Solo Leveling: Ragnarok - Chapter 148

“Gah!” Hwang Dongsuk was so taken aback that he sank to the floor where he stood. However, nobody present was paying attention to him at the moment.

“Arsha, what did you just say?” The old man was glowering at the queen bee, her wings buzzing. This was Arsha the Queen Bee, and her captivating form came into view as the bees melded into a single shape.

She locked eyes with the old man. “I said, this is as far as I go.”

“But why? You are supposedly a queen. Don’t tell me you’re scared?”

“Hmph. Scared?” Arsha simply scoffed at his provocation and crossed her arms. She directed her gaze out the window. Throughout this village were the countless bees that served her, and even now, they were sending her powerful warning signals. She grinned and replied confidently, “Why shouldn’t I be afraid? It’s natural for a being to run and hide when faced with a predator they cannot defeat.”

“A predator? Don’t tell me you’re scared because someone capable of using the Iron Body Technique has appeared. This wound is nothing.” The old man, recognizing that Arsha was looking at his charred hand, frowned in displeasure. “Restore,” he chanted, shaking his scorched hand in the air. The contorted face of a screaming spirit sank into it like a ripple of air. His hand was instantly completely unmarked, and he flexed it as he stared casually at Arsha. “Queen Bee, I’ll admit I was not expecting the intruders, but my plans are not affected in any way. In fact, they will be executed even faster than before.”

“Even though the Iron Body Technique destroyed your illusion?”

“It is true that the technique and our illusions don’t play well together. But the disadvantage isn’t solely our own.”

Tarnak was once the Monarch of Iron Body, who had ruled over goblins, orcs, and all humanoid beasts. His Iron Body Technique pushed the body to its limit, transcending even the boundary of body and soul. It surpassed physical laws and could even attack spirits. The illusions of the demonic spirits, on the other hand, used souls to gain physical power. In other words, the two powers were diametrically opposed.

“My illusion was broken earlier because I let down my guard,” the old man said. “But it won’t happen again. The intruder hasn’t even managed to locate me yet. He’s still wandering about.”

“What if he does find you?”

“No matter. I can simply re-cast my illusions. They have walked into my zone of their own accord. It will be impossible for them to leave.”

“Impossible? Confidence is great, and all… but is anything truly impossible? Even the great Monarchs are dead, and so is the supposedly all-powerful god.”

Arsha’s open mockery prompted the old man to rise from his seat with a chuckle. “That only made this world a better place.”

The man’s body was wizened, having originally belonged to the chief of Yami Village. There was a reason why he had chosen such an old frame to occupy, when he could have had his pick of stronger humans in the village.

“I am Harmakan, the Supreme Chief of the demonic spirits. I will also be king one day.” He smiled with extreme cruelty as he raised his thin arms. Desperate screams echoed, filling the air. Hazy spirits were shrieking in pain at his fingertips, shimmering faintly. With a nasty grin, he burst out laughing at the sight. “Take a look. Do you really think that I would actually stoop to fighting idiots who bank on their physical strength alone?”

Hwang Dongsuk, watching as he sat in the corner, paled. He noticed some of his own men, the ones who had just been beheaded by the invaders, among the screaming spirits. Indeed, Harmakan’s illusions were powered by the souls of those who had died in this village. Considering how many had been killed here, his confidence was not surprising.

Harmakan tormented the translucent spirits with his shriveled fingers, toying with them. He snickered and said, “Demonic spirits always plan carefully and never put themselves on the front lines. They stay in the back. We have no lack of cannon fodder.”

“Tsk… Who is the real coward here?” Arsha said, shaking her head as if sickened.

Harmakan was not at all ashamed, however. “That would be you for not seeing this fight through. I’ll give you a chance. Stay with me and help.”

“No. If I’d known that he would show up, I would never have come anywhere near this place to begin with.” The way the bees that made up her body trembled gave away her unease. “I don’t yet have the power or the soldiers to face him.”

Harmakan grew curious. “Who is this ‘he’ you’re talking about? Why do you fear him so much? He might be the heir of the Monarch of Iron Body, but you are the successor of the Monarch of Plagues. I could easily defeat him on my own, but if we work together, we can do it even—”

“He is not the heir of the Monarch of Iron Body. It is the Monarch of Fangs that he succeeds.”

“What? The Monarch of Fangs? What does that mean?” Harmakan grew only more confused at Arsha’s words. He was suddenly reminded of the giant wolf the intruder had been riding. It wouldn’t be so strange for the heir of the Monarch of Fangs to have such a mount, but there was something he couldn’t understand. “If that is so, how can he use the Iron Body Technique?”

