Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 71

Suho, Baek Miho, and Im Taegyu barely managed to fight through the rain of arrows and make their way inside the hive.

The moment their feet hit the ground—

*Ta-at!*

Without missing a beat, Suho and Baek Miho shot forward at incredible speed.

They closed in on the archers who had fired at them and cut them down in an instant.

*Slash!*

“Kegh!”

[You have slain a Contaminated Ghoul.]
[You have slain a Contaminated Ghoul.]

The enemies inside were the same grotesque mutants they had encountered outside.

“Damn it. They were all my people…”

Im Taegyu gritted his teeth as he recognized the faces of the fallen ghouls. Even though they had mutated, traces of their former selves remained.

“Are all these mutants from the Reaper Guild?”

Baek Miho muttered grimly.

“It makes sense now… They killed all the other hunters but kidnapped only Reaper Guild members. Was Lee Minseong really so desperate to become guild master that he resorted to this?”

“Anyway, now that we’re inside the hive, let’s find the owner. Beru, lead the way.”

[Yes, my lord. Please follow me.]

Beru’s antennae twitched as he moved ahead like a living compass.

Just then, one of Suho’s swords, *Rakan’s Fang*, spoke to him.

“Be careful. This place has been sanctified.”

“It’s a sanctuary?” Suho asked, frowning at the sword in his hand.

[The Beast King, Fang Monarch, shrugs, claiming it has nothing to do with him.]

“Then it must be Querehsha’s sanctuary,” Suho muttered.

“Seems likely,” the sword replied.

“Sanctuaries don’t just appear randomly, do they?”

“No. A sanctuary is a monarch’s domain. Now that most of the monarchs are dead, such places are usually created to perform rituals for them.”

A sanctuary.

Suho recalled the sanctuaries he had entered before—those that belonged to the Beast King.

“There might be relics hidden inside.”

“Possibly. Or we might find a successor… or a priest.”

“Either way, we’ll know once we find Lee Minseong.”

The interior of the hive was nothing like the exterior. From within, it opened into a completely separate space, severed from reality.

A stormy sky churned above them, its thick clouds swirling ominously.

The air reeked of decay, a stench so heavy it felt like the ground was soaked with rotting corpses.

“This feels like we’ve entered a gate,” Im Taegyu muttered, glancing around cautiously.

“It’s not a dungeon,” Suho replied.

It was, without a doubt, a sanctuary.

Im Taegyu shot him an irritated look. “Not a dungeon? What do you know about this place, kid?”

Already tense from suppressing the poison with his mana, Im Taegyu was growing more agitated. As guild master of the Reaper Guild, he bore the weight of the current disaster.

Public opinion had already turned against his guild, and even if they resolved this situation, the aftermath would be disastrous.

Lee Minseong’s actions had opened a portal in the heart of the city, and the blame would inevitably fall on the Reaper Guild.

Compensation alone for the lives lost today would be astronomical.

Seeing Suho—a mere C-rank hunter—offer his unsolicited opinion only added to Im Taegyu’s frustration.

“Then what is this place, if not a dungeon?”

Before the tension could escalate further, Baek Miho interjected.

“We don’t have time to argue. Im Taegyu, are you unable to use your mana right now?”

Im Taegyu flinched at her direct question, his expression stiffening.

“…Yes. I’m using my mana to suppress the poison.”

“And healing magic didn’t work?”

“It didn’t. I’ll need a higher-level healer, but none are nearby.”

“Then why did you follow us?”

“Even without magic, I can still fight.”

It was true—an S-rank hunter’s physical abilities alone were formidable.

“At least you’ll make a good shield,” Baek Miho quipped.

“…”

[Careful, you’ll make him cry,] Beru teased, clicking his mandibles playfully.

Im Taegyu bristled at the comment.

A small ant floating beside Suho was gazing at him with something that resembled pity, and for some reason, that only made Im Taegyu more uneasy.

What was it? This strange feeling…

He wasn’t just uncomfortable.

*Shiver.*

‘Am I… afraid?’

Im Taegyu’s heart skipped a beat as he locked eyes with Beru, who gave him a knowing smile.

[Heh. You’ve grown old, haven’t you?]

“…?”

Im Taegyu felt an eerie sense of familiarity from Beru’s words, as if the creature knew him from somewhere.

But before he could dwell on it—

“Prepare for battle,” Suho ordered abruptly, his gaze fixed on the sky.

*Krrrooooom!*

The dark clouds above began to churn violently, and from their depths, a massive swarm of black bees descended upon them.

It was no mere storm—it was a living cloud.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Im Taegyu muttered, eyes wide with disbelief.

“That entire cloud… is bees?”

The “cloud” wasn’t a weather phenomenon. It was a colossal swarm, all converging toward the sanctuary.

[Well, it *is* a hive,] Beru commented, twitching his antennae.

[I sense the strongest presence beyond that swarm.]

“So we’ll have to fly through them,” Suho noted.

Having fought through the rain of arrows to enter the hive, now they had to break through a wall of bees to reach their goal.

Then—

*Ding!*

[‘Sanctuary of the Insects’ has been activated.]

“…!”

Suho felt a chill run down his spine.

