Clearing the First Trial

Samael's body was healed back again and he was resurrected at the center of the island every single time, he was already numb to everything that this place has to offer and can't help but wonder when is this going to end.

'Aren't I already showcasing my will enough...? How long will I be here?' he thought dejectedly.

But instead of an answer from the entity that puts him in this place, he receives nothing but the growls of the Imps that are already appearing around him again. And this can only make him sigh as he forces his body to stand up once again.

It was not that he was tired physically, every wound and fatigue disappears when he woke up.

At each start of his resurrection, he was as fresh as the first time he got here, but his soul was tired. Watching the same thing over and over again, and being murdered over and over again would definitely take a toll on his soul.

'They really do have a habit of not answering...' Samael thought to himself with a tired look.

Looking at the Imps that has appeared once more, he was about to get ready to fight again. Despite not feeling it too much, he can feel that he has gotten stronger as the purple energy that he can somehow harness is the cause of that.

As exciting as that may be for him, there's no meaning to it if he can't beat these Imps.

Samael has lived his entire life training in the path of Mages in order to become strong and can eventually reach his father's realm, but he has never seen any result for his dedication for years and years.

Feeling frustrated is a ridiculous understatement, he was hiding the pain behind his smile.

Now that he has gotten stronger and finally sees some progression in himself, it turns out to be useless. Samael doesn't even know how much time has passed, but he was not able to see even the glimpse of hope presents itself.

Just as he raised both of his fists preparing to fight, his eyes caught something weird.

Even though it was not clear, Samael can see that something changed in this lineup of Imps. Squinting his eyes to find the change, his eyes soon widened when he realized that there was one Imp missing from them.

'Wait, shouldn't there be 12 of them...?' Samael thought in surprise.

There should be 12 Imps that appeared in this place, but now there are only 11 of them.

Upon realizing this Samael scans the entire place with his widened eyes in search of the twelfth Imp. Even though he already spins his body around to view every spot on the island, he can't find the last Imp.

Samael was out of it for a moment as he looks down to the ground, thinking of the possibilities.

As the realization of how this damned place works slowly settled in his mind, a look of hope appeared in his eyes, a glimmer of hope that is much needed for him. Following that, a sinister smile appeared on his face. "So that's how it works... you guys can kill me as many times as you want. But the moment I bested you even once then that's it"

It turns out this is how his willpower is tested, clearing this floor is not by enduring the Imps' torture.

The only way to clear this damned place should be by defeating them one by one, his willpower is tested on how much pain and desperation he can endure until he eventually beats these Imps that have been torturing him mentally and physically from the start.

Now that he realized this, he now understands why the Imps are bringing his painful memories.

Like a bloodthirsty maniac that has to find blood to be spilled, Samael slowly raises his gaze with the sinister smile still on his face as he looks at the Imps with crazed eyes. Even at the sight of this, the Imps traverse back a little out of fear.

If there's someone here, they would've been surprised to find that the Imps can feel fear.

"Why are you all backing out now?" Samael mused with a maniacal chuckle, he stares straight at the Imps' demonic eyes without fear. "The fun is just getting started! I'm going to take you out one by one until there's none of you left..."

An unknown amount of time passed inside this hellish plane, and there are two Imps left.

Samael has figured out the missing piece to clear this floor, and when he finds the missing piece he started to see the obvious progression as the Imps fall one by one. It was a completely gory utopia, he doesn't stop even if the Imps mangled his body.

It doesn't matter if he lost multiple limbs, or even gets cut in half, he keeps on going.

Driven by the absolute desperation of wanting to get out and start his path of vengeance against those who have done him and his family wrongs, Samael turned off his brain and completely immerse himself in this onslaught.

Bit by bit, he started to see more fear from the Imps as their natural arrogance disappeared.

No matter how he would die by the lethal claws of the Imps, Samael has only one objective in his mind and that is to take one down with him. Most of the time he failed due to the Imps becoming wary, but they are just delaying the inevitable.

In this game, there's no winning path for them, and Samael knows that clearly.

"Magic Bullet!"

With his index finger pointed at one of the two last Imps, Samael cast multiple neutral spells all at once while charging like a lunatic. He was limited to only five Magic Bullets before his mana was exhausted, but he didn't care. His mana would recover when he got resurrected.

