Hell's Underworld

Returning to the Otherworld wasn't a very common occurrence to the young Shinjin, but whenever she needed a break from the rest of the crew and her own champion, she had made a few short trips to the Otherworld, some times to meet and converse with her siblings about her travels thus far in the mortal realm, other times however, she would visit the various locations mostly in Heaven simply because that's where she preferred to reside the most but as young and naive as she could be, she was more than aware that her new faithful would probably end up down in Hell when their time in the mortal realm would come to end, so it was with that in mind that Ping decided to finally explore the lesser realm of the Otherworld, mainly exploring the less savory side of the realm since she couldn't quite picture any of her companions doing anything less than continuing their life of piracy in Hell. Or at least attempting to do so.

It was only thanks to her experience as part of the Twilight Brigade that Ping could figure out the location of Hell's seedy underbelly where those content to remain in their evil ways would stowaway and hide from the ever watchful Ogres, something that should've been impossible and had Ping not been to the mortal realm, she probably would've lectured the Ogres for failing their job and allowing such a place to exist, now however the Twilight Brigade would likely call such places their new homes so she was content to let it be.

What Ping wasn't expecting however was for this to be where the Black Market was located, simply because how the hell was a mortal supposed to gain access to such an area?! No wonder Celsio could never locate it, it should be outright impossible, yet she wasn't entirely sure if it was as impossible as she believed it to be, there seemed to be quite a lot of people wandering to and from the various stalls and she couldn't be sure exactly which were dead souls and which found a way to traverse into the dead realm, such occurrences were possible from what she had heard after all but she had no idea how they were done.

"He's going to be so jealous, I finally found it!" Ping chuckled to herself as she began to explore the Black Market, taking in all the details like a child would at the candy store, yet much like a child at the candy store, she knew she lacked the funds to buy anything worthwhile, all the cool and shiny looking things were far out of her budget from the recent score since Tekina had taken a larger than average portion of the profits. Yet that's when she heard an opportunity present itself as she entered yet another stall, an obese Demon speaking with some sort of humanoid figure donned in what she believed Earthlings called samurai era attire, the two speaking about needing a Shinjin or a Demon.

"You're in luck puny mortal, for you are in the presence of a Shinjin! I am Ping, the Patron Goddess of Pirates and I believe I can guide you to where you wish to go! For the right price, of course." Ping declared as she stepped before the taller demon and humanoid figure, letting out an arrogant chuckle to herself as she preened under the attention, fate itself had conspired to bring her before a lowly mortal in need of aid, she could already envision the mortal bowing in gratitude and pledging himself to her cause. "This Blue Mist Lake of yours shall be an easy journey for one such as I." Ping boasted proudly as a further selling point, not that she doubted the mortal would reject her gracious offer to allow him to pay her to act as a guide to wherever it was that he needed to go.

---

WC: 660

Ping regarded the strange samurai as he approached her, her green eyes narrowing as she noticed the disfigured nature of his appearance, the flesh looking sickly and sticking out like a sore thumb on the otherwise normal looking man, it wasn't too dissimilar to Tekina yet the man's injuries were far greater with an entire portion of his face having been harmed by some means unknown to the Shinjin. She didn't like that the man couldn't pay directly or quickly, but the idea of having a war criminal in her back pocket could be useful, if not for the fact that the man was currently dead, he had to have been beaten at some point and killed to arrive here, perhaps the injury lead to his death, Ping would be the first to admit she didn't know much about the process of dying and rather or not injuries would carry over, she didn't exactly have to wonder since she was unlikely to die for the next hundreds of years.

Any thoughts of the man being weak was quickly banished as the war criminal unleashed his aura within the small stall, the sheer evil and strength was suffocating and made the young Shinjin tense and take an uneasy step back, she had met stronger fighters before, Asperaga and Sir Racha were two such examples but none had overwhelmed her to such a degree, neither of them contained such raw evilness or overwhelming strength. "I-I.... I see.... The fou- fifth! Fifth layer.... Yeah... We... We can go there." Ping spoke with a squeak in her voice, coming out far more meek than before, all her previous arrogance gone and shaken under the pressure of the aura the dead soul projected into the stall, even the demon running the stall chosen to retreat rather than endure this feeling.

"Ahem, I mean, of course! Should you find yourself in the living realm once more, I may have need of you as a bodyguard of some sort! If that would be okay..." Ping attempted to regain her nerve, a forced arrogance in her voice as she tried to conceal how much it shook her to find such a powerful warrior, one that had overwhelmed her entirely because at least with Asperaga and Sir Racha, she could fight against them, she wasn't as strong but with Tekina and Kuro at her side, she could feasibly defeat one of them, yet against this lone man, the entire Twilight Brigade would be decimated.

