SFRW-Chapter 200

Ch. 200 Sword God From The Ruined World

Losing just one arm was nothing.  

Yes, it was truly nothing.  

For Seo Do-jun, who had lived a life of constant struggle and survival crossing countless battlefields, losing a single arm could be dismissed as ‘nothing’.

With magic, divine power, and highly advanced medical technology, a severed arm could easily be reattached.  

Even if that weren’t possible, someone who had risen to the position of an absolute ruler in one world shouldn’t be acting like this just because they lost an arm.  

In the ruined world, there were knights who would wield their swords with their remaining arm—or even grip the hilt with their teeth if both arms were severed.  

Countless soldiers fought on despite severed ankles, limping as they thrust their spears.  

Mercenaries holding their spilling intestines with one hand while swinging axes with the other were so common you could trip over them.  

But this so-called Emperor of the empire?  

This absolute ruler who supposedly governed an entire world?  

“…Just as I thought.”  

The same words spilled from Seo Do-jun’s lips once more.  

Then he stepped toward the Emperor.  

The Emperor, screaming in agony as he stumbled backward, his black eyes trembling wildly.  

“D-Don’t come closer! Uuuuugh…!”  

He looked no different from a wounded herbivore thrashing in fear.  

Seo Do-jun had expected this.  

The Emperor was weak.  

No—to be precise, he had never been strong to begin with.  

He was merely an opportunist who had betrayed humanity by riding the coattails of Barhaut’s power when it appeared to devour the world.  

No, more accurately—a coward.  

A coward filled with nothing but greed.  

Of course, in exchange, he had gained immense power. And until now, no one had likely surpassed the Emperor’s strength.  

The Emperor, having absorbed an overwhelming amount of dark magic, was undoubtedly powerful.  

Yet despite that, he posed no threat to Seo Do-jun.  

Naturally.  

No matter how much power one possesses, if it wasn’t earned through their own effort, they could never wield it effectively.  

Could a dog hunt like a tiger just because it gained a tiger’s strength?  

Could a serpent truly become a dragon just because it obtained a dragon’s power?  

Impossible.  

A dog remains a dog even with a tiger’s strength, and a serpent is still a serpent even with a dragon’s power.  

The Emperor was that dog. That serpent.  

That was Seo Do-jun’s judgment.  

Clatter clatter clatter—  

As Seo Do-jun approached, the Emperor’s body visibly trembled.  

“Pathetic.”  

The fact that such an Emperor had reigned as an absolute ruler over an entire world was nothing short of absurd to Seo Do-jun.  

‘If the other overseers are just as worthless…’  

It was disheartening.  

At the same time, he couldn’t fathom why Barhaut would appoint someone like this as an overseer.  

Was this deliberate?  

Had Barhaut intentionally placed puppets who could never bare their fangs at him?  

The thought made Seo Do-jun’s anger surge.  

“Just because of trash like this—”  

Had my world been destroyed?  

Seo Do-jun shook his head.  

He refused to believe Barhaut could be that incompetent.  

No—he wanted to refuse.  

There must be some reason.  

Some unavoidable circumstance that forced Barhaut to appoint such fools as administrators.  

For now, at least.  

“D-Don’t come near me!”  

First, he would subdue the Emperor—now too terrified, too consumed by fear to even consider resisting.  

Then, he would obtain the Orb of Withering, find a way to lift the World Tree’s curse, and open a path to the 38th planet.  

Just as Seo Do-jun raised his sword to strike the Emperor—  

KOOOOOOOOO—!  

GRGRGRGRGRGRGRGRG—!  

The entire imperial palace shook violently before the ground split apart, and massive entities shrouded in darkness began leaping out—one, then two…  

The Administrator’s Direct Force.  

In that brief moment, over three hundred of them emerged from the fissures.  

“…T-This can’t be!”  

The most shocked of all was none other than Eliana.  

Safe behind Shinjo’s protection, she collapsed to her knees in disbelief as she realized the ones defending the Emperor were her own kin.  

That’s right.  

The Administrator’s Direct Force were elves.  

Elves whose bodies had rotted into grotesque, zombified forms—Barhaut’s final gift to this world’s Emperor.  

“Really… how creative.”  

Seo Do-jun’s expression hardened completely.  

***

“…Tenacious bastard.”  

Veronica spat on the corpse of the Imperial Master, whose head had finally been severed by her blade.  

Though victorious, Veronica herself was in rough shape.  

Tattered clothing revealing patches of skin, disheveled hair soaked in blood, a gash across her cheek, and her twisted left arm still dripping blood.  

She ground her teeth as she assessed her condition.  

“Couldn’t even die properly! Damn… irritating!”  

Even after spitting on the corpse, her fury unspent, she began kicking the body repeatedly.  

Diversion Operation.  

While Seo Do-jun confronted the Emperor, Veronica, Kusak, Rakun, and Gloria’s mission was to lure some of the Imperial Masters out of the capital.  

Their assumption had been that the Masters wouldn’t pose much threat to Kusak’s group.  

And to some extent, they were right.  

The Masters were indeed no match for Kusak, Veronica, or Rakun.  

They had been briefly flustered by the unexpected numbers of knights and soldiers, but that was all.  

With Kusak—a high-ranking pyromancer capable of mass destruction—and Gloria’s formidable ranged attacks, they had wiped out the capital’s knight order and nearly annihilated the 1st and 2nd Imperial Legions.  

