Solo Leveling: Ragnarok

Among the low-level demons who have served demon nobles since ancient times, there were those who swore allegiance to the nobles with all their heart, rather than submit by force.

They were referred to as ‘demon‘s servants‘.

“Servant? What do you mean?“

“A demon I‘ve always ridden. He‘s a shapeshifting demon with the ability to transform into a horse like that if he wants.“

Esil‘s eyes shone sharply.

“No way… Did he keep pretending to be a horse for fear of being enslaved like the other demons?“

“But because of that, it seems like he’s being shackled to the same fate.“

“At least he won‘t die after being used as a consumable.“

Just at a distance, a slave demon was whipped by the overseer and eventually died.

On the other hand, the number of mage beasts pulling the cart seemed to be less than the number of demons.

Certainly, if he had turned into a horse, he wouldn‘t be able to kill him as easily as Esil had said.

Suho, who was looking around while listening to Esil‘s explanation, nodded and said.

“Then, let‘s get closer to that horse. Can he speak?“

“Of course. I need to ask what the hell is going on here.“

Suho and Esil secretly approached the place where Esil‘s horse was.

Fortunately, there weren‘t many overseers, so it wasn‘t too difficult.

“Nukira.“

“…?!“

When Esil approached the horse and whispered in a low voice, the horse recognized Esil and widened its eyes.

He hurriedly looked around and opened his mouth.

“Ms. Esil! You are alive! I heard that you passed away a long time ago…!“

Suddenly, tears welled up in Nukira‘s eyes, and he looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment.

However, fearing that if he stopped pulling the cart, he would attract the attention of the overseer, he continued to pull the cart at the same speed as before and had a conversation with Esil.

It was a situation where they had to talk urgently.

“Ms. Esil! It‘s dangerous to stay here! Why did you come back here again?!“

“Nukira, what the hell is going on here?“

“The thing is…“

Nukira took another look around and answered quickly.

“After all the nobles died, another demon ruled this place shortly after.“

“Another demon? A non-noble demon?“

“Yes. Rumor has it that it is a demon that has grown in power by devouring demons who died in the War of Outer Gods.“

“He ate the demons who died in the war… Was it a defeated soldier who fled during the War of Outer Gods?“

“Perhaps, most likely.“

Rattle!

Just then, the cart Nukira was pulling stopped.

“Ms. Esil, please hide somewhere for now. The overseer will come soon.“

At those words, Suho and Esil quickly hid themselves in a dark place.

Then the huge demon overseer came over, glanced at the ores Nukira had brought, and nodded.

“Empty the cart and go back.“

A horse neigh escaped from Nukira‘s mouth.

He tilted the cart with his hind feet, dumped the ore on the floor, and started going back.

As the overseer moved away again, Nukira‘s gaze returned to Esil, who was hiding in the distance.

“… Ms. Esil, you have to get away from here. If the tyrant hears that there are surviving demon nobles, something really dangerous will happen.“

“Right. Where is that tyrant?“

At Suho‘s question, Nukira‘s eyes turned to Suho.

As if he hadn‘t cared at all about what Nukira said up until now, this man was ready to go find the tyrant.

“Who are you…?“

Esil urged Nukira to answer her question instead.

“Another overseer is coming. Please answer quickly.“

“M-Ms. Esil. He does not come into this workhouse. Other demons may betray him at any time, so he usually stays in his own place and only occasionally appears at the Colosseum.“

Since ancient times, the Colosseum has been a playground for demons who enjoy blood and battles.

But now it has become a place for public execution of demons who disobey the tyrant‘s orders.

“The tyrant continues to grow stronger by eating the dead in the Colosseum. He only shows up when there is food in the Colosseum.“

Colosseum.

Suho‘s eyes flashed.

Again the overseer was approaching their way.

“Nukira, keep working for now. Let‘s talk again later.“

“Ms. Esil…“

Nukira‘s eyes were full of anxiety looking at Esil‘s back as she disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Esil looked into the situation and spoke to Suho.

“It‘s not just the overseer we should consider. There will be a big uproar if you get caught by the slave demons.“

Esil was a demon, so it was okay.

The problem was Suho.

“If the fact that humans are hiding in the Demon Realm is discovered, all the demons in sight could attack us at once. Suho, you should pretend to be a demon as much as possible… Okay?“

Looking around, Suho was already taking off his top like the other slaves.

His strong muscles were revealed.

In particular, because of Ammut‘s harsh training, Suho‘s body was developed to the limit by repeatedly tearing and destroying countless muscles.

After saving the clothes he took off in his inventory, Suho put on a nearby rag.

Among the demons, there are quite a few races that resemble humans like Esil, so at that point, their external appearance was somewhat similar.

However, an important problem remained.

“Weak demons won‘t notice, but the problem is mage beasts. Those with good senses will quickly notice that you don‘t have demonic energy.“

“How about this?“

Suho raised ‘Vulcan‘s Horn‘.

Thanks to hunting a lot of demons prior, more than 40 demon souls were now absorbed into the horn.

The horn itself was that of a demon. Even within it, demon energy was overflowing.