"Come along now, we shall get you to your Red Mist Lake. Stick close, the Ogres should know better than to interfere with the business of a Shinjin." Ping spoke with her arrogance returning as she remembered her position, this was a dead soul and she was a living Goddess, Yangcong was strong but bound to this realm, Ping resided over this realm, perhaps not Hell personally but she was still a Shinjin and resided over all realms to keep peace or in theory anyways. "What does a mortal like you want with this Red Mist Lake anyways?" Ping couldn't help but prod as the duo took to the air to begin the journey toward the fifth layer of Hell, Ping leading the way to ensure no Ogres would think to interfere and stop them.

---

WC: 550
TWC: 1,210

Ping listened with half an ear as the dead mortal explained that one of the demons had figured out a way to cheat death, something Ping was more than aware was possible, much like the living coming to the land of the dead, the dead could return to the land of the living, but what really caught her ear was the healing requirement. "You need to heal your soul, you say? And do tell me how you have managed to damage such a thing." Ping couldn't help but ask as the duo continued flying through hell, slowly making their way through the next layer of Hell without so much of a single Ogre raising an eyebrow at them beyond mild interest to see a Shinjin take such interest in a mortal soul, probably not too uncommon to the point they feel the need to ask questions but not common enough to the point they completely ignore the two.

"As for your Red Mist Lake, I wish you the best of luck in unlocking it's secrets, truthfully I haven't been down in this area of the Otherworld very often as I'm sure you're aware the Sacred Land of Kais resides in Heaven, so naturally I've been spending most of my time in that realm." Ping explained with a wave of her hand, she would've happily provided what she knew of this Red Mist Lake and what exactly it could do, but she hadn't even heard of the place, let alone why it would even require the aid of a Shinjin or Demon to even access this mysterious location, although a part of her had to admit she was curious about the secrets since it was enough to lure in the such a powerful warrior enough so that he would willingly lend his aid to someone as weak as Ping.

However as the duo continued their journey into the fifth layer of Hell, that's when someone finally took notice of them, a light blue skinny little Ogre that was about a foot taller than Ping "What is this? What business do you have stopping me, Ogre? I am a Shinjin and I reserve the right to provide any rehabilitation I deem fit to this here lost soul." Ping demanded as she crossed her arms and stared up at the Ogre with annoyance rather than any real worry or concern, she had known enough of the Otherworld and the responsibilities she was expected to eventually pick up whenever she was done having fun in the mortal realm, quickly lying about their real purpose in traversing to this particular layer. "S-Sorry miss, it's just that... Well... Do you know who's you're traveling with?" The meek little Ogre replied as he fidgeted with his hands, scratching at them nervously which only caused Ping to scoff and narrow her eyes.

"Of course I know who this is, what do you take me for, you fool? This is the infamous war criminal Yangcong, as such it's only natural that I, Ping, shall the be one to redeem his wretched soul. Now get out of my way." Ping proudly declared as she began to push past the small Ogre, although unknown to herself but easily felt by Yangcong, the Ogre was actually stronger than Ping by a large margin, nearly more than double her own power level and would've easily been able to defeat her yet the Ogre allowed himself to be pushed aside rather it be because he refused to risk upsetting a Shinjin or fear from Yangcong potentially stepping in, it wasn't clear and Ping didn't seem to care, instead only resuming flight toward their destination.

---

WC: 610
TWC: 1,820

The war criminal was dodging the question. Ping knew that, yet would she dare call him out on his evasive answer about how his soul had been damaged? The memory of the mortal's soul exerting it's power onto her with such powerful and raw evil energy, the sinking feeling of being so utterly overwhelmed and hopelessness that crept into her mind and how much it unnerved her to face such a strong warrior, all of it was enough to just allow the dead mortal to keep his secrets, if he didn't want to do something Ping felt like she wouldn't be able to get him to listen to her, Shinjin or not, the man would probably kill her with laughable ease.

The question he posed to her however was not an unnatural one, Shinjin were mostly seen as benevolent beings with many following strict lines of code that they believed would be for the betterment of the universe as a whole, Ping however had no such code, no rhyme or reason to her existence other than the fact that she could and it was fun, however she wasn't going to admit such to a the dead mortal. "Well, some of us are content to sit back and oversee the universe from a passive position up in the Sacred Land of the Kais, it's a life of no worries and the freedom to do as we please, however there do exist a few who question why we overlook mortals, and so the solution to these curious few was to send them out onto the mortal realm so they may live and act as you do. Or, at least as you used to back in the living realm." Ping answered as the duo continued their flight, the young Shinjin shrugging a shoulder as she corrected herself over the mortal's current dead state, something that was only temporary if he was to be believed.

