Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 293

The Itarim were gods. As fickle and destructive as they were, they could create or destroy entire universes if they wanted to. And it was Sung Jinwoo, the Monarch of Shadows, who was single-handedly holding back dozens of these powerful beings.

The Apostle of Paradise, on the other hand, was a simple creation. He had once caught a glimpse of Jinwoo from a distance, and as a result, he never overestimated his own power. For a creation to survive, they had to be fully aware of how little worth they had—that was the key to survival.

The apostle never thought for a second that he could face the Monarch of Shadows on his own. The moment Jinwoo spotted him, his fate would be sealed. That was why it was far wiser to battle those beneath the Monarch’s league—the shadow soldiers that he led.

But what is this?

“How did he get all the way here?!”

Even as the apostle witnessed it, he could not believe it. The Monarch of Shadows’ army was supposed to be engaged in a fierce battle somewhere else in the universe—so why was one of his shadow soldiers here, and not just any soldier, but one of such a high rank?

That could only mean one thing—the Monarch of Shadows himself had come.

“Wh-what of the war, then? What happened to the war?”

Did we lose? It can’t be!

A single Itar was no ordinary being, and there were multiple of them! The idea that the combined forces of the Itarim could lose that war was something the apostle could not even conceive of.

But... what is that soldier doing here, then? How did it escape the Outer Universes?

The apostle didn’t know what to think.

While he was doubtful, strange feelings of fear began filling his mind. He wanted to believe he was wrong, but the evidence was right in front of him. Kaisel, the shadow wyvern, was clearly filled with the power of the Monarch of Shadows. That presence alone sent his mind spiraling into a chaos of despair and fear.

The apostle hadn’t panicked when he had discovered the son of the Monarch of Shadows in North Korea. Even after realizing that the boy had inherited his father’s power, he had not been this shaken.

Because that was just a skill!

It was an impressive skill, considering that Suho was human. But compared to the Monarch of Shadows—whose power the apostle had seen and experienced himself—the young hunter had been nothing.

When the son displayed other powers, the apostle became truly alarmed, but not even then had he felt fear like this. He still believed that if he could gather all his fragments and restore his original power, he would be able to fight back and defeat Suho.

Now in utter confusion, his body moved on instinct.

“Mouth of the void!”

Without hesitation, the Apostle of Paradise tore open a dimensional rift and leaped away.

Sung Ilhwan no longer mattered. He was a mere human, and Suho’s family was no longer the apostle’s concern. If the real Monarch of Shadows had truly descended upon this land, then escape was the only option. Survival came first—only then could he plan for the future.

The rift split open, revealing the boundless void of the universe. As quickly as he could, the apostle hurled himself into the abyss.

“You don’t think I’m going to let you escape, are you?”

The apostle’s eyes widened. Ilhwan had jumped in right along with him.

“You foolish human!” the apostle snapped.

He was genuinely dumbfounded. The old man clearly had no idea how dangerous it was to cross through the dimensional rift. If one lost their way even once, they would drift through the cosmos until their death. And this man was merely a human being, not a being with gardens everywhere like the apostle.

But Ilhwan cared for only one thing—the hunt.

“You think I’d let someone who threatened my family just walk away?!”

He pursued the apostle with relentless determination, his twin daggers slashing forward. The Stones of the Outer Gods in his body gave off a blue light, imbuing the daggers with a brilliant glow. Those completed blades of pure energy tore through the rift, cutting mercilessly toward the Apostle of Paradise.

“Wh-what is this...?”

The apostle shuddered. It wasn’t just the strength, but the sheer familiarity. The cold eyes, the two daggers, and the explosive mana engulfing his entire being—it all resembled the Monarch.

“How dare you!”

He gritted his teeth. He had instinctively been terrified by this human, and a belated rush of anger came over him.

“You are a nobody, and yet you mimic him!”

Divine power exploded from the apostle’s body, filling the rift with blinding radiance.

The massive energy blocked Ilhwan’s attacks, and at the same time, it shackled him once more. The stones embedded in his body began to screech, threatening to tear him apart. The stones sensed the divine energy and yearned to submit, to become mere puppet strings once again.

