This Is Solo Leveling’s Best Fight (And It’s Not Against Beru)

Solo Leveling wrapped up its epic second season in March 2025, featuring several thrilling fights as Jinwoo continues to grow stronger. The season begins with the Red Gate Arc as Jinwoo explores his powers as the Shadow Monarch. The last arc of the season, the Jeju Island Arc, is where Jinwoo fights the Ant King and saves everyone on the island. It’s considered the best fight in the anime so far, thanks to the stellar animation and fluid choreography. The fight is extended in the anime, further highlighting Jinwoo’s growth as someone even beyond the heights of an S-Rank Hunter. The Ant King ends up becoming Jinwoo’s shadow and the only one capable of speech so far.

Unfortunately, the third season is still awaiting an official announcement from the studio. Anime-only fans may not be aware, but the story takes a drastic turn in the manhwa after the Jeju Island Arc. As the truth behind the appearance of the Gates unfolds, Jinwoo finds himself standing against beings way more powerful than anything he’s fought before. One of the fights in the manhwa involving Jinwoo is still the best one in the show, even better than Jinwoo vs the Ant King that had so much hype in the anime.

Warning: This article contains spoilers from the Solo Leveling manhwa!

Solo Leveling’s Best Fight Happens in the Monarchs War Arc

After the Jeju Island Arc, the story introduces more Monarchs, powerful cosmic beings that are yet to be fully explored in Solo Leveling’s anime, and sheds light on Jinwoo’s true identity. In the Monarchs War Arc, Jinwoo faces off against three extremely powerful Monarchs who plan to kill him. Realizing that the Shadow Monarch isn’t in control of Jinwoo’s body, Sillad, the Monarch of Frost, asks for help from his fellow Monarchs, but only two of them agree. Rakan, the Monarch of Fangs and Querehsha, the Monarch of Insects, accepts his proposal in Chapter 152 of the manhwa. On the other hand, Jinwoo is also looking for Sillad to avenge the Gunghee Go, the Chairman of the Hunters Association.

However, things take a drastic turn in Chapter 153 when a gigantic Gate covers the sky in Seoul. It’s the largest gate of all time, throwing the entire country into a frenzy. Since it takes a few days for the Gates to open, everyone continues with their daily lives despite the threat literally looming over their heads. However, before the gate opens, Jinwoo encounters the three Monarchs in Chapter 158.

[RELATED: Solo Leveling Season 2 Finale Made Crucial Changes from the Original]

Solo Leveling’s Best Fight Is Jinwoo vs. the Three Monarchs

Although the story has several exciting fights, such as Jinwoo vs. Beru and Jinwoo vs. the Dragon King, the battle with the three Monarchs is extremely thrilling as we see him face off against them all by himself. Jinwoo is extremely powerful, so he doesn’t always struggle against his opponents, even though they are supposed to be extremely strong. However, even someone like Jinwoo, who has the power of the strongest Monarch, has his limitations. Despite all that he possessed, Jinwoo was still limited by a mortal body and paid a heavy price for it.

He takes on the cosmic monsters all by himself, knowing he’s the only one capable enough who can put up a decent fight against them. During the battle, Jinwoo is pushed to the extreme, so much so that he had to use a full recovery before killing Querehsha. However, even taking on Sillad and Rakan proved to be a challenge. He almost let Beru die during the fight, which is the first time one of his high-ranking shadows came so close to death. Things take an unexpected turn in Chapter 161 when Rakan lands a fatal blow on Jinwoo from behind while the latter was fighting Sillad.

The Fight Puts Jinwoo in a True Near-Death Situation

After being this close to death again, Jinwoo meets Ashborn, the original Shadow Monarch and the King of the Dead, for the first time in Chapter 162. It’s a deeply emotional, lore-heavy, and character-defining moment that reshapes the entire story. Ashborn only had a little of his consciousness left in Jinwoo’s body, and his monologue while taking on the forms of people the young hunter personally knows is extremely powerful. The monologue ends with Ashborn saying, “I am You” while in the form of Jinwoo’s former self before the tragedy of the Double Dungeon changed his life.

In Chapter 162, Jinwoo learns about the true history of the world while those around him believe he’s dead. Jinwoo’s father steps in to save him and confronts Sillad and Rakan. Jinwoo also lives in the illusion created by Ashborn before the System is completely deleted. Jinwoo becomes the Shadow Monarch in his full capacity without his mortal body holding him back. He returns in Chapter 164 and easily defeats both of them. The fight confirms how far Jinwoo has come in a short time, as he now stands above almost every being in existence, and should prove to be a truly spectacular fight when animated, provided the anime is able to progress to Season 3 and beyond.