Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 292

At the last possible moment, Sung Ilhwan managed to pull his wife to safety. His sharp eyes immediately scanned her for injuries.

I wasn’t too late. Thank goodness.

Kyunghye was safe. A wave of relief washed over him, so overwhelming that his knees nearly buckled.

It was still too early to relax, however.

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded, his burning gaze locked onto the Apostle of Paradise.

At the same time, he fought to restrain the surging mana threatening to explode from within him. He feared that his unfiltered energy might have a harmful effect on his wife. Kyunghye was so vulnerable to mana that she had contracted Eternal Slumber in their past lives.

Ilhwan had to fight with all his strength to control the mana along with the anger that simmered just beneath the surface. Despite his best efforts, his anger began to seep through.

“Your... skin...” Kyunghye whispered, her eyes widening as she stared at her husband.

His skin was beginning to crack where the Stones of the Outer Gods had been embedded. Even Kyunghye, who knew nothing about mana, could tell that his body was on the brink of fracturing like a fragile glass marble or a ticking time bomb.

Yet Ilhwan, ever calm, spoke to her in an attempt to reassure her. “It’s all right. There’s nothing for you to worry about, honey. I’m here now.”

Everything was fine. She was safe. This time, he had not arrived too late.

Relief flooded through Ilhwan as he turned his attention back to the Apostle of Paradise. “What, are you unable to speak? I just asked you a question,” he said.

“If you wish to know who I am, then you must first tell me who you are.”

“What?”

The apostle smirked. Instead of answering, he had replied with a question of his own. This crucial moment had been suddenly interrupted, but he was unfazed. In fact, a bright grin spread across his face.

This was remarkable. This intruder also bore a face the apostle recognized from a photograph of Suho’s family, one included in the documents Yuri had given him.

—Sung Ilhwan, grandfather of Sung Suho.

The apostle knew the old man’s face and his name, yet he still asked for his identity.

The question wasn’t meant for the human Ilhwan, and the apostle didn’t expect an answer. The state of the old man’s body was enough of a response. Even now, the Stones of the Outer Gods in Ilhwan’s skin were reverberating, glowing faintly blue. They reacted to the mana of the Outer Universes emanating from the apostle.

“I never imagined it,” the apostle murmured. “A high priest of the Church of the Outer Gods, among Suho’s family members?”

“What did you just say?” Ilhwan’s face hardened, and he bared his teeth. “Whose family? You’re after our Suho?”

“Your Suho? Interesting. Very interesting.”

The apostle simply smiled in response to Ilhwan’s rage. He smacked his lips and ran his snake-like eyes over the old man’s form.

“Twenty-three Stones of the Outer Gods, and all perfectly synced too. Who knew such a perfect vessel would be hiding in the middle of nowhere?”

The apostle licked his lips. This was a high priest, indeed—a most coveted prize.

Ilhwan, meanwhile, only had eyes for his wife. He hadn’t needed to know the apostle’s identity—he had only needed to confirm something.

“Follower of the Outer Gods, I am not a high priest,” Ilhwan said.

“Oh, but you are. And an excellent one at that. A complete vessel. I’ve never seen your match,” the apostle countered.

Ilhwan’s protest meant little.

The apostle smiled broadly, extending a hand as he introduced himself. “So worship me. I am the Apostle of Paradise, an apostle of the gods you will now serve.”

Suddenly, a burst of mana surged through Ilhwan’s body. He resisted it with all his might, but the Stones of the Outer Gods seemed to stir as if drawn toward the apostle by an unseen force. Like a marionette, his body moved on its own, against his will. It felt as if invisible threads were connecting every stone in his body to the apostle’s hand.

Gritting his teeth, Ilhwan fought against the pull. The apostle merely chuckled in amusement.

“How adorable. Obey. This is not something a mere creation can resist. The Stones of the Outer Gods were planted within you for this very moment.”

This was nothing like the situation with Haseul in North Korea. She had only wielded a scythe formed from the Stones of the Outer Gods. Priests of the Church of the Outer Gods and those of even higher ranks, like Ilhwan, had the stones directly implanted in their bodies. That was for a simple reason: to turn them into puppets whenever necessary.

“Since the temple that once stood here is gone, you must have been unaware, but allow me to enlighten you. The power in your body only exists to allow you to become my obedient puppet. Submit to it. It is the only reason you exist. It is a duty given to you by the great Itarim!”

With those words, the invisible pressure intensified. Ilhwan clenched his jaw and forced a smirk onto his lips.

“What nonsense...”

With a burst of blue energy, he pushed back against the force, continuing to resist. At the same time, he swung a dagger, slashing wildly in every direction. Suddenly, the invisible force restraining him was severed, the strings snapping.

“No... How?!”

The Apostle of Paradise’s eyes widened in shock. In that instant, he realized the truth.

“You’re not merely a high priest, are you? What have you done to your body?”

It was astonishing. What kind of training had this old man undergone to reach this level? Not only was he passively receiving the power of the outer universes, but he was also able to control it with ease.

Seizing the brief moment of the apostle’s confusion, Ilhwan swiftly slashed with his dagger, slicing apart the wooden tendrils that bound the orphanage children.

“Everyone, gather around me!”

“Mr. Sung!”

