Volume 3, Chapter 5 – Sakura Blades, Where Do the Sakura Hail From?

Volume 3, Chapter 5 - Sakura Blades, Where Do the Sakura Hail From?

Translator: Aoi

“She isn’t human...”

“This woman isn’t human!”

“She devoured a demon’s anima!”

“She killed two transcendent monster lords with a single strike!”

“Her blade devoured Lord Dijon and Lord Genja’s souls!”

“Spare my life!”

“She is a true demoness!”

“A blade maiden... she’s a great demon of the legends—a blade maiden!”

“Spare our lives, O’Maiden!”

The demon ninjas and the monsters within the Sakura Blizzard’s range didn’t dare to resist any further and groveled on the ground one after the other, pleading Lily for leniency!

Lily’s bewitching yet merciless gaze traveled across the groveling monsters and demon ninjas before she asked them a question.

“If I were to fall into a defenseless state, would you have let me go?”

Lily’s willed her mind and the sakura flying within the Sakura Blizzard turned into a poignant and deadly storm of sakura blades within the domain.

Despair welled up on the faces of all the monsters at this moment and even the fearsome Hannya-masked demon ninjas were utterly frightened!

The sakura blades sped up suddenly and stormed within the domain, leaving death in their wake!

“Argh!”

“No!”

On the other hand, Genja had a lot more treasures than Dijon.

Other than the grade 6 ninja straight sword that he hadn’t used, Lily had found a lot of ninjutsu scrolls that she never heard of or seen until now. Lily moved all the grade 6 and higher items she found on him into the ancient mirror and ignored the items below grade 6 as she didn’t want them.

Genja also had a total of 400 grams of magatama fragments, and this pleased Lily very much.

She had obtained a total of 550 grams of magatama fragments in this battle alone!

Lily then manipulated the Sakura Blizzard domain and pushed the corpses of the monsters and the demon ninjas off the fault.

After that, Lily rolled her sleeves up and pulled up the bottom of her kimono, tucking it into her kimono sash. She then strode forward to grab a sickle used by one of the demon ninjas and dug a grave for Matsuda Nagahide under an old tree outside the cave where Lord Yosh*tsune and Lady Shizuka parted.

After burying Lord Matsuda’s corpse, Lily crafted an elaborate wooden grave marker using Crescent Moon and wrote the following on top of it—Matsuda Nagahide, Kagami Lily’s Father in Heian.

Lily placed Dijon’s and Genja’s heads as offerings in front of Lord Matsuda’s grave and then kneeled down before it.

“Father Matsuda, your daughter is here to offer the head of your foe. May you rest in peace!”

Lily kowtowed so deep that her head almost touched the floor.

After that, she arrived inside the cave that was Lord Yosh*tsune’s dwelling and said words of farewell towards Lord Yosh*tsune and the missing Lady Shizuka’s items.

“Lord Yosh*tsune, I haven’t forgotten what you told me at the shrine. However, where did your heroic spirit want to meet me? And what is the path I have chosen to tread? I’m quite perplexed about it myself and clueless about what to do next... I hope your spirit can guide me from the other side, Lord Yosh*tsune...”

Saying so, Lily kneeled within the cave.

An ancient yet youthful and heroic voice echoed within the cave at this moment, “The secret of this world lies past the Heavenly Gate. Girl, if you run into my wife, Lady Shizuka, in the future and happen to hear her call for help, then, do not answer it at any cost, kindhearted girl.”

Lily had heard this voice twice until now, so there was no way she would mistake it. It was none other than the voice of Minamoto Kurou Yosh*tsune’s remnant will left in this world.

However, Lily felt puzzled by his guidance.

“Lord Yosh*tsune! You have guided me several times and I’ve yet to repay my gratitude. If I obtain any news about your wife, I will naturally do my best to save her in spite of the danger involved. Why do you dissuade me from going to save her?”

“Remember my words, girl. If you hear Lady Shizuka’s call for help in the future, do not answer it at any cost... at any cost...”

Yosh*tsune’s voice resounded within the old cave and disappeared gradually, leaving behind a sincerity-filled yet puzzled Lily.