Yama Rising

“My god!!” The little girl’s mother picked up the little girl at once and dashed towards the back of the cabin. The girl, on the other hand, stared dumbfounded at the living hell that had appeared right in front of her very eyes.

Dozens of zombies had burst through the front of the cabin, congesting the aisles between the seats and grabbing at everything they could with their outstretched arms. All of them sported twisted and gnarly expressions as they stared menacingly at the human beings in the cabin. It was almost as though… the front of the plane had turned into a living hell.

“Run!! Quickly, run!!!” “Uwaahhhhh! What’s going on!” “What kind of monsters are these?! How is this even a super virus?!” “Help… help me… AHHH--!!”

Everyone was running away as quickly as they could.

Unfortunately, those located at the very rear of the plane couldn’t escape at all. All of the living humans flooded towards the back of the plane, while the living dead continued to trudge towards them at a menacing pace. Within moments, blood splattered about, and broken limbs scattered everywhere. The pristine white walls of the cabin were dyed a horrific red hue.

Qin Ye sighed softly. He wasn’t cold-hearted. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to rescue these people.

Any suspicious actions on his part would immediately place him in the spotlight. It didn’t help that the plane was headed directly to Hanyang.

Being in the spotlight would necessarily give rise to unwanted attention. And if that were the case… then he wouldn’t be able to achieve the purposes for which he had been maintaining a low profile.

He would have no choice but to reveal his Hell’s Emissary state if he were to purge the swarm of zombies before him, because these were by no means evil ghosts from Cathay. He wouldn’t have any advantage over foreign evil ghosts.

The authority of the new Hell didn’t extend to the lands of Hanyang. The one who had authority in these lands… were naturally none other than the former feudal official, Liu Yu, the present Lord of Hanyang.

“I hope Liu Yu will treat you guys well…” He watched silently as the crowd continued to wrangle desperately around them. The three of them remained completely still.

They couldn’t do a thing about it even if they wanted to.

“Attention all passengers, attention all passengers.” Just then, the in-flight system suddenly began to broadcast an announcement in English, Cathayan and Daeian, “A passenger infected by the super virus has been discovered on board this plane. Please take shelter where you can, and be prepared to parachute out at any time…”

Clatter… At once, the oxygen masks fell from overhead, and the parachute kit also sprung up from below the seats. Even then, not a single person reached out for these items.

“Devil… This is the work of the devil!” An old Daeian lady bawled and screamed as she pushed the people ahead of her. She was less mobile than the others, and naturally fell behind the pack. Red lights were flashing in the plane, while emergency doors separating cabins were slowly shutting in front of her very eyes.

Meanwhile, the zombies snarled and hissed as they charged forward, pouncing on her and dragging her back as quickly as they could.

“No… NO!! AHHH!!! Save me… save me!!!” Her silver hair scattered about wildly, while her reading glasses fell off her face. She clawed desperately against the ground, struggling to break free of the zombies’ grasp, even as she screamed hoarsely with a gut-wrenching plea.

Whoosh… She happened to glance up as she was dragged past Qin Ye’s aisle. At once, her eyes were filled with a glimmer of hope. Mustering every last bit of strength in her body, she grabbed the armrest and pleaded with great trembling, “Save me… I--... don’t want to die!!!”

SSS!!! Unfortunately, the zombies standing right behind her promptly bit down on her neck. Her eyes rolled back, and she passed out completely.

Just then, Oda Nobutada turned to Qin Ye and nodded softly, “My Lord, can we finally make a move?”

“Don’t overdo it.” Qin Ye wiped away a drop of blood on the magazine in his hand as he continued reading it placidly, “Don’t alert anyone to the fact that we’ve made a move.”

“Yes.”

Oda Nobutada finally stood up, and his hand moved gently. The zombie who had his teeth wrapped tightly around the old lady’s aorta opened abruptly. And then, without a word, his head suddenly recoiled back and exploded at once, causing the gray matter of his brain to splatter everywhere.

