Solo Max-Level Newbie – Pure Blood

Chapter 17: A Trap for a Trap

Ever since he revealed himself as an Inquisitor, everything had gone smoothly.

“I shall provide whatever you require. It may be presumptuous of me to say, but I am confident that whatever the Inquisitor needs, we have it all here.”

Pack Bedro looked ready to hand over even the passcode to his house.

‘Oh-ho. Let’s take a few of these. Ah, this one too—I can’t leave without it.’

Yohan moved between the crates, gathering materials necessary for the Leaf of Living Spirit and the Core of Flame.

As he had boldly declared, the Priests of the Sun had come well-prepared.

To drive out the darkness that had manifested within the Revelation, they had brought with them an impressive collection of rare artifacts—even excluding the Staff of the Saint.

‘If they’d known the true extent of that darkness, it wouldn’t just be Pack Bedro here. The entire Vatican Knight Order would have mobilized.’

Most likely, even the Prophet who delivered the Revelation hadn’t known the true nature of the darkness.

Or perhaps...

They had wanted the priests and paladins here to die.

“We shall accompany you, Sir Yohan.”

Pack Bedro and the Priests of the Sun all tried to stick to Yohan like glue.

To hell with the Boss Monster or anything else—

Their eyes burned with the resolve to sacrifice their lives without hesitation if it were for the Inquisitor.

“If we act without evidence, we’ll lose our justification. That could even turn the other guilds against us.”

“However, should Sa Junhyuk’s group be scheming something again, the Inquisitor himself may be in danger. We believe it wiser to remain by your side and ensure your safety.”

Not like they were running an advertisement...

With a crowd of musclebound priests following him, as if Sa Junhyuk wouldn’t notice something was off.

Realizing that reasoning wouldn’t work, Yohan lifted his hand.

Uuuuuung—!

As divine fire flared, a holy light radiated from the stigmata.

“To one blessed by the grace of the Almighty, heretical traps hold no sway.”

Like newly hatched birds following food with their eyes, everyone’s heads turned toward the shining stigmata.

To the right—

“Ohh.”

To the left—

“Oooh!”

Up, down. Up-up. Down.

“Uwooooh!”

This was why the title Inquisitor was such a cheat.

Independent and shrouded in secrecy.

Just showing the stigmata was enough to make priests puff up with pride among their peers.

Of course, if it were ever revealed to be fake, those gentle deer-like eyes would turn into the glare of a feral lynx.

‘That’s a problem for later.’

For now, he would make good use of these loyal servants.

And to finish the act—

“Do not doubt. Do not waver. Simply follow my command. For the light that rises in the East shall drive away the darkness of the West.”

Yohan spoke solemnly.

“When that dawn arrives, this humble servant shall gather the grains of the barren land.”

Everyone followed in chorus, as if in prayer.

There were no more objections.

＊＊＊

[Time remaining until Boss Monster awakening: 1H : 39M : 51S]

The raid team was pouring every ounce of energy into their preparations for the imminent battle.

Since the Boss Monster was a vampire, even a low-ranked one couldn’t be underestimated.

Naturally, there were many points of concern.

And outside the battle preparations, gaps were starting to appear.

It was then—

Swish.

Strangers entered the large medical tent where Park Yeri was stationed.

There were twelve of them.

The way they walked, filled with killing intent, made it clear they were nothing like ordinary patients.

Chiik.

Sa Junhyuk lit a mana cigarette.

Bluish smoke slowly filled the tent.

Park Yeri’s eyes flared.

“This is a non-smoking area.”

“How harsh. Must you really nag an injured man—both in body and in spirit—like that?”

“Hippocrates said to be strict with rules. Or should I just pour alcohol on your wounds so you wish you’d listened instead?”

“And if it turns out you’re a fake nurse, would you regret scolding me over a cigarette?”

Their eyes met—

Invisible sparks flew.

“Strange thing to say out of nowhere. Do you have any basis for doubting an innocent person like that?”

“You reek of the same blood as me. No cheap smile or alcohol can hide that scent.”

“……”

At those words, Park Yeri’s expression changed completely.

Her polite, professional smile vanished, replaced by a chilling murderous aura.

“What do you want?”

“Kang Yohan. I have questions about him.”

“Hah… that man really ruins everything. But what now? I’m more afraid of him than I am of you lot.”

“You needn’t worry. He was taken by the Priests just a moment ago.”

Having been captured by the Priests of the Sun, there was no way he would walk out unscathed.

Once those zealots were done interrogating him...

Even if he was lucky, ending up a cripple would be the best outcome.

“Really? That I do like. Then why don’t we have some tea and—”

Before she could finish—

Paaang!

A barrage of surgical scalpels flew through the air.

“Let’s talk, then!”

The blades gleamed with white residue—poison from a monster, no doubt.

Ka-ga-ga-gang!

“Khk!”

“An ambush—!”

The mercenaries blocked the scalpels and readied themselves.

But Park Yeri had already flipped over the patient bed and made her escape.

“Catch her!”

At Sa Junhyuk’s command, multiple shadows leapt across the ground.

The tent’s interior was spacious, but the area had already been sealed off completely.

There was nowhere left to run.

However,

“Team Leader! You’d better come see this!”

Park Yeri hadn’t escaped outside the tent.

At the very end of the area lined with patient beds—

There was a dirt staircase leading underground.

‘It hasn’t been long since this was dug.’

A trap?

The thought crossed their minds, but even if it was, it was far too late to abandon the pursuit now.

