Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 99

Outer Gods
The Itarim.

Absolute beings who have created countless universes since time immemorial.

[Once, the “god” of our world was one of them.]

A conversation Suho had with Beru echoed in his mind.

The god who created the world Earth belongs to was also one of the Itarim.

But even for such supreme beings, there was one thing they could not escape—*death*.

And his end was truly devastating.

The rebellion of the angels.

The angels, born as the emissaries of this god, one day realized the truth.

The god they served was neither good nor righteous but a cruel being who reveled in creation and destruction.

Having uncovered this truth, the angels rebelled against their creator—and succeeded.

[Thus, the god was killed—by the very angels he had created.]

But the real problems began afterward.

A world without a god.

A land without a master.

The vast mana left behind in this world became free for the taking, claimed by whoever got to it first.

This fact did not go unnoticed by the Outer Gods, the other Itarim, scattered across distant dimensions.

[From that moment, the Outer Gods began to set their sights on our world.]

At first, it was a race to arrive.

The objective was simple: get here first and plant their flag.

Who cared who lived here or what the slain Itarim had created?

They only needed to destroy and consume everything, making it an incredibly straightforward competition.

But when they arrived, they encountered an unexpected obstacle.

That obstacle was—

[Our king, your father.]

Though the god of this land had died, a new ruler—one who governed even death itself—stood in their way.

The greatest fragment of brilliant light: the Shadow Monarch, Sung Jinwoo.

Suho’s father had risen, leading a vast army to repel the Itarim forces across the cosmos.

Thus began the *Outer God War*.

[The war we waged was relentless and unending, and it continues even now.]

Victory for either side was impossible to predict.

The Itarim, who created endlessly, versus the immortal army that rose no matter how many times they fell.

No one knew how long this precarious balance could last.

It was nothing but a ceaseless battle.

[Then, the Itarim tried something else to break the stalemate.]

They chose to go around.

Since Sung Jinwoo held the front door too firmly, they decided to circle around and attack through the back.

[That “back door” was Earth.]

Earth, from the perspective of the Itarim, was an unappetizing area.

Its mana was weak compared to other dimensions, offering little nourishment.

But that weakness also made it vulnerable, full of exploitable gaps.

Thus, the Itarim’s emissaries targeted Earth and began melting the dimensional walls to carve a path to it.

This caused the already fragile dimensional rifts to twist chaotically, and gates began to sprout across Earth.

However, those invading Earth through these gates weren’t the Itarim’s forces but dimensional refugees.

The species of the defeated Monarchs, shattered and wandering after the Monarch War, had begun invading Earth.

[We suspected the Itarim’s emissaries were pulling strings behind the scenes, but…]

“This is how they chose to operate.”

Suho’s gaze grew cold as he stared at the Blood-Maddened Tyrant.

A *Mistborne*.

A fiery beast that burned, using dead humans as its fuel.

Now, the corpse of a demon burned just like the Mistborne.

There was one critical difference, though.

A Mistborne’s human fuel burned to ash quickly, but the demonic fuel was far sturdier.

*Fwoosh!*

Flames danced atop the warden’s severed neck, forming a grotesque face.

It looked as though a flame beast was wearing the “armor” of a demon’s corpse.

[What a slimy creature.]

Beru clicked his tongue in disdain.

“The Tyrant King!”

“The Tyrant King!”

The surrounding demons trembled and prostrated themselves at the sight of the Blood-Maddened Tyrant.

It was like witnessing cult fanatics worshiping their leader.

Yet the Blood-Maddened Tyrant paid no attention to their cries, focusing only on Suho, the sole figure who refused to kneel.

“This is… intriguing.”

The Blood-Maddened Tyrant, his eyes gleaming with interest, spoke in a deep, resonant voice.

“To think I would find someone like you in a place like this.”

*Gulp.*

Suho’s expression tensed.

‘Could he have figured out my identity?’

It wouldn’t bode well if the Itarim’s emissary discovered the existence of the Shadow Monarch’s son.

‘I am my father’s only weakness.’

Suho swallowed dryly as he watched the Blood-Maddened Tyrant, who seemed to be piecing something together.

If the power Suho wielded was exposed to the Itarim, the consequences were obvious.

Never had Suho imagined he’d encounter an Itarim’s emissary here, leaving him rattled.

“Hahaha!”

The Blood-Maddened Tyrant erupted in laughter, splitting his lips into a wide grin.

“To think there was still a living demon noble!”

…Huh?

Suho’s tense expression softened, replaced by confusion.

Beru, also perplexed, murmured from within Suho’s shadow.

[Hrm. It seems your aura is giving off a strong mix of Vulcan and Esil’s energy. Perhaps this is a fortunate misunderstanding…]

But then—

The Blood-Maddened Tyrant’s eyes gleamed with malevolence.

“Astonishing. And not just a noble—but an heir to a Monarch’s power.”

[…!]

“…!”

Both Suho and Beru’s eyes widened in shock at the revelation.

