Chapter 1

Solo Leveling: Ragnarok Chapter 0

A world without gods is nothing but a delicious prey!

Outer Gods (外神)

Absolute beings who have created countless universes since ancient times.

Etarim!

The Etarim, scattered across various dimensions, noticed the disappearance of a master in a distant dimension and their eyes gleamed.

They did not care about the death of their kin.

What mattered to them was only the vast mana left in that world!

Power without a master goes to the one who claims it first!

...Thus, the prelude to the 'War of the Outer Gods' began.

* * *

Roar!

In the gap between universes.

The Etarim's messengers tore through the solid dimensional walls and poured out en masse.

A man stood facing them.

Seong Jin-woo, the most glorious fragment of Radiance and the Shadow Monarch, wrapped in a black aura, opened his mouth.

"Rise."

Roar!

At his words, the millions of soldiers, consisting of angels of light and the Shadow Legion, raised their weapons in unison.

The war soon began.

The invaders from the outer universes kept pouring in, no matter how many were killed.

A tense battle, where one could not let their guard down for a moment, continued for a long time.

[...There seems to be no end to this.]

[Actually, it's a miracle that we've held out this long. This war was always at a disadvantage for us.]

[I agree. If it weren't for the Shadow Monarch, our defenses would have been breached long ago.]

The rulers, the six-winged angels, paid their respects to Seong Jin-woo.

They were originally fragments of Radiance, born as messengers of the god.

At some point, they realized the cruelty of the god and became god killers by their own will.

In the distant past.

The 'god' who created this world divided the primordial light and darkness into eight parts each, creating the 'Fragments of Radiance' and the 'Monarchs.'

From the moment of their creation, they were bound by a predetermined fate to wage an endless war of killing and being killed.

Over countless eons, many died in this repetitive war, including the Fragments of Radiance and the Monarchs, who were the commanders of the war.

However, the void left by their deaths was eventually filled by others.

When a Monarch's spirit body was destroyed, the 'Primordial Darkness' within it,

and when a Fragment of Radiance died, the 'Primordial Light' within it,

would seek out new suitable candidates to create new Monarchs and Fragments of Radiance.

To maintain the balance of the war.

But the purpose of this...

It was only after a long time that they realized it was the cruel game of an absolute being who wanted the war to continue indefinitely.

But now, the god is dead, and the Monarchs are all dead, so the long and arduous war was thought to have ended and peace found...

Until the Outer Gods, who noticed the absence of the god, began their invasion.

[...The messengers of the Etarim continue to be born even now.]

[Meanwhile, our forces have stagnated.]

The heavenly soldiers led by the rulers were born from the fruits of the World Tree.

But after the god's death, the World Tree gradually stopped bearing fruit.

This meant that replenishing our forces was impossible.

However, there was one.

The king of death, the Shadow Monarch.

He and his legion were the only ones who were eternally immortal.

The power of creation may have disappeared, but death is eternal.

If it weren't for Seong Jin-woo's Shadow Legion, which could continuously resurrect, this war would have ended in an instant.

With the absolute end of this world.

[My lord, we have a problem.]

The legion commander, Igrit, appeared urgently before Seong Jin-woo.

[The rear defense line has been breached!]

"Where?"

[It... They targeted the region with the weakest mana...]

"Could it be Earth?"

[I apologize. The focus on the front lines left the rear defenses inadequate.]

Seong Jin-woo sighed.

The Earth, which had just barely regained peace, was once again exposed to danger.

[...Another gate will open on Earth.]

The rulers murmured, watching Seong Jin-woo's reaction.

Once, Earth was invaded by the residents of the Chaos World.

The rulers, who were the main culprits in that incident, quickly defended themselves.

[But the situation is different from our time.]

[That's right. Our goal was to protect Earth and help it grow for the Monarchs.]

[But the Etarim's goal is pure invasion!]

[They are trying to collapse our weakest point to disrupt us!]

[My lord! We must send troops to Earth!]

Igrit's suggestion was strongly opposed by the rulers.

[Denied! Dividing our forces will break the delicate balance of power we've maintained!]

[That's exactly what the Etarim are aiming for!]

[If we focus on the rear, the front will be breached, and we will ultimately fail!]

After listening to their heated debate, Seong Jin-woo finally made a decision.

"Ber."

[Keek! My king!]

The king of the ants, who was enthusiastically tearing apart the enemies, responded to his call.

[Legion Commander Ber! I am here!]

"Go to Earth."

[Keek! You can't be serious?!]

Seong Jin-woo nodded heavily.

"Yes. It seems it's time to break the seal of protection."

[...!]

Ber's eyes widened with anticipation.

"Return as quickly as possible."

[Understood!]

Ber immediately turned into a beam of light and flew to Earth.

Seong Jin-woo, watching Ber's departure, turned his gaze back to the approaching enemies.

His lips were tightly pressed together.

His eyes burned fiercely.

"Come forth, messengers of the Outer Gods."

The war continued.