Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 354

After the unconscious Norma was placed in a bed and the brief commotion died down, Adam finally brought up the serious matter he’d come for, his expression grave. The black briefcase in his hands held documents tied to national security. Originally, he had brought it to show Norma and seek her advice. He never imagined he would travel halfway across the world through a gate and open it in South Korea, of all places.

I can’t make heads or tails of this situation, but that’s all the more reason to stay sharp in moments like these. I am the director, after all.

Reminding himself of his duty, Adam calmly unlocked the suitcase’s security device with a quiet series of clicks.

“This isn’t exactly the order I envisioned, but I actually came to speak with Ms. Selner about the Arctic as well. But the situation appears far more dire than we anticipated,” he said, his expression tense.

The idea that the Outer Gods themselves might now be directly involved, rather than just their followers, made it clear this problem had escalated beyond the realm of human control.

Just like... back then.

“I believe the fastest way to explain is to show you this,” Adam continued, drawing a tablet from the case. After a brief glance around the room, he added a warning. “I must remind you all that everything you’re about to see is classified.”

He activated an app on the device, which projected a translucent hologram above the screen—an enormous world map that filled the living room.

“The Federal Bureau of Hunters gathers all shared data from the World Hunters Association, as well as our own from the US, and analyzes it. All of that big data is contained here, in what we call the Disaster Management System.”

Suho’s family lifted their eyes to the towering holographic map. As Adam had said, the map was dotted and crisscrossed with various colors and markings of different sizes. Despite how impressive it looked, it was actually a terrifying visual record of the world’s worst disasters.

“This contains every known gate dungeon, field-type dungeon, and mid-to-large-scale demonic realm that reached truly apocalyptic levels and have been abandoned, both past and present. It also records every other disaster that occurred on the planet. We’ve poured everything into building this map. The goal, of course... is to prevent the world from ending.”

Adam’s briefing began in earnest.

“Let me now show you the current situation in the Arctic.”

He tapped a button, and a new overlay labeled “climate” was added to the map.

“The clouds...?” someone murmured.

The map now revealed vast white clouds over the Arctic, coalescing into a massive vortex. The clouds moved far too slowly to notice with the naked eye and were too massive for any single person to grasp, but on the world map, the whole structure was clear. It was a climate anomaly, and its scale alone made it clear this wasn’t ordinary weather.

“Climate anomalies are usually uncommon, and occur in regions corroded by the blue mist that leaks from gates. But this... This is somewhat different,” Adam said. “This vortex has never once appeared in any data we’ve collected from gates or dungeon breaks.”

While it wasn’t impossible that something had slipped through their database, it was clear this was rare.

“What’s even stranger is that no flow of mana of any kind can be detected inside.”

“No mana? You mean those are just clouds, and nothing more?” Suho asked.

“Yes. It seems to be a side effect of something else at play. But that, too, makes little sense.”

Normally, any situation that defied scientific explanation could be attributed to mana. If there truly was no mana involved, what exactly was happening at the heart of that vortex?

“Judging from what we know of the phenomenon so far, we are assuming that there is a dimensional rift at its center,” Adam said.

He was referring to a gate.

“But this can’t be a normal gate. There’s no such thing as a gate that doesn’t emit some form of detectable mana. Therefore, we believe it’s highly likely that Russia’s prime minister, Yuri Orloff, has cloaked it with multiple powerful barriers to prevent outside detection.”

As it happened, the location in question was within the Russian border. Yuri, an S-rank barrier specialist, had already used his powers to shield Russia’s major cities, effectively sealing them in “fish tanks” and gaining dictatorial power. All signs pointed to Yuri being behind this, just as Adam suspected.

“But all of that is still just a theory. We have no way to confirm anything. I did send an investigative team, but if we dispatched a hunter strong enough to properly examine the vortex, Russia would see it as an act of aggression equivalent to launching a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Russia had, in fact, preserved the greatest number of Elvenwoods—and the United States had exerted the most pressure on them because of it.

“I was extremely frustrated, which is why I came to speak with Ms. Selner. Since I couldn’t investigate it myself, I hoped she might offer some guidance,” he added.

However, Norma’s ominous prophecy had only left him more disheartened. It was obvious that something serious was happening in the Arctic, and yet there was no way to uncover the truth.

“Then we’ll go there ourselves, without alerting anyone.” After hearing the whole briefing, Suho finally spoke.

Adam didn’t seem thrilled by the idea.

“That... is not as simple as it sounds. Even if someone could get through the S-rank barrier, the moment they step inside, Yuri will know they’re there.”

Yuri wasn’t just any S-rank hunter. By using the massive mana crystals mined from dungeons as fuel, he could deploy barriers beyond S-rank levels. Even if his combat abilities were S-rank, his barrier skills were almost at the National Level Hunter level.

“And there isn’t just one barrier. There are several. It’s impossible to sneak in undetected. Anyone with enough power to break through will only be easier to detect, and anyone who is weak enough for Yuri to ignore even after detection will not get through in the first place.”

Even as he explained, Adam was growing more and more frustrated. One way or another, they were stuck. It was not possible to continue to politically pressure Russia through the World Hunters Association like they had with the Elvenwoods. The clouds were not releasing any mana. As far as anyone could tell, they were perfectly ordinary. Nothing was happening, at least on the surface, so they would be hard-pressed to find something valid to criticize Russia over.

None of this was news to Suho. After all, he had sent out his shadow soldiers all over the world long ago. Since there was no telling where or when more of the followers might appear, he’d ensured he could use Shadow Swap to teleport anywhere at a moment’s notice.

