Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 2

“Ahhhhh!”

The situation was dire.

Screams echoed from all directions, and the emergency evacuation alarm blared incessantly.

In an instant, the Mistborne multiplied, continually creating new victims.

“At this rate, we’ll all end up like them!”

Assistant Im shouted in panic.

Mistborne were monsters far beyond his ability to handle. Moreover, these creatures triggered his deepest traumas.

He quickly ran.

“What? Assistant! Where are you going?”

Su-ho was shocked. The only hunter present, Assistant Im, was fleeing!

Dodging the Mistborne’s attacks, Im slipped out of the exhibition hall.

Should Su-ho follow him?

After a moment’s hesitation, Su-ho decided otherwise.

He ran to a corner of the exhibition hall and grabbed a fire extinguisher.

‘This might not work, but…’

He couldn’t just abandon everyone else.

With the extinguisher in hand, Su-ho rushed toward the Mistborne.

Pssssshhh!

White powder sprayed out, covering the Mistborne.

[Graaah!]

Though it didn’t inflict significant damage, it managed to temporarily suppress their firepower.

‘This will do for now.’

Realizing the extinguisher was somewhat effective, Su-ho continued to spray the other Mistborne.

Pssssshhh!

[Graaah!]

[Hisss!]

He glanced around.

Spotting a fallen friend, Su-ho rushed over to help him up.

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh.”

His friend’s face was a mess of tears and snot.

“Hey, pull yourself together!”

Su-ho shook him, but his friend’s eyes remained unfocused.

Slap, slap!

He slapped him to snap him out of it.

“Su-ho?”

His friend finally regained focus.

Su-ho’s gaze shifted downward.

‘Looks like he twisted his ankle.’

“Let’s get out of here first.”

Su-ho lifted his friend onto his back.

Thanks to the fire extinguisher, the Mistborne’s movements were momentarily weakened.

If they were going to escape, it had to be now.

“W-what about the assistant?”

The friend on Su-ho’s back asked, sobbing.

All the painting students knew Assistant Im was a hunter. But in this crisis, he was nowhere to be seen.

“He contacted the Hunter Association for help earlier.”

There was no need to mention that he had fled afterward.

‘No need to scare him more.’

Su-ho’s reassurance brought a sigh of relief from his friend.

* * *

They made it out of the exhibition hall.

But it wasn’t over.

Outside was even more chaotic.

Fwoosh!

[Graaah!]

‘So it wasn’t just in the exhibition hall.’

Su-ho bit his lip.

It seemed the entire art museum was filled with Mistborne.

‘So these really are proliferating monsters. This is bad.’

He had thought escaping the exhibition hall would be enough.

“Ahhh!”

“Help…!”

“When are the hunters coming?”

People were huddled together, trembling in fear.

The Korea National University art museum had limited exits.

Staircases and elevators.

But every pathway was filled with Mistborne.

‘People are in danger.’

Su-ho quickly assessed the situation.

All escape routes were blocked, and the monsters kept multiplying.

If left unchecked, panicked people might resort to desperate measures.

Jumping out of windows or rushing into the monsters, only to transform into one themselves would worsen the situation.

‘If I can at least give them a means to protect themselves…’

Su-ho raised the fire extinguisher and shouted.

“Everyone! Over here!”

Some of the terrified people looked at him.

“There’s a way to fight the monsters!”

“…!”

More heads turned towards Su-ho. They saw the fire extinguisher in his hand.

“Right, of course!”

“Yeah! With a fire extinguisher…”

“We can fight the monsters!”

Hope returned to the eyes of the panicked people.

Su-ho felt a bit embarrassed.

‘Uh, it doesn’t actually kill them. But never mind.’

Giving people hope was crucial.

They scattered, desperately searching for fire extinguishers.

“Found one!”

“I got one too!”

Those who found extinguishers cheered, while those who didn’t looked pale.

There weren’t enough extinguishers on each floor to go around.

But it was sufficient.

Su-ho shouted to them.

“We don’t all need fire extinguishers! Those who have them, follow me!”

“Eek.”

The faces of those holding extinguishers turned anxious.

It dawned on them that only those with extinguishers would be leading the fight.

Su-ho took the lead, aiming his extinguisher at the Mistborne.

Pssssshhh!

Actions spoke louder than words.

[Graaah!]

The Mistborne’s firepower noticeably weakened.

Seeing this, the people’s faces brightened.

“It’s working!”

“Great! Me too!”

Pssssshhh!

With renewed confidence, they began using their extinguishers.

“Let’s push through!”

Su-ho led the charge, pushing back the Mistborne.

Behind him, people cautiously descended the stairs.

Then it happened.

[Hisssss!]

