Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Violent blue energy swirled around everywhere.

“Speaking of power… Here it is, right back at you!”

Dozens of Star Fragments, the so-called the Stones of the Outer Gods, had been forcibly implanted in Sung Ilhwan’s body. The mana of the Outer Universes shot out of the stones, coalescing into the two daggers that were exploding in his hands.

“How dare you!” shouted the angry idol, shooting rays from its eyes that split the walls. “You are a mere mortal!”

The power of the enraged idol was starting to break the chapel apart. As it so happened, there was no longer a chapel, anyway. The debuff that had ruled the space had been broken, and the restrictions that had gripped Suho’s mana were finally gone.

“Good,” Suho said, his eyes gleaming wickedly.

Suho’s eyes met those of his grandfather, who was blocking the attacks of the idol above. Ilhwan was telling Suho with his gaze, “Now, show me.Show me how much you have grown!”

Despite the suddenness of the situation, Ilhwan had recognized quite a few things about Suho already. How could he not? Ilhwan was the father of his amazing son, Sung Jinwoo. He was also a warrior who had fought an invisible, thankless battle in order to protect his son.

No wordsare necessary. Ilhwan could already see the great shadow at Suho’s feet, connected to a deep darkness. Let your skills speak for you.Showmehow deep your darkness goes! He wanted to see how much his grandson, whom he had always considered to be a child, had accomplished.

[The Shadow Extraction was a success.]

[The Shadow Extraction was a success.]

[The Shadow Extraction was a success.]

With the forceful command, the bodies of the devotees who had been melted away at the beams from the idol’s eyes became shadow soldiers.

[Shadow Zealot - Level 1]

[Shadow Zealot - Level 1]

[Shadow Zealot - Level 1]

Back from the dead, they were like demons incarnate. They gave off the deep hatred they felt for the false gods who had taken advantage of their blind faith and betrayed them.

“Forward. All of you!” Suho commanded.

The shadow army roared and marched toward the Itarim idol.

[The stats of shadow soldiers who fight in the shadow of the user are now 50% higher.]

The Monarch’s Domain amplified their rage-fueled power.

“Yes! You disgusting Itarim, I will destroy you!” roared Kim Chul, who had once been the most dedicated of all the believers. He was now leading the charge against the idol.

“You’re back, Iron!” Beru said happily as he rode on the top of Chul’s—that is, Iron’s—head.

The massive feet of the idol trampled the shadow soldiers mercilessly.

[Harmakan used the skill “Thorns of Pain.”]

[Harmakan used the skill “Amplify Damage.”]

Suho was giving this fight all he had.

[Skill: “Iron Body Technique” has activated.]

[Skill: “Giant’s Armor” has activated.]

[The spiritual body of “Pet: Gray” has bound to the Shaman.]

[Skill: “Meadow Wind” has activated.]

[Movement speed is temporarily increased by 30%.]

[Attack speed is temporarily increased by 30%.]

Suho’s body grew bigger, and his hair turned silver, fluttering like the mane of a lion.

“Huh…” Ilhwan was a little taken aback by this transformation. When did my little boy turn into such a… punk?

[Skill: “Storm Slash” has activated.]

Suho’s power was as impressive as his looks. The stormy attack coming from his sword attacked the idol with incredible force.

“Aaah!”

“Run!”

As the chapel fell apart, the devotees scattered in all directions, frightened to death. The demons who had been outside were also deeply confused.

“My servants! You must fight!” the idol cried.

Suddenly, the looks on the faces of the believers changed. Corrupted by the power of the Itarim, they had lost their own identities long ago, and all they had inside them was the faith injected into them. A divine command was law to them.

Eyes overflowing with blue energy, the believers jumped back into the disintegrating building to attack Suho’s army. The hunters who had simply been using the black market and were unaffected by the power of the Itarim, however, were different.

“Wh-what’s that?”

“Is that statue moving?”

They had gone wide-eyed as the chapel building suddenly collapsed and the huge idol came into view. While they had come here for the purposes of tax evasion, they were all hunters who were active in the field. Their instinct guided them to summon their mana and prepare instantly for battle.

The necklaces around the hunters’ necks suddenly reacted to the energy given off by the idol, giving off a flash of blue light. This was very weak compared to the light given off by the Star Fragments, but it was enough.

“Ugh!

“H-huh?!”

“Th-the necklaces, why are they…”

The necklaces gripped each hunter like a chain, lifting each person’s body into the air. It was like an evil spirit had taken control of their bodies.

“Wh-what the hell—”

“I can’t breathe!”

They struggled in the air as they tried to take off the necklaces that were emanating a strange energy and starting to choke them.

There was a sudden explosion of blood.

“Agh—!”

The eyes of one hunter, who now had a gaping hole in his body, grew bloodshot.

Hwang Dongsoo languidly pulled his fist out of the hunter’s body, shaking the blood off. Watching the body slump weakly to the ground, he chanted with the face of a worshiper, “I offer you this sacrifice, Great Deity!”