*Flash!*

Suho immediately prepared to strike, his body coiled like a spring.

His mind raced, formulating 13 different ways to kill the Blood-Maddened Tyrant as quickly as possible.

[Young Lord! You must eliminate him here! If he escapes, your information could leak to the enemy’s ranks, and—!]

At that moment—

“How could a demon possibly inherit the power of the Fang Monarch?”

[What?]

Beru’s voice faltered in shock.

“How does he know? This guy’s sharp.”

[…Young Lord?]

To Beru’s disbelief, Suho nodded at the Blood-Maddened Tyrant’s question, his expression calm and composed.

Ignoring Beru’s incredulous gaze from the shadows, Suho instead focused on the Tyrant.

The Blood-Maddened Tyrant smirked meaningfully.

“Do you take me for a fool? The stench of beasts radiates off your body—I couldn’t miss it if I tried.”

[The Beast Monarch clicks his tongue in disdain, glaring at the Blood-Maddened Tyrant with contempt.]

Suho almost felt as if he could hear Rakan’s exasperated sigh from afar, but he maintained his unbothered demeanor.

With shameless confidence, he declared his “identity.”

“You’re right. I am a demon noble who inherited the Fang Monarch’s power.”

“I thought so. Hahaha! Excellent, excellent! To think I’d encounter someone like you in such a remote place!”

The Blood-Maddened Tyrant’s booming laughter echoed throughout the Colosseum, making the demons tremble even more.

In truth, Suho had summoned Gray’s spirit, and though Vulcan’s Horn was in his hand rather than on his head, it gave the impression that Suho, like Esil, could weaponize his horns.

‘Good. I’ve managed to conceal my true identity for now.’

[Is this really okay?]

Esil’s baffled voice emanated from Vulcan’s Horn, but Suho pretended not to hear it.

Though Beru and Quay had revealed themselves during the battle, the Tyrant appeared unaware of their presence.

[What exactly is your plan?]

As Esil whispered from the horn, Suho threw the question right back at the Blood-Maddened Tyrant.

“So, what’s your plan?”

Feigning the arrogance of a true demon noble, Suho glared at the Tyrant with disdain.

The Tyrant sneered at Suho’s tone.

“Were you targeting me from the start?”

“Cut the chatter. What are you planning, gathering Hellsteel in such a backwater place and using slaves to do it?”

The Colosseum was filled with demons enslaved to mine Hellsteel from the mines.

The only plausible reason for amassing so much Hellsteel was clear.

“You’re not preparing for war, are you?”

As Esil had explained, Hellsteel was the most commonly used material for crafting weapons in the Demon Realm.

Infused with mana, Hellsteel wasn’t just durable but highly responsive to magic, significantly amplifying power.

At Suho’s pointed question, the Blood-Maddened Tyrant spread his fiery arms wide, gesturing at the demons in the Colosseum.

“Look around! This place is completely under my control. But as you know, this is just a fragmented part of the Demon Realm.”

This particular location was one of many fragments of the Demon Realm, scattered aimlessly through the dimensional rifts.

“I plan to train these wretches and conquer every fragment of the Demon Realm. And then…”

The Tyrant’s burning gaze locked onto Suho.

“I’ll conquer all other dimensions as well. I’ll kill and devour everything until it’s all mine.”

Indeed, the Blood-Maddened Tyrant—an emissary of the Itarim—sought to begin by subjugating the fragmented Demon Realm.

From there, he intended to expand to other dimensions, and ultimately…

‘Earth will be next.’

Realizing the Tyrant’s ambitions, Suho narrowed his eyes in determination.

Meanwhile, the Tyrant exuded an ever-more sinister aura, licking his lips with anticipation.

“And that’s why I was searching for someone like you.”

“Someone like me?”

“Yes. Imagine how much stronger I would become if I wore the body of a demon noble like you as armor. Hah! Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.”

The Tyrant’s voice brimmed with ecstasy as he stared at Suho, his expression as though he already possessed Suho’s body.

It wasn’t an idle boast.

The demons filling the Colosseum were all his slaves.

Yet even in the face of this overwhelming threat—

‘Beru.’

Suho’s calm voice called out to Beru.

‘Has my father been fighting beings like this? All alone?’

[Yes, Young Lord.]

Beru’s voice was solemn.

[The King has always fought alone. In places no one knew, in times no one remembers.]

Even now, at this very moment…

Sung Jinwoo, Suho’s father, was still waging a lonely war.

At the unreachable edges of the universe.

‘I see.’

Suho nodded silently, a quiet flame igniting in his gaze.

“My father must be terribly bored.”

Which meant…

“I guess I should pay him a visit.”

Truthfully, Suho didn’t know how much help he could be.

Still, as his only son, it felt like his duty to offer a shoulder massage to a father struggling alone in a foreign land.

“…I should pack plenty of gifts for the trip.”

Suho’s gaze shifted to the Blood-Maddened Tyrant, who radiated overwhelming menace.

Yes, gifts.

This creature would make the perfect first present.

“Arise.”