The Lion of Pride?
The Fox of Greed?
The Serpent of Envy?
Amid the shifting light and shadow cast by the seven ring-shaped totems, Alex stood still, eyes locked on the carved emblems of sin.
He turned his gaze inward—
And found that… almost every sin was one he had once committed.
He had never seen himself as a saint.
On the contrary—he bore the full weight of humanity's darker half.
He was greedy; otherwise, he would never have risked charging into a beast tide just to seize rare spoils.
He was proud; beneath his unremarkable exterior, he had never truly regarded his peers as equals, believing himself unmatched.
He was envious; in his previous life, he had resented fate for denying him supreme talent.
He was quick to anger; when his parents were falsely accused, he had longed to make the slanderers pay in blood.
—His sins were as countless as the stars.
So… when a man carries all seven deadly sins within him, what is there to choose?
Alex let his hands fall loosely to his sides, standing beyond the ring of totems, his mind spinning like a storm.
"Sinner, make your choice!"
From above, the stone statue's voice rolled out once more, urgency lacing its words.
But Alex acted as if he hadn't heard, his face calm, his stance unmoving.
"Sinner, make your choice!"
This time, the tone was sharper, the words almost warping under the pressure.
"Alex, why aren't you picking one?" Gregory hissed under his breath, anxiety tightening his voice.
Lois merely shot him a sidelong glance and raised a finger—silence.
Ten seconds… twenty… the silence thickened, stretching until even the air felt heavy.
The statue's urging grew more pressing, more commanding.
"Sinner, make your choice!"
"Sinner, make your choice!!"
Yet Alex didn't move. Not an inch.
And then—after countless repetitions—the voice abruptly vanished. The white space fell into a deathly stillness.
The corner of his mouth curved upward.
Because the emerald glow surrounding him… had not turned crimson.
He had gambled—
And won.
When a man bears all seven sins… refusing to choose is the same as choosing them all.
[Fallen Holt – All Attributes reduced by 2/7]
The prompt text shimmered in the void.
"Is it starting?" Gregory narrowed his eyes at the scene ahead.
Their party numbered only three. Even if they had cleared every hidden trial, five of the seven totems still stood unclaimed—
There was no way this was going to be an easy fight.
Just how strong would an unknown hidden boss be?
Alex's thoughts stirred. His gaze rose to the throne atop the stone steps.
The once-imposing statue suddenly flared with golden light in its eyes, its expression shifting for the first time.
And then—its lips curved into a smile.
Not warm. Not kind.
A twisted, chilling smile.
"I walk the mortal realm, to judge all living things."
"The fallen shall pay with their lives."
"Evil ones—receive the verdict of the Holy Sword!"
If one heard only the voice, they might almost believe a heavenly adjudicator had descended to earth.
Unfortunately, everyone present could see clearly—
That smile was anything but divine. It was wrong. Horribly wrong.
As the last word fell, the statue rose from its throne.
A greatsword nearly two meters long dragged along the ground, grinding out a deep, metallic screech with every step it took toward them.
"What kind of bullcrap hidden mechanic is this?! In the end we still have to fight!"
Locked onto by the red glow, Gregory roared and triggered his Awakening without hesitation.
In an instant, an ancient golden Buddha materialized behind him—its face fierce, its gaze like thunder fixed on the statue.
"Hey! Fake god! Weren't you here to judge the wicked?!" he bellowed. "Then I'm the greatest injustice in this whole damn world!"
"I'd love to see you try and judge me!"
His fighting spirit surged like a tidal wave, killing intent soaring as he charged forward.
Lois, watching him transform into the towering golden Buddha, relaxed her stance. She even popped a strawberry lollipop into her mouth, folding her arms as if settling in to watch a good show.
In her eyes, no matter how strong this statue was, it couldn't possibly outmatch the Multi-Eyed Lizardfiend by much—
After all, it was only the boss of a Level 10 Secret Realm.
With Gregory's defense, he might not win, but there was no way his life would be in danger.
"Defiance… is unforgivable!"
A flash of disturbingly human excitement gleamed in the statue's eyes.
The massive sword rose without warning—
And came down in a cleaving arc straight for Gregory's neck!
"Wait—No!"
Alex's heart clenched violently.
An indescribable sense of impending death engulfed him in an instant.
Lois's expression also shifted, her Danger Sense screaming like a hurricane—
Gregory was about to fall.
The next heartbeat, a tidal wave of swordlight ripped through the void, cutting across Gregory's massive form.
A cold, minimal symbol blinked into existence in midair:
[—]
For a moment, the entire white space froze.
A blinding light erupted from Gregory's body—that was his first Death Immunity, forcibly triggered.
Before he could even process what had happened, his transformation was stripped away, his massive form collapsing into one knee on the ground, his breath faint and ragged.
Death Immunity could block the killing blow, but it couldn't erase the wounds that came with it.
That single strike had not only stripped him of every buff, but had also crushed his HP down to a bare sliver.
"Damn it… what the hell is that damage?!"
Cold sweat streamed down Gregory's face—
For the first time, he felt powerless before a boss-level monster.
"Even the big guy couldn't take a single hit?"
Lois stared in disbelief.
The Wrathful Buddha—Gregory's guardian form—was famed for its tanking prowess, boasting sixty percent damage reduction and double resistances, able to roam almost any dungeon with impunity.
Yet here, before this nameless stone statue, it had still been cut down to near death in one blow.
And the most terrifying part—
This was after the statue's attributes had already been weakened by twenty percent.
If it were at full strength… it might erase them from existence with nothing more than a casual lift of its hand.
"Alex… I'm afraid this time… we're done for."
Lois gave a wry smile.
Alex said nothing—
But his chest was burning with a tidal wave of unwillingness.
He had only just been reborn.
His path as a prodigy had only just begun.
The truth behind his parents' disappearance remained unsolved.
The honor of his family had yet to be reclaimed.
—He would not accept this!
That fierce, blazing refusal roared like wildfire inside him,
and somewhere deep within…
it felt as if a certain shackle was quietly beginning to loosen.