Demon Sword Maiden - Volume 12 - Chapter 152

“What… is this…” Kagura had always held warm feelings toward Ayaka, but in that moment, she stood stunned, unable to make sense of what she had just heard.

“Master… I understand, and yet I don’t. Where will you go now? Didn’t you once say you ascended to Takamagahara after training in the mortal realm?”

Kagura had once believed Suzuhiko-hime was long gone, and all she had left was the hope of vengeance. But now, standing face to face with her master, the truth unraveled everything. That fragile hope, which had kept her going for so long, began to crumble.

“I’m sorry, Kagura,” Suzuhiko-hime said gently. “Some things are bound by destiny. I can’t reveal everything, not now—doing so could bring disaster to us both.” Her eyes turned wistful. “But if I don’t speak now, I may never get the chance again.”

“Kagura, now that the Heavenly Charm Bell has returned to its rightful bearer, my role is complete. I was always just a part of her, in truth…” Tears shimmered in Suzuhiko-hime’s eyes. “This was always meant to be hers. But meeting you again… that was a blessing I never expected. I am content.”

“No, Master—don’t go!” Kagura cried out and rushed forward, trying to embrace her. But her hands passed through empty air. There was nothing solid to hold on to.

“Kagura… I no longer exist in the way you remember. This is merely a meeting within your consciousness. I passed away a long time ago. Now that the Heavenly Charm Dance has returned to its rightful vessel, I can no longer remain.” Suzuhiko-hime smiled as she watched Kagura’s hand pass through her. “But don’t grieve—I live on in Ayaka now. That, too, is a form of rebirth.”

“Master! Please, don’t go! Don’t disappear!” Kagura sobbed uncontrollably, her voice shaking as tears streamed down her face.

“My soul exists only because of the dance. Now that its power is passed on, I can no longer remain as I am… Kagura, serve your new master faithfully, and remember the duty that binds our clan. And… one more thing…”

Suzuhiko-hime leaned close, her ghostly arms mimicking an embrace. “We were never just master and servant. Perhaps… we were sisters. Or maybe even mother and daughter, in spirit.”

“Huh…?” Kagura blinked, overwhelmed and confused.

“Suzuhiko-hime, I don’t know what happened in Takamagahara. Whoever you believe I once was… I am Fujiwara no Ayaka!” Ayaka stepped forward, voice ringing with resolve. “You don’t have to fade. I can give the Heavenly Charm Dance back. You can live on!”

“No,” Suzuhiko-hime said firmly. “I’ve already passed from this world. What meaning is there in clinging to a hollow existence? These powers are no longer mine to wield. But you—Ayaka—you are still alive, and your fate is far greater than mine ever was. It will be painful, humiliating… but only you can carry it. My role is finished.”

Ayaka’s eyes widened. “What do you mean… by destiny?”

Suzuhiko-hime’s form shimmered, growing faint. Sadness filled her eyes. “My time is almost up…”

Though her hands couldn’t touch Kagura, the warmth in Suzuhiko-hime’s gaze felt like an embrace.

“Kagura… just for a moment, let me look upon you—as a mother would her daughter, or an older sister to her younger one. I don’t know how to explain it clearly… But you are a spark of divine will born from the Sakura Parasol, shaped by the music of the Heavenly Charm Bell.”

“I… I was born from the Heavenly Charm Bell?” Kagura whispered, stunned. “I… I am Master’s daughter…”

Suzuhiko-hime’s form shimmered, turning translucent. Her presence faded like morning mist, her thoughts unraveling into drifting wisps of smoke.

“Farewell, Kagura… my dear child.”

Kagura broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. “Master… Master, don’t go…”

“For the first and last time… will you call me ‘Mother’?” Suzuhiko-hime’s fading form quivered softly. “Every woman, at least once in life, wishes to be a mother, doesn’t she?” Her smile was gentle, tinted with affection and a trace of reluctant farewell.

“Mom… Mother! Please don’t go! I’ll gladly be your daughter—just don’t leave me alone! Mom!”

“You’re not alone… You have so many wonderful sisters. How could a child like you ever be alone, my beloved daughter?” As her final words echoed, Suzuhiko-hime’s form dispersed into a luminous mist—glowing with love and sorrow—as she vanished.

Even as she faded completely, a peaceful, contented smile remained on her face.

“Ame-no-Uzume… reclaim your strength… and protect Tsukuyomi no Mikoto

…” came her last, distant whisper from the void.

“What…?” Ayaka blinked in confusion. “Who are you talking to? Was that meant for me?”

That name—Ame-no-Uzume—didn’t seem to point to Kagura at all.

“Who did you say I was? And what does Tsukuyomi no Mikoto have to do with this? What are you trying to say…?” Ayaka called out, but the spirit had already disappeared. All that remained was the strength and residual spirit of Suzuhiko-hime, which now flowed into Ayaka’s body.

Yet, none of Suzuhiko-hime’s thoughts or memories remained. Her consciousness was gone.

