Yama Rising

This moment of distraction changed the entire flow of the battle. When Black Yaksha looked up once more, he saw that everything ahead of him was already blazing with hundreds of meters of flames.

These were golden netherflames that were easily a hundred meters high, and extended well into the distance. It even engulfed the entire gate of Hell. Qin Ye stood right in the heart of this sea of flames, basking in the glory of the golden flames. The spear in his hand had vanished completely, yet what was clear was that there was now a bizarre infant sitting atop his shoulder.

It wore a scarlet bib, and its skin was pale white. However, the infant had no facial features at all! Rather, there were simply three striking holes where the infant’s eyes and mouths should have been. A scarlet golden flame blazed from within the eye sockets, while the infant’s belly appeared incomparably bloated. Most of all, it was staring straight at Black Yaksha.

This was Qin Ye’s blade release!

Without hesitation, Black Yaksha immediately wrapped himself up with the hands on his back. A split second later, the infant opened his mouth. With a terrifying rumble, a silver spear immolating with golden netherflames shot straight towards Black Yaksha.

RUMBLE!!! It was an earth-shattering sound. Dust and debris were scattered everywhere, while countless grooves and cracks appeared in the ground all around. The terrifying rumble of sonic booms pierced through the air. As soon as Qin Ye unleashed this heaven-defying strike, he, too, turned tail and ran.

There’s no way this attack is going to be able to kill that monster… This monster’s strength is well above my estimations! Qin Ye made a beeline straight towards the bottomless pit.

So long as I can jump down, I’d be able to escape into Hell. And if they dare to follow me down into the pits of Hell, I’m pretty sure the Harken would immediately move into action and teach him a thing or two about the might and majesty of Hell!

Qin Ye didn’t even bother to look back at the result of his devastating attack. He knew his limits. Any delay caused might well spell the difference between life and death.

The pit was but a thousand meters away. Given the speed of an Infernal Judge, it was a distance that only required a few seconds. 700 meters… 300 meters… He could already see the gates of Hell right in front of his eyes. It had remained completely intact despite the mighty clash between four Infernal Judges. He knew that he would be safe so long as he leapt straight through the door.

50 meters… 5 meters!

1 meter!

Qin Ye gritted his teeth. His hair stood on end, and the extreme tension caused his adrenal glands to flare up. With a meter left to cover, he leapt straight towards the gate.

The bottomless abyss was right in front of his eyes.

Clatter! Just then, countless isometric mirrors appeared right in front of his very eyes, obstructing his path of travel and reflecting the fast approach of the terrifying figure behind him.

Damn it!!!

Qin Ye stopped in his tracks and retreated without hesitation.

Black Yaksha’s body was now covered with wounds, including puncture wounds from which wisps of Yin energy poured out endlessly. However, Black Yaksha didn’t even seem to mind these in the slightest. Instead, he gasped raggedly as he supported an ancient mirror that hovered right in front of him.

This was a mottled mirror that looked extraordinarily ancient. Even the surface of the mirror was graying and hazy. But alarm bells immediately blared in Qin Ye’s mind as soon as he saw it!

RUN!

He knew at once that he was no match for the might of this ancient mirror! Yet his opponents attacks were like blistering wind and rain. It hardly gave him any time to catch his breath at all!

But… where am I supposed to go?

There appeared to be mirrors hovering in the sky all around him, rapidly rotating as they completely sealed off all paths of retreat. Meanwhile, Black Yaksha sealed off the rear.

There’s no way Black Yaksha is going to relent, especially after what I’ve done. He’s definitely after my life!

What do I do?

Qin Ye’s eyes darted about rapidly, desperately seeking a hiding place that could buy him just five seconds of time. So long as he had that window of time, he would be able to activate the shard of King Yanluo’s Seal and return to Hell. There, he would have his homeground advantage. Unfortunately…

There’s no place to hide!

There was nothing but wreckage and ruin around him. Apart from that, he could tell from the sound of Arthis’ duel that she had her hands full as well. There was simply nothing that he could use to buy himself the time he needed!

