How Did Jin-Woo Defeat A Monarch So Easily?

Solo Leveling primarily follows Jin-Woo’s journey from the weakest to the strongest. Upon reawakening, he started leveling up rapidly with every dungeon he defeated. Though he initially struggled to even enter the Demon Castle, he went on to beat the Demon Monarch on his first attempt. How was he able to do so?

The Demon Castle consisted of 100 floors and was home to powerful demons, including Baran, the Demon Monarch. Monarchs are some of the strongest characters in Solo Leveling, yet Jin-Woo defeated one of them. Is this simply an instance of how strong Jin-Woo is?

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Solo Leveling: 6 Underrated Monarchs

By the time they clash with Sung Jin-Woo, the Monarchs come off as weak when compared to Solo Leveling’s protagonist, which is far form the truth.

Understanding the Strength of a Monarch

Monarchs are Beyond the Human World

The world-building of Solo Leveling goes beyond the human realm. Monarchs are one of the two species that were first created. They were created by the Absolute Being and live for the purpose of destroying the world. Each Monarch rules over a group of monster species that allows them to potentially command an army of strong magical beasts when needed.

They hold immense powers and have a great mana reserve. Unlike humans, they grow stronger over time. After losing to the Rulers, the Monarchs used Earth as a target and hunted human life to get stronger.

Known Monarchs in Solo Leveling

How Strong was Baran?

Baran was the King of Demons. This alone makes him one of the stronger Monarchs. The only Monarchs that exceeded him in power were probably Ashborn and Antares. But briefly after Ashborn joined the Monarchs, they realized how powerful he was and feared him. This made Rakan and Baran turn on him, and they tried to kill him. Their betrayal was immediately crushed by Ashborn’s strength. While Baran was not a match for Ashborn’s strength and died, he managed to annihilate his shadow army.

Who Did Jin-Woo Fight?

Baran died ages ago at the hands of Ashborn. What Jin-Woo fought in the Demon Castle was simply a clone created by the System. Being a clone, it was no way closer to the real strength of a Monarch. Yet, it had a strong aura that even made Jin-Woo question if he could defeat it. This proves how overwhelming the presence of a real Monarch could be.

The clone Baran was also accompanied by Kaisellin, a strong creature that resembled a dragon. With the help of his shadow army and a distraction from Esil, Jin-Woo was able to defeat the clone. He also turned Kaisellin into one of his shadows named Kaisel.

Can Jin-Woo Defeat A Monarch?

There is still a great mystery behind the true strength of Monarchs and Rulers. Jin-Woo is able to stand out in the human world because of his unique ability to level up. But in front of beings like Monarchs who can do the same, the ability loses its strength. That being said, Jin-Woo is the vessel for the Shadow Monarch, Ashborn, who is undoubtedly the strongest of all the Monarchs. Jin-Woo has an army of undying soldiers and the ability to create new allies out of his enemies. This definitely gives Jin-Woo the strength to defeat the Monarchs.

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Solo Leveling: Would There Be a Third Shadow Monarch?

After Ashborn and Sung Jin-Woo, will there be a third character who inherits the Shadow Monarch’s power?

As Solo Leveling continues, we will see Jin-Woo get closer to the mysteries of the world. Soon, he will have to take a side. Will he stand with humanity or against it?

Solo Leveling is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Solo Leveling

Release Date

January 7, 2024

Directors

Shunsuke Nakashige

Writers

Noboru Kimura

• 

  Taito Ban

  Shun Mizushino (voice)

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  Genta Nakamura

  Kenta Morobishi (voice)