SFRW-Chapter 179

Ch. 179 Sword God From The Ruined World

Na Tae-hwang, the Association Chairman, had gathered 24 trusted South Korean Heroes, 7 Heroes secretly summoned by the U.S. Hero Association, 47 from the Magician Guild, and 82 from the Sunrise Guild.

Total: 160 members.

In terms of numbers alone, this couldn’t be called particularly threatening.

After all, their target was none other than Jose Kerzaman, the drug lord who had Mexico firmly in his grasp.

But despite CIA Deputy Director Stamplyn James’s explanations, not a single Hero aboard the plane showed signs of tension, fear, or concern.

Rather…

“Well well… Kerzaman is fucked. Heh heh heh!” Chris Twelman chuckled quietly.

No matter how formidable Kerzaman might be, this time the opposition was simply too overwhelming.

Especially since among them were 7 S-rank Heroes, including Chris Twelman himself, who had responded to the Hero Association’s secret summons.

And that wasn’t all.

With the full mobilization of America’s strongest Hero guild, the Magician Guild, and the Middle East’s top guild Sunrise (ranked among the world’s top ten), Kerzaman might as well have already been arrested.

Moreover, the 24 Heroes who had flown in from Korea were all A-rank Heroes who appeared quite capable.

“Hand—!” 

Gael Ruakani raised his hand sharply, requesting speaking rights from Stamplyn James.

When James nodded permission, Gael cleared his throat and spoke:

“This is something I’m genuinely curious about—why exactly are we capturing Kerzaman?”

Even as the infamous drug lord, Kerzaman was still officially Mexico’s representative S-rank Hero.

While known as the drug kingpin in underworld circles, he publicly maintained a respectable Hero guild.

In fact, his reputation within Mexico wasn’t particularly bad.

For such a massive secret operation to capture him, there must have been compelling reasons.

This question had been on everyone’s mind among the American Heroes.

Instead of answering himself, Stamplyn James looked toward one of the South Korean Heroes.

The South Korean Hero who received the gaze stood up.

“My name is Min Hong-gi from the South Korean Hero Association. We’ve discovered that our target Kerzaman has deep connections with African civil war nations. Before I continue, I should mention that the person who uncovered this and requested Kerzaman’s capture was…”

After a brief pause, Min Hong-gi calmly met the hundreds of eyes focused on him and continued:

“Hero Seo Do-jun.”

At the mention of Seo Do-jun’s name, the Magician and Sunrise Guild members who had been briefed beforehand nodded quietly, but the American Heroes reacted differently.

“Seo Do-jun? The Casserian Guild asked us to capture Kerzaman?”

“Good god! What the hell did Kerzaman do to get on Seo Do-jun’s radar?”

“Damn it! Now I see—the Association has completely become Seo Do-jun’s subordinate organization! We shouldn’t have involved the Magician Guild!”

“Who’s saying otherwise? Tch!”

“Whew~ Well well! Things just got interesting, didn’t they?”

Amidst the noisy American Heroes, Jeff Chandler slowly raised his hand:

“Given how secretly we’ve been mobilized, this seems completely unofficial… What exactly does Hero Seo Do-jun plan to do with Kerzaman after capture?”

“I don’t know that part either.”

Min Hong-gi answered immediately. It wasn’t a lie—he too was simply following Chairman Na Tae-hwang’s orders.

“Perhaps… after this is over, could I…” Jeff Chandler hesitated briefly.

Perhaps because there were too many listening ears, but soon he seemed to reach a decision:

“Could I take custody of Kerzaman?”

“That’s not something I can decide. But I will convey your request to Hero Seo Do-jun.”

Min Hong-gi understood why Jeff wanted Kerzaman.

‘Kaina Chandler, was it? He probably wants revenge for his sister who died from Kerzaman’s drugs.’

Though he didn’t get a definite answer, Jeff seemed satisfied enough as he closed his eyes.

