Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - Chapter 189

Chapter 189

After the cataclysm, it hurts to talk about the steps taken by the president of the Association, Woo Jin-Chul. He was a person that everyone in Korea respected. At the same time, he was also a person with sharply divided likes and dislikes. Looking back, his choices were always right, but the process seemed to always be reckless and bold. So, inevitably, a lot of resentment had been built behind the scenes.

Among them, there was one problem that the guilds were dissatisfied with…

It was the ‘recruitment of talent’.

‘What? You said he was stolen by the president of the Association? again?!’

‘Yes. As soon as he awakened, the Association found out who he was and offered a job proposition.’

‘No! This Awakener hadn’t even gone for a rank test! How the hell did the Association find out about the awakening!?’

‘I know. Haha. The Association’s recruiting department must have a lot of information…’

Yes. Truly an incredible amount of information. Woo Jin-Chul, the head of the Association, used to go before anyone else and somehow attract them to the Association. His ability to act was enough reason for the guilds, who wanted to recruit talented people and increase their power, to hate him. Among them, when Woo Jin-Chul first took the S-rank hunter ‘The Ultimate Soldier’, there was a famous anecdote about the many guilds that hit the ground in regret upon having the S-rank be snatched away from them.

The same went for another hunter.

“… Senior ‘Kim Chul’ was also one of the talented people recruited directly by the president of the Association.”

Team leader Han Jae-Hyeok was talking to Arsha and recalling the memories of that time. The conversation between Kim Chul and Woo Jin-Chul, who had just awakened as A-rank tanks, was a very famous anecdote.

‘What kind of Hunter do you want to be?’

Was the question Woo Jin-Chul gave. Kim Chul said instead of answering, had asked back.

‘President, do you know what my motto is?’

‘What is it?’

‘To live kindly.’

Grin.

Kim Chul smiled brightly at Woo Jin-Chul, saying the motto he had always had in his heart since his adolescence. Kim Chul was already in his middle age, but his smile had the innocence of an adolescent boy. Faced with a sense of good justice that was clearly felt in his eyes, Woo Jin-Chul asked again with a satisfied smile on his lips.

‘…Does that mean you want to become a good hunter?’

‘Yes. Since I have awakened, I want to fight to protect this world with pride.’

‘What a wonderful mindset. Come to the Association and I will entrust you with an important responsibility to protect the world.’

‘I hope it goes well.’

So Kim Chul held hands with Woo Jin-Chul and entered the Hunter Association without hesitation. But…

“Senior Kim Chul, who joined just like that, later said he was deeply disappointed in the Association.” Team leader Han Jae-Hyeok muttered with a bitter look. In fact, he couldn’t help but be disappointed. Kim Chul joined the Association because he wanted to become a great hunter who protects the world.

“And the job the president of the Association had entrusted to that senior was to directly manage the Yangpyeong branch.”

[Ahh.]

It was Arsha who nodded in agreement with those words. Yangpyeong was a very quiet town for a Hunter with an aspiration to protect the world. There are even a lot of rich people living here, so bad commenters go so far as to say that the Yangpyeong branch manager is a dog that protects the rich.

“Eventually, Senior Kim Chul left the Association himself. There were many speculations that he fell into a cult of sorts, but rumors are just rumors.”

[…]

Arsha conveyed what he heard from team leader Han Jae-Hyeok to Suho.

* * *

Suho, who received Arsha’s words in real time, was a little surprised inside. ‘The president of the Association, Woo Jin-Chul, personally selected and entrusted the Yangpyeong branch to him?’

According to Beru, Kim Chul was a soldier named ‘Iron’ of the Shadow Corps led by Sung Jin-Woo a long time ago. However, as the Earth’s time returned to before he died, he came back and led a new life. Like Hwang Dong-Soo, who was once the shadow soldier ‘Greed’ and now lives as an S-rank villain.

But to think that Kim Chul would become a hunter of the Association and work as the branch manager of the Yangpyeong branch where his grandfather and grandmother live. Is that really a coincidence?

‘No, it could never happen.’

Suho realized the situation right away.

‘It was for my father.’

Woo Jin-Chul, the president of the Association, was a person who remembered his past life related to his father. So it means that. ‘He was afraid that my grandfather and grandmother would be in danger while my father was away, so the Association set out to protect Yangpyeong. Entrust the Yangpyeong branch to someone you can trust!’

Perhaps, in the mind of Woo Jin-Chul, the president of the Association, there was no other person as trustworthy as Kim Chul, who was his father’s shadow soldier in the past.

‘But maybe… He would never have thought that Kim Chul would have become a priest serving Itarim in such an absurd place.’ It seemed that even the great Woo Jin-Chul had not anticipated this variable.

“…Are you a priest of a Foreign Religion?”

“That’s right.”

“And if you are Kim Chul, you were once the head of the Yangpyeong branch.” In response to Suho’s question that hit the mark, Kim Chul nodded with a benevolent smile.

“Heh heh heh. Is there anything you don’t know, Lord Vulcan? That’s right. There was a time when I was involved in the Hunter Association.”

“But why are you here now?”

“Hehe, that is a very sad word. Are you suspicious of me just because I’ve been with the Association for a while? Or, do you doubt the performance of this Star Piece?” At Suho’s words, Kim Chul smiled benevolently and raised his large palm to touch the Star Piece on his forehead. Then, an auspicious blue energy slowly burned from the Star Piece, and mad eyes flashed between his fingers.

