Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 336

Suho stepped into the cave. Beru, having shrunk himself down to conserve mana, perched on Suho’s shoulder. His antennae twitched.

“That way, Young Monarch! I sense the energy of the Outer Gods somewhere deep inside.”

There was nothing but endless darkness at the far end of the cave where Beru pointed, making it impossible to see anything. As Beru stared into that pitch-black void, his gaze quickly turned cold.

“It’s just as I thought. A sanctuary must be hidden in there.”

Suho gave a nod.

“Yeah. Now that I’m standing here, I can tell for sure.”

He had wondered why this hiding place alone was so far removed from the Elvenwoods, unlike the others, but he had gotten it wrong. The energy of the Outer Gods that flowed out in waves had masked the fact that the same unmistakable energy signature of the Elvenwoods could be detected from this place, albeit faintly. Suho was now certain that he would find the roots of another Elvenwood at the end of the cave.

“So the Apostle of Domination hid his lair around another Elvenwood. Not only aboveground, but underground, too.”

“The other locations that were exposed seem to have already hatched and released their butterflies and launched their attacks against the cities. But this place...” Beru trailed off.

“You think there are still chrysalises here?” Suho asked.

Beru narrowed his eyes and glowered into the darkness. There was a reason he had rushed to speak to Suho.

“Young Monarch, I must warn you to be careful. From reading the memories of the Apostle of Domination, it seems to me that any chrysalises hidden in this place may be somewhat special.”

Beru’s insight was limited to fragmented memories, since he hadn’t consumed the actual brain of the Apostle. It had allowed him to glean that something out of the ordinary was hidden inside, but not its actual identity. Still, that was more than enough. Suho’s sense stat had already reacted to whatever presence lurked in the darkness. A chill traveled down his spine.

“As for what it is... We’ll soon find out,” he said, eyes flashing as dark energy rippled around him.

***

Among the Russians who had been chased out of Yuri’s city, a few stared after Suho with eager eyes. They were believers of the Church of the Outer Gods, and the radiant, divine power of the Itarim had turned them into willing zealots.

What luck. To think we would run into him in a place like this!

Though they moved among the others now, they hadn’t been cast out of the city alongside them. They had been living in this cave first and had intentionally drawn the outcasts here. This situation could not have been more welcome to the zealots who had occupied this cavern and the sanctuary inside from the start.

We did it to bolster our ranks. Who knew he would show up of his own accord?

The zealots smacked their lips hungrily as they stole glances at Suho’s back. When he immediately discovered the sanctuary and began heading deeper into the cave, they masked their joy and followed.

“I don’t understand why you would want to go inside, but it’ll be dangerous if you go alone.”

“We will go with you.”

“Let us light the way for you, at least...”

With a quick burst of flame, they lit torches one by one to illuminate his path. Suho watched them with an odd look in his eyes for a moment, then grinned and nodded.

“You’re... a friendly bunch. But it’s not necessary. There’s something I need to check, but it’ll only take a moment.”

“Please allow us to come with you. We know it’s a shameless thing to ask, but we think we will be safer by your side...”

Just moments ago, they had just seen him wipe out a horde of magical beasts in a single strike. From their perspective, being separated from him would clearly be far more dangerous. That was reason enough for even those who were not in the Church of the Outer Gods to trail after Suho without question.

Their footsteps echoed against the stone as they made their way forward, and flickering torchlight cast long shadows across the cave’s twisted walls. They all moved together toward the sanctuary, where the Elvenwood had taken root.

“Young Monarch,” Beru murmured.

“Yes... I know.”

The believers of the Church did not understand the cryptic exchange between Suho and Beru. They hadn’t even imagined that Suho might have a way to uncover their identities. Even if he had, it didn’t matter. Their own survival meant little. Their loyalty to the great cause mattered more.

For the Itarim.

For the Itarim!

They prayed silently to their gods, all the while maintaining the convincing appearance of cowardice and terror as they stuck close to Suho. The believers of the Church already knew Sung Suho very well. In fact, he was infamous. Multiple mass media sources had already revealed news about him, and word had spread through the network of believers scattered all over the world.

Every believer who involved themselves with Suho went off the grid. He’s like a disease. An enemy of the Church.

Of course, these were mere believers, and they couldn’t possibly know the plans or circumstances of the great followers of the Itarim. Still, it was clear to them that Suho was an enemy of the body they believed in. It was an opportunity of a lifetime that someone like him had walked right to their doorstep.

Heh, you idiot. To think you would come here, of all places!

Your luck’s run out. You may be strong, but are you stronger than the one who awaits inside? I doubt it.

The Apostle of Domination had hidden himself with great care, building strength in secret across countless secret bases around the world. This allowed him to continue living even if he was killed, moving to an even stronger body than before. Among those bases, this particular location was special.

Today is the day you die.

A vast door appeared in front of them at the end of the curving path.

