoto, A-no-Tajikarao, and Amani all wore expressions of utter confusion. Behind them stretched the vast armies of Takamagahara, an endless sea of celestial troops.
Others might not have known, but how could Tennin-Mikoto be ignorant of the truth?
“Just as I thought. They escaped back to the Hekiraku Realm. Damn it!” Tennin-Mikoto spat toward the glowing bridge, though the gesture ant nothing in the end.
“But still, I never imagined there was a path like this,” Amani said in disbelief. “To think that even Supre Gods not native to the Hekiraku Realm could pass from Takamagahara into it. How was this even achieved? And why can’t we do the sa?”
The Celestial Maidens regularly dispatched Celestial Stage figures, accompanied by lower-ranking maidens, every few years to small worlds like the Hekiraku Realm to recruit apprentices. Everyone present knew this well, and that such matters also fell under Tennin-Mikoto’s jurisdiction.
That was why, after failing to find Lily and the others anywhere, they finally considered the possibility that she had fled back to the Hekiraku Realm. They searched the airspace near the routes used by Riyuki and her group when traveling between realms. However, Riyuki’s thod only allowed Celestial Stages and below to pass. Those whose power was too great, even Celestials with excessive divine power, were unable to cross. Only soone like Riyuki, an ordinary Celestial, could make the journey.
Yet none of them had expected to discover this hidden passage.
“Who knows?” Tennin-Mikoto shook her head in frustration. “Even if we understood it, there’s no way we could pursue them. The Hekiraku Realm is Tsukikage-hi’s territory. Now that that wretched woman has awakened as well, fighting her on her own ground, with all those accomplices backing her, how could we possibly gain any advantage?”
With that said, both Amani and A-no-Tajikarao fell silent in disappointnt. It seed undeniable now. They had truly let them escape.
Still, was it disappointnt, or was it relief? Even A-no-Tajikarao himself could not tell.
***
Following the luminous path without pause, they returned to the Hekiraku Realm. As the clouds parted, a verdant mountain gradually ca into view.
A young girl clad in a light robe was kneeling quietly atop the mountain.
She sensed it at once and lifted her head.
“Lily!”
Shimizu flashed forward in an instant, appearing before Lily. Completely ignoring Bishamonten, she shoved her aside without hesitation and hooked her arm naturally around Lily’s.
“…Sister Shimizu,” Lily said, montarily surprised. “You’ve been waiting for here all this ti?” As the thought settled in, a faint ache welled up in her chest.
“Lily, you’re finally back. That’s wonderful. Truly wonderful…” Shimizu leaned in, about to plant a kiss on Lily’s cheek, when she suddenly frowned. “Why do you sll like another woman?”
“Huh?”
“Shimizu, we barely escaped with our lives to make it back to the Hekiraku Realm,” Rei said calmly. “Shouldn’t we rest first?”
“Oh? I suppose so,” Shimizu replied, her tone oddly pointed. “But soone with a body as resilient as a tireless white mare like yours really needs rest too?”
“Baby Girl, who is this child?” Bishamonten frowned, still irritated from being shoved aside. “How can she be so rude?”
Shimizu’s appearance did resemble Tsukikage-hi greatly, yet her bearing felt markedly different. Even so, she still had to pretend not to recognize her.
Among the Celestial Maidens, very few had ever laid eyes on Tsukikage-hi. But Bishamonten, as one of the Six Divine Generals, had naturally seen her before. As for Kaguya-hi’s mories, they truly held no recollection of this.
“Um… Sister Shimizu, thank you for waiting for ,” Lily said with a wry smile. “Let’s return to Herikaku City first and talk slowly later.”
The group flew straight to the small house behind the bamboo grove. By then, the other sisters had already received the news and gathered there to welco them.
“ “Lily!” ”
“Everyone!” Reunited once more with so many of her sisters, Lily felt her heart swell with joy.
“Sister Lily!” Several months had passed, yet Nanako had not grown any taller. Her twintails, however, had grown longer. Wearing a short-skirted hunting robe, she ran over and tugged at Lily’s sleeve.
“Nanako, you… you’ve already reached the Big Dipper Stage?” Lily asked in mild astonishnt.
“Yes!” Nanako nodded eagerly. “Sister Kaguya, Chiya, and Ayaka all taught . Even the Madam gave guidance once or twice. I’ve improved really fast. One day, I’ll surpass you. Then I can…”
“Then you can what?” Shimizu asked, displeased.
“Hmph, nothing!”
“Lily, you ca back safely. That’s wonderful,” Ayaka said from the side, her presence striking as ever due to her height and figure.
“Sister Ayaka!”
“Why is it that you seem happier seeing Ayaka than seeing ?” Shimizu tightened her hold on Lily’s arm, clearly unhappy.
“N-no, that’s not it!”
“Oh? Is that so?” Ayaka herself grew displeased, her expression turning serious.
“…” Lily fell silent, at a complete loss for words.
Once inside the house of the Hekiraku Realm, Lily noticed soone standing gloomily in a corner of the entry hall. Ryuen gazed at her with resentnt.
“Lady Lily… do you have any news of my younger sister, Murasakiyo?”
“Ah…” Lily’s face flushed red in an instant, and she found herself unable to answer.
“What, Lady Lily,” Ryuen said, on the verge of tears. “Don’t tell you’ve already forgotten?”
“Ryuen, watch your words,” Shimizu snapped angrily. “This ti, Lily went to rescue Bishamonten. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? It was already a miracle that they ca back alive at all. What more do you expect from her?”
After all, Shimizu was the master of the Hekiraku Realm, so it was only natural for her to reprimand a junior from her own realm.
