Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 367: Cult of Wraiths (4)

White skin and black horns.

A childlike appearance with a mischievous expression stood out.

A demon.

Judging by the length of the horns, it was a high-ranking noble, belonging to the upper class.

“Hehe, it’s rare to see such distinguished individuals all gathered together.”

“How dare a mere demon show up here!”

Athena immediately pointed her spear and shield at him.

White divine energy swirled fiercely, as if she intended to pierce the intruder who entered their domain without warning.

“Stop.”

However, a single gesture from Zeus halted her action.

“…Father?”

“It’s amusing that the Demon World has come this far… Now, what is your business?”

“To be honored by an audience with the supreme god of Olympus is a privilege. My name is Mashid, and I serve the great Demon King Guntapher.”

The boy bowed deeply in a display of respect.

A Demon King.

An absolute entity that even other gods could not take lightly.

For the envoy of such a being to visit here…

A slight smirk crept onto Zeus’s lips.

“Speak. What is the reason for seeking an audience with us?”

“I have come to propose an official alliance between Olympus and the Demon World.”

“…!?”

An alliance.

The unexpected and enormous statement left the surroundings frozen.

Until now, the great powers of the upper floors had never been able to cooperate due to conflicting values and interests.

It was understood that it was their fate to fight and kill each other until only one remained.

Especially since the rule that all crowns must be gathered by a single force pushed everyone to the extreme.

But now…

For the Demon World, the most insidious of all, to propose an alliance first?

“Ho.”

Zeus tapped his finger on the table.

“Are you interested?”

“First, I’m curious to know the reason you wish to form an alliance.”

“To be frank, we had no intention of forming an alliance with Olympus either. However, after you declared war against Ragnarok, Eden has also started to make their move. We have no choice but to respond.”

Eden had maintained neutrality towards all forces except the Demon World.

But with Olympus expanding its territory and the rebellion of Kizakiel, they had started to show unusual activity.

In an effort to restore internal cohesion and balance between powers, Eden had attacked the Demon World.

“You need us to keep Eden in check, is that it?”

“It’s not a bad deal, is it? After all, you, Zeus, are unable to use one of your strongest cards due to your current situation with Eden.”

“…”

Not being able to bring Hercules to the battlefield was certainly painful.

If the strongest demigod had been present, Jotunheim’s final ruins would have already fallen.

Even though they had taken control of the northern region of Ragnarok, the delay in securing the most crucial stronghold was a harsh reality for Olympus.

However,

“It seems unreasonable to form an alliance for just that reason. We can handle Eden on our own. As for Jotunheim, it’s only a matter of time before it falls.”

Zeus rejected the Demon World’s proposal outright.

The failure of the negotiations.

This meant the envoy who delivered the proposal would soon face death.

Crackling!

Zeus’s divine spear, *Astraphe*, emitted an unimaginable brilliance.

The strongest spear, capable of piercing even the aura of a Demon King, would turn a noble demon into nothing more than a pile of ashes.

But…

Mashid, who should have been trembling in fear or fleeing, stood his ground without a hint of concern.

“Did you really think we proposed an alliance just because of Eden?”

At those words,

“…”

Zeus’s hand stopped mid-motion.

Mashid interpreted this as an opportunity to continue the conversation.

“At dawn today, Hwanung and Izanagi met at ‘Baengnokdam.'”

Baengnokdam.

A sacred place where a great source of magical power flowed and where hundreds of deities could gather.

“How amusing. Are you saying that those worms meeting is such a big deal?”

“It wasn’t just the two of them. Hundreds of deities, all centered around them, gathered as well. Of course, compared to Olympus’s strength, they may seem insignificant, but you can’t deny they pose a burden.”

The relatively weaker Asian deities had formed a massive coalition.

While they lacked individual power, their goal was to make up for it with numbers.

The fact that hundreds of deities had secretly gathered was news even Zeus hadn’t heard yet.

And the problems didn’t end there.

“At this rate, the factions on the lower 40th floors will also start to move. They will see this turmoil as an opportunity. I’ve even heard that the lizards, who intend to swallow the entire staircase, have recently found their own apostle.”

The dragons occupying the 46th floor of the Tower.

While the 49th floor remained, there was no guarantee that the 47th and 48th floors would sit idly by.

“Has this incident sparked a chain reaction?”

“That’s right. We’re on the verge of the second great war, following the first.”

Variables upon variables had piled up, forming a fuse ready to ignite.

“So, shouldn’t we forge a strong alliance and watch each other’s backs?”

“…Go back and bring a Demon King with you. We will talk then.”

Zeus had made his decision.

A great storm of war began to swirl once again over control of the Tower.

＊＊＊

It took Jinhyuk less than two hours to meet the master of the thieves’ guild.

Thanks to using [Human Skin Mask] to carefully work his way up the hierarchy.

“No… This is impossible…”

Obraim Venta.

For 30 years, he had been the master of the thieves’ guild, but now everything he thought he knew was crumbling before his eyes.

The man who had just disguised himself as one of his subordinates was shocking beyond belief.

The ability to perform *polymorph* was something only dragons were capable of.