"Some times however, it's a test to ensure the Shinjin is a pure fruit or a sour fruit, or it's to try and remedy the sour fruit Shinjin, or most simply, because the Shinjin is curious and wish to not only understand the mortals they watch over but understand themselves. After all, how does one ensure the universe is progressing in an ideal manner if one does not know what the ideal even is?" Ping added with another wave of her hand, there was so many reasons for why Shinjin do what they do, such a vast and complicated question would have different answers from different Shinjin, some would condemn her for her actions, others would excuse them as a young woman making a few clumsy mistakes, Ping herself wouldn't know how to feel if she read her actions from an outsider perspective.

"Hm? What's this? Why do you walk?" Ping couldn't help but question as she noticed the criminal land onto a platform below, yet as Ping flew down to his level she noticed how much he was straining himself to keep marching forward, as if the gravity the mortal was facing was different from her own. "Ah. Perhaps this is why you needed a Shinjin? You hardly seem fit to traverse this area." She felt confident in guessing that this was at least one of the reasons why the Demon had warned the mortal he would need one such as herself, while the powerful and strong dead mortal struggled to walk, Ping could fly if she truly wished but then again, she wasn't entirely sure what she would be looking for or doing without the mortal so instead she walked alongside him, watching with a careful eye.

"Hm. The Red Mist Lake... Very Misty." Ping commented as they made it over the hill and looked down below at the ominous lake below, something about it had her on edge, as if something wasn't quite right about the area but she couldn't for the life of her put her finger on it. "I don't like this place... It feels.... Off. Like.... Like something is calling for help? Does that make sense?" Ping tried to put her feelings into words yet she couldn't pinpoint how exactly she was feeling other than an innate sense of wrongness to this lake.

---

WC: 710
TWC: 2,530

Death was an interesting topic that even Ping had to admit she didn't know much about, she knew that Shinjins were all equally able to die but it wasn't like she had been curious enough to ask and figure out what would happen to her when she died, she was still pretty young and had hundreds of years to enjoy her life. "Ah, that's a good question, one that I'm not entirely sure of just yet but I imagine most Shinjin would be allowed to just resume overseeing the universe... Or maybe we get reborn from the Kaiju if they're a sour fruit? I really can't say for certain unfortunately, I am quite young for a Shinjin, I'm only 80 after all." Ping tried her best to answer but her knowledge was far too limited, she probably would've asked these questions eventually but she hadn't even hit her 100s yet!

The question about her own mortality in such an area did little to calm her nerves as the duo proceeded further into the Red Mist, the young Shinjin unable to stop herself from moving closer to the dead mortal for protection, he was stronger after all even if he was currently being affected by something in the area that was forcing the criminal to walk with great strain. "Something really doesn't feel right... There's something wrong here..." Ping could only whine as they continued deeper into the mist and closer toward the lake, the strange wrongness that Ping could feel was beginning to envelope her, as if there was something in the Mist that was doing... Something. Ping didn't know what it was, part of her felt like it might be calling for help? Yet another part screamed that it was a trap, that this was a warning that they were being hunted by something hiding in the mist.

"Do you feel that?" Ping had to ask her companion, if he couldn't feel it then maybe it was just all in her head and a side effect of regular fruit Shinjin entering and approaching such an area, maybe only a sour fruit Shinjin was supposed to be here and part of the reason why a demon could also theoretically make the journey. Ping wasn't entirely sure what she hoped the man's answer would be, if it was just a feeling then maybe she could write it off but it could also have other potential side effects if she really wasn't meant to be here, yet if the criminal could feel this presence? Ping shuddered at the thought, being trapped in a such a hellish mist with something out there hunting the duo, something confident enough to hunt both Shinjin and a powerful mortal soul? She was a bit curious about death for a Shinjin, but that didn't mean she wanted to die so early either!

---

WC: 475
TWC: 3,005

Ping often times forgot that most mortals age differently than Shinjins, while 80 was pitifully young for her species, 80 was about the average end stages of a mortal life if she recalled correctly, given a hundred years and most of the Twilight Brigade would be either dead by old age or fading from their old age, Sir Racha, Celsio and Kazam very well might be the only members left to accompany her by the time Ping hit 180, that was a depressing thought, not only because her friends would be dying but because the only remaining members of the crew were all people she didn't like! Would she even consider herself part of the crew by then? Pushing those thoughts off to the side for the time being, Ping turned her focus back onto the mortal who had seemed shock at her age, Ping was definitely shorter and more youthful than others in appearance but in raw numbers she was probably among the oldest of the Twilight Brigade.

