SFRW-Chapter 125

Ch. 125 Sword God From The Ruined World

“How far do you think you can go?!”  

As his predictions were defied, Rebley’s black eyes flickered fiercely as he let out a furious roar.  

It wasn’t just his eyes that changed.  

Kwa-rurrung— Kwa-jjak!  

Black lightning struck down, aiming directly at Seo Do-jun’s body.  

“…This is fun.”  

A deep smile hung on Seo Do-jun’s lips.  

Was it really because he was enjoying himself?  

No. The lightning that had just struck was dangerous.  

Had he been even a fraction slower, it would have pierced his skull, and the damage would have been severe.  

The spot where Seo Do-jun had dodged was now reduced to ruins, and the monsters around it had been blown apart—proof that this was no trivial attack.  

But he had learned one interesting fact.  

‘The moment he directly attacks me, the magic suppression weakens.’  

In other words, Rebley was currently suppressing Seo Do-jun’s magic with his own power.  

That meant the answer was clear.  

Make Rebley attack directly, and in that moment, Seo Do-jun would cut down as many monsters as possible.  

“You think you can even hit a slow-moving slug with that speed? Didn’t you want to see me struggle? Then try harder.”  

Seo Do-jun taunted Rebley.  

Had Rebley been even slightly more composed, he would have scoffed.  

“How dare a mere human?!”  

But Rebley couldn’t stay calm. Seo Do-jun had entered his domain, slaughtered enough monsters to form a small hill, and was still moving effortlessly.  

Moreover, that last attack had been a sneak strike—Rebley had been certain of it—yet Seo Do-jun had dodged it by a hair’s breadth.  

“I’ll show you what true terror is!”  

Rebley’s black eyes bulged as if they were about to burst with blood vessels.  

It was a grotesque and horrifying sight, but Seo Do-jun noticed something more important—the suppressed magic was rapidly being released.  

‘No matter how stupid he is, he won’t fall for the same trick repeatedly. He’ll unleash a powerful attack to turn the tide!’  

The only regret was that Seo Do-jun had to prepare a means to defend against Rebley’s strike, meaning he couldn’t fully unleash his strongest swordsmanship.  

Seo Do-jun’s magic rapidly concentrated into his sword.  

The azure magic that had been protecting his body like a heat haze now transformed into roaring flames, enveloping him completely.  

“Were you trying to provoke me? Pathetic!”  

Rebley finally realized Seo Do-jun’s intent when he saw him gathering magic.  

But what difference would it make?  

Rebley firmly believed his power here was absolute.  

Yet, it didn’t take long for that belief to shatter.  

Vandeyan Family Swordsmanship  

Sixth Form: Esleshunepe Fluvia Trigono!  

-A Rain of Triangular Stars Like Falling Meteors-  

Seo Do-jun’s sword shot toward the sky.  

To be precise, the azure magic gathered at the tip of his sword stretched upward like a towering pillar.  

Ku-rurung! Ku-rurung! Ku-ru-rurung!  

At the same time, the black lightning Rebley had created began gathering, growing larger and larger.  

Seo Do-jun struck first.  

Swaaaaaaa—!  

Meteors fell from the sky—enough to blanket the entire world.  

Countless meteors, shaped like triangular stars, rained down.  

This was the attack Seo Do-jun had used against tens of thousands of monsters in the ruined world.  

The sixth form of the Vandeyan swordsmanship, always devastating against hordes of enemies.  

The triangular stars poured onto the monsters surrounding Seo Do-jun.  

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!  

The power of each star was beyond imagination.  

Even the toughest monsters were crushed, their bones and flesh mangled beyond recognition.  

Weaker monsters exploded from the shockwaves alone, even if the stars didn’t hit them directly.  

A single strike erased thousands—tens of thousands—in an instant.  

“You call that swordsmanship?! Not even the highest-tier magic is this destructive!”  

Lüntna, a former comrade and a great scholar and archmage, had once denied Seo Do-jun’s attack.  

That’s not swordsmanship—that’s magic.  

‘Swords or magic… in the end, they’re the same.’  

Seo Do-jun had responded to Lüntna, who had dismissed his swordsmanship. And he wasn’t wrong.  

The method of using magic, the medium—those were the only differences. Ultimately, swordsmanship and magic shared the same roots.  

Exploding, tearing apart, shattering, crushing—monsters vanished from the earth at an alarming rate.  

“Die!”  

Rebley couldn’t hide his fury as his monster army was wiped out by the thousands in a single attack.  

This was no longer a game—the losses were too severe.  

Kwa-ru-ru-ru-rurung—!  

Right then, the gathered bolts of lightning merged into one colossal strike, as if to split the world itself.  

The radius was too wide to dodge.  

But Seo Do-jun had never planned to.  

He channeled his remaining magic into his sword.  

Vandeyan Family Swordsmanship  

Fourth Form: Cergel Selado Duhart!  

-Sealing Power of the Unyielding Circle-

Sword energy split from the blade, forming a circular barrier around Seo Do-jun.  

Ku-kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-gang!  

Rebley’s lightning crashed against the shield.  

‘…This is nothing compared to Avarr!’  

The difference between this and the lightning he’d faced from Avarr in the Skeletal Mist Zone was like night and day.  

If Avarr’s lightning was like scattered raindrops, Rebley’s was a raging waterfall.  

Jjeo-jeok!  

Cracks formed in the supposedly impenetrable barrier.  

Meanwhile, Rebley’s lightning continued to strike with undiminished force.  

‘This is bad!’  

It wouldn’t hold.  

Acting on instinct, Seo Do-jun quickly retrieved two items from his subspace.  

A grayish oval rod.  

A pale sky-blue Letonia petal.  

