Every God In Solo Leveling

Summary

• S-Class hunters are not the peak of power in Solo Leveling; gods like Monarchs can easily overpower them.
• Characters like Baran, Rakan, and Legia demonstrate the diverse personalities and strengths of the Monarchs.
• Sung Jin-Woo evolves from the weakest hunter to the strongest god, surpassing even his predecessor, Ashborn.

In the Solo Leveling series, Sung Jin-Woo starts as the weakest hunter in the world. However, after a life-threatening encounter, the weakest hunter is given the chance to become a hunter who continually levels up and takes the world for his own.

As Sung Jin-Woo explores new heights, he realizes that S-Class hunters are not the peak of the world, as there exist countless gods that could destroy the world if they so wish. Moreover, a faction of those gods, the Monarchs, have their eyes set on Earth. As Sung Jin-Woo gets stronger, he reaches the rank of god; however, he quickly realizes that there are more gods in the world than he would’ve thought.

Updated February 7, 2025 by Oluwatokiloba Folami: Solo Leveling’s gods serve as the absolute peak of power in the series. However, even among themselves, they were not created equal. Gods like Ashborn, who went from being the brightest fragment of brilliant light to the Shadow Monarch show this. Having weaker and stronger gods in various factions gives rise to a whole lot of scheming as each entity pursues something more, whether it be the end of a war, the destruction of the Monarchs, or even the death of the Shadow Monarch.

With these entities, Rulers and Monarchs alike are capable of swatting S-Class and National Ranked Hunters like a fly. Solo Leveling’s gods announce themselves wherever they are found, regardless of intention.

12

Baran

A Fighter Who Gives His All, Even In Defeat

• Debut Chapter: 85
• Epithet: Demon King, Monarch of White Flames

Of the Monarchs portrayed in the series, Baran is the only one who was dead before the main timeline. Sung Jin-Woo didn’t meet Baran during his war with the Monarchs but met him on the 100th floor of the Demon’s Castle.

The Monarch of White Flames that Sung Jin-Woo fought was only a stepping stone created by the Architect. While that version of Baran was relatively powerful, compared to the actual Monarchs, he wasn’t a threat. The true Baran portrayed in Ashborn’s flashback is a fighter who gives all he has even when he is on the losing end, as seen in his battle against Ashborn.

It’s a bit difficult to estimate Baran’s true strength when he was in his prime, but for good reason, he can be considered one of the strongest among the monarchs. During the ancient war, Antares instigated Baran to backstab and attack Ashborn and did exactly so. The weaker Monarchs would’ve found it hard to even think about attacking Ashborn, the brightest fragment of brilliant light turned Shadow Monarch.

Still, even more so, unlike the tendencies Rakan and Sillad showed when they ran away from Sung Jin-Woo after he awakened, Baran was not the type to fear death. He boldly accepted his death when faced with the Shadow Monarch and never succumbed, showing his highly prideful personality.

11

Tarnak

Arrogant Monarch That Despises Humans

• Debut Chapter: 140
• Epithet: King of the Monstrous Humanoids, Monarch of Iron Body

Like Yogumunt, the Monarch of the Iron Body decided not to fight against Sung Jin-Woo until Antares was present. His decisions and choices showed that, while he was proud and arrogant, he would not underestimate Ashborn’s successor. Of all the Monarchs, Tarnak showed his extreme distaste for humans, believing Sung Jin-Woo was unworthy of being a Monarch because he was human.

While Sung Jin-Woo battled Antares, Tarnak simultaneously faced Beru, Bellion, and Thomas André. Faced with two of Sung Jin-Woo’s strongest Marshall-level soldiers and America’s national-level hunter, the Monarch was put down.

10

Legia

Monarch With A Cunning Personality

• Debut Chapter: 137
• Epithet: King of Giants, Monarch of the Beginning

The Monarch of the Beginning was only briefly portrayed in the Solo Leveling series, giving fans a hard time determining his true strength. Some believe that as Legia was the only Monarch captured by the Rulers, he must be the weakest; however, others surmise that Legia’s capture broke down the balance between the Rulers and the Monarchs, making him one of the stronger Monarchs.

Despite the speculations about his true strength, Legia is without a doubt more powerful than S-rank hunters and is blessed with immense physical strength as the King of Giants. Despite his captured state, Legia attempted to fool Sung Jin-Woo, showing his cunning.

9

Rakan

A Fierce Monarch But Cowardly

• Debut Chapter: 107
• Epithet: King of Beasts, Monarch of Fangs

The King of Beasts, Rakan, was a natural hunter with abilities far beyond those of S-class hunters. When hunter Baek Yoonho confronted him, his bestial instincts made him intuitively aware that he was no match for the Monarch.

