Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Outer Gods.

Absolute beings who created countless universes since their existence.

ITHARIM

[… At one time, the ‘God‘ of our world was one of them.]

The conversation he had with Beru the other day passed through Suho‘s mind.

The god who created the world to which Earth belongs was also one of the Itharim.

However, there was one thing that even such an absolute existence could never avoid, and that was ‘death‘.

The end was truly devastating.

Rebellion of Angels

The angels who were born as God‘s apostles realized the truth one day that the God they served was neither good nor righteous, but rather, a cruel being who enjoyed creating and destroying.

Realizing that, the angels rebelled against God and succeeded.

[So God died in the end. That too, by the hands of the angels he created.]

The problem started.

A world without God.

Land without an owner.

The vast amount of mana remaining in the world would go to the one who picked it up first.

That was noticed by the outer beings and other Itharims scattered across the faraway dimension.

[From then on, outer beings began to turn their eyes to our world.]

At first, it was a first-come, first-served fight.

The key was who arrived first and planted a flag on that land, no matter who lived there… whatever the Itarim who died there had created.

It was a very simple running race where all you had to do was destroy and eat everyone.

But when they arrived, an unexpected variable awaited them.

That variable is…

[His Majesty, your father.]

The God of that land was dead, but there was a new king there who ruled over death himself.

A fragment of the greatest brilliance, Sung Jinwoo, the Shadow Monarch.

In other words, Suho‘s father led a large army and went out into space to stop Itharim‘s apostles.

… It was the beginning of the ‘War of Outer Gods‘.

[Our war was fiercer than ever, and it lasted without end. Even at this moment.]

No one could predict the outcome of that war.

Their side had an existence that endlessly repeated creation, and our side had an immortal army that would rise again no matter how many died.

No one knew how long that tight balance would last.

It was an endless fight.

[Then, Itharim tried another move to break the balance.]

They took a different approach.

The front line guarded by Sung Jinwoo was so hard that it was impossible to break through, so Itharim decided to turn around and attack the back line.

[… which was Earth.]

In fact, Earth was the most unpleasant area for Itharim.

Compared to other dimensions, the remaining mana power on Earth was too weak, so there was not much to eat.

But at the same time, it was also a place where there were many loopholes to penetrate.

The apostles of Itharim, who set Earth as their target, immediately began to seep through the dimensional rift to open paths to Earth.

As a result, the rifts in the already incomplete dimension began to twist arbitrarily, and gates began to appear on Earth.

Unexpectedly, those who invaded Earth from those gates were not Itharim‘s army, but dimensional refugees.

After being defeated in the War of Outer Gods, the races of the dead Monarchs who had been torn apart and wandered around began to invade Earth.

[I thought the apostles of Itharim were acting secretly after that, but…]

“Were they in this form?“

Suho glared at the mad-blooded tyrant with terrifying eyes.

Mist Burn.

A roaring flame demon that burns with dead humans as its wick.

The corpse of a demon who had died in exactly the same way was blazing.

Still, there were obvious differences from Mist Burn.

The wick made of humans is quickly burned and turned into ashes, but the wick made of demons was much stronger than that of humans.

Roar!

The flame fluttered over the neck cut by Suho’s sword, creating a face-like shape.

The figure was as if the demon in the flame was wearing full-body armor called a Demon’s Body.

[He’s really like a snail.]

Beru clicked his tongue thinking it was ridiculous.

“Tyrant king!“

“The tyrant king!“

At the appearance of the mad-blooded tyrant, the demons all trembled in fear and bowed down.

In that heated atmosphere, they were like fanatics who met a pseudo cult.

However, the mad-blooded tyrant was only showing interest in Suho as he was the only one there who didn‘t bow to him.

“… Interesting.“

Eventually, the mouth of the mad-blooded tyrant opened and a bizarre echoing voice came out.

“I never thought I would find someone like you in a place like this.“

Gulp.

Suho‘s expression became tense.

‘Could he have noticed my true identity?‘

It wouldn‘t do any good if Itharim’s apostle knew that the shadow monarch‘s son is right there in front of him.

‘Because I‘m my father‘s only weakness.‘

Suho swallowed deeply at the sight of the mad-blooded tyrant who seemed to have noticed something.

It was obvious what it would lead to if the identity of the power he used was revealed to “Itharim,” more than anyone else.

Suho didn’t expect that he would run into Itharim‘s apostle in a place like that, so he couldn‘t help but be perplexed.

“Kehehehe!“

Infamous Scans

The tyrant burst into a roar of laughter, tearing his mouth wide open.

“I never thought there would be a demon noble still alive!“

… Hmm?

Suho‘s tense expression relaxed.

Beru, probably thinking the same thing, whispered softly in the shadow of Suho.

[Kuhm. I think it‘s because the energy of Vulcan and Esil is too strong right now. This is rather good…]

The mad-blooded tyrant‘s eyes shone insidiously.

“Amazing. An heir who even inherited the power of a monarch.“

[…!]

“…!“

At those words, Suho and Beru‘s eyes widened at the same time.

