Summary
There’sa wide offer ofisekai manhwato read out there, and with so many titles to pick from, fans of horror and fantasy should know there’s a thin line between those two genres. So, when choosing the ideal stories that contain incredible magical creatures, people summoned from other worlds for unknown reasons, and cosmic horrors that roam the lands, we need to pinpoint a very specific set of stories.
This catalog has five of thebest isekai manhwa that infuse some horror elements in their stories. From a tale about a dystopian future where many people were isekai’d and returned with incredible power, to a story about a dead king, summoned to another world to live again as a magician, fighting against the most obscure and deadliest creatures, these manhwa are afraid to strike a bit of fear into their readers.
5The Druid Of Seoul’s Station
A Dark Fantasy Reverse Isekai Story
The premise ofThe Druid of Seoul’s Stationis based on a dystopian future where mankind has almost been obliterated by the gate-breaking effect, where thousands of doors to other worlds appear, swallowing various people around the world, only to return them to Earth years later. These people, known as “returners,” are gifted with different abilities according to the worlds they were transported to, and some of them even have the power to open the coordinates to travel between these worlds and Earth. Using this, a new world order is created, where commerce and cultural exchange between dimensions make humanity thrive despite the horrors unleashed upon the planet.
After a single Korean returner comes back to Earth after 20 years, things start to change. While other returners have spent at most a decade or two on their transmigration and then came back to Earth after a brief time skip, this individual has spent over a thousand years living in a world filled with dangerous beasts, andaccumulated so much powerthat he became a powerful Archdruid, master of all monsters. When he comes back, he is evaluated as an irregular, and no one believes his tale, but as he regains the ability to manifest his full power, they start to understand that he might very well be the most powerful being on Earth. Park Suho will create his own land, safe from the dangerous undead, vampires, and other monsters that roam Earth and threaten its denizens, but nothing is as simple as it seems, and others will try to stop his quest to develop his ideal paradise.
4Magic Academy’s Genius Blinker
Reincarnated Into A Soulslike With A Trash Skill
A gamer that is transported to the world of a dark fantasy RPG, and, reincarnated as Baek Yuseol, the hardest character to play, needs to survive from the very second he is transmigrated. A dark cult pursues him, dangerous creatures lurk all around, and he was given the task of preventing the “catastrophic ending” from happening. The future couldn’t look bleaker for this protagonist, and even then, he needs to deal with corrupted mages that transform into demons when they accumulate too much negative energy, as well as the actual demonic beings controlling them from the shadows. Thankfully, he is able to make a lot of friends during his days in the Magic Academy, despite the quirkiness of his skills.
Baek Yuseol is not alone as a reincarnator, as another character, Flame, is also a person from Korea who was given the role of the protagonist of the game. This could spell trouble for Yuseol’s plans, and he will need to use all his wits to outsmart his reincarnated classmate, while also avoiding engaging too much in the story, lest he deviate into the “bad ending” he fears so much. This is a story about survival, with specks of dark fantasy and some touches of dark humor, where the main character isnot as broken as the average isekai guy, and only has his sword skills and one ability: teleport.
3The Knight King Who Returned With A God
A Brutal Main Character On A Quest To Exterminate Evil
Grail Knights are chosen by the Gods to fight in a universal war against the forces of evil, and from all the Grail Knights, only one King of The Holy Grail is selected. The current King is Leon Dragonia Leonhart, who took the mantle eons ago and has been battling against monsters, orcs, demons, undead, and the dark horrors of the cosmos through the ages. Yet one quest remains before he can finally rest in paradise and relinquish his mantle to the next generation of Grail Knights, and select a new King: to save a world called Earth from the invasion of chaos.
Thus, the Knight King descends upon a dystopian version of Earth, where awakened individuals exist, and wormholes to other dimensions called “gates” often appear, unleashing unspeakable horrors upon the world. Leon is received by the Korean Awakened Association and designateda representative named Han Hari. This seemingly oblivious girl ends up becoming his second in command, and the King begins his quest to spread the “love of the true Gods” through this “unfaithful planet,” creating a guild named Pantheon, while also training the new generation of Knights to prepare the world from the forces of evil.
2The Skeleton Soldier Failed To Defend The Dungeon
Reincarnated As The Weakest Monster, He Will Struggle To Defend His Home
Without knowing his own name, or where he comes from, a person is reincarnated as a Skeleton in a fantasy world where dungeons are a thing, and adventurers raiding the dungeons will try to conquer it by slaying the “boss;” in this case, a devil who is also the master of this loyal Skeleton. Failing to defend his master from the bloodthirsty tomb raiders, the Skeleton reincarnates once more, and this time, he will do anything to protect the dungeon.
A melodramatic story about survival, leveling up like a monster, and most importantly,the horrors of being reincarnated as a weird creature. The story and character development ofThe Skeleton Soldier Failed to Defend the Dungeonare great, and the worldbuilding is intertwined with the plot smoothly and seamlessly. There are no big clichés, nor too much plot armor, and the protagonist has to suffer considerably before he can get a grasp of his abilities. This is not one of those monster evolution stories where the MC progresses too fast and becomes unstoppable.
1The Beginning After The End
Reincarnated In Another World, And Forced To Face His Worst Fears Once More
A king sat on his throne,exhausted from a lifetime of fightingand the schemes of traitorous people, he looks upon those who betrayed him and resigns himself to being stabbed to death, embracing his end and welcoming death like an old friend. However, King Gray’s story was far from over. Dragged by unknown forces to a world of swords and sorcery, the ultimate ruler became Arthur Leywyn, the firstborn of a couple of adventurers who cherished him and showered him with parental love.
As it is, Arthur grew up learning how to trust and how to care for people again, slowly releasing his past life’s burdens. Happiness doesn’t last forever though, and as a series of events forced him to become a protector for his family, he meets with an unbelievably powerful being who is dying from a mortal wound. With his last strength, this creature entrusted her legacy to Arthur, and soon after, a child named Sylvie is born. The beast became Arthur’s “bound,” s kind of familiar, but its true identity remained hidden for years. As darkness threatened to overtake Arthur’s life, and he was forced to battle once more, he learned the horrifying truth about this world and the land of Dicathen where he lives.The Beginning After the Endis a masterfully crafted dark fantasy tale about survival, the horrors of war, and a tale about friendship overcoming the darkest of times.
