Saruto began fighting the monsters one by one. He no longer faced them directly as he had at the beginning, but rather exploited the labyrinth's design, its narrow passages and heights, turning the space itself into a weapon in his hands.
In one passage, he was running at full speed, a huge monster chasing him from behind, its roar shaking the walls. Directly ahead, another monster appeared, blocking his path.
He didn't stop. Instead, he leaped high into the air, then plummeted to the ground, disappearing suddenly into a pit he had prepared beforehand. The two monsters rushed forward without noticing, colliding with tremendous force and losing their balance.
The next moment, Saruto emerged from the pit, a dark energy enveloping his arm. He formed a dark sword in his hand, and with a single, swift motion, severed the heads of both monsters.
They fell to the ground, disintegrating rapidly, leaving two dark shards. Saruto reached out, absorbed them, and felt the surge of power coursing through his body. "Now… I've regained 62% of my strength," he said firmly.
But in a moment of inattention, an arrow pierced his chest. Saruto eyes widened in shock, and he tried to turn to see where it came from, but another arrow, flying with terrifying speed, pierced his head. His body fell motionless.
Saruto returned to his starting position and slammed his fist against the ground, shouting, "How?! How could I not have noticed it?! How could I have been killed so easily?!"
Hades voice pierced his mind with a hint of mockery. "It seems you're dead."
"Hades… that wasn't a monster, was it?" Saruto snapped.
She smiled. "It seems you realized that. Yes, it wasn't a monster… it was a human."
Saruto froze as Hades continued, "I saw that the test was becoming too easy for you… so I decided to add some new elements."
Suddenly, pain surged through his body. But this time, the pain was unlike any he had ever known. Saruto screamed a monstrous scream and collapsed to his knees. He felt as if his body were being torn apart from within. Blood began to flow from his eyes and ears, and then he vomited blood onto the ground.
The pain was more intense than anything he had ever experienced. Then it stopped abruptly. "What is this?!" he gasped. "Why... why is the pain so much worse?!"
"Because you have gathered 62% of the Darkness energy," Hades replied coldly. "The pain multiplies proportionally to what you gather... meaning you have received 62 times the pain."
Saruto eyes widened in astonishment. "Will you continue now, Saruto?" she asked Hades.
He gritted his teeth and said without hesitation, "Yes. I won't stop here."
"Good... and know this: even if you had asked me to stop, I wouldn't have halted the test."
He smiled bitterly. "I knew it."
He tried to forge his swords, but failed. He tried to summon the Darkness energy, but to no avail.
Hades said in a deadly calm, "And also… every time you die, your Dark Energy returns to 0%. You have to gather all the shards again."
Saruto nearly lost his mind at what he heard. All that time, all that suffering, and he had to start from scratch? But instead of screaming, he stood up. "I'll try again," he told himself.
Days passed. We see Saruto gather the shards, only to be killed in the most gruesome ways. Once by monsters. Once by humans. He died burned. He died torn apart. He died treacherously. He reached 78%, then lost it. He suffered 78 times the pain.
And each time, the test grew more agonizing. And each time, Saruto adapted. He invented new fighting techniques. Clever tricks. Tactics built on deception, patience, and the environment. He no longer fought with just strength, but with the mind of a true warrior.
Finally, he reached 99%. He formed his two swords, bound together by chains, and a wave of darkness radiated from his body. He raced through the labyrinth at full speed, then noticed something strange. The walls began to disappear.
He stopped in his tracks. As the last wall vanished, a vast open space revealed itself. Before him stood his final opponent. A human. His eyes were covered with a cloth, and in his hand, he held a massive axe. "Welcome, Saruto… to the final part of the test," he said in a steady voice.
"I am Tyler… your final opponent."
He raised his head slightly. "Are you ready to fight me?"
"I will destroy you… and escape this damned place," Saruto said, his eyes blazing.
Tyler smiled. "We'll see. But remember… if you lose now, you start all over again."
"I won't die this time either," Saruto thought to himself.