Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 143
“…!”
Sensing the presence behind him, Kang Taesik instinctively turned and blocked the attack.
Boom!
And when he saw what had attacked him, his face twisted in shock.
“How the hell are corpses…!”
An impossible sight unfolded before him.
The very villains whose heads he had personally severed were now standing up and attacking him.
Ssshhh…
Even more horrifying, the decapitated heads, which had rolled on the floor, were suddenly shrouded in eerie blue energy—and reattached themselves to their necks.
“Undead?!”
Though startled, Kang Taesik reacted swiftly.
Without hesitation, he lowered his stance and lashed out with his daggers.
Shing! Shing! Shing!
When dealing with undead, the basic tactic was to cripple their mobility first.
In a flash, his blades sliced through their legs, severing them.
Yet—
Ssssshhh…
The same blue energy that had reattached their heads now restored their severed limbs as well.
[Grrrrhhh!]
“The hell is this…?”
No matter how much he cut them apart, they kept piecing themselves back together.
Clenching his teeth, Kang Taesik stepped back.
And in that moment—three of the undead lunged at him at once.
Thud!
Just then, Suho, who had been silent until now, grabbed the corner of a fallen display shelf and swung it with full force.
CRASH—!
“…!”
The massive shelf smashed into the three undead, obliterating them in a single strike.
“Huh.”
Kang Taesik, having stepped back, glanced at Suho with a curious expression.
“For a Summoner, you’re… strangely strong.”
To be honest, Kang Taesik hadn’t expected much combat ability from Suho.
Just leading the way with his summoned beast had already fulfilled his role in this mission.
But this sheer brute strength?
‘Is he possibly a Druid-type?’
Recently, it had become popular to categorize Hunters into game-like classes based on their skillsets.
One such classification was Druids—which were typically divided into two types:
1. Those who command beasts while staying at the rear as support.
2. Those who fight alongside their beasts in close combat.
Judging from Suho’s actions, he was likely the latter type—a hybrid between a Summoner and a Tank.
‘…This guy might be more useful than I thought.’
Momentarily lost in thought, Kang Taesik snapped back to reality and turned his attention to where the undead had been thrown.
After all, physical attacks wouldn’t be enough to kill them.
[Grrrrhh…]
Just as expected, the undead twitched under the wreckage before rising again—completely unharmed.
And even worse—
[GRAAAAH!]
[GROOOHH!]
More undead figures began emerging outside the convenience store, drawn by the commotion.
“This is insane. We came to hunt villains, and now this?”
Kang Taesik let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head.
The store was engulfed in flames.
The undead kept reviving, no matter how many times they were cut apart.
It was like something straight out of an apocalyptic horror film.
Except in zombie movies, at least you could kill them.
These monsters reassembled themselves, making them even worse.
Gripping his daggers in a reverse grip, Kang Taesik barked at Suho.
“Suho! Let’s get out of here! Take the front with your summon!”
“…”
But Suho didn’t respond.
At that moment, something else had caught his attention.
He was recalling an enemy he had encountered in the Demon Realm—the Blood-Crazed Tyrant.
If that demon was a parasitic entity that wore corpses like armor, then these undead felt eerily similar—as if something was wearing human corpses as vessels.
‘Could this be the work of an Itarim Apostle?’
But something felt different.
‘I don’t see nameplates above their heads.’
That alone was enough to confirm that these undead weren’t normal monsters.
And then—
“Ah… Ahhh…!”
“…”
A panicked scream echoed through the store.
Suho turned toward the source—
—The last surviving villain.
He was still inside his shield, bleeding heavily from his wounds.
But what truly horrified him was the sight of his once-human allies turning into undead.
“T-They… They turned into that! That means we will too…!”
‘Tch. Guess I’ll start with him.’
Narrowing his eyes, Suho called out.
“Kang Taesik!”
“What?! Hurry up!”
Kang Taesik was too busy fending off the approaching undead outside.
“Hold them off for a bit longer!”
“What?! I’m a DPS, not a Tank—!”
Though Kang Taesik complained, he wasn’t actually struggling.
As a B-rank Hunter, this level of enemy wasn’t beyond him.
Suho strode toward the cowering villain inside the shield.
“H-Hiiik! D-Don’t come any closer!”
“Hey.”
The villain flinched and curled up in fear.
“Step out for a sec. We need to talk.”
“N-No! Stay away!”
Boom!
Suho punched the barrier.
But the shield held firm.
Inside, the villain screamed in panic.
“Haha! You think you can break my shield?! As long as my mana holds out, it’s indestru—”
Boom!
“Hic!”
Suho punched it again, and the villain shuddered instinctively.
Yet, the shield remained intact.
His confidence returned, and he shouted again.
“You’re wasting your strength! Just give up and leave me alone!”
Boom!
