Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

It was as if an earthquake had occurred. All the windows and fluorescent light bulbs around the employees exploded at the same time, like bombs going off.

The interior of the building was already in pandemonium. The immense pressure that bore down upon them felt as though it could crush the structure at any moment, making it hard for the employees of the association to even breathe properly.

“Attack him!”

A few association hunters who had managed to withstand the hostile energy somehow drew their weapons and rushed at Suho. However, a huge wolf suddenly blocked their way and growled viciously.

[Gray used the skill: “Scorn of the Weak”.]

[Effect: “Fear” has been activated.]

[The target’s stats are reduced by 50% for 1 minute.]

The hunters paled at the overwhelming size of the wolf. They realized that this attack must have been orchestrated. It was a terrorist attack prepared carefully against the association.

This shocking realization only added to their confusion. What kind of villain was unhinged enough to attack the Hunters Association? Not even the infamous Hwang Dongsoo would dare to try such madness.

What does he even want?

Why would he do this?

What on earth for?

The hunters were completely stumped. There wasn’t a single person who could think with any semblance of reason. They blindly raced toward the villain they saw ahead of them, repressing the terror that threatened to overwhelm them.

“Ugh!”

The great wolf slapped them aside as soon as they did so, and the employees were sent flying back. The others lost the will to fight as they watched their companions be thrown against the wall like rag dolls.

We are going to die, the hunters thought. They were convinced that certain death had come upon them.

“Gah!”

Min Daeseok, who had been floating in the air in front of Suho, summoned all the mana that he could to resist the violent energy pressing down on him. Gritting his chattering teeth, he glowered at Suho. “There will be consequences for— Augh!”

Suho reached out, and Daeseok’s body was sucked toward him. His hand seemed as though it was about to break Daeseok’s neck. Daeseok clamped his eyes shut, but Suho, instead of snapping his neck, tore off the necklace he was wearing.

“Let me ask you something,” Suho said coldly. Daeseok shuddered from terror as the voice, which sounded demonic to him, entered his ears. His scared eyes took in Suho’s savage gaze.

“You had better answer.” Suho held the necklace out in front of Daeseok’s face. “This Stardust necklace. Where did you get it?” The object likely had connections to the Church of the Outer Gods, so Suho wondered why the head of the branch had it in his possession.

All kinds of thoughts were going through Suho’s head at the moment. What’s the connection between the association and the Church of the Outer Gods?Does Woo Jinchul, who was supposed to have been a companion of my father’s in the past, know about this?

Daeseok suddenly shut his eyes and shouted, “I-I bought it!”

“You bought it?” Suho asked, tilting his head.

This sight scared Daeseok so much that he shivered and quickly corrected himself. “M-my apologies! I got it for free, actually!”

“For free?”

“I’m so sorry! I really did offer to pay for it, but the man forced me to take it…!” Daeseok’s servile eyes roved around, looking at his scattered employees. “I’m not the only one who took one! All the other employees also have them!” ŘÄＮȮ𝖇Ęṥ

The association employees were aghast.

That traitor!

You still call yourself our boss?!

The sudden reveal caused the looks on their faces to change. They hurriedly pulled off the necklaces around their necks or hid them with their hands.

The frighteningly impassive expression on Suho’s face had dissipated somewhat. “What man are you talking about?” he asked.

“What…?” Noticing something odd, Daeseok cautiously cast a fearful gaze at Suho. “Sorry… You aren’t from the merchants’ association? They gave us these Stardust necklaces…”

Suho sighed quietly. It was enough to make Daeseok flinch.

Suho soon gestured downward with his hand, and Daeseok’s body floated through the air again. He was forced into a chair that was nearby. After Daeseok was seated in the chair with a puzzled look on his face, the chair moved on its own, rolling along on its wheels, and he was returned to his desk. He sat meekly without protest.

Every employee who saw this seemed puzzled. The tension in the air was stifling. Their eyes instinctively tracked Suho’s movements.

Suho walked slowly up to Daeseok’s desk and flopped into a chair opposite him. As Daeseok stared at him, shivering, Suho confidently revealed the reason he was here. “So, you are the head of the branch? I’m here to submit a complaint,” he said.

“I’m sorry…?”

At that moment, everyone could suddenly breathe again. All the hostility that had filled the air simply vanished.

Daeseok was still puzzled. “A-a complaint? I’m not sure what you mean…”

“It seems my grandfather has gone missing. Do you know anything about this?”

