Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - Chapter 151
Chapter 151
Meanwhile, the White Tiger Guild, which was tracking the villains, was facing severe difficulties.
“Vice President, we’ve lost the villains’ trail again.”
“Is that so…”
Baek Miho frowned at the guild member’s report.
The area around Jisan Prison in Pocheon City was particularly dense with lush forests and mountains.
Therefore, the White Tiger Guild had been meticulously tracking all possible routes of the villains along the Hantan River, through Bojang Mountain, Bulmusan, and Euijangsan for the past two days.
But the result was always the same.
“We’ve also lost their trail from Teams B and C,” came the report.
“I see…”
Baek Miho nodded and scanned the sunny mountain ridges with a heavy heart.
Whoosh-
A cool breeze blew over the ridge.
In the dense forest.
It was an environment perfect for the villains to hide, but they were nowhere to be found.
“……”
Baek Miho reviewed all the clues gathered so far in her mind.
‘The villains who escaped from Jisan Prison scattered at some point.’
At first, seeing their trails, it was considered that a conflict of opinion among the villains might have occurred right after the escape, leading to their division.
That was the most likely possibility in reality.
After all, they had come together for the sole purpose of escaping.
And their leader, Hwang Dong-seok, was just a C-class villain, so his leadership couldn’t have lasted forever among the villains.
‘But then, the scattered trails disappeared? Without a single one left?’
Could this really be a coincidence?
‘Hardly.’
There seemed to be a special purpose in the villains’ movements.
That purpose inevitably had to lead to one conclusion.
“No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like they’ve split up. It seems like they scattered and then promised to meet again in a specific area.”
At Baek Miho’s words, the guild member nodded with a grave expression.
“I think so too. It’s hard to believe, but it seems that all 500 of them are moving with a single purpose. I don’t know what that purpose is, but the most likely thing is…”
“Hwang Dongsu, right?”
“……”
The guild member fell silent at Baek Miho’s words.
There was no choice but to save words.
If an S-class villain was involved, this was no ordinary matter.
Baek Miho sighed softly and continued.
“It’s becoming increasingly likely that Hwang Dongsu is involved in this case.”
“I heard you received information from Hunter Seong Suho that the probability of that was low.”
“Yes, I did hear that.”
Baek Miho muttered, recalling the information passed on by Suho.
“That the brothers Hwang Dongseok and Hwang Dongsu are not close to each other.”
This was the information that Suho learned immediately upon meeting Kang Taesik, and in return, Baek Miho shared all the routes currently being searched by the White Tiger Guild with Suho.
Thanks to that information, Suho began tracking the remaining areas, excluding those regions, with Grey in the lead.
They were cooperating and sharing information with each other as previously agreed.
And Baek Miho was greatly helped by the information Suho had provided.
Indeed, the value of the information was significant enough that Kang Taesik, a professional bounty hunter, had shared it only with Suho.
After all, the most prominent reason why other hunters were avoiding getting involved in this mass escape incident was the possibility that Hwang Dongsu was involved.
“Perhaps the information could be wrong. Or rather than being wrong, no matter how much they’ve turned against each other, a younger brother might not wish for his older brother’s death.”
“Blood is thicker than water… Is that what it means?”
Baek Miho’s expression grew troubled at the guild member’s words.
The least desired event was gradually becoming a reality.
The power of an S-class awakened being was truly a natural disaster.
Hwang Dongsu was definitely beyond what the currently deployed White Tiger Guild’s forces could handle.
‘Of course, if we put in our full effort, we might be able to inflict some wounds…’
But that would mean risking our lives.
We might even have to be prepared for annihilation.
‘After all, only an S-class can face another S-class.’
Having organized her thoughts, Baek Miho finally made a decision.
“I guess we have no choice but to ask for support from my father, no, from the president.”
“Yes! I will contact him right away!”
As soon as Baek Miho finished speaking, the guild member hurriedly contacted the president’s office.
And shortly after, a response came back.
