Volume 12 - Yomi-no-kuni: Chapter 15 – Another Kind Of Failure

Volume 12 - Yomi-no-kuni: Chapter 15 – Another Kind Of Failure

Once the commotion subsided, the Blade Maiden remarked, “Oh, ah... Hehe, at last, I’ve eliminated a rival.”

“Eliminated?” A flushed Lily had a sudden epiphany and instinctively turned back. Had the Blade Maiden indeed slain the female adept?

Yet, she found the woman lying on the ground, her attire in tatters. The woman averted her gaze, her face flushed, hair disheveled, eyes empty, struggling for breath.

“Not deceased?” Mature beyond her years, Lily quickly grasped the situation. Despite her own preferences, witnessing such extremity was a first for her.

The extent of cruelty the Blade Maiden had inflicted upon the woman was unknown to Lily, but the woman was unmistakably alive.

“Having defeated me, just end my life. Why... would you resort to this...” The female adept gasped for air. “This is far more excruciating and degrading than death itself.”

“Oh, Miss Hyozuhi, in Carefree City, you and your clan held the advantage over me. During our skirmishes for treasure, you and your kin never ceased to torment me. Could you have ever envisioned this day? Despite your superior skills and artifacts, within these confines, we’re reduced to mere physical prowess. You are truly... a delicate creature!”

With those words, the Blade Maiden harshly squeezed a sensitive part of Hyozuhi’s body.

“Oh, ah...” Hyozuhi cried out, her face turning red. “Masako, you vile creature... Just... end my life!”

“Indeed, I am despicable. And your point? To merely kill you would be too lenient. In the realm of Yomi, for a Blade Maiden, defeat and the loss of purity bear greater shame and pain than death itself! I bet you hadn’t foreseen, back when you pilfered my treasure, that we’d both be ensnared, leading to your defeat at my hands—a fate worse than death, wouldn’t you say? Hmph!”

Lily, from a short distance, tried to stifle her breathing, finding it hard to stay silent. Knowing all too well the cruelties of defeat, she believed death to be a kinder fate than the torment and violation inflicted upon a vanquished female warrior.

Such a fate was undeniably the most degrading and shameful end a female warrior could endure.

In a defeated tone, Hyozuhi conceded, “Take the treasure if that’s what you desire.”

With a snort, Masako declared, “No need for your permission. I will conduct a thorough search and claim all your possessions!”

Lily was torn. While she would unhesitatingly rescue a maiden under attack by a beast, the current conflict was between two maidens. Was intervention warranted? The rules sanctioned such conflicts, even to the death. Lily herself might face such a situation in the future. What justification could she possibly have for intervening now?

Masako, the older woman, appeared to be a Blade Maiden as well? Nevertheless, affiliation alone did not align her with Lily.

After pilfering all of Hyozuhi’s treasures, Masako departed, leaving Hyozuhi bereft and bare on the ground.

Abandoned, Hyozuhi faced the peril of beasts or malicious entities, could fall prey to monsters or encounter malevolent individuals like the sumo wrestler who was duped into becoming a ‘sparring partner’ by the Rakshasa Dojo. After some thought, Lily realized she couldn’t simply turn a blind eye and silently walk away.

Compelled, Lily approached.

“But such outcomes only follow defeat. In mutual love, even if fleeting, there’s no sense of loss for either party,” Hyozuhi expressed.

Lily regarded Hyozuhi with empathy. “Then Miss Hyozuhi, what are your plans now?”

“I wish I could just die here, unseen. The thought of how others will view a defeated woman is unbearable. Yet, I’d choose being sold to a Yomi brothel or enduring a century of hard labor over becoming that woman’s wife!” Hyozuhi declared firmly.

“But wouldn’t harboring such hatred make the humiliation even worse?”

“Yes, just... let it all end,” Hyozuhi wept. “Leave me for the monsters. If you’re reluctant to end my life yourself, why linger?”

“Miss Hyozuhi, our acquaintance is new, so my feelings aren’t pity. It’s just... the fate of women in Yomi seems so cruel.”

“Hahahahaha...” Hyozuhi’s laughter took on a hysterical edge. “In Yomi, tragedy is the norm. Happiness? That’s for Takamagahara. Here, we’re all damned from the moment we fall in.”

Hyozuhi’s gaze turned upward, her eyes alight with the enduring desire to ascend to the heavens.

“Take this; it’ll help,” Lily offered, despite the lack of food in her mirror space, she had an abundance of spiritual medicine, which she handed to Hyozuhi.

Gradually, Hyozuhi’s strength returned, or perhaps it was her shattered psyche finding solace. Lily assisted her to her feet, and together, they found respite beneath a stone pillar.

“Miss Lily, tales of your stunning beauty and the longing it incites are widespread in private discussions. Yet, it’s hard to believe you’re also endowed with such kindness. Despite everything, you’re here assisting a woman who’s been stripped of her privilege to train in Yomi. No, I’ve lost even the right to be considered a woman. At best, I’m nothing more than a shattered relic,” Hyozuhi said, cradling her bruised knees, her voice laden with despair.

“We’re all in this together. There’s no need for formalities, Miss Hyozuhi. And please, don’t devalue yourself so.”

“I’m not demeaning myself; I’m facing the harsh reality...”

“Miss Hyozuhi, may I ask how you ended up in Yomi, or were you born here?”

Hyozuhi replied with a shake of her head, “Originally, I was a shrine maiden in Nara. By sixteen, I had achieved the Big Dipper Stage, enabling me to retain my youth for centuries. By twenty-six, I had become one of Nara’s ten most formidable powerhouses, unmatched within the dynasty. The other renowned powerhouses were far older, prompting me to aim higher—towards Takamagahara.”

“Regrettably, I didn’t succeed at the Heavenly Gate, leading to my fall into Yomi. Crossing the Heavenly Gate, particularly the final threshold, is a formidable challenge. Success means ascending to Takamagahara and achieving the Celestial Stage. Failure, however, results in either death or descent into Yomi. Many fallen experts reside here, having failed their ascension. Despite this setback, I leveraged my remarkable strength and talent to further my training and even allied with a clan, holding onto the hope of someday ascending to Takamagahara or returning to the mortal world. Today’s defeat was unimaginable, signaling the end of everything... Sigh.”

Hyozuhi let out a heavy sigh, tears beginning to stream down her face.

“I can’t fathom why Yomi enforces such a cruel rule!” Lily exclaimed in frustration.

“Yomi is inherently a realm of suffering, designed to entertain demons. Maybe that’s the reason for imposing such harsh penalties on female experts,” Hyozuhi speculated.