“I’ve got to hand it to you…” Black Yaksha walked out one of the mirrors at the back, “To think you were actually able to hurt me. You’re stronger than I’d made you out to be.”

With that, Black Yaksha picked up the mirror and pointed it directly at Qin Ye.

Damn it… Qin Ye shut his eyes and crossed his arms in front of his face. This was the only thing he could do to protect himself right now. But he soon sensed something amiss.

The ancient mirror appeared completely ordinary.

There was no lustre nor any sense of divinity from it. Yet, even then, Qin Ye could feel something… being dragged right out of his body!

“What’s this…” He gasped in horror and immediately opened his eyes, only to witness his own shadow being sucked into the heart of the mirror!

Within moments, his shadow appeared in the mirror, projecting his own image on its surface just like a mirror would do.

That’s my soul…

Just then, Qin Ye felt chills run down his spine. He turned to run. But the further he ran, the fainter his own shadow grew.

Black Yaksha hadn’t given him the luxury of even five seconds to escape to the pits of Hell.

“Eight-Foot Mirror.” Black Yaksha heaved a sigh of relief as he winced slightly in pain from the wounds on his body, “One of the three divine weapons of the Nipponese Hell. This is the best replica we have of it. There’s no escape once it shines on you--… Hang on…”

Almost as though he’d discovered something startling, Black Yaksha turned back to look at the mirror with an incredulous expression, “Shadow… The thing that was captured was your shadow?! You’ve got a shadow?!”

“Are you… a living person?!”

“Are you a living Emissary of Hell?!”

His voice sharpened wildly as he stared at Qin Ye in horror, before turning to look at the Eight-Foot Mirror once more. Moments later, the netherflame in his eyes rose high into the sky, “A living Emissary of Hell… A man who has consumed the legendary taisui fungus. How rare… Your office in Hell must be far higher than I’d previously anticipated.”

“The living… would last no more than dozens of seconds. To think that I’d actually managed to nab us such a priceless target this time…”

Just then, there was a sound of a soft click in the darkness.

Qin Ye froze.

It was a sound that he was extremely familiar with. He’d heard it multiple times back in the mortal realm, be it in television, movies, games or animes.

Black Yaksha also froze.

This was also a familiar sound to him - one which he had heard just a little while ago.

It was the sound of a gun being cocked.

Time seemed to come to a standstill at this very moment. Qin Ye could sense that his soul had already been captured. Every fiber of his being felt stiff, as though it were filled with rust. His entire body felt weak, and even the simplest of actions felt immeasurably difficult. But this soft sound filled his weary mind with hope once more.

They had all… forgotten about the existence of a person.

It was a lady who had remained silent all this while.

Black Yaksha’s pupils instantly narrowed, and his hair immediately stood on end. But before he could even say a word, his head jerked forward slightly.

Two silver pistols were held directly to the back of his head at point blank.

Just then, a female voice spoke from behind Black Yaksha’s back, “Smith & Wesson Model 500 firing the .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum cartridges. It generates a muzzle energy of over 3,030 foot-pounds force, more than twice that of the renowned Desert Eagle. These bullets are loaded with the ashes of the monks of Mount Koya. Even I only have two such bullets with me.” It was none other than Lee Jung-sook from the basket formed entirely out of Black Yaksha’s hair.

“I wonder if a shot like this would be able to penetrate that thick skull of yours.”

Qin Ye’s jaws dropped, completely astounded by the sheer audacity of her actions. Black Yaksha raised his hands, and his body trembled wildly. At once, he ceased channeling his Yin energy into the Eight-Foot Mirror, and Qin Ye’s image inside the mirror promptly faded away.

“Lee Jung-sook…” Black Yaksha’s voice trembled as his eyes grew bloodshot, “You’re seeking death!!!”

BANG!! BANG!!

There were two loud bangs. At once, Black Yaksha’s head exploded, and a wave of Yin energy erupted ten meters into the sky!

