Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 377: The War of the Stairs (2)

A short distance away, Tarachen and the orcs of the Black Hill Tribe stood in stunned silence, watching Jinhyuk’s actions unfold.

‘So this is what he meant when he said he’d strike them from behind if we bought him enough time.’

While Jinhyuk hadn’t explained every detail of the plan, he had assured them that, even if the tide of battle turned against them, he had a trump card ready to overturn everything at once.

‘He’s terrifying.’

Tarachen swallowed dryly.

When the idea of war had first been proposed, he hadn’t been certain of the outcome.

But now, watching Jinhyuk’s actions in real-time, his doubts were melting away at an alarming pace.

That man was not human.

He was something wearing human skin—a monster.

And that devilish monster was currently toying with a sacred object of the cult, lifting it and setting it down repeatedly, as if it were nothing.

＊＊＊

“Really, I’m sorry. This was 100% my fault. Can’t you let it slide just this once?”

“You insolent fool! How dare you act so nonchalant after committing a sin worthy of death! Do you have any idea how important that relic is to us…?”

“Hm? Was breaking a single ornament really such a grave mistake? Even after I apologized?”

“Do you even hear yourself?!”

Sloth’s veins bulged with fury.

It was perhaps the first time since inheriting the sin of Sloth that he had ever expressed such intense emotion.

Even if not for his pact with Guntapher, he might still have felt this overwhelming rage.

“So, no point in apologizing, huh? Guess I’ll just burn the whole thing down, then.”

Jinhyuk brought the *Primordial Flame* dangerously close to the chalice.

Fwoooosh!

The blazing flames seemed ready to consume the relic at any moment.

“Wait! Stop! Calm down!”

“The sacred relic of the Demon God…!”

“Someone stop him right now!”

The fanatics surged toward Jinhyuk in a panic.

But it was already too late.

The flames had touched the chalice.

BOOM!

“Kieeeeeek!”

A horrifying scream echoed from the chalice, as if it were expressing the agony of being burned alive.

[The ‘Chalice of the Antichrist’ is being damaged!]

[All residents of the ‘Cult of Wraiths’ have their stats reduced by 10%!]

[Guntapher, a deity of the Demon Realm, is enraged!]

[Affinity with all deities aligned with darkness has decreased.]

One after another, red status windows popped up in front of him.

The blazing chalice shone brighter than ever, radiating an overwhelming glow.

“Put out the fire! Now!”

It didn’t take long for the cultists to descend into complete panic.

Even Sloth, usually calm and collected, was visibly shaken.

As a result, his near-invincible skill, *Stride of Indolence*, weakened significantly.

…Now was the moment.

“Yoosung!”

“I’m on it!”

“Let’s go!”

At Jinhyuk’s signal, Chun Yoosung and Teresa sprang into action.

Fast. Precise.

Their ambush, aimed along the shortest path, produced dazzling results.

[The unique ability ‘Song of the Sword’ has been activated!]

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

Two distinct abilities.

But through repeated practice, the two had learned exactly how to synergize their powers.

Chun Yoosung’s sword strikes…

…merged seamlessly with the light Teresa imbued.

[The fusion ability ‘Two Souls as One’ has blossomed!]

“Graaaagh!”

“Uwaaah!”

BOOM! BOOM!

In a single sword stroke, the bodies of dozens of cultists were severed.

It was as if a mountain had been cleaved in two.

Taking advantage of the opening they had created, Jinhyuk made his move.

“You bastard!”

Sensing the danger, Sloth tried to reactivate his power.

As he moved, the gray mist surrounding him grew thicker.

However, Jinhyuk was faster.

BAM!

With a swift kick to the gut, Jinhyuk sent Sloth sprawling across the ground.

“Urgh?”

An agonizing pain wracked Sloth’s abdomen.

It had been so long since he last felt physical pain.

A life spent inflicting suffering on others—when was the last time he himself had endured such agony?

But the humiliation did not end there.

“You dare lay your filthy hands on my body.”

The power of petrification—the same ability that had turned the orc into stone earlier—activated.

“W-What… My body…?”

Jinhyuk’s pupils trembled as the petrification began to spread from his toes to his calves in an instant.

“No… This can’t be happening.”

He struggled desperately, thrashing his body.

“Hahaha! Fool! If you had been more cautious, you could have avoided such a pitiful death…! This is the price for underestimating the Seven Deadly Sins.”

“…Or so you thought?”

Jinhyuk, who had been acting the part perfectly, suddenly let out a smirk.

[The unique ability ‘Nihilism’ has been activated!]

A skill derived from the philosophy of Nietzsche, capable of sealing all abilities and skills.

The kick to Sloth’s abdomen wasn’t just for show.

It had been aimed precisely at the spot where mana accumulated—his pressure point.

Though Jinhyuk’s mastery of *Nihilism* wasn’t yet perfect, by striking that point, he compensated for its limitations.

Of course.

“What…? The petrification… broke midway? How is that even possible…?”

From Sloth’s perspective, it was a bewildering situation.

This was the first time his ability had ever failed to activate properly.

“Let’s just call it… Eastern mysticism.”

Jinhyuk shrugged nonchalantly.

Thanks to the various lessons from his master, he had learned a great deal about the human body.

He now knew exactly where to strike to achieve the most effective results, and which pressure points could disrupt or enhance the flow of energy.

Because of that, he could fight without worrying about *Stride of Indolence*.

‘I have to finish this while the pressure point is suppressed.’

Ordinarily, the suppression would last half a day.

But for someone like Sloth, it would only hold for about 15 minutes.

Fifteen minutes.

That was the window to determine the outcome of this battle.

