Scorching flames burst out from all around the ground, shooting straight into the sky and turning into countless vengeful spirits that whirled chaotically in the high heavens.
The earth cracked apart, and scorching gales, like cries of agony, howled out from all directions.
Carrying flames and lava, they tore through the entire space.
The violent environment before her had all been caused by the outpouring of Hades' rage.
Blazing flames swirled chaotically in the air, and Erika was enveloped in this chaos.
She stretched out her hand, trying to block the storm of flames before her.
But the heat coming from every direction still made it almost impossible for her to open her eyes.
Within this storm of flames, Erika was like a fragile, tiny drifting leaf, struggling to keep herself steady on the ground.
The flames gradually swallowed the world before her, and scorching light enveloped everything around her.
The intense radiance blocked Erika's vision, plunging her into a dazed crimson world.
As the light before her gradually faded, Erika felt the scorching flames rushing toward her finally come to a stop, and silence returned to her surroundings.
Only after feeling the fierce wind gradually dissipate did Erika slowly dare to open her eyes.
But the scene that entered her eyes left her completely stunned.
Shock and madness almost filled her eyes.
The surroundings had indeed fallen silent, but they had also turned into an incomparably huge iron arena.
And at this moment, Erika was standing right in the center of the arena.
Heavy and terrifying iron structures covered the surroundings, forming rings of pitch-black platforms.
The farther outward they went, the higher they became.
As the light gradually faded, the scene reflected in Erika's eyes became clearer and clearer.
Dense cyan souls stood on the platforms all around her. Tens of thousands of pairs of silent eyes were all focused on her.
The next second, enormous celebratory flames surged out from the front of the lowest platform, spreading throughout the entire arena like waves. They were followed by the wild howls of countless souls, and chaotic, excited shouts rang across the entire land.
Erika looked at the madness around her, and her eyes grew hazy for a moment.
She slowly raised her head and looked up at the sky above this mad land.
Above her was still the dense starry sky formed by crimson stars.
This meant that she had not left the place she had been in before.
The cyan giant had simply changed the world around them.
Now, Erika also realized the other party's identity.
She raised her head and looked at the giant whose enormous head emerged from the flames.
He seemed to have walked out from that distant flaming horizon and stood heavily before Erika.
The master who ruled the underworld, Hades.
The terrifying power he displayed perfectly matched the descriptions in the legends.
At the same time, Hades, surrounded by the endless flames of hell, raised his spear high and lowered its tip slightly, pointing it straight at Erika.
"Ignorant human."
He had racked his brains, yet still could not have imagined it.
The seemingly frail human girl before him had actually entered hell on her own and come to challenge him.
How laughable.
Could it be that the gods had been gone for too long, to the point that even he, the Lord of the Underworld, had been forgotten by humanity?
This thought caused anger to rise in Hades' heart.
He was not sure whether his anger came from being challenged by this seemingly fragile young girl, or because, in his heart, the people of the world had already forgotten him.
But now, faced with a human challenge, he could not refuse to accept it.
Because as a 'King,' no matter who his opponent was, he had to accept every challenge.
[King's Battlefield]
This was one of the rules of this world.
Hades was not only the god of hell. He was also the king who ruled the underworld.
He lowered his head and looked at the frail Erika before him with an assessing gaze, narrowing his eyes slightly.
This was destined to be an extremely unfair challenge.
He would not even need to do more than blow gently. A wave of scorching wind would be enough to scatter this fragile human girl.
So...
Hades suddenly swung the tip of his spear, and his deep, sinister voice became extremely cold, "You are not worthy of challenging me."
The next moment, tens of thousands of dead souls seemed to appear out of nowhere, like a vast cyan ocean slowly flowing through the air.
They were ferocious and crazed, lining up behind Hades' enormous body.
"You cannot even defeat them."
As soon as his words fell, the countless spirits twisted their bodies and swept through the air one after another, pouncing toward Erika ahead.
Hades watched as one spirit after another filled the entire space, then gently shook his head and turned around.
In his eyes, these spirits would soon tear apart the human girl before them.
Her flesh would remain in the underworld, while her soul would drift aimlessly like these spirits that had poured forth.
And when that happened, Hades would judge her again.
He would send her back to the human world and begin her brand-new cycle of reincarnation.
Although this human's appearance was nothing more than a small interlude in hell, in Hades' long life, this was undoubtedly a rare bit of amusement.