This sensation… it was just like before.

Just like the time he had entered the sanctuary of the Beast Monarch.

*Ding!*

[Passive Skill ‘(Unknown)’ has been activated.]

*Whooooosh—!*

In an instant, Suho’s shadow expanded outward, spreading across the entire realm, shrouding everything in its dark embrace.

And then—

Time stopped.

No, **everything** stopped.

—

‘…Here again, huh?’

Suho found himself standing alone on the edge of a desolate horizon.

A world of perfect emptiness—a void.

‘This is the Realm of Eternal Rest.’

But the sensation here was vastly different from what he had felt when he had encountered Rakan, the Beast Monarch.

‘Bugs, huh?’

He looked down at the ground beneath his feet.

The entire white landscape—this entire eerie realm—was made of writhing white insects, squirming and crawling together to form every inch of the land.

Suho’s gaze lifted, and at the far end of the void, a woman sat with her legs crossed, looking down at him with a haughty expression.

He knew immediately who she was.

‘So, you’re Querehsha?’

At his question, the woman’s lips curled into a wicked smile.

[Yes, that’s right. I am Querehsha, the eternal ghost slain by your father.]

Suddenly, a system message popped up in front of Suho’s eyes.

[The Plague Monarch, Querehsha, is watching you closely.]

…!

Querehsha’s presence began to grow exponentially.

It wasn’t just her aura—it was as if her very being expanded.

*Krrrik! Krrrrrik!*

*Shreeeeek!*

The countless white insects that made up the ground began to converge, merging together. Querehsha’s form swelled larger and larger until she became a towering, monstrous queen.

[…Once,] she murmured, her colossal eyes narrowing as she gazed down at the now-diminutive Suho.

[I wondered what it would be like to devour another monarch.]

Her massive figure shuddered with a self-deprecating chuckle.

[But in the end, I was the one who got eaten.]

Suddenly—

The ground beneath Suho transformed into a gigantic hand, gripping his body tightly and lifting him into the air.

*Groooooan.*

The massive hand raised him up to Querehsha’s enormous face, where she peered at him, as if recalling old memories.

[Do you know? Your father was the most ruthless creature I ever encountered—even more so than any of the insects I’ve ever known.]

It was as if she were trying to see the shadow of Sung Jinwoo in Suho’s features.

[You look just like him.]

‘Is that so? People say I resemble my mother more.’

At Suho’s response, Querehsha’s eyes glimmered with playful malice.

[If I devour you now, I wonder… would you taste like him?]

Her expression resembled that of a child squishing insects with morbid curiosity.

Except, in this case, the roles were reversed—Suho was the small insect before the overwhelming queen.

But Suho remained unbothered, completely calm.

‘For a ghost that’s been dead for ages, you sure talk big.’

[…That arrogant tongue. Just like your father’s.]

Querehsha sneered coldly, then released Suho from her grasp, letting him drop back onto the ground.

[Yes, you’re right. I’m already dead. But…]

*Ding!*

A system message abruptly appeared before Suho, accompanied by a chilling sense of dread.

[A new quest has arrived.]

Before Suho could even read the message, Querehsha’s smile twisted into something far more cruel.

[I am one and many.]

Querehsha had started as a mere insect but had grown by devouring countless others, becoming the queen of all insects. Every bug she consumed became part of her body.

And in this world, filled with endless swarms of insects, every single one was a part of her—both her corpse and her soul.

[The moment you set foot in my domain, you were already mine to consume.]

Suddenly, the noxious poison Suho had sensed earlier seeped into this pure white world, tainting it entirely.

The entire realm turned hostile, intent on devouring him.

Before Suho, the quest window automatically opened.

—

**[Emergency Quest: Querehsha’s Poisoned Trial]**

**The Plague Monarch, Querehsha, has drawn you into her ‘Trial of Venom.’**

All insects that once made up Querehsha now see you as prey.

Survive for the required duration to prove your worth.

**Required Time: 4 Hours**
**Time Remaining: 4:00:00**

—

Above him, Querehsha’s arrogant smile deepened as she looked down upon him.

[Squirm. Struggle. Just like I did before your father!]

The entire swarm of insects that made up the world roared as they surged toward Suho, countless bugs screeching in hunger.

*Kyaaaaaah!*

*Screeaaaaak!*

…

But—

Something strange happened.

Even as the swarm came crashing toward him, Suho’s expression remained completely unfazed, not a hint of fear or panic in his eyes.

This unnerved Querehsha.

Despite the overwhelming tide of insects rushing to devour him, Suho stood as if nothing was happening.

Not only that—this was the Realm of Eternal Rest, where even Suho’s shadow soldiers couldn’t manifest.

[W-Wait.]

For the first time, it was Querehsha who felt a flicker of fear.

[What… what is that power?]

Dark, ominous energy began to coil around Suho’s arm, writhing like a living thing.

And it wasn’t just one type of energy.

*Whoooooosh!*

A mystical wind swirled from nowhere, turning Suho’s hair a shimmering silver.

Querehsha’s eyes widened in disbelief as she recognized the forces surrounding him.

[How… how many monarchs’ powers have you inherited!?]