“Hoo…”

Jinhyuk exhaled slowly, steadying his breath.

This was an opponent he would normally encounter only on the upper floors.

Even though Sloth was constrained by the terms of his contract, it didn’t diminish his strength in the slightest.

…‘Power.’

That single word was enough to define the Seven Sins.

In that case…

[The unique ability ‘Omniscient Sharing’ has been activated.]

Jinhyuk’s mind was filled with the memories and abilities of his closest allies, each deeply connected to him.

[You have selected the ability of the Ancient Species ‘???(Goguma).’]

Rumble…!

In that instant, a massive wave of energy burst forth from Jinhyuk’s body.

**Fear.**

A power usable only by dragons spread across the area.

Buzz!

The air grew thick with a terrifying pressure that prickled at the skin.

The mental effect of Fear was so potent that it could render most beings completely immobile.

“Fear… And you’re not even a dragon. Just what the hell are you?”

“A dragon? Come on now, you know better. Look, no horns, no tail. See?”

“Still making jokes, are you?”

Shaking off the crushing weight of the Fear, Sloth extended his staff forward.

In the air around him, gray magic circles began to form—more than thirty of them in total.

“No matter what you are, overwhelming power is all I need to crush you. If you thought I only had one trick up my sleeve, you’ve made a grave mistake.”

Boom!

A torrent of gray beams rained down, as relentless as a carpet bombing.

“Arghhh!”

“Ch-Chief!”

“Everyone, get out of the way!”

“Stay clear, or you’ll be caught in it!”

It was a wide-range attack that didn’t distinguish between ally or enemy.

As the overwhelming firepower concentrated on the area, the temple grounds began to collapse into chaos.

“So, that’s where you are!”

Even through the thick smoke, Sloth located Jinhyuk with pinpoint accuracy.

He wasn’t relying on sight but on the subtle flow of mana.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gray flames erupted at the spot where Jinhyuk had been.

However, Jinhyuk wasn’t caught in the blast. Using *Shadow Killing Arts*, he had shifted through space, narrowly evading the attack.

“You’re quick on your feet, aren’t you?”

“Running away? You’ve got it all wrong.”

In that moment, Jinhyuk appeared behind Sloth.

“You seem confused. *Shadow Killing Arts* isn’t just for escaping or dodging.”

It was a skill designed to slip into blind spots and deliver a fatal strike at the perfect moment.

With shadows overlapping and merging, Sloth’s vision had been left with a gap.

Slash!

A dagger, burning crimson from the effect of *Tomb of Blades*, pierced through the back of Sloth’s neck.

A chilling sound of flesh tearing echoed, followed by a long spurt of blood.

“Graaaaah!”

But even with what would normally be a fatal wound, Sloth continued to move.

His innate indolence was so powerful that it even allowed him to defy death.

“Man, you’re tough. I guess I should’ve just lopped your head off from the start.”

Jinhyuk clicked his tongue.

“Go on. Keep acting like you’ve got the upper hand.”

“If you’re just going to complain like a sore loser, spare me. Your whining is so dull it’s putting me to sleep.”

“Heh… No, I wasn’t rambling for nothing. Just like you’ve prepared your trump card, our great Demon King also took precautions for this situation.”

A wicked grin spread across Sloth’s face.

Black liquid dripped from his sharp teeth, sketching a large, rectangular shape in the air.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing much. Just that while you’ve been busy playing around here, the place you hold dear is probably up in flames by now.”

Through the black rectangle appeared an image—Jinhyuk’s stronghold, the **Fortress of Giants**.

Boom!

A massive explosion rocked the fortress.

A colossal, divine being swung a sword even larger than its own body.

**Kizakiel.**

The commander of Eden’s battle corps, who had been yearning to reclaim the Crown of Dominion…

…had finally made his move.

And behind him stood an uncountable number of soldiers from Eden.

“Well now, if word gets out that the Demon Realm made a deal with Eden, things are going to get real messy.”

“It’s just a temporary arrangement of convenience. That guy’s just a pawn. Our Demon King said that to catch a slippery eel like you, we needed to prepare accordingly… At first, I wasn’t sure, but now I understand exactly what He meant.”

With Kizakiel personally leading the attack, the mid-tier fortress wouldn’t stand a chance—it would be wiped out without a trace.

To stop it, Jinhyuk would need to return to the fortress immediately.

“But rushing back to your base while facing me could cost you your life.”

It was like fighting with massive chains shackling him.

Now then.

“What will you do?”

Most people, when cornered, would either panic and make a fatal mistake or resign themselves to defeat.

Of course, Jinhyuk was not most people.

“I figured you’d target my base.”

A stronghold represents the core of any faction’s power.

There was no way Jinhyuk would leave it undefended.

“That’s why I made sure to leave some reliable allies in charge.”

＊＊＊

“Hoo…”

A short-haired figure with snow-white hair and red eyes exhaled calmly.

[The special ability ‘Kumiho Transformation – Foxfire Play’ has been activated.]

Nine tails sprouted from Andrea’s back.

“The master’s orders are clear. From now on, we eliminate all intruders.”

T-Bone, mounted on a ghostly warhorse, rode out beyond the fortress gates.

Following him were ancient soldiers, each astride a phantom steed.

“Moooogiiii!”

“Kyaoo!”

“It’s absurd that someone like me, one of the Four Sacred Beasts, has to take part in a mere defensive battle… The others are going to laugh their tails off when they hear about this.”

Alongside them were Goguma, Havelian, and Malang the Black Crane, ready to face the invaders from the top of the fortress walls.

Thus began the true opening act of the War of the Stairs.

Now.

“What will *you* do?”

Jinhyuk threw down the gauntlet.