Thud!

Suho was ready to move and cut the tyrant king down.

In his head, he already had 13 ways to kill the tyrant as quickly as possible.

[Young Master! We must kill him here! If we lost sight of him, information about Young Master might spread among…!]

Right then…

“How the hell did a demon become the heir of the Fang Monarch?“

[Ehhh?]

“How did you know? Quite impressive.“

[… Young Master?]

Suho nodded his head coldly to the mad-blooded tyrant‘s question.

He felt Beru‘s gaze staring at him with a puzzled expression from under his shadows, but he ignored it.

The tyrant smiled meaningfully.

“Did you think I’m an idiot? There’s no way I wouldn’t know the smell of animals coming out like that from your body.“

[The King of Beasts, Fang Monarch, looks at the mad tyrant with pity.]

It felt like he could hear Rakan‘s tongue clicking from a distance, but Suho maintained a stern expression.

He rather proudly revealed his identity (?).

“You are right. I am a demon noble who inherited the power of the Fang Monarch.“

“I knew it. Haha. Good, good! I never thought I would find someone like you in a place like this!“

The mad-blooded tyrant laughed satisfactorily, as if his intuitions were nothing but correct.

As the laughter echoed through the Colosseum, the demons shrank even more.

He wasn’t wrong though. Suho was currently in the state of ‘Blessing’ with Gray in his body.

Also, he held Vulcan‘s Horn in his hands rather than on his head, so it was natural to think of him as a demon who could weaponize his own horns like Esil.

‘Great. I managed to hide my identity.‘

[Everything’s fine, right?]

Suho heard Esil‘s voice, but he just smiled contemptuously and pretended not to hear it.

During the battle, Quay and Beru appeared outside, but fortunately, the mad-blooded tyrant didn‘t seem to have noticed that.

[So, what is your plan?]

When Esil whispered in Vulcan‘s Horn, Suho asked the same exact words to the mad-blooded tyrant.

“So, what is your plan?“

Suho threatened the tyrant with his arrogant gaze, as if he were a real demon noble.

The tyrant found those words ridiculous.

“Weren’t you the one who came after me from the beginning?“

“Stop talking nonsense, tell me why you collect hell iron by driving slaves on the outskirts like this.“

Many demons were enslaved there, but all they did was dig up hell iron in the mines.

What on earth was the tyrant trying to do with so much hell iron?

There was only one reason that came to Suho’s mind.

“You‘re not thinking of preparing for war, are you?“

As Esil once said, hell iron was most often used to make weapons in the demon realm.

Hell iron imbued with demonic energy was not only hard, but it was also an ore that responded best to demonic energy. It could lead to a significant increase in mana power.

At Suho‘s question, the tyrant opened his blazing arms and pointed at the demons in the vast Colosseum.

“Look! Can’t you see? This place is completely under my control. But as you know, this place is nothing more than a fragmented demon realm.“

In the dimensional rift, there were countless demon realms scattered here and there, wandering aimlessly, and that place where they were was just one of those.

“I intend to train these guys and conquer all those demon realms. Also…“

The expression of the mad-blooded tyrant looking at Suho deepened.

“I will put all other dimensions under my feet. I will kill and kill and eat everyone.“

That was it.

The mad-blooded tyrant, no, the apostle of Itharim, had the goal of using the demons to take control of the demon realm, starting with that place.

After conquering other dimensions one after another…

‘They’ll eventually reach Earth.‘

After learning what Itharim‘s apostle was planning, Suho twitched his brows.

On the other hand, the tyrant smacked his lips.

He directed his energy towards Suho.

“That‘s why I was looking for someone like you.“

“Like me?“

“Yes. If I wear the body of a demon noble like you as armor, how strong will I become? Woah. Just imagining it is thrilling.“

The tyrant wearing the demon‘s jailer‘s body like armor looked as if he had already obtained Suho‘s body.

It was by no means a bluff or an illusion.

Because all the demons that filled the Colosseum were his slaves.

But even in that overwhelmingly dangerous situation…

‘Beru.‘

Suho was throwing a question to Beru with a calm look.

‘My father… Has he been fighting these guys all along? Alone?‘

[Yes.]

Beru replied.

[His Majesty had always fought alone. In a place no one knows, in a time no one remembers.]

Even at that moment…

Suho‘s father, Sung Jinwoo, was still fighting a battle alone at the end of a distant universe that no one can reach.

‘… I see.‘

Suho silently nodded.

His eyes began to glow quietly.

“My father must be very bored.“

Well, then…

“I will go see him in person.“

To be honest, he didn‘t know how helpful he would be.

Still, as an only son, shouldn‘t he go and massage the shoulders of his father who was struggling alone in a foreign universe?

“… It would be better to pack some presents on the way.“

Suho‘s gaze turned to the mad-blooded tyrant who exuded a sense of intimidation.

Yes, a gift.

This one’s good as gift.

‘For now, I’ll start by solving the small things in front of me by myself.’

“Arise.“

[To be continued…]