The entire cabin had been emptied out. The rest of the living passengers were already gathered at the other cabin, staring through the frosted glass emergency doors at what appeared to be hell on earth. All that remained in this cabin were about a hundred zombies.

It started with only a couple of dozens of them, but all who ended up being bitten were soon transformed into one of their kind as well!

The sound of chewing and grinding of bones filled the cabin of death. But as soon as the first zombie’s head exploded, every single other zombie stopped what they were doing and looked over.

At once, almost a hundred pairs of pitch-black eyes stared over at Oda Nobutada. Human blood was smeared all over their hideous faces, and some even had pieces of human flesh dangling from their lips. The zombies looked somewhat baffled as they stared at the headless zombie on the ground, before turning back to Oda Nobutada. A split second later, they scrambled to their feet with their twisted limbs. Their bones cracked and snapped, while they revealed a menacing smile as they slowly hobbled over.

Food…

Terrifying food… but… it must be tasty…

Why… didn’t we see them earlier?

“Uuurrrrrggghhh…” They all made gurgling sounds as they scrambled over towards Oda Nobutada. Some walked over with a twisted form, while some crawled over from underneath the seats. The sight of such monstrosities charging over like a massive tide was absolutely horrifying, and yet… Oda Nobutada simply glanced at them, and then smiled.

BOOM!!

A second later, a boundless blast of nethergale swept through the cabin, sending all of the books and even small suitcases belonging to the passengers on board scattering everywhere. The nethergale soon coalesced into a three-meter vortex in the centre of the cabin. The zombies couldn’t help but stare at it quietly as blood continued to drip from their lips.

“How young and fearless.” Two striking spots of netherflames suddenly erupted from within the vortex. Oda Nobutada chuckled hoarsely, “How dare Daeian ghosts act without restraint in the presence of Cathayan Emissaries of Hell?”

“Hell… would never condone such a hideous existence as you…”

Whoosh… A hand congealed out of Yin energy reached out from the vortex of Yin energy.

The zombies didn’t flinch. In fact, they even began to lick the corners of their lips avariciously.

Just then… Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Dozens of hands congealed out of Yin energy emerged from within the vortex at once! Sure, emissaries may be invisible to mere mortals, but in the eyes of the living dead, they were existences no different from canoes leading straight towards the Yellow Springs!

Countless hands continued to emerge from the swirling vortex. The zombies paused for three full seconds, and then, with a terrified roar, they rushed madly back to the VIP cabin where they had come from!

“UURRGGGHHHHHHH!!” The herd of zombies moved like an ebbing tide. It was like a flock of sheep that had just spotted a vicious wolf. All of them screamed madly and moved as quickly as their twisted limbs would take them!

Scary… How terrifying! Get out of here! This… this thing is the real monster around here!

“Trying to leave?” Oda Nobutada chuckled softly from within the heart of the Yin vortex, “It’s too late…”

In a flash, the hands congealed out of Yin energy rushed forward like a swarm of venomous vipers. Heads of zombies would be forcibly split open and explode wherever they passed. Their bodies soon went limp like cotton. Terrified groans and shrieks rang out for a few moments. Meanwhile, Qin Ye sat silently in his seat, listening to the chorus of cries as he furrowed his brows.

How noisy.

Are foreign evil ghosts really that weak?

Almost as though he could sense Qin Ye’s displeasure, Oda Nobutada promptly picked up his pace. The Yin vortex only grew larger, and a scarlet eye soon opened up at the very center of the vortex.

Thirty seconds later, all traces of the nethergale vanished as abruptly as it had appeared, and Oda Nobutada sat back down on his seat in his human form, “My Lord, the purge is complete.”

“Mm.” Qin Ye nodded. It’s fine so long as the plane arrives in Hanyang on time. I guess we’ll just have to make do and put up with the stench for a little while longer.

…………………………………………….

Back in the staff lounge. Kim Sang-woo held his magic artifact and stood guard vigilantly by the door. The interior was already plastered all over with talismans.

