Like the manga, the Manhwa medium has become something of a gold mine for fans and readers seeking rich storytelling and colorful art. Within the medium’s near-endless tropes and themes, heroes burdened with dark powers seem to hold an alluring thrill for fans.
These central characters often walk a blurry line betweengood and evil, using their cursed abilities to fight for good—or sometimes, to resist being consumed by the same darkness they possess. Therefore, this piece seeks to highlight the best of these manhwa and characters, exploring their exciting narratives and outstanding qualities, separating them from the rest. As such, here are the best manhwa that centers their stories around heroes cursed with dark-attribute powers.
866,666 Years: The Advent of The Dark Mage
Alternative Titles: A Warlock Reincarnated After 66,666 Years
Cursed protagonists do not come any betterthan the dark mage, Diablo Volpir ofthe Advent of the Dark Mageseries, and the 66,666 years he spent in confinement prove it very clearly. The series details Diablo’s life after being defeated and sealed away by the 12 gods.
Sealed for 66,666 years, Diablo is freed from his confinement when he wakes in the body of the newborn baby, Jamie Welton. Retaining his memories during infancy, Diablo meticulously plans his revenge for nine years. Exactly nine years after reawakening, with only a fraction of his former powers, Diablo, now Jamie Welton, is finally ready to begin his quest for vengeance.
7Cleric Of Decay
Alternative Titles: The Priest of Corruption
Cleric Of Decaydetails the story of the life of the central character, Cleric Marnac after he gets sucked into a game while playing with the absolute worst of all the classes available— the cleric of decay.
Initially a regular college student with a love of using cheat modes in games, Marnac gets mysteriously sucked into the game, where he is chosen as the only disciple of the Mother of Decay. Now, the only living cleric of the Order of Decay, with a prophecy of doom lurking right above his head, remains to be seen if Marnac can become strong enough to avert this prophecy.
6Terminally-Ill Genius Dark Knight
Alternative Titles: Time-Limited Genius Dark Knight
When you are diagnosed with a terminal illness with a month left to live, it seems the best thing to do, actually, is to live. This is the story of Yoo Chan, a regular shut-in gamer who gets diagnosed with cancer and is expected to die within a month. Too defeated mentally to do anything else, Yoo devotes himself to the one thing he can: his favorite RPG game, Inner Lunatic.
However, things get spooky when he suddenly wakes up inside the game as his favorite in-game character, Nox Von Reinhafer. Ironically, Nox is designed after Yoo, making him a terminally ill character. Awakened as Nox, Yoo finds himself desperate to avert Nox’s ill fate because, unlike him, Nox deserves a second chance, or at least, it seems worth a shot.
5Boundless Necromancer
Alternative Titles: N/A
Boundless Necromancytells the story of a world where the superhuman and supernatural are the accepted norm and monster hunting is society’s major occupation. The story revolves around Seong-Yun Han, a boy orphaned by the mysterious ‘Dungeon Break’ and obsessed with becoming a hunter.
However, even after seven years of intense training, Seong-Yun is forced to accept his lack of fighting talent talk less of his skills. However, his world turns upside down when he is offered the chance to join the Tower of Trials, an alternate realm where challengers risk their lives to overcome trials.
4Villain To Kill
Villain To Killpresents a superhuman world hinged on a very strict dichotomy between the Villains and Psykers. In this world where possessing special abilities is more or less the norm, the Psykers embody justice and good conduct, while the villains are the opposite of everything a Psyker is.
The story’s central character, Cassian Lee, is one of society’s best psykers until he is framed and killed and a visit to a friend. However, instead of dying, Cassian reawakens in the body of a high school boy who just recently became a villain. With a second chance, Cassian resolves to get revenge against whoever framed him. However, after living and interacting with villains like himself, Cassian finds that the lines of justice are not necessarily straight.
3Solo Necromancer
Alternative Titles: Lone Necromancer
Getting forced to more or less be cursed with the skill of necromancy seemed like something out of a nightmare for Seongwu in theSolo Necromancerseries. The story revolves around the central character, Seongwu, a former special forces operative who returns after completing his mandatory national service.
Seongwu’s college life does not last long when he, alongside everyone else on the campus, is suddenly asked to select a role after a mysterious prompt appears out of nowhere. Settling on the necromancer class, Seongwu soon finds that the rest of society has been thrown into chaos by monsters, and he must now use his new powers to ensure that not only himself but also his friends survive.
2Return To Player
IntheReturn to Playerseries, the only thing separating everyday human life from a dreadful game of monsters and survival is the gods' consensus on making the Earth their new playground. However, the only thing standing between human extinction and the gods' brutal game is the protagonist, Sehan Kim.
The series begins with Sehan being the sole survivor of the gods' sadistic game of survival after watching all of humanity fall. On the brink of death, Sehan is given the chance to go back in time for a second playthrough. Taking the rare opportunity, Sehan resolves to beat these gods at their very own game.
1The Legend of the Northern Blade
The forces of good and evil clash heavily in theLegend of the Northern Bladeseries, and the lines between both blur as it turns out that both black and white can also exist as grey. At the eye of the storm is the central character, Jin Mu-Won, the fifth sect leader and last descendant of the Northern Heavenly Sect, the murim’s first line of protection against the evil Silent Night.
However, this is a tale of revenge borne from both the destruction of Mu Won’s sect as a child and his father’s forced suicide. Left only with the secret teachings of the sect and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to escape his enemies, Mu Won hides himself from the world to hone his martial skills. After several years, the once-young boy, Mu Won, is finally set to begin his bewitched journey of blood and revenge.