Yet there was no sense of incongruity as he faced what looked exactly like his trusted ally of 30 years.

The transformation was that perfect.

Jinhyuk threw the scruffy, bearded face onto the floor.

“Compartmentalized pyramid organizations might be good at maintaining secrecy… but they have a fatal flaw like this. I’ll be using your face in the same way soon.”

Even if the master were to fall, no one would hear of it.

The best part was that as long as the outer shell remained, Jinhyuk could freely control the entire guild.

“Curse you, damn bastards!”

Of course, Venta wasn’t going to take this lying down.

As befitting the master of a guild, he swiftly drew a pair of daggers and moved with dizzying speed.

His movements were too fast to follow with the naked eye.

But Chun Yoosung, who had been waiting nearby, read Venta’s movements perfectly.

Just as Venta was about to plant his feet for the next attack…

Slash!

Chun Yoosung’s sword cut through the gap between his movements.

“…Gah…!”

And with that, the entire thieves’ guild fell completely into Jinhyuk’s hands.

“So, what now?”

Chun Yoosung asked, flicking the blood from his sword.

“We need to confuse the flow of information and rescue Teresa in the meantime.”

Now that the most information-savvy guild was under their control, they didn’t need to worry about interference from the rest.

There was just one thing.

“We can’t avoid contact with the Cult of the Undead or Sloth.”

Though time was running out, Sloth had the ability to track a target relentlessly once it had been caught.

That special ability lasted for about six hours.

Precisely until midnight.

‘There are about three hours left now…’

They would have to hurry to reach the Gray Forest.

“Frey, inform Master and Abraham about our destination.”

“Yeah… I’ll do that.”

“Yoosung, you’re coming with me. We need to leave immediately.”

“Understood.”

Everyone set out to fulfill their tasks.

＊＊＊

The Gray Forest.

A region so dense that sunlight could barely penetrate it.

“Damn it…”

Peyton let out a deep sigh.

Despite confidently declaring they would conquer the 20th floor, the raid team had been torn apart by the fanatics’ assault.

He couldn’t even figure out where things had gone wrong.

At first, securing the paths and strongholds had gone smoothly.

Was it a mistake to force their way into the mines?

Or was it because they hadn’t recruited stronger rankers?

‘I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t expect us to get wiped out even after gathering such a strong force.’

If the 20th floor was this hard, how strong would the 30th floor be?

For the first time, Peyton truly felt the fear of the Tower of Trials.

But right now, it wasn’t about lamenting what was already done.

He needed to figure out how to escape this place alive.

Peyton looked around.

There were seventeen survivors in total.

Most of them were the strongest members of the raid, including Teresa.

‘The only ones who are still in good shape are me and Teresa.’

The others looked exhausted, drained of both mana and stamina, barely able to move their own bodies.

At that moment,

“Peyton.”

Teresa, who had been tending to the wounded, approached him.

“…Yes. What is it?”

“I’ve treated the most urgent injuries, but I’ve only been able to provide basic first aid since I’m low on mana myself.”

“You’ve done well. Now we need to move again.”

Peyton grabbed his weapon.

They had rested briefly, but they needed to push through the forest and escape to the other side as quickly as possible.

The high humidity meant that the insect-type monsters lurking nearby were still waiting to pounce on the weakened raid team.

“Wait, we’re leaving? But many of the injured can’t move yet. They need at least a few more hours to recover…”

Teresa’s voice trailed off as she saw Peyton’s expression.

His cold, hardened face showed not a hint of sympathy for his comrades.

“You can’t mean… Are you saying we should abandon them?”

“It means that those who can live should live. Besides, to continue climbing the Tower, we need strong people, not weaklings. It’s for the future of humanity.”

The future of humanity?

Teresa clenched her fists tightly.

Her nails dug into her palms, but she didn’t feel any pain.

“…This isn’t about the future of humanity, is it? You just want to cover up what happened here, right?”

Peyton had clearly wanted to monopolize the magic stones from the mine, and the raid’s failure had nothing to do with humanity’s future.

Yes.

Peyton only wanted to escape responsibility for this disaster.

And for that, he needed to eliminate all witnesses.

“Think whatever you want. If you’re staying behind, I won’t stop you.”

Without hesitation, Peyton turned his back and disappeared toward the opposite side of the forest.

As soon as he did,

“Screeeech!”

“Keeek!”

The hidden insects began to reveal themselves one by one, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

With the most troublesome prey abandoning the others, it was now time for the hunt to begin in earnest.

“Te-Teresa! The monsters are coming!”

“Where is the raid leader?”

The abandoned members desperately called out for Teresa and Peyton.

‘I can’t abandon them.’

No matter how much he tried to justify it, she couldn’t continue her life by trampling on the lives of her comrades.

Even if…

The result of that choice meant her own death.

[Activating unique ability…]

Warm starlight descended from the sky.

As she squeezed out what little mana she had left, a faint light enveloped Teresa’s golden hair.

[‘Blessing of the Stars’ has been activated!]

The saint drew her sword and shield.

Standing at the front, she faced the monsters head-on, ready to protect them all.