Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - Chapter 307
Chapter 307
At this point, it is necessary to briefly look back at the past of Grid, or rather, Hwang Dong-soo.
Before the Great Upheaval, Hwang Dong-su and his older brother Hwang Dong-seok were known as the
‘Brother Fraud Group’ and lived a life at the bottom as third-rate criminals.
That period of time was a full twenty years.
My life was full of going in and out of the police station and prison, but I still had fun… … I thought that too.
Until I was abandoned by my brother.
-You get out now.
Until Hwang Dong-seok suddenly awakened to his powers and threw away his incompetent self.
-Useless kid.
… … Hwang Dong-su, who had been cut off from his only family like that, had a bleak future.
I was at a loss.
What should I do now and how should I live?
Until then, I just had to do whatever my brother said.
For a while I was living a life of alcoholism.
But that didn’t last long.
As Hwang Dong-seok began to gain notoriety as a villain, Hwang Dong-su, who had suddenly become tied up with the brothers’ fraud group, also began to be chased by the police.
But is there a hole to survive even if the sky falls?
Hwang Dong-su miraculously woke up while surrounded by police.
This is truly a revival of the knighthood!
But what happened?
I finally woke up, but now I see that the cops chasing me were no ordinary guys.
-Crazy. Why is Choi Jong-in here?!
It was absurd.
As if he had known that he would awaken, Choi Jong-in suddenly blocked Hwang Dong-soo’s path.
Choi Jong-in was the strongest hunter in the Hunter Association that had just been formed at the time.
He was an incredibly scary S-class hunter, so much so that his nickname was the ultimate weapon.
It was impossible to run away from such a person, so I fought.
Because there was no other choice anyway.
But surprisingly.
-… … Is it worth a try?
Surprisingly, the battle between Hwang Dong-soo and Choi Jong-in was close.
Thanks to this, Hwang Dong-soo was able to realize that the power he had awakened was S-class.
A power so strong that it cannot even be compared to that of Hwang Dong-seok, who abandoned him.
Then my courage surged up.
If we fight him one-on-one, wouldn’t we be satisfied with simply running away, and might we be able to defeat him?
Of course, Choi Jong-in was not alone.
He must have come fully prepared, as he was accompanied by various hunters of class A and B.
But it’s there, but it’s not.
-Hahaha! Get out before the shrimp’s back gets broken in the fight between whales!
In this way, Hwang Dong-su burst into loud laughter and showed off his power to the association hunters.
Two S-class people are fighting, so how dare the lower-ranking ones interfere?
Rather, you’ll be taken hostage and have your ankles tied!
In fact, wasn’t it for that reason that Hwang Dong-soo himself was cut off by Hwang Dong-seok?
Boom! Boom! Boom!
This is truly a shock to the world.
Even in the midst of the fierce and breathless battle with Choi Jong-in, Hwang Dong-soo took advantage of the gap to take the other remaining people he had brought hostage.
But my goodness, now that I look at it, there are some really great people among those scumbags.
-Haha! How embarrassing! Even the famous Woo Jin-cheol came out just to catch me?
– Mr. Hwang Dong-su, please surrender obediently. You are still a petty criminal… … .
-That petty criminal! That petty criminal!
Hwang Dong-soo shot out at Woo Jin-cheol, who appeared in front of him wearing a suit.
And when I reached out to grab that handsome guy by the collar.
WHHHHHH-
Even with the blistering wind ripping through the air at such a tremendous speed,
Woo Jin-cheol simply untied his tie, which was fluttering in the wind, with one hand and calmly extended the other hand.
Towards Hwang Dong-soo.
-Slow speed.
-Dampened sensation.
-Vision disturbance.
-Weakening attack power.
… … ?!
At that moment, Hwang Dong-soo realized.
That something was wrong.
The reason why Woo Jin-cheol, who is only an A-class person, can treat Choi Jong-in, who is an S-class person, as a subordinate.
chuck.
Finally, Woo Jin-cheol’s palm caught Hwang Dong-soo’s fist, which had slowed down noticeably, and put an end to it.
-Chains of oppression.
Shwaaaaak-
-Wh, what!
