SFRW-Chapter 124

Ch. 124 Sword God From The Ruined World

Dual Rift.  

A phenomenon that had never occurred on Earth before.  

Seo Do-jun had no time to prepare for the sudden dual rift phenomenon that occurred within the rift zone—and just like that, he lost Choi Kang-soo right before his eyes.  

Without even a chance to hear a scream, the space where Choi Kang-soo had been standing was torn open with a boom—, and he vanished below.  

“Choi Kang-soo—!”  

The space that had swallowed Choi Kang-soo returned to normal as if nothing had happened, and Seo Do-jun’s face hardened at the sight.  

Choi Kang-soo, whom he was responsible for protecting, was gone.  

Feeling sorry for Choi Cheol-gwan was a matter for later. The first priority was finding Choi Kang-soo and ensuring his safety.  

Bam!  

Seo Do-jun slammed his fist into the ground where Choi Kang-soo had disappeared, but it was rock-solid, as if no hole had ever existed.  

Was he supposed to lose Choi Kang-soo like this?  

‘A passage! There must be a passage somewhere!’  

Though a Dual Rift was unprecedented, Seo Do-jun recalled the Toam Gate he had experienced before.  

No—he hoped it was like that.  

If there was no passage at all…  

He didn’t even want to think about it. With an expression harder than ever, Seo Do-jun swung his sword.  

Swish—!  

Without holding back, Seo Do-jun unleashed his full power, and the countless Dullahans and vampires before him were instantly torn apart.  

As if there was no time to collect magic stones, Seo Do-jun immediately moved to search for the passage.  

While scouring the rift zone, he mercilessly slaughtered every monster in his path.  

No matter how noble his intentions were, an unforeseen variable had occurred, and he couldn’t shift the blame.  

He considered Choi Kang-soo’s disappearance entirely his responsibility, and with every passing minute, his blood ran colder.  

‘It must be somewhere. Somewhere in this rift…’  

Desperately clinging to that hope, Seo Do-jun combed through the rift zone inch by inch.  

After nearly two hours of searching, even examining the tiniest anomalies, Seo Do-jun’s sharp eyes suddenly caught something.  

Hidden behind a massive tree was a narrow passage—just wide enough for a single person.  

‘Here?’  

Without hesitation, before the gap could close again, Seo Do-jun hurled himself inside.  

For a brief moment, he felt weightless, as if floating in midair—then a powerful gravitational force yanked him downward.  

Protecting himself with magic, Seo Do-jun adjusted to the gravity and landed safely on his feet.  

And what lay before him as he steadied himself was—  

“Kieeeek!”  

“Krrrrr!”  

“Kuwaaaak!”  

At least hundreds of thousands—no, far more than that—an overwhelming horde of monsters.  

“What the hell is this place…?”  

Even in the ruined world, he had never seen such a massive army of monsters.  

But it wasn’t just the numbers.  

The environment itself was completely different.  

While it was known that rift zones varied, this place felt… like an entirely different world.  

‘…Their base?’  

The stronghold from which the creatures invading Earth through the rifts originated. The home of those who had ravaged the ruined world.  

Just as Seo Do-jun considered this—  

“A human from Earth? How impatient. I never imagined one would come here before we even arrived. No—given that no otherworldly beings have ever found this place, you must be the first human of Earth.”  

A pitch-black eye had materialized in the air, staring down at Seo Do-jun as it spoke.  

Though only an eye, its voice resonated clearly in Seo Do-jun’s ears.  

Above all—this confirmed his suspicion.  

This was their stronghold.  

“Who are you?”  

Seo Do-jun could clearly sense its power.  

An immense force.  

Even compared to his current strength, it was undeniably formidable.  

‘It’s not on the same level as that bastard, but…’  

He had never encountered power like this, even in the ruined world. Unconsciously, his grip on his sword tightened.  

“Rebley. Commander of the Monster Legion, serving Lord Barhaut, who shall devour all dimensions.”  

The being spoke with the composure of the strong.  

“I thought the order was being decided—whether Rebley or Kusak would go first… Wait!”  

Avarr’s words flashed through Seo Do-jun’s mind like lightning.  

‘Rebley? So this monstrously powerful being is supposed to come to Earth?’  

He had never seen this creature, even in the ruined world. He had never even heard its name—meaning no information existed about it.  

‘Its true form? It must be somewhere.’  

But he couldn’t sense it.  

No matter how many monsters were gathered here, Seo Do-jun wasn’t one to miss such an overwhelmingly dominant presence.  

Then, suddenly, he noticed something strange.  

When the eye appeared, the entire space had pulsed with immense energy.  

‘Could it be…?’  

Staring at the black eye that called itself Rebley, Seo Do-jun spoke.  

“You’re… not an organic being.”  

There was no response.  

As if he had struck a nerve.  

This environment—this space itself—was Rebley. And what it was doing didn’t need to be asked.  

‘Monster production?’  

If so, everything made sense.  

Why so many monsters were gathered here, and what Avarr had meant—it all became clear.  

‘A monster invasion!’  

Rebley’s arrival on Earth, where synchronization rates were rising, meant he would unleash this massive horde.  

‘Given Earth’s environment, even with rising synchronization rates, they couldn’t deploy all these monsters at once…’  

But even if only a fraction were sent—  

If they flooded dozens of rift zones, overwhelming them from within and triggering waves—  

The devastation would be inevitable.  

This had to be stopped.  

If large-scale monsters invaded through the rifts, the chaos would destabilize even stable rifts and gates, creating a chain reaction.  

A vicious cycle.  

Earth’s fragile defenses would shatter like glass.  

Grip—  

Finding Choi Kang-soo was important, but something even more critical lay before him.  

‘I’m sorry, Choi Kang-soo.’  

