SFRW-Chapter 46

Ch. 46 Sword God From The Ruined World 

Hero Association rift Monitoring Center, São Paulo, Brazil.  

Beep beep beep!  

“The rift zone has been sealed!”  

One of the blinking red lights on the large screen turned blue.  

The team leader who received the report stared at the massive screen displaying a map of Brazil.  

“BA016?”  

The team leader tilted his head upon confirming the blue dot.  

It was considered the most problematic area in this operation.  

So much so that Chairman Daniel Lopes had personally mentioned it.  

He said they would begin sealing it after closing other rift zones due to insufficient personnel.  

“Is this not a system error?”  

At the team leader’s question, the engineer confidently replied that there was no error.  

“What’s going on? It was supposed to be the last one to be sealed…”  

Unable to grasp the situation on the ground, the team leader could only feel suspicious.  

“Did something change?”  

In any case, having one less rift zone to seal meant less work for them and indicated the Association’s operation was proceeding smoothly.  

“Report this to the Strategic Planning Team immediately.”  

Having done his duty, the team leader stopped worrying about it.  

Meanwhile, the head of Strategic Planning thought he was hearing nonsense when he received the report from the monitoring center.  

“BA016 rift zone has been sealed?”  

After pausing briefly, he asked the subordinate who delivered the report.  

“…Why?”  

“Huh?”  

Seeing his subordinate’s flustered expression, the Strategic Planning leader snapped back to reality.  

“Is this absolutely certain?”  

“Yes.”  

“That can’t be… This can’t be…”  

Muttering like a madman, he quickly began sifting through documents piled on one side.  

Finding what he wanted, he exclaimed:  

“Look at this! BA016 is where the South Korean Heroes were deployed!”  

So what? What about it?  

His subordinate’s sullen expression seemed to ask.  

“Um… Were the South Korean Heroes not supposed to seal the rift zone?”  

The subordinate asked innocently, as if genuinely unaware.  

“That’s not the point…”  

The Strategic Planning leader almost blurted out information only shared with core figures including the Chairman but quickly shut his mouth.  

Discarded cards. Mere shields to buy time.  

That was the current status of the South Korean Heroes who had sealed BA016.  

“Is there some classified information I’m not aware of?”  

“Classified? What nonsense!”  

The Strategic Planning leader raised his voice unnecessarily and waved his hand dismissively.  

A signal to stop bothering him and return to work.  

Watching his subordinate walk away full of questions, the leader fell deep in thought.  

‘The Chairman clearly said the rift zones near Santarém would be sealed after gathering elite teams from various countries…‘  

If plans had changed, he would have been informed.  

‘Did the South Korean Heroes really seal it?‘  

He looked up information on the S-rank Heroes Seo Do-jun and Hyun Joo-yeon deployed to BA016.  

Hyun Joo-yeon was a known quantity.  

She was famous, and her capabilities had been proven recently in England.  

“As for Seo Do-jun…”  

A young Hero who suddenly became S-rank with no notable achievements.  

There was something secretive about him, and it seemed the South Korean Hero Association was hiding information.  

Not that he could blame them.  

Brazil also had Heroes completely different from publicly known ones.  

A sort of trump card or secret weapon?  

“Well, testimonies from both sides consistently said he unilaterally assaulted Ryoma Takashi, so perhaps he truly has no shortcomings in terms of ability.”  

In that case, his combination with fellow S-rank Hero Hyun Joo-yeon might have been promising.  

“Maybe they got lucky inside the sealed rift zone.”  

It was entirely possible they destroyed the rift core without encountering many monsters.  

Nodding to himself, the leader stood up.  

Regardless of circumstances, one troublesome rift zone was now sealed.  

Like the saying that all roads lead to Rome, only the result mattered now.  

“Come to think of it, did the South Korean Heroes we treated as disposable make the first achievement in this operation?”  

The thought made him laugh involuntarily.  

***    

Seo Do-jun had planned to seal the rift zone as late as possible.  

Starting with Blue Croco hearts, he intended to collect as many monster byproducts unavailable in South Korea as possible, buying time as Chairman Daniel Lopes wanted.  

But the appearance of dark magic changed his plans.  

‘Variables are never good omens.’  

Especially when that variable is dark magic.  

Fortunately, no traces of dark magic were found outside the rift zone.  

‘So it only affects the inside…‘  

Honestly, even Seo Do-jun had no words for this situation.  

In the ruined world, there were no such things as rift zones.  

Is this unique to Earth?  

Seo Do-jun felt an inexplicable irritation grating on his nerves.  

“Um… We should rest first.”  

Jung In-joo found it difficult to speak to Seo Do-jun, whose expression seemed sharper than usual.  

“Rest?”  

At Seo Do-jun’s question, Jung In-joo uncharacteristically launched into a lengthy explanation.  

After listening, Seo Do-jun summarized neatly:  

“So you’re saying everyone’s exhausted and injured and needs rest?”  

“…Yes.”  

Jung In-joo’s voice was full of fatigue.  

“Fine.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s answer, she smiled gratefully.  

But her smile soon twisted.  

“You’ll join us after resting at the hotel, right?”  

“What?”  

“There’s something I need to check. I’m going to look around some rift zones.”  

“Alone?”  