“I don’t know, but one thing is for certain. He’s… gotten much stronger than the last time I met him.” Arsha chewed her lip anxiously. Ever since she was soundly defeated by Suho, she had no desire whatsoever to go up against him again. The situation was even more disadvantageous now. She had lost her lancers and grown weaker, but Suho had gotten much stronger in the interim.

“My plan to turn these villains into new lancers is hereby scrapped,” she declared. “Now that he’s here, they’ll end up dead, anyway.” With that, Arsha’s body began to scatter. She opened the window, and the bees comprising her body flew away as if she saw no point in talking any longer.

Harmakan burst into laughter at her lack of hesitation and said mockingly, “I can’t believe a coward like her seeks to follow in Querehsha’s footsteps. Looks like the insects will have no queen for a while.” He immediately put Arsha out of his mind, as if she didn’t matter. “This might actually be for the best. The flies that tried to get in on my plan are gone. The souls in this place are all mine to do with as I please.” His face icy, Harmakan reached out toward Hwang Dongsuk, who sat on the floor.

“Ugh!” The villain’s body suddenly stiffened and floated into the air. Dongsuk’s hands and feet were paralyzed, and he screamed for help. “H-hey, old man! I mean, sir! Why are you doing this? Our contract isn’t—”

“Heh, heh. Of course, our contract.” Harmakan’s eyes gleamed, and a foul smile crossed his face. He had approached Dongsuk, the one controlling the inmates at Jisan, and encouraged them to stage an escape for a single reason. “Our agreement stated that you would lead your men even outside the jail, and I would take the souls of those you killed.”

“Y-yes! So why—”

“Why? Are you really asking?” Harmakan cocked his head as Dongsuk continued to struggle in the air. “You can lead your men even after you are dead, can you not?”

“Aaah!”

Harmakan closed his bony fingers in the air, crushing Dongsuk’s body. The villain vomited blood and died, his bones pulverized.

Harmakan’s vile voice whispered to Dongsuk’s soul, “Be happy. I will make your soul into a death knight of my demonic spirits.” The soul screamed in his clutches, and he smiled with satisfaction, moistening his lips. “Yes. I like evil souls like you.”

***

“We surrender! We surrender!”

“We’ll go back to the prison!”

Esil was nonplussed when the villains threw down their weapons, apparently unwilling to fight. “Wait, that was fast. Shouldn’t you put up a bit more of a fight?” she asked.

“What do you expect? Their boss ran away,” Suho said with a grin and a shrug.

The battle wasn’t fully over just because the villains had given up, however.

“Gah!”

“Aaaagh!”

“S-save us! Please, stop this madness!”

Even now, an invisible figure was moving through the neutralized villains and slicing their throats without mercy. To Taeshik, now a shadow soldier who enjoyed murder, the moment of surrender was the easiest time to strike.

“Not bad.” Beru was looking on proudly, impressed. “He isn’t killing at random. He’s picking the ones who reek of blood.”

“Blood? You mean he’s selecting only the ones who’ve killed?” Suho asked.

“Yes, that’s right,” Taeshik said, appearing before Suho with a bow. “Even when I was alive, I could tell if someone was a murderer by looking into their eyes. I can tell straight away which of them outright enjoy murder.” Taeshik was the same way, and his ability was akin to identifying like-minded individuals. “But now that I’m reborn… I can see even clearer.”

“So you can detect who’s evil, huh?” Suho said, nodding. He found it intriguing. He turned to the villains again before asking Taeshik, “What about the ones that are still alive?”

“They haven’t killed anyone—Not directly, anyway. They were probably petty criminals.”

“Y-yes!”

“That’s right!”

The villains began to shout one after the other after hearing this.

“I-I’m just a swindler!”

“All I did was b-blackmail…”

“I’ve beaten someone, but I never— Argh!”

Blood spurted out of the man’s throat. Kang Taeshik, who’d moved over in a flash and attacked the last person to speak, returned to Suho and bowed. “Apologies. I wasn’t sure about that one, but I think it’s better to kill him than be sorry.”

Suho and Esil glanced at each other silently. He saw the demon noble mouth something. “Bit of a scary one, this guy.”

Suho simply replied with a stare that said, “You’re a demon yourself, aren’t you?” His eyes suddenly flashed, and he snatched something out of the air. It buzzed and protested. “Would you look at that?” He grinned at the sight of the bee in his hand, but his eyes were not smiling.

[Queen of Insects, the Monarch of Plagues looks glad to see the creature.]

“Show yourself, Arsha,” Suho said. The bee quivered in his hand.