Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 107

Thomas Andre.

He was the master of Scavenger Guild, one of the largest and most prominent guilds in the United States.

Despite being close to seventy years old, he was still an active S-rank Hunter and a global superstar.

Why call him a “superstar”? Because even before awakening as a Hunter, he had already achieved widespread fame.

“The Demon of the Ring.”

Before his awakening, Thomas Andre was the most dominant UFC fighter, unmatched by anyone.

In an era when magic or magical beasts did not exist on Earth, he had already secured the title of “Strongest Human” purely with his physical strength, becoming a legendary MMA fighter in his twenties.

Many challengers tried to topple his reign, but none succeeded.

As a result, he was about to retire without ever tasting defeat when…

Fate intervened and refused to let him step down.

After the Great Cataclysm, while enjoying a peaceful retirement drinking coffee with friends, Thomas Andre became one of the first to awaken.

As an S-rank Hunter.

He revealed his overwhelming power to the world, exterminating magical beasts in the United States as easily as catching rats.

“Ha-ha-ha! So this is true power! I was so weak before!”

From that moment, he entered a second prime.

The nickname “The Demon of the Ring” was soon replaced with “Goliath.”

Because he had already mastered control over his highly developed body before the emergence of mana, adapting to his awakened abilities was remarkably easy for him.

“So simple! So natural! It’s as if I’ve regained a power that was mine all along!”

Like a fish returned to water, he displayed his power without restraint.

He realized just how confined the four corners of the ring had been for him.

When fighting humans, he couldn’t tear them apart, but with magical beasts, he had no such restrictions.

Moreover, killing beasts made him a hero, earning him praise and gratitude instead of condemnation. It was a fantastic world for him.

“Ha-ha-ha! Where’s the next magical beast? Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

…Anyone who witnessed him brutally destroying magical beasts with his bare hands, even through a screen, shared similar thoughts:

– Wow. It’s hard to tell who the real beast is here.
– Honestly, I feel bad for the magical beasts.
– Please stop the beast hatred. T_T
– What if Thomas ends up causing their extinction?
– LOL.
– Shouldn’t we create a magical beast protection group?

S-rank Hunters were rare, but there were still a considerable number of them worldwide.

And while they all possessed overwhelming strength comparable to Thomas Andre’s, direct conflicts between S-rank Hunters rarely happened, making it impossible to rank them definitively.

Yet, when someone called Thomas Andre the strongest Hunter, no one dared to disagree.

The guild formed around him, Scavenger Guild, embodied one principle: power.

As a result, most Hunters who joined Scavenger Guild were equally aggressive individuals, and their excessive actions had become a growing problem in the United States.

“…And now the leader of such a guild is suddenly visiting Korea?”

The head of the Black Tortoise Guild swallowed hard as he read the news.

Typically, S-rank Hunters rarely visited foreign countries without a specific reason.

The reason was simple.

They were dangerous.

S-rank Hunters were walking weapons of mass destruction, capable of toppling an entire city if they so wished.

Among them, Thomas Andre was considered the most dangerous of all.

“What on earth is going on? Why is Thomas Andre coming to Korea?”

“Reporters are already interviewing him in real-time, but he’s only giving cryptic answers.”

“Cryptic? What is he saying?”

At the director’s urging, a staff member of the Black Tortoise Guild scrolled through live updates on their phone while speaking.

“…A prophecy.”

“What?”

“He says he came because of a prophecy.”

“A prophecy? What are you—”

Gulp.

At that moment, Suho, who had been listening nearby, stiffened.

“Wait. Scavenger Guild… Could it be?”

A memory flashed through his mind.

Scavenger Guild. And a prophecy.

At that moment, Beru emerged from Suho’s shadow and looked at him.

[My liege, didn’t those people we encountered at the pyramid say something similar?]

“…It couldn’t be, could it?”

As Suho’s expression grew uneasy, Beru pressed further.

[If I may, my liege, do you recall the saying I taught you when you were young? ‘Assumptions kill.’]

“…”

It was then.

“Ah, found it. A livestream!”

Im Do-Gyun managed to pull up a personal livestream from a YouTuber at the airport.

The video showed Thomas Andre answering reporters’ questions.

The elderly, muscular man with white hair slid his sunglasses up and stared directly at the camera, speaking.

– Yes. I came because of a prophecy.

“What the… He speaks Korean?”

Amazingly, this native American spoke Korean fluently.

– Ha-ha. What is the prophecy, you ask? Do you think I’d just tell you for free?

Even his pronunciation was impressively natural, as if he had practiced for years.

Thomas Andre grinned mischievously, like a playful rogue.

