Yama Rising

All of a sudden, Erinys heard a tearing sound. There was no pain immediately thereafter, but she was suddenly struck by a burst of scorching pain on her cheek three seconds later. Only then did she realize that a large gash had been inflicted onto her face by the ferocious wind.

She released her Yin energy with all her might in an attempt to protect herself, but all of her Yin energy was rapidly dispersed by the wind. She continued to hold onto the railing for dear life as the sound of her screams were carried away by the howling wind.

What the hell is this?! There's no way a forbidden art can be this powerful!

Just the shockwaves from the explosion alone were enough to reduce a Yama-King to such a helpless state! Nothing in this world could possibly withstand this!

At this moment, the Nipponese Underworld was the center of scrutiny for the entire world, and all of the Yin spirits in the entire nation witnessed something that they would never forget.

"It's so beautiful..." A netherworldly citizen in Kansai was looking up at the sky in a slack-jawed manner, entranced by the breathtaking beauty before him.

On a mountain in Hyogo, Shuten-doji's entire body was riddled with injuries. He took a sip of sake, then looked up at the stars that had suddenly become spilling raining down from the heavens.

He was unaware of the fact that he was witnessing the fragments of the second-generation forbidden art, which had formed a chain of stars that was crashing down toward Minakanushi.

This was also only his first time ever seeing the Nipponese Underworld's creation-grade divine artifact fully unleashed. All he knew was that this was the Nipponese Underworld's greatest trump card, and that it would put the nation in a virtually invincible position.

In his mind, there was no way that the Cathayan Underworld would attack Minakanushi at the risk of bringing demise to their Yama-Kings.

Thus, he gulped down another mouthful of sake as an elated look appeared on his face, thinking that the war had finally been won.

At the same time, countless Kunitsukami were gathered in front of the Port of Osaka.

They were also very elated. They didn't know why, but the Cathayan Underworld's army had retreated. Apparently, they had retreated all the way back to Kyushu, surrendering Chugoku and Shikoku. Otherwise, this would've still been a warzone.

"Is it because of Minakanushi?" Yuki-onna was looking up at the dazzling radiance in the sky with an expression of longing. "Minakanushi is the eternal guardian of the Nipponese Underworld! No one can bypass it, not even the four pillars!"

In Amano-Iwato, Izanami opened her window and cast her gaze out at the radiant spectacle with a slightly dazed look on her face.

In a tenshu pavilion in Kanto, Susanoo-no-Mikoto had adopted a dogeza pose as if he were revering a god, and he was praying in silence. Meanwhile, the streets of Kansai, Chubu, and Kanto, which still hadn't been ravaged by the flames of war, were already packed with Yin spirits.

"What is that?"

"It's Minakanushi! Minakanushi has been activated! The Nipponese Underworld is saved!"

"My god! It's exactly the same as how the books described it!"

"Is this the final trump card of our Nipponese Underworld? It really is beautiful!"

At this moment, countless Yin spirits, yokai, and Kunitsukami were all looking up at the sky, completely enchanted by what they were seeing. Further away, all of the daimyos were also looking up at the heavens, but for them, this was like the final countdown before the first nuclear bomb was dropped during World War 2.

It was a peaceful and poetic moment.

In the next instant, a burst of dazzling light erupted throughout heaven and earth, filling the field of view of all of the Nipponese Underworld's Yin spirits.

It was truly as if the sun had crashed down onto their nation!

At the Coalition of Underworlds.

"Is that a forbidden art?!" Hela exclaimed as she rose to her feet, and many more death gods also quickly stood up as they stared at the screen with stunned expressions.

On the screen, the vast expanse of light released by Minakanushi was about to clash with the sea of stars unleashed by Arthis.

"No, it's not a forbidden art! This is different from Godslayer! I've seen records of Godslayer in the past, and it's a vast sword array! This is completely different!"

"There seems to be far more Yin runes enclosed in this weapon as well! What on earth is it?!"

An uncontrollable sense of fear toward the unknown welled up in the hearts of all of the death gods. However, before they had a chance to think about anything else, an earth-shattering boom drowned out all of their thoughts.

BOOM!!!

Boundless light radiated throughout heaven and earth, looking as if it could pierce through all three realms.

Not only had the scintillating radiance inundated the entirety of the Nipponese Underworld, even the ruler death gods watching from the screens thousands of kilometers away involuntarily closed their eyes.

The light was too bright and holy.

It was as if they were witnessing the Big Bang, and even though light had no substantial form, the radiance had formed an all-devouring vortex, producing a scene so bright that no one could look directly at it.

Only after a full 10 seconds had passed did all of the ruler death gods reopen their eyes, following which they immediately turned to the screen again.

"My god..." a death murmured as he stared at the screen with dumbstruck eyes. Minakanushi had disappeared along with the pure white world it had produced, and it was as if it had never existed at all.

The Nipponese Underworld was trembling violently as if it were about to be shattered, and countless shockwaves were erupting over the ground, spreading from Kansai to Chugoku and Shikoku, then to Kanto and Tohoku.

Everything in an area of over 100,000 square kilometers had been razed to the ground!

On the foundation of these shockwaves, another earth-shattering boom rang out, and a second burst of shockwaves erupted forth. One shockwave after another exploded in rapid succession before finally forming a dazzling crimson rose at the very top.