Hwang Dong-soo was greatly embarrassed.
Suddenly, chains of magical power flew in from all directions and wrapped around his limbs.
Of course, it’s still A-class.
He summoned up his magical powers and forcibly tore off the chains of oppression.
Then, he started to deflect the debuff skills that were suffocating him one by one.
But there were too many problems.
Moreover, even in the meantime, Choi Jong-in was still attacking him.
-Hmm, is this it?
-… … This, this cowardly bastard!
The fever has set in.
It was truly annoying to see Woo Jin-cheol calmly displaying his dirty skills one by one even when facinga S-class villain right in front of him.
Maybe that’s why.
Even at the moment when the terrifying final flame was flying right behind him, the reason why Hwang Dong-soo tried to attack Woo Jin-cheol first was.
but.
-Ignores defense.
-… … ?!
Phew!
Woo Jin-cheol’s debuff unfolded at a very appropriate time.
The collaboration of Choi Jong-in’s flame skill that exploded from his back at the moment when Hwang Dong-soo’s solid defense was weakened.
-Keuk… … !
Hwang Dong-soo, who was completely taken by the perfect combination of forces, ran away from the spot with all his might.
It was a blessing in disguise.
Since Choi Jong-in, who was also an S-class, was a magic hunter, there was no one there who could keep up with Hwang Dong-soo’s speed as he decided to run away.
Oh, one person.
-Slowdown. Chains of oppression.
-Ah, please stop… … !
In the end, because of Woo Jin-cheol’s vicious and persistent debuffs, Hwang Dong-soo was helplessly hit by all of Choi Jong-in’s attacks and barely managed to escape.
Become a total wreck.
In the end, he had to go into hiding for a long time after that to heal the wounds from that day.
He kept his identity completely hidden and devoted himself solely to treating wounds by visiting freelance healers in the shadows, out of sight of the Association.
I wanted to leave Korea right away, but it was impossible until my body fully recovered.
The guys I met then were none other than the ‘foreign missionaries’.
At first, Hwang Dong-soo didn’t even know the name of the group or what kind of organization they were.
I wasn’t interested in the first place.
But it was inevitable that our paths would keep overlapping.
It just so happened that, like Hwang Dong-soo, they were foreign missionaries who were operating in the shadows, avoiding the eyes of the association.
That is how Hwang Dong-soo’s relationship with the foreign missionaries began.
-… …You’ll send a healer to treat my wounds?
-Yes. And as a B-class healer. In return, can we ask you a small favor? Oh, of course, it’s not mandatory.
So the foreign missionaries approached Hwang Dong-soo very cautiously and cautiously.
At the time, the scale of the foreign mission was still small, so the power of the S-class villain Hwang Dong-soo was quite useful.
But Hwang Dong-su was also cautious.
-Crime is absolutely unacceptable. If I get caught by the association like this… … .
-Don’t worry about that. I don’t plan on asking you to do something so eye-catching. Just attack the gates that the Association hasn’t discovered yet.
-If it’s to that extent.
In this way, Hwang Dong-su began to accept the ‘minor’ requests of foreign missionaries.
No matter how many injuries he sustained, his S-class power did not disappear.
And every time they raided the gate they requested without the association’s knowledge, the healer they sent would come and treat Hwang Dong-su’s wounds several times until his magical power was exhausted,and then leave.
But that was only a temporary measure.
At this rate, it would take too much time for my body to fully recover.
But instead of providing a proper healer, the Foreign Church rewarded Hwang Dong-soo in another way.
Right here, in hiding.
We provided suitable hiding places from time to time to avoid the eyes of the Association.
The hideouts they provided were like rain in a drought to Hwang Dong-soo, who couldn’t stay in one place for long because that damn Woo Jin-cheol had put out a wanted notice for him all over the country.
Then one day.
-Go to Yangpyeong.
The foreign press requested a new deal from Hwang Dong-soo, who was almost fully recovered and about to leave this damned Republic of Korea.
Now that he no longer needed a healer, the foreign religion whispered to him in a sly tone, asking if he wanted to know who killed his older brother, Hwang Dong-seok.
