Lily wasn’t far from the Boundless Imperial Princess, yet strangely, she couldn’t see anything below the woman’s eyes. In the heat of battle earlier, she hadn’t noticed. But now that the chaos had ended, her curiosity was stirred.
“Your Majesty,” Lily asked via voice transmission, “can you clearly see the face of the Boundless Imperial Princess?”
“What do you mean?” the Queen replied, puzzled. She could see the woman’s face perfectly, and didn’t understand the question.
Lily took the Queen’s confusion as confirmation. Was it that she wasn’t strong enough to perceive it? But she had seen the Madam’s face before… Could the Boundless Imperial Princess be using some kind of illusion or divine concealment?
At that moment, the Boundless Imperial Princess hovered high above, looking down upon the sea of demons below. “I know why you’re here,” she said coldly. “But since you’ve traveled all this way, it wouldn’t be right to send you home empty-handed… would it?”
The demons exchanged wary glances. Was she planning to take Lily and divide the dowry among them? But instead of speaking further, the Boundless Imperial Princess drew her blade. A chilling aura spread outward, so cold and sharp it made every demon’s soul shiver.
Chaos broke out. Many demons turned to flee in panic, while others with weaker minds stood frozen in terror. But it was already too late.
“Sever,” she whispered.
She sheathed her blade, though only a few inches of it had been exposed.
With a resonant clang, a wave of pitch-black energy burst outward in all directions. In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of demons froze in place. One after another, a sound like wind slicing through silk echoed as they fell.
Every demon below the strength of a quintuple-soul Big Dipper was instantly annihilated. The entire sea of demons trailing the procession had been reduced to a field of corpses.
Meanwhile, Lily, the procession, and her allies felt only a strong breeze pass over them—completely unharmed.
Those demons who had barely survived—mostly septuple-soul level—screamed in agony and scattered in every direction, never daring to linger. Even the few Infernal-level powerhouses who remained untouched didn’t take chances. If the Boundless Imperial Princess decided to eliminate them next, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
“I’ve left some of you alive for a reason,” she declared coldly. “Go tell the rest of Yomi-no-kuni: if anyone dares lay eyes on my woman again, I’ll cast them into eternal darkness.”
In the next breath, the dust cleared. The few surviving demons had vanished, leaving behind only a wasteland strewn with lifeless bodies. At last, the Boundless Imperial Princess descended calmly, her gaze softening as it landed on Lily. For a fleeting second, her eyes shimmered with warmth.
Then, a towering demon god knelt nearby like a living mountain. Bowing low, he pressed his forehead into the ground before Lily and the others, sending tremors through the earth.
The four women stared in silent awe, shaken by the sheer power of the display. The Boundless Imperial Princess descended with elegance, landing atop the massive demon god’s head. Her simple dojo robes fluttered like banners in the roaring winds.
“Why don’t you come up?” she asked softly, looking at Lily.
With a nudge of her heel, the demon god responded. His massive hand unfolded like a stone platform, offering Lily a path to ascend. At this point, Lily knew resistance was pointless. Against someone like this, escape wasn’t even a consideration.
With her overwhelming power, even an ordinary Supreme God would be crushed in battle. Let alone someone like Lily. On top of that, her mood was dangerously unstable. If she flew into a rage, who knew what she might do to the Queen or the others?
Lily understood she had no real choice. “Thank you for rescuing me, Your Grace. But I am still a princess traveling with a ceremonial procession. Leaving with you directly might invite unnecessary scrutiny. Please allow me to continue the journey in my own carriage.”
“Your carriage is wrecked. And who in Yomi would dare mock you?” the Boundless Imperial Princess snapped. Her voice released a wave of soul force that swept across the surroundings—so powerful that even Lily shuddered despite her formidable spirit.
“I’ll go with you, Lily,” Ayaka said gently, taking on the role of an attending maid. She supported Lily as the two ascended the demon god’s colossal claw, walking across the vast arm.
With every step, a wave of frustration and helplessness weighed down on Ayaka.
