Something from Sung Jinwoo’s future has suddenly stepped into the present—but not through the anime.

Solo Leveling: ARISE has introduced a new Hunter Origin story centred on original Hunter Diana Lopez, and her past leads directly toward one of the most dangerous Monarchs connected to Jinwoo’s journey. The twist gives fans a fresh way to encounter the terrifying Monarch of Fangs while expanding the game’s original side of the Solo Leveling universe.

The timing makes the story even more interesting. With Season 2 ending after the Jeju Island Arc and the anime’s next chapter now planned as the theatrical movie Solo Leveling: Beyond the System, Netmarble’s game is exploring material that exists alongside the established story. But Diana’s connection to the Monarch of Fangs is where things get seriously intriguing.

Solo Leveling: ARISE Introduces Diana Lopez and the Monarch of Fangs

The newest Hunter Origin storyline in Solo Leveling: ARISE introduces Diana Lopez, an original Hunter created specifically for Netmarble’s game.

Her story begins with something personal.

Diana was formerly a member of the military, but her life changed after an encounter with a monstrous enemy that nearly killed her. Rather than allowing that experience to disappear into her past, Diana becomes determined to confront the creature responsible.

Eventually, her search leads somewhere far more dangerous than expected.

The enemy connected to Diana’s past is tied to the Monarch of Fangs, placing the original game character on a collision course with one of the most formidable beings in the Solo Leveling mythology.

Netmarble’s official game site lists Diana as Hunter Profile #44, “Ruin-maker, Diana Lopez,” with her profile released on September 17, 2026.

That detail is important because Diana is not simply another version of an existing character. She is part of Solo Leveling: ARISE‘s growing collection of original Hunters and stories.

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Adan or Rakan? The Monarch of Fangs Naming Difference Explained

There is also a naming detail fans may notice while following this storyline.

In the main Solo Leveling story, the Monarch of Fangs is commonly known as Rakan. However, Netmarble’s current Solo Leveling: ARISE material identifies the character as Adan, Monarch of Fangs.

The difference comes from naming used across Solo Leveling material.

It should not be interpreted as evidence that the game has created two separate Monarchs of Fangs. Netmarble’s official game material currently identifies Adan as the Monarch of Fangs, while the wider franchise and the supplied ComicBook report use Rakan for the same character.

That distinction becomes especially relevant as the game places the Monarch directly into its current content.

Diana Lopez’s Hunter Origin Story Gives Jinwoo’s Former Enemy a New Role

Diana’s storyline does something different from the original Solo Leveling narrative.

She does not replace a major character from Jinwoo’s journey, and her story does not change the events of the main storyline. Instead, Solo Leveling: ARISE is using its original Hunter material to explore another corner of the universe.

Diana’s motivation is rooted in her own history.

After the creature from her past nearly kills her, she becomes determined to face it again. That pursuit eventually brings her into conflict with the Monarch of Fangs.

For longtime fans, the connection carries extra weight.

Diana is not simply encountering an unfamiliar powerful enemy. She is crossing paths with a Monarch who eventually becomes one of the major threats in Jinwoo’s own story.

The game therefore gets to explore the Monarch through a new Hunter’s perspective without rewriting Jinwoo’s established journey.

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Who Is the Monarch of Fangs in Solo Leveling?

The Monarch of Fangs belongs to the group of immensely powerful beings at the centre of Solo Leveling’s ancient conflict.

His importance grows during the later portions of Jinwoo’s story.

After the Jeju Island Arc, Jinwoo is no longer simply the Hunter who emerged from the Double Dungeon and slowly climbed through the ranks. His rapidly increasing power begins attracting the attention of forces far beyond the ordinary Hunter world.

The Monarchs eventually recognise Jinwoo as a serious threat.

The supplied report specifically points toward the Monarchs War Arc, where Jinwoo encounters the Monarch of Fangs alongside other Monarchs. That confrontation becomes an important battle in Jinwoo’s development because the Monarchs are powerful enough to push him beyond his previous limits.

This is why Diana’s encounter feels significant to fans already familiar with the source story.

Her Solo Leveling: ARISE storyline brings her into contact with an enemy whose larger history is deeply connected to Jinwoo’s future battles.

