Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 40

‘I can’t give him any time!’

Su-ho immediately lunged at Secretary Kim.

His opponent was a B-Rank Hunter.

He had to press the attack before Kim could recover from the initial shock.

‘Kidnapping people for stardust? How is that any different from the demons!’

The power of the “Skill: Heavy Strike” that had been imbued in Su-ho’s fist had already dissipated.

But now, both of Su-ho’s hands held **Rakhan’s Fang** and **Volkan’s Horn**.

*Shwaaa!*

“W-wait! Why are you—?!”

Secretary Kim, his legs still wobbly from earlier, scrambled to evade Su-ho’s onslaught, backing away in panic.

At the same time, he desperately tried to reason with Su-ho.

“Wait! Stop attacking! I’m from the Reapers Guild!”

“…”

But Su-ho remained silent, relentlessly closing in.

Secretary Kim, at a loss for what to do, continued to retreat.

‘What’s going on?! Why is a demon attacking me? How did he find me here?!’

A flood of questions overwhelmed Secretary Kim’s mind.

For the past year, Reapers Guild Vice Guild Master **Lee Min-seong** had maintained a close relationship with the demons from the stardust factories.

While the **Hyena Guild** had served as intermediaries, Kim had never expected a demon to attack him. Surely, once he mentioned his affiliation with the Reapers Guild, the demon would stop and at least attempt to negotiate!

But Su-ho’s plan was working.

After all, his intention for wearing the **raven mask** was to create this exact kind of confusion.

“I’m telling you, I’m with the Reapers Guild—!”

*Thud.*

‘Crap!’

Secretary Kim’s back hit a wall as he continued to retreat.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw a transparent glass window.

‘I have to get out of here!’

Without hesitation, he threw himself through the window.

*Crash!*

Secretary Kim smashed through the glass and escaped the building.

‘This works out better.’

Su-ho’s eyes gleamed as he watched him flee.

It was easier to fight outside than in a cramped indoor space, especially when wielding swords.

Secretary Kim likely had the same thought. A B-Rank Hunter’s power could easily bring down a building, so he had been holding back inside.

‘Fine, let’s do this properly!’

*Tch!*

Su-ho leaped out of the window in pursuit.

Meanwhile, left behind in the re-evaluation room…

“A-ah…”

Dr. Min Byung-gu stood there, utterly at a loss.

*Cough.*

Just then, a small shadow crept up beside him.

It was Beru, who cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke up.

[Do not worry. The Young Lord will handle everything—]

“Aaaah! A-an ant?!”

[Kieek?]

*Thud…*

At the sight of Beru, Min Byung-gu had another fit and collapsed, unconscious.

[How could he faint when he’s received my blessing…]

Beru felt unjustly wronged.

* * *

*Crash!*

Pedestrians walking through the city looked up at the sudden noise.

Their eyes widened in shock.

“W-what’s that?!”

“Someone jumped out of the building!”

Someone had shattered the window of a five-story building and leaped out.

“Kyaaah!”

“Watch out!”

Fearing they might get injured by the falling glass shards, people scattered in panic.

But before the first person even landed, a second figure leaped from the same window.

The second person drew twin swords in mid-air and swung them at the first.

[Using ‘Skill: Storm Slash.’]

*Kuwaaang!*

“Argh?!”

The first person was struck directly by the fierce storm of blades, and he plummeted to the ground.

*Thud!*

“Kyaaah!”

“They’re fighting! Hunters are fighting!”

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the onlookers screamed and fled.

Meanwhile, Secretary Kim, now battered and bruised, struggled to get back on his feet.

His face was filled with frustration.

But there was no time to complain.

*Thud.*

Su-ho landed in front of him, immediately swinging his sword.

“Damn it!”

Secretary Kim scrambled up and summoned his mana.

“Explode!”

*Fwoom—Boom!*

A blazing fireball exploded right in front of Su-ho.

Su-ho crossed his swords to block the flames.

‘A magic-type Hunter!’

He had anticipated this based on Secretary Kim’s previous behavior, so he was ready.

Kim’s inability to properly counterattack indoors and his instinctive habit of creating distance had all pointed to a magic-based skillset.

Su-ho, however, was the complete opposite.

‘You can’t give a magic-type Hunter any space!’

*Fwoosh!*

Su-ho stayed right on top of Secretary Kim, launching a relentless assault.

But Kim’s reaction was swift.

“E-explode!”

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

“Explode!”

*Kuwaaang!*

A barrage of fireballs erupted around them, dealing consistent damage to Su-ho.

Su-ho’s HP continued to drop.

‘I’m still fine!’

Trusting in his high HP pool, Su-ho pressed the attack, closing in on Kim.

Kim, on the other hand, was nearing his limit.

Having taken a direct hit from the initial **Heavy Strike**, been caught in the **Storm Slash**, and then fallen five stories, it was a miracle that he was still standing at all.

“Aaagh! At least explain why you’re attacking me! What did I do?!”

Kim’s voice rang out, echoing pitifully through the city.

“Is that your last wish?”

*Gulp.*

Su-ho chugged a mana potion, his MP climbing past 300.

[Using ‘Skill: Heavy Strike.’]

*Gwooo!*

Dark energy swirled around Su-ho’s fist and forearm.

“W-wait…”

As the ominous black aura drew closer, Secretary Kim’s face turned deathly pale.

In a desperate attempt to save himself, he shouted,

“Let’s negotiate! I can give you anything you want!”

“Anything? What do you think I want?”

Su-ho took a step toward him, his question laced with cold disdain.

Secretary Kim, seeing a glimmer of hope in Su-ho’s words, seized the opportunity.

