Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Nothing needed to be said about the actions of Woo Jinchul after the Great Cataclysm. Many people had admired him, but he was also a controversial figure. In hindsight, all his choices were correct, but the way he reached those decisions was always rash and reckless. This resulted in much anger and indignation toward him and the association.

There was one problem in particular that made many hunter guilds furious at the association—the matter of talent recruitment.

“What?The association chairman got to him first again?”

“Yes.Somehow, they found out about the hunter as soon as he awakened and went to hire him.”

“I just don’t get it!I heard he hadn’t even had his mana measured yet!How did the association know?”

“Exactly.They seem to have very quick access to information…”

The association had proven very impressive indeed in this regard. Somehow, Woo Jinchul always managed to be the first to reach useful hunters who had awakened and have them join the association. His speed and efficacy were more than enough reason for the guilds who wanted to recruit talent and grow their own influence to hate him. It was a well-known story that Jinchul had taken Choi Jongin, the S-rank hunter, and brought despair to countless guilds.

“Kim Chul was one of the hunters that Mr. Woo recruited himself,” Han Jaehyuk said, recalling the past as he spoke with Arsha. The conversation that took place between Woo Jinchul and Kim Chul, recently awakened as an A-rank tanker, was also well-known.

“What kind of hunter do you wish to become?”

Instead of responding to Jinchul’s question, Chul was said to have asked him a question himself.

“Mr. Woo, do you know what my motto is?”

“What is it?”

“Live a moral life.”

Chul had grinned at the chairman as he described the motto he had lived by ever since becoming a teenager. He had already reached middle age, but that smile had the innocence of a young boy.

Noticing the desire for justice in those eyes, Jinchul smiled.

“Does that mean you wish to become a benevolent hunter?”

“Yes.Now that I have become a hunter, I wish to take pride in the fact and fight to protect the world.”

“An incredible mindset.Come join me at the association.I will give you an important job that will help you do exactly that.”

“Thank you.”

The two had shaken hands, and Chul had joined the association that day.

“But apparently, he was deeply disappointed in the association after he joined,” Jaehyuk muttered, a sad look on his face. It would have been inevitable. Chul had agreed to the recruitment in order to become an amazing hunter who could protect the world. “However, he was given the job of managing this very branch.”

“Ah,” Arsha said, nodding.

Yangpyeong was too uneventful a place for a hunter who wanted to do great things. Not only that, there were many rich people who lived here. Some malicious people had even called Chul a guard dog for the rich.

“In the end, he chose to leave the association,” Jaehyuk continued. “The rumors that he had fallen for some kind of cult were regarded as unreliable at best.”

Arsha relayed to Suho everything that she had heard.

***

Having heard everything in real time, Suho was surprised. Jinchul chose Kim Chul to manage the Yangpyeong branch?

From what he had heard from Beru, Chul was previously a soldier under Sung Jinwoo who’d gone by the name Iron. But when time was turned back to the point before his death, Kim Chul began a new life—just like Hwang Dongsoo, who had once been the shadow soldier Greed but was now an S-rank villain. This time, Chul had become an association hunter and lived as the head of the Yangpyeong branch, the same district where Suho’s grandparents lived.

Is this just a coincidence?No. It can’t be. Suho immediately realized what had been going on. This was for my father’s sake.

Woo Jinchul could remember the entirety of his past life, at least things regarding Sung Jinwoo. That means the association was protecting Yangpyeong in case my grandparents came under threat while my father was away.That was why Jinchul made a trustworthy person the head of the branch! There was no doubt that in Jinchul’s eyes, few who were more trustworthy than Chul, who had been a shadow soldier in the past timeline.

Incredible… Who knew that Chul would have become a priest of the Itarim in a place like this? Suho marveled. It seemed not even the great chairman had been able to foresee something like this.

“You are a priest of the Church of the Outer Gods?” Suho asked Chul.

“That’s right.”

“Kim Chul… You were the head of the Yangpyeong branch, weren’t you?”

Chul smiled kindly and nodded. “Haha! Vulcan, you seem very knowledgeable indeed. Yes, I did work for the association at one point.”

“So why are you here now?”

“Well, that’s hardly a fair question. Don’t tell me that you think I am not to be trusted because I served at the association for a short time. Or perhaps you doubt the efficacy of these Star Fragments?”

With a benevolent smile, Chul lifted a huge palm and touched the fragment buried in his forehead. A holy blue energy rose from the fragment, and his eyes gleamed with madness behind his fingers. He grinned.

“We baptize only those whose faith has been proven with a Star Fragment—that is, the Stone of the Outer Gods. So there is no need for you to doubt. I simply believe that the church wants to do more good for the world than—”

“Kill him now.We don’t need to listen to this nonsense,” Beru whispered telepathically from Suho’s shadow. He kept on repeating the words, “Kill, kill, kill.” “We must slay that corrupt soldier immediately and return him to the shadow army!”