Ilhwan gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to give in.

“You...”

It seemed his body would break if he continued resisting. Tiny cracks spread across his skin, and blood began to flow freely from them. Ilhwan twisted his lips into a grim smile as if he enjoyed the pain.

“You’re going to have to do better than that.”

He continued to strike. The blue trails of his daggers collided with his target’s attacks at breakneck speed.

The apostle laughed. “You are a fool! Can’t you see that this is my territory? Your power cannot possibly touch—”

Right as he spoke the words, Ilhwan made contact.

Before the apostle could finish speaking, his defense had shattered. He could only stare in disbelief as his divine power, something he thought was inexhaustible, crumbled. And Ilhwan was coming at him in a straight line, charging like a madman.

“H-how is this possible?!”

“Did you say there were twenty-three Stones of the Outer Gods in my body?”

Ilhwan bared his teeth in a grin. Earlier, he had been focused on defense for the sake of his wife and the children, but at his core, he was not a defender. He was a hunter, and hunters did what they were named for—they hunted.

“Thank you,” he said. “I’ll make good use of these stones.”

Ilhwan was a true hunter. He, more than anyone else in this world—aside from his son—was the most experienced hunter alive.

The apostle condensed his divine energy, forming an impenetrable barrier against Ilhwan’s attacks.

“Insolent fool! Know your place!” he cried.

Glaring into the human’s eyes, he ground his teeth.

“Don’t delude yourself! I did not run because I was afraid of the likes of you!”

The next moment, the net of divine power that appeared around the apostle swallowed up Ilhwan’s body. There was no room to dodge. Unlike before, the old man was right in front of the apostle.

“Blame your own foolishness for following me this far!” the apostle barked.

He had already escaped into the dimensional rift, which meant he was safe for now. Not even the Monarch of Shadows would find it easy to locate him in a place where coordinates were unreliable.

Now he could follow through with his initial plan to take Ilhwan’s body as his own. This was no longer a setback—it was an opportunity.

“Not even the Monarch of Shadows will be able to harm me if I have his father hostage!”

Ilhwan winced as the divine power encased him. The resonance of the Stones of the Outer Gods made his heart pound wildly.

“Surrender! Obey and worship! Your body shall now become my vessel!” cried the apostle. He was like a zealot, a bizarre smile spreading across his face.

“This vessel...” Ilhwan said with a twisted smile. He glared into the apostle’s eyes, now wild with madness. “Long ago, it once contained a being far greater than you.”

“What the hell are you going on about—”

“And I died back then.”

A strange calm settled into Ilhwan’s eyes, and as it did, the turmoil within him stilled.

The apostle was too distracted to notice the change.

“A... Ruler?”

His eyes shook with realization. Now he finally understood: Sung Ilhwan was no mere human, much less the result of endless experiments by the Church of the Outer Gods. His vessel had been ready long ago—a very long time ago.

The apostle could see it now. The old man’s soul glowed quietly within his body, and the size of that soul, which had been hidden until now by the stones, became apparent.

The apostle’s eyes filled with horror. “Th-this can’t be right! What exactly did you have inside you? How can a mere human—”

“A mere human? You have no idea, do you?” Ilhwan let out a dry chuckle and said, “Humans are a race that grows through hardship. And at the very pinnacle of that growth... stands my son.”

Ah. And my grandson, too.

Just as he was about to say those final words, the delicate balance of power was suddenly and violently disrupted.

The apostle gasped. At that moment, Ilhwan’s soul, the very soul that he had sought to claim, turned against him to devour him like a predator.

What?! It’s trying to eat me... A human’s soul!

It was unbelievable, impossible—but the situation gave him no time to process his shock.

There was a roar, and dark wings cast a shadow over the boundless void. The shadow wyvern had appeared.

“Father! I’ve evacuated everyone to safety!”

From atop Kaisel, Haein called out to reassure Ilhwan.

She then joined the fight without hesitation, combining Sword of Light with Storm of White Flames. A colossal bolt of lightning followed the arc of her sword, striking straight downward.

The blinding light tore through the dimensional rift, and in an instant, the Apostle of Paradise was cleaved in two.