As Seo Do-jun steeled himself and tried to gather magic—  

“…!”  

Only half—no, even less than that—responded.  

It felt like over half his magic was tightly bound by something.  

“This is my land! My body! My will! A mere human like you cannot run wild here!”  

As if sensing Seo Do-jun’s intent, Rebley let out a furious roar.  

Simultaneously, the monsters surged toward Seo Do-jun.  

The worst possible situation.  

If his power was being suppressed—  

‘Whether it’s the space itself or something else, my current strength isn’t enough to break through.’  

Calmly assessing the situation, Seo Do-jun resolved to fight using only the magic he could access while searching for a way out.  

‘…This will be a long and grueling battle.’  

Contrary to his thoughts, his expression remained composed.  

In the ruined world, this had been a common occurrence—there was no fear or tension.  

Reaching out, subspace opened.  

The first thing he retrieved was a Soul Gem, but he hesitated before summoning the Death Knights bound within.  

‘Summoning Death Knights in a space where my magic is restricted… would be too risky.’  

He could lose control over them, or worse—without his protection, they might be annihilated upon summoning.  

Unless this was an all-out, desperate situation, summoning them wasn’t the right move.  

Tossing the Soul Gem back into subspace, Seo Do-jun raised his sword.  

With limited magic, he had no choice but to minimize consumption while fighting.  

“Kuwaaaa!”  

A Twin-Headed Ogre, standing meters taller than him, charged fearlessly.  

Without hesitation, Seo Do-jun slipped between its legs and slashed upward.  

As if an ogre required only a sliver of magic, his blade split its torso clean in half.  

Hot, vile blood cascaded like a waterfall, but Seo Do-jun was already decapitating a troll lunging from the right.  

Sword God, Karserian Le Vandeyan.  

No one utilized magic more efficiently than him—most monsters stood no chance.  

“I wonder how long you can last! Kehahaha!”  

Rebley, the Monster Legion Commander, watched with amusement as Seo Do-jun—a mere speck in his eyes—struggled to survive.  

***  

Stab, sever, slash—repeat.  

Seo Do-jun thought of nothing but swinging his sword.  

He dodged attacks, countered, and when another monster struck before he could retaliate, he evaded and slit its throat instead.  

“…Hah.”  

His breathing grew ragged.  

He could still hold on, but how much longer? Even he couldn’t say.  

His body was drenched in the foul blood and fluids of monsters.  

Yet, without so much as a blink, he kept swinging.  

When his sword wasn’t an option, he struck without hesitation—fists and feet crushing skulls like watermelons.  

Crunch! Splat—!  

Corpses piled around him, forming small hills. The ground beneath was slick with blood.  

“A human from Earth, this strong? In that barren land with almost no magic—how did a creature like you come to be?”  

Rebley’s voice, once dripping with amusement, now carried a different tone.  

He had assumed Seo Do-jun was insignificant.  

But he was wrong.  

This human possessed power and will beyond any ordinary being—enough to plant a seed of unease in Rebley’s mind.  

Yet, before fear, another emotion stirred in Rebley.  

“I want you. That resilient body of yours—I desire it.”  

The moment he spoke, the monsters grew even more frenzied.  

“There was another I wanted—Palaresta… but you’re beyond comparison!”  

“Palaresta?”  

The name made Seo Do-jun snap his gaze toward the black eye.  

Holy Knight Palaresta.  

A man Seo Do-jun had known well in the ruined world.  

Though their personalities clashed, he had been a Hero who fought monsters in his own way to save the world.  

“A human who resisted us in the world before Earth. I went through great pains to bring him here, but…”  

His trailing words carried regret—he had failed to claim what he wanted.  

“Come to think of it, another fell here before you. Lucky for him, he landed in the Abyss. Was he your comrade? Ah, now I understand. You came here searching for him. Am I right?”  

Fell earlier? The Abyss?  

Seo Do-jun instantly realized who Rebley meant.  

‘Choi Kang-soo is alive!’  

Though much time had passed, Rebley had called it luck—meaning his situation was entirely different from Seo Do-jun’s.  

Then it wasn’t too late.  

The problem was—where was the Abyss?  

As if reading his thoughts, Rebley sneered.  

“You want to know where the Abyss is? Kehkehkeh! I’ll tell you. Stand atop the crater of the mountain before you, and you’ll see.”  

In the distance stood a solitary mountain, out of place in this environment.  

But one thing was certain—an eerie energy emanated from its core.  

“You want to save your comrade, don’t you? But can you even reach it?”  

The moment Rebley finished speaking, the monsters shifted, forming an impenetrable wall between Seo Do-jun and the mountain.  

Tens of thousands of monsters blocked his path—yet Seo Do-jun didn’t hesitate.  

This was a path he had to take.  

But—  

“Why tell me?”  

The black eye seemed to grin viciously.  

“Can’t I just say I want to watch a human struggle desperately to save his comrade?”  

A form of entertainment.  

A human who had never come here before—one with a body so resilient it intrigued Rebley. He wanted to see Seo Do-jun’s limits.  

“Then I’ll oblige.”  

He’s underestimating me.  

If Rebley thought mere monsters could stop him, Seo Do-jun would shatter that delusion completely.  

Low on stamina?  

Magic running dry?  

Those were just excuses—ones that would only matter after he slaughtered every monster in his way.  

“Defense was never my specialty. What I do best is…”  

Seo Do-jun’s sword began radiating azure magic.  

Channeling the Eternal Ember’s nature to its extreme, he dashed forward, sword leading the charge.  

A straight breakthrough.  

Back in the ruined world, his comrades had once said:  

“If Kassal ever decided to just run, unless he collapsed from exhaustion, nothing would ever catch him.”  

Swish—!  

As Seo Do-jun sprinted, sword raised, monsters were cleaved apart left and right.