Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Humans worshiped many deities on Earth, but as far as Suho knew, none of those deities were called the “Outer Gods.” But of course, he was all too familiar with them—Itarim.

“It seems that the followers of Itarim have begun their activities on Earth in earnest,” Beru said, narrowing his eyes and glaring at the screen Laura was showing them.

“Our investigations suggest that Christopher’s mansion was used as a sort of church for the religion,” Laura said.

“A church? Don’t tell me… Were there other followers there as well?” Suho asked.

“No, we don’t think so. There was only one follower—the one that our boss faced, which had taken over Christopher’s body. The other individuals we found there were probably simply devotees.”

Suho noticed something odd about this remark. “‘Probably?’ So you’re not certain?”

“No. The rest were killed in the battle against Christopher, and we weren’t able to confirm anything. The strange thing was that Christopher grew stronger each time one of his devotees died.”

“That sounds similar to the time we faced the mad-blooded demons,” Esil said, the look in her eyes changing as she listened quietly, leaning to one side with her arms crossed. “It seems that demons are being nurtured quite efficiently somewhere—in more ways than one.”

Esil Radiru, the only demon noble alive, ground her teeth, looking extremely angry. It was demons who made Stardust, but the most important ingredient for the substance was demon blood. In other words, this so-called Church of the Outer Gods was using demons for their own ends.

Their purpose was quite clear—to find vessels that could accept the power of the Itarim and turn those vessels into slaves. The most suitable candidates, no doubt, were the hunters who had been National Level Hunters in the past timeline.

Suho watched Esil and Dogyoon. “Esil, have you heard anything from your demons about the mad-blooded ones?”

“I didn’t manage to learn much. They weren’t even aware that the mad-blooded demons were followers of Itarim. But just to be safe, I’ll ask again.”

“Yes, please do that. And Dogyoon…”

“Huh?”

“Please look up dungeons that have demon-type monsters in them so that we can clear them. We’ll start with South Korea. Something is bound to turn up at some point.”

“All right,” Dogyoon replied.

Suho was determined to destroy every demon factory in South Korea, since he had the opportunity to do so. They were sure to find followers of Itarim, the Church of the Outer Gods—something. “Laura, do you have any more information on this religion?” he asked.

“No. We’re continuing to look, but it seems to be a very secretive organization. If it had been an ordinary cult, at least it would have had many believers.”

“Then let’s work backward,” Suho said.

“Work backward?”

Suho recalled the conversations that Christopher Reed had with the therapist. If his words had all been true, then the Church had approached him first. There was a high likelihood that this would be repeated with the other National Level hunters. Perhaps the Church was already hovering about, looking for an opportunity.

“If we keep our eyes on those hunters, we’re bound to find something,” Suho said.

“Of course. The problem is that the Scavenger Guild is no longer able to interfere freely in matters involving other nations,” Laura replied. As Thomas had told Suho himself, the guild would have to lie low for the time being.

Suho didn’t intend to give up because of that reason. “I have another way,” he said.

“Do you mean to go yourself?”

“No. I can send someone else,” he said with a grin.

***

“Suho! Thanks for inviting me! Here’s a little housewarming gift!”

“Well… That was quick,” Suho remarked.

“I got here as fast as I could! You’re my friend, after all!”

Rio Singh, the B-rank hunter of the Asura Guild, had come to the Woojin Guild office as soon as Suho gave him a call. He was holding gifts in both hands as he greeted Laura and told them about what he’d been doing. “I’m in charge of buying weapons from South Korea’s weapon stores and sending them to the guild!”

Rio had been relegated to South Korea and even failed to recruit Suho, but he hadn’t given up. He’d secured a new opportunity for himself. “Korean-made weapons are extremely high quality! I hear that the Hunters Association here provides support for their production. You’re an amazing country!” His Korean had also become more fluent.

“So, why did you want me?” Rio knew Suho hadn’t called him over for no reason. Even Laura, from the Scavenger Guild, was present. His business acumen had alerted him that there was a purpose here. “Don’t tell me it’s about the antidotal potion, the Echo Forest Spring Water?”

“You almost got it right,” Suho said.

“Rio Singh, we wish to sell the potions to the Asura Guild,” Laura added, holding out a contract and suggesting an official business partnership.

Rio looked over the contract, then nodded with a bright smile. “This is an amazing offer. I have nothing against it. What is with this requirement, though? The guild master must taste it in person?”

“It’s a part of the usual promotional activities,” Laura told him. “Our potions have not been promoted nearly enough yet. The very fact that the guild master of the Asura Guild has tried it will go a long way.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Rio said, nodding. His eyes were gleaming. He had been to the Glacier Dungeon with them and knew quite keenly about the benefits of the Echo Forest Spring Water and its effectiveness. “This is huge! I’m sure to get a promotion this time!” he cried.

