At the very heart of the secret realm—
The moment the statue's chilling proclamation fell, an unseen force surged outward. In an instant, the dense forest around them was swallowed by a billowing flood of white mist.
It spread with terrifying speed, as if pouring in from some unfathomable void, and within a heartbeat it had blanketed the world, devouring everything into a pale chaos.
Alex and the others felt their vision lurch—and when they blinked, they were no longer in the forest at all.
They now stood in a boundless white expanse.
No trees. No sky.
Even the ground beneath their feet was nothing but cold, dead marble, pale as bone.
This place… did not belong to the real world.
Tap—
Gregory instinctively took a step back. The dull thud of his footfall echoed into the emptiness, yet no return sound came back.
"What… what the hell is this place?"
His face was a picture of bewilderment.
Alex stayed silent, scanning the endless void around them.
High above, the statue had returned to stillness. The golden vertical pupils had faded back to gray, the twisted grin gone without a trace—only the ancient greatsword in its hands slowly rose, until its tip leveled directly at them.
Boom— Boom— Boom—
The ground trembled, and seven glowing circles erupted into existence around them, each like a massive sigil carved into the earth, spaced evenly apart.
Every sigil was different—its patterns and colors unique—and at the center of each was a carving of a beast:
a bear, a goat, a wild boar, a fox, a lion, a serpent… and a unicorn.
Gregory crouched, reaching out to touch the nearest sigil.
"These things… they look like you're supposed to stand on them?"
Lois's brows knitted tight, her voice taking on a rare gravity.
"I think… we've triggered the realm's hidden judgment.
That 'Trial of the Divine' the statue spoke of—this is it."
This Shadowed Forest realm had stood for a thousand years.
Countless Heaven-Slayers had stepped within its borders—
Yet never once had anyone spoken of a hidden boss.
In other words… they might very well be the first party in history to trigger it.
And right now—there was no guide, no strategy, no precedent to follow.
Alex's gaze lingered on the beast-shaped sigils, a strange sense of familiarity tugging at him—
Some ancient meaning stirred at the edges of his memory, just out of reach.
Then—
A shaft of ghostly green light descended from above, enveloping Gregory.
"Sinner… make your choice."
The statue's voice fell from the heavens like a decree from the Hall of the Gods' Judgment—cold, imperious, and absolute.
"Choose? Choose what?"
Gregory scratched the back of his head, utterly lost.
"Sinner… make your choice."
This time, the tone pressed harder, laced with urgency and suffocating weight.
Annoyed by the repeated demand, Gregory stomped forward to stand on the sigil carved with a goat.
"Fine, fine—choose, right? Your grandpa here chooses!"
"No—!"
The warning flashed through Alex's mind, but it was already too late.
Thud!
The green light instantly warped into a sinister crimson, wrapping Gregory in its glow.
Gregory looked down at himself, confused.
"Huh… feels like nothing happened?"
Alex's expression darkened.
"I think I understand now… these seven sigils represent the Seven Deadly Sins."
Realization lit Lois's eyes. She quickly pointed to each sigil in turn:
"Bear—Sloth.
Boar—Gluttony.
Fox—Greed.
Lion—Pride.
Serpent—Envy.
Unicorn—Wrath.
Goat—Lust."
She arched a brow at Gregory.
"Big guy, you should've picked the Unicorn. But you went and stood on Lust?"
Gregory froze for a moment, then bristled.
"How… how was I supposed to know?!"
The crimson glow made clear that his choice was wrong—
Yet for now, the punishment had not fallen.
"Sinner… make your choice!"
The statue's massive greatsword shifted ever so slightly, its tip turning toward Lois. A pillar of green light poured down over her.
She stepped up to the sigils, her gaze sweeping over the seven beastly emblems before, with clear reluctance, she planted her foot on the wild boar—Gluttony.
Alex and Gregory both blinked.
This petite shadow-huntress and the word gluttony… it was a pairing almost impossible to imagine.
Yet the green glow above her head remained steady—she had chosen correctly.
Gregory, meanwhile, ground his teeth, glaring resentfully at the crimson light still hanging over him.
A cold system prompt echoed through the endless white void:
[Fallen Holt – All attributes reduced by one-seventh]
Alex and Lois exchanged a glance, both instantly grasping the meaning—
The correct choice weakened the hidden boss.
If a full seven-person party all chose right, the boss would be utterly crippled, ripe for an easy kill.
But they had only three.
Worse still, Gregory's blunder had already cut the debuff's potency.
Sure enough, the next green beam descended—this time enveloping Alex.
The statue's voice rang out once more, like a divine decree:
"Sinner… make your choice!"
Lois and Gregory's eyes locked on him in unison.
The Seven Deadly Sins—no one was free of them.
They both wanted to see…
Which sin would mark Alex.