“You’re Qin Ye?” The hair binding up Lee Jung-sook in the basket promptly fell away, and she jumped down to the ground, “You’re not worthy of me at all.”

“A word of advice - this monster is practically immortal. Run now, if you can--…”

As she spoke, Qin Ye suddenly gasped. Lee Jung-sook froze for a moment, and then rolled to the side without any hesitation.

CRACK! Just then, a crevice that was several meters long instantly opened up on the ground. Copious amounts of Yin energy poured forth, before soon coalescing into the likeness of Black Yaksha once more. He bared his fangs at Lee Jung-sook and gnashed his teeth, “Lee! Jung! Sook!!”

BOOM! Just then, a terrifying source of Yin energy erupted from Qin Ye’s left, and Crow Tengu rushed over like a bolt of lightning, “Hoo… What happened?!”

“I sensed… hoo… that your Yin energy… hoo… vanished for a moment there?”

Yet, Black Yaksha didn’t look at him in the slightest bit. Instead, he kept his eyes dead on Lee Jung-sook. A split second later, he vanished with a sharp whistle, and appeared right behind Lee Jung-sook.

No…

Qin Ye’s lips parted, but he wasn’t able to say a single word.

He wasn’t moved, nor did he suddenly develop feelings for her. Rather, his reaction was simply borne out of the fact that Lee Jung-sook had just saved his own life, and yet he was completely powerless to help her right now. He could only watch on helplessly as Black Yaksha raised his hand menacingly behind her.

“I’ve been patient with you time and time again… but do you really think that we wouldn’t dare to kill you?!” He plunged his claw straight into Lee Jung-sook’s back and right through her chest.

Pshk… Everything seemed to freeze in that very instant. Qin Ye watched in horror as Black Yaksha’s claws ran straight through Lee Jung-sook’s chest. He shook his head helplessly, and an amalgam of complex emotions filled his heart. He leaned forward subconsciously.

Are you dead?

How can you die just like that?

You’re a woman who has lived for seven lifetimes… How are you unable to put up any resistance in the slightest? How can you be dead?

“Haa--...” Two seconds later, he sighed hoarsely. He could feel something weighing heavily on his mind, and his heart was filled with sourness and astringency.

He subconsciously reached out as he watched Lee Jung-sook’s body turn into wisps of Yin energy. And then, he suddenly froze and did a double take at the sight.

This wasn’t the state that humans should be in when they die!

At once, he jolted right back to his senses, only to discover…

There weren't any traces of blood coming out from Lee Jung-sook’s wounds at all!

Lee Jung-sook’s corpse had simply dissipated into a cloud of Yin energy without a single trace of blood!

He wasn’t the only one who had discovered this. Likewise, Black Yaksha had also noticed the peculiar sight as Lee Jung-sook’s body twisted and began to vanish in a vortex of Yin energy. Within five seconds, it transformed back into its original form of a brush as it landed right in Black Yaksha’s hand.

Spirit of a brush…

It was the guardian spirit that had been protecting Lee Jung-sook all this while.

Things had happened so quickly that none of them were able to react to the situation.

Silence. A split second later, Black Yaksha turned around, completely incensed as he gave Crow Tengu a tight slap across the face!

“Worthless!!!” The white hair of his body stood on end, “Didn’t you kill Lee Jung-sook’s guardian spirit back then?!”

“N-no…” Crow Tengu’s feathers were also ruffled up. However, this was because he was terrified by what Lee Jung-sook’s disappearance meant to them.

“That day… time was too tight… hoo… and I didn’t have the luxury of time to do it…”

“Idiot!!” Black Yaksha grabbed Crow Tengu with bloodshot eyes, “Do you know that your actions are going to be the death of us?!!”

“Look!!! Look at what's going on here!!” He lifted Crow Tengu straight towards Hell’s gate.

The tide of lantern-toting Yin spirits in Martial City were currently only a thousand meters away from Hell’s gate!