Proceeding cautiously in case of hidden traps—

“This can’t be…”

“This place is…”

A sight that stole everyone’s words spread before them.

Dead animals and undead sealed inside glass tubes.

Traces of experimentation everywhere.

Skulls and eerie magical devices scattered about.

It was overflowing with evidence of black magic.

At the deepest end stood Park Yeri.

“Well, looks like our dear nurse picked up a bit of black magic. Don’t bother trying anything stupid. You think we’d come into a dungeon full of undead without any countermeasures?”

Sa Junhyuk slowly narrowed the distance.

Just then—

“Uhh… Kyaaaaah!”

Park Yeri screamed, her face frozen with terror.

“Don’t come! I said don’t come! Please!”

She pressed her back against the wall and swung a small surgical scalpel wildly through the air.

Considering how fiercely she had resisted moments ago, it was strange behavior.

Could a person change so completely when cornered?

What was clear was that Park Yeri was in panic—her will to resist completely gone.

He had expected a bit more of a fight, but this had turned anticlimactic.

Nod.

Sa Junhyuk gave a signal to his subordinate.

“Yes, sir.”

A muscular man rushed to Park Yeri’s side in an instant.

He intended to subdue her by constricting her carotid artery, then interrogate her afterward.

“Keck! Khh…!”

She struggled painfully—

Then—

Crack!

He hadn’t even used much force.

Yet the sound of bones shattering echoed grotesquely clear.

Park Yeri’s neck broke, and her body went limp like a puppet with its strings cut.

“You idiot! You were supposed to question her before killing her! Didn’t you hear the Team Leader’s order?”

“Hey, noona, I didn’t mean to! I swear I used less strength than usual!”

“You really are a stupid bear. All brawn and no brain. Damn it, this is insane.”

“I said it wasn’t on purpose!”

While the mercenaries bickered, a sickening premonition gripped Sa Junhyuk’s heart.

This feeling—

The one that only came when you’d walked straight into an enemy trap on the battlefield.

Exactly that hellish sensation.

“Everyone—!”

Just as Sa Junhyuk shouted—

KWAANG!

A hidden door in the basement burst open.

The assault team led by Lee Junho of the Iron Sword Guild and Kang Cheolwoo, raid leader of the Daesan Industrial Association, stormed in.

And with them—

Yohan.

＊＊＊

“When Yohan told us, I thought it was impossible. But it’s true.”

“To think you’d not only create such a vile and evil place but even murder someone—an unarmed non-combatant at that!”

“If only we’d broken through the door a bit sooner… I’m sorry.”

Lee Junho and the Hunters erupted in anger.

Black magic was the common enemy of humankind.

Even the Hestia Empire and forces from other dimensions treated followers of darkness as sworn foes.

“W–wait! This is a setup! We didn’t do any of this! Park Yeri—yeah, we were just following her here!”

Sa Junhyuk shouted desperately.

“Hm. Logically, there’s no way one person could build a place like this in such a short time. You’d need at least, what, ten people? Oh, and wouldn’t you know it—you’ve got about that many here.”

Yohan shrugged casually.

A group of mole-like men with shovels—like something straight out of Isofoth’s Animal Encyclopedia—had just walked past…

Probably just his imagination.

“Also, take a look over there. That isn’t yours?”

He pointed to a table.

Among the skulls and magical tools were several documents.

Records of Magic Stone burial sites, estimated mining yields, and even details on transport and storage methods.

Among the Three Great Guilds, the one most obsessed with acquiring Magic Stones had been the Daesan Industrial Association.

“N–no, that’s not us! Besides, that information was shared with the mercenaries too!”

Kang Cheolwoo, the raid leader of the Daesan Industrial Association, immediately distanced himself—

As if to make it clear he wanted no ties to Sa Junhyuk.

And with that, the only faction that could have shielded Sa Junhyuk was gone.

“This isn’t proof. You’d judge us based on circumstantial evidence alone?”

“Proof inside a dungeon… haha. Funny hearing that from the man who handed me over to the Priests for nothing. What’s the term for that again? Ah, hypocrisy, right?”

To catch a troublesome prey, you had to set a trap that left no escape.

“They say when a greedy mercenary dies, a psychopathic killer who went before him waits to pluck out his heart.”

Yohan spoke cryptically.

“I happen to like that story very much.”

He smiled faintly.

“You bastard…”

Sa Junhyuk’s face twisted with rage.

He wanted to cut the man’s throat right there—but every blade in the room was already aimed at him.

“Team Leader…”

“We’ll hold them off here. You must escape alone.”

The mercenaries stood in front of Sa Junhyuk, blocking his way forward.

If it had come to this, they were determined to at least get him out alive.

“The identification tags hanging around our necks are already heavy enough to break them. Either we all make it out—or we all leave our bones in this dungeon.”

Sa Junhyuk pulled a pocket watch from his coat.

It was the most powerful and dangerous variable among the items the mercenaries had brought from the Mystery Room.

The one and only—

[S-Rank Item: “Pocket Watch of Tiarvellis III” has been activated!]

Drrrk.

The clock’s hands spun violently.

“This is do or die.”

Sa Junhyuk had made his move.

There were only three S-Rank items in existence within the Mystery Room.

So he was the one who’d obtained it.

Yohan’s expression shifted sharply.

Unlike Isofoth’s Animal Encyclopedia or the White Flame Lighter, the Pocket Watch of Tiarvellis III was dangerous—

Because…

Ding!

[…activating!]

A crimson status window began to flash.