Tsunamis, landslides, volcanic eruptions... All of the natural disasters that one could think of had been triggered by this explosion. Gargantuan tsunamis had risen up all around the Nipponese Underworld, threatening to devour the nation whole.

All of the ruler death gods watching from the Coalition of Underworlds had been rendered speechless, and even the ruler death gods of the three pillars were completely flabbergasted.

Only a forbidden art could've produced such power!

However, this was completely different from Godslayer! It was several dozen times more powerful than Godslayer, and it had destroyed Minakanushi in a single strike!

"Minakanushi has been broken?!" Anubis turned to stare at Qin Ye with an astonished expression, looking like a spluttering fish out of water.

This went completely beyond their imagination!

Since when did the Cathayan Underworld possess such power? When did they develop the ability to airdrop forbidden arts like this?

Anubis wasn't expecting an answer to his question, and sure enough, not a single one of the ruler death gods responded. Instead, they were all staring at Qin Ye.

However, no one dared to look at him with sinister intentions anymore. Instead, their eyes were filled with awe and veneration.

The Cathayan Underworld's flying shuttles were undetectable to national protective arrays, making this lethal combination impossible to ward off!

It was no wonder that Qin Ye had declared with such absolute confidence that the Cathayan Underworld was going to open up the Array of the Nine Gods.

The trump card that he had presented was not something that any underworld could contend with, and entirely new international regulations had to be established for it!

"Was... Was that a forbidden art?" A ruler death god finally found his voice as he stared at Qin Ye with an incredulous expression. "Has Minakanushi been broken?"

"What the hell is that thing?!" More and more ruler death gods were returning to their senses, and all of them were staring intently at Qin Ye with wary eyes. "If even Minakanushi can't withstand it, then only the three pillars would be safe from it! That has to be a forbidden art, one that's never been seen before!"

"A forbidden art of such devastating power... It shouldn't exist in this world!" another ruler death god exclaimed while still reliving the doomsday-like scene he had just witnessed.

"Forbidden art? I think there's been a misunderstanding." Qin Ye casually picked up his cup to disguise the fact that his fingertips were trembling with excitement. "Its name is Death God, and it's just a piece of cutting-edge weaponry that our Cathayan Underworld is currently working on. I signed the treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts, and I fully intend to abide by it. The Cathayan Underworld has always ensured the fulfillment of its obligations and responsibilities."

He slowly rose to his feet before making his way over to the lectern. Anador made a wise decision to vacate the lectern for him upon seeing this.

Qin Ye casually adjusted the microphone, then said in a calm yet forceful voice, "All of the Nipponese Underworld's defenses have been decimated. As the suzerain of the Nipponese Underworld, the Cathayan Underworld will exercise its right to incorporate the Nipponese Underworld into our territory. From this point onward, the Nipponese Underworld no longer exists, and there will only be the province of Nippon."

His gaze roamed over all of the death gods like razor blades as he asked, "Any objections?"

Silence.

No one wanted to have the second Death God dropped on them. In the face of absolute power, there was no room for resistance.

"In that case..."

"Please wait a moment, Yanluo Qin." Thanatos finally spoke up. "I have on intention of raising any objections, but we need to inspect the state of the province of Nippon after the explosion of Death God. At a visual estimate, it seems that Death God is at least 10 times as powerful as a normal forbidden art. When faced with such a weapon of mass destruction, it's necessary for us to ban it from usage right away."

"I concur!"

"It may not be a forbidden art, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous! It would be irresponsible to the entire underworld if no restrictions are placed on this weapon."

"Yanluo Qin, as the ruler of one of the four pillars, please consider the greater good of the entire underworld!"

There were no doubts or objections.

Just like the Nipponese Underworld's defenses, everything had been cleared away by the second-generation forbidden art.

Prior to this, there were some who were doubting the Cathayan Underworld's ability to continue as one of the four pillars, but after that display of overwhelming power, all of those thoughts had been well and truly laid to rest.

"I'm open to that," Qin Ye said with a smile.

Sealing away Death God was the price that had to be paid for taking down the Nipponese Underworld. Of course, the seal was nothing more than child's play anyway.

Even with the restrictions in place, the entire world would still be intimidated by the weapon itself.

"Madam Chief Secretary, please broadcast the images we have of Nippon province."

"Ah, of course." Anador quickly returned to her senses, then took a deep breath before picking up the remote control and switching to a different image.

Even now, she was still in disbelief.

It was incredible to her that not a single underworld had raised any objections!

The Nipponese Underworld had stood for over 2,000 years, yet it had become a province of the Cathayan Underworld! This was downright...

She was at a loss for words as she bit down onto her own lower lip and pressed a button on the remote control, following which a desert appeared on the screen.

It was a true desert with countless half-buried giant stone pillars around it, resembling black rocks amid a sea of yellow.

At the center of the desert was a kneeling figure.

They weren't actually kneeling, it was just that they were too horrified to remain standing.

Her hair was completely disheveled, and her lips were trembling as she looked up at the sky, unable to believe or comprehend what she was seeing.

Several seconds later, Anubis abruptly drew a sharp breath. "Is that... Amano-Iwato?"

Indeed, Amano-Iwato, the center of the Nipponese Underworld, had been reduced to a barren desert!