First, he placed the lightning-imbued Letonia petal in his mouth, then gripped the rod—the Remnant of Lightning—and absorbed its power.  

Both items carried the highest-tier lightning attributes, and Seo Do-jun’s magic rapidly converted to match.  

‘All I have to do is redirect it.’  

He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but it was worth trying.  

Kwa-ja-jjak!  

As expected, the barrier shattered.  

Rebley’s lightning swallowed Seo Do-jun whole.  

“…Ghk—!”  

Even prepared, the pain was unimaginable.  

His skin burned, his cells burst one by one, and his bones felt like they were melting.  

Yet, Seo Do-jun focused—absorbing and redirecting the magic within the lightning.  

“Kuhahahaha! Your body will become the finest monster material I’ve ever possessed!”  

Losing tens of thousands of monsters no longer mattered.  

With Seo Do-jun’s body, Rebley could create something unprecedented.  

Soon, his brain would melt, and he’d collapse.  

That’s what Rebley believed.  

Taking a full-powered strike head-on—that was the inevitable outcome.  

Palaresta, who had fled into the cavern, had cast powerful holy spells to protect himself and even sealed the crater’s entrance.  

Rebley had no choice but to give up.  

But Seo Do-jun was different.  

There was no trace of the holy energy that had repelled Rebley before.  

Yet, as time passed and Seo Do-jun refused to fall, Rebley’s black eyes twitched.  

“…He’s redirecting my power?”  

Unbelievably, Seo Do-jun was channeling the energy away.  

And as if to prove it wasn’t an illusion, evidence soon followed.  

Pa-ji-ji-jik! Kwa-ji-ji-jijik!  

The lightning radiating from Seo Do-jun’s body scattered across the ground, detonating monsters left and right.  

Caught off guard, the monsters screamed as they burst like fireworks.  

“H-how?! A mere human?!”  

As Rebley stared in shock, Seo Do-jun shook off the last remnants of lightning.  

His body was a wreck, but he had succeeded.  

And one more thing—  

‘My magic attributes have increased.’  

The Letonia petal only temporarily converted magic attributes.  

Only the thunderbolt remnant could do so permanently, but one wasn’t enough.  

How many Eternal Embers had Seo Do-jun absorbed to gain the fire attribute?  

Yet, during the redirection, his magic had rapidly evolved.  

Was it just luck?  

No.  

His magic power, his capacity as a magic rod, his resilient body, and his unyielding will—all had aligned perfectly.  

Pa-ji-jik.  

Sparks flew as Seo Do-jun clenched his fist.  

Like fire, lightning was a powerful offensive attribute.  

‘The magic suppression has weakened too.’  

Redirecting Rebley’s magic must have loosened his grip.  

But it wasn’t all good.  

His body was heavily damaged, and his magic reserves were critically low despite the weakened suppression.  

Seo Do-jun picked up his sword and looked ahead.  

He had to find the cavern where Choi Kang-soo was trapped.  

Rebley had also expended significant energy—their conditions were now similar.  

And thanks to the earlier attacks, the number of monsters had drastically decreased.  

Pa-ji-ji-jijik!  

Lightning-imbued magic surged violently from Seo Do-jun’s body as he sprinted forward.  

“Stop him! Kill him!”  

Blood vessels burst in Rebley’s black eyes.  

***

The monsters seemed to mirror Rebley’s fury.  

Like moths to a flame, they roared and blocked Seo Do-jun’s path.  

But no matter how strong their will, they were nothing more than struggling insects before an unstoppable force.  

Seo Do-jun had become the sword, and the sword had become Seo Do-jun—nothing could stand in his way.  

Kwa-jak! Kwa-ja-jak! Pa-ji-ji-jijik!  

Lightning erupted from his body, obliterating everything in his path, leaving behind crackling remnants.  

-Krrrruk!  

-Kiiieeeek!  

Even the residual lightning was deadly, forcing pursuing monsters to tremble and halt.  

Meanwhile, the distant mountain now loomed close.  

“…Huff! Hoo!”  

Seo Do-jun’s breath carried the metallic tang of blood, sweat glistening on his face.  

‘Almost there. Hang on, Choi Kang-soo!’  

His feet touched the mountain, and he began ascending toward the crater.  

The mountain was tall and treacherous—nothing like Earth’s mountains.  

No tall, straight trees—just grotesque, blackened shapes and a foul stench.  

Monsters lunged from the slopes, while more swarmed from below.  

Rebley roared, hurling lightning strikes, but nothing stopped Seo Do-jun.  

At the summit, a massive crater awaited.  

“Choi—Kang—soo!”  

No answer came.  

He had been told the crater would lead him to the cavern—  

‘Could it be…?’  

Seo Do-jun’s gaze fixed on the crater.  

A cavern. A tunnel.  

Hoping he was right, he drove his sword into the crater.  

Ku—uuuung!  

The ground trembled violently.  

Once wasn’t enough—Seo Do-jun struck again.  

Ku—uuuuung!  

The crater cracked ominously.  

Ku—uuuuuung!  

One more time!  

Ku—uuuu… Kwaaaaang!  

Four strikes later, the crater collapsed, and Seo Do-jun descended amidst falling debris.  

There, curled up in fear, was a disheveled Choi Kang-soo.  

“…You’re really alive.”  

Seo Do-jun exhaled in relief.  

“You motherfucker! What took you so damn long?!”  

Like a lost child finally seeing his mother, Choi Kang-soo’s voice wavered between curses and tears.  

Their reunion was short-lived.  

Monsters poured into the collapsed crater after Seo Do-jun.  

“…Huh? Aaah! Wh-what the hell are these?!”  

Ignoring Choi Kang-soo’s panic, Seo Do-jun retrieved the Soul Gem from his subspace.