Solo Leveling- Ragnarok-Chapter 315 - 313

[Where did it all go wrong?]

When the Nightmare Apostle realized that something had gone wrong with his perfect plan, it was already too late. His gaze quickly swept over the surroundings in that critical moment.

The abyss of falling souls. The endlessly deep Sea of The Afterlife. Within that depth, the scraps of souls that had lost everything and simply existed were floating around with blank expressions. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. If you looked a little deeper into the abyss, you would see countless hideous scraps sinking below. Any living being who caught a glimpse of that sight would instinctively feel an ominous chill. It was that grotesque and terrifying. Indeed. This place, the Sea of The Afterlife, was like a landfill, a dimensional trash can where the scraps of the dead piled up and rotted away. But...

Even that scenery was alluring to the Nightmare Apostle. Because the 'power' that could fulfill his desires existed here. A Monarch wasn't simply the king of a race, but the 'Primordial Darkness' itself. In other words, regardless of the title, the power of Primordial Darkness was what was important. And after a long period of research, He learned that the World Tree played the role of passing on the Primordial Darkness to the new Monarch. So the Nightmare Apostle came up with a plan to drag the scraps here into his nightmare and hinder Sirka's succession ceremony.

To become Sirka's nightmare, invade her dream, and steal the Primordial Darkness. The foundation of the Nightmare Apostle was evolution. To kill Sirka, become Sirka, and turn into the Monarch, that was the end goal of his plan. And that plan was perfect.

...At least until Sung Suho appeared.

Kyaaaaaaaah!

Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!

[Gack...!] A scream escaped his mouth.

It hurt.

It was agonizing.

The pain was endless.

Void Sharks, no, Shadow Sharks. The black monsters that had escaped his control and swarmed him... They were tearing the Nightmare Apostle's body apart with black steam blazing from their entire bodies. It was a truly gruesome sight, and at the same time, a familiar situation to him.

The battlefield of outer space.

The Shadow Monarch they witnessed from afar.

That terrifying king of darkness did the same thing to them.

'Kill and steal.'

His power, the worst and strongest in the war... Was now being displayed by his son. It was despairing.

Chomp! Chomp! Crack!

[How... in my domain... Gack!]

Was this a dream?

No. It's too painful for that. But that's why it was even more unbelievable. It literally felt like a nightmare. No matter how much his limbs were bitten and chewed by the shadow sharks' vicious fangs, his body regenerated over and over. That was the power he obtained by becoming the Nightmare Apostle. The ability to turn everything that happened to him into nothing, like a dream that disappears when you wake up.

But he couldn't avoid the physical pain. And it was endlessly repeating. It was as if his great power was pushing him into the abyss of nightmares. Endlessly... But what was more confusing to the Nightmare Apostle than the pain were his thoughts. Because of what Sung Suho said.

[Is this really... the world ruled by the Shadow Monarch...? That can't be...]

He couldn't believe it. According to his research, the Sea of The Afterlife was a dimension that couldn't be ruled by anyone. There was no value in it, and no race lived there to rule. It was simply a trash can where scraps that had lost everything floated around.

[There can't be a master ruling over a landfill...]

The Nightmare Apostle groaned with a dumbfounded expression. Even as he screamed blood splattered from his mouth, but it quickly healed. And then he vomited blood again. Suho shrugged at that.

'My family has always been good at recycling.'

[...]

Hearing that, he finally realized something. This place didn't belong to anyone, but he finally understood where all those soldiers the Shadow Monarch commanded came from. All the souls drifting in the Sea of The Afterlife were materials for shadow soldiers. If his level was high enough, he could simply pick them up and resurrect them; this place was like a flea market.

[My mistake...] The Nightmare Apostle sighed.

[To think this was 'his' harvest...]

Something so obvious once you knew. Why did he realize this important fact only now?

[I was ignorant.]

He honestly admitted his fault. Admitting ignorance was the foundation of development, and that was evolution.

[But.]

But even as his body was repeatedly destroyed by the sharks' teeth and regenerated, the Nightmare Apostle's eyes didn't show any sign of giving up.

[I won't die here.]

At that moment, the Nightmare Apostle ripped his shark-bitten body apart himself and desperately leaped forward. The World Tree was at the end of that path. The shadow sharks fiercely chased after him and tore at his body, but he didn't stop.

[Evolution is my mission and reason for existence.]

Pain or whatever...

[I can see the goal, I can't give up now.]

Evolution always came with pain.

'Sirka.' Suho gently put down Sirka, who was in his arms, and looked into her eyes.

'Now it's your turn. Walk... You don't need to step on the ice anymore.'

'What...?'

'The Elven Footsteps. If I can do it, you can too.' She followed Suho's gaze and looked down at his feet on the black sea. And her eyes changed. It was none other than Sirka herself who taught Suho the Elven Footsteps skill.

'...!'

