Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - Chapter 309
Chapter 309
The apostle of evolution suddenly remembered.
The moment I first arrived on this barren planet, Earth.
Memories of that day when the soul fragments torn from the main body were burned on a small piece of falling star and sent to this insignificant outer planet.
There that day.
The first priority given to the Apostle of Evolution was to completely hide his own existence.
[We have to hurry. Before ‘he’ catches on… … .]
It was urgent.
Although he managed to escape the senses of the Shadow Legion and arrive on this land, he could not be sure when the terrifying Dark Lord would discover him.
So the Apostle of Evolution decided to first inhabit the bodies of the natives of this planet and hide his presence.
But from there, an unexpected problem arose.
[A vessel that is suitable to handle me… … .]
-Ugh!
-Cough… … !
[… … .]
I keep dying.
The moment his magic touched their souls, they died instantly without being able to do anything.
The bowl is broken.
The natives of this planet were ridiculously weak.
A suitable bowl.
The process of finding it was much more difficult than I thought.
He was genuinely embarrassed.
[This is ridiculous. Why are the creatures here so weak?]
Even he himself was nothing more than a shattered fragment, trying to avoid the attention of the Shadow
Legion.
But is the vessel so weak that it can’t even withstand these fragments?
Considering the might of the Shadow Legion that I had encountered in the distant universe, the creatures of this land living behind the battlefield were so pitiful that it was an exaggeration to even say they were pitiful.
[Have we regressed to a peaceful state?]
No matter how I thought about it, it was so strange.
Even if all the combatants are out in space and only non-combatants remain here.
Still, isn’t this too weak?
But I decided to put off satisfying that curiosity for later.
Since he didn’t know when he would be discovered hiding on this planet, his top priority was to find a vessel that could hide his presence as quickly as possible.
Then what caught his eye were old people who were dying.
[The creatures of this earth even have short lifespans.]
Beep- beep- beep-
Old people lying on sickbeds with their withered bodies, their breathing getting quieter and quieter.
A scene of doctors waiting to sentence them to death.
As the apostle of evolution happened to discover a place called ‘hospital’, a strange curiosity suddenly arose within him.
People lying side by side, dying.
Weak souls waiting for the right time to step out of their own vessel.
The series of scenes was enough to stimulate the curiosity of the apostle of evolution.
[… … A good idea occurred to me.]
If a vessel with a master cannot accept its own magic, what would happen if it were a vessel without a master?
What if you take over a masterless vessel that has ceased to function along with its owner?
Swish-
Since I had nothing to lose anyway, I tried it right away.
The first few times I failed.
Getting the timing right was no easy task.
But anyway, the test subjects were spread out.
Because in the hospital, there were many old people lying side by side who could become his vessels.
After a few attempts like that.
The apostle of evolution eventually succeeded.
Beep-
Capturing the moment when the heart of a dying old man stops.
In the empty space left by his soul, the invader from outer space was able to safely settle into the vessel.
And in an instant, yet secretly, he began to spread his magical power throughout his rapidly cooling body as his lifespan came to an end.
But the doctors and nurses, insensitive to magic, did not notice what was happening right before their eyes.
… … startled.
Especially the moment his heart stopped beating.
No one saw the tip of the mushroom-faced old man’s finger move, even just a little bit.
Beep-
-… …died.
So, without any change, the old man was sentenced to death.
The old man’s body was immediately moved to another location for burial.
The funeral was simple.
But no one showed tears.
Instead, there was frequent bickering surrounding the old man’s body.
There was a lot of talk about dividing the property and such, but these were of no importance to the apostles of evolution.
Are you a part-time worker?
What kind of life has this old man lived so far?
The apostle of evolution was only concerned with the fact that this dead body was still intact, containing its own fragments.
[It’s a success! It’s a success!]
Inside that cooled corpse, the invader from outer space was laughing happily.
A body that is already dead.
But because of that, the body can no longer die.
Of course, from here on out, very careful control of one’s magic power was required.
The resurrection of the lion.
But strictly speaking, this was an interception of a body just before death.
[I guess I’ll have to tear apart the inside of this bowl to make it move again.]
Like that for three days.
The work to recycle the broken bowl was a slow process that took place over three days.
Although nothing seemed to have changed on the outside, an amazing miracle was taking place inside the old man’s corpse.
… … startled.
And so, once again, the old man’s cold body lying in the coffin began to tremble.
First the fingertips.
Next, the tips of the toes.
So something was starting from the farthest place from my heart.
But unfortunately, those who surrounded the old man for three days and were obsessed with his wealth could not see this wonderful miracle.
Squeak.
… … until the old man opened the coffin lid that had been covering him and raised himself.
