What are the Monarchs in Solo Leveling? Explained

Solo Leveling's manhwa drew to an emphatic close with 270 chapters compiled into 14 volumes in October 2018. Its massive success saw Crunchyroll and A-1 Pictures collaborate to create an anime adaptation of the same. After much anticipation, the anime's episode 1 premiered on January 6, 2024, and despite being a success, it is facing a bit of a rough start.

As the story comes to life on the screen, fans are eager to immerse themselves in it and familiarize themselves with its elements. One such major element is the existence of the Monarchs. But who or what exactly are they? And what role do they play in the unfolding story?

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Solo Leveling Manhwa.

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Solo Leveling: The Monarchs

To put it simply, in Solo Leveling the Monarchs are an ancient race of monsters who seek to wipe out the human race. They serve as the primary antagonists of the Chugong's story. They too have an interesting history that Manhwa readers are aware of and anime fans will soon see.

At the beginning of time, when only Light and Darkness existed, the Absolute Being split the two - Light was split to create the Rulers and Darkness was split to create the Monarchs. Given their respective natures, the Monarchs were created to destroy the world, and the Rulers were created to safeguard it. Consequently, they became entangled in a destructive war.

Eons later, the Absolute Being was dethroned and murdered. Leveraging the situation, the Rulers used tools containing fragments of their power to hunt down the Monarchs. They were successful in capturing the Monarch Legia alive and thus tipped the war in their favor, affording them a substantial step towards victory.

Shadow Monarch Ashborn in Solo Leveling (Image via Chugong, D&C Media)

In the Solo Leveling storyline, the Shadow Monarch Ashborn quickly grasped the scenario and reached out to the Monarchs, offering his help. Left with no choice, they had to reluctantly agree and accept him as an ally. Consequently, although Ashborn was instrumental in stabilizing the power dynamic and sustaining the war waging, his strength earned him fear from both ends.

This later led to two Monarchs, Rakan and Baran, betraying him. They ambushed him with their armies but were unable to pull through, facing defeat at Ashborn's hands with Baran dying in the process. However, they did manage to severely damage his shadow army.

Driven by a thirst for revenge, Ashborn retreated to replenish his army. This allowed the Rulers to grab victory and compelled the Monarchs to escape to the cracks between worlds. Ashborn later returned and rejoined the Monarchs alongside the strongest Monarch, Antares, as they were still weakened and were recuperating from their loss.

Centuries later, the Monarchs once again attempted to destroy the human race, aiming to rebuild their armies, and as natural, the Rulers moved in to prevent it from happening. A series of events then led to the creation of the Cup of Reincarnation (power to turn back time 10 years each time when used).

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In Conclusion

Monarchs vs Rulers in Solo Leveling (Image via X)

However, it became a fact that the human world would always be annihilated regardless of which side seized victory and regardless of how many times the Rulers turned back time.

The Solo Leveling storyline will cover the war between the Monarchs and the Rulers. It has been electrifying to read through the Manhwa and will be even more so when it is animated. Till then, viewers will be treated to Sung Jin-woo's development and his journey from the Weakest to Humanity's Strongest Hunter.