The corners of Kim Chul’s mouth went up. “We, the Foreign Religion, baptize only those who have proven their faith as Star Pieces, or ‘Outer God’s Jewels’. There’s no need to doubt it. I’m just saying that the Foreign Religions offer more to the world than the Associations…”

[Kill him now. I don’t want to hear any more nonsense like that.]

Beru whispered like a demon next to Suho.

kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him kill him–

[You must strike down and kill that fallen soldier, Iron, and bring him back to the Shadow Legion!]

“Haha. Lord Vulcan, please calm down for a moment. As you know, there is absolutely no reason for us to antagonize each other.” Kim Chul said while wiping the cold sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief, perhaps because of the energy emitted by Beru. After subduing Beru by stepping on him with his foot, Suho solemnly opened his mouth while looking at Kim Chul.

“I will ask, priest of the Foreign Religion.”

No matter how much he pretended to be Vulcan, he felt like he had to ask because he was really curious about this one thing.

“Haha. So there is something even the Demon Noble doesn’t know. Yes. You can ask anything.”

“If you plant a Star Piece on a human, are there any side effects? Like, hair loss?”

“…”

At that moment, Kim Chul’s smile, which had been benevolent all along, flinched for the first time. Kim Chul replied with a slight trembling of eyes. “This is just plain hair loss.”

“Right. Come to think of it, the other humans next to you have hair attached to them. Alright then, are there any other side effects of the Star Piece?” Suho pretended to know nothing and nodded. Then, a slight wrinkle wriggled on his forehead, where Kim Chul’s Star Piece was embedded before gritting his teeth and smiling.

“Please. How could there be any side effects in the first place? The Outer God’s Jewel is the very grace bestowed by God for lowly human beings like us.”

Woooshh!

With those words, the Star Piece on his forehead radiated blue energy.

“Huh.”

Kim Chul inhaled the energy and made a look of ecstasy. “Hehe. Do you feel it? If the Stardust was at a level that amplified the power it possesses, then the Outer God’s Jewels raises the owner’s power to a higher level. In short… You will be reborn as a higher being!”

Woooshh!

At the same time, he could feel Kim Chul’s Star Piece brimming with blue light and his energy gradually grew stronger. Undoubtedly, that energy was far beyond the magic limit of Kim Chul, who was known as an A-rank hunter.

[Unbelievable. By accepting the godship of an outer god into its body he has started to exude an aura close to an S-rank.]

‘It’s similar to the principle that I use when I merge Gray into my body.’

At a glance, Suho could understand the principle of the Star Piece. No matter how he misunderstood that expression, Kim Chul spread his arms toward Suho with a benevolent smile, mad eyes and smiled brightly. “So, would you like to join us, Lord Vulcan? Worshiping and praising Foreign gods is the mission and destiny of mortals.”

“If it is a mortal mission. Then what good is it to me?” As Suho smiled and made a small fortune, Kim Chul’s eyes flashed with a meaningful expression.

“You must already know, right? The real reason Lord Vulcan, a demon aristocrat, dared to visit us! You want to become the Demon King by using the Outer God’s Jewel, right?”

“…You are quite quick-witted.”

“Heh heh heh. It’s because I’ve seen many demons by my side. The lower demons say they want to become demon nobles, but if Lord Vulcan’s goal is to become the Demon King, of course we could grant that!”

[Hold on, really?!]

‘Why are you like this?’

Ignoring Esil’s surprised voice, Suho scanned the surroundings with a cool gaze.

‘For now, it seems my grandfather isn’t among them.’ After checking the faces of the Foreign believers, Suho asked Kim Chul, who was excitedly evangelizing here and there. “Are all the Foreign Believers here?”

“Oh no. All the other believers are offering sacrifices in the chapel.”

“Guide me.”

“Heh heh you showed interest in the chapel right away! My prediction was correct. Come with us to the chapel and accept the faith of the Foreign Religion!” Kim Chul never doubted Suho.

Vulcan was called the ‘Demon of Greed’ because he was more greedy than anyone else among the demons. Now that all the other demon nobles are gone, what he most covets must be the seat of the Demon King.

[So when do you plan to kill him?]

‘Wait. We will get everyone gathered so that no one escapes…’ Hearing Beru’s whispers to continue to ambush and kill Kim Chul from the side, Suho left the gambling hall and headed for the chapel following the guidance of the Foreign believers.

Before long, a huge door appeared in front of Suho. When Kim Chul placed his palm on the huge door, his Star Piece shone and the massive door opened by itself.

Crrreakk.

Then, a large dome-shaped room appeared in Suho’s field of vision. Inside, he could see Foreign believers lying flat on their stomachs, muttering prayers like crazy people. However, there was a reason why this incredibly large space felt cramped.

‘That’s…’

Suho’s eyes flashed.

The innermost part of the chapel. There, something huge, incomprehensible to common sense, was sitting on a chair as big as the place itself. A figure of an enormous size.

“Welcome, Lord Vulcan. This is the chapel of our Foreign Religion Church.” As soon as Kim Chul had finished talking:

Tilt.

The heads of the Foreign believers who were kneeling in prayer in the chapel all raised their heads and looked at Suho. Then they all smiled brightly with the same expression on their faces. Still, the prayers flowed incessantly from their mouths.

“Worship God. Worship God. Worship God. Worship God.”

“Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.”

“Prove your faith. Prove your faith. Prove your faith. Prove your faith…”

Slam!

The chapel door closed with a loud roar behind Suho’s back.

The last phrase of the prayer flowed from Kim Chul’s mouth, who was smiling brighter than anyone else in front of the door.

“Those who do not abide by this rule will not be able to return alive.”