Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 283

Beru had been slowly accumulating power by steadily consuming the mana stones Suho brought him.

It wasn’t very efficient, of course. Compared to when Jinwoo had given him mana directly, the shadow ant’s current strength was pathetically insufficient.

But there was nothing to be done. Beru was thankful to have what little strength he did. He had to be grateful and save every drop, using his energy sparingly. Even when his claws itched to unleash his strength, he resisted the urge.

Beru knew that if he recklessly burned through the mana he had painstakingly gathered, he’d have to go begging Suho for more. As he had raised Suho since he was a baby, the idea didn’t appeal to him. It felt like stealing a child’s allowance to make ends meet. Mana crystals on Earth were extremely expensive and rare, and it simply wouldn’t do to ask for more.

But if they were facing a follower of the Outer Gods, that changed things.

A weapon made from Stones of the Outer Gods!

Beru wondered how anyone had managed to gather enough stones to create such a thing.

He had his suspicions, so he had followed Haseul the Harvester secretly for some time. He was certain that she was either a follower or someone at least closely involved with the Church of the Outer Gods, and she was an S-rank villain, no less.

If Haseul truly served the Outer Gods, then it would be a grave mistake to wait for Suho to arrive and risk her making an escape. If necessary, Beru would burn through all the mana he had hoarded and kill her himself. At the very least, it would stop her from escaping. She could always be turned into a shadow soldier later, or he could crack open her skull and devour her memories.

Fortunately, it never came to that.

“Kiek! Young Monarch!”

It was a happy turn of events—for both Beru and Haseul.

“Did you start missing me already?!” Beru cried.

Suho had arrived. At once, the shadow ant shrank in size, his massive presence dwindling the moment the hunter stepped into the alleyway.

Now that Suho was here, he could handle the rest. It would be even better if they could enlist Harmakan’s help and gain experience points from killing Haseul.

Still shaken from her encounter with Beru, Haseul widened her eyes. She recognized Suho.

“You... The guy from the bakery?”

It was the owner of the bakery, the guy she had seen in the market that very morning. She wondered what he was doing here all of a sudden and why the monstrous black ant that had just terrified her was clinging to him and acting all cute.

Well, can this really be called “acting cute?” she wondered. No—it was more like the ant was fawning over the bakery owner like an adoring parent.

As she stood there, bewildered, a voice crackled through the radio in her hand.

“Is something happening over there?”

Haseul quickly backed away and lifted the radio to respond.

“Well...”

She wasn’t sure what to say. Perhaps it was because of the frightening encounter with the ant creature just now, but her thoughts were all jumbled.

Then the radio was lifted right out of her fingers.

“Oh!”

It was as though it had been snatched by an invisible hand. It soared through the alley and landed neatly in the bakery owner’s palm.

Haseul was shocked.

The mana... How odd.

This couldn’t be a skill, since she hadn’t sensed any of the flowing mana that would normally accompany one. But this was only natural, as Ruler’s Authority did not require mana. It was an innate power—a third arm, as it was, that Suho was born with.

A burst of static crackled from the radio. “Please respond. Paradise Shadow, what is going—”

“Hello, Mr. Woo. This is Beru,” Suho suddenly said.

For a brief moment, the voice on the other end seemed taken aback. Then Jinchul, having instantly figured out what was going on, calmly asked, “Are you Mr. Sung Suho?”

“Oh, you recognized me right away.”

“Well, your voice... It’s identical to your father’s.”

A son’s voice often grew to resemble his father’s with time. When Jinchul heard Suho speak, it was like he was listening to Jinwoo himself. The resemblance was uncanny.

“As far as I know, I’m the only human who remembers the name ‘Beru.’”

Jinchul’s tone carried a quiet amusement, and just beneath it, a trace of longing. He had been Jinwoo’s closest friend, a companion who had known him for decades. He was also once the only man who still carried the memories of that world that no longer existed.

Jinchul hadn’t just retained the memories of his own past—he knew all of Jinwoo’s past as well. Before Sung Jinwoo used the Cup of Reincarnation, he had transferred his memories of the Monarch of Shadows he had witnessed—including the entire history of the war between the Rulers and the Monarchs—directly to Jinchul’s mind.

“That is the reason you used the alias ‘Beru,’ isn’t it?” Jinchul asked over the radio.

“Oh, yes. I reasoned that if anyone recognized the name, it would be you,” Suho said.

“I-is that how it is?” the actual Beru asked, shocked. “I thought you used my name because you aspire to become a great ant like me one day...”

The shadow ant looked utterly deflated. As a child, Suho had drawn ants with crayons, covering sheets of paper with little black figures. The child clearly dreamed of becoming an ant himself one day.

“Hmm, so I was right. Is Haseul safe, by the way? She is one of our spies.”

“Yes, well...”

Suho glanced at Haseul. She had been standing there uncomfortably since their conversation began. She seemed very wary of Beru, who refused to leave Suho’s side.