Realizing what Suho wanted, Esil couldn’t help but hesitate.

“You‘re asking me to go in again?“

“Isn‘t it for the same purpose that you shouldn‘t stand out anyway?“

“That’s… right.“

If Esil transformed into a spirit and nestled in Vulcan‘s Horn, she could change the size of the sword as much as she wanted.

The fact that it can be made large means that it can be made small as well.

“If you make it small and I hide it properly in my body, don‘t you think they would feel demon energy?“

“… Yeah, well. That would be the best way.“

Esil finally let out a sigh and nodded.

Infamous Scans

In fact, it was quite embarrassing for Esil, a demon noble, to go into the horns of a lower level demon than herself.

But it was not just once or twice, so it has come too far to talk about pride.

After Esil finally nodded, Suho suddenly asked one more question.

“Oh. Can you perhaps change the form besides size?“

“Form? What do you mean…?“

“For example…“

Suho gave a meaningful smile.

Beru mentioned before that the demon named Vulcan was incredibly enormous.

Similarly, his horns are also huge.

The bodies of demons capable of spiritualization can freely change their size or shape. While being refined into weapons, Vulcan‘s Horn could be compressed to match the desired size as needed.

With that said…

‘Maybe something like this would be possible?‘

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

Swook…

As Esil seeped into Vulcan‘s Horn like a spirit, its gradually began to change.

“I knew it was possible.“

Vulcan‘s Horn had changed and attached to Suho‘s head, like a ‘real demon horn‘.

[You’ve been so persistent here and there, and now you were even thinking about putting the demon’s horns on your head.]

Esil‘s voice mixed with sighs came into Suho‘s head.

“If I’m going to imitate a demon anyway, might as well do it properly.“

Suho smirks and touches his own horn.

Seeing that, Beru stuck out his face and gave Suho a thumbs up.

[It‘s really great! As expected of Young Master…!]

[Okay, work and pickaxe like everyone else now. Don‘t get whipped by the overseer for fooling around.]

* * *

‘I suddenly became a slave in the mines.‘

Suho bought a pickaxe from the shop window, and naturally mixed with the slaves to pickaxe.

Because he had high strength stats and experience as a miner, pickaxing wasn‘t difficult at all.

‘Rather, the daily quests are much more difficult.‘

However, an unexpected problem arose.

Because Suho was so good with the pickaxe, other slave demons began to glance at him.

“Who is that one-horned demon? He is so strong.“

“Such a brutal use of pickaxe.“

From Suho‘s point of view, he was just moving, but in the eyes of the other slaves, even his speed was extraordinary.

While the demons were whispering, Beru secretly appeared and spoke to Suho.

[Young Master, it‘s good that you‘re camouflaged, but shouldn‘t you find the Colosseum first?]

“Wait. I am thinking about it now.“

[It seems like you‘re picking too hard for what you‘re worried about…]

Suho was so good with pickaxe that the slaves ended up filling their daily quota much quicker than usual.

“Wow…!“

“Damn, it‘s over!“

“Now I can finally rest!“

“This is all thanks to you!“

Thanks to Suho‘s great success (?), the slave demons who were freed from endless labor burst into cheers around him.

The overseer, who was far away from the noisy commotion, strode over there threateningly.

“These slaves again! Not working and being lazy… Hmm? What is this?“

“Sir, we‘ve reached our quota!“

“Can we get some rest now?“

The slave demons proudly showed the ore that Suho had dug up to the overseer.

But maybe he didn‘t like that arrogant behavior, the overseer‘s expression was rather stern.

“How dare these insolent bastards! Are you going to take a break from work already? This was nothing but normal, you’ve just been lazy all this time! From now on, dig up this much more!“

“S-Sir…!“

“What kind of nonsense…!“

“Did you just say nonsense?!“

Bang!

“Ack!“

One slave, who protested unfairly, was kicked by the overseer and hit the wall.

The slave demons were terrified and scattered again with pickaxes and shovels.

Suho also moved quietly among them, trying to get out of the overseer‘s sight.

But then.

“That one horned guy right there. Stop.“

Suddenly, the overseer called Suho and made him stop.

He was glaring at Suho, the main culprit of that situation, with a disapproving gaze.

‘Could it be that he was discovered to be human?‘

[No. It‘s just that you‘re the one who made the slaves dare to ask for a break. Originally, demons like him are more authoritative. Also…]

Before Esil finished speaking, the overseer looked up and down at Suho.

“Looking at it, it seems like you have used quite a bit of energy. I will specially send you to the Colosseum.“

It wasn‘t Suho who was shocked by the overseer‘s words, but the slaves nearby.

“That was so harsh…!“

After all, the overseer’s words are the law.

“Follow me.“

After pointing out Suho, the overseer immediately turned around and strode off somewhere.

Suho started to follow him without saying a word.

At that time, Beru made a fuss in a voice that only Suho could hear.

[Oh my god! Could it be that you were drawing such a big picture from the beginning? Indeed, since you were young, you have had a great talent for drawing!]

“…“

[To be continued…]