Yama Rising

Whoosh… Scarlet liquid rushed over from all directions, flooding the vicinity as though it was suddenly plunged right into the depths of a sea of blood. Mournful cries of ghosts resounded from every direction, while hands stained with blood began to emerge from the ground.

“Uwuuu… Save me!” “I don’t want to die… Why isn’t anyone coming to save us?” “Dad… Mum… Help us!!!”

The sea of blood slowly began to swirl around Kwon Kyung-ho like a mighty vortex. Meanwhile, his body began to swell. His joints clicked and cracked, his limbs twisted, and his entire body slowly began to turn a miserable pale colour even as his lips turned purple. He looked up at the MV Sewol with bloodshot eyes, and a menacing smile crept up the corner of his lips.

Rattle rattle rattle!! The chains that stretched out from the bow and into the heads of hundreds of teenage living dead instantly snapped with a loud bang. The appearance of Choi Tae-min’s face on the bow of the ghost ship immediately twisted with great disbelief, “I’ve seen your picture… You’re… a special Yin spirit born from the MV Sewol tragedy?! And such a high-ranking special Yin spirit at that…”

No response.

Kwon Kyung-ho’s entire body was trembling with excitement. His lips had cracked open from ear to ear, and bloody water was bubbling and pouring out of his seven apertures. The hideous expression on his face appeared to be frozen in place as he charged straight towards the MV Sewol in an instant.

The ghost ship’s expressions paused for a moment, and then suddenly opened its mouth wide and lashed out with its tongue.

“The sins of five years… You’re just a measly Hellguard. How dare you challenge an Infernal Judge?!”

However, just as the two evil ghosts were about to clash mightily against each other, they suddenly stopped.

Kwon Kyung-ho turned abruptly and glanced back at the two visitors that had suddenly appeared.

They were holding hands and walking step-by-step towards the MV Sewol. Then, in the blink of an eye… they suddenly vanished!

T-t-t-t… What the hell… what kind of a monstrosity is this?! Kwon Kyung-ho’s teeth began to chatter madly at once. Surprisingly, the appearance of the silhouettes instilled in Kwon Kyung-ho an unprecedented sensation of dread and fear. It had to be said that he was a brave evil ghost who didn’t even feel fear standing in the face of Black Yaksha and Crow Tengu, yet to think that something like this would cause his mind to go numb in an instant!

Thud!

His jaws-dropped, and he immediately glanced down at his knees in astonishment - he’d actually reflexively knelt down without even realizing it!

Just then, the two silhouettes slowly traipsed by before his very eyes.

Kwon Kyung-ho’s entire body was trembling. He could only see their backs, but he could tell that their backs… were completely pitch-black in colour!

It was almost as though their entire being had been split laterally down the middle, leaving the front the image of a person, while the back was simply a portrayal of endless shadows. To make matters worse, the shadows on their backs appeared to hide innumerable scarlet eyes that appeared to emerge from within!

“What… what kind of a monster is this…”

…………………………………………………..

Qin Ye didn’t look down below him. At some point in time, his surroundings were already filled with a dense, cold fog, so much so that only the vague silhouette of the MV Sewol’s frame could be seen. However, he couldn’t be bothered about these things right now. He had already transformed into a mighty nethergale that was charging straight towards the bow of the ship.

He only had one target - Richard!

With such a huge ship, this many living dead, and such a bizarre mode of transport, how were they supposed to enter the Gyeonggi Province without being noticed?

There was only one possible answer.

There had to be a massive rift between the netherworld and the mortal realm hidden right beneath Gonjiam Asylum itself! At the very least, it would have to be a portal of sorts that enabled one to travel from the mortal realm straight into the underworld! And to that end, the MV Sewol clearly wasn’t taking an established route in the mortal realm, but rather heading directly towards the rift between realms by employing its ability to travel through the Yin Yang Mezzanine!

There was only one way to enter the core location where the entire script of death came together, and the key was undoubtedly in Richard’s hands right now!

Unfortunately, the longer the MV Sewol dallied, the more likely it would rouse the suspicion of the enemy forces garrisoned at Gonjiam Asylum. Since Qin Ye had already decided to make his move, then he may as well go all out and strike hard and fast!