Staying true to his name as the Monarch of Fangs, Rakan primarily fought with his limbs and claws, using physical attacks rather than magic. Rakan was a powerful Monarch; however, when backed into a corner, he fled the battlefield, leaving his allies to die, as seen in his battle against Sung Jin-Woo.

Contrary to the wild beast aura and look he sported, the Monarch of Fangs turned out to be quite docile in the presence of a stronger predator. As the King of Beasts, weaker beasts including the S-rank hunter Baek Yoonho, had no choice but to bow their heads in his presence. Contrary to the more refined monarchs, Rakan was wild and savage.

Interestingly, his wildness and savagery did not apply to his everyday life, only to the appearance of weaker prey. Immediately Sung Jin-Woo awakened to all of Ashborn’s powers, and Rakan chose to flee without a second thought. In the end, the Greatest Hunter in the Chaos World was hunted.

8

Sillad, Monarch Of Frost

A Relentless Pursuer Till The End

• Debut Chapter: 107
• Epithet: King of the Snowfolk, Monarch of Frost

After Antares, the Monarch of Frost was one of the Monarchs who actively opposed Sung Jin-Woo and sought to kill him at every opportunity. Unfortunately for him, after killing the chairman of the Korean Hunters Association, Go Gunhee, he was surely going to die at Jin-Woo’s hands.

Throughout the series, even though Sillad is extremely under-equipped to fight against Sung Jin-Woo, Ashborn’s successor, he keeps trying and even recruits other Monarchs to join him. Up until he died, the Monarch of Frost was always trying to kill Jin-Woo before he could awaken his true powers.

Beneath the Frost monarch’s exterior lies a dark heart that breeds nothing but hatred for humanity and the rulers. The Frost Monarch’s demeanor also carries a sadistic undertone where he enjoys luring his foes into despair for fun. This is seen in his interactions with Sung Jin-Woo, where he tries to break his willpower both physically and mentally.

Despite the Frost Monarch’s eventual defeat at the hands of Sung Jin-Woo, he remained a terrifying enemy to face as he tried to kill Sung Jin-Woo regardless of whether the situation was in his favor or not. Such obsessiveness and bone-chilling hate made him truly chilling.

7

Querehsha

A Monarch Skilled In Weakening And Incapacitating Her Enemies

• Debut Chapter: 140
• Epithet: Queen of Insects, Monarch of Plagues

The Queen of Insects was one of the first Monarchs to die in the series; however, that doesn’t mean she was weak. As a Monarch, Querehsha was recruited by the Monarch of Frost to kill Sung Jin-Woo before he fully awakened Ashborn’s powers, and she agreed.

During their battle, Querehsha became more fixated on forcing Beru to submit to her than actually killing Sung Jin-Woo, allowing the hunter to strike her down. As the Queen of Insects and Monarch of Plagues, Querehsha rules over insects and has a wide range of poisons and diseases to incapacitate her enemies.

6

Yogumunt

The Greatest Sorcerer In The Chaos World

• Debut Chapter: 111
• Epithet: King of Demonic Spectres, Monarch of Transfiguration

Despite being one of the Monarchs, the primary antagonists of the Solo Leveling series, the Monarch of Transfiguration, Yogumunt, only played minor roles throughout the series. While very little is known about him, Yogumunt is also known as the King of Demonic Specters and the greatest sorcerer in the Chaos World.

Throughout the series, Yogumunt makes just a few appearances; however, as a Monarch, he is without a doubt powerful. Neither Sung Jin-Woo nor his allies killed Yogumunt before he used the Cup of Reincarnation, as he refused to face Sung Jin-Woo in battle before Antares arrived.

5

Antares

A Representation Of Destruction And Chaos

• Debut Chapter: 163
• Epithet: King of Dragons, Monarch of Destruction

The Monarch of Destruction is the only Monarch who was able to rival Ashborn while he was alive. During the war on Earth, Antares easily massacred various S-class hunters as he strode through the battlefield, waiting for Sung Jin-Woo to appear. During the main timeline, Sung Jin-Woo and Antares duked it out on a deserted island.

As the battle progressed, Sung Jin-Woo managed to injure Antares; however, he didn’t deliver the killing blow, as he had invited the Rulers to appear. Rather than chastise Sung Jin-Woo as a coward, Antares admired and praised his tactical strategies. For Antares, strength was all that mattered, and he admired the strong Jin-Woo’s abilities.

This Monarch is one character Sung Jin-Woo was unable to beat by himself the first time around. After gaining Ashborn’s full abilities, Sung Jin-Woo trampled against all Monarchs in his way, from Sillad to Rakan and even Querehsha. However, he hit a hard rock when he faced the King of Dragons. Antares truly lived up to his name as the strongest Monarch, and he proved it right from his appearance to his battle against Sung Jin-Woo. As a character, Antares lived up to being Solo Leveling’s final antagonist, even if some believe he could’ve wrought more destruction and had a more cinematic exit.