Seo Do-jun’s expression seemed to ask if she doubted his ability.  

“But… we’re a team here. Shouldn’t we stick together? No matter how strong you are, you’re still human.”  

When Jung In-joo suggested he should rest too, Seo Do-jun chuckled.  

“I’ve barely warmed up… or did I? Anyway, don’t worry about me. You rest with the guild members.”  

Saying so, Seo Do-jun emptied his backpack completely.  

From the container holding Blue Croco hearts to magic stones and monster byproducts.  

His once-full backpack was now empty.  

He only kept ten empty containers for Blue Croco hearts and a liquid nitrogen freezer inside.  

‘If only I could get a dimensional pouch…‘  

Unfortunately, such items didn’t exist on Earth yet.  

There were neither materials to make them nor craftsmen capable of producing them.  

Well, craftsmen could be found somehow.  

The real issue was the essential materials for creating dimensional space.  

“Have you heard of a monster called Lephaos?”  

“Lephaos?”  

Jung In-joo tilted her head, indicating she’d never heard of it.  

“How about Brimunata?”  

Again, she shook her head.  

Seo Do-jun listed other monsters capable of forming dimensional space, but Jung In-joo, despite being well-informed, knew none of them.  

Clicking his tongue in disappointment, Seo Do-jun requested a map of rift zones near Santarém.  

“Are you really going alone?”  

Jung In-joo’s expression darkened as she handed over the map.  

Without answering, Seo Do-jun simply nodded, pocketed the map, and turned on his GPS receiver.  

The device provided by the Brazilian Hero Association displayed detailed locations of all target rift zones.  

With this, he could easily navigate alone.  

Hearing the situation from Jung In-joo, Hyun Joo-yeon rushed over.  

She insisted on accompanying him, but—  

“Think you can keep up with that exhausted face? I’m just scouting. Go rest.”  

Truthfully, Hyun Joo-yeon was the most fatigued.  

Pushing herself to hunt monsters nonstop to help Seo Do-jun had taken its toll.  

“But going alone…”  

The word ‘dangerous’ stuck in her throat.  

It simply didn’t apply to Seo Do-jun.  

“If you want to help, focus on recovering your condition.”  

After patting her shoulder lightly, Seo Do-jun disappeared.  

“…What?”  

His movement was so fast it seemed like teleportation, leaving both Jung In-joo and Hyun Joo-yeon stunned.  

‘We can’t even follow him with our eyes?‘  

How much of Seo Do-jun’s true power had they actually seen?  

Hyun Joo-yeon couldn’t begin to estimate his limits based on that display alone.  

Meanwhile, Seo Do-jun was running freely for the first time in ages.  

The ability to outpace supercars with just his body came entirely from magic.  

Lifting dozens of tons, moving faster than sports cars, blocking bullets and missiles—  

Humans may be born fragile, but magic enables them to surpass any creature.  

True Heroes should seek to understand magic above all else.  

‘If such people existed, they wouldn’t be living like this.’  

But Earth’s Heroes were blinded by superficial power, mistaking it for the whole picture.  

From Seo Do-jun’s perspective, it was pitiful.  

‘Not my problem.‘  

They were living well enough with their current strength.  

However—  

‘If this situation repeats, things will have to change.’  

Especially if Earth’s safety is threatened. Then Seo Do-jun would force changes, even through drastic measures.  

Checking his GPS, Seo Do-jun arrived at another rift zone and frowned.  

The entrance looked identical to the previous one—blue layered with black.  

The magic concentration grew thicker near the entrance.  

After scouting the area, Seo Do-jun made a call.  

After many rings, a sleepy voice answered.  

Given the 12-hour time difference, it was 3 AM in South Korea.  

“Hello?”  

“I need to check something… Do you have a moment?”  

The voice on the other end scrambled awake upon hearing Seo Do-jun.  

“Hero Seo Do-jun?”  

“Yes.”  

“Calling at this hour… Ah, it must be afternoon there. You said you needed to check something?”  

“I want to know if there have been any unusual changes in South Korea’s rift zones.”  

“What kind of changes specifically?”  

“Anything, no matter how minor.”  

Perhaps too broad, the person hesitated.  

“Should I verify and call you back?”  

“I’ll wait.”  

About 10 minutes later, his phone rang.  

“Go ahead.”  

“First, there are no special changes reported.”  

“Not even the rift entrances changing color?”  

“Correct. No changes at all.”  

“Were there any Heroes who returned from rift zone hunts yesterday or today?”  

“Actually, checking that took some time. Hero Yang Chang-seop returned from Cheongju rift zone two hours ago. I called him directly—he noticed nothing unusual inside.”  

“I see… Could you also check for changes in overseas rift zones if possible?”  

“Overseas ones too?”  

“Just basic info—like if entrance colors changed to black, for example.”  

“Did… something happen in Brazil?”  

After considering, Seo Do-jun answered carefully:  

“Nothing confirmed yet. Request the info from the Brazilian Hero Association if you can. Report even the smallest details.”  

Ending the call, Seo Do-jun knew he’d ruined Deputy Director Min Hong-gi’s sleep.  

But the information would prove necessary.  

Contemplating visiting another rift, Seo Do-jun instead stepped through the ominous entrance before him.  

He couldn’t leave this disturbing rift zone unattended.