As the roots restraining them were severed, the children were finally freed. They rushed to Ilhwan’s side, tears streaming down their faces.

Now that they felt truly safe, the children began to sob uncontrollably. Just moments ago, they had mustered their courage to protect Kyunghye, but they were still just children. Even adults would have been terrified by the horror that unfolded around them. The world had transformed into hell before their very eyes.

But at the heart of it all stood Ilhwan, dagger in hand, determined to protect his wife and the children.

The Apostle of Paradise, his pride wounded, grumbled at the tip of the dagger’s blade. “Unbelievable. You were actually able to resist my control? Is there no one in this wretched world who obeys when told?”

However, he was far from discouraged. As far as he was concerned, this was even better. It was undeniable that this man’s body was teeming with the mana of the Outer Universes. Not only that, but he had adapted so completely to the energy that even the apostle’s control was repelled.

The apostle grinned. “Now this changes things somewhat.”

He was intrigued as he pondered what kind of experiments he would need to refine a high priest’s body to such a degree. If he knew how to do it, he could make vessels like this many times over.

He came to a decision.

“You know what? This is perfect. It seems I should not simply make you my soldier. No, your body would serve me far better if I took it as my own vessel.”

The human body he currently occupied was nothing more than a crude, temporary shell. This old man, however, was an ideal host.

“I’ve made up my mind. From now on, you are my new vessel. Prove your devotion with your death!” the apostle cried.

A surge of divine power burst from him as he lunged at Ilhwan.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Ilhwan cried, countering with a fierce attack.

However, the apostle was cunning.

“Struggle all you want... while protecting them!”

He aimed for the ceiling above, causing it to collapse. His target was Kyunghye and the children.

As concrete and debris rained down, the children screamed. Ilhwan twisted mid-attack, smashing apart the falling concrete with his blade and sending chunks of concrete flying.

“Such skill! I like your moves! Now I want that vessel even more!”

The apostle let his divine power unfurl like a net, tightening around Ilhwan from all directions.

“Let’s see if you can withstand this!” he exclaimed. “If you evade it, I wonder what will happen to the others?”

“Agh...”

Ilhwan grunted, his resolve unshaken. He knew exactly what the apostle was trying to do, but he had no choice.

This enemy was right. If the slightest bit of Ilhwan’s mana touched his wife or the children, their lives would be in jeopardy. It was so condensed that mere contact could incinerate an ordinary human in an instant.

In the end, there was only one thing Ilhwan could do. Without retreating a single step, he had to cut down every last thread of divine power closing in on him.

He sliced away with his daggers.

“Hahaha! Wonderful! Yes, fight back!” the apostle exclaimed.

The more Ilhwan resisted, the more the apostle reveled in it. Eventually, this vessel would be his. Once his soul inhabited that body, his power would be unimaginable. A vessel of such size and strength was essential to withstand the mana pouring in from the Outer Universes.

With this, I may not even need to retrieve all the fragments of my true body. This might be enough to reach my original power!

The apostle hovered high in the air, visible through the shattered ceiling. His divine energy pressed down upon Ilhwan with renewed force.

“Worship your gods! Praise them! Prove your faith! That is your sole reason for existence!”

As he spoke, he schemed even further. Just as divine power blanketed the sky, the same was true for the ground below. Beneath the land, the roots of the Feeder Plant had spread like an unseen web. Without even lifting a finger, he could command them, and they would obey.

“Ahhh!”

A root burst from the ground and ensnared a young girl—the same girl who had first spoken to the apostle.

Ilhwan’s gaze darted toward her. He instantly used his mana to sever the root, but that was merely the beginning. A huge number of roots erupted from the ground all at once, attacking the orphanage children.

No!

Ilhwan was out of time. He did not have enough hands to protect everyone. He had no chance to counterattack since he was too preoccupied with defense.

This was exactly what the apostle had intended. In that moment, the divine power he had unleashed formed into chains, wrapping around Ilhwan’s body. He cried out as he was fully bound.

“Got you!” the apostle crowed, his face lighting up in a victorious grin.

But before he could savor his victory, the sky split apart and blinding flashes of lightning rained down. The blue-white thunderbolts turned the roots that had been attacking the children to ash.

The apostle’s eyes widened in disbelief. Ilhwan, however, appeared more relieved than stunned.

“You made it.”

As the brilliant lightning cascaded from above, a massive shadow loomed above them. The wings of a vast black dragon appeared in the sky.

Kaisel roared. On his back stood a woman, her Demon King’s Longsword poised downward.

“Sorry I’m late, Father!” she called out.

“You got here just in time, my daughter-in-law,” Ilhwan replied, smiling warmly. With her arrival, he could focus fully on the battle at hand.

The chains binding his body shattered.

“Now the real fight begins,” he said.

The apostle seemed momentarily disoriented.

“M-my god...”

He had rapidly gone pale after seeing Haein appear. However, he wasn’t looking at her.

“How... How is this possible?”

His wide, frantic eyes were fixed on the shadow wyvern beneath her. The powerful, terrifying energy that Kaisel exuded was chillingly familiar. The apostle could tell right away that his shadow creature was not one of Suho’s shadow soldiers like those he had faced in North Korea.

“It can’t be. He is truly back on Earth...?”

The Apostle of Paradise felt panic set in.