Warning: The following contains spoilers for Solo Leveling's Manhwa and Solo Leveling: Ragnarok's Manhwa and Light Novel!!

While they haven't displayed their powers in ten Monarchs in Solo Leveling's original story, it could appear that there is not really much to tell, but this number has increased with its sequel that follows Jinwoo's son, Sung Suho.

Given the differences between Solo Leveling's original story and its sequel's light novel and manhwa, it can be hard to determine who the monarchs are and their role in the story. Far away from the original plan of gaining enough power to defeat the Rulers, as the Monarchs were faced by Jinwoo near the end of Solo Leveling, they now have a different role and even successors to their powers.

Who Are the Monarchs In Solo Leveling

The Main Antagonists in Solo Leveling's Story

The Monarchs and Rulers were created by the Absolute Being and have been engaged in an endless war since ancient times, which eventually led to Earth becoming their battlefield. While Rulers represent light and seek to maintain order and life, Monarchs represent darkness and bring destruction and chaos. The monarchs were weakened after the betrayal of Baran and Rakan against Ashborn, the Shadow Monarch, as he could survive and kill the Monarch of White Flames, which helped the Rulers gain the upper hand in the war.

Afterward, the Monarchs were forced to retreat and plan a new strategy of invading Earth by possessing living bodies to serve as vessels of their powers. Each Monarch possesses unique abilities and commands armies of creatures and soldiers aligned with their respective titles. For example, the Monarch of Frost masters ice magic, while Querehsha controls plagues and uses devastating diseases as her skills. Additionally, due to their centuries of experience and combat tactics, they know how to strategize to maximize their winning options in battle, making them a formidable threat to humanity.

Each Monarch has an immense strength, suring the most powerful National Level hunters. Although they cannot manifest in the mortal plane in their pure form, having to use human vessels, they are capable of using Spiritual Body Manifestation to access their real powers. This also signals how Antares and Ashborn were the strongest Monarchs, as they couldn't find a suitable vessel due to their incredible powers, with the Shadow Monarch choosing Jinwoo eventually and preparing him with the System, and Antares waiting the necessary time to achieve it along with his army in his natural form.

All the Monarchs In Solo Leveling's Anime

Solo Leveling Season 2 Wrapped Up With the Introduction of Two Monarchs

The Monarchs are named in the anime at the end of Solo Leveling Season 1, when Jinwoo accepts the job change to Shadow Monarch, a power that he will slowly be imbued with. Later, Jinwoo fights the system's version of Baran, the Monarch of White Flames, in Solo Leveling Season 2, episode 7, but this was only a copy of the real King of Demons killed by Ashborn, making it uncertain if his power level was close to the original. Following this, the monarchs don't appear again until the ending of season 2, during the aftermath of the Jeju Island raid.

Rakan, the monarch of Fangs, and Sillad, the monarch of Frost, encounter the Knights Guild and knock them out with a forced barrier to not draw attention to them for the time being and guarantee the success of their invasion. The monarchs were tracking Jinwoo as the source of Ashborn's powers, but he still, at the time, hadn't mastered the complete powers of the Shadow Monarch. This teased the threat of the Monarchs for the first time in the anime and will be addressed in an season with the revelation of the Shadow Monarch's backstory.

What Happened to the Monarchs in Solo Leveling's Manhwa

Sung Jinwoo Mastered The Power of the Shadow Monarch

The Monarchs begin to track the strongest Hunters on the planet, the National Level Hunters, who turned out to be Rulers' vessels, with Jinwoo becoming their main threat after the Monarch of Frost attacks Go Gunhee. This leads to several incredible fights in the Monarchs War Arc, which also includes the Monarch of Beasts against Thomas Andre. However, despite their immense power, the Monarchs aren't invincible, as their main weakness is their dependence on human vessels.