However, Russia was the one place he couldn’t do this. Adam was right—even shadow soldiers risked detection if they tried to pass through the Russian barriers. If any humans had gone inside, the shadow soldiers could have hidden in their shadows, but Russia was hardly welcoming to outsiders, and precious few people went in or out of the country these days.

As a result, Suho’s soldiers had been forced to remain just outside the perimeter, lying in wait. Still, that meant Suho could instantly move to the barrier’s edge anytime he chose—and it didn’t necessarily have to be him. A curious idea crossed his mind.

“So we can’t sneak in... How about we walk in like we belong there?” he said.

“What? I’m not sure what you mean...” Adam replied, confused.

Suho suddenly turned to face Thomas, who was standing nearby.

“Why are you looking at me all of a sudden?” Thomas asked, lifting an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. Suho’s gaze struck him as odd.

Suho glanced at the man’s massive arms and grinned. “The point is to avoid being identified, right?”

“What...?”

Just as they had no solid proof to act against Russia, all they needed to do was make sure there was no evidence against them either.

Suho gave Thomas a knowing smile.

“If it’s for world peace, I think we have the right to be a little brazen. Did you know that the people who protected world peace have always worn masks?”

“Huh...?”

Suho’s mischievous grin made Thomas let out a stunned laugh. Then, an even more playful smirk slowly spread across his face. Thomas Andre was now known through grand titles like “Goliath” and the Monarch of Domination. However, back when he was young, a champion fighter in the UFC’s openweight division, his very first nickname had been the Devil of the UFC.

“This sounds fun!” he said. “Let’s get to it, then.”

Indeed, this kind of crazy stunt was exactly the sort of thing that excited Thomas Andre the most.

***

Yuri immediately departed the Kremlin and made for the Arctic base. Now that Project Eternal Fountain was truly underway, he couldn’t bear the thought of sitting idly in the palace. His whole body was practically itching with anticipation.

“Hahaha! I’ve waited so long for this moment!”

Laughing like a madman, he tore through the land toward the Arctic at full speed. His body was already brimming with power.

The Eternal Fountain!

He wouldn’t wait—he would go face its power himself.

“S-Sir?!”

“The prime minister is going out!”

The soldiers standing guard at Moscow’s barrier were deeply confused by what they saw. Never before had they seen Russia’s dictator leave the so-called fish tank on his own. Normally, he was surrounded by beautiful secretaries, a full retinue, and traveled by helicopter or private aircraft. Everyone in Russia knew such displays were designed to flaunt his power to the world. In truth, however, no mode of transportation was faster than the full-speed sprint of an S-rank Hunter. This only compounded their shock. The dictator had apparently abandoned all vanity and pride to dash out on his own two feet.

What was more, as his figure raced into the distance, his entire body shimmered with a strange light. It was a breathtaking sight, mesmerizing in its beauty, and for a moment, the soldiers could do nothing but stare. They snapped to attention at last, whispering urgently among themselves.

“What on earth is going on...?”

“Why is he in such a hurry?”

“Something bad didn’t happen in another city, did it?”

“I don’t think that’s it. Did you see the way he was smiling?”

“But that light, though...”

“We’d better report this.”

Their reports reached their superiors, who were equally baffled.

“Stand by for now. If the prime minister seemed pleased, it’s probably nothing critical.”

“Understood...”

Even their superior’s voice over the radio was laced with confusion. No one seemed to have any idea what was going on. Still, there was little they could do. They were simply subjects. It hardly mattered whether they understood their ruler’s actions or not.

“This makes me uneasy... but we’ve been told to stand by.”

“Right. I’ve never seen him smile like that. Still, it’s probably nothing—”

A deafening boom rang out. Something “bad” had in fact just happened. Moscow, Russia’s capital, was the largest and grandest of the cities protected by Yuri’s barriers. It was nearly four times the size of Seoul. Now, a vast shadow stretched across the powerful barrier that encased the sprawling city—a barrier Yuri had painstakingly constructed.

“Wh-what the hell is that thing?!”

“W-we have an emergency! It’s a giant! I repeat, a giant!”

“What even is that?”

A colossal figure loomed over the barrier, encased in full-body armor.

[Spirit Transfer: Giant’s Armor]

The King of Giants, Monarch of Domination, had arrived.

“Wh-where did he come from?”

The soldiers on guard screamed in panic. The giant was so massive they should have seen him coming from miles away, but he had somehow appeared without alerting any of them. It was as if he had dropped straight out of the sky. The truth wasn’t far off. A shadow soldier stationed near the barrier had opened a shadow gate, and Thomas had swapped places with him.

Thomas, now standing at full strength before the barrier Yuri had poured his power into, let out a booming laugh that shook the skies above Moscow. His face hidden behind a helm, he raised a massive hand and mercilessly slammed it into the barrier. The single blow made the barrier ripple violently, and a thunderous crack split the air.

Thomas struck it again. The barrier shattered. The resulting shockwave traveled miles, reaching even Yuri, who had been racing toward the Arctic base. He came to a halt and turned back with a scowl. He became deeply confused when, in the far distance, he spotted the immense figure of the King of Giants.

“Wh-what in the world is that?”

A wave of nausea swept over him. An ominous instinct he could not put a finger on settled into his gut. He did his best to ignore the feeling, however, and clenched his teeth.

“How dare you, a mere magic beast, attack my kingdom?” he roared in fury.

Abandoning his course toward the Arctic base, he turned and sprinted back toward Moscow, radiating a blinding divine glow. The energy was none other than the divine power of the Outer Gods, flowing in from the outer universes. He was no longer just an S-rank hunter. Still, for some inexplicable reason, his clenched fists were trembling ever so slightly as he charged full speed toward the giant.