“A door?” Suho asked.

“How kind of them to make the sanctuary so easy to find,” Beru remarked.

“Yeah, no kidding.”

Even as Suho and Beru carried on their conversation, the lips of the believers of the Church of the Outer Gods twitched slightly as they struggled to suppress their smirks.

“A-are you sure about this, sir?”

“This place looks far too suspicious.”

“Who knew there’d be a door deep inside the cave?”

“I don’t think we can follow you any further.”

The moment they saw the mysterious door, the non-Awakened Russians turned pale and began backing away, fear rising in them as a primal warning. Not everyone reacted the same way, however. The Church’s believers only became more fervent.

“W-we’ll stick with you to the very end!”

“There are magic beasts outside too. We’ll be safer with someone like you.”

Suho didn’t bother to respond.

Actions speak louder than words.

He simply placed his hands on the large door and pushed it open without hesitation. Then, as the scene beyond came into view, he gave a small nod.

“So this is the sanctuary,” he murmured.

The space was hollow and vacant, its core wrapped in the twisted roots of an Elvenwood.

Beru’s eyes gleamed as he locked onto a pulsing cocoon nestled among the roots.

“Young Monarch, there’s a chrysalis over there.”

“Only one,” Suho observed.

There appeared to be no others. Still, the energy it emitted was enough to put Suho instantly on high alert. Behind the translucent film of the cocoon, a human silhouette lay dormant. Suho slowly and carefully approached. Just then, the door he had entered through slammed shut on its own with a deafening thud.

“Hm?” Suho turned around, unshaken.

The believers had dropped the pretense. Sinister grins now stretched across their faces.

“We’ve got you now.”

“You’re finished.”

“Now that you’re inside, you’re as good as—”

There was a slicing noise.

“Eugh!”

“Shut it, mutts!”

Beru had just mercilessly sliced off one of their heads. The grins of the others froze on their lips. It had happened in an instant. Their companion’s head had rolled across the cavern floor, still wearing a smile, as if unaware it had been separated from its body. Yet even at the sight of this horrifying scene, the believers did not scream in fear. Their reaction was the opposite.

“How dare you!”

Their backs split open, revealing two sets of wings each. They shed their human husks, reborn as copies of the Apostle of Domination. They charged at Suho and Beru without a moment’s pause.

But faster than they had attacked, they were flung in the opposite direction. Beru had grown to full size in an instant and swatted them away with ease.

“Young Monarch, please don’t bother with the small fry.”

Before Beru had even finished speaking, the suspicious cocoon before Suho tore open, and someone stepped out. Somehow, there was something familiar about the figure.

Suho muttered as he searched his memories, “Where have I seen you before? Oh, right. America.”

It came rushing back to him. Laura, who worked with Thomas Andre, had once shown him a video. In it, Thomas had hunted down an American S-rank hunter while on a personal search for the Church of the Outer Gods. He was a man who’d been a National Level Hunter at one point, in a past that no longer existed.

“Christopher Reed.”

“Heh... Is that the name of this body?” the figure wearing Christopher Reed’s face said as he tore open the chrysalis and extracted himself from it, a sneer twisting his features. There was something disturbingly inhuman about the expression, as though whatever inhabited the body had merely learned to mimic human emotion in a poor imitation.

Suho frowned.

“Thomas killed him. I know that for a fact. Did you steal the body?”

“Steal it? Don’t be ridiculous. I used it for what it was always meant for.”

It was quite the shock to discover that the being gathering energy within the cocoon was someone long dead. Two pairs of wings tore from his back and unfurled, just like the other believers, but the pressure radiating from Christopher was on an entirely different scale. Even the radiant divine energy emanating from the blazing patterns on his wings felt vastly more powerful.

“Take a good look! How excellent a vessel he is! It would have been a pity to let it go to waste!”

“Shocking,” Suho said, though he didn’t look particularly shocked.

Beru looked no more impressed as he continued to dispatch the believers behind Suho.

“Well, I guess I get it. From your perspective, there’s no vessel more tempting than a former National Level Hunter. After all, the apostle who recruited Christopher into the Church of the Outer Gods in the first place was—”

“That’s right. Me!”

Before the sentence had even finished, Christopher’s body lunged toward Suho at blinding speed. This wasn’t truly Christopher. It was a clone of the Apostle of Domination, inhabiting his corpse like a parasite.

Those who had formerly boasted the title of “National Level Hunter” were indeed coveted hosts for the followers of the Itarim. They had once contained the power of the Rulers and could withstand the enormous energies of the Outer Gods without shattering.

“But in terms of size... He’s not so different.”

The tiny dragon, Ragna, appeared by Suho’s side without warning and opened his eyes. They were the eyes of a true dragon, destructive and violent. The devastating flame Suho had inherited from him surged forth, intertwining with his black shadow and igniting.

[Skill: “Breath of Destruction” has activated.]