Volume 12 - Yomi-no-kuni: Chapter 82 – Lord of Okai

“Miss Tomoko, your words reveal how little you appreciate our master’s gentle kindness,” Rie said calmly, her tone measured but firm.

“Gentle? Kindness?” Tomoko scoffed. “She beat us down with sorcery and brute force, forced us into slavery, and you call that gentle kindness?”

“Miss Tomoko, let me ask you this—if our master hadn’t taken us in during this trial, do you think we would have stood a chance against her later? Do you not understand the fate of the defeated? In the Night Parade of the Hundred Maidens, there can be only one winner, and the outcome has already been decided. Master has even promised to return our freedom once the trial ends. Isn’t she offering us the best outcome possible?”

Some of the Hundred Maidens nodded thoughtfully, finding logic in Rie’s words.

“That’s right. What Sister Rie said makes sense,” a green-haired onmyoji mused aloud. “My sister and I are in the middle to lower ranks. Even if Kagami Lily hadn’t defeated us, someone else would have eventually, and we’d have faced a hundred years of hard labor or ended up in a demon brothel. When you look at it that way, this situation is clearly better.”

“Pathetic! Cowardly!” Tomoko snapped. “I’m nothing like you weaklings! There are still two and a half years left, countless trials, endless opportunities! The final outcome is far from decided!”

Rie gave Tomoko a long, measured look, shaking her head with a slight frown. “Miss Tomoko, you’re far too perceptive not to see the truth, just as I do. You simply refuse to accept it.”

“When I regain my freedom, I’ll make every one of you pay!” Tomoko declared coldly, glaring at the group before stalking back to her cell.

Escape? Impossible. She had already been defeated—there was no point in running unless she could somehow break free from the grasp of the Rakshasa Dojo.

While Tomoko remained defiant, the other Hundred Maidens cooperated, working together to set up several defensive formations and fortify their position.

With no distinction between day and night in the prison, the women returned to their cells to rest once the defenses were in place, leaving only a few behind to patrol the area.

By then, Lily had returned. She sat quietly at the end of the tunnel, her eyes closed in rest.

From the depths of the darkness, heavy footsteps echoed, accompanied by the overwhelming aura of a powerful demon.

“What kind of monster is that!?” one of the patrolling women cried out in alarm.

“Monster? You dare call me a monster after breaking into my Okai Prison, you uninvited wretches?”

Three ma.s.sive figures emerged from the shadows.

On either side stood monstrous figures—a towering beast with a terrifying sheep’s head and a robust warrior with the head of a pheasant. These were no prisoners—they were the prison’s jailors!

Clad in ragged samurai armor, the sheep-headed jailor gripped a curved hook sword, while the pheasant-headed one brandished a long blade. Both radiated the powerful auras of septuple-soul Big Dipper adepts.

Between them stood a towering ox demon with three heads and six arms, his body etched with glowing crimson runes. He appeared to be from the same clan as King Mauro Kidou—both were formidable three-headed, six-armed powerhouses.

The ox demon exuded a terrifying aura that permeated the entire prison.

“Miss… Miss Rie…” The patrolling guards shrank back under the crushing aura. Moments later, Rie, Masako, and several others rushed to the scene.

Their defensive formations could barely hold off the two septuple-soul jailors, but the ox demon in the center was far beyond the Big Dipper realm. The ox demon tore through the formations effortlessly, sending shockwaves through the tunnel walls, causing them to groan under the pressure as if the entire structure might collapse.

“No! An Infernal Realm Arch-demon!” Masako gasped in alarm, her voice trembling slightly. Even Rie, usually composed, wore a grave expression.

They had fought tooth and nail just to repel a single septuple-soul jailor before. Never did they imagine the sheep-headed jailor would return—this time with reinforcements, including an Infernal Realm powerhouse!

“Oh, so many beautiful women gathered here—what luck! Hahaha!” The ox demon grinned wickedly, hefting his ma.s.sive axe toward the women. “I am the Lord of Okai, the master of this prison! It is only right for you to slaughter prisoners, as it aligns with the heavenly way. But to harm my jailors? For that, I will show no mercy.”

“We are the Hundred Maidens of the Rakshasa Dojo, Lord Okai,” Masako cautioned, her gaze unwavering. “If you move against us, aren’t you afraid of offending the Rakshasa Dojo?”

“Hahaha! Rakshasa Dojo? You think I don’t know this is part of your training? If I capture all of you, perhaps I’ll offend them. But if I only take the ones who harmed my jailors, isn’t that just helping the dojo train you? They might even thank me! Hahaha!” Lord Okai’s laughter boomed through the corridor.

His gaze drifted across the gathered women. With Lily resting quietly at the far end of the tunnel, his attention landed on Tomoko, standing toward the back.

“You! You look like the one who wounded my jailors. I’ll take you with me!” Lord Okai declared, his voice booming with finality.

“What? You can’t be serious!” Tomoko protested, her voice laced with defiance.

The two septuple-soul jailors unleashed their power, surging forward toward the women, eager to claim captives of their own.

The battle erupted in an instant. Arcane artes and streaking blade beams lit up the dark corridor as the entire prison trembled under the intensity of the clash.