4

Sung Jin-Woo

A Human Turned Monarch

• Debut Chapter: 1
• Epithet: Shadow Monarch

Of the gods in Solo Leveling, Sung Jin-Woo remains the youngest and newest one. As Ashborn’s successor, Sung Jin-Woo had to grow his strength through the system created by the Architect to become strong enough to wield Ashborn’s powers. Immediately after inheriting Ashborn’s full legacy, Sung Jin-Woo proceeded to kill the Monarch of Frost and the Monarch of Fangs.

As a human, Sung Jin-Woo’s actions were always based on protecting the future of humanity to ensure their survival amidst the war between the Monarchs and the Rulers. To this extent, he was even willing to go back in time to fight against the Monarchs alone to ensure that no humans were lost in the battle.

Despite being the youngest and newest of Solo Leveling’s gods, Sung Jin-Woo is arguably the strongest, surpassing his predecessor, Ashborn. In terms of abilities, it’s being shown that Sung Jin-Woo doesn’t exactly have a cap, and the growth potential is infinite.

During the first war between the humans and the monarchs, he proved himself to be stronger than many of them, but in the end, he was unable to take down Antares with his power alone. However, after confronting the Monarchs for the second time after the Cup of Reincarnation was used, Sung Jin-Woo was capable of defeating Antares with his ability and did so, effectively defeating all Monarchs on his own.

3

Ashborn

A Ruler Turned Monarch

• Debut Chapter: 128
• Epithet: King of the Dead, Shadow Monarch

In the beginning, Ashborn was a Ruler who fought against the Monarchs. However, after the Rulers’ betrayal, he awakened to find himself with a dark power that the Absolute Being had kept within him. From that point on, Ashborn decided to join the Monarchs, as he could not forgive the Rulers for their betrayal.

The former Ruler and Monarch of Shadows is quite an enigma. Whether because he was tired of the endless fighting, or because he felt pity and guilt towards the humans, or because of some other unexplainable reason, Ashborn decided to give his powers to Sung Jin-Woo and effectively retire.

Of all the gods in the series, Ashborn stands out for being both a Ruler and a Monarch. As a Ruler, he was known as the brightest fragment of brilliant light and was the strongest of them all. However, after he was betrayed, he was resurrected as a Monarch.

Perhaps because Ashborn had experienced being both a Ruler and a Monarch, he got tired of the wars for supremacy and decided to leave the rest to his successor. Ashborn didn’t desire to rule the world, and he was already known as the strongest. Because of his strength, and particularly after he became the Shadow Monarch, Ashborn never really had a place as a god. He was feared by both the Rulers and the Monarchs, making him unfit for either society. A reason he didn’t return to be with them after they sought his forgiveness.

2

The Rulers

The Adversaries Of The Monarchs

• Debut Chapter: 129
• Epithet: Fragments of Brilliant Light, Messengers of God

The opposites of the Monarchs, the Rulers, whose sole purpose was to protect the world, never descended upon Earth till Sung Jin-Woo enlisted their help to restrain Antares. As gods, the Rulers used human vessels such as Go Gun-Hee, Sung Il-Hwan, and Thomas Andre.

While their human vessels became far more powerful than other human hunters, to actual gods such as the Monarchs, the powers of the Rulers’ vessels were far from enough. As gods, the Rulers kept trying to find ways to ensure even a few humans survived the war between the Monarchs and the Rulers and used the Cup of Reincarnation several times to that extent.

Unlike the Monarchs who possessed their vessels outright, the Rulers never did so. And so, while the Monarchs were able to wantonly display their power, the vessels of the Rulers never gained power enough to call them gods, and the true power of the Rulers themselves remains unknown. However, it’s highly plausible they’re generally stronger than the Monarchs.

When recounting the Ancient War to Sung Jin-Woo, Ashborn stated, “Even though they possessed enough power to send me back to nothingness if they wanted to, they chose to pursue peace.” Moreover, the Rulers were the ones who turned their backs on the Absolute Being and killed him. And while they drastically outnumbered Antares, they were the ones who ultimately captured Antares before Sung Jin-Woo went back in time.

1

The Absolute Being

The Creator Of The Rulers And Monarchs

• Debut Chapter: 162
• Epithet: God

As the creator of the Rulers and Monarchs, The Absolute Being is one character that truly embodies the moniker of God. At the beginning of the Solo Leveling universe, The Absolute Being created the Rulers to protect the world and the Monarchs to destroy it, keeping them in an endless cycle of war.

Unfortunately, its creations, the Rulers, rebelled against it and killed The Absolute Being in an attempt to stop the endless war. While not much is known about The Absolute Being, it very much enjoyed watching the Rulers and Monarchs duke it out.