This article contains spoilers from the Solo Leveling Manhwa

Summary

The Rulers are a powerful angelic race in Solo Leveling tasked with protecting the world from the Monarchs.
The Rulers have a complex history involving rebellion against the Absolute Being and a fight against the Monarchs.
The Rulers impact Earth by lending their powers to vessels like Jin-Woo, shaping humanity's strength against impending catastrophes.

Solo Leveling's world is defined by power. Only the strongest enjoy fame and glory while the weak are getting crumbled underneath the weight of both society and magical beasts. Once the weakest, Jin-Woo has risen as one of humanity's strongest Hunters. The only ones that are probably stronger than him at this point are the Rulers, but who are they?

Rulers are yet to be introduced in the Solo Leveling anime, but they already have an impact on the plot through characters like Jin-Woo, Il-Hwan, and Thomas Andre. But what exactly are the Rulers and how strong are they?

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By Ankit Ashish Tigga

Who are the Rulers?

The Rulers refer to a group of angelic race of warriors that are considered to be some of the strongest characters in Solo Leveling. They currently hold a position similar to God in the series. While not a lot is known about the Rulers themselves, their goal is to protect the world from the wrath of the Monarchs. The Monarchs are the Rulers' archenemies who aim to destroy the world.

The History of the Rulers

Since their existence, the Rulers have been fighting endlessly against the Monarchs to save the world. The Rulers and the Monarchs were created by an almighty being called the Absolute Being. Seeing no end to the war, the Rulers approached the Absolute Being seeking help to save the world. But soon they realized that the Absolute Being had no interest in seeing the world being saved and instead was finding entertainment in the eternal war.

This led seven of them to turn against him as an act of rebellion. The strongest Ruler continued to serve and protect the Absolute Being but failed when the Rulers stalled him enough to kill the Absolute Being. After defeating the Absolute Being, they used his powers to defeat the Monarchs. To balance the powers, the strongest Ruler joined the Monarch and became the Shadow Monarch, Ashborn.

How the Rulers Impact Earth

After being defeated, the Monarchs went into hiding and planned to get stronger without the Rulers noticing, so they attacked Earth. By the time the Rulers noticed it was too late, Earth was already destroyed. They used a powerful item called the Cup of Reincarnation to avert the destruction, but even after multiple attempts, Earth always ended up being destroyed. The Rulers realized the only way to ensure humanity's survival was by making them stronger.

To make humans stronger, the Rulers allowed Gates to spawn on Earth. This connected the human world to the magical beasts shaping the current world. Gates also gave rise to various Hunters varying in strengths and giving Earth a fighting chance when the catastrophe strikes them.

How will the Rulers Impact the Plot?

The Vessels

Unlike Monarchs, the Rulers weren't able to freely visit the human world. Instead, they lent their powers to powerful Hunters who became responsible for taking care of various catastrophic events and dangerous enemies. Il-Hwan is one such vessel, who was tasked to deal with the successor of the Shadow Monarch, which surprisingly turned out to be his son, Jin-Woo.

All Known Vessels of the Rulers

Thomas Andre	S-Rank	USA
Liu Zhigang	S-Rank	China
Christopher Reed	S-Rank	USA
Siddharth Bachchan	S-Rank	India
Sung Il-Hwan	S-Rank (Unofficial)	South Korea
Go Gun-Hee	S-Rank	South Korea
Jonas	S-Rank	Brazil

The Rulers and Jin-Woo

Initially, the Rulers were after Jin-Woo, since he was on the path of becoming the new Shadow Monarch. This naturally meant that he was an enemy of humanity and would cause great chaos. But Jin-Woo, despite his powers, cares the most about protecting his family and hence is instead humanity's strongest ally. This nature of Jin-Woo changed the Rulers' minds, and they accepted Jin-Woo's existence. They also changed Il-Hwan's mission from slaying Jin-Woo to protecting him.

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By Mirza Aaqib Beg

The Rulers, though they have minimal appearances in the series, play a vital role in how the anime plays out. The threat of Monarchs still exists. In the anime, we have yet to see how the Rulers will impact Jin-Woo's attempt to protect his loved ones.