Out of the twelve Imps, these last two don't have any difference but they are stronger.

Samael found out that these two Imps shoot fire lance from their mouths, it was as fast as his Magic Bullet and causes a painful burning sensation that can easily render him useless if he got hit as much as even three times.

But it doesn't matter to him, that just means he has enough time to get close to them.

Due to the speed of the Magic Bullet, the Imp on the right got hit two times. One on the chest and one on the right wing, and that sends it stumbling in the air and crashing to the ground. While the other was hit one time and that was not enough to faze the Imp as it opens its mouth savagely.

A ball of fire appears inside the Imp's mouth as it was about to use a fire lance.

Swish!

Under the intense heat of the fire lance that shoots from the Imp's mouth, the air trembles lightly. Even though it was heading straight at him, Samael didn't even try to dodge and headed to the Imp on the ground.

Samael moan when the fire lance tore a hole on his chest, but he kept on going.

Leaping at the Imp on the ground that seems to be hurting from the two Magic Bullets that are now purple in color, Samael grabs a hold of the Imp's two horns and pulls its head back while simultaneously stepping on the Imp's spine as an anchor.

Crack!

Out of the countless trials, he finds that the best way to kill the Imps is by using their own horns.

The Imps are demons and their skins are tougher than the soft tissue of a human. Moreover, Samael doesn't have any kind of weapon or spell that can penetrate it efficiently thus it's the best way to use the Imps' own horns as a weapon against them.

Growl!

Feeling that its horns are cracking, the Imp tries to struggle but it can reach Samael.

With Samael standing behind the Imp, firmly pressing his weight onto its spine with his foot, the Imp had no way of fighting back. Finally, with a loud cracking snap, the right horn gives away and breaks. Seizing his chance, Samael quickly thrust the horn into the Imp's wing, dragging it down to tear it apart.

Looking at the Imp growling in agony, a smile was plastered onto Samael's face.

Just then he glanced to the side and finds the other Imp has fired another fire lance and flapped its wings towards Samael, intending to help its pitiful comrade underneath Samael's foot. But this was a grievous mistake for the Imp.

Samael grabs the Imp under his foot by its broken wing and uses it as a shield against the fire lance.

The fire lance landed right onto the Imp's face and skewered through gruesomely, leaving a trail of circular burnt flesh that killed the Imp almost instantly. Not stopping at that, Samael threw the dead Imp straight at the other Imp heading his way.

Brak!

Even though he doesn't expect much, it turns out the throw manages to hit the last Imp perfectly.

Garnering the last bit of his mana to use the Dash neutral spell, he swiftly traverses through the distance between him and the last Imp that crashes near the edge of the island right next to the lave that emits hot gasses.

With the horn still in his hand, he jabbed it at the Imp's back repeatedly without mercy.

Of course, the Imp doesn't let Samael do this freely and manages to twist its body and bite a huge chunk of his flesh from his leg. It was very painful, Samael growled when he feel this sensation but this instead makes him even more ruthless.

Samael didn't stop stabbing the Imp until the horn broke, he then kept going with his fist.

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

Flurries of punches keep on raining down on the poo Imp's face, its struggle also keeps on becoming weaker and weaker as Samael's punches infused with purple energy crack its skull bit by bit.

Noticing that the Imp has grown weak, Samael stops and grabs the Imp by its neck.

Pulling the Imp's face that is already cracking all over and on the brink of shattering, Samael tore his gaze into the Imp's eyes as he shouted, "Come on, fight back!! I can still keep going! Fight back!!" Despite his taunt, the Imp is unresponsive.

Realizing that this is the end, Samael's eyes flickered fiercely.

"You said it yourself, this is reality... and I'm destined to win this battle" Samael whispered coldly before he dipped the Imp's head into the lave, melting its entire head off and stiffening the rest of its body.

When the Imp's head is completely gone, he threw the corpse to the side with a rough exhale.

Brak!

Samael panted heavily as he kneel on the ground, he has finally cleared the floor of the Imp. It was not a smooth journey, he was tortured repeatedly. But in the end, he was the last one standing and that is all that matters.

[Abyssal Trial has been cleared!]

[Congratulation to the anti-host for clearing the first trial of the Ruin of the Underworld!]