Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Chapter 40

There’s no time to waste! Suho immediately charged toward Secretary Kim, not giving him a chance to recover. The opponent was a B-class hunter. He had to keep the pressure up before he regained his composure. Kidnapping people over Stardust? How is that any different from a demon?

The effect of Smash imbued in his fist had already vanished. Instead, Suho’s hands were now holding Rakan’s Fang and Vulcan’s Horn.

“W-wait...! Why are you attacking me?!” Still able to move around nimbly, Secretary Kim dodged Suho’s attacks and retreated swiftly before attempting to reason with his assailant, “Hold on! Stop attacking! I’m from the Fiend Guild!”

However, Suho remained silent and kept pressing on.

The secretary was unsure of what to do and continued to step back. What’s going on? What’s happening? Why is a demon attacking me? How did they even find me?! Countless questions jumbled around in his mind.

Over the past year, the Fiend Guild’s Lee Minsung and the Stardust factory demons had been involved in a covert deal, but due to the involvement of the Hyena Guild as intermediaries, there was hardly any direct interaction. However, Secretary Kim found it odd that the mention of his guild had failed to prompt the crow-masked demon to stop his attack, let alone a basic conversation.

Unbeknownst to the Fiend Guild hunter, Suho’s plan of deception had worked. He had donned the crow mask to create this confusion.

“I told you I’m from the Fiend Guild!”

Continuing to step back, Secretary Kim eventually found his back against the wall. He looked desperately for an exit, but all he could was a glass window. Let’s get out of here first and then figure it out! He threw himself out of the window without hesitation.

Crash!

This might be for the best. Suho’s eyes gleamed as he watched the retreating figure.

Swinging a sword in a confined indoor space was less practical compared to the open outdoors. It was possible that Secretary Kim likely shared the same sentiment. A B-class hunter exerting their full power could potentially collapse the building. Thus, taking cover was a sensible choice.

Fine, let’s have a proper fight. Suho leaped out the window in pursuit of the secretary.

“Ah...” Perplexed, Min Byung-gu was left behind, unsure of what to do.

“Ahem.” Then, a small shadow quietly approached him. Beru awkwardly cleared his throat and said, “Don’t worry too much. The Young Monarch will take care of—”

“Aaaaah! A-a-ant?!” Byunggu passed out once again once he saw the ant beast.

“Huh? Again?! But I gave you my blessing...”

Beru felt wronged by the turn of events.

***

Crash!

The citizens strolling through the city suddenly looked up at the unexpected sound. Their eyes widened simultaneously.

“Wh-what is that!”

“A person jumped down!”

Someone had shattered a window on the fifth floor and leaped out of the building.

“Aaah!”

“Watch out!”

The civilians, worried about the possibility of getting injured by the shattered glass fragments, scattered in confusion. Amid the panic, they saw another person leap through the same window in quick succession. The masked figure dual-wielded swords and was trying to slash first person before they had even touched the ground.

[Skill: “Storm Slash” has activated.]

The first person to jump was struck directly by the fierce storm of blades and plummeted to the ground with a thud.

“Aaah!”

“Hunters are fighting each other!”

The civilians, realizing the gravity of the situation, screamed in terror and fled.

“Ugh...” Secretary Kim struggled to get up from the latest attack. The desperation on his face showed that he was coming to terms with his imminent defeat. But now isn’t the time to be soft.

Suho landed right in front of him and immediately swung his sword, giving him no room to breathe.

“Damn it!” Secretary Kim hastily rose to his feet and summoned mana over both hands. “Explode!”

A blazing fireball detonated in front of Suho, and he crossed his swords to shield himself from the magic.

A mage-type hunter! Suho had anticipated that his opponent might be a mage, so he reacted quickly.

The inability to launch a proper counterattack indoors and his attempts to distance himself at every opportunity were telltale signs of a mage.

Naturally, Suho took a completely different approach. You shouldn’t give a magee any space! He remained within close range of Secretary Kim and delivered relentless attacks.

However, Secretary Kim’s response was swift. “Explode!”

Numerous fireballs exploded on Suho, and injuries accumulated on his body. His health points decreased with each explosion. I’m still fine! But trusting his total health points, Suho continued to press on against Secretary Kim.

His opponent was already at his limit. He had been struck by Smash as a surprise attack and had also fallen from a height of five stories from Storm Slash. The fact that he was still standing on his feet was a miracle in itself.

“Ugh! At least give me a reason! Why the heck are you attacking me?” Secretary Kim’s frustrated plea echoed through the city.

“Is that your last wish?”

Gulp.

Suho’s mana points had exceeded 300 after drinking a mana potion.

[Skill: “Smash” has activated.]

Dark energy enveloped Suho’s fist and forearm.

“W-wait...!” As Suho’s fiery fist approached him with vengeance, Secretary Kim’s complexion turned pale. “Let’s not do this, let’s negotiate! Whatever you want, I’ll make it happen!”

“Whatever I want? What do you think I’d want?” Suho asked as he advanced toward him, step by step.

His assailant's question gave the secretary a modicum of hope, and his eyes lit up in response. “We know that one of your factories was obliterated recently. W-we’ve also had trouble with Stardust distribution because of that.”

“So what?” Suho clenched his fist.

Secretary Kim shut his eyes tightly and blurted out, “So, we’ve built a new factory!”

“What?” Suho’s movement momentarily ceased.

It worked! Confident that his strategy would succeed, Secretary Kim said confidently, “I’m talking about the Stardust research lab! The reason why we wanted to persuade Min Byungguto to join us! We’ve prepared the facilities and materials, but we still don’t know how to produce it.”