Perhaps, though Suzuhiko-hime was born from Ayaka’s ancient dance, she wasn’t a part of the Ayaka that existed now. Their spirits could no longer be joined. Moreover, the heavy karmic burden she carried—her responsibility for the countless female warriors who had perished in pursuit of this illusion—had filled her soul with Resentment Energy. If she had fused with Ayaka, that impurity would have tainted her pure soul and corrupted the Heavenly Charm Dance itself. That would’ve rendered all her efforts, and the sacrifices of those women, meaningless.

Ayaka bore the weight of a profound destiny. She needed to inherit a power untainted, refined to perfection. Suzuhiko-hime chose to carry all the guilt alone—even if it meant erasing herself entirely from existence.

Ayaka and Kagura’s consciousness drifted back from the void, returning to their physical bodies in the waking world.

Ayaka’s dance had left many of the male demons completely drained, their strength scattered and their minds still entranced.

At that moment, the Divine Artifact—the Heavenly Charm Bell—gently descended into Ayaka’s open palm. For a brief moment, both Ayaka and Kagura stood frozen in place, caught in a daze by all they had just witnessed.

“Suzuhiko-hime… she said she was a part of me. Then who am I really? Who is Ame-no-Uzume… What have I done to deserve such a legacy? And how… how am I supposed to protect Tsukuyomi no Mikoto?” she asked herself, overwhelmed.

Beside her, Kagura stood motionless, as if in a trance. The flood of revelations had left her stunned and speechless. Kagura had long accepted that her master was gone. She never imagined she would see Suzuhiko-hime again, even if only within a spiritual vision.

“Master… Are you really my mother?” Kagura’s thoughts spiraled. “Will I never see you again? You said I carry the divine will of the Sakura Parasol, that I was born from the Heavenly Charm Bell… Am I meant to return to the bell or the parasol? But what about Nanako—her body is mine now. You said my destiny is to train her… But then you call yourself my mother… and now you’re gone?”

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

A mournful chime echoed from the bell. Then came a soft, familiar voice: “Kagura, come in… quickly.”

“Huh?” Kagura’s entire body quivered. That voice… it was Suzuhiko-hime’s! How could this be? Suzuhiko-hime’s spirit had vanished—hadn’t it?

The voice had come from the Heavenly Charm Bell. Kagura, a Shikigami born of the Sakura Parasol, had never attempted it before—but something told her she could now take refuge within the bell.

But before Ayaka or Kagura could speak again, several Infernal Archdemons stirred from their stupor. With them came their underlings and half-recovered demons, slowly encircling Ayaka with renewed menace.

Their eyes burned with fighting spirit—and unmistakable lustful hunger—for Ayaka.

“So that was it—just some seductive dance!” snarled a powerful hound demon with red and white fur. “We were entranced for seven days, but no more! As long as we keep our minds clear, we Infernal Archdemons won’t fail to subdue a mere Celestial dancer from Takamagahara!”

“Exactly!” growled another demon, cloaked in pitch-black with spiraling, glowing eyes. “If not for the ancient rule forbidding us from acting while a dancer performed, we would’ve devoured you already! But now that the dance is over, that oath is void. You won’t dance again—we’ll seize this prize together!”

A wave of Eldritch Energy surged from the demons, pressing down on Ayaka like a suffocating tide.

Ayaka’s breath came in sharp bursts, but her eyes were firm and cold. “Kagura, you can’t fight like this. You must enter the bell—now!”

“I… I…”

“Kagura. Quickly, now.” Suzuhiko-hime’s voice resonated once more.

That voice swept away the last of Kagura’s doubt. With a quiet incantation, her form dissolved into a mist, and she vanished into the Heavenly Charm Bell.

Within the Heavenly Charm Bell was a vast, misty expanse—soft, white, and dreamlike. Kagura stepped into the ethereal space.

“Kagura.” A soft, familiar voice called to her, warm and resonant.

Spinning around, Kagura scanned the glowing haze—there, in the distance, stood Suzuhiko-hime, dressed in her Celestial Maiden coat, radiating gentle light.

“Master? What… what is this?” Kagura’s grief transformed in an instant into stunned joy. She could hardly believe her eyes.

“Master… Mom? Mom!” Kagura cried out. As a Shikigami, she had always been alone—never knowing love, never having a true family. Except for her master… except for her origin.

She ran toward Suzuhiko-hime and threw her arms around her—this time, she didn’t pass through. She could feel her mother’s scent, her warmth, her softness… it was real.

“Mom, what’s happening? I thought… I thought you were gone forever…”

“I’m sorry, Kagura. I didn’t expect this either,” Suzuhiko-hime said softly, still in disbelief. “When I gave up my power and separated from my spirit, I thought my consciousness would fade forever. I should have disappeared… but somehow, in the final moments, I became bound to this place. This bell—it’s where I was born. I never left it, not truly.”

Ordinary souls could never linger like this. But Suzuhiko-hime had been born of pure dance, her essence fused into the Heavenly Charm Bell. Even after death, her spirit clung to the artifact that had first given her life—reborn as its guardian spirit.