“We know one of your factories was destroyed! We’re struggling with stardust production because of that!”

“And?”

Su-ho raised his fist.

Kim shut his eyes tightly and yelled,

“And we’ve built a new factory!”

Su-ho froze for a moment.

“…What?”

‘It worked!’

Sensing that his words had struck a chord, Secretary Kim became more confident and started talking rapidly.

“A stardust research facility! The whole reason we were trying to recruit Dr. Min Byung-gu was for that! We’ve already set up the equipment and gathered all the materials, but we don’t know how to make it!”

Dr. Min Byung-gu was the only person in Korea with extensive knowledge of stardust. If he could develop a doping test, he could certainly figure out how to manufacture it.

But now that a demon had appeared in front of him, Kim no longer needed to convince Min.

“So I’m offering the facility to you! You can take over everything! We’ll even supply you with the materials!”

“Materials?”

“Yes. We’ve already gathered ten people! We were planning to have Dr. Min start experimenting on them today! And if you need more, just let us know. We can round up as many as you want!”

“…”

Su-ho’s expression turned icy.

Secretary Kim had no idea.

He didn’t realize that his words had just sealed his fate.

The moment he referred to people as **materials** for stardust, he was no different from a demon in Su-ho’s eyes.

Su-ho asked one last question.

“So, where’s this factory?”

“T-that’s…”

Sensing danger, Kim’s eyes darted around, looking for an escape.

“If you let me go, I’ll contact you with the location.”

“You’re asking me to spare your life.”

“Of course…”

“Don’t worry.”

“Huh?”

“There are plenty of ways to make you talk, even if you’re dead.”

And with that, the conversation ended.

Su-ho’s fist came crashing down.

*Baaam!*

“…!”

**Skill: Heavy Strike.**

Secretary Kim couldn’t even scream before his life was snuffed out.

*Ding!*

[New quest has been generated.]

A message appeared.

[Quest: Rescue the Captives]

Rescue the people kidnapped for the stardust research facility.

– Number of people kidnapped: 10

– Number of people rescued: 0

Su-ho stared at the quest window before speaking.

“Beru.”

[Aye.]

Beru materialized in front of Secretary Kim’s lifeless body.

“You know what to do, right?”

Beru’s grin stretched unnaturally wide.

It was a smile far more sinister than any demon’s.

* * *

Not long after…

“…They’re gone?”

“Seems like it.”

Once Su-ho disappeared with Secretary Kim’s body, the people who had been hiding during the battle cautiously emerged.

“Whew. That was scary.”

“What was that all about? Why were those Hunters fighting?”

“Why are the police always so slow? I called them ages ago.”

“It’s barely been ten minutes since you called. They’ll get here soon…”

Everything had happened so quickly.

First, there was a shattering window, then several explosions…

And in less than ten minutes, the combatants had disappeared without a trace.

The bystanders were trying to make sense of it all, but too many pieces of the puzzle were missing.

“Wait… wasn’t that Crow?”

One person mumbled, suddenly remembering Su-ho’s appearance.

That got the crowd talking.

“What? Crow?”

“You mean Beast King Crow?”

“Yeah, didn’t you see? He was wearing a raven mask!”

Just last night, news of the Magok Field incident had spread like wildfire.

Crow, the one who had survived the trial and claimed the power of the Beast King, had reportedly worn a raven mask, according to the surviving witnesses.

And now, someone wearing that same mask had appeared right in the middle of the city.

“Huh. You’re right! It was a raven mask!”

“That’s insane! That was Crow!”

“No wonder he was so strong!”

Many bystanders had seen the fight from afar. While they couldn’t hear the conversation, they had clearly witnessed the fierce combat.

Though the average person’s eyes couldn’t follow the speed of the swords, that final blow, the massive black aura enveloping Su-ho’s fist, had burned itself into their memories.

“Was that… the power of the Beast King?”

Having witnessed such overwhelming strength, people couldn’t help but whisper Crow’s name in awe.

And soon, new articles began circulating on the internet.

* * *

“What the hell is going on now?!”

Reapers Guild Vice Guild Master **Lee Min-seong** stared at the rapidly emerging news articles, wide-eyed.

– Breaking: Beast King Crow Appears in Seoul!

– Breaking: Two Hunters Clash!

– Breaking: Eyewitnesses Claim to Have Seen the Power of the Beast King.

Unlike the Magok Field incident, this time there were photos taken by witnesses’ phones.

Though most of the shots were blurry due to the speed of the combatants, Min-seong immediately recognized one of the faces in the images.

But the real problem was the last photo.

It showed Crow carrying the limp body of Secretary Kim on his shoulder, disappearing from the scene.

Min-seong quickly tried calling Secretary Kim.

*Ring…*

But no matter how many times he called, there was no answer.

“Kim! Pick up the phone! Pick up, damn it!”

He yelled furiously into his phone.

And then—

*Ding!*

A new message appeared on his screen.

– Vice Guild Master, please contact me. There’s been an issue with the facility.

“…!”

The moment he read the message, a chill ran down Min-seong’s spine.

The word **facility** referred to the stardust research lab that he had painstakingly set up.

It was also the same facility where he had sent Secretary Kim to retrieve Dr. Min Byung-gu today.

Panic rising, Min-seong called the facility.

*Ring… Ring…*

Thankfully, someone picked up this time.

“What’s going on? What happened to the—”

– V-Vice Guild Master! There’s, aahhh!

“…?!”

Min-seong froze, staring at his phone as screams erupted from the other side.

-Aaaah! Aaahhhh!

Horrified shrieks echoed through the receiver.

“What the hell is happening over there?!”

– It’s a m-monster! Aaaahhh!