“No, that’s not what I ant. I… I was just worried about my younger sister…” Ryuen said, her voice full of grievance.
At this mont, Lily felt overwheld with sha. “I’m sorry, Ryuen. Although Murasakiyo should still be safe for now, I truly had no way to bring her back with us. Right now, she and the sisters rescued from the courtesan district in Yuten Castle have escaped together with the Celestial Maiden Rebels to one of their strongholds. They should be fine for the ti being, but I can’t guarantee there’s no danger at all…”
“The Celestial Maiden Rebels? What is that?” Ryuen asked, completely confused.
“I’m sorry,” Lily said again, her guilt deepening.
What she felt guilty about was not that she had failed to rescue Murasakiyo and bring her back. Given the circumstances at the ti, with Murasakiyo only at the Throne Stage, there was no way she could have escaped together with Lily and the others. What Lily felt ashad of was that she had truly forgotten about Murasakiyo for a ti. It was only after they fled to Mount Mikokage that Yuki-Onna reminded her that among the rescued girls who had been teleported along with them were several from the Hekiraku Realm, including Murasakiyo.
Fortunately, they had been rescued in ti. Murasakiyo and the others had not been violated. They had only suffered a few beatings while being forced to learn the rules before ever receiving clients.
But the fact that she herself had forgotten about it was real. Lily felt that, given her position, this was not sothing that should simply be let go. Perhaps she ought to punish herself for it.
“So this is Lady Bishamonten?” Ayaka asked, her tone growing solemn.
“Hello. You are…?” Bishamonten hesitated. Because Ayaka had reincarnated in the mortal world, her appearance had changed sowhat from her forr self as A-no-Uzu. Although there were still similarities, so much ti had passed that Bishamonten did not dare to recognize her outright.
“I am Fujiwara no Ayaka. I pay my respects to Lady Bishamonten,” Ayaka said, bowing quietly. “Within the Heian Dynasty, you were revered as a Goddess of War. I never imagined I would one day et your true self.”
Most of the other sisters also straightened, offering their respects in turn.
“Lily, Lady Bishamonten,” Ayaka continued gently, “please go wash up and rest first. We have many things we wish to talk about, but questioning you endlessly right now would be discourteous.”
Moreover, the sisters were all keenly aware of the lingering feminine aura clinging to the three goddesses. Those with experience could not help but speculate. To Ayaka, pressing the matter further at this mont would only be inelegant and improper.
“Mhm,” Lily nodded. “Allow to bathe and change. I’ll first go pay my respects to Mother, and then I’ll properly talk with everyone.”
Lily was clearly excited.
Even so, she took a long ti bathing, and she was ticulous with her grooming. In the blink of an eye, half a day had passed. For an adept, however, half a day was hardly anything.
After finishing her preparations, Lily changed into a red, wide-sleeved ceremonial robe and went to pay her respects to Izanami, but she only encountered Rakshasa-Onna.
“The Madam and Asura-Onna have temporarily gone out to handle so matters,” Rakshasa-Onna explained. “They’ll return in a few days.”
So Lily chatted briefly with Rakshasa-Onna before turning to leave.
Watching Lily’s retreating figure, Rakshasa-Onna suddenly remarked, “What’s this? After just a few months, you seem even more womanly. What happened up there?”
“Huh? N-not at all…”
Seeing that the sisters of the Hekiraku Realm were all safe, aside from the Madam being absent, Lily’s thoughts drifted even more strongly to the sisters in the Heian Dynasty. They were not here, and she had not seen them for a very long ti.
So before heading to the great hall to reunite with everyone, Lily first went to a scenic corridor and let her consciousness enter the Mirror Dinsion.
Rinne did not seem to be in the main hall. She was likely resting. Most of the ti, Rinne stayed in her own room to allow her soul energy to recover fully.
Lily arrived at the Cloud Sanctum. This was where the sisters’ spirit forms trained. Because Lily, Rei, Shimizu, and Ayaka had all grown rapidly in strength, the others had received even greater blessings in turn, allowing their training to progress faster as well.
Yet at this mont, the Cloud Sanctum was empty. Lily only encountered Yukiko.
Yukiko stood atop a floating stone, seemingly lost in thought. When she saw Lily arrive, she startled and instinctively turned as if to leave, but Lily called out to her first.
“Sister Yukiko!”
As she spoke, Lily flew up onto the floating stone. “It’s been so long, Sister Yukiko. How have you been lately? How are things on the Heian Dynasty side?”
Yukiko looked unwell. A gloomy air lingered on her face. She froze for a mont, then forced a faint smile. “Good. Very good…”
“Is that so?” Lily sensed that Yukiko seed to be hiding sothing. “What about Mayumi? Haihi? And Shiu? How are they? Why haven’t they co to train?”
“Ah… th-they…” Yukiko’s words faltered. “They’re all fine. Fine… really fine…”
Her evasiveness was obvious.
Lily’s intuition flared with alarm. She stepped forward and took Yukiko’s hand, only to feel it trembling. “Sister Yukiko, are you hiding sothing from ? Tell . What exactly is going on in the Heian Dynasty right now? What happened?”
***
Above the vast lands of Yomi, separated by countless, impassable layers of rock, in the eastern region of the Heian Dynasty that existed in na only, within the forests between Shinano and Kai, lay a hidden mountain valley.
At the outer edge of this region stood Blossom Valley, where several burly demons stood guard at the entrance. They wore tattered samurai armor, were far taller than humans, and had dark, ugly faces. Each of them gripped a different weapon.
From within the valley ca bursts of wild, crude laughter belonging to monsters.
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