Solo Leveling: ARISE Adds the Monarch to New Combat Content

Diana’s story is not the only place where the Monarch of Fangs appears in the September 2026 game material.

Netmarble’s September update also introduced a new dungeon called “Workshop of Brilliant Light – Beast’s Hunting Ground.”

The dungeon allows players to challenge the Monarch of Fangs, with Netmarble’s official update information identifying the boss as Adan, the Monarch of Fangs.

That makes the character’s return more than a reference buried inside Diana’s backstory.

The Monarch is also part of the game’s current playable content.

Solo Leveling: ARISE September Content	Official Details
New Hunter	Diana Lopez
Hunter Profile	#44, “Ruin-maker, Diana Lopez”
Profile release	September 17, 2026
Monarch of Fangs name in Netmarble material	Adan
Other name used in wider Solo Leveling material	Rakan
New dungeon	“Workshop of Brilliant Light – Beast’s Hunting Ground”
Dungeon boss	Adan, the Monarch of Fangs
Expert difficulty additions	Chapters 26–29
Content type	Original Hunter story, new dungeon and progression content

The same September update added Chapters 26–29 in Expert difficulty, expanded several progression caps and introduced the new Beast’s Hunting Ground dungeon.

So the Monarch’s appearance is woven into a larger content update rather than being an isolated promotional appearance.

Solo Leveling: ARISE Continues Building Its Original Universe

Netmarble’s action RPG has increasingly used the Solo Leveling universe as a foundation for stories beyond the events currently covered by the anime.

The game combines characters and events from the original story with original Hunters, stories and gameplay content.

Its official website has continued adding new Hunter profiles throughout 2026, with Diana joining other original and returning characters introduced through ongoing updates.

Her Hunter Origin story therefore fits into an established pattern for the game: take the world fans already know, then open another door into it.

This approach also lets the game explore characters and situations that are not part of the original anime’s current adaptation.

For Diana, that means her confrontation with the Monarch of Fangs belongs specifically to the original material created for Solo Leveling: ARISE.

Why the Monarch’s Return Matters After Season 2

For anime-only viewers, the significance of the Monarch of Fangs may not be immediately obvious.

Season 2 concluded after the Jeju Island Arc, where Jinwoo had already moved dramatically beyond the level of the Hunter he was at the beginning of the series.

But the story does not become smaller after Jeju Island.

Instead, the forces behind Jinwoo’s powers and the mysterious System become increasingly important. The Monarchs move closer to the centre of the conflict, and Jinwoo eventually finds himself confronting them directly.

The Monarch of Fangs is among those enemies.

That means Solo Leveling: ARISE is currently allowing players to encounter a character whose full significance lies much further ahead in the original narrative than where the anime has reached.

For fans following only the anime, Diana’s story consequently offers a different perspective on a major future threat without becoming a replacement for the anime storyline.

Solo Leveling: Beyond the System Will Continue Jinwoo’s Anime Story

While Solo Leveling: ARISE is expanding the universe through original game content, Jinwoo’s official animated story is also moving forward.

The next anime chapter will arrive through Solo Leveling: Beyond the System, a theatrical movie officially announced by Aniplex and Crunchyroll during the Crunchyroll Showcase at Anime Expo 2026.

The film will continue directly from the events of Season 2.

It is being produced by A-1 Pictures, the studio behind both anime seasons, while Crunchyroll, Aniplex, Netmarble, D&C Media and Kakao Piccoma are co-producing the project.

However, the announcement did not provide a theatrical release date or a full trailer.

Instead, fans received a key visual and concept footage introducing the next stage of Jinwoo’s journey.

The official announcement describes the movie as the anime’s next chapter and confirms that it will continue from where Season 2 ended.

That creates two distinct paths for the franchise.

The anime is continuing Jinwoo’s established story through a canon theatrical continuation, while Solo Leveling: ARISE is adding original characters and scenarios around the established universe.

Which Solo Leveling Story Arcs Could the Movie Cover?

The exact contents of Beyond the System have not been officially confirmed in full.

Because of that, possible adaptation plans should remain predictions rather than confirmed information.