With a casual flick of his wrist, Suho produced something as if by magic and handed it to her. “Here. Take this.”

Haseul’s eyes gleamed. It was strawberry cake, and not just a slice—a whole cake.

She took it reverently with both hands, immediately calming down. She then made the important decision she had deferred until now—she would eat the last slice of the cake she had purchased right now, no more waiting.

“I have lots of questions I would like to ask you, Mr. Sung,” Jinchul continued. “I’m not sure of the situation in the city at the moment, but if it is all right, would you mind answering a few things?”

“Of course. And you can just call me Suho. You are a friend of my father’s, aren’t you?”

“Haha! It’s all right. I prefer to be formal. I once witnessed an E-rank hunter, who was considered the weakest on the planet, save the world. It taught me a lesson in humility I will never forget.”

“Wow, that’s rough,” Suho joked.

With that, he began answering Jinchul’s questions one by one.

As expected, the first questions were about Jinwoo. Jinchul’s excitement morphed into disappointment at Suho’s responses, but there was hope.

“It’s a relief that Mrs. Cha, Yoo Jinho, and Thomas Andre have regained their memories. That alone is a tremendous asset to humanity. Are there others? Also... are you able to restore memories to anyone you wish?”

That was Jinchul’s most pressing question.

This time, it was Beru who responded. “It’s not possible for just anyone. It is much easier to restore the memories of those who were directly involved with my liege, as you were. Of course, in a broad sense, every human on earth was blessed to be saved by our king. I suppose you could argue that everyone is connected to him, but that would be a bit of a stretch.”

“W-wait. Was that Beru who spoke just now?”

Jinchul sounded more shocked than when he’d heard Suho’s voice.

At that reaction, Beru smirked proudly and shrugged at Suho. “See? That is the extent of my fame.”

“So it really is you!”

A deep sigh of relief came from the radio. It was unfortunate that Jinwoo was no longer on Earth, but the fact that Beru was here was nothing short of astonishing.

Jinchul could still vividly recall the Jeju Island raid. The nation’s strongest hunters had fought with everything they had, but despite their efforts, the shadow ant had slaughtered them all. He had been a living calamity.

Now that same Beru had changed his ways, so to speak, and become one of Jinwoo’s most trusted soldiers. He was one of humanity’s greatest weapons.

“You have no idea how relieved I am.”

“Hmm...” Suho blinked, slightly puzzled by Jinchul’s reaction. He glanced at the tiny ant.

“Eh? Why are you looking at me like that?” Beru asked. “Well, you may gaze upon me in awe as much as you wish.”

Even now, Jinchul was eagerly reminiscing about the shadow ant’s “heyday.” He likely had no idea of Beru’s size at the moment. Suho made a firm mental note that he would have to find more mana crystals.

After answering Jinchul’s many questions, the final one arrived.

“So what is happening in the city right now? You incited an entire riot against the bank in just a day?”

Jinchul had already heard the full story of Suho’s actions from Haseul. He still found it hard to believe.

What mattered most was what would come next.

“May I ask what you’re planning? The city is a difficult target, even for us. All we’ve been able to do so far is plant spies and observe.”

The association’s hunters, led by Jinchul, had spent years eradicating villain-run cities. However, this one had not been an easy mark because of the towering iron wall around it. Not even Jongin’s flame attacks could scorch the massive wall.

The unbreakable stronghold was likely the reason more and more villains were slowly gathering in Paradise as they scattered and ran from the association. Now their numbers in the city far surpassed the number of hunters Jinchul had brought from South Korea. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

In theory, a full-scale raid was possible, but even if the association somehow won, another villain city would just rise somewhere else. Jinchul had only been made aware of this fact recently.

“To eliminate the villains for good, we need to capture the executors. We only uncovered this after sending Haseul to live in Paradise. Our people are already known to the villains in the city, so they can’t get inside the gates.”

Even as their conversation continued, the city was being reduced to nothing more than a battlefield. Blood splattered across the streets, and screams ripped through the air.

At this point, it no longer mattered who was fighting who. Greed had overtaken them all. The villains had discovered a brutal truth—by slaughtering others, they could absorb the power of the fruits their victims had consumed. Blood and bodies were filling the city as a result.

However, there was one thing happening that no one noticed: Each desiccated corpse was quietly vanishing, melting into the earth without anyone’s knowledge. This was starting to show its effects.

“Oh...”

Sirka had been standing at the entrance of the dark alley where Suho and Jinchul were speaking. As she kept watch, she lifted her gaze.

Leaves were drifting from the sky—red leaves. The leaves of Álfheimr, which were fresh and green just the night before, had slowly darkened and taken on a scarlet hue.

The scarlet leaves floated gently downward. It was a beautiful sight.

“It smells familiar,” Sirka said.

She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. The familiar hint of winter filled her nostrils.

She looked up at the sky and muttered, “Winter is on its way.”