This was no longer the time to be concerned about his persona. At once, he rushed straight to the bow of the ship, with his Hell’s Emissary State in full display. With gnarly beard and bloodshot eyes, a ferocious nethergale swirled around him, causing his robes to flutter wildly. With a powerful kick, he leapt straight into the air and landed directly onto the bow of the ship. At once, the sound of a spear’s thrust rang out.

Buzz… The pressure of Qin Ye’s attack appeared to weigh down heavily on the MV Sewol itself. Qin Ye’s faux Judgment Pen promptly transformed into a majestic spear, and he promptly unleashed a series of mighty thrusts.

Sonic booms filled the air in the wake of his powerful strikes, and the attacks cut deep grooves into the ground. Just then, a clump of netherflame ahead of Qin Ye suddenly exploded with a brilliant conflagration. A split second later, countless bullets began to hurtle through the air.

At once, Qin Ye’s spear began to spin into action against the rain of fire and bullets that were pelting down onto him. Fortunately, Qin Ye managed to sweep a glance across the entire ship in that moment right before the attacks came crashing down onto him.

Found you!

Richard held two sniper rifles in his arms that were each as long as his arms. He stood at the top of the mast, while the trench coat on his back drifted up like the wings of a bat. The blood vessels on his face bulged and throbbed wildly, while copious amounts of energy poured out of his body and into the sniper rifles as he desperately pulled the trigger. Meanwhile, the netherflames drifting about in the sky ignited the rain of bullets that pelted down heavily onto Qin Ye, just like blazing meteorites!

Unfortunately for Richard, life was always full of twists and turns.

Richard thought that it was luck that Qin Ye was able to hold out under the weight of his weapons bolstered by the Russian Underworld’s Yama-class Yin artifact for ten seconds with only the meagre Prefect-class Yin artifact from Hell. Yet, little did he know that Qin Ye was already holding Fate in his hands.

He wasn’t aware that Qin Ye wasn’t a person who would put all of his eggs in one basket, especially after what happened at the Hungry Ghost Festival.

Ten seconds passed in the blink of an eye, yet it was more than sufficient to cause a crack to emerge on Fate itself. Furthermore, Qin Ye could see the crack slowly growing with the naked eye! It hadn’t been easy for Qin Ye to pluck up the courage and decide to seize the initiative and point his sword directly at Gonjiam Asylum. But just as much as Qin Ye desired victory, Richard likewise loathed the idea of bearing the brunt of the punishment for the failure of these operations.

In other words, they were both fighting to cross the narrow path of the brave and courageous towards the promised land of victory!

The rain of bullets was so dense that it left no room for Qin Ye to avoid getting hit. But, just as the bullets arrived right next to Qin Ye’s body, they suddenly slowed down and softly grazed his body, just like the bullet time in the Matrix!

Whoosh… Clink, clink, clink! Thousands of bullets narrowly brushed past Qin Ye’s body, causing his hair and clothes to flutter about wildly. Richard looked up and beyond Qin Ye, and he immediately gasped in horror, “My god…”

Five meters behind Qin Ye, a pale hand tore a rift through the darkness, revealing a Yin spirit wearing ancient Cathayan armor. His mouth tore open a meter wide, and then, like a rushing river, the bullets immediately began to flow straight into his mouth!

Dusk Legionnaire - Spatial Spirit!

But before Richard could even react to the sudden change in circumstances, another tall figure suddenly rose from behind Qin Ye.

This was also a Yin spirit wearing Song Dynasty armor. A brilliant lustre lit up at its diaphragm, whereupon it slowly rose through the neck and to the head, before splitting up to the seven apertures. In that instant, the Yin spirit appeared no different from a balloon filled with air. A split second later, it opened its mouth, causing everything around it to tremble violently! The deck of MV Sewol instantly began to splinter and crack under the great weight of this attack of resonance!

Dusk Legionnaire - Porter Spirit!

The blast of sound consumed everything around it. Choi Tae-min’s face twisted at once as the skin of the ship was slowly peeled off layer by layer. The debris from the ship slowly rose into the sky, while the continuous barrage of sound waves tore them to smithereens and reduced them to nothing more than dust.

Meanwhile, the bullets that were pelting down met with a similar fate of disintegration under the overwhelming wave of sound. At once, many of them burst into flames like fireworks on a new year display.