– Anyway, enough about the prophecy. Now, I’m going to hunt down the Reaper who killed my guild members. The Reaper? Or was it the Death Tiger? Is this the right term? Hmm…

“…”

The moment Suho heard those final words, he was certain.

‘It’s me.’

[Indeed, it is you, my liege.]

‘…….’

[…….]

While everyone was engrossed in watching the video of Thomas Andre, Suho exchanged awkward glances with Beru and nodded.

There was no room for excuses here.

While Chief Lee Youngho might have preferred death at the hands of demons, it was an undeniable fact that the Hunters from the Scavenger Guild who fought in Ammit’s pyramid were killed by Suho.

‘Though they did attack me first.’

[Such details hardly matter, my liege. What’s more concerning is whether we truly covered our tracks. Could it be that the Asura Guild you spared back then spilled the beans? We should have just… eliminated them after all.]

‘What’s bothering me more is this so-called prophecy.’

A few months ago, Suho would have dismissed any talk of prophecies as superstitious nonsense.

But after discovering that his father was a divine existence, it was no longer possible to casually disregard such mystical matters.

And it wasn’t as though someone like Thomas Andre, the most powerful S-rank Hunter, would travel to Korea over something as trivial as a daily horoscope.

‘If it’s about that prophecy….’

Suho recalled the “prophecy” he had heard in Egypt.

– Soon, a life born from death shall awaken from its seal, and its power will raise the dead.

‘It was supposed to be a seer’s prediction, but even now, it feels like it’s pointing at me.’

Back then, the Scavenger Guild had arrived at the pyramid based on that prophecy, so there was a high probability that the prophecy Thomas Andre mentioned was of a similar nature.

In other words…

‘Yeah. It’s definitely me.’

[What will you do, my liege? If he truly came here looking for you…]

Beru glanced at Suho with a worried expression.

But Suho shrugged nonchalantly, his expression shameless.

“Well, what can he do without evidence? I even took the whole pyramid with me.”

[Kiiek?]

“Let’s just deny it.”

Beru thought to himself.

It seemed his young liege had matured.

Beru nodded in satisfaction, feeling that Suho was gradually taking after his father’s disposition.

—

“What? You dare stand in my way?”

As soon as Thomas Andre arrived at the airport, he smirked in amusement at the Korean Association Hunters blocking his path.

The look on his face was like that of a mischievous child wondering how to dismantle a new toy, sending shivers down the spines of the Association Hunters facing him.

“Thomas Andre, your sudden visit is a violation of international law.”

Team Leader Han Jaehyuk, who led the Association Hunters, stepped forward, suppressing his fear.

“Hm. Are you the leader here?”

As Thomas Andre’s shadow loomed over Han Jaehyuk’s face, the team leader clenched his teeth with a resolute expression.

‘…This is it for me.’

Seeing the infamous S-rank Hunter “Goliath” up close, the pressure was overwhelming.

As if on purpose, Thomas Andre exuded a suffocating aura that bore down heavily on Han Jaehyuk.

It was then that Thomas Andre’s secretary let out a light sigh and spoke.

“Thomas, let’s stop playing around and find a hotel. I’m tired.”

At her words, the pressure crushing Han Jaehyuk disappeared as if it had never existed.

“Huff.”

Nearly collapsing on the spot, Han Jaehyuk gasped for air while watching Thomas Andre casually chatting with his secretary.

“What? I’m not tired yet.”

“I am. And just to remind you, I’m not an awakened being like you.”

“Ah-ha! Right, we can’t have our dear Laura getting tired. Fine, let’s head to the hotel and get you adjusted to the time zone.”

Thomas Andre burst out laughing, his booming voice echoing through the airport as he casually walked past the Association Hunters.

“W-wait! Thomas Andre! Stop right there!”

As Team Leader Han Jaehyuk called out in desperation, Thomas Andre turned around with a sly grin.

“Did you know? In my entire life, no one has ever dared to block my way.”

Chills ran down everyone’s spines.

The monstrous aura emanating from him once again surged, so terrifying it felt as though the entire airport might collapse.

“Thomas.”

Once again, Laura’s voice called out from behind him.

But this time, nothing could stop Thomas Andre from letting loose.

He delivered a chilling warning to the Association Hunters.

“Listen up. When I decide to go somewhere, I go. If you want to stop me, bring your country’s S-rank Hunters, not some nobodies like you.”

“Thomas.”

The horrifying energy shook the airport as if it were about to crumble.

“Thomas.”

“Laura, stop. Not even you can—”

“I found a taxi.”

“Oh, already?”

In an instant, the oppressive atmosphere vanished like it had never existed, leaving everyone in the airport bewildered.

“Man, it’s cramped in here.”

Thomas Andre struggled to fit his massive frame into the small taxi, grumbling as he contorted his body to squeeze inside.