Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 42

‘Looks like there were guests here before me.’

As soon as he appeared, Suho quickly secured the hostages and glanced around at the gazes fixed on him.

Beru had read Secretary Kim’s memories and immediately guided him to the Stardust Research Institute, but a fierce battle had already broken out here.

‘Ten hostages and about thirty hunters.’

Every time Suho’s gaze fell upon them, the hunters flinched.

Perhaps due to his rather shocking entrance, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

“Ugh…”

Breaking the heavy silence was the groan of Park Jongcheol, crawling on the ground like an insect, having lost both his arms and legs.

“Ugh… What are you doing, you bastards?! Don’t just stand there like idiots! Fight! I said, fight!”

Snap!

Only then did the hunters of the Grim Reaper Guild snap back to their senses, spurred on by Park Jongcheol’s vicious shouting.

“Y-Yeah! He’s just one guy!”

“Let’s get him all at once!”

“Ahhh!”

The attacks, which had been aimed at the association’s hunters, now turned toward Suho.

A fight of 30 against 1.

Since a raid team usually consists of 10 members, this was akin to three full raid teams charging at Suho to kill him.

However, Suho had no intention of going down without a fight.

He glanced up at the ceiling.

Ruler’s Authority.’

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Invisible hands crushed the ceiling’s fluorescent lights one by one.

“What the hell!”

Suddenly plunged into darkness, the hunters charging at Suho stumbled and stopped in confusion.

Even for hunters, it took a moment for their eyes to adjust to sudden darkness.

‘But I don’t need that.’

Suho immediately lunged through the darkness.

This was exactly why he had come in wearing the crow mask that illuminated his field of vision.

Slice! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

“Aaah!”

“Urgh!”

“Argh!”

Screams erupted from the darkness.

“B-Be careful! He’s attacking… Gaaah!”

In an instant, five hunters collapsed, spilling blood.

“Light!”

Whoosh!

At that moment, someone conjured a fireball, lighting up the surroundings.

But by then, Suho’s figure had already disappeared.

The hunters’ eyes burned with murderous intent.

“Find him, now!”

This research facility was a cherished hideout of Vice President Lee Minseong.

Being toyed with by a mere intruder would be a disgrace to the Grim Reaper Guild.

“Healers, tend to the injured immediately! Everyone, stick together and don’t scatter!”

Despite the chaotic situation, they moved according to the manual.

After all, the enemy was outnumbered, and as long as they avoided being picked off one by one, their numbers guaranteed an advantage.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

More fireballs were conjured, gradually pushing back the darkness.

But.

‘You’re already my prey.’

From the edge of that darkness, Suho’s eyes glowed fiercely.

“Arise.”

Ssshh—

Behind Suho, his shadow stretched out, and eight legs extended in all directions.

The being that rose from the ground was…

[Aracne Lv.1]

Knight-class.

A massive body.

Dozens of eyes.

A grotesque mouth.

A pair of enormous pincers.

The ‘Grave Spider Aracne’ that Suho had caught in the Magok Field had returned from death as a shadow spider.

[Screeeech!]

Splat! Splat! Splat!

Black spiderwebs shot out in all directions.

Splat! Splat! Splat!

The webs stuck to the walls and ceiling, turning the entire container building into a spider’s nest.

“W-What the hell is this sticky stuff?!”

The webs soon ensnared even the hunters.

[Aracne uses the skill: Puppet Show.]

“Huh? My body is moving on its own…!”

Stab!

“Gah! Why am I…?”

Suddenly, a hunter ensnared in the web found his arm moving against his will, stabbing the colleague next to him.

Thud.

“Huh?”

As the bloodied body of his comrade fell to the ground, the puppet-like hunter flailed his arms in panic.

“N-No! I didn’t do it! This sticky thread is controlling my body…!”

But his body was already swinging its sword at another victim.

“What the hell are you doing, you bastard! Why are you attacking your own people?!”

“No! It’s not me! I’m not in control!”

And thus it began.

Splat! Splat! Splat!

[Aracne uses the skill: Puppet Show.]

[Aracne uses the skill: Puppet Show.]

“Argh! I’m caught too!”

“Aaagh! Scatter!”

“No! Don’t scatter! That’s exactly what it wants!”

“Then what the hell do we do?!”

The hunters, now puppets, started swinging their swords at each other.

It was utter pandemonium.

“Cut these damned webs first!”

“Don’t fall for its skills!”

Clink.

[You’ve purchased a ‘Lesser Healing Potion.’]

Amidst the chaos, Suho purchased a potion from the shop and poured it into the mouth of a kindergarten-aged child he had been holding.

The sight of a small child being subjected to the one-sided violence of hunters.

At that moment, Suho’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent as he glared at Park Jongcheol, crawling on the floor.

Immediately, a small shadow descended upon him.

[How dare you enrage the Lord…]

Beru’s hand grasped Park Jongcheol’s head tightly.

“Urgh?!”

Park Jongcheol’s eyes widened as his head was forcibly lifted.

In his dilated pupils, the mouth of a black monster, transformed into a demon, slowly opened wide.

[You will not die easily.]

Crack! Crack! Crack!

“…!”

A silent scream escaped Park Jongcheol’s mouth.

Meanwhile, the potion seemed to be working, and the child’s condition visibly improved.

Suho’s gaze shifted back to the enemies.