“The president says he will rush to Pocheon as quickly as possible!”
At those words, Baek Miho let out a sigh of relief.
The reason why Baek Yunho, the president of the White Tiger Guild, had not stepped forward from the beginning of this situation was very simple.
He was busy.
It wasn’t just a matter of his worth.
The handful of S-class hunters were busy dealing with the most dangerous dungeons in the country, even at this very moment.
That’s why tasks that required legwork like this were always handled by the vice president, Baek Miho.
It was the most efficient way, and also the most effective way to protect the citizens from dungeons and magical beasts.
However.
‘We’ve done all the legwork we could.’
The efforts they had made so far were not in vain.
After eliminating those areas through the process of elimination, there were only a few places left.
And one of those places was right there.
‘Yamiri.’
Just then, Baek Miho was leading her guild members to a small village in Pocheon City that they had not yet searched.
Then she suddenly remembered.
‘Ah, that’s right. The direction Hunter Seong Suho said he would search was also this way.’
If that’s the case, then Hunter Seong Suho must have passed through that village as well.
And since there has been no contact yet, it’s highly likely that no traces were found in that village either.
Even from a distance, the village looked too peaceful to suggest that anything had happened.
Baek Miho gave a wry smile and ordered her guild members.
“Let’s pass through the village as quickly as possible so as not to alarm the citizens.”
And as soon as they stepped into Yamiri Village, it was indeed as quiet and peaceful as it had seemed from the outside.
Perhaps it was typical of a remote village.
The streets were deserted, with no one in sight…
Chilling.
“What’s this?”
Baek Miho’s expression hardened as she sensed the strange atmosphere of Yamiri Village.
The same was true for the guild members of the White Tiger Guild, made up of beastified hunters.
“Vice President! Something’s not right!”
“There’s no sign of people in the village at all…!”
»»————- ★ ————-««
And at that moment.
“The White Tiger Guild?”
Suho, who was continuing the battle while following the direction pointed by Beru to find Harumakan, also saw the White Tiger Guild.
It was just when Baek Miho and her guild members were entering Yamiri Village.
Suho, who was in the midst of a fierce battle, couldn’t help but be confused.
Suddenly, a system message he had never seen before appeared in front of him.
Ding!
[You cannot leave the dungeon. Defeat the boss or use a return stone.]
“Huh? What’s this?”
Suho tapped the invisible wall blocking his path with a puzzled expression.
Thud, thud!
“Is it a barrier?”
But a more astonishing situation occurred next.
“Vice President! Something is strange…”
“The presence of people in the village…”
Swoosh.
On the other hand, the White Tiger Guild members entering the village were able to walk through the transparent barrier without any issue.
And as they crossed that wall, they disappeared from Suho’s sight as if they had vanished into thin air.
“Huh?”
Suho’s eyes widened in surprise.
It seemed that this invisible wall marked the boundary between this place and another space beyond.
When Suho tried to force his way out, another message appeared.
Ding.
[You cannot leave the dungeon. Defeat the boss or use a return stone.]
Realizing the situation, Beru touched the transparent wall with a serious expression.
[Could this be…]
“Do you know something?”
[It seems we have entered an instance dungeon.]
“Instance dungeon?”
Suho looked puzzled.
As far as he knew, there were two types of dungeons.
The common dungeons entered through gates and field-type dungeons.
But an instance dungeon?
Regardless of whether such a dungeon existed, he had never stepped into a gate in the first place.
“Did we pass through a gate without realizing it?”
[That’s not the issue. An instance dungeon doesn’t actually exist in reality.]
There was a separate reason for Beru’s seriousness.
[An instance dungeon is a dungeon developed by the designer of the leveling system, Candiaru. And its sole purpose was…]
It was to foster the growth of Sung Jin-Woo, the vessel of the Shadow Monarch!
Suho’s expression hardened at Beru’s explanation.
“A dungeon developed by Candiaru? But how did Harumakan create it?”