"Shinjin just age differently, in terms of a mortal, I'd probably put myself on par with someone in their... Um... Early 30s...? Maybe? When do you mortals become mature again? Around 30, right?" Ping would attempt to explain but she wasn't all too familiar with their maturity process, especially Shinjin can just be born as an adult, something Ping wasn't as lucky as she had actively came from the tree before she was fully ripe and needed a few decades to fully mature, she was pretty sure she had matured for the most part by now so she was probably around the same age as a mortal became an adult, right? Either way the talk about her age was more than welcoming compared to the unease she was feeling about the environment.

Her question wouldn't get answered however as Yangcong confirmed that he couldn't feel anything, much to Ping's own unease, not that the alternative would've been any better but if there was something wrong here, then it would probably only affect her. Or at least Ping thought so, when the music began to fill the air she noticed how entranced the dead mortal quickly became and his focus fixated on the woman who began to sang a tune, which in Ping's personal opinion was mediocre at best, she could've sang better than her if she wanted. "Yangcong, come on, let's get your Red Mist Lake water thing, you can drool over some mid singer later." Ping whined as she yanked on the dead mortal's arm to try and pull him away and regain his focus onto their original goal, yet try as she might, Ping couldn't seem to make the mortal budge from his slow march toward the demon.

"Oh no you don't, this is my mortal! Go get your own!" Ping couldn't help but cry out in annoyance as she decided to deal with the source of the problem itself, her previous unease all but forgotten now that she knew it was just a demon that thought some stupid little singing would be enough to scare her off. The demon probably wasn't expecting her to have been a Shinjin with the way she was walking so close to the dead criminal for protection, demon woman's singing coming to an abrupt end upon being tackled to the ground by the suddenly flying Ping. "Ow, watch the hair!" Ping cried out as the demon began to fight back, yanking on her hair and kicking the young Shinjin away from her. "Oh darling, I didn't think a weak little Shinjin would be stupid enough to travel over here..." The much mature looking demon taunted, her voice smooth as velvet and filled with arrogance, something that grated on Ping's nerves, she was so going to kill this foul demon for insulting her and trying to take what was going to be her new bodyguard once Yangcong could figure out a way heal his soul and make his grant escape from the Otherworld realm.

---

WC: 670
TWC: 3,675

As Ping prepared herself for battle, she failed to notice the large jagged teeth of the fish as it lurked closer toward the defenseless Yangcong until it was far too late, the young Shinjin only turning in time to see the fish as it bit down onto the dead mortal. "Yangcong!" Ping could only scream as she attempted to rush toward the war criminal, she was far too slow and the demon woman wasn't content to sit back and instead intercepted the Shinjin, forcing Ping to break off and deal with the mediocre singer first and foremost. "Get out of my way!" Ping demanded of the lowly demon, she didn't know how strong she was but Ping was confident that she could defeat the demon, she was a Shinjin after all and she was no pushover. "Not so fast, little one~ Your battle is with me." The demon woman chuckled as she stood between Ping and the fish, ready to defend it and the woman's aura began to flare in preparation for the battle.

Ping rushed forward, gathering ki onto her palms and launching ki blasts blindly toward the demon woman to cover her advance and forcing the demon woman to go on the defensive yet she couldn't give ground lest Ping could target the fish and get to work on freeing Yangcong, assuming his soul was still able to be saved from the monstrous fish. As soon as Ping closed the gap completely, she'd immediately swipe with her leg, catching the demon woman's side and forcing her to drop her guard enough so that Ping could quickly spin in the opposite direction for a roundhouse kick that would connect to the back of the demon's head allowing the final follow up attack to land, a ki blast hitting the woman's defenseless face and sending her spinning back and out of the way.

"Too easy." Ping commented to herself as she rushed forward to the fish, only for the demon woman to quickly stop herself and speed forward like a missile to tackle the Shinjin into the ground. "Stronger than I thought, you little brat but you're still a weak little Shinjin!" The demon woman growled as a red aura enveloped her body, nowhere near as strong as the war criminal, not even as much as Asperaga but enough that it was just barely overpowering Ping, keeping her pinned down while the demon woman charged a lot of ki into one hand in preparation for an attack that Ping knew was going to be painful.

---

WC: 425
TWC: 4,100