Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 25

Beru recalled a distant memory.

Twice in total.

The demon realm had been destroyed not once, but twice by the Shadow Monarch, Sung Jin-woo.

The first time was in the Demon Castle Dungeon.

The second time was after everything had been reset.

In the war between Sung Jin-woo and the Monarchs, demons were nothing more than experience points for Sung Jin-woo to step over.

The demons died over and over again…

Until finally, only one family survived in the demon realm.

That was the Radir family, ranked 20th, the only demons who had sided with Sung Jin-woo among the countless demon families.

But now, that family was said to be destroyed?

[…It seems something has happened in the demon realm during that time.]

Beru narrowed his eyes, looking at the corpse of the low-ranking demon.

To uncover the truth, there was no better method than “Devour.”

By consuming a being, one could read its memories.

[Young Lord, may I devour this demon?]

At Beru’s request, Su-ho’s gaze turned to the demon’s corpse.

[A corrupted mana cannot be extracted as a shadow.]

A message appeared before Su-ho, causing him to tilt his head in confusion.

“You can’t extract demons as shadow soldiers?”

[Indeed, that is the case.]

It seemed that the power of shadows, which extracted the souls of others, could not extract a soul that was already corrupted.

Su-ho nodded in understanding.

“Then eat it.”

[Kyaarw!]

Upon receiving permission, Beru’s lips curled into a wide grin as he began to tear into the corpse.

Although he wanted to swallow it whole in one gulp,

Nom, nom, nom!

Chomp, chomp, chomp!

…his small mouth meant it would take a little while longer.

[Keh heh heh!]

Leaving behind the gruesome scene that might have needed some mosaic censorship, Su-ho turned to face the gazes directed at him.

All the hunters, both from the collection team and the raiding party, were staring at him in shock.

“Um…”

“How did you…”

A confused situation where no one knew what to say.

In the midst of it, Instructor Im, who wasn’t seeing Su-ho like this for the first time, stepped forward.

“Su-ho, are your injuries okay?”

Although all wounds were healed with the level-up, the blood staining his body remained. At a glance, Su-ho looked like he was about to collapse from being covered in blood.

“Oh, yes.”

Su-ho casually wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand, responding to Instructor Im’s concern.

“Um, excuse me…”

The raiding party captain cautiously approached.

“You should probably go to the Association and get re-evaluated…”

Regardless of summoning skills, it was clear that someone who had just hunted a C-rank beast alone couldn’t possibly be an E-rank. There had to be a significant error in his ranking.

“That’s not the issue right now.”

At that moment, Instructor Im picked up the empty potion bottle discarded by the demon and examined it closely.

“The effects of Stardust were never this extreme… What on earth is this?”

“Do you know much about Stardust?”

The captain’s expression became serious. He too had been puzzled by the unusual potency.

Instructor Im nodded.

“Plenty of low-rank hunters use it. Just a few days ago, those collectors who bailed today were grinning from ear to ear because they managed to get their hands on some Stardust…”

Stardust was primarily used by lower-ranked hunters rather than the higher ones.

Why did lower-ranked hunters use Stardust more?

Because its amplification power had a limit.

Stardust was an incredible potion that could elevate an E-rank hunter to D-rank in an instant, but it wasn’t potent enough to boost a D-rank to C-rank as it had just done.

Of course, if a hunter was just shy of the mana level required for C-rank, Stardust could provide that extra push.

And those hunters were the main clientele for Stardust.

They would consume Stardust, not head to dungeons, but straight to the Association, where they’d have their mana re-measured and their rank upgraded to C-rank.

“…So some users, wanting more, tried consuming multiple doses at once or taking it regularly. They all failed and just wasted their money.”

There were even rumors that developers were researching ways to increase its amplification power.

Yet no one knew who exactly was behind the creation of Stardust.

“But how did it become so potent just now…”

[Buuurp—]

At that moment, Beru let out a loud burp, finishing his meal, and rose up.

He reviewed the fragments of memories in his mind and muttered.

[That’s simple. Stardust was originally a drug made by demons, so naturally, it’s more effective on them.]

“W-what?!”

“Demons made Stardust?”

The hunters were shocked by this revelation.

“Is that true?”

[Yes, it is.]

Beru nodded gravely in response to Su-ho’s question.

[But that’s not the real problem.]

Even Beru couldn’t fully read all the memories of a devoured being.

However, the fragments he gleaned were shocking enough.

[It seems the ingredients for Stardust are……]

What followed from Beru was a terrifying explanation.

The process of making Stardust was as follows:

1) **Creating the Firewood**: Capture non-awakened humans and forcibly infuse them with blue mist to turn them into “Mistborne.”

2) **Enhancing the Flames**: Throw humans into the Mistborne’s fire to maximize its intensity.

3) **Baking**: Roast “mana stones soaked in demon blood” over the blazing fire created by this process.

…The charred remains were ground into powder to create Stardust.

“And the solution diluted in water and stored in these potion bottles is what gets distributed?”

[Indeed.]

The hunters trembled after hearing Beru’s explanation.

“This is insane.”

“Stardust is made by burning humans alive?”

“Then why was this demon here…?”

They didn’t need to ask to know.

Beru turned his gaze to the tunnel where the demon had first appeared, staring intently.

[If you follow that path, it seems like there’s a ‘factory’ run by demons. They likely have civilians captured there to be used as fuel.]

It was then—

Ding!

[Quest: Rescue the Survivors.]

