Klaus appeared, hovering in the air. All around him was a surging sea spreading as far as the eye could see. He had finally entered the last trial, and from the expression he wore, Klaus wasn't happy at all.
He had read the description three times, and each time, the word "impossible" came to his lips—precisely what the trial was all about.
To confirm his thoughts, just as he appeared, a terrifying serpent rose its head from the depths of the sea and locked eyes with Klaus. It was the massive head of a snake, too large to even compare to a human.
At best, the size of the serpent's head was akin to that of a 20-meter-long Diamond Skin Brute Elephant. To add more horror, this serpent had only one green eye and a single greenhorn.
But then, things changed. A second head rose, identical in size but with yellow eyes and a yellow horn.
Next came a third head with red eyes and a red horn.
A fourth head followed with black eyes and a black horn.
Then, a fifth head with blue eyes and a blue horn.
A sixth head emerged with white eyes and a white horn.
The seventh head appeared with brown eyes and a brown horn.
Finally, the eighth head rose, adorned with majestic golden eyes and a golden horn.
This monstrous demon was the Eight-Headed Hydra Demon Serpent, a Tier 10 monster demon comparable to a Level 5 Ascendant.
According to the description, each head was its own entity. Essentially, Klaus was about to face the onslaught of eight Level 5 Ascendants, each individually more dangerous than he could handle.
He wasn't happy, but if he wanted to survive, he had to kill all eight heads within 24 hours. If even one remained alive after the time limit, the others would regenerate, regardless of how many he had defeated.
Adding to his despair, all his Life Points were rendered useless. In this trial, he could only try his best not to die—even if it's just once.
The heads of the snakes rose, towering 150 meters above the surface of the seawater, casting an ominous shadow over the sea.
Each head was covered in a bone-metallic-like material with a jagged surface and razor-sharp edges. Everything about the snakes was simply too terrifying.
"All this, and they each have a different law of self... Was I this bored in my past life that I chose to create this impossible last trial?"
Klaus could hardly believe himself anymore.
At that point, he realized this trial wasn't random; he had created something for himself to inherit something. Of course, he was grateful—until he saw the monster's description. Then he knew he had to go all out, using everything he had.
"Mercy on the souls of those who would dare offend me if I somehow manage to pass this trial..."
"Do you snakes have a name, or should I just call you by your eye and horn colors?" Klaus tilted his head and asked with a mocking smile.
Of course, he wasn't about to cower in fear.
If only he knew that as soon as he appeared inside the final trial, five ladies on the outside felt a wave of fear wash over them.
Queenie was currently trying to calm her heartbeat while the image of Klaus lingered in her mind.
Lucy was no different. Ohema and Miriam, who were currently in seclusion, felt the same. Meanwhile, Hanna, who had just sent an arrow flying through the body of a Tier 8 Blue Skin Ape, suddenly clenched her chest tightly.
This caused Kathy to move quickly and support her before she could collapse.
"Haus..." she muttered, using Klaus's real name from his past life as Fruity. Hanna had been having recurring dreams of her past life in Havana, and every day, when she woke up, her bond with Klaus grew stronger.
Unknowingly, this bond was far more than a mere feeling. It was connecting them on a deeper level, for she was his Starlight.
So, when Klaus appeared at the last trial, Hanna, whose connection to him was much stronger than that of the other ladies, felt Kent's fear for him. She was literally the link connecting Klaus to one of the paragon stars.
After some time, she recovered but could no longer continue the mission. She left to go have some rest with her beast companion.
Meanwhile, inside the trial, Klaus's body was now encased in the exo-alien armour, which covered about 85% of his body.
The only parts left exposed were his face, arms, and head. However, two horns protruded from his forehead as part of the armour, and arm guards adorned both hands.
The sabre he had taken from the Hellhound was gripped firmly in his hand.
His spirit weapons hovered beside him, ready for battle.
'This is it. This is the battle that will determine whether I am truly worthy of becoming a Paragon,' Klaus resolved. Without hesitation, he pointed his weapon at the eight-headed serpent.
The black-eyed snake head was the first to attack, shooting a dark beam toward Klaus. The beam arrived before him in an instant, but he was already on the move, so the attack missed.
Klaus wasn't about to take on attacks if he could simply evade... The Dragon is hibernating, and waiting for it to finish will take too long.
"Dragon Slash!" Klaus unleashed a powerful attack that immediately manifested a large flame dragon. It surged forward but was blown to bits before reaching 100 meters of the eight snakes.
However, Klaus used the explosion as cover to attack with his spirit weapons. The Thousand-Splitting Demon-Cutting Disc split into 400 pieces and attacked simultaneously.
Klaus also took the chance to launch another attack, this time using the Void Piercing Needles, but as expected, they proved ineffective.
The needles bounced off the snakes' skin, but they helped him determine just how thick the snakes' hides were and how much force he needed to put into his attacks.
'Aside from the Thousand-Splitting Demon-Cutting Disc, the rest won't do much damage. They can only serve as distractions.'
Klaus smiled when he realized he was both outnumbered and outgunned. For some reason, the smile on his face only grew wider.
Explosions that made the sea surge continued to rock the surface as Klaus attacked with his sabre and the cutting disc.
Klaus slowly kept pushing forward until he finally entered the 80-meter radius of the monster's snakes. Dangerous distances, but he had to.
This final trial featured a monster instead of a beast. Perhaps it was a mock battle to prepare him for the mission he and Queenie will be doing when he is out of the dungeon.
He moved even closer, a dangerous decision but the only viable option. He immediately activated the law of self, which previously belonged to the [Four-Tail Ice Scorpion Demon Queen] he had killed in the second battle of the trial.
[Eternal Dance of Ice and Death]
The 300-meter radius around him instantly turned to ice. The sea froze, and the snakes' movements were significantly slowed.
Kent moved in for a decisive attack but quickly retreated when he noticed the brown horn on one of the heads beginning to glow.
At that very moment, Klaus smiled bitterly and muttered a heartbreaking phrase.