Just then, Qin Ye swept his gaze around the entire ship once more, and he immediately frowned.

He’s gone.

Richard was never a combat-type Yin spirit. Rather, his forte lay with stealth, detection and counter-surveillance.

After the rain of bullets, Richard had swiftly vanished right back into the shadows, disappearing from sight as though he had never appeared before.

“Trying to escape?” Qin Ye licked his lips. With a wave of his hands, countless chains began to pour out of his sleeves like venomous snakes that slowly began to fill every corner and crevice of the MV Sewol autonomously.

True Infernal Judge Divine Ability - Heavenly Dragnet!

Clatter, clatter… In the blink of an eye, the entire MV Sewol was completely covered with chains. Three seconds later, he retracted his ability with an astonished expression.

Nothing!

Not even the Heavenly Dragnet was able to locate him! It was almost as though… Richard had been completely swallowed up by the MV Sewol altogether.

“Damn it…” He cursed and pulled out his cell phone. It had been approximately two minutes since their identity was first exposed. After a moment of deliberation, he transformed into a stream of nethergale and dove headlong into the cabin of the ship.

Richard has to be on this ship somewhere, but it’s never a good idea to play a game of hide-and-seek with a master of concealment. Fortunately, there’s still another important person aboard this ship.

Mukov.

He was the administrator of the script of death that had inherited Ahn Somi's role upon her death!

And to that end, Qin Ye’s Heavenly Dragnet had just a little while ago detected his presence earlier. He… was located in the captain’s cabin.

As Qin Ye rushed straight into the cabin, an unpleasant smell assaulted his olfactory senses. The vessel had been underwater for the last five years, and it had long since then been covered with barnacles and moss.

He transformed into a stream of nethergale and rushed straight towards the captain’s cabin. But after approximately ten seconds, he suddenly paused.

Something’s not right!

How quick was an Infernal Judge on his feet? A dozen seconds was more than enough time for him to do laps around the entire ship. Even then… he still found a long passageway stretching out ahead of him.

Have I hit a wall?

At once, his hair stood on end, and his back began to be filled with cold sweat.

Is it actually possible to cause Infernal Judges to hit a wall?

Neither Richard nor Mukov can possibly achieve something like that. In other words… there must be… something else around these parts?

Something that holds the power to threaten an Infernal Judge?

At once, his heart began to thump wildly. He drew several breaths and forced himself to calm down. Then, he was just about to turn back when a sudden feeling of danger erupted in his heart and caused his mind to go numb at once.

What the hell is going on? How is this thing able to fill me with such feelings of crisis?! Qin Ye’s hands were already damp with cold sweat, and he subconsciously tightened his grip around Fate.

Don’t turn back… You can’t turn back… the evil ghost is currently standing right behind you…

A ghost has actually been tailing me from the moment I’ve stepped onto the ship, silently and still, and without a trace of its presence…

The entire ship had suddenly turned as silent as a morgue. An icy fog of Yin energy slowly swept across the corridor, almost as though there were something creeping about in the darkness that was slowly enveloping him.

Just then, the lights suddenly came on.

The walls were covered with seaweed, and the dim, flickering lights only served to make the eerie corridor even more terrifying than ever. And then, a soft whimper suddenly came from behind Qin Ye. Uwu-uu-uu...

Clack… A lady emerged from the darkness and approached him from the front. However, she was without shadow.

It was a lady shrouded in boundless Yin energy. She was dressed in maternity clothes, and holding her young daughter of approximately six or seven years of age. Both sported disheveled appearances and an entire body covered with blood. Yet what was perhaps even more frightening was the fact that the lady’s stomach had been cut right open, and… a hazy figure appeared to be hidden within the bloody depths of the womb. Not even Qin Ye could see the exact figure that resided within.

Every time he attempted to get a closer look, he would suddenly be filled with an intense, marrow-penetrating chill, almost as though he was suddenly plunged into the depths of an icy cellar.

Unfortunately, the most horrific thing that Qin Ye could see was the fact that there was currently a dark shadow standing right behind the lady, staring at him with scarlet eyes.

Kwon Kyung-ho definitely wasn’t the only one exacting vengeance tonight.

After all, some have been waiting for far too long with festering hatred in their hearts.