In the vast palace of the underworld, countless cyan souls gathered densely on both sides of the hall, whispering in low voices.

From time to time, they swept over Erica's figure with ethereal gazes, their heads almost pressed together, their lips shaking.

For a moment, the palace of the underworld was filled with a buzzing sound like mosquitoes flapping their wings.

Hades stood in front of his tall and majestic writing desk, his head bowed, his eyes locked on Erica in front of him.

He knew that the human girl's body in front of him had been temporarily occupied by the cunning dog thief.

He could clearly recognize the familiar aura from the pride, confidence, and indifferent smile that appeared in the corners of Erica's eyes.

But even so, Hades sneered at Erica, who made the arrogant remarks.

He clasped his arms in both hands, his two thick arms tightly crossed in front of his chest, his muscles tense, and the veins on them were as clearly visible as snake veins.

"Do you know what trials mean?"

"As a mere human being, do you think you can endure the pain of trials?"

Of course Victor knew, because he had already passed more than once.

[Hell Trial], which is an advanced challenge in the underworld.

This includes various areas of the Hell, as well as a variety of difficult challenges.

But without exception, there is only one ultimate goal of the trial.

That is to kill the underworld.

Hades looked at the expressionless 'Erica', snorted lightly, and then said coldly:

"I'm not going to open the test for you, arrogant human, stop dreaming."

With that, he sat back down on the massive crimson chair and reopened the book full of names.

Pick up a long gold pen and write on it in detail.

Hades wrote something while directing the souls in line without raising his head.

"Next!"

He was so engrossed in the work of judging the dead that he paid no attention to Erica standing at his desk.

At this time, Erica's eyes also re-revealed a soft girlish temperament.

She lowered her head and silently said to Victor, who was hidden behind her trench coat, in her heart:

"Professor, he doesn't seem to want to promise us."

She remembered that Victor had told her that those who were able to pass the trials of the underworld would be eligible to leave the underworld.

That's why Erica plucked up the courage to make this request directly to Hades.

However, it is clear that the other party is not willing to deal with them.

At this time, Victor's calm and indifferent voice sounded in Erica's head:

"Expected."

Hearing this answer, Erica frowned and "tsk" dissatisfied.

She believes that Hades refused the request because he was afraid.

Because when Professor Victor said that he could do the trial, Hades must have thought that Victor had such abilities.

That's what Erica thought.

In Erica's mind, the professor can do anything.

Therefore, she firmly believes that Hades refuses because he is afraid that the professor will easily pass the trial, so he will let him go easily.

"So what are we going to do next?"

Erica was full of doubts, but Victor hadn't spoken since.

At this moment, a light voice came from the side:

"This way, this way."

Hearing this light voice, Erica was slightly stunned.

She followed the sound and saw Persephone secretly waving to her in the corner of the palace.

The other party hid behind the wall in the corner, half of her body leaned out slightly, and she gestured with her hand hook.

Seeing this, Erica looked up and cautiously looked at Hades who was lying on the desk.

The tall Lord of the Underworld was still engrossed in the business at hand, and cyan souls continued to rush forward and leave.

Seeing that the other party was not paying attention, Erica walked lightly along the wall and quickly towards Persephone.

Soon, Erica came to Persephone's side and asked in a low voice:

"Your Majesty, do you have anything to do with me?"

Persephone held out a finger, put it to his mouth, and 'shhh

Then he smiled mysteriously, clasped Erica's hand, and said softly:

"Follow me."

The two of them walked lightly through the dark corridors of the palace.

Suddenly, their figures seemed to turn into a chaotic and colorful petals, bursting out in midair.

As the petals gradually sink and fall to the ground, the pink fluorescent light shatters and rises, and gradually disappears.

……

Pink petals fluttered from all directions like a dream, gathering towards the center of the room.

These light petals quickly converged into a dense point of light, and then gradually condensed into the figures of two young girls.

As the petals slowly bloomed, Erica and Persephone's figures landed lightly on the floor of the room.

Upon entering the room, Erica felt a brief moment of darkness, and everything around her seemed blurred.

But as the lights came on, her eyes began to adjust to the light.

Finally, this deep and solemn room was clearly seen.

Here, it looks like an archive.

The shelves around it are towering, densely packed with all kinds of old and heavy books.

And the sight on the periphery of this bookshelf amazed Erica.

Countless huge steel gears meshed with each other, making a creaking sound of metal colliding in the small space.

White steam slowly rose from the cracks between the gears, mingling with the crisp sound.

