Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Swoosh!

Numerous bloodstones clumped together in the air seep into the horns of the one-horned demon, Suho.

The sight came as a shock and horror to the demons who saw it.

“This is… nonsense.“

“Only demon nobles can make bloodstone, right?“

Even the demon guards were staring at Suho in amazement.

Bloodstone was the power of blood given only to demon nobles.

It was how they eat.

More important than that, it was because the bloodstone was the foundation on which the nobles could pass on their strength to their heirs and maintain the power of the family.

Bloodstone has the power to absorb and utilize demonic power most efficiently.

That was also why they were repeatedly conducting research to create bloodstone.

In the end, they developed things like light-blooded poison and stardust, but all of that was to mimic bloodstone, which was the exclusive property of nobles.

‘Though recently, they have been able to imitate bloodstone quite closely…‘

That made them even more sure.

The fact that what that one-horned demon created was real bloodstone.

But it didn’t make sense.

“In the War of Outer Gods, the Demon Nobles have all been annihilated already, right?“

“Even the Radiru Clan, which was still alive, was destroyed!“

“Then what the hell is that guy?!“

Even in the midst of that, Suho was overwhelmingly hunting the opposing demons.

His demon slayer title boosted all his stats by 40%.

The Vulcan’s Horn devoured the demon‘s soul.

It was not enough, but now that Esi’’s ability continued to take away the power of the opponent’s in real time, the synergy was beyond imagination.

[Kehehe! You‘re so cool, Young Master! You are truly the enemy of the demons!]

[Master! I feel so proud and honored to be your first knight!]

Beru and Quay were passionately cheering for Suho in the shadows.

Actually, if Suho brought out the Shadow Soldiers, he would be able to subdue his opponent faster, but the important thing now is not the outcome of the battle.

Suho‘s goal is to bring out the tyrant king.

In order to bring out the coward, he had to get his attention as much as he could ‘diabolically‘.

Blag!

[Vulcan‘s Horn devours the demon‘s soul.]

The battle was over, but no one paid any attention to the match.

“I-Is he really a noble?“

“What are we going to do now?“

All the demons in the stands watched Suho‘s every move with bewildered expressions, unable to do anything.

In that suffocating atmosphere, the host of the execution ceremony stepped forward.

“… One Horn wins!“

The demon guards gritted their teeth.

“That can‘t be.“

“All nobles are dead.“

Above all, the demon guards were the ones who were right next to Suho prior to that.

Their senses were not so dull that they could not recognize the demon noble right in front of them.

“Then what is he?“

“What’s going on?“

The eyes of the demon guards suddenly turned to the chief guard behind them.

The warden glared at Suho standing in the middle of the Colosseum with an extremely cold gaze.

“Tsk. There‘s no way that a guy like that could be a noble.“

In the first place, if he was a demon noble, there was no reason to be captured and be in an execution ceremony.

‘There is something.‘

‘But I don‘t know what it is…‘

One thing was clear.

“We have to get rid of that sinister bastard.“

The warden‘s eyes flashed as he gave a command to the guards.

“Prepare the Minotaur!“

“…!“

At those words, the eyes of the demon guards widened.

“Are you sure you want to kill that one-horned one right away?“

“He might be a demon noble…“

“So what if he’s a noble? It‘s more than enough to kill him!“

“…!“

The demon guards were shocked by the jailer‘s remarks.

It was because it was unimaginable for ordinary demons to dare point a weapon at a noble.

“We are no longer in the demon realm we used to be! So what if that one-horned man is a noble? Would you like me to run right now and kneel in front of him?“

Demon spirits burst out of the warden‘s eyes.

“Don‘t forget! We already have a tyrant king! That one is just a prisoner on execution! If he still survives, we can follow the rules and send out stronger opponents! Prepare the demons immediately!“

“Y-Yes, Sir!“

The guards hurriedly ran out with that unholy order.

* * *

The execution ceremony was temporarily suspended.

When the host said that he would bring the beasts used in the workhouse as the next one, the audience started to stir with confusion.

“That’s crazy! A Minotaur?“

“Is there a precedent for releasing a mage beast so quickly at an execution ceremony?“

“Aren‘t the guards crazy? Is it okay to treat a demon who might be a demon noble like this?!“

Even the frightening guards who usually wield the whip were given the freedom to boo at moments when the slaves were sitting in the Colosseum like this.

Also, the fact that Suho might be a demon noble was a huge stimulus to them.

An execution ceremony for a demon noble.

They couldn’t believe they were witnessing a forbidden act.

Infamous Scans

That noisy atmosphere was exactly what the warden wanted.

‘Yes, sometimes we need to do this so that the slaves don‘t rebel. As expected, the tyrant king‘s strategy and ruling is perfect.‘

No matter how strong the demon guards were, if the slaves gathered in the Colosseum decided and attacked all at once, it would only take an instant for the seemingly solid hierarchy to be overturned.

It was because the demons who did not have the authority of nobility were in a relationship of eating and being eaten by each other anyway.

Even light-blooded poison is widely used in the demon realm these days, so it was frequent for lower demons to suddenly run out of control and eat demons stronger than themselves and become stronger.

‘That‘s why this execution ceremony is what I need.‘

Whether Suho was a one-horned demon noble or not, it was fine if they could elicit such kind of excitement from the slave demons.