-… … Gyaaaah!
-Oh, Father?!
The apostle of evolution succeeded in disguising himself so successfully.
But he couldn’t show his joy at success.
He remained expressionless the whole time, watching the screaming humans surrounding him.
Although he was able to move below the neck using his magical powers, he still had difficulty controlling each muscle in his face.
Squeak-
Kkeuggeuk… … .
The sight of the old man loosening his stiff neck muscles with such an expressionless face was truly grotesque and terrifying.
The reactions of those who witnessed the sight were unanimous.
No one seemed happy or thrilled that their family had returned alive.
There were only those who fainted or sat down with their legs weakened and trembling.
Shock and horror.
And horror.
The Apostle of Evolution, who had unintentionally created such a situation by merely raising his body, was still expressionless.
Rather than wasting energy on things like outward appearances, solving internal problems was the most urgent task.
‘brain’
For three days, he had been pouring his magical power into the ‘brain’, which was rapidly losing its functions as the old man died.
The task of absorbing the vast amount of information about this planet contained in the brain was a task t
hat required considerable meticulous and demanding magical control.
And among them was language ability.
in the end.
“… … Success, I see.”
… … ?!
When I finally opened my mouth and succeeded in communicating.
The reactions of the people surrounding him also reached extremes.
It was a whole three days.
It’s been a while since doctors pronounced the old man dead.
A corpse that hadn’t breathed for several days suddenly came back to life in its coffin and even started talking!
This was truly a miracle, no, a ghostly thing.
-Oh, my God… … .
In that moment, someone’s muttering was transmitted to the brain through the Apostle of Evolution’s ‘hearing’.
And after interpreting its exact meaning, the word ‘expression’ appeared for the first time on the old man’s expressionless face.
There are over 200 muscles in the human face.
In the end, it was a tedious task to have to move so many muscles organically just to create one expression.
But despite that, the apostle of evolution was willing to express ‘laughter’.
‘god’
The language that came out of the mouth of that frightened creature pointed to the One who had sent it to this earth.
Shhh-
“… …God.”
Although it was a little awkward, the Apostle of Evolution just raised the corners of his lips and smiled brightly while mumbling the words.
The awkward expressions that had been there quickly returned to their original places.
Even my awkward speech began to become more fluent.
“I am not God. I am only an apostle of God.”
… … !
The apostle of evolution who spoke like that, no, the old man who had resurrected himself from the coffin, was given a divine radiance beyond compare.
“So please listen. He who sent me says… … .”
In front of that dazzling halo, the eyes of the humans who were on the verge of fainting gradually grew blurry, and the Apostle of Evolution continued speaking while extending his bony hand.
“Worship God. Praise God. Show your faith. Whoever does not observe this precept… … .”
Flash-
“You won’t be able to return alive.”
This was the birth of foreign religion.
* * *
[… … These are the things I have experienced in the past.]
Pink brain.
The illusions that the brain trapped in the test tube showed to Suho passed by like a revolving lantern in less than a second.
“… …Why did you show this to me?”
[Of course, it is meant to elicit sympathy.]
“It’s good to be honest.”
Suho burst into laughter at the words of the Apostle of Evolution.
But the gaze that glared at the brain was sharper than ever.
“You seem a bit too confident considering you were caught hiding.”
[Begging for life is a natural thing for any living being.]
“For an apostle of Itarim to speak, those words are too mean.”
[Well, what can I do? There’s nowhere else to run from here anyway. And I never expected that Seongsuho would find me so quickly.]
“… … .”
[Why are you looking like that? You look like you’re on guard, wondering if I’m plotting something else here. No more.]
“Even though you don’t have eyes, you know facial expressions very well.”
Suho looked at the brain in the test tube with narrow eyes.
At those sharp eyes, my brain shrugged as if it was shrugging its shoulders.
[That’s not hard to do. All the experimental subjects I’ve created are my sensory organs. But how on earth did you see through my illusions? They were illusions I worked very hard to create.]
The pink brain, the apostle of evolution, asked with genuine curiosity.
This place, where his true body was hidden, was a hideout that he had created with great sincerity.
It was a double and triple hidden abyss with dimensional cracks, complex labyrinths, and even illusions.
However, Suho saw through all of that and suddenly found his true identity.
“I have a lot of questions.”
But Soo-ho dismissed his doubts and answered as if it were obvious.
“If you’re studying immortality, doesn’t that mean you don’t want to die? Even though you’re acting like you don’t care if you die in front of me, I just destroyed it.”
[… … .]
Suho smirked and raised his fist, which was glowing with black energy, towards the brain that had suddenly become quiet.