Of course, their excessive force had drawn out more Masters than anticipated, along with an overwhelming number of knights. But Kusak’s group remained confident.  

If anything, they were relieved to lessen Seo Do-jun’s burden by keeping the Emperor, remaining Masters, and The Administrator’s Direct Force occupied.  

Even the full-frontal assault against the empowered Imperial Knights led by five Masters wasn’t as taxing as expected.  

Kusak’s precise rear support.  

Gloria’s near-supernatural sniping and occasional wide-range attacks.  

Both proved invaluable to Veronica and Rakun on the frontlines, allowing them to swiftly eliminate two Masters.  

Just as everything was proceeding smoothly—a variable emerged.  

Dark magic.  

Three Masters, radiating dark magic nearing critical levels, began rampaging uncontrollably.  

The knights, influenced by the same energy, fought like berserkers, disregarding their own lives.  

The battlefield’s momentum shifted drastically—not just from fear and madness, but because the Masters and knights had grown significantly stronger.  

Most of all—  

“You never learn moderation, do you?! How the hell did you master magic with that thick skull?!”  

Veronica snarled at Kusak while kicking the Master’s corpse.  

“You said you liked it explosive! You were clapping when we wiped out the knight order!”  

“Explosive my ass! You’re useless when it actually matters! No wonder you’ll die a virgin!”  

“Who said I’m a virgin?! Have you checked?!”  

“You don’t need to check! It’s obvious! If you weren’t, it’d be even more pathetic, you damn—”  

“SHUT THE HELL UP!”  

Kusak, red-faced, lunged at Veronica as their bickering devolved into a full-blown scuffle.  

Rakun shook his head and approached Gloria.  

“You did well.”  

Unlike Kusak, who became useless once the Masters went berserk, Gloria had been instrumental.  

Without her timely support, Veronica and Rakun would’ve struggled far more.  

“Should we really stay here?”  

Gloria wanted to rush to the palace, but she had no energy left.  

Her fingers trembled slightly—proof she had pushed herself to the limit.  

“We should probably go, but…”  

Rakun trailed off, glancing at Gloria’s condition.  

Neither she, Veronica, nor Kusak were in any state to help.  

Would they even make a difference?  

Rakun smiled bitterly.  

In the past, and now, Seo Do-jun—no, Kassal—had always fought ahead of them, cutting down more enemies than anyone else.  

Yet he always survived. Always resisted to the end.  

The Emperor’s strength was unknown, but Kassal had once stood as an absolute ruler himself.  

Even Barhaut had failed to break him.  

And now, he was even stronger.  

Compared to that, Rakun couldn’t help but feel insignificant.  

Ptooey!  

Veronica spat thickly and plopped down beside Rakun and Gloria, who was staring helplessly at the palace.  

Gloria glanced back to see Kusak clutching his groin, trembling violently.  

Had she really…?  

“Don’t bother looking,” Veronica said, unfazed. “It’s not like he was using it anyway. More importantly, we’ve done our part. Don’t worry.”  

Though her torn clothes were revealing, she paid no mind, meeting Gloria’s gaze firmly.  

“But what if he’s in danger—”  

“Danger? Pfft! Oh? You really don’t know what kind of man Kassal is, do you?”  

Veronica’s cat-like eyes gleamed, and Gloria found herself thinking—unexpectedly—how captivating she was.  

Maybe that was why those two had… whatever they had.  

“Don’t judge Kassal by appearances. He’s… unreal.”  

Licking her lips, Veronica smirked bewitchingly.  

“…What do you mean?”  

“Who knows~?”  

Veronica cackled, leaving Gloria to figure it out.  

Gloria frowned.  

‘I’d rather have Hyun Joo-yeon as competition than let her near him…’  

Veronica seemed the type to drag Seo Do-jun straight into corruption.  

The past couldn’t be changed, but the present and future could still be controlled.  

***

Orb of Withering.  

A dark brown orb, no larger than a child’s fist, obtained only after Seo Do-jun had beaten the Emperor half to death.  

When the Administrator’s Direct Force appeared, the Emperor had screamed as if reinforcements had arrived.   

His orders to kill Seo Do-jun and his allies made him seem like nothing more than a third-rate thug.  

But Seo Do-jun quickly understood why.  

The zombified elves were powerful.  

Far stronger than the Emperor, who had arrogantly looked down on all life.  

Despite being undead, they retained their speed, fearlessness, and combat skills—losing only their spirit magic while gaining undead resilience.  

It was clear why Barhaut had made them the Administrator’s Direct Force.  

The only problem?  

Their opponent was Seo Do-jun.  

Most elves would hesitate to attack their zombified kin.  

Eliana, in fact, had been paralyzed, tears streaming down her face.  

But Seo Do-jun was different.  

Without hesitation, he cut down every zombie elf that raised a sword against him or his comrades.  

If anything, it was the kindest mercy he could offer them.  

After a battle fierce enough to half-destroy the palace, Seo Do-jun annihilated the entire force.  

Seeing his last line of defense gone, the Emperor tried to flee—only to be caught and beaten within an inch of his life.  

“Breaking this orb will restore part of the World Tree’s sealed power?”  

The bloodied Emperor nodded weakly.  

“Y-Yes…”  

Without hesitation, Seo Do-jun crushed the Orb of Withering in his grip.  

CRACK—!