This was his best option. Given his cultivation, he would achieve nothing from rushing headlong into the tide of zombies. He might even end up sacrificing his own life. Thus, he had decided to hole himself up at the front of the plane, hoping and praying that he could hold out until the plane arrived in Hanyang.

I’ll be safe once we get to Hanyang… He leaned against the door and bit down hard on his lips. He couldn’t afford to slip up in the slightest. His heart was practically thumping out of his chest.

The stewards and stewardesses were all gathered back in the lounge, staring at the entrance to the cabin in horror. Several of them held tightly to the crosses that they were wearing, praying hard for the safety of their lives.

None of them knew what was going on behind the door to the cabin, but they could all hear the miserable screams of countless people.

“Senior Kim…” One young steward asked softly, “T-there’s still 30 minutes before we arrive in Hanyang… T-the plane has already begun its descent. We’ll be fine… wouldn’t we?”

Kim Sang-woo didn’t say a word, and simply maintained his battle stance. Just then, his brows twitched, and he looked up in horror as he glanced about in disbelief, “Hmm?!”

It’s gone…

The zombies’ Yin energy is suddenly vanishing!

How is this possible?!

He paused for a moment, and then pulled out an eight-trigram mirror, only to see the needle in the center spin around rapidly, before slowly coming to a halt.

“How is this--...” He finally straightened up his back and turned around, “The zombies… have vanished?”

“Senior… senior!!” The young steward shouted with excitement, “Is… is it over?”

“Is it over? Are we safe? We’re saved, aren’t we?!”

Kim Sang-woo didn’t say a word. Instead, he simply glanced around with great vigilance.

There’s neither Yin energy nor true energy, so why did the zombies suddenly vanish?

A month ago, an incident happened that shook the upper echelons of the government. Just as the LSD thought that things were subsiding, they were soon shocked to discover that the aftershocks of the incident were only just beginning. Within moments, everyone even remotely affiliated to the supernatural incident suddenly died a violent death, transforming into the zombies. To make matters worse, only expert cultivators were able to purge these evil existences from the face of the earth. But what was most peculiar was the fact that he sensed no traces of true energy fluctuations earlier!

There’s no way I wouldn’t have sensed any fluctuations of true energy if someone had acted earlier!

So, who in the world killed these monsters?

“I’m going to go out to have a look.” He took a deep breath and steadied his trembling hands before opening the door slowly, “Even if I knock on the door, asking to be let in, you must never open it for me! Don’t do anything until you get to Hanyang, understand?!”

“Yes!”

He opened the door, stepped out, and then promptly shut the door behind him. At once, his pupils shrank in horror.

It’s a massacre…

There were countless corpses littered everywhere.

It was impossible to tell which were humans and which were zombies. Every single corpse bore traces of countless bloodstains. Some were mutilated, while others were less so than others. More often than not, the stomach would have split wide open, and the guts and entrails would be strewn everywhere. Yet what the corpses all had in common was the fact that they all had their heads separated from their bodies!

“That’s right… the best way to purge these zombies is to cut off their heads…” He bit down on his lower lips with great astonishment, “But who exactly was it…”

“It’s not even been ten minutes since the start of the outbreak. Which expert was it that had managed to purge all of the living dead in one fell swoop? And if he was around, why didn’t he act earlier?”

His heart was still thumping wildly. He was now absolutely certain that all of the zombies were completely dead. Thus, he began to scan the rows of seat in the cabin for any survivors. Just then, his eyes brightened up, and he immediately rushed over.

He saw three men still seated in their seats with their eyes completely shut.

Even then, he could tell that their chests were still rising and falling with the breaths that they took. They must have fainted! They’re not dead! They’d survived the onslaught of the zombies!

At once, he rushed over and shook one of them awake.

He remembered this man. He was none other than the man with the unusually pale complexion whom he was trying to ‘cure’ earlier.

Seconds later, the man slowly ‘roused’ to his senses. Kim Sang-woo asked anxiously, “Don’t look anywhere else. Tell me... What happened around here?”

“And more importantly, did anyone come by earlier?!”