The movie will begin after the Jeju Island Arc, placing it around a period in which Jinwoo starts dealing with international attention, guild recruitment and further mysteries surrounding the System.

The Ahjin Guild Arc is therefore material that could potentially be adapted.

This portion of the story becomes important to Jinwoo’s growing independence, particularly as he decides what kind of future he wants rather than simply accepting offers from existing guilds.

The Double Dungeon storyline is also relevant to the movie’s title because it returns Jinwoo to the mysterious location where his life changed at the beginning of the series.

Some coverage has also suggested that material from the Recruitment Arc could appear. However, portions of that material were already incorporated into the end of Season 2.

For that reason, a definitive list of arcs should not be stated until the anime production team confirms the movie’s exact scope.

There Is Still Plenty of Solo Leveling Story Left

The long gap between anime installments does not mean the franchise has run out of material.

The original Solo Leveling manhwa and light novel have already concluded, providing the anime with a completed story to adapt.

Season 2 reached the Jeju Island portion, leaving substantial material available for future animated projects.

The next stage increasingly focuses on Jinwoo’s identity, the System, the Monarchs and the wider conflict that has been developing behind the dungeon gates.

That makes Beyond the System an important next step for the anime. The movie can establish the next phase of Jinwoo’s journey while moving the adaptation closer to the larger Monarch conflict.

And meanwhile, Solo Leveling: ARISE is already putting one of those future enemies into the spotlight.

Diana Lopez’s Story Adds Another Layer to Solo Leveling’s Monarch Lore

The most interesting part of Diana Lopez’s Hunter Origin story is that the Monarch of Fangs is not simply being brought back for another Jinwoo battle.

Instead, the game gives the character a different connection.

Diana’s past is personal. Her encounter with the monstrous enemy that nearly killed her drives her toward a confrontation that ultimately connects her with the Monarch of Fangs.

That gives Solo Leveling: ARISE another way to explore the threat posed by the Monarchs while allowing an original Hunter to stand at the centre of the story.

At the same time, the distinction between game-original material and the main anime remains important.

Diana Lopez is an original game character, and her Hunter Origin story belongs to the material created for Solo Leveling: ARISE.

It is not a new anime episode, nor is it a newly announced continuation of the original manhwa.

Conclusion

Solo Leveling: ARISE has brought the Monarch of Fangs back into the spotlight through Diana Lopez, an original Hunter whose military past and pursuit of the creature that nearly killed her eventually lead her toward one of the franchise’s most dangerous Monarchs.

Netmarble identifies the character as Adan, while the wider Solo Leveling material uses Rakan for the same Monarch. The September 2026 update also places him directly into the “Workshop of Brilliant Light – Beast’s Hunting Ground” dungeon, alongside Chapters 26–29 in Expert difficulty and other progression additions.

Meanwhile, Jinwoo’s official anime story is moving ahead through Solo Leveling: Beyond the System, with its exact release date and full adaptation scope still unannounced.

For now, the franchise is expanding on two fronts: Jinwoo’s established story is preparing for its next theatrical chapter, while Solo Leveling: ARISE is using original Hunters such as Diana Lopez to explore new corners of the same universe.

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Source Disclaimer

This article has been prepared based on thorough research of the sources provided with the original material, including official Solo Leveling: ARISE and Netmarble information, the official Solo Leveling anime website and news page, Crunchyroll’s announcement regarding Solo Leveling: Beyond the System, and the supplied ComicBook.com report. The article reflects the information available as of September 28, 2026. The Diana Lopez and Monarch of Fangs material discussed here comes from Solo Leveling: ARISE‘s original game content and should not be treated as newly animated material from the main anime. The exact story arcs and release date for Solo Leveling: Beyond the System have not been fully announced.

Sources

• Solo Leveling:ARISE official website – Netmarble
• Solo Leveling:ARISE official Hunter profiles
• Solo Leveling:ARISE official forum
• Solo Leveling anime official website
• Solo Leveling anime official news page
• Crunchyroll – Solo Leveling: Beyond the System announcement
• Netmarble – Solo Leveling:ARISE September 2026 update information
• ComicBook.com – Solo Leveling Brings Back Jinwoo’s Major Opponent in a New Story

Featured Image Credit: Netmarble / A-1 Pictures