He would remember this somewhat funny yet somewhat brave human girl.
Suddenly, from behind Hades, a blazing and terrifying flame rose violently.
Within the entire broad and feverish arena, a heavy wave of gasps arose among the countless spirit spectators.
This shock quickly spread throughout the entire space. Even the flames on the ground seemed to begin swaying wildly.
Hades clearly sensed the unusual aura coming from behind him.
He slowly raised his head, feeling the vast elemental power surging from behind him, then slowly turned around.
At this moment, Erika in the distance had already been enveloped by scorching, pure elemental power.
It was as if she had transformed into elemental fire, spreading wildly in all directions.
Orange-yellow light flashed in Erika's eyes, and even the space around her began to distort slightly.
The scorching flames from hell collided with the flames on the surface of her body, erupting into terrifying, interweaving waves of heat.
The cyan spirits pouring forth all turned into moths flying into flames the instant they approached Erika, becoming enveloped by the violent flames and completely dissipating.
After doing all this, Erika stood there quietly, her eyes firmly locked onto the tall Hades before her.
"Please let me challenge you."
Hades took a deep breath, sensing the pure fire element on Erika.
"Interesting. I have seen a human who possessed power similar to yours."
"He left a deep impression on me."
When Erika heard this, her eyes widened, and a bright, delighted light flashed through her pupils.
'Could it be... the Professor?'
Immediately afterward, Hades seemed to have all his fur stand on end. His entire body seemed to be burning, and he became extremely furious.
Even his already enormous body grew somewhat larger under the influence of his rage.
He gritted his teeth furiously as he looked at Erika, endless anger pouring out from him, "So I once swore."
"If I ever encounter him again, I will never let him off!"
This terrifying aura rushed straight into Erika's body.
It caused even her already elementalized body to tremble violently.
As if she had been frightened.
What exactly had the Professor done to make the Lord of the Underworld before her so furious?
After Hades finished speaking angrily, he waved his large hand and heavily threw the cloak in his left hand onto the ground.
At this moment, Erika nervously looked at the hint of pitch black that appeared in Hades' hand.
When that familiar cloak landed on the ground, she was immediately delighted.
She had to find a way to get that cloak back.
But immediately afterward, Erika felt as if she were firmly locked onto by a forceful and intimidating gaze, and her entire body became extremely stiff.
Even her breathing seemed to stagnate under this pressure.
"I thought you were that human's daughter, but now it seems you have golden hair, while that human does not."
As soon as he finished speaking, Erika felt her entire body grow lighter.
The immense, heavy feeling of restraint from before gradually began to fade, and her body slowly relaxed somewhat.
"All right, you have piqued my interest."
Hades looked at her and continued.
"If you can withstand three moves from me, I will let you leave this place."
Before Erika could react, Hades had already raised one finger.
In the air, he gestured with it to indicate "one."
"First move."
Immediately, Hades swung the tip of his spear, and a terrifying slash containing hellfire tore through the air, heading straight for Erika.
Erika widened her eyes and instinctively drew upon the power of nature.
A wall of scorching flames suddenly rose from the ground, attempting to block that incredibly fierce attack.
But the rotating force of the wind tore the wall of flames apart almost instantly, and the powerful impact struck Erika directly.
Bang!
With a loud explosion, the force of the blast spread in all directions, and smoke and dust shot into the sky.
After this first move, Erika's elementalized body began flickering unstably.
Her true body was exposed, with burn marks covering her skin.
She forced herself to remain standing, one arm hanging limp as she gasped for breath.
But her eyes were still filled with determination.
Seeing how difficult it was for Erika to withstand this strike, Hades could not help but sigh deeply inwardly.
It seemed that after this second move, there probably would not be a continuation.
But he said nothing, merely extending his hand and gesturing with two fingers.
"Second move."
As his words fell, the spear in his hand began spinning wildly.
A violent blaze spiraled through the air, tightly wrapping around Hades' body.
BOOM!
The next moment, he suddenly stabbed the spear in his hand into the ground.
Countless fragments of flame rapidly spun through the air, tearing apart the scorching air around them.
They caused wave after wave of sharp, violent gales to bear down on Erika.
But while they were fighting fiercely, Hades did not notice.
A dark crow had already quietly flown to the place where he had thrown away his cloak and silently picked up the black cloak in its beak.