Lord Okai charged forward like a rampaging beast, his powerful hooves thundering against the ground. A spectral image of a ma.s.sive dark-gold ox from an ancient, malevolent world surrounded him. Shockwaves rippled through the walls with such force that none of the women dared stand in his path.

In the blink of an eye, Lord Okai closed the distance, bearing down on Tomoko.

With her treasures restored, Tomoko had been restraining her anger for too long. Now, without hesitation, she drew her blade and slashed down with all her strength, ignoring the enemy’s overwhelming realm.

Lord Okai’s axe swung in a brutal arc, effortlessly shattering Tomoko’s strike. The sheer force of the blow hurled her into the stone wall with a deafening crash.

Lord Okai’s hooves dug into the ground as he surged forward once more, charging straight at Tomoko’s fallen form. Lowering his sharp horns, he swept them down to flip her off the ground.

Stunned and numb from the initial blow, Tomoko lay motionless, helplessly watching as the demon’s sharp horns descended toward her waist.

“Ahhh!” Despite her arrogance and stubbornness, Tomoko had rarely tasted failure. Faced with such a dire situation, all she could do was scream.

A sudden shockwave jolted Tomoko’s senses as a crimson figure materialized before her. Long hair billowed in the wind, and though the figure radiated the scent of youth, her mere presence distorted the very s.p.a.ce around her.

An ethereal lunar shockwave rippled through the air, subtle yet immensely powerful.

Lily raised Oborozuki Muramasa high and brought it down in one fluid motion, severing Lord Okai’s two formidable horns in a single strike.

“What!?” Tomoko stared in disbelief. An Infernal Realm adept—reduced to this? The ancient Lord of Okai had lost his prized horns in a single clash with Lily?

“Who are you!?” Lord Okai roared. Crimson runes across his body blazed into a brilliant gold, and his muscles swelled with renewed power, radiating raw, feral energy.

This was the savage gift of the ox demon clan—unleashed fury.

“Me?” Lily’s voice was cool, indifferent. “I’m just one of the Hundred Maidens, here for training.”

“What? A member of the Hundred Maidens? That’s impossible! With power like yours? There’s no way you’re the same as those weak women!” Lord Okai bellowed in disbelief.

Lord Okai swung his colossal axe toward Lily, aiming to cleave her in two. But Lily’s leg shot up, striking the side of the axe mid-swing with bone-crushing force.

The impact sent rippling shockwaves through the dark tunnel. Lord Okai, along with his ma.s.sive axe, was hurled backward, slamming into the stone wall with devastating force.

Lord Okai’s body crashed through multiple walls, shattering stone as he barreled through several adjoining tunnels, leaving destruction in his wake.

“What kind of power is this?” Tomoko muttered, stunned.

The walls of Okai Prison were known to be nearly indestructible. Even with her full strength, Tomoko could only crack the stone and leave a small crater. Yet, with a single kick, Lily had blasted the Lord of Okai through multiple walls—and it didn’t even seem like she was using her full strength.

“Lord Okai is an Infernal Realm adept… What kind of opponent am I up against in this Hundred Maidens compet.i.tion?” Tomoko’s mind reeled, her confidence shaken to its core.

“d.a.m.n you!” Lord Okai snarled. “I’ve never encountered a woman with power like yours! You must be a Celestial Realm adept—why are you pretending to be a Big Dipper adept and competing in the Night Parade? I’ve faced plenty of Hundred Maidens, but I’ve never met anyone like you!”

Lord Okai’s eyes blazed gold as he ignited his divine power. With all six arms wielding deadly weapons, he launched a relentless flurry of attacks at Lily.

Lily responded in kind, her movements swift and precise. Despite Lord Okai’s overwhelming strength and six-weapon barrage, Lily’s speed far surpa.s.sed his.

“Arcane Moon!”

A brilliant crescent of lunar energy sliced through the prison, its light illuminating the dark corridors. The beam struck Lord Okai square in the chest, severing two of his arms and carving a deep, gaping wound. Crimson and golden divine blood gushed from the wound, splattering across the walls and floor.

The force of the blast hurled Tomoko into a corner, divine blood splattering against her skin. Dazed and shaken, she could do nothing but stare in disbelief.

Staggering backward with a howl of pain, Lord Okai raised his axe toward Lily and cursed, “Fine! You’re strong! Let’s end it here—I’ll let you and your women live!”

“Let’s go!” Lord Okai barked, realizing too late that the wound on his chest refused to heal. Blood continued to pour from it, staining the ground beneath him. With a fierce glare, he limped away, signaling his subordinates to follow.

“Stop. Who gave you permission to leave?” Lily’s voice rang out, cold as ice.

“What!?” Lord Okai jolted in alarm, watching as Lily advanced, her blade gleaming ominously in hand.

“Woman, what more do you want? I am the Lord of Okai! I spared the worthless lives of your Hundred Maidens—what more could you ask?”

“Tell me, Lord of Okai—if I had fallen to you, would you have let me go?”

“You invaded my prison! Anyone who falls to me becomes my plaything—my slave until death takes them!” Lord Okai sneered, his six eyes gleaming with wicked l.u.s.t

¹.

Footnotes:

1. 
   

   Seriously? So not only does Lily lack common sense, her enemies also lack common sense.