The more brutally you execute the demons that stand out among the slaves, the more the slaves will fear that they could end up like that at any time.

‘If he‘s strong, I‘ll just send out a stronger opponent!‘

As long as he had already confirmed Suho‘s fighting style, the warden judged that letting the Minotaur go was the right thing to do.

“The one-horned’s attacks were based on speed. In times like this, we have to send out a guy with a lot of toughness so that they can fight for a long time.“

“As expected of you, Chief Warden.“

“Still, it wouldn‘t be fun if it wasn‘t too fair. Take the one-horned one and go to the weapons room.“

“Oh. Right…!“

At the command of the jailer, the demon guards smiled sinisterly.

While the minotaur was being prepared, the demon guards dragged Suho to the weapon room.

“Choose the weapon you want.“

“…“

Suho silently looked at the various weapons that appeared in front of him.

The weapons room was full of all sorts of heinous weapons, including knives, swords, hammers, axes, and gauntlets.

If Suho needed a weapon, he could just take it out of his inventory right now.

But.

‘It‘s free, so it would be rude if I declined.‘

Suho smiled strangely and slowly began to look at the weapons.

Very slowly.

“Why? What’s taking you so long?“

“Is it hard to choose because it‘s the first time I‘ve seen such good weapons.“

The demon guards began to look frustrated.

But they didn‘t rush him or force him to hold any weapon.

“Alright. It‘s nice to see you being so careful.“

“If it is difficult to choose, you can choose several. You only have one horn, so it‘s fair enough if you have many weapons. Hehe.“

Behind Suho, who was fiddling with weapons in silence, the demon guards mocked him.

“I am too tired of waiting. We‘ll be outside, so come out when you‘ve made your choice.“

After the demon guards giggled and went out of the warehouse.

Left alone in the weapons room, Suho squinted his eyes.

“These weapons here seem to be made of a material similar to the iron bars I was imprisoned in.“

[You got it right. These are all weapons made by smelting hell iron.]

Esil admired Suho‘s keen eye.

Most of the weapons there were weapons made from ore mined at the workhouse.

[Infernal iron is not only hard, but also has the effect of amplifying mana power, so it is originally used to make weapons.]

Suho smiled and said.

“All the weapons here look terrible though.“

[No matter how much I look, there is not a single thing as a good weapon.]

Beru gritted his teeth and muttered.

Perhaps the weapons there weren‘t properly maintained, and all of them were rusty and not sharp.

[I guess these just need to be refined.]

Suho nodded at Esil‘s words

Just looking at those weapons made it clear what their purpose was.

[They want you to struggle for as long as possible before dying.]

He could already picture the crowd giggling at the ridiculous clown fighting hurriedly with a weapon that was just solid and had all its blades missing.

“No wonder they’re free.”

Suho smiled and looked at the weapons.

Miscellaneous items with poor attack power.

However, there were so many of them that it would certainly take a long time to go through them one by one.

‘Gotta pack everything first.’

“Gray, come out for a second.“

Swoosh.

A little wolf appeared from Suho‘s shadow.

“Growl!“

As soon as Gray appeared, he looked around with ferocious eyes.

He had leveled up a bit these days, so he rushed in right away and was ready to bite off the enemy‘s neck.

However…

“What are you doing? Pick up everything you see.“

“Hnngg?“

Gray tilted his head.

Like a petty thief, his owner made him pack all the weapons he could get into his own inventory.

Actually, without going through the inventory, they were just selling them straight to the shop window.

“Is this 130 gold? This one’s 100 gold? Well, it‘s a great amount if summed.“

“Hnnng?“

Gray was confused, but quickly followed Suho and opened his small mouth to bite the weapons.

Ring! Ring!

[‘Item: Hell Iron Longsword‘ found. Would you like to acquire it?] [‘Item: Hell Iron Axe‘ found. Would you like to acquire it?]

“Yeah, good job. Accept all and sell.“

The pet system allows Suho to acquire items from a distance even through Gray.

Thanks to Beru and Quay, Suho literally cleaned out the weapons room and smiled with satisfaction.

“Did it right this time.“

[Wait. What are you going to do if you get caught?]

Esil was taken aback and didn‘t know what to do.

But Suho already had an idea.

“Then, it is what it is. If I don‘t take care of it now, it would still appear in front of me later on in the hands of other demons.“

[Well.]

Since there was no way to get along with the demons in the future, it was better to make sure that the enemy’s power could be reduced.

Besides, the demon guards who would be the first to discover the place would already be poisoned with light-blood. Even if they get mad, they wouldn’t be able to do anything.

When Suho, who had handled everything perfectly (?), finally came out of the weapon room, the demon guards frowned.

“Would that be enough?“

“You pretended to be prudent, but you only got a gauntlet and two swords? Why are you so modest?“

“Too bad. I’m going to die in no time with this. I guess it’s a losing battle.“

“You know it‘s against the law if you go back, right?“

The demon guards giggled at each other.

Despite such a reaction, Suho shrugged his shoulders and strode towards the arena.

“Why are you so urgent? Do you want to die so soon?“

Esil murmured at the words of the demon guards giggling behind Suho.

[Hey. You’re doing this because you don’t want to get caught, right?]

“…“

Suho walked quickly without saying a word.

[To be continued…]