There are people nearby waiting to be rescued by you. Rescue as many as possible.

The reward will vary depending on the number of people rescued.

– **Current number of survivors**: 7

– **Number rescued so far**: 0

‘There are still seven people alive?’

With the quest now triggered, there was no reason to delay further.

Su-ho’s eyes sharpened with determination.

“I’m going to rescue them.”

Thud.

As Su-ho began to walk toward the tunnel—

“W-wait! Su-ho!”

Instructor Im urgently grabbed his shoulder from behind.

Su-ho turned to look at him.

“Instructor, you should run away first.”

“…No, this time I’m coming with you.”

‘Huh?’

What was this coward thinking?

Even though his lips were trembling with fear, Instructor Im spoke firmly.

“My skill allows me to carry one person and run.”

Where Su-ho was headed, there would certainly be many more demons like the one they had just fought.

If they were to save the captives, Su-ho would need help.

He smirked.

“Carrying and running… That’s a good idea.”

Su-ho picked up the raven mask that had fallen on the ground and turned to the hunters.

“Let’s plan our strategy.”

—

**The long railway of Seoul Station.**

If you followed the long tunnel, you’d eventually come to a large bomb shelter built for war or disaster. This place, usually used as a workspace for construction, was now the demons’ factory.

“Why is the rookie taking so long?”

The demons in the factory were starting to get worried about the rookie who had gone to dump the trash.

“He must’ve run into some beasts on the way back.”

“Lizards, of all things…”

Just then, the iron door creaked open, and the rookie wearing a raven mask walked into the factory.

However, inside the cart he was pulling was a group of humans, piled carelessly.

The demons’ eyes gleamed with interest.

“Oh, what’s this?”

“Where’d you pick up these logs?”

“I ran into them on the way.”

The rookie nodded and parked the cart in a corner of the factory.

Clunk.

Even though the cart shook, the hunters, covered in blood, didn’t make a sound or even flinch.

“You’re sure they’re not dead, right? They lose effectiveness if they’re dead.”

“They’re still breathing, I think.”

“Oh, they are. Nice work, rookie.”

The demons exchanged casual remarks, pleased to have more fuel just as they were running low.

And standing idly by the cart, listening to their conversation, was “the rookie”—Su-ho.

He had covered his face with the mask of the demon he had killed and had walked right into the place.

And the hunters lying still in the cart, pretending to be dead and smeared with blood, were the raiding party.

They had dared this bold infiltration because Beru had roughly learned the factory’s layout from the rookie’s memories.

‘Demons identify each other by their raven masks. They don’t pay much attention to appearances or voices.’

This was possible because the demons in the factory weren’t using their original bodies.

‘Demonic souls wandering in dimensional rifts possess humans and take over their bodies.’

Beru had said that even the Monarchs once infiltrated Earth by possessing human bodies. Bringing their original, immensely powerful forms directly into Earth would require creating a massive tear in space, a cumbersome process.

However, the demons seemed to loathe the weak human bodies they had taken over.

Ashamed even to show each other their appearances, they typically covered themselves in black robes and masks.

Furthermore, demons identified each other not through visual or auditory information, but through the demonic energy they sensed from one another.

“Hmm? Rookie…”

One of the demons, sensing Su-ho’s presence, tilted his head.

Su-ho gulped.

“Yes?”

“What’s that sword on your back? It looks pretty nice.”

Currently strapped to Su-ho’s back was the Horn of Volkan, which had consumed the rookie’s soul.

The demons instinctively sensed that the material of the sword was extraordinary and approached Su-ho.

“That sword…”

At that moment—

“Alright, enough chit-chat.”

The raven mask exuding the most powerful aura clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Get ready. The gate is about to open.”

‘What?’

Su-ho’s eyes widened as he looked at the source of the voice.

Even the hunters pretending to be dead in the cart opened their eyes wide to see what was happening.

Crackle! Crackle!

A section of the wall that had been empty began to distort, a red energy pulsating as the space was forcibly torn open.

‘What the hell…’

This information wasn’t in the rookie’s memory.

Whether it was a missing fragment or something the rookie didn’t know about until now was unclear.

‘Damn it.’

In that moment, they realized everything.

What the demons had been doing in this factory.

‘The final ingredient for Stardust.’

Mana stones soaked in demon blood!

However, since the demons here were inhabiting human bodies, they were summoning a demon into this very factory to extract the blood.

Crackle! Crackle!

A sinister Red Gate!

Right now, a dimensional tear connecting the demon realm and Earth was being formed.

‘These bastards!’

“Prepare for battle! We don’t know what’s coming through, but we have to kill it immediately!”

Roaring in preparation for the unknown threat, the demons assumed their combat stances.

And finally…

A mysterious demon that had been wandering the demon realm was summoned before them.

“…”

Thud.

Long, flowing purple hair.

Slender arms and legs.

‘A woman?’

As the Red Gate closed, the female demon who stepped forward looked battered, on the verge of collapse, covered in blood.

But her eyes still shone brightly through the blood.

“Who dares to summon me?”

The purple-haired demon gazed haughtily at the demons surrounding her, her lips curling in a sinister smile.

“So, you intend to take my life as well?”

Shing!

The purple demon brandished a spear toward the demons, baring her teeth.

“Come at me if you dare! I am Essil, the eldest daughter of the Radir family! I will fight to the end until my last breath!” (TL Note: Ohhhh! My girl Essil is back!)