You remember that feeling when Sung Jinwoo finally hit floor 100? It felt like the ultimate endgame. The blue-skinned, lightning-spewing Demon King Baran sitting on his throne, looking like he could delete your save file just by staring at you. For most fans, this was the peak of the Demon Castle arc. It was the moment Jinwoo graduated from "strong hunter" to "potential world-breaker."
But honestly? Most of us got it wrong. We saw the "Monarch of White Flames" title and assumed we were seeing a god in his prime.
We weren't. Not even close.
If you’ve only watched the anime or skimmed the webtoon, there’s a massive piece of lore you likely missed. The guy Jinwoo fought wasn't the real Baran. It was a ghost. A shell. A puppet made of code and memories. And once you realize what the demon king solo leveling version actually was, it changes how you look at Jinwoo’s entire power scale.
The Puppet on Floor 100
Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way first. The Baran Jinwoo faces in the Demon Castle is a construct of the System. Basically, the Architect (the crazy angel statue guy) used the memories of Ashborn, the original Shadow Monarch, to recreate a simulation of the Monarch of White Flames.
Why? Because the real Baran was already dead.
Long before Jinwoo ever picked up a dagger, Ashborn had already put Baran in the ground during the ancient war between the Monarchs and the Rulers. When Jinwoo steps into that boss room, he’s fighting a "nerfed" digital copy designed to push him to his limits without actually being impossible to beat.
Think about it. If Jinwoo had faced the actual Monarch of White Flames at that stage—the guy who fought side-by-side with Antares, the Monarch of Destruction—he would have been turned into ash in about three seconds. The gap between a mid-level Player and a true Monarch is a literal ocean.
What the Manhwa Left Out
In the light novel, this distinction is way more brutal. The fight feels less like a heroic struggle and more like a desperate scramble for survival.
- The Esil Factor: In the webtoon, Esil Radiru (the demon noble girl) stays with Jinwoo until the end. In the novel? He sends her away around floor 96. He faces the King alone because he knows she’d just be collateral damage.
- The Difficulty Spike: The novel describes Baran’s lightning as something that doesn't just hurt—it stuns the soul. Jinwoo only wins because of the "Bead of Avarice," which doubled his magic damage, and a massive amount of luck.
- Igris’s Disdain: There’s a line in the source material where Igris basically looks at Baran’s Longsword and considers it "trash" compared to what a real Monarch should wield. That’s a huge hint that the System couldn't perfectly replicate a Monarch's divine gear.
Was Baran Actually Weak?
There's this weird debate in the Solo Leveling community. Some people call Baran the "weakest Monarch." It’s a bit of a low blow, honestly.
Sure, he lost to Ashborn. But everyone loses to Ashborn.
Baran commanded the Army of Demons. These weren't just standard monsters; they were a legion of spiritual beings. In the sequel series, Solo Leveling: Ragnarok, we get even more context on just how terrifying the real Baran was before he became a glorified XP farm for Jinwoo.
If you're playing Solo Leveling: Arise, you've probably felt this firsthand. The Baran boss fight in the game is notoriously punishing. He uses Lightning Breath and Hell’s Army to overwhelm you, forcing you to master the "Extreme Evasion" mechanic or get flattened. It’s a callback to how he was described in the lore: a speed-type powerhouse who punishes every single mistake.
Breaking Down the Monarch Hierarchy
If we had to rank them (and let’s be real, we always do), the power structure usually looks something like this:
- Antares (Monarch of Destruction) - The undisputed big bad.
- Ashborn (Shadow Monarch) - The one who killed Baran.
- Baran / Beast Monarch - They were the front-line generals.
Even at his "weakest," Baran was a planetary threat. The only reason Jinwoo survived the encounter is that the System was designed for him to win. It was a rigged game. The Architect needed a vessel for Ashborn, not a dead protagonist.
Why the Demon King Still Matters
So, if he was just a copy, why do we care?
Because the demon king solo leveling arc is where the stakes shifted. It was the first time Jinwoo realized the "monsters" weren't just mindless drones. They had a hierarchy. They had families (like the Radiru clan). They had a history.
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It was also the first time Jinwoo couldn't just "Arise" a boss. He tried to shadow-extract Baran, and the System blocked him. "The power is too great," or "The soul is corrupted." That was our first clue that Monarchs are different. They exist outside the normal rules of the Shadow Army.
Well, except for Kaisel.
The only thing Jinwoo actually got from that fight—besides a massive level jump—was the wyvern. Kaisel was Baran’s mount, and unlike the "Baran construct," the wyvern's soul was apparently fair game. It became Jinwoo’s primary mode of transport for half the series. Not a bad consolation prize for nearly dying.
The Legacy in Solo Leveling: Ragnarok
If you haven't started reading Ragnarok, you're missing out on Baran’s redemption arc—sort of.
In the sequel, we deal with the fallout of the Monarchs' deaths. Without spoiling too much, the soul of the real Baran (the one Ashborn killed eons ago) makes an appearance in the afterlife. Jinwoo’s son, Sung Suho, eventually has to deal with the remnants of the Demon King’s power.
It turns out that the "White Flames" weren't just a cool visual effect. They represent a specific type of primordial energy that even the Rulers feared. The fact that the System version was so strong while being a mere shadow of the original is a testament to why the Monarchs were able to wipe out entire civilizations before Earth was even on their radar.
How to Handle the Demon King in 2026
If you're revisiting the series or jumping into the games, here is how you should actually approach the Baran lore:
- Stop comparing him to Beru. Fans love to ask "Who would win?" between the Ant King and the Demon King. If we’re talking about the System version of Baran, Beru might actually take it. But the real Monarch Baran would eat Beru for breakfast.
- Look at the sword. The "Demon King's Longsword" that Jinwoo uses? It’s a relic of a god. Pay attention to the lightning effects in the anime—they aren't just sparks; they're a signature of the Monarch's soul.
- Appreciate the Radiru Clan. They were the only demons with "humanity." Their presence in the tower was a psychological test for Jinwoo as much as a physical one.
The Demon King wasn't just another boss. He was a warning. He was the series' way of saying, "You think you're strong? There's a whole world of monsters that make this guy look like a goblin."
Keep that in mind the next time you see him sitting on that throne. He isn't the final boss of the world; he's just the welcoming committee.
To truly master the lore, go back and re-read the transition between the Demon Castle and the Jeju Island arc. Notice how Jinwoo’s attitude toward his "targets" changes. He stops seeing them as quest objectives and starts seeing them as an army. That shift began on floor 100.
Next Steps for Lore Hunters:
- Compare the Baran fight in Chapter 118 of the light novel to Episode 20 of the anime.
- Check out the Solo Leveling: Ragnarok webnovel to see how Esil becomes a true Monarch in her own right.
- Focus your "Arise" gameplay builds on lightning resistance; it’s the only way to survive the high-tier Baran raids in the current meta.