The ara echoed with the sounds of battle as the remaining participants turned their atttion to the undead warrior that Hades had created.


    Despite their earlier bravado, the sight of the reanimated corpse caused some of the participants to hesitate. However, a few still managed to sneer, trying to mask their unease with arrogance.


    "Seriously? This is what you''re going to use against us?" one of them scoffed, a tall, lean man with sharp features. His voice dripped with disdain as he eyed the undead.


    "That brute was the weakest of us all, and now he''s just a mindless puppet. We''ll rip it apart and the for you, pretty boy!" He spat thest words with a sneer, his eyes narrowing in contempt.


    Another participant, a woman with a cold, calcting gaze, chimed in, her toneced with mockery. "You really think this is going to intimidate us? Pathetic. I''ve se better necromancy from novice studts."


    Hades, unfazed by their taunts, leaned back in his chair with a rxed, almost bored expression. His eyes glinted with dark amusemt as he observed them.


    The arrogance and overconfidce of his opponts were almostughable. They had no idea what they were truly up against, and that ignorance would be their downfall.


    "Is that so?" Hades murmured, his voice smooth and eerily calm. He allowed a smirk to y on his lips, as if he were watching an amusing but predictable sce unfold before him. "Let''s see if you can back up those words."


    The participants exchanged uneasy nces, ssing that they had underestimated their foe. But still, they pressed on, their pride refusing to acknowledge the danger they were in.


    Hades, however, remained seated, his expression never faltering, as if the oue had already be decided in his favor.


    One of the participants, a wiry man with sharp features, had ough of Hades''s smug attitude. Enraged by his calm demeanor, the man decided to strike directly at Hades.


    With a snarl, he cast a powerful spell, "Shadow Spike!" Dark tdrils erupted from the g, aiming to pierce Hades through the shadows.


    But as the shadow spikes surged toward Hades, something unexpected happed. The momt they made contact with him, they shattered into nothingness, as if they had struck an impetrable barrier. The wiry man''s eyes wided in shock, unable toprehd how his attack had failed so utterly.


    Before he could recover from his surprise, Hades''s smirk deeped. The man suddly realized with a sinking feeling that he could no longer see the undead warrior.


    In the blink of an eye, a sh of dark ergy swept through the air, and the next thing he knew, his vision tilted—his head had be severed from his body. The undead, moving with terrifying speed, had decapitated him in an instant.


    Hades watched with cold satisfaction as the headless body crumpled to the g. With a subtle gesture, he absorbed the soul of the fall participant, his power growing ever so slightly with each soul he imed.


    The remaining contestants, who had witnessed the swift and brutal execution, now understood the true danger they faced. Their earlier confidce evaporated, reced by a gnawing fear.


    The participants knew they couldn''t afford to take Hades lightly anymore. Though they couldn''t fathom how he had nullified the attack, they quickly refocused on the undead, realizing that it was more powerful and faster than they had anticipated. They needed to eliminate it before thinking about taking on Hades himself.


    One of them, a young man with a fierce expression, stepped forward, channeling his mana into his sword. "Dark Sword Strike!" he roared, unleashing a devastating sh imbued with dark ergy. The de sliced through the air, aiming to cleave the undead in two.


    But the undead moved with unnatural speed, easily countering the attack with its own dark axe. The sh of weapons st shockwaves through the ara, but the undead stood its g, unyielding.


    Another participant, desperate to gain an advantage, summoned mes as ck as night. "Dark me!" he cried out, hurling the fire at the undead.


    The mes gulfed the creature''s arm, burning it away. But to their horror, the undead didn''t slow down. Unaffected by pain, it continued its reltless assault, swinging the axe with its remaining hand, forcing the participants back.


    As the battle wore on, the remaining disciples unleashed a barrage of physical and dark elemtal skills. Swords, axes, and dark mes shed against the undead, but it continued to fight with an unyielding determination, shrugging off blows that would have felled a living warrior. Illusions and curses failed to affect it, and the participants soon realized that their efforts were in vain.


    And th there was Hades—an igma who stood untouched amidst the chaos. No matter what the others tried,  of their attacks could ev graze him. It was as if he existed in a separate ne, untouchable by their feeble attempts.


    Frustration gave way to despair, and one by one, the remaining participants made a grim decision. They could either continue to fight and face almost certain death, or they could surrder and live to fight another day. The choice was clear.


    One by one, the participants dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrder. The undead halted its assault, and the ara fell silt, save for the sound of heavy breathing and the shuffling of feet as the defeated walked away.


    Hades remained seated, his expression one of supreme confidce as he observed the sce. He had won without ev needing to lift a finger against most of them. As thest participant conceded defeat, the old man on the tform above finally spoke.


    "Impressive," the old man said, his voice filled with dark approval. "You have prov yourself worthy of bing an inner disciple of the Necrovauld Academy."


    Hades smirked, rising from his chair. He had yed his part perfectly, and now he would reap the rewards. The path to greater powery ahead, and he would walk it without hesitation.