Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

“What do you mean, you’re not?”

The middle-aged man who had suddenly appeared did not stop attacking Suho. His name was Baek Yoonho, the guild master of the White Tiger Guild. He had rushed over to Pocheon as soon as Miho had requested his help.

I’d heard that Hwang Dongsoo might have been involved in the mass escape from Jisan Prison.I didn’t expect to find someone as strange as this! The man he was facing was strange indeed. Yoonho would bet all he had on the fact that this man was a villain. The moment he’d set foot in Pocheon, his highly developed senses had detected an ominous energy. As he tracked that energy, he’d found this suspicious individual giving off a powerful stench of blood.

Someone who gives off a smell like this is one of two things! They were either a villain or a person who hunted villains—a bounty hunter. Yoonho was completely certain that Suho was the former. It was only natural for him to think so. Someone skilled enough to avoid the attacks of an S-rank hunter like himself would not waste their time hunting villains. Besides that, there was one more piece of evidence that proved beyond a doubt that he was a villain.

“You’re not a villain? Do you think I’ll be fooled by such a shallow lie? Show me that unsettling power you’re hiding!” Yoonho drove Suho back incessantly, but Suho was defending without much trouble. This was only because Yoonho wasn’t doing his best, however. He was an S-rank hunter, and of course, he was stronger than this. He was hiding his real power as much as possible, since he was aware that Suho was keeping some ominous source of strength concealed.

“Unsettling power?” Suho said, frowning. He must be referring to…

“He must be talking about Harmakan,” Beru whispered.

Suho sighed quietly. This had to be true. Harmakan’s very being was unsettling, since he corrupted the souls of others and used the despair that came from that to power his curses. Suho had extracted him as a shadow soldier because he was useful, but he hadn’t expected this sort of misunderstanding.

You’re going to pay for this, Harmakan, Suho thought resentfully. Noticing his mood, Harmakan quivered with anxiety from inside the shadows.

There was also another reason why Suho was not in a good mood. Why now, of all times…? Arsha’s copy had scattered into a group of ordinary bees, taking the opportunity to back away and observe.

“Hey, the fight is in front of you! How dare you look elsewhere when you’re fighting me!”

“Ugh.” Suho couldn’t be distracted by Yoonho’s continued attacks. Grumbling, he considered what would be the most efficient way to end this pointless fight. He quickly swerved, running at top speed.

“Stop right there!” Yoonho followed quickly as soon as he noticed Suho trying to run. The guild master was flabbergasted by his opponent’s lack of concern, for he was the greatest beast transformation hunter alive. The villain is aware of this, surely.

“Perhaps you would have had a chance of escaping if I’d never detected you. You don’t think you can actually get away from me, do you?” barked Yoonho. The outcome would be different if Suho was an S-rank villain like Hwang Dongsoo, but this young man was obviously not Dongsoo. It didn’t matter what power he was hiding—how dare he be foolish enough to expose his back to an S-rank hunter?

Wh-what? But something wasn’t quite right—in fact, things were downright wrong. How is he so fast?

Yoonho was shocked. No matter how fast he gave chase, he couldn’t seem to close the distance between them. To be sure, it was quite difficult to chase someone in this thickly wooded forest, since it was impossible to run in a straight line because of all the trees. In this situation, it was usually agility rather than strength that helped far more. When Yoonho saw the young man running ahead of him, however, he couldn’t use that as an excuse.

“What is he, a brute?” Suho was not dodging any of the trees in his way, instead crushing all that stood in his path as he charged forward in a straight line.

Is he using some kind of running or charging skill?No… Yoonho had not received that impression. Because he had been on guard against the young man’s hidden power, he knew by instinct that Suho hadn’t used any sort of skill.

But it can’t be… Of course, it’s a skill.It hasto be.If it isn’t, what else could it be?No one can pull that off with brute strength alone. Yoonho felt a chill. W-wait.Hold on a moment! As he continued giving chase, he was suddenly overcome by an ominous feeling. This direction… can it be?