The mana remaining in the dead hunter’s body suddenly rose into the air like tiny particles of light. This power was absorbed by the idol.

“Ahh!”

Those who had seen this shocking sight struggled even harder to take their necklaces off.

One of them finally managed to do so. “I-I did it—”

There was another explosion of blood.

“Another sacrifice for you,” Dongsoo said.

Unlike Ilhwan, Dongsoo was perfectly corrupted by the power of the Itarim already. His eyes brimming with corrupt energy, he glared at the infidels who were fighting the idol—Suho and Ilhwan.

Dongsoo gritted his teeth. “How dare you attack the sacred idol!” With a burst of violent rage, he killed every hunter in sight and jumped into the battle to protect the idol. Just like Ilhwan, the energy was bursting out of his body.

A white-haired old man stood in Dongsoo’s way. “It seems to me that you haven’t learned your lesson yet,” said Ilhwan.

“Sung Ilhwan!” Dongsoo said, gnashing his teeth.

“Don’t get in the way of my grandson. Why don’t we old men have a little fun together?”

“Don’t get cocky! You caught me off guard earlier. That is all!” Dongsoo shouted indignantly.

“Is that right?” Ilhwan said, faintly smiling. “Is that really what you think?”

The conversation could not continue, since Dongsoo rushed at him with all the power he had.

An S-rank villain who had become a high priest of the Itarim clashed with an S-rank hunter who had escaped the power of those false gods of his own accord. When these two powers met, the mana of the Outer Universes seemed to rend the very air.

***

“Young Monarch! The idol is getting stronger every time someone dies!” Beru called out.

This was true. The statue was absorbing the bodies of the hunters and believers who wore the Stardust necklaces.The cracks that had appeared in its body because of the shadow army’s attacks were already disappearing. The fight will never end at this rate! Suho thought.

Even as he fought this idol, Suho was calmly assessing the situation. One thing was for certain—this massive statue could not be a real member of the Itarim. My father would not have allowed one of the Itarim to reach Earth. In other words, this was just a moving statue imbued with some of the Itarim’s power. It’s probably just a copy, the way Arsha can copy herself.And that blue mana fuels its movements!

Suho turned his senses up to the max. He could now see the flow of the mana moving from the dead around them into this idol. He looked carefully at where the mana was gathering. “Found it!”

Suho suddenly swerved and shot upward. He climbed up the statue’s huge body and went for the throat. There was a big necklace hanging around the neck that looked like an ordinary piece of decorative art, but this was where the energy of the dead was gathering.

The idol, taken aback, fired its rays of light and shouted to Dongsoo, “High priest! Stop him!”

Dongsoo, however, was in no spot to follow this stern command. Ilhwan was overpowering him with incredible force.

“Eugh!” Dongsoo groaned and began to vomit blood. He did not want to admit it, but the old man who was once set to become the second high priest was strong.

He is much stronger than I am!How is this possible?We must be in the same boat, are we not? Dongsoo gritted his teeth angrily as he was pushed back, unable to resist. What was the difference between himself and this old man?

“We are both S-rank, and we have the same number of stones in our bodies! So how are you so much stronger than I am?” Dongsoo demanded.

“You are asking the obvious,” Ilhwan said calmly, continuing his onslaught. “The difference lies in the size of our vessels.”

“What nonsense is this?”

Dongsoo had no memory of the past life, so it was not surprising that he did not understand. But as it so happened, Ilhwan had actually given him a pretty generous explanation. Dongsoo had at one point been an S-rank hunter, and he had also been one of the noble souls who had fought to protect the world as one of Jinwoo’s soldiers. But the role given to Ilhwan had been on a completely different level.

Ilhwan lifted his fist into the air, and the power of the Outer Universes wrapped around it. Dongsoo’s eyes went as wide as saucers at this shocking sight.

The primordial light—the Fragments of Brilliant Light who were now known as the Rulers—had once entrusted Ilhwan with their power in order to stop the Monarch of Shadows from descending. The situation had changed midway, and new orders had been given to him.

“Protect the Monarch of Shadows.”

In order to achieve this goal, the power of a National Level Hunter had not been enough. The Monarch of Shadows was the strongest of the Rulers, the Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light. He was the king of darkness, capable of overpowering all other Rulers. The task of stopping such a being and protecting him had been immense.

“How much power do you think I needed?” Ilhwan asked. The fist slammed down toward a shocked Dongsoo.

Ilhwan had fought a lonely fight for the sole purpose of protecting his son, to the point of tearing himself to pieces, but he had been the most splendid hunter of all. His soul had suffered such a noble and terrible fate, only to come back to life again.

“This isn’t enough,” he continued. The mana of the Outer Universes?The Stones of the Outer Gods?This power is not enough to fill even half of my vessel!

Dongsoo’s eyes widened in shock.

“Come back when you are dead.”

Ilhwan’s words were the last thing that Dongsoo heard before he died.

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