The collapse of the undead legion was like a receding tide. Ash-gray bone dust drifted through the chilling winds of the Underworld, falling into the abyss on either side of the Bridge of Helplessness without raising so much as a ripple.
Chiyo stood in the middle of the bridge, his silver-white hair silently fluttering in the deathly still wind.
Several fine cracks had split across the bone bridge beneath his feet, remnants of his recent clash with the Ghost General.
Even though he had restrained most of his strength, a collision between King-level Great Demons had still caused some impact to this "bridge of laws."
He paid it no mind.
His scarlet eyes looked toward the direction in which the undead legion had fled. Deeper within, something was awakening because of his intrusion.
A heavy toll of bells rang out from the distant darkness.
The sound did not travel through the air. It resounded directly within the depths of the soul, every strike carrying the will of judgment and verdict.
Along with the bells, two presences far stronger, deeper, and older than the Ghost General slowly rose from the Underworld's core, like colossal beasts awakening.
Yet the corner of his mouth curled upward.
This was exactly what he wanted. Only by speaking with, or even fighting, the true upper echelons of the Underworld could he touch upon the essence of this world's laws of life and death.
A few breaths later, two figures appeared at the end of the Bridge of Helplessness.
The man on the left wore a dark purple official robe and a black gauze cap. His face was gaunt and stern, and he held a bamboo scroll emitting a faint golden glow.
There were no pupils in his eyes, only two swirling gray vortices, as though they