At the instant those violent, blazing spearheads approached Erika, her weakened body once again erupted with tremendous magical power.
Burning flames rose again, transforming into countless flying, dancing flames.
As these fragments of fire were torn apart by the wind of the evil hell, they all gathered toward one place.
In the end, a world-shaking explosion erupted in the center of the arena, completely covering the surrounding ground.
Erika, formed from countless flames, reappeared, only to be sent flying dozens of meters backward and crash heavily against the bottom of the pitch-black iron platform.
At this moment, the pure flames that had originally enveloped her body had disappeared without a trace.
She no longer had even the strength to get up, and her entire body was covered in purple and blue injuries.
Pain that reached deep into her bones continuously invaded Erika's mind, tormenting her body.
The scene before her eyes began to blur.
The crazed cheers from the spectator stands continued pounding against her eardrums, as if mocking her overestimating herself.
But she still forced herself to hold up her body, raised her head, and stared intensely at the tall Hades before her.
Seeing Erika ahead of him covered in wounds and nearly unconscious, Hades could not help but sigh.
He closed his eyes and raised his spear.
"Final move."
That enormous cyan arm suddenly swung out, accompanied by a powerful force that passed through space.
It tore apart the scorching wind around it, transforming into a crimson meteor that flew across the entire arena toward Erika.
But suddenly, a pitch-black shadow slowly floated down from the air and covered Erika's body.
It was a cloak.
The next second, just as that sharp thrust was about to touch Erika, a powerful flash of light burst forth.
BOOM!
The violent sound waves filling the entire world completely drowned everything out, while the blazing radiance seemed to swallow everything.
Beneath the heavy silence, violent waves of sound and light gradually tore the entire space apart, releasing a terrifying pressure.
Looking at the blazing explosion before him, Hades shook his head with his eyes closed, preparing to leave this lifeless land.
"It's over."
Should he hold a human funeral for this human girl next?
Hmm... when had he become so sentimental?
But just as he was thinking, an even more tremendous natural energy surged forth from before him.
This power, chaotic to the extreme, was like a scorching sea of lava pouring into the entire starry sky.
'No, no!'
Hades suddenly raised his head and looked toward the smoke and fog that had risen dozens of meters into the air.
"What?"
Amid his astonishment, his vision gradually blurred.
Before him, 'Erika' had put on that pitch-black cloak, swaying in the air along with the scorching waves of heat.
She was expressionless, naturally putting both hands into the pockets of the cloak.
And quietly standing on 'Erika's' shoulder was a pitch-black crow.
Before them, a transparent earthen barrier stood solemnly.
[Pure and Clear Thick Earth]
The transparent earthen wall seemed to have solidified in the air. As the surrounding smoke and dust completely dispersed, the tall wall collapsed with a crash and disappeared without a trace.
At this moment, 'Erika's' gaze calmly locked onto Hades.
Her voice sounded faintly, "That's all?"
Hades stared at the scene before him, completely stunned.
His eyes widened slightly, and astonishment rose in his heart as his gaze remained fixed on the golden-haired girl before him.
Because he sensed an unusual atmosphere.
Clearly, the girl before him was still the same girl, but the aura she gave off was completely different.
It was as if her soul, from beginning to end, had been replaced by another person.
Now, 'Erika' lowered her head, seemingly examining her own body.
Her gaze focused on her upper body, briefly sweeping over the slightly raised area.
A young girl's body...
"I'm really not used to it."
"All right."
The next second, crimson flames like lively spirits leaped onto Erika's body.
The flames rapidly spread along her limbs, tightly wrapping around her entire body.
Pure and bright flames rose dozens of meters high, shooting straight toward the quiet and steady crimson stars.
Bang!
The flames wrapping around her body suddenly erupted, and the chaotic, scorching waves of heat almost completely covered the entire space.
A man wearing a cloak walked out of the flames.
The black cloak behind him was covered in crimson stripes.
He himself carried an incomparably confident bearing, both hands in his pockets, radiating an unquestionable presence.
"Merry Christmas, Hades."
As his words fell, Hades' eyes landed on the man before him, and his eyes suddenly filled with blood vessels.
The bright, scorching radiance flashed along with the flames that had ignited across his entire body.
The crazed flames of hell and the elemental flames collided with each other, stirring up waves of force that were powerful to the extreme.
Looking at the furious Hades before him, Viktor's lips curved up slightly.
"And..."
"Now, we've switched players."