Inside one of the floors of the maze — the fiftieth floor.
"Get out of my way, you scoundrel!!"
Zalarosa charged at the beast and leapt into the air.
Drawing her sword, she shouted, "A hundred years of blood!"
Zalarosa's sword turned a deep crimson, glowing as if it were burning fire.
Suddenly, ten blood spheres appeared behind her back.
"Blood Orbs!"
She grabbed one of the spheres and merged it with her sword.
Her sword seemed to melt like ice under intense heat, with blood dripping profusely from it.
All this happened in the blink of an eye, then she kicked the air powerfully and thrust her sword toward the beast's neck.
"Taste the agony of death… and get out of my way!!!"
Zalarosa threw her sword at the beast and ran toward Yui and Ryo, pulling them along.
"Come on, let's go!"
As they prepared to leave, the beast tried to block their way, but the sword wrapped around its neck like a red serpent.
"Aaaaaaahhh!!!" the beast roared with all its might, trying to shake off the sword, but to no avail.
The sword grew sharper, slowly piercing the beast's neck.
That was not the end — spikes that pierced its neck began spreading inside its body like exploding branches, and the beast screamed in unbearable pain until it eventually killed itself.
Zalarosa dashed toward the door, which had already begun closing, and a countdown appeared:
3... 2... 1...
She reached the door and escaped the floor just before it hit zero.
She almost rejoiced but nearly fainted from exhaustion.
"Finally..."
Yui said, "Sorry, miss, but what about your sword? You left it inside the floor."
Zalarosa blinked twice and started searching for her sword.
"It's not here!... My sword!!! Nooo!!!"
She began crying and screaming as if she was about to lose her life.
Ryo said, "No need for all that, it's just a sword."
Zalarosa looked at Ryo angrily, her eyes glowing red with murderous intent, as if Ryo had insulted her unforgivably:
"Listen carefully, you naughty child! This is the last time you dare say that. If you do it again... I promise you death."
Ryo fell silent and took a step back, sweat pouring down his body like a waterfall.
Yui said, "Zalarosa…"
(Zalarosa, now calmer): "What do you want?"
Zalarosa looked toward Yui and found her crying.
"Huh? What's wrong with you? What happened? Wait, is something hurting you?"
Zalarosa started circling Yui, inspecting her like a detective, worry etched on her face.
Yui (softly, with a tear in her eye): "I missed you!"
Zalarosa said, "What? Did you say..."
Before Zalarosa could finish, Yui jumped into her arms, hugging her tightly, tears streaming down her face.
"It's nothing... I just can't believe I forgot you."
Zalarosa gave a small smile.
"Don't worry, Yui... I will always be with you."
While they were lost in their emotional moment, Ryo stood aside, smiling faintly with a deep sadness.
"Ha... I miss Rin, Yui, and Infernus... I wish I never came here... loneliness is so cruel."
Ryo smiled hopefully and whispered,
"No need for all this gloom... after all, I have someone with me."
He walked toward Yui and Zalarosa and jumped on them.
"Let me join you too!"
But Yui and Zalarosa moved away from Ryo, and he crashed to the ground.
"What's wrong with you? Who are you anyway?!"
Ryo sat down, wiping his nose.
"Why all this cruelty? That's not fair!"
Zalarosa smiled, then hugged Ryo gently, stroking his head.
"Don't worry... don't be sad... don't be afraid, I'm with you."
Ryo began recalling his early life.
His father was an alcoholic, and his mother was neglectful. Since birth, no one cared for Ryo; in fact, he was sold more than ten times for money.
He was bought and sold hundreds of times, nobody cared about him.
"That child... he's disgusting."
"What's wrong with his looks? He looks more like a monster than a human."
"You monster... you freak!"
"No one loves you."
"Get out of this world quickly."
Since birth, no one accepted him or gave him affection.
Ryo was kind and helped everyone, but their only answer was:
"Who are you? Is that a demon? Stay away from me."
Ryo wasn't ugly, but he didn't care much about his appearance.
After a hard life, he met a very kind girl.
"Ryo, how are you?" she asked with a smile.
Ryo replied, "Me? I don't know... I don't know what I feel. I haven't felt anything for a long time; I even forgot how to smile."
The girl said, "Come on, don't be sad... take a bath, and I'll prepare everything for you."
Ryo started feeling happy with her. He shared his feelings and relied on her for everything. She was like a sister, even more.
But he didn't give her all his feelings because he didn't believe anyone would truly love him; he only gave her a little... fearing disappointment.
One day, while laughing and carrying a bag of food,
"Hina…"
He saw her laughing with a friend.
He wished he had never come that day.
Hina laughed mockingly: "Haha, I can't believe he thought I loved him... that filthy boy. But it's okay, let's just play with his feelings a little."
Her friend laughed: "You're such a devil!"
Hina said, "Wait, listen... once he cried and told me about his miserable life... I don't know how I kept myself from laughing... he believed everything literally, so funny!"
They laughed loudly.
Ryo's bags of food fell, and his gaze went blank.
Hina heard the noise and turned.
"Who's there?... Ryo!"
Hina was shocked to see him standing, looking at her with empty, emotionless eyes. Fear crept into her heart.
Hina (stepping back, trembling voice): "Ryo, wait, let me explain..."
At that moment, her friend ran away without caring.
Ryo searched through the food bags, took two wooden sticks,
Approached Hina, smiling devilishly, eyes full of bloodthirst like a hungry wolf.
Hina was scared, crawling backward, unable to stand.
Ryo (childish voice but with unspeakable evil): "Hina... why are you running? Why do you avoid me? Come to me, I promise I'll make you feel something nice..."
He sat before her, then stabbed one stick into her left eye.
"Aaaaaahhh!!!" Hina screamed in pain.
Ryo smiled wickedly, enjoying it.
"Yes... yes... keep screaming! It's so fun!"
He took the other stick and stabbed it into her right eye.
His laughter grew louder... Hina begged him.
"Ryo... please... let me go!"
Ryo said, "But what about me? Didn't you say you were my sister? How can a sister leave her brother? That's not fair... you'll stay with me... you must..."
Then he stared into her eyes and said,
"But... as a corpse."
He stabbed the stick into her chest, straight into her heart. She died.
After a while, Ryo returned home as usual: his father beating his mother, and his mother hitting his father with sharp objects... blood everywhere.
He threw Hina's corpse in front of them, then killed them both because "they annoyed him."
Ryo went to prison for ten years, spared execution due to his mental illness.
He was released and lived alone, but his problems didn't end.
He got involved with a gang after fighting one of its members, becoming hunted.
He asked them to leave him alone, but they wouldn't listen... so Ryo killed them all—twenty in total—running them over with a car, cutting their bodies one by one. It was easy.
Afterwards, he decided to buy some food because he was hungry.
But on the way... a truck ran him over.
"I hope I never feel pain again..."
Now, Ryo was crying in Zalarosa's arms, receiving the affection he never knew before.
Ryo said, "Thank you..."
Yui interrupted, "Alright, alright... can you two stop? We have to get out of here now."
Both Zalarosa and Ryo smiled hopefully.
Zalarosa: "Alright, we're coming."
Ryo (whispering with a smile): "It's time... the training journey."
---
To be continued...