Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 131
‘Flap.’
The blue smoke that separated from Thomas Andre formed a pair of blue wings.
The appearance of Itarim’s Apostle, revealed in its entirety, was truly grotesque.
A gray giant with blue wings—too holy to be called a demon, yet too repulsive to be called an angel.
On its enormous face was a horrifyingly twisted smile.
– “[It appears to be an Apostle granted a rank higher than the Mad Tyrant!]”
Beru swiftly evaluated the Apostle’s level.
Beru had explained this before:
The rulers of this world and the fragments of radiance were beings created by the Itarim, who were referred to as the “Absolute Ones.”
In essence, the rulers and fragments of radiance, granted rank and created by Itarim, were fundamentally the same as the “Apostles of Itarim,” with only the titles differentiating them.
However, since they were created by different creators, disparities among the creations were inevitable.
Sung Jinwoo, for instance, was the greatest fragment of radiance and the Shadow Monarch. His stature was far superior to that of other rulers and fragments of radiance.
Similarly, there were differences in the power held by each Apostle of Itarim.
Above all, there was one distinct difference between the Apostles of this world and those from beyond: the “number created.”
The Itarim of this world had only granted rank to and created eight rulers and eight fragments of radiance, beings born from the primordial light and darkness.
That’s right.
A mere sixteen.
On the other hand, the Itarim from the outer universe created and shared their power with dozens, even hundreds, of Apostles.
As a result, the Apostles of Itarim from the outer universe were naturally weaker than the rulers and dominions of this world.
Even the seemingly omnipotent Itarim had finite power.
Just as the Absolute One who created this world was eventually overthrown by their creations, no power was truly infinite.
In short, it could be summarized as follows:
[Itarim = Absolute One
Fragments of Radiance = Rulers > Apostles of the Outer Universe]
In other words, while the fragments of radiance and rulers of this world were few in number, each was granted immense rank and power.
Conversely, the Apostles of Itarim from the outer universe were numerous but weaker.
And among those Apostles, the ones who had infiltrated this world to strike from the rear were the weakest of their kind.
Stronger Apostles would have been detected by Sung Jinwoo and neutralized well in advance.
– “[…Indeed.]”
At Beru’s words, Suho nodded while glaring at the Apostle of Itarim.
“Yeah. This is doable.”
Victory was possible.
No matter how formidable the giant might be, even if it was an Apostle ranked above the Mad Tyrant, Suho had the blessings of the dead rulers on his side.
Additionally, Thomas Andre and his mother—two S-Rank Hunters—were fighting alongside him.
However, the real issue was not the battle.
‘Crash!’
‘Rumble!’
“The sky is collapsing!”
Sirka screamed as she watched the sky shatter like a spiderweb around Itarim’s Apostle.
– “[The King of Yetis, Monarch of Frost, warns that the dimensional barrier is on the verge of collapse!]”
– “[The Beast Monarch explains that they had previously descended upon Earth using human bodies for precisely this reason!]”
‘Crack!’
‘Boom!’
– “[My Lord! The Ice Dungeon is unable to withstand the presence of Itarim’s Apostle in its spiritual state and is collapsing!]”
Beings with immense power, like the Apostle of Itarim, required significant time to fully cross dimensions with their strength intact.
Even the world itself might not be able to endure their power.
Thus, they chose to possess other beings’ bodies as vessels.
This was why the rulers of the lost timeline had descended upon Earth using human bodies.
This was also why the Apostle of Itarim in the Demon World had taken over the body of the Mad Tyrant.
At that moment…
“I don’t get most of what you’re saying.”
‘Thud.’
Thomas Andre, who had been listening to Beru, crouched down with a menacing expression.
“But what I do get is that we just need to kill that bastard as quickly as possible, right?”
‘Boom!’
Without hesitation, Thomas Andre launched himself into the air, charging straight toward the giant with blue wings.
‘Swoosh!’
In an instant, Thomas Andre soared to the top of the Apostle’s head. Raising both hands, he slammed them down with all his might.
‘Crash!’
The Apostle of Itarim raised its arm and easily blocked the attack.
But Thomas wasn’t done.
– “How dare you!”
Thomas grabbed the Apostle’s arm mid-air and, using his monstrous strength, slammed its massive body downward.
– “[…!]”
‘BOOM!’
The giant angel plummeted into the heart of Echo Forest.
Thomas immediately followed, descending upon its head with a crushing fist.
“Serve some disgusting god like that?!”
‘BAM!’
Thomas felt utterly disgusted.
As an atheist, he found the sensation of momentarily worshiping an unfamiliar deity like Itarim profoundly humiliating.
‘Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!’
Relentless violence rained down upon the Apostle of Itarim.
But then…
‘Grin.’
The Apostle, lying on its back, suddenly flashed a wicked smile at Thomas.
And then…
‘Kwaaaaah!’
A beam of destructive energy, like a dragon’s breath, erupted from its mouth, aimed directly at Thomas.
“…!”
Instinctively, Thomas crossed his arms to block the beam.
‘Kwakwakwakwa!’
The magical armor encasing his body began to melt rapidly.
At that critical moment…
[‘Skill: Storm Slash’ activated.]
‘Whirl!’
A blade storm, unleashed by Suho, struck the Apostle’s head just in time, deflecting the destructive beam away from Thomas.
‘BOOM!’
Thomas Andre was sent flying backward, and in that moment, Cha Hae-in leaped in to unleash her own attack.
Meanwhile, Suho approached Thomas and fed him a potion.
“…Hngh. Is that woman your mother?”
“Yes.”
“An S-Rank Hunter for a mother, huh? But what’s this potion?”