In the center of the room is an extremely thick shaft, which drives countless gears to rotate in this space.

Just as Erica was still wondering what this place was, Persephone let go of her hand.

Gently holding out his finger, he pointed in a direction in the far side of the room.

She whispered to Erica:

"See there?"

Following Persephone's finger, Erica looked up.

The gaze passed through the emptiness of the room and fixed on a huge stone tablet floating high above.

The stele didn't look like a specific shape, more like a haphazardly carved boulder.

But its surface is engraved with dense text.

Erica felt the words familiar, but unrecognizable.

It seems to be written in a variety of different countries.

"They are all 'heroes' who have passed the [Hell Trial]."

Persephone's voice rang in Erica's ears with a hint of solemnity.

Hearing this, Erica's eyes widened.

Looking at the name inscribed on the rock, he shouted out in surprise:

"So much!"

The parts she could see alone had more than a thousand names.

Erica looked at the names left on the rocks, and subconsciously felt that this hellish trial seemed to be just that.

But at this moment, Persephone had a chuckle in his voice:

"Is it much?"

"The names you see now are successful challengers from the 100,000 people who took part in the trial."

Hearing this, Erica's heart felt like it was watered with ice water, and a chill spread.

Of the 100,000 people, only 1,000 can leave their names on it?

Thinking of this, Erica couldn't help but ask:

"That'...... And what about the rest? ”

Erica seemed to have a premonition in her heart, but she couldn't help but ask the doubts in her heart urgently.

And Persephone only smiled faintly, turned back to look at her with a deep gaze, and asked softly:

"What do you say?"

For those who fail to pass the trial, their fate is to fall back into the abyss of hell.

Their bodies will be burned to the ground in the blazing flames, and their flesh will be scorched into a vapor like a mist of blood.

In the end, only a cold white bone remained.

The soul will be sealed forever in the bones, and will be scorched and tormented by the fire of hell for eternity.

To make matters worse, these souls may even become enemies for future Helltrialists.

Hearing this, Erica's body shivered involuntarily, and her hair couldn't help but stand upside down.

At this moment, she no longer felt that the difficulty of the trial was easy.

For her, it was more like a gamble with her soul as a bet.

And the whole underworld is the home of this casino.

But in the midst of fear and shock, Erica suddenly remembered Persephone's previous words.

Why does she call those who pass the trials "heroes"?

What is the meaning behind this?

"Isn't the trial just about leaving the underworld?"

Erica asked curiously.

Persephone looked a little surprised by Erica's question, she glanced at Erica curiously, and asked:

"Who told you that you completed the trial just to leave the underworld?"

"If it's just to escape the underworld, you shouldn't have set foot here in the first place."

Well, that's true.

It's just that Erica deliberately entered the underworld in order to save Professor Victor.

Persephone then continued:

"Heroes who successfully complete trials and leave the underworld will receive the 'curse' of hell. This curse can give them great power......"

"Wait a minute, in that case, why is it a curse?"

Erica interrupted Persephone abruptly, full of confusion.

Persephone was slightly stunned, and then explained:

"The celestial realm likes to call the reward given to mankind a blessing, so there is nothing wrong with us in the underworld calling the reward given to mankind a curse."

Co-authoring is the opposite of each other, right......

From here, Erica perceives the antagonistic relationship that exists between the underworld and the celestial realm.

"Of course, the reason why it's called a curse isn't entirely because we have to work against the heavenly realm."

Persephone looked at Erica and then at the black trench coat draped behind her.

The staring made Erica feel a stir in her heart, and she couldn't help but cough softly.

Persephone seemed to be reminded of the cough, and she continued:

"You and Victor are both mages, right?"

Erica nodded, and a small sense of pride welled up in her heart.

Because she was the youngest third-order mage in history!

However, Persephone's next sentence doused her pride like cold water:

"But unfortunately, if you do pass the trial, after receiving the reward of hell, the accompanying curse will also fall on your head."

Persephone's voice suddenly became even colder:

"You won't be able to be a mage anymore."

The words echoed in Erica's ears and shook her heart.

She closed her mouth and bowed her head in silence.

"There's one thing you can rest assured of, though."

Persephone's tone changed suddenly, with a hint of playfulness, and said with a smile:

"This curse will not fall on you."

Hearing this, Erica slowly raised her head, and her clenched fists also released.

Those clear eyes were full of doubts:

"Why is that?"

Persephone smiled calmly and continued to explain to Erica:

"Because the trials won't be open."