Dr. Min Byunggu was the only Stardust researcher in the country. Having developed Stardust doping tests, he was more than capable of manufacturing Stardust, given he had the right facilities and materials. But with the arrival of a demon, the secretary now saw the doctor as a distant second choice.

“So, we’re offering to hand over our entire facility to you! Use it as you please! We’ll also take responsibility for the supply of raw materials!”

“Raw materials?”

“Exactly. We’ve already prepared around ten humans! In fact, we were planning to conduct experiments with Min Byunggu today! If you ever run short on materials, just let us know. We’ll round up as many as you need immediately!”

Suho’s expression gradually grew colder. The vice guild master’s lackey was unaware that his words had sealed his fate. From the moment he had referred to another human as raw material, Suho saw he was no different from a demon.

The Young Monarch asked one last question, “So, where is the location of the factory?”

“Th-that’s...” Secretary Kim, sensing the crow-masked figure’s unease, rolled his eyes pitifully. “If you let me go, I’ll send you the location privately.”

“You’re telling me to spare your life.”

“Well, of course...”

“Don’t worry.”

“What?”

“I have plenty of ways of finding out, even if I kill you.”

That was the end of their conversation. Suho mercilessly delivered a punch using Smash, killing the secretary without even a chance to scream.

Ding!

[A quest has been sent.]

[Quest: Saving Lives]

[Rescue the people kidnapped at the Stardust research lab.

-Number of abductees: 10

-Rescued: 0]

Suho stared at the quest window displayed in front of him and called out, “Beru.”

“Yes,” Beru answered, revealing himself next to Secretary Kim’s lifeless body.

“I’m sure you know what’s coming next, right?”

The corners of Beru’s mouth stretched into a sinister smile more malevolent than that of a demon.

***

The dust settled quickly after the encounter, and the area was slowly returning to normal. Suho had carried Secretary Kim’s lifeless body and disappeared.

“Are they gone?”

“They’re gone, right?”

The civilians who had been hiding to avoid the battle began to emerge onto the streets.

“Whoa. That was shocking.”

“What was that all about? Why did those hunters fight?”

“And why are the police so late? It’s been ages since we reported this.”

“It’s been less than ten minutes since we reported it. They should be here soon...”

The encounter had begun at a frantic pace. Two unknown figures crashed out of a shattered window, and the sound of loud explosions, one after another, soon filled the air. They fought each other as if they were fighting to the death for what seemed to be less than ten minutes. Then in the blink of an eye, both of them had vanished without a trace. The citizens looked bewildered as they tried their best to make sense of the situation, but they had too many missing pieces.

“Wait, wasn’t that guy the Crow?” someone mumbled, having recalled the masked figure’s appearance.

The crowd began to murmur in response.

“What? The Crow?”

“Are we talking about the Beast King Crow?”

“Exactly. Didn’t you see him wearing a crow mask?”

It just so happened that the news about the Magok Field was broadcast the night before. The incident was the talk of the town. The appearance of a crow-masked figure right in the heart of the city had made matters more interesting.

The Beast King Crow was the mysterious figure that had overcome the trial and acquired the power of the King of Beasts. The name was coined due to testimonies from the survivors of the trial. Many had reported that the figure had worn a crow mask.

“Wow... That’s right! The crow mask!”

“No way! That guy was the Crow!”

“No wonder he was incredibly strong!”

The citizens couldn’t hear the hunters’ conversation from a distance, but many had seen the Crow’s battle. The hunter’s swordplay was too fast to follow for the naked eye, but his final strike was unforgettable. The dark energy of his colossal fist was etched in everyone’s eyes.

“So, that’s the power of the new beast king...”

Those who had witnessed the powerful strike began speculating and muttered his name. Shortly afterward, new articles started popping up online.

***

“What on earth is this again?”

The vice guild master of the Fiend Guild, Lee Minsung, widened his eyes as he scanned through the rapidly increasing number of news articles.

—(Breaking) Beast King Crow appears in Seoul!

—(Breaking) Clash of Two Hunters!

—(Breaking) Witnesses to the power of the beast king.

Unlike the original Magok incident, the article included photos taken by witnesses’ cell phones. Most of the images were blurry due to the two hunters’ swift movements, but one of their faces stood out to Minsung. The problem was that the photo was showing the Crow carrying the limp body of his secretary over his shoulder.

Minsung immediately tried calling Secretary Kim, but no matter how many times he called, there was no answer.

“Secretary Kim! Pick up the phone! Pick it up now!” Minsung yelled nervously at his phone.

Right at that instant, he received an urgent message.

—Vice Guild Master, please contact us. There is an issue at the facility right now.

A sense of foreboding washed over his mind. The word “facility” referred to the secret Stardust research lab he had painstakingly built. It was also the very place the Crow had ordered Secretary Kim to take him. Coincidentally, Minsung had sent his secretary that day to acquire the final piece of the puzzle laboratory—Dr. Min Byunggu.

The vice guild master urgently dialed the laboratory’s number. Fortunately, someone answered within seconds.

“What’s going on? What kind of problem has occurred at the facility?”

“V-Vice Guild Master! We’ve run into a... Ahh!”

A piercing scream rang out of the phone, making Minsung jump.

“Ahh! No!”

All sorts of terrifying screams were coming from the other end of the line.

“What on earth? What’s happening over there?!”

“It’s a m-monster...! Aaahhhh!”