Thomas’s eyes widened as his wounds began to heal rapidly.
Meanwhile, Cha Hae-in, dodging another destructive beam from the Apostle of Itarim, returned to Thomas Andre and shouted at him.
“Thomas! I can’t handle this alone! Let’s work together once you’re fully recovered!”
“Got it.”
The Apostle of Itarim, now in its true form, was far stronger than when it was possessing Thomas’s body.
Its overwhelming power was causing the dimension itself to collapse—a situation that even the Apostle likely didn’t desire. It began scouring the forest, searching for a new host to inhabit.
Since it couldn’t possess Thomas or Cha Hae-in, who had consumed the waters of Echo Forest, it sought out another suitable vessel.
In its pursuit, the Apostle trampled down countless trees, leaving a trail of destruction until it finally came across a place teeming with life.
“No! That’s where our village is!” Sirka cried out in alarm.
Beru glanced at Suho with a grave expression.
– “[My Liege, not just anyone can become a vessel for Itarim’s Apostle. If the vessel is too weak, it will shatter, and the life force of the host will burn away the moment the Apostle takes possession.]”
Hearing this, Suho thought of the “Mistborne.”
Though the scale was different, the way the blue mist burned its victims to death felt eerily similar.
“Let’s chase after it while recovering,” Suho said, gesturing to Sirka.
Understanding his signal, Sirka raised the Ice Tree Spear high and shouted, “Hold on tight! We’re riding the snowstorm!”
Everyone grabbed onto the Ice Tree Spear.
In an instant, a powerful snowstorm surged, carrying them toward the Apostle of Itarim.
‘Swoooosh!’
Amidst the storm, Cha Hae-in began gathering her strength to use the skill ‘Blade of Light’ once more.
At that moment, Suho noticed the daggers she had been holding.
These daggers were the weapons she had received from the Ice Elves after falling into this dimension empty-handed.
‘For an S-Rank Hunter, these weapons are ridiculously inadequate.’
Suho immediately handed her Vulcan’s Horn and said, “Mother, I’ll use my bow. Take this sword instead—”
But before Suho could finish, Beru’s gaze fell on the weapons Cha Hae-in was using. He froze in shock, his eyes widening.
– “[Kiiiek?! Lady Hae-in! Why are you fighting with such trash?! And where’s your necklace?!]”
“My necklace?” Cha Hae-in asked, confused.
Beru suddenly smacked his own head, realizing his mistake.
– “[Kiak! That’s right! My Lord gave you that necklace, but I forgot to tell you how to use it… Ah, my apologies!]”
“What do you mean? How to use the necklace?” Cha Hae-in looked down at the necklace she had been wearing.
The necklace was a gift from Sung Jinwoo on their 16th wedding anniversary. It had a unique ability to allow her to understand the language of the Ice Elves.
‘But could there be more to it than that…?’
Beru pointed at her necklace and explained.
– “[This necklace is an artifact painstakingly crafted by the Dwarves. My Lord engraved special runes into it just for you, Lady Hae-in!]”
“Special runes? What kind of runes?”
– “[Please repeat after me.]”
With a glint in his eyes, Beru spoke each syllable clearly.
– “[Inventory.]”
“…I-Inventory?”
The moment Cha Hae-in hesitantly repeated the word:
‘Flash!’
“…!”
A translucent system window suddenly appeared before her, its contents filled with items. Cha Hae-in’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“Th-This is…?!”
Indeed, after one of Itarim’s Apostles had invaded Earth during the giant invasion, Sung Jinwoo foresaw the possibility of similar events occurring again.
To prepare for the worst, he created a necklace with multiple functions for his beloved wife, Cha Hae-in, ensuring that she could protect herself even in his absence.
The first function of the necklace was enabling communication with other races.
And the second was the ability to access a personal subspace—an inventory.
– “[Even my fellow soldiers contributed gifts to fill the inventory for Lady Hae-in. Among them is…]”
‘Shhhh.’
At that moment, a brilliant blade emerged from Cha Hae-in’s hand.
“…!”
Suho’s eyes widened as an item window popped up in front of him.
[Item: Demon King’s Longsword]
– Difficulty to Obtain: S
– Type: Sword
– Attack Power: +350
– Description: A longsword imbued with the power of the Demon King ‘Baran.’ Each swing of the sword activates the ‘White Flame Storm’ effect.
– Effect – ‘White Flame Storm’: Creates a perpetual storm of lightning within a designated area.
– “[T-This sword… Could it be the Demon King’s weapon?!]”
Esil’s voice echoed from within Vulcan’s Horn, instantly recognizing the weapon without even seeing its information window.
But Cha Hae-in already knew what the sword was.
“…This is a gift from Igris.”
The current Igris was wielding a far superior sword crafted by the Dwarves and bestowed by Sung Jinwoo.
Thus, this sword had no further use to Igris.
However, it had once been the very first weapon Sung Jinwoo had entrusted to Igris, making it irreplaceably valuable.
Knowing what it meant for Igris to give up such a cherished item, a small smile formed on Cha Hae-in’s lips.
‘Crackle!’
“Beru.”
As Cha Hae-in gripped the Demon King’s Longsword, its blade crackling with blue lightning, her eyes shone with a faint blue current.
“When you see Igris later…”
‘Boom!’
At that moment, the Ice Tree Spear brought them right to the Apostle of Itarim.
“…Tell him I’m truly grateful for the gift.”
‘Swish.’
Cha Hae-in gracefully descended, raising the Demon King’s Longsword in a sweeping arc.
In that instant, the atmosphere of the battlefield changed.