“So you’re not even bothering to hide your ambitions now,” Suho remarked.

Rio guffawed and contacted his guild master. He successfully received approval, then he signed every contract that Suho and Laura gave him. “This is a very important deal. I’ll have to go back to the guild myself,” he said.

“Rio, let me ask you for a favor while you’re at it.”

“What is it? You’ve just handed me a jackpot. I’ll do it, whatever it is, Suho.”

Rio smiled gladly at him, but Suho said gravely, “Be wary of your guild master.”

“My guild master? Why is that?” Rio seemed puzzled. Suho looked too serious to write this warning off as nonsensical.

Suho considered what Beru had told him. There were five National Level Hunters in the previous timeline. The healer could not use Ruler’s Authority, but the remaining four who could were Thomas Andre and Christopher Reed from the United States, Liu Zhigang from China, and Siddharth Bachchan from India. The first two had been dealt with, so there were only two more who had to be checked. The last on the list was the person that Suho would focus on now—Siddharth Bachchan from India, the guild master of the Asura Guild.

“An unidentified organization called the Church of the Outer Gods might have approached him,” Suho told Rio.

“The Church of the Outer Gods? What’s that?”

“You remember how Thomas looked when we met him in the Glacier Dungeon, right?”

Rio’s eyes went wide. Not many words were necessary, since both had experienced the situation together.

Rio looked uncertain as he recalled the way Thomas had turned into a massive, rampaging ice dragon. “Don’t tell me that’s going to happen to my guild master?”

“We’re not sure of anything yet,” Suho said. “Can you take a look at him when you see him?”

“Sure. I respect him very much, you know.” With that, Rio packed a bunch of potions to give to his guild master.

Suho shot a glimpse at his own shadow. “Kira, go with him.” The shadow lengthened, and Kira, the shadow assassin, jumped to hide inside Rio’s shadow.

Suho’s eyes shone. It was time to make use of the new ability he had gained after completing his father’s quest.

***

“What? You found a dragon egg?”

Arsha, the Queen Bee, was the most shocked when Suho showed up in the Shadow Dungeon with Kamish’s Egg.

“Yes. My mother found it in the Grave of the Dragons and sent it over.”

“Goodness. It’s real!” Arsha felt dizzy as she studied the egg in Suho’s hands. It seemed too small to be a dragon egg, but the energy that flowed subtly from inside it was real enough.

Arsha’s survival instincts kept on prompting her to get as far as possible from the egg. She watched it with a frown. “Why did you bring this dangerous thing here?” she asked.

“Because it’s dangerous, obviously. It’s safe here, isn’t it?” Suho said, shrugging. “As my mother said, it’s probably safer to put it here than to leave it in the Grave of the Dragons or on Earth. And even if something happens, we’ll have…”

Suho glanced at Ammut, the fearsome crocodile monster. Ammut grinned violently, baring his teeth. “I can chew it up in an emergency, no?”

“Hmm… Well, you could murder it. That might be one way to put it. Yep, this is the right place for it,” Suho said, much relieved. Then he nodded, satisfied. “But don’t really eat it. This might be the last of its kind.”

Beru nodded, agreeing. “It’s very likely that it is. The King of Dragons led all the living dragons to war at the time.”

The shadow ant frowned, thinking of that terrible war. Antares, the King of Dragons and the Monarch of Destruction, had been the only Monarch who had managed to subdue Sung Jinwoo, the Monarch of Shadows. Antares had been the most powerful dragon alive, and each of his dragons had possessed massive strength and mana. His army had been invincible. As the true embodiment of destruction, the King of Dragons had stopped at nothing—not even his own doom—to engage in a mad, bloody, and apocalyptic war.

Jinwoo had been forced to fight Antares with all he had. In hindsight, this fact made Antares’ power all the more surprising. Jinwoo’s shadow army had already absorbed all the forces of the other Monarchs at the time, yet Antares had managed to fight fiercely against that unfathomably large army to the very end. Jinwoo had won in the end, of course, but it was undeniable that as a single force, the dragon army had been the strongest he had faced.

“It seems to me that the birth of a new dragon might not be the most pleasant thing, of course,” Beru added.

“There will be no problem if we raise it as a pet from the start,” Suho replied. He looked at the wolf who had refused to leave his side for a while now. Gray, the fang wolf, had been trained as a pet using the pet system.

In contrast to Arsha’s wariness, Gray was busy sniffing at Kamish’s Egg with shining eyes. He even licked at the egg, tasting it, and his tail wagged busily back and forth. Suho didn’t think he really wanted to eat it—he looked like he had found a fun new toy.

“I-I’ll make a nest here for it, just in case.” Arsha had her worker bees construct a nest for Kamish’s Egg in one corner of Ammut’s pyramid. Though she called it a “nest,” it was more of a cell meant to incarcerate whatever monster that would hatch from the egg.

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