“R-Right…?!”
Boom!
“…T-There’s no way it can break…”
Boom!
“…Right…?”
With each punch, the villain’s voice grew weaker.
His mind was screaming—this wasn’t possible.
There was no way a mere physical attack could break a magic shield.
And yet—
“You keep saying ‘never’ like it means something.”
Suho grinned.
His fist darkened—coated in black aura.
“If I hit harder than your shield can handle, it’ll break.”
Boom!
CRASH!
“…!”
The villain’s eyes widened in horror as his shield shattered to pieces.
The villain’s once-confident shield shattered into pieces, leaving a gaping hole.
Through that hole, Suho’s hand shot forward, grabbing the villain by the collar and yanking him out.
“Kehek?! H-How…?!”
“Hey.”
Lifting the villain effortlessly with one hand, Suho locked eyes with him.
“Come out.”
“P-Please, spare m—!”
“Drop the pathetic act.”
Suho’s piercing gaze bore through the villain—not at him directly, but at someone lurking beyond.
“I said, come out. The one hiding inside.”
A cold, knowing grin spread across Suho’s face.
“……”
And the moment those words left his lips—
Snap.
The villain, who had been trembling in Suho’s grasp, suddenly stilled.
“…Ah.”
His head tilted at an unnatural angle, his lips parting.
And then—
“How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did you know? How did yo—”
Smack!
“Ah, my bad. You scared me, so I hit you on reflex.”
Suho slammed his fist into the villain’s forehead, silencing his rambling.
The villain’s pupils dilated, his lips quivering as he muttered.
“…You’re scarier than me.”
“Before I get any scarier, call them off.”
“How did you know? How did yo—”
Smack!
The moment he started repeating himself again, Suho raised his fist, and the villain’s mouth snapped shut.
‘How did I know?’
Suho’s gaze drifted above the villain’s head.
[???]
A nameless identifier—only this villain had a question mark floating above him.
Even Gray had sensed something off, which was why he had targeted him first.
“Beru.”
At Suho’s call, Beru immediately understood his intent.
[There is no trace of Itarim energy, my lord. However…]
Beru had fought countless foes alongside Sung Jinwoo, becoming familiar with nearly every known species.
And right now, only one kind of creature fit the current scenario.
[It appears to be a Maeryung.]
“A Maeryung?”
The Maeryung.
Literally translated, it meant “evil spirit.”
[Yes. They belong to the Ghost-type monster category, sometimes referred to as Illusionists because they originate from the Phantom Realm. Since they are spiritual entities, they are resistant to physical attacks.]
“Of course.”
Suho nodded, scanning the surroundings.
Something had been bothering him all this time.
Despite the raging fire, the store’s ceiling sprinklers had never activated.
Gripping the Maeryung by the throat, Suho lifted him again.
“I don’t know when this illusion started… but drop it. Now.”
“I-I can’t. If I do, I’ll die.”
The Maeryung frantically shook his head.
Suho didn’t believe a word of it.
His expressions, his fear—they were all part of the act.
Suho tightened his grip.
“Then how about I kill you first?”
“L-Lies! Lies! You can’t kill m—”
And at that moment—
[Skill: Killing Intent activated.]
“…!”
The Maeryung froze, his body trembling violently.
His pupils dilated in sheer terror.
[Effect: Fear activated.]
[All target stats reduced by 50% for 1 minute.]
A horrifying weight settled over the Maeryung, like drowning in deep water.
And then—he saw it.
Behind Suho, extending from his shadow, was an abyss—a deep, infinite darkness.
“You… Who are you?”
The Maeryung shrank, consumed by a fear far beyond what any normal creature could experience.
It wasn’t just the Killing Intent skill.
Being a spiritual entity, the Maeryung had innate sensitivity to Suho’s presence.
And what he saw terrified him beyond reason.
“…I-I understand.”
Defeated, the Maeryung submitted to Suho’s demand.
And in an instant—
WHOOOSH!
The illusion dissipated, revealing the truth hidden underneath.
The moment it did—
“Ugh. What the hell?”
Kang Taesik, who had been fighting the undead, winced as a wave of vile stench filled the air.
With the illusion lifted, the true state of Yamiri Village was now laid bare.
Blood-soaked corpses lay scattered everywhere.
The once-quiet, seemingly peaceful village—
—had already been reduced to ruins.
The tragedy had begun long before Suho and Kang Taesik had arrived.
“This was all an illusion? But… none of the escaped convicts were reported to have skills like this.”
Kang Taesik’s words barely registered in Suho’s mind.
His gaze darkened as he clenched his teeth.
His fingers tightened around the Maeryung’s collar.
“Tell me everything.”
“W-Well… Ugh—!”
The Demonic Spirit’s eyes rolled back as he suddenly let out a scream.