At first glance, the Solo Leveling Manhwa series already typifies the grander “hero saves the universe” trope more than it hones in on the “good vs evil” trope. This is not to say the latter is not evident. However, the series rather specifically told the tale of how the greatest hunter came to be from Sung Jin-Woo’s perspective.
Throughout the series, however, there are some manifestly evil characters. Characters, who in their relatively brief appearances aside from a few, did enough to cause their targets to understand terror and fear on an unprecedented scale. So, in light of this, here are some of the series’ most vile characters.
10 Hwang Dongsoo
Occupation: Hunter
Younger brother to the ‘Lizard’ hunter, Hwang Dongsuk, Hwang Dongsoo was a Korean-American S-Rank hunter. He was among the first to desert his indigenous country for another in search of power and fame. Like his older brother, Dongsoo cared little for anything that did not serve his selfish and murderous intentions.
Also, he only sought revenge on behalf of his dead brother to prove just how much power he possessed as an S-Rank hunter. A distinguishing trait that highlighted his vile nature was the sheer number of attempts to get Sung Jin-Woo’s attention, even to the point of using the presence of his Guildmaster, Thomas Andre, which ultimately led to his deserved end and a beatdown for the former.
9 Kang Taeshik
Occupation: Inspector
Kang Taeshik’s appearance in the series follows closely after Jin-Woo’s encounter with Hwang Dongsuk. Like Dongsuk, Taeshik cared very little about the lives around him despite not being the most powerful; his actions depicted a level of vileness few characters in the series could replicate.
Being an inspector for the Surveillance team, he was able to conceal his murderous and psychopathic tendencies as he often used criminals to execute his murderous pleasures. Spurred by his complex of hunter supremacy, Taeshik took on the independent role of killing criminals for bounty, becoming a serial killer who admitted to enjoying killing humans more than monsters.
8 Kargalgan
Specie-Type: High Orc Magic Beast
A high orc shaman, Kargalgan held an intense disdain for humans like other monster species, one further heightened by his intelligence as the boss monster of the Hunters Guild Gate A-Rank dungeon.
Due to never coming across stronger opponents, Kargalgan had a propensity for torture as entertainment, which he subjected Kihoon and his party to until the dungeon break occurred and Jin-Woo appeared. Choosing to subject the party of hunters to the slow and unbearable pain of poison and fear-induced skills, Kargalgan reveled in his ability to slowly watch the life drain from their eyes.
7 Rakan
Epithet: Monarch of Fangs
The King of Beasts and the Monarch of Fangs, Rakan, by the very nature of monarchs, could be described as an incarnate of evil like the other monarchs. Created only for the destruction of humanity, Rakan gleefully detested humans and was very quick to express his disdain through unabated destruction and massacres.
Simply following the purpose of his creation, Rakan’s actions throughout the series were all geared towards the destruction of the Earth and, specifically, the eradication of Sung Jin-Woo, as he was part of the group that decided to ambush the Shadow monarch to kill him before he achieved his actual status: an ambush that eventually failed, leading to the elimination of Rakan and the two other monarchs with him.
6 Querehsha
Epithet: Monarch Of Plagues
Another of the nine monarchs, the queen of insects, Querehsha, like every other monarch, had an innate predisposition of hatred toward humanity. Apart from seeking the death of the new Shadow monarch, Querehsha actively sought out her pleasures of bloodlust and preferred to toy with her targets slowly before devouring them.
Also, she was responsible for all insect-type monsters, which made her indirectly responsible for all insect-related disasters, specifically the Jeju Island Raid. Heavily involved in the Japan Crisis Arc and the Monarch’s War Arc, Querehsha was part of the group responsible for the murder of National level hunter Christopher Reed and also participated in the ambush against Jin-Woo, where she met her end.
5 Kamish
Specie-Type: Dragon
The boss monster of the world’s first-ever S-Rank gate, Kamish was immensely powerful, and as once a subordinate of the Monarch of Destruction, he held humanity in great disdain. Single-handedly destroying all of America’s West Coast, Kamish was regarded as humanity’s greatest calamity.
Due to his power, only five S-Rank hunters survived the battle of subjugation that ensued after the gate’s appearance, leading to the creation of the National Level hunter rank. So great was his bloodlust that not even revival from the dead could prevent his desire to wipe out humanity, as shown after Sung Jin-Woo revived him.
4 The Ant King
Specie-Type: Insect
The hidden boss of the Jeju Island S-Rank Gate, the Ant King, was one of the most powerful magic beasts to appear in the series, arguably as powerful or even more potent than Kamish, humanity’s greatest calamity.
Born as an apex predator, the Ant King, like other magic beasts, held a condescending disdain for humans, considering them weak. Murderously arrogant, the Ant King single-handedly killed eight S-Rank hunters who participated in the raid, which included Goto Ryjui, in search of a worthy opponent, which he encountered in Sung Jin-Woo after the latter arrived on Jeju Island.
3 Frost Monarch
Epithet: Monarch of Frost
Known as King of the Snow Folk, the Frost monarch was mighty even among the monarchs, and as one, the Frost monarch also held humanity in great disdain and wished for nothing more than their eradication. Arrogant and prideful, specifically against humans, the Frost monarch was, however, averse to unnecessary conflict, meaning he preferred to direct his evil intentions onto a single target. That target happened to be the Shadow Monarch, Sung Jin-Woo.
Firstly, by attracting Jin-Woo’s attention by killing Chairman Go Gun-Hee, the Frost monarch desperately aimed for Jin-Woo’s head to prevent the resurrection of Ashborn, the previous shadow monarch. His attempts, however, proved to be an acceleration of his demise.
2 Antares
Epithet: Monarch Of Destruction
Both the oldest and strongest of the monarchs, Antares, the King of Dragons, is the series’ final villain and the incarnate of destruction itself. Created only for the destruction of all life, Antares reveled in his purpose with great delight.
He, however, had particular disdain for humans as he had no problems casually slaughtering millions upon his descent to Earth. However, despite his love for death and chaos, Antares was an entity driven by principles, as he showed to Jin-Woo in their fight by offering to stop the invasion on Earth if Jin-Woo joined forces with him.
1 The Architect
Specie-Type: Humanoid
Arguably, the series’ main antagonist, The Architect, was the System’s creator and was the double dungeon’s hidden boss. Extremely psychotic and egotistical, he hated humans and thought them weak and unfit for any purpose.
With only the goal of Ashborn’s descent, the architect thought nothing of humans, as he killed indiscriminately upon the first appearance of the double dungeon, which led to Jin-Woo being chosen by the system. As the moderator of the system, the architect was directly responsible for the events that took place up until Jin-Woo’s return to the double dungeon to succeed Ashborn finally.
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