He appeared to be suppressing long-held rage that threatened to resurface.

Several others asked questions, which Min Hong-gi answered to the best of his knowledge.

Everyone aboard was confident of success.

No matter how powerful Kerzaman was, stopping this force wouldn’t be easy.

But—

KWA-BOOM!

As their plane attempted to land at León International Airport in Mexico, it suffered sudden missile attacks, crash-landing far from the runway in an unexpected location.

Simultaneously—

Hundreds of people came charging toward the crashed plane spewing black smoke, like a pack of hyenas.

* * *

“A missile attack?”

Seo Do-jun couldn’t hide his stunned expression at Chairman Na Tae-hwang’s words.

– We never anticipated this either. The situation is currently chaotic.

“What’s the damage?”

– We’ve lost contact, so we don’t know yet.

“Was there a traitor?”

– One of Kerzaman’s lackeys, most likely. We’re investigating all possibilities… but the leak probably came from the CIA side.

What kind of movie-like situation was this?

Seo Do-jun sighed quietly at Na Tae-hwang’s words.

He wanted to head to Mexico immediately, but his instincts told him:

Kusak was in Africa.

While capturing Kerzaman in Mexico was important, meeting Kusak—who could appear anytime—was Seo Do-jun’s top priority.

– Don’t worry too much. While unexpected, they’re not civilians—I believe casualties will be minimal. However…

“If Kerzaman knows about this, it won’t be easy.”

– Indeed. If Kerzaman decides to hide in Mexico’s vast territory, this won’t end in just a few days.

The plan to capture Kerzaman by surprise had failed.

Being someone who treated all of Mexico as his backyard, Kerzaman had likely already gone underground, making it difficult for the dispatched Heroes to complete their mission amidst interference.

“I understand.”

Though frustrated, Seo Do-jun had no choice.

His original plan had been to capture Kerzaman to confirm Kusak’s identity, intentions, and whereabouts—but that had become difficult.

– The CIA is scrambling to handle the situation. As frustrating as it is, we’ll have to wait and trust them.

If anyone was more anxious than Seo Do-jun, it was Na Tae-hwang. He had sent his trusted people to Mexico, only for them to be discovered before even starting.

Heroes or not, people could still die from gunshots if caught off-guard.

Though he told Seo Do-jun not to worry, Na Tae-hwang was deeply concerned about potential casualties among his people.

Belatedly realizing Na Tae-hwang’s feelings, Seo Do-jun offered words of comfort.

Only after ending the call did Seo Do-jun exhale deeply.

“Huu… It’s messed up from the start.”

Who would have thought Kerzaman had moles in the CIA?

While unconfirmed, Seo Do-jun doubted there were spies in the Magician or Sunrise Guilds.

Nor did he believe any of America’s S-rank Heroes would secretly collaborate with Kerzaman…

“But you never know with people.”

Having experienced betrayal multiple times, and having seen the most unlikely people turn traitor, Seo Do-jun trusted no one.

“If he won’t come out easily… then I’ll have to draw him out.”

Or perhaps Kusak was already getting restless, given how Seo Do-jun had been disrupting things since Somalia.

“If it’s Kusak, he’ll definitely respond.”

Seo Do-jun immediately mounted Casserian.

Now was the time to stir up even more trouble to lure out his target.

* * *

“That… he’s practically protesting for me to come out, right?”

TV news continuously featured Seo Do-jun annihilating not just monsters but also Mali’s rebel forces as breaking news.

He was like a storm.

A powerful storm that swept away everything in its path!

Moreover, Seo Do-jun’s brazen actions seemed like strong signals directed at someone specific.

And Kusak had received those signals loud and clear.

“So he was after that Kerzaman guy too?” Veronica asked while watching Seo Do-jun on TV.

“Yep. Tried to catch Kerzaman, but that rat was too sharp. Pffft-hahaha!” Kusak laughed, imagining the rat-like Kerzaman hiding away.