The Mistborne were attacking from behind too.

“Ahhh!”

“They’re behind us too!”

Panic spread again among the people.

They rushed down the stairs in terror.

Su-ho gritted his teeth.

‘Almost there.’

If this continued, they’d all collapse on the stairs.

He set his friend down.

“Can you go on your own now?”

“What about you?”

His friend looked at Su-ho, panicked.

Su-ho, with a determined look, shouted to those holding extinguishers.

“I’ll handle the rear. You guys clear the front!”

“Okay!”

Su-ho turned back and climbed the stairs.

‘I don’t even know what I’m doing.’

A non-awakened was trying to play hunter.

But he had no choice.

His body moved on its own.

Pssssshhh!

[Graaah!]

Su-ho’s extinguisher attacked the Mistborne closing in from behind.

Then it stopped.

“…Huh?”

[Graaah?]

The powder suddenly stopped.

The Mistborne and Su-ho stared awkwardly at each other.

“Sigh.”

Su-ho sighed.

“This is bad.”

[Graaah!]

The Mistborne lunged at Su-ho.

Fwoosh!

The blue smoke engulfed him.

And began to transform him into a new Mistborne…

Then it happened.

Whoosh!

[…?!]

At that moment.

The Mistborne encountered it.

The deep, dark abyss hidden within Su-ho.

* * *

Mistborne, born from remnants of magical energy, operated purely on instinct. They were weak individually but could grow stronger and endlessly replicate if they had enough fuel.

What was the best fuel?

Living beings.

Humans, with their abundant life force, were perfect.

In this sense, Su-ho was an ideal prey for the Mistborne.

But.

Whoosh!

As the Mistborne engulfed Su-ho.

It was swallowed by the abyss hidden within him.

[…Graa?]

The Mistborne looked around, confused.

An endless void surrounded it.

From the depths of the abyss, something was watching it.

The Mistborne growled, raising its blue smoke defensively.

[Graa! Graa! Graa…?]

But no matter how it roared, only an empty echo returned.

Then it realized.

It wasn’t someone in the abyss watching it.

The entire vast abyss was staring at it, drooling like it was a delicious meal.

[Kyahhh?!]

Terrified, the Mistborne tried to flee.

But the abyss opened wide.

Gulp.

* * *

Whoosh.

“…Huh?”

Su-ho looked puzzled.

The Mistborne that had attacked him suddenly dissipated into the air.

Crumble.

The human body it had used as a host turned to ashes and collapsed.

Then.

[You have defeated a Mistborne.]

[You have fulfilled the conditions of the ‘Secret Quest: Courage of the Powerless.’]

“…What?”

A message appeared before Su-ho’s wide eyes.

[Your level has increased!]

Flash!

A brilliant light enveloped Su-ho.

* * *

Su-ho’s friend, Kim Dae-hyun, barely escaped the art museum.

Thud.

His legs gave out as soon as he stepped outside.

Collapsed in front of the museum, Dae-hyun instinctively searched for Su-ho.

“Su-ho? Has anyone seen Su-ho?”

“Who’s that? Oh, the guy with the extinguisher?”

People remembered the student who had fought bravely with a fire extinguisher.

But Su-ho was nowhere to be seen.

Someone hesitantly spoke.

“He went back up to handle the rear.”

“No way…”

“Is he still inside?”

People murmured.

Someone muttered hopefully.

“But he’s a hunter, right?”

“Su-ho isn’t a hunter!”

Dae-hyun shouted urgently.

His words were even more shocking.

“What? Not a hunter?”

“How did he…”

Their gazes turned back to the museum.

Su-ho was still inside.

Just then, the hunters arrived.

“Over here!”

Assistant Im, who had fled first, led them.

Seeing the survivors, Im sighed in relief.

‘Thank goodness. They all made it out.’

He reassured himself that fleeing was the best choice as an E-rank hunter, but seeing the people made him feel guilty.

“How did you all get out?”

The hunters who came with him looked at the people curiously.

How did so many survive in such a confined space with Mistborne?

It was fortunate, but they wanted to know how.

“There’s still someone inside!”

Dae-hyun shouted desperately.

“Su-ho is still…”

“Su-ho? He’s still in there?”

Im turned to the museum, shocked.

“If not for Su-ho, we’d all be dead!”

Dae-hyun’s tearful words made everyone’s faces somber.

The hunters asked, puzzled.

“Is Su-ho a hunter? What rank?”

“He’s… an ordinary person.”

“What? How could an ordinary person…?”

The hunters were about to ask more when.

Boom!

A ominous noise came from the museum.

“…!”

Everyone turned simultaneously.

Dark energy swirled ominously above the building.

“Oh no. The invasion has begun.”