As a result, despite the difference in raw strength and numbers, Jinwoo exploits their vulnerability by destroying the Monarchs' bodies before they can unleash their true powers, as shown in the battle against Querehsha, whom he kills using mutilation, and Tarnak, who was ambushed using Jinwoo's strategy. Furthermore, even though Jinwoo is put against the wall by Sillad and Rakan, this works as a vehicle for him to awaken the true powers of the Shadow Monarch.

Near the end of Solo Leveling's manhwa, Jinwoo fights the Monarch of Destruction Antares and wins thanks to the intervention of the Rulers. However, Jinwoo decides to use the Cup of Reincarnation and fight all the Monarchs in the dimensional rift before the gates open on Earth. This war lasted 27 years and was ultimately won by Jinwoo.

All the Monarch's Successors In Solo Leveling: Ragnarok's Manhwa

The Webtoon Has Only Revealed Two Monarchs' Heirs So Far

Contrary to the original series, the Monarchs are no longer the strongest enemies to defeat in Solo Leveling: Ragnarok after the introduction of the Itarim. However, they play a more active role in the story as Jinwoo's son, Suho, is on a quest to find the successor of the monarch's powers. So far, during the first season of the manhwa, which ended recently with chapter 47 when Suho chooses to merge two classes and become the Irregular: White Shadow, Jinwoo's son has met two of the heirs of the monarchs, who him as his allies.

The first heir in Solo Leveling: Ragnarok appeared in chapter 14, a wolf pup named Gray, who was the descendant of Rakan, the King of Beasts, and was guarded by the hyena Brocky until he was controlled by Itarim's followers. Suho fights Brocky, and Gray awakens his powers, merging with Jinwoo's son using beast possession. Afterward, Gray is taken by Suho to the shadow realm. Later, Suho finds Ammut, an aggressive reptilian who was created by the Tarnak and Kandiaru but was ultimately abandoned and imprisoned in a pyramid, meeting Sung Suho in Solo Leveling: Ragnarok chapter 27.

Ammut's backstory in the manhwa is different from the novel, as he isn't blind and entered willingly into the pyramid instead of being abandoned, but was betrayed by Kandiaru. In the manhwa, Ammut thought that physical strength was the only way to live, but had a change of heart after being freed by Suho, deciding to train him. Since Solo Leveling: Ragnarok novel and manhwa have different storylines, which have highlighted the existence of a multiverse in the franchise, it's unclear how the webtoon adaptation will present the next Monarchs in the future.

All the Monarchs' Successors in Solo Leveling: Ragnarok's Novel

Sung Suho Goes Chose a Different Path Than Jinwoo

In Solo Leveling: Ragnarok's novel chapter 348, after training with Antares to control the breath of destruction, he finally succeeds him by taking the primordial darkness but using another name. Now Suho is known as Monarch of Transcendence, a title that he wields along with being the Guardian of the World Tree. Several new monarchs have been confirmed in the novel so far, and it's thanks to the World Tree that an heir can obtain the powers of the previous monarchs by fighting the serpent Nidhogg and inheriting the primordial darkness.

Due to her position as the last demon noble, it was possible for Esil Radiru to become the successor of Baran after getting Suho's help in fighting Nidhogg and eating leaves of the World Tree in chapter 248. However, Esil is known as the Monarch of Gluttony. Likewise, Sillad's granddaughter Sirka became the Monarch of Nightmares after defeating the Nightmare Apostle and taking his name. Furthermore, Ammut swam in the sea of the afterlife, which is massively vast, and chopped off one of Nidhogg's heads, granting him the primordial darkness and succeeding the Monarch of the Iron Body, now known as Monarch of Trial..

After Suho returns to Gray, the experience he gained using beast possession allows the wolf to inherit Rakan's powers. Arsha, Querensha's former servant, begins working as Suho's subordinate in the shadow realm and is fed the essence of the Nightmare and Conquest Apostle, becoming the Queen of Insects. Lastly, Solo Leveling's universe keeps expanding, and more information about the Monarchs could be revealed in the story.