Solo Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 25

Beru recalled an old memory.

 

The Demon World had been destroyed twice by the Shadow Monarch, Sung Jinwoo—the first time was in the Demon Castle Dungeon, and the second time was after everything had been reset.

 

In the war between Sung Jinwoo and the Monarchs, demons were nothing more than experience points for Sung Jinwoo to gain. So the demons died over and over again…

 

Ultimately, only one family could survive in the Demon World, the Rank 20 family, Radiru, the only demons to side with Sung Jinwoo.

 

Had that family been destroyed?

 

[… It seems that something has happened to the Demon World in the meantime.]

 

Beru narrowed his eyes and looked at the dead body of a low-level demon. In order to know the inside story, ‘Gluttony’ was the best method because it allowed him to read the memories of the consumed being.

 

[Little King, can I eat that demon?]

 

Sooho’s gaze turned to the demon’s corpse.

 

 

[It’s impossible to extract a shadow from a target with polluted mana.]

 

 

Sooho tilted his head at the message floating before him. “So demons cannot be extracted as shadow soldiers?”

 

[That is correct.]

 

Apparently, since the shadow ability extracts the opponent’s soul, extracting the demon’s already corrupted soul seemed impossible.

 

Sooho nodded.

 

“Then go ahead and devour it.”

 

[Kyaawup!]

 

As permission was granted, Beru’s mouth opened wide, and he tore into the demon’s corpse. He wanted to swallow it in one gulp, but…

 

Chomp, chomp, chomp!

 

Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp!

 

… It seemed like it would take a little longer since his mouth was too small.

 

[Kiekhehe!]

 

Putting aside the slightly gruesome scene that might need mosaic processing, Sooho turned to the gazes that had been focused on him since earlier.

 

Since some time ago, the Hunters of both retrieval and attack teams had been looking at him with astonished expressions.

 

“Um…”

 

“H-how…?”

 

In this confusing situation where nobody knew what to say first, Assistant Professor Im, who had seen this side of Sooho before, stepped forward. “Sooho, are you okay? Are your wounds healed?” Although all his wounds had been healed with the level-up, the blood on his body hadn’t disappeared. Sooho looked like he was about to collapse from being covered in blood.

 

“Ah, yes.” Sooho casually wiped the blood off his face with the back of his hand at Assistant Im’s concern.

 

“Um, excuse me…” The raid captain approached him hesitantly. “Maybe you should go to the Association and get reevaluated…”

 

Aside from his summoning skills, there was no way Sooho, who had hunted a C-rank demon alone, could be ranked as E-rank. There was definitely some kind of mistake.

 

“That’s not important right now.” At that moment, Assistant Im picked up the empty potion bottle the demon had eaten earlier and looked closely at it. “The effect of stardust isn’t usually this strong… What the hell is this?”

 

“Do you know about Stardust?” The expression on the captain’s face became serious. He himself had felt something was off since earlier.

 

Assistant Im nodded. “Well, many low-ranked Hunters use it, so of course. Just a few days ago, the collectors who went missing claimed to have obtained Stardust and were overjoyed…”

 

Stardust was mostly favored by low-ranked Hunters rather than high-ranked ones.

 

Why did low-ranked Hunters use more Stardust?

 

Because there were limits to the amplification effect of Stardust.

 

Stardust was an amazing drug that could instantly turn an E-rank Hunter into a D-rank Hunter. However, it couldn’t inflate a D-rank to a C-rank as easily. Of course, it was still possible for D-rank Hunters with only a slightly lower amount of mana than C-rank Hunters to actually become C-ranks.

 

And those kinds of people were the main customers of Stardust.

 

They took Stardust before visiting the Association, not the dungeon. There, they would get their mana re-evaluated and their rank adjusted to C-rank.

 

“So, some users who became greedy for Stardust tried to increase its amplification effect by taking multiple doses at once or taking it continuously. They all ended up failing and just wasting their money.”

 

Moreover, there were rumors that developers were still researching ways to increase that amplification effect. However, no one knew who was actually developing Stardust.

 

“So how did it happen just now…?”

 

[Burp.]

 

At that moment, Beru burped loudly from the side and stood up. Then he muttered as he went through the puzzles of memories that came into his mind.

 

[Well, of course. Stardust was originally created by demons, so it’s only natural that it would be more effective for them]

 

“Wh-what!?”

 

“Demons made Stardust?”

 

The Hunters were shocked by the shocking truth.

 

“Is that true?”

 

[Yes, it is.]

 

In response to Sooho’s question, Beru nodded solemnly.

 

[But that’s not the problem.]

 

Even Beru couldn’t read all the memories of his prey. But those fragmentary pieces of information were shocking enough.

 

[Apparently, the ingredients for Stardust are…]

 

Beru’s subsequent explanation was truly shocking and terrifying.

 

This was how stardust was made.

 

1) Making firewood: Catch non-awakened beings and inject blue mist to turn them into ‘Mistburn’.

 

2) Increase firepower: Throw humans to Mistburn as ‘fuel’ to maximize their firepower.

 

3) Roasting: Roast the ‘mana stones soaked in demon’s blood’ over the blazing firewood.

 

… The resulting charcoal was then ground into powder, which was Stardust.

 

“And the solution is diluted by melting it in water and packaged in these potion bottles for distribution?”

 

[Yes.]

 

After hearing Beru’s explanation, the Hunters trembled.

 

“This is unbelievable.”

 

“You’re saying Stardust was made by burning humans alive?”

 

“Then why is this demon here…?”

 

They probably already knew the answer to that.

 

Beru stared into the tunnel where the demon had first appeared.

 

[I think if we follow that path, we’ll find the demon’s “factory,” where they capture civilians to make sacrifices.]

 

At that moment.