“Haha… Vulcan, please, calm down. As you know, there is no need for us to fight each other.” Perhaps it was the energy that Beru was giving off, but Chul dabbed at the cold sweat that had formed on his forehead.

Suho softly pushed Beru down with a foot to calm him and said solemnly, “I have a question for you, priest of the Church of the Outer Gods.” Even if he was pretending to be a demon, he could not help but ask something in particular.

“Haha! So the demon noble does not know all, then? Yes. You may ask anything you—”

“What are the side effects of planting a Star Fragment in a human? Would they lose their hair like you, for instance?”

For the first time, the kind smile on Chul’s face became uncertain. His eyes quivered slightly. “This is just ordinary hair loss.”

“I see. I noticed that none of the humans who are with you have any hair. Are there no other side effects?” Suho asked, nodding casually and tossing out a different question.

There was a slight angry twitch on Chul’s forehead near the Star Fragment as he gritted his teeth and smiled. “Of course not. What makes you think there would be side effects? This stone is a blessing from the gods given to us lowly humans.”

At the same time, the fragment in his forehead exuded more of the blue energy. “Ah…” Chul breathed it in, a jubilant look on his face. “Hehe… Do you feel it? Stardust amplifies a person’s existing power, but this stone elevates one’s power to a higher dimension! In other words, you can become a higher being!”

The Star Fragment glowed with the blue light, and Suho sensed that the man’s energy was growing stronger. He was supposed to be an A-rank hunter, but the mana that Suho sensed now was far beyond anything that such a hunter should have been capable of.

“Incredible.He has accepted the power of the Itarim to produce an energy akin to an S-rank hunter,” Beru said.

“I guess it’s similar to the way I infuse Gray into my body.” Suho was able to understand how the Star Fragment worked immediately.

It was uncertain what Chul thought of the look on Suho’s face, but with maddened eyes, he turned a generous smile toward Suho, opening his arms wide. “Why don’t you join us, Vulcan? Worshiping the Outer Gods and giving them glory—that is the duty of us mortals.”

“The duty of the mortals? What do I get out of this?” Suho asked with a grin.

Chul’s eyes glinted suggestively. “I’m sure you already know the answer to that. It’s the reason that you came to see us, despite being a demon noble! You want to use a stone to become the King of Demons!”

“You are… very perceptive.”

“Haha! I have met plenty of demons myself. The lower-ranking demons want to become demon nobles, but someone like you, Vulcan, must surely want to become the King of Demons!”

“Y-you do?” Esil said, sounding shocked.

“Hey, what are you thinking?” Suho ignored her surprise and studied the priests with a cold gaze. “First of all, my grandfather is not among them.” After looking at the face of every member of the church, he turned to Chul, who was excitedly proselytizing. “Are you the only members of the church in these parts?” he asked.

“Of course not. The other believers are holding a service in the chapel.”

“Take me there.”

“Haha! To think you would be interested right away! I knew it. Come with us to the chapel and accept a stone for yourself.”

Since Suho was posing as Vulcan, Chul was not suspicious of him in any way. Vulcan had become known as the Demon of Greed because he was more power-hungry than any other. Now that the other demon nobles were gone, it was very clear that he would want to become the King of Demons.

“So when do you mean to kill him?” Beru asked.

“Hang on.I am going to wait until they are all gathered together so none of them can escape…”

As he listened to the continued whispering of the shadow ant, who was demanding they kill Chul when he least expected it, Suho followed the believers of the church. They left the gambling house and headed to the chapel.

Soon, they came to a vast door. Chul placed his palms on the door, and his Star Fragment glowed. The heavy door opened by itself, and inside was a large, domed room. Suho saw believers kneeling with their faces on the ground, muttering prayers like madmen. This was a very large space, but it seemed crowded because of something at the center.

That’s… Suho’s eyes gleamed. In the deepest part of the chapel, there was an object that was hard to describe. Sitting on a chair that was just as big as it was, there was a gigantic statue—an idol.

“Welcome, Vulcan, to the chapel of the Church of the Outer Gods,” Chul said.

As soon as he spoke, the believers who had been praying looked up and turned to Suho. They all bared their teeth with identical smiles. They continued to chant prayers.

“Praise the gods. Praise the gods. Praise the gods. Praise the gods.”

“Worship the gods. Worship the gods. Worship the gods. Worship the gods.”

“Prove your faith. Prove your faith. Prove your faith. Prove your faith…”

Thud!

The door of the chapel closed behind Suho, and Chul, who was standing before it and smiling more broadly than anyone else, muttered the last words of the prayer: “Those who do not abide by the word shall die.”

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