There were no unexpected events. Sirka could walk on the Sea of The Afterlife even without the ice path the Frost Monarch created. Suho lightly patted her back and cheered.

'See...? Go ahead. Go to the World Tree and accept the Primordial Darkness.'

'What about you?'

'I'll follow you soon. I'll take care of him first.' Suho turned his head and glared at the Nightmare Apostle.

'Go ahead. I'll catch up soon.' Suho's eyes as he looked at the Nightmare Apostle were cold.

'Beru, let's go.'

[KIEEEEEEEEK!]

At that moment, Suho and Beru's figures shot towards the Nightmare Apostle like black streaks of light.

[You can't kill me!]

'I know. But I can stop you.' Suho's sword mercilessly slashed at the Nightmare Apostle's entire body.

'You'll stay here and suffer. Forever.'

[Gack...!]

'Why? Don't you like nightmares?'

The Nightmare Apostle flinched at Suho's persistent and vicious attacks. Meanwhile, Sirka was already running far away. Across the black surface. This was no longer her nightmare.

[The King of the Snow Folk, the Frost Monarch, urges the successor to hurry.]

Sillad's voice reached Sirka's ears. She ran without rest, following that voice. She didn't need the ice pillar or the ice path anymore. With the Elven Footsteps, she lightly stepped on the pitch-black Sea of The Afterlife and desperately ran towards the World Tree. The sounds of battle between Suho and the Nightmare Apostle gradually faded behind her. So did the Nightmare Apostle's screams.

'Almost there!'

The silhouette of the World Tree, faintly visible in Sirka's vision, grew larger and larger. It appeared majestically at the edge of the dimension. Sillad's voice also became clearer. And when she finally arrived, she saw that the shadow wasn't the World Tree. No, to be exact, it was something massive wrapped around the World Tree.

'...!'

Sirka instinctively leaped to the side. And a giant serpent's tail struck down on the spot where she was standing.

[Nidhögg, the serpent that gnaws at the roots of the World Tree.]

A giant serpent coiling around the roots of the World Tree. A being that sucked the nutrients of the World Tree and never left. It was blocking Sirka's path.

'Nidhögg...!'

Sirka's eyes flashed with determination. She already knew about Nidhögg from Suho.

But seeing it in person... It was incredibly huge! The giant serpent coiled around the World Tree's roots, glared at Sirka, and roared. Black poison flowed from its mouth.

[Hurry! You have to find the Frost Monarch among its heads!] Beru, who had suddenly appeared beside Sirka, urged her on.

Suho, who was fighting the Nightmare Apostle, had sent only Beru here.

[Devour it before it devours you! That's all you have to do!]

'How can I eat something like that...?!' Sirka screamed at Beru's words.

She wasn't exaggerating. What could she possibly do against such an absurd creature?!

But despite her words, Sirka's body was already moving. Now that the Monarch's power was so close, she couldn't back down.

'Let's go...!'

Sirka charged towards Nidhögg. Using the pinnacle of the Elven Footsteps. Her feet stepped on the World Tree's massive trunk, and she leaped vertically. Nidhögg's heads blocked her path.

A tremendous pressure engulfed her. Sirka's breath hitched from the overwhelming presence, as if a giant mountain range was moving. One of Nidhögg's giant heads struck down like lightning. She barely dodged it by twisting her body, but still was swept away by the shock wave. The thrown Sirka let out a low groan.

A pain that felt like her entire body was being twisted swept over her.

[Get a hold of yourself! This is only the beginning!] Beru warned.

The giant serpent's body coiled around the World Tree. Sirka barely managed to get up, looking at that.

'There it is.' She found it. One of the six heads was glowing ominously, different from the others. She instinctively knew that the power she was destined to inherit was within.

Nidhögg's attacks rained down, and the bark exploded. The shockwaves were strong enough to shake the World Tree. But Sirka used those fragments as a foothold and jumped even higher. She climbed on top of Nidhögg's giant body and began to run across it. It was difficult. This wasn't the ice path created for her.

It was the path on a giant serpent trying to shake her off. Nidhögg's body thrashed, and its maws opened in all directions, trying to devour Sirka. The attack was so overwhelming; it felt like the entire dimension was trying to swallow her whole.

'Not yet!'

But Sirka didn't give up. She continued running across Nidhögg's writhing scales. The poison raining down from above gradually contaminated her body. It was so potent that it felt like the skin was melting, not just being contaminated. But Sirka kept running... Forward, along the serpent's path. Towards the maw that was wide open towards her.

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[Have you finally arrived?]

And at that moment she felt a small hand gently patting her head. It was Beru. And...

[Good work.]

'...!'

Beru's body suddenly began to swell rapidly. And the tremendous power contained within spread in all directions. The enlarged ant grinned and held up Nidhögg's maw, which was about to chomp down on Sirka. Looking down at her, who had come this far on her own Beru said,

[I'll help you from now on.]