Daeseok’s brain finally began to function a little bit. As he tried to recall what had happened before this villain had shown up, a conclusion that astounded him slowly formed in his mind. “Uh… Sorry, but are you Sung Ilhwan’s grandson?”

“Yes. I’m Sung Suho, the guild master of the Woojin Guild.”

“So you are not a villain…?”

“Of course not. I have been authorized by the association as a bounty hunter. I hunt villains.”

“I’m sorry…?”

Suho confidently held out his business card, as well as his bounty hunter license. The massive wolf suddenly shrank in size, holding its nose haughtily in the air as it sat at Suho’s feet.

Daeseok grew extremely disoriented as he watched all of this happen. The same was true of all the employees who had sunk to the floor, dazed looks on their faces.

Wait, what?So… He made all this fuss so he could submit a complaint? Everyone had the same thought, but no one was brave enough to say the words out loud.

Noticing all the eyes on him, Suho apologized gravely, “I’m sorry. I am rather sensitive about people in my family going missing.”

“N-no! It’s not a problem. Anyone would react in such a way…” Daeseok’s voice trailed off as he waved his hands urgently in the air.

The office had become a disorganized mess in no time at all. Anything made of glass was broken, the lights were dangling from the ceiling, and electric sparks were flying here and there. The damage was too severe for Daeseok to simply empathize with Suho.

You did all this, and you say you are not a villain? Anger belatedly filled him as he discovered that Suho was not an enemy. Now that the situation was over, he realized that he had probably looked very undignified in the eyes of his employees. I get thatyou are a powerful hunter.But there are laws in this country!You youngster… How dare you do such a thing just because you have a bit more mana than other people?What do you take us for?

Daeseok balled his fists and suddenly glared at Suho. Guild master of the Woojin Guild, my ass!I am going to do everything in my power to ensure that you are treated like a villain!As the head of this branch, I am more than capable—

Suho locked eyes with Daeseok, and the fight immediately went out of his eyes. “Ahem… I trust that you will compensate us for the damages?” Daeseok said meekly.

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

***

By the time Suho’s grandmother, Park Kyunghye, and his aunt, Sung Jinah, had come into the office, all the mess had been cleaned up. A few of the lights were still broken, but Suho stood under them with his grandmother and aunt as he was told about what had happened thus far.

“Uh… I need to start with an apology. We have been deferring Mrs. Park’s complaint for the last few days because we deemed that Mr. Sung Ilhwan wasn’t actually missing.” Daeseok explained the situation ingratiatingly based on what his employees had told him. “From what I hear, Mr. Sung loves to fish. He likes to go alone, and sometimes he will leave home for three days at a time.”

“That’s true,” Kyunghye said, nodding. Yangpyeong, which was where the Namhan River and the Bukhan River split, had plenty of quiet fishing spots. As a result, Ilhwan often went out to fish ever since they had moved there. “But this time, something seemed different,” she said.

“What seemed different?”

“The look on his face.”

“Mrs. Park… I’m sorry, but such abstract notions will not aid the investigation in any way.” It’s so frustrating to deal with old people, Daeseok thought, sighing immediately. But noticing Suho sitting right next to Kyunghae, he was forced to keep a smile on his face. “Well… What look did he have on his face, exactly?”

“My husband has only made that face three times thus far.”

“When?”

“The first time was when our son ran away from home.”

Suho flinched.

“When he was in middle school, he simply left a note telling us that he had something to do and disappeared. He was gone for no less than two years.” Kyunghye smiled bitterly as she recalled the memory. “I was so shocked then that I tried to run to the police station immediately, but my husband stopped me.”

Kyunghae still could not understand why her husband hadn’t seemed confused when his own son had gone missing. At first, she was angry, then frustrated. What parent could remain in their right mind when their child had run away without any warning? Apparently, Sung Ilhwan was different. Kyunghye had not been able to write off her husband as a cold-blooded man, however, because he had looked as though he was repressing powerful feelings with extreme difficulty.

In the end, she went to the police. Ilhwan, on the other hand, had not even tried to find Jinwoo. “He tried to stop me as I went around outside, putting up posters for my son. Then he told me…”

“Let’s trust our son.”

Kyunghye remembered the look on her husband’s face as he said the words.

“My son came back safe two years later,” she continued. “After he grew up, he went missing again. That was five years ago. And this time, his wife disappeared with him. My husband had the same look on his face that time as well, calming me down. He told me we should trust our son again. He was wearing the same look this time, too.”

The moment Suho heard these words, he became sure of something. “Beru, perhaps my grandfather…”

“Indeed,” Beru responded telepathically. “It seems that he’s had his memories back for a while.”

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