The thick forest suddenly ended, and the sky opened up around him. Beyond them was a small village where the members of the White Tiger Guild were busily rescuing the survivors.

“N-no!” Baek Yoonho was greatly taken aback as he realized what Suho was doing. He immediately revealed all the power he’d been hiding.

Complete Beast Transformation! The guild master’s entire body slowly began to transform into a monster-like figure. He didn’t like it when other people saw him in this state, and he seldom let them unless it was absolutely necessary. Right now was no moment for hesitation, however. In the path of this young villain was the vice guild master of the White Tiger Guild—Yoonho’s daughter, Baek Miho.

You coward!How dare you try to make my daughter your hostage! Yoonho had sped up by an incredible amount as soon as he started his transformation. The powerful claws that grew out of his fists were about to tear the villain’s back open when Miho, sensing a familiar energy, spun around and blinked.

“Huh? Sung Suho? Why are you back? Did you forget something?”

“I’ve brought your father.”

“My… father?”

Yoonho’s body stiffened in utter confusion and for a completely different reason than before.

“F-Father? Did he say ‘Father’?” Well, he certainly didn’t say “mother.”

***

Countless ambulances and healers went back and forth in Yami Village. However, an awkward silence filled the air. The only person who actually looked uncomfortable, of course, was Yoonho, as Miho stood in front of him glaring with her arms crossed.

“Father.”

Yoonho’s shoulders flinched at her cold voice.

“Aren’t you going to apologize?”

“Y-you need to believe me. I sensed this ominous energy coming from him—”

“What energy?”

“It seems to be gone now.”

“Then it must be from the villains he fought here.”

Yoonho was put out by his daughter’s angry look. Somewhat cowardly, he avoided her eyes, muttering grumpily, “And his entire body smelled of blood—”

“From the villains he killed, of course.”

Yoonho fell silent.

“His clothing is covered with blood. Of course, he smells like blood. Do you know something? He killed five hundred villains by himself.” Miho was correct on every account, and the more excuses Yoonho tried to offer, the more he was forced to stare at the ground. “But because a certain someone prevented this eminent young hunter from going home, he hasn’t even been able to shower yet.”

“Miho, you don’t have to use such a respectful tone when you’re referring to this—”

“Tsk!”

Yoonho’s courageous statement gained him nothing, and he hung his head again. He still hadn’t dropped his suspicions about Suho, however. Though he couldn’t explain it with logic, his senses were infallible. That energy I sensed was no mistake. It had not been something that any human could emit, given how sinister it was. Yoonho decided to trust his gut instincts.

“Father, stop.”

“Look here,” he said, striding toward Suho despite what his daughter said. He grabbed the hunter’s shoulder. “You said you were Sung Suho, a C-rank hunter, is that correct?” Ha! C-rank, my ass.Him, the man who defeated five hundred villains all by himself, a C-rank hunter? Yoonho would sooner believe that a stray dog on the street was a boss monster in hiding.

“You’re a phony registrant,” Yoonho growled quietly in Suho’s ear. Some hunters, though they were rare, could control their mana. If they wanted, they could lower their rank when their mana was being measured. Those who did this were commonly called “phonies.” “And most of them are perverted murderers who enjoy killing for the sake of it.”

“What are you talking about?” Suho said, staring back with a shameless look on his face.

Baek Yoonho released his energy, a knowing smile on his face. Memorizing Suho’s features, he pressed, “Go to the association this instant and have your mana measured again. And even after you’ve done so, I will continue to watch you. You’ll have to watch your every step from now on… Huh?”

Something wasn’t right. Yoonho’s expression turned odd as he engraved the young man’s appearance in his memory. “W-wait. Wait!” He hurriedly pulled out his phone. “Th-this can’t be…”

Yoonho turned on a messenger app with a quivering finger and checked the profile photo of an older hunter, someone he respected above all else. Below the profile photo, there was a name.

—Sung Ilhwan

This man had put a photo of his beloved grandson on his profile, and Yoonho’s eyes widened more and more. “Huh? No… way!”

Suho looked on, puzzled, as the guild master turned deathly pale.

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