“Aracne.”

[Screeech?]

At Suho’s call, Aracne, who had been flinging hunters with its massive pincers, turned to him.

“Start with the healers.”

Healers were the priority targets.

Among them were those who not only had healing skills but also annoying buff skills.

That was why Suho had deliberately left the hunters with critical injuries but not killed them in the first wave—to flush out the healers.

As a result, the healers were now running around, pouring their mana generously into the wounded.

[Screeeech!]

Aracne began hunting down the healers.

“He’s targeting the healers! Protect them!”

‘Now’s my chance to rescue the other hostages.’

With that thought, Suho turned his gaze toward the prison.

But the association hunters were already moving.

Their mission had been to rescue the hostages from the start, so without even verifying Suho’s identity, they had rushed into the prison.

The problem was that the Grim Reaper Guild members had noticed too.

“The materials are trying to escape! Stop them!”

“Capture the hostages!”

Rumble!

They surrounded the prison.

“Tsk!”

The association hunters found themselves trapped in the prison alongside the hostages.

And to make matters worse…

Bang!

“What’s this?!”

At that moment, the door of the research lab burst open as reinforcements arrived.

The problem was that these reinforcements weren’t from the association but from the Grim Reaper Guild.

Dozens of hunters who had been in another container building rushed over, having heard the commotion.

“Ha.”

Team Leader Han Jaehyuk sighed as the scene unfolded.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and muttered.

“Are we even going to make it out of here alive?”

“Of course.”

“…!”

Startled by the unexpected answer, Han Jaehyuk turned to look beside him.

The crow mask had somehow approached the prison bars.

Suho bent the bars with his bare hands and handed the child he had been holding to Han Jaehyuk.

‘What kind of strength is this…?’

Overwhelmed by Suho’s incredible strength, Han Jaehyuk reflexively took the child.

Suho then bent the bars back into place and spoke to him.

“Stay here and protect the hostages for now. You can use your shield skill to cover them if anyone attacks, right?”

“Who… are you…?”

Han Jaehyuk began to ask, but at that moment—

Splat! Splat! Splat!

Suddenly, black spiderwebs flew in and tied the prison door shut from the outside.

It was now impossible to open, whether from the inside or the outside.

Han Jaehyuk stared at Suho in shock.

But Suho had already turned to face the approaching enemies.

“Just rest here for a while.”

His broad, reassuring back.

“By the time I’m done, it’ll all be over.”

With those words, Suho slowly walked toward the enemies, whose numbers had now doubled.

He could have escaped anytime he wanted.

But should he really let these people live?

Hunters who killed their own kind for personal gain.

They could no longer be called human.

They were monsters.

No, villains.

Looking at them, Suho made up his mind.

‘I’ll root them out right here, today.’

That thought reached someone far away.

[The Beast Monarch, Lord of Fangs, rejoices at the arrival of the hunt.]

“Possession.”

Suho’s words fell.

Ssshh…

Gray’s body, which had been waiting inside the Shadow Dungeon, slowly floated into the air and began to turn transparent.

“Grr?”

“Huh? Spiritualization?”

Essil, who had been standing nearby, immediately recognized the phenomenon and widened his eyes in surprise.

[The spirit of the pet: Gray possesses the body of the priest.]

Gray’s spirit climbed through Suho’s shadow and merged with Suho’s body.

Shwoooosh!

In that instant, Suho’s hair turned a divine silver, and the aura of a beast surged throughout his entire being.

“…!”

“What the… What is that?!”

The sudden transformation of Suho shocked the Grim Reaper Guild members.

Their reaction was no different from that of the association’s hunters trapped in the prison.

“H-Huh. That can’t be…!”

“The White Tiger Guild’s…!”

[The Beast Monarch, Lord of Fangs, nods in satisfaction at the priest’s transformed appearance.]

‘So this is what it feels like.’

Suho looked down at the primal energy surging through his body.

A mystical wind filled with magical energy swirled around him.

“Alright, time to see how much power this priestly transformation of yours has,” Suho muttered, smirking as he recalled Rakan’s proud boasting.

And in that moment—

“Grrraaah!”

Suho roared like a beast, launching himself explosively toward the enemies.

Boom!

“Aaaargh!”

…Gulp.

Watching the scene in disbelief, Team Leader Han Jaehyuk unconsciously swallowed hard.

An old memory surfaced in his mind.

‘This isn’t just a normal beast transformation.’

He had only seen it once.

From a distance, he had witnessed the battle of Baek Yoonho, the guildmaster of the White Tiger Guild.

Of course, it wasn’t that the aura exuded by this crow-masked man was on Baek Yoonho’s level.

Baek Yoonho was an S-rank, and the sheer size and intimidation of his presence were too overwhelming to even think about again.

Yet, why…?

Why did that memory keep coming back?

“Beast King Crow…”

“Sorry? What did you say, sir?”

Han Jaehyuk’s subordinates looked at him as the name spilled from his mouth.

Right. Why did it only now dawn on him?

He had just read an article about it the night before.

Magok Field.

The crow mask.

“…The one who inherited the power of the Beast King.”

Could that be him?

Roaaar!

The terrifying roar of a beast reverberated, shaking their hearts.

Right in front of the association hunters, Beast King Crow, alongside a giant spider, was tearing through their prey with reckless abandon.