 

Ding!

 

 

[Quest: Rescue the Survivors.]

 

There are people nearby waiting for your rescue.

 

Please rescue as many of them as possible.

 

The reward will vary depending on the number of people you rescue.

 

– Current number of survivors: 7

 

– Current number of people rescued: 0

 

 

‘There are still seven people alive?’

 

Since the quest had appeared, there was no longer reason to delay.

 

Sooho’s eyes gleamed.

 

“I’m going to rescue them.”

 

Thump. The moment Sooho stepped toward the tunnel.

 

“Just a moment! Sooho!” Assistant Im urgently grabbed Sooho’s shoulder from behind.

 

Sooho turned his head and looked at him. “Assistant Im, you should run first.”

 

“… No, I want to go too this time.”

 

‘Hmm?’

 

What’s with this coward?

 

Assistant Professor Im opened his mouth with determination, though his lips trembled with fear. “With my skill, I can carry at least one person on my back.”

 

There would be many more demons in the place Sooho was going than before. It was clear that he would need more hands to rescue the people captured there.

 

Shrug.

 

‘Carry them… that’s a good idea.’

 

Sooho picked up the crow mask lying on the ground and turned to look at the Hunters, who were staring at him. “Let’s plan the operation.”

 

***

 

At the long railway at Seoul Station, there was a huge air defense shelter prepared for war or disaster. The demons’ factory was located here, a place usually used as a construction site.

 

“Why is the youngest one so late?”

 

The demons in the factory started to worry as the youngest member who went to dump garbage didn’t return.

 

“Maybe he encountered a wild magic beast on the way, who knows.”

 

“Just some lizards…”

 

And then…

 

As the iron door opened, the youngest member, wearing a crow mask, walked in, pulling a cart with a group of humans randomly stuffed inside.

 

The demons were intrigued.

 

“Wow, what’s this?”

 

“Where did you get these firewood?”

 

“They just came across me.” The youngest member stopped the cart in the corner of the factory, shaking it violently. 

 

Rattle.

 

But the Hunters, covered in blood, did not even groan, let alone move.

 

The demons asked, “You didn’t kill them, did you? Killing reduces the effect.”

 

“They must still be breathing.”

 

“Ah, I see. Our youngest member is good at this.”

 

As they had just gotten new firewood, the demons conversed about how lucky they were.

 

And the true identity of the “youngest member” who stood in front of the cart and watched their conversation was none other than Sooho. He covered his face with the mask of the demon he had killed and entered this place voluntarily. And now, those who pretended to be dead and piled up in layers were the raid Hunters.

 

They were able to attempt such a daring infiltration because they had roughly figured out the situation in the factory from the memories of ‘the youngest’ from Beru.

 

‘Demons identify each other’s identities with crow masks. They don’t care about details like appearance or voice.’

 

This was possible because the demons in the factory were not currently in their true bodies.

 

‘Souls of demons wandering through dimensional rifts took over human bodies and stole their flesh.’

 

According to Beru, even Monarchs had once hidden on Earth by possessing human bodies.

 

They would have had to create a huge hole in the Earth to enter directly with their main body, which possessed immense power. It would’ve been much more troublesome.

 

The demons were disgusted with the weak human bodies they had taken over and were ashamed to show themselves to one another, so they usually concealed themselves tightly with black robes and masks. Moreover, demons did not rely on visual or auditory information but on the magical energy they sensed from one another to identify their identities.

 

“Hmm? Youngest, you…” One of the demons tilted his head, feeling Sooho’s energy.

 

Sooho swallowed dryly. “Yes?”

 

“What’s with that sword? It looks good.”

 

On Sooho’s back was Vulcan’s Horn, which had devoured the soul of the youngest demon. The demons instinctively approached Sooho, noticing that the material of the black sword was exceptional.

 

“That sword…”

 

At that moment.

 

“Well, enough chit-chat.” The one who emanated the most powerful aura among the demons clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Get ready, the gate is about to open.”

 

‘What?’

 

Sooho’s eyes widened as he looked in the direction the demon had pointed. Even the Hunters pretending to be dead on the wagon had to steal a glance with their eyes wide open.

 

Crackle! Crackle! The space with nothing began to tear apart with a red aura.

 

‘This is insane.’

 

It’s unclear whether the youngest demon didn’t remember because of memory loss or simply because they weren’t aware of what was happening.

 

‘Goodness.’

 

They realized what the demons had been doing in this factory all this time at that moment.

 

‘The last ingredient for Stardust.’

 

Mana stones soaked in demon blood!

 

Since the demons here currently possessed human bodies, they had been summoning a demon to extract the blood directly within this place.

 

Crackle! Crackle!

 

At this moment, a dimensional hole connecting the Demon World and the Earth was created within the ominous red gate!

 

‘These guys are truly insane!’

 

“Everyone, get ready for combat. We don’t know who’s coming out, but we have to kill them in one breath!”

 

Kwaooo!

 

Seeing the red light raging out of the red gate, the demons took up their battle positions.

 

And finally.

 

An unidentified demon that had been wandering the Demon World was summoned before them.

 

“…”

 

Thump.

 

The figure’s purple hair fluttered, and they had slender arms and legs.

 

‘A woman?’

 

As the red gate closed, the female demon in front of it looked pitiful. She was covered in blood and looked like she could collapse at any moment, but her eyes shone brightly in the midst of flowing blood.

 

“Who summoned me?” The purple demon looked around at the other demons with a haughty gaze and raised the corners of her mouth in response to their clear hostility. “Heh. Are you also after my life?”

 

With a swish, she brandished the spear she held toward the demons.

 

“Fine. Come at me! I am Esil, the eldest daughter of House Radiru! We will fight to the end until the moment I die.”