In the end, Hwang Dong-soo accepted their offer again.
It wasn’t a difficult request anyway.
As usual, I just wanted to ask you to fix a certain gate in Yangpyeong.
Since he was planning to leave Korea anyway, Hwang Dong-su said that this would be his last time and moved to Yangpyeong without saying a word.
Then, a man who was a priest of a foreign religion greeted him with a bright smile.
-I’ve heard a lot from you. My name is Kim Chul.
-hmm.
-Why are you looking at me like that?
-… … Have we seen each other somewhere? You look familiar.
-Oh! I was thinking the same thing, and I guess it worked. Haha.
-He doesn’t seem to be a friend from your hometown. Did you see him in the prison cell?
-Oh my, a prison cell. I’ve always lived a very good life, so I’ve never been near such a scary place. Maybe we had some kind of connection in a past life. Hahaha.
-Past life, shit. Surely you weren’t a guy from the Association?
-Oh, how did you know? I just quit recently. It was so pointless and boring.
-… … ?
Even though he knew that Hwang Dong-soo hated the association, Kim Chul’s attitude of acting cute in front of him was quite strange.
Kim Chul himself was also curious as to why he felt a strange sense of familiarity with the infamous S-class villain Hwang Dong-soo.
-Anyway, I ask you to take good care of this gate. And I’ll give you this.
-A necklace? What is this?
-This is a new item sent by our foreign missionary. I heard you are planning to leave Korea soon? Since we have a connection, wouldn’t it be right to give you at least one item?
-Item? What’s its function?
– This is a top-grade star fragment necklace that increases your magical power and recovery speed. It wil
l be of great help when you are wandering around a foreign country alone.
-Hmm. Not bad.
Could it be because of the strange sense of closeness I feel from Kim Chul?
Hwang Dong-su obediently accepted the necklace that Kim Cheol gave him without any particular suspicion and put it around his neck.
Kim Chul himself also had the same necklace hanging around his neck.
So, Hwang Dong-su entered the gate under Kim Cheol’s guidance.
And the moment you step into the temple of a foreign religion.
Towering.
His memory was cut off there.
And a long time later.
-… … Itarim.
When I opened my eyes again.
There was a blue aura flowing in Hwang Dong-su’s eyes.
And he instinctively woke up.
Who you are.
-I am… … the high priest who serves the great god, Itarim… … Ugh.
That moment.
He felt a sense of discomfort deep down in his soul, almost nauseated, but that feeling soon disappeared as if his forehead was throbbing.
-Have you woke up, High Priest?
In front of Hwang Dong-su, priest Kim Cheol stood with an extremely serious attitude.
Hwang Dong-soo looked at him and asked.
-… … I feel a strange sense of alienation inside my body. What is it?
-I only received it from the headquarters, so I don’t know much about it. Other than the fact that it’s a great and noble experimental process.
-Experiment? What is the experiment for?
-Evolution and creation.
-Evolution and creation… … .
To Hwang Dong-soo’s question, Kim Cheol, who had become a priest a long time ago, answered with a mad look in his eyes.
-Yes. The main office said that evolution to the limit is not much different from creation. I heard that this is a great experiment for that purpose.
-… … This is evolution to the extreme. How great it is.
* * *
[What the hell is great!]
Grid shuddered and ground his teeth viciously as the dark history of that moment came to mind.
[How dare you make me into a fucking foreign press shill!]
“Who, who… … !”
“Not us… … !”
Bam!
A tremendous momentum swept over them like a tidal wave.
An overwhelming violence that seemed to turn the earth upside down and fold the sky in half.
There was no point in hearing the answer anyway.
Grid just wanted to get rid of those guys who reminded him of himself back then right away.
And then there was another shadow that secretly rose up next to him.
[I will join too! We dare, as glorious soldiers of our lord!]
The identity was none other than Priest Kim Chul, or rather, ‘Iron’ who had returned as a shadow soldier…
Wah!
[…uh?]
For a moment, Iron’s vision was turned upside down.
Grid grabbed Iron’s ankle without hesitation and swung it around like a club, striking the villains.
If you think about it, it was all Iron’s fault.