“So what’s the plan? Just keep letting him run wild like this?”

Rakun seemed unable to bear it any longer, urging Kusak to act.

“What else are we waiting for? Haven’t we seen enough? That guy, Kassal—”

Veronica’s face twisted irritably mid-sentence.

Seemingly extremely displeased, she shook her head as if shaking off unpleasant feelings before continuing:

“This world has nothing worth seeing besides him. Don’t tell me you’re scared of one irregular?”

At Veronica’s sarcasm, Kusak snorted dismissively.

“Want me to chase him down right now and burn him from head to toe?”

Kusak smirked, implying he’d gladly do it if Veronica wanted.

Veronica turned her head away in disgust at Kusak’s attitude.

“That’s the guy who gave Rebley a proper beating. Don’t underestimate him.”

“But wasn’t it the Holy Knight who hurt Rebley?” Veronica asked.

Rakun nodded at this.

“That’s exactly why we’re doing this! That guy’s just the tail. We need the main body—the Holy Knight who really hurt Rebley!”

While agreeing with Kusak, Rakun insisted they couldn’t remain passive:

“We need to draw him out.”

“Draw him out?”

“If we capture that guy, won’t he eventually show up?”

“Hmm…”

It wasn’t that Kusak hadn’t considered this.

But there were currently too many variables.

Kusak wanted to minimize those variables and preferably end things cleanly in one go.

“How long are you going to keep agonizing over this? If you don’t want to, Rakun and I can handle it. We’ll be the bait,” Veronica said, standing up.

Rakun also rose, clearly pleased with Veronica’s decision.

“Wait. Rebley’s one thing, but Vaitel, Avarr, and Maharunta all fell in this world. There’s no harm in being careful, right? Especially since our opponent neutralized Rebley. What if… what if he’s from our world too?”

“Palaresta, was it?” Veronica asked.

Rakun nodded.

“If he’s from Leverka Continent like us, and if Rebley’s right, then the one with Mute’s armor and Divine Sword must be Holy Knight Palaresta.”

“But Rebley said it wasn’t Palaresta?”

Veronica shrugged at Kusak’s words.

“Who knows? Maybe that unlucky bastard Palaresta pulled some trick to resurrect. Remember when the high priests of Mute’s church tried soul exchanges under the guise of divine summons?”

“That decrepit old priest who tried to sell Mute’s name for immortality? Of course I remember.”

Kusak nodded too.

The incident where a priest dabbled in near-dark magic had shocked the entire continent.

“Palaresta was someone I knew well—not the type to do such things…”

“How can you be sure? What if that stubborn bastard did it claiming it was Mute’s will or revenge?”

Rakun kept nodding vigorously in agreement with Veronica.

“Ugh—whatever! Whether it’s Palaresta or whoever, if he shows up, we’ll just kill him. What’s there to worry about? A Divine Sword? How powerful could an otherworldly Divine Sword be here? And judging by how much holy power he must have used against Rebley, he probably doesn’t have much left anyway. Don’t tell me you’re scared of him?”

When Veronica provoked him again, Kusak had no choice but to stand up, his expression sour.

Veronica was right.

Truthfully, the existence of the Holy Knight who attacked Rebley had been bothering him all along.

But as Veronica said, holy power wasn’t infinite.

Moreover, Mute was a god of another world—here, there were no believers to supply faith.

After expending massive holy power, the knight might be hiding somewhere desperately praying to replenish it.

Otherwise, he should have appeared in Africa’s current situation.

“Fine. Even if that Holy Knight comes, he can’t handle all three of us.”

As Kusak made his decision, Veronica smiled bewitchingly while Rakun puffed out his chest excitedly.

“Shall we go meet that guy who’s so desperately looking for me?”

Kusak’s eerie laughter filled the air as his blue eyes locked onto Seo Do-jun’s emotionless face on TV, slaughtering monsters without mercy.