Even as this was happening, Harumakan’s giant hand was attacking Suho, who was trapped in the village.
Rumble!
Suho dodged the attack, his eyes shining.
“Well, I’ll know if I ask directly.”
“Yes. We’re almost there.”
Thanks to Beru, Suho had precisely located where Harumakan was hiding.
He smashed through the wall of the only building that had remained intact in this natural disaster.
Crash!
“You, you found me!”
Harumakan, who was hiding inside, gritted his teeth and chanted a spell.
“But just because you found me doesn’t mean you can kill me! The spell is already complete!”
Harumakan quickly spread his hands and unfolded a magic circle.
Roar!
From his hands, numerous ghosts swirled and attacked Suho.
But Suho was not deceived.
“It’s an illusion to the very end.”
He dodged the ghosts and at the same time, sent Vulcan’s horn flying to the side.
‘The authority of the ruler!’
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Brilliant beams of light created numerous straight lines, beginning to slash through the entire space.
And then.
Bang!
“Ugh…”
Something astonishing happened.
With a short groan, Vulcan’s horn was thrust into the empty air where there was nothing before.
Swoosh.
At that moment, the real Harumakan, who had been hiding there, slowly began to reveal himself.
With Vulcan’s horn piercing right through the middle of his gaunt body.
“How, how could this be…”
At that moment, something miraculous happened.
Whoosh-
The moment Harumakan, who was at the center of the magic circle, was directly attacked.
An invisible wave spread out in all directions from his body.
Ding.
[The corrupted mana is being purified.]
[The corrupted mana is being purified.]
The ghosts of the Death Knights, which had been corrupted by Harumakan’s magic circle, began to be purified one by one.
But right now, Harumakan couldn’t care less about that.
“Could this power be…”
Harumakan looked down at Vulcan’s horn that had pierced him with a deeply perplexed expression.
He was not just surprised because Suho had not been deceived by the illusion and had found his hiding place.
It was because he realized that the power contained in Vulcan’s horn was the ‘authority of the ruler.’
“How can you, a mere human, use the authority of the ruler…!”
Harumakan screamed at Suho with an expression filled with horror.
The authority of the ruler was not simply telekinesis.
The power was, as the name suggests, something that only rulers could use…
It was the symbol of the angels born from light, and their unique ability that allowed them to fly in the sky.
The soldiers of the sky that they commanded could fly using their wings, but the rulers could fly as much as they wanted without such wings.
And the ability that made this possible was this ‘authority of the ruler.’
But how?
How could a mere human use this power?
“Could it be that fragments of the rulers are embedded… No, that can’t be.”
Having seen Suho right in front of him, Harumakan was certain.
He was undoubtedly an extraordinary human, but hadn’t he been using the power of the Lord of Fangs or the Lord of Solidity all along?
The power that is the exact opposite of the rulers.
Then suddenly.
“No, wait.”
Harumakan’s eyes slowly began to fill with horror as he realized an incredible fact.
“Could you be…?”
A descendant of the Lord of Fangs?
A descendant of the Lord of Solidity?
No, that can’t be!
It was absolutely impossible to inherit the power of the lords born from darkness while simultaneously using the authority of the ruler born from light.
But there was one exception.
“You couldn’t possibly be the Shadow Monarch…!”
Abruptly.
At that, Suho, who had been defeating the surrounding ghosts and Death Knights and was about to finish off Harumakan, hesitated.
Then, with a slightly embarrassed expression, he muttered.
“…Ah, I’ve been found out.”
And then.
Swiftly.
He suddenly looked around at the Death Knights lying on the ground.
“Well, there’s no helping it.”
[Shadow extraction is possible.]
[Shadow extraction is possible.]
……
Numerous messages floated above the purified shadows of the Death Knights.
Suho slightly lifted the corners of his mouth with a somewhat relieved expression.
“Arise.”
Whoosh!
At that moment, the numerous shadows surrounding Harumakan began to arise all at once.
[To be continued…]