Once, she had been the one to hold Lily close, confident and protective. But now, she couldn’t shield her—nor could she let go. All she could do was escort Lily toward someone far stronger, and silently surrender her.
‘If only I were stronger,’ Ayaka thought bitterly.
Queen Kaguya and Chiya stood frozen, uncertain of what to do. Their dilemma was painfully clear. Renka and the rest of the procession could only stand by in stunned silence. No one dared speak, for fear of drawing the Boundless Imperial Princess’s ire.
No—this was a woman who might kill on a whim, just because it pleased her. The only wise choice was to stay quiet and invisible.
Lily’s heart tightened with unease. She hadn’t anticipated Wakarai’s ambush, nor that the Boundless Imperial Princess herself would intervene. And yet—she still hadn’t broken through to the next stage.
If she advanced to the Celestial Stage, she might be able to defeat Wakarai. But against the Boundless Imperial Princess? That was another matter entirely.
Together, Lily and Ayaka approached the massive demon god’s head—where the Imperial Princess stood waiting.
“Who’s this?” The Boundless Imperial Princess asked with clear displeasure as her gaze fell on Ayaka.
Lily and Ayaka both looked up at her. Lily still couldn’t make out her face clearly—and the mystery only deepened her unease.
“She’s my maidservant. Ayaka,” Lily responded quickly.
The Imperial Princess stepped down from the demon god’s curved head and walked up to Lily. Standing only around 165 centimeters, she suddenly realized—these two women were taller than her.
That alone was enough to irritate her.
With a flick of her hand, a whip of shadow lashed through the air, striking Ayaka at the backs of her knees and forcing her to kneel. The whip curled back around and snapped against Ayaka’s backside.
“Kneel.” The Princess’ voice was sharp and absolute.
Ayaka bit back a pained sound, her body trembling as the strike forced her to kneel.
Lily rushed to Ayaka’s side, cradling her protectively. She lowered herself beside her and knelt. “If I’ve done anything wrong, Your Grace, punish me instead. Please, don’t harm Sister Ayaka.”
The Boundless Imperial Princess narrowed her eyes. “You call her… Sister?”
“We’ve always been together,” Lily replied quickly, flustered. “We call each other sisters.” She was certain the Imperial Princess wouldn’t hurt her directly—but Ayaka was another matter entirely. That fear gnawed at her.
Lily slowly raised her gaze, nervous and uncertain. There was something familiar about this woman—her height, her frame, the long dark-blue hair. It tugged at a memory. But with her face obscured, Lily couldn’t be sure.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” the Princess snapped, but suddenly winced. A spasm in her side forced a cough from her lips.
“Your Highness, are you alright?” Lily asked with genuine concern.
“Don’t change the subject. Answer my question!” the Princess barked through strained breaths.
“I… I can’t see your face clearly, Your Grace,” Lily admitted hesitantly.
A flicker of amusement danced in her eyes as she straightened up, using her scabbard for support. She looked down on Lily with smug satisfaction. “Heh… that’s right. You tall woman from the mortal realm—I cast a little spell just for you.”
“You really want to see my face?” she continued mockingly. “What if I’m hideous? Wouldn’t you cry yourself to death? Cough… cough… My whole future—ruined by my own appearance?” She chuckled bitterly.
“You’re revered across all of Yomi, Your Grace. No one has ever said you’re… ugly,” Lily said softly, speaking from the heart.
“Forget it. I meant to save this for the wedding day… but now, I really want to see your reaction.” She spoke between shallow breaths.
“Huh?” Lily blinked, confused.
As she spoke, she waved a sleeve across her face, lifting the spell in a single motion. Her visage was revealed—beautiful, yet subtly pale from exhaustion. Both Lily and Ayaka were struck speechless, frozen in disbelief.
Lily stared at her—this mysterious woman with bandaged waist and flowing indigo hair—and her thoughts spun into chaos.
“Shi—!” Lily gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. She had almost spoken the name aloud. ‘It can’t be… The Boundless Imperial Princess… looks exactly like Sister Shimizu
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