SFRW-Chapter 219

Ch. 219 Sword God From The Ruined World

Uuuuuuuuuuung—  

The Soul Gem began resonating in response to Seo Do-jun’s magic, emitting a harmonic hum.  

‘A Soul Gem is so hard to obtain… and he’s trying to waste it like this?!’  

Kusak couldn’t hide his dismay, even though the Soul Gem wasn’t his to begin with.  

What Seo Do-jun was attempting now—  

No matter how powerful his flame magic was, it wouldn’t be able to deal proper damage to Seo Do-jun, who had absorbed the Eternal Embers.  

Just like how even the largest and sturdiest vessel couldn’t hold an entire river, Kusak was certain the Soul Gem would never be able to contain Grichuk’s soul.  

‘Well… this reckless behavior is part of Kassal’s true nature. Still… what a waste. Soul Gems are truly hard to come by.’  

Veronica also expected Seo Do-jun to fail.  

Yet, she liked this side of him.  

If not Seo Do-jun, who else would attempt something like this? Even if the odds were slim, it was better than cowards who wouldn’t even try for fear of failure.  

‘Hmm. He’ll figure it out.’  

Rakun was skeptical too, but he saw no reason or right to stop Seo Do-jun.  

If it succeeded, great. Even if it failed, he knew Seo Do-jun wasn’t the type to dwell on regrets.  

‘Uncle! If it’s you, I know you’ll succeed! Even if the whole world says otherwise, I believe in you!’  

Choi Kang-soo had more faith in Seo Do-jun’s success than anyone else.  

Seo Do-jun had always been the living proof that “nothing is impossible” to him.  

He firmly believed Seo Do-jun would prove Kusak and Veronica wrong and shock them with his success.  

Besides Choi Kang-soo, Shinjo, Hyun Joo-yeon, and Gloria also held hope for Seo Do-jun’s success.  

Though Kusak and Veronica had vehemently opposed it and were certain of failure, they couldn’t help but feel uneasy.  

Still, their trust in Seo Do-jun—and the knowledge that he wouldn’t fall into despair even if he failed—allowed them to respect his decision.  

‘…What is he even trying to do?’  

Koroka, healed by Choi Kang-soo’s holy power, stared at Seo Do-jun with puzzled eyes, not understanding what the Soul Gem was or why they weren’t just killing Grichuk.  

Seraph, Jerome, and even Soto—the only one still fully conscious—were no different.  

They could only watch the dark blue gem in Seo Do-jun’s hand with similarly confused expressions.  

Uuuung— Uuuuuung—!  

Seo Do-jun continued pouring magic into the Soul Gem.  

It was a precarious attempt—if his magic control slipped even slightly, the gem would shatter instantly.  

‘There’s no way to bind his soul through normal means.’  

From the start, Seo Do-jun intended to push the Soul Gem’s power to its absolute limit.  

Even if it broke due to his mistake, he was prepared.  

He believed this was the only way—any other method would fail against Grichuk’s soul.  

Uuuuuung! Uuuung! Uuuuuung!  

The Soul Gem thrashed violently as if it would crack apart at any moment, unable to endure any more.  

Kusak and the others had protests at the tips of their tongues, but seeing Seo Do-jun’s intense focus—even sweat beading on his forehead—they bit their lips and stayed silent.  

How long had passed?  

When the Soul Gem’s resonance turned into a sharp, almost screaming pitch, Seo Do-jun forced Grichuk’s mouth open.  

Grichuk resisted, refusing to comply, but he couldn’t defy Seo Do-jun’s strength. He could only feel the Soul Gem being shoved into his mouth.  

“Kkh… Kkh… Ugh… Kkh… Ugh… Kkh…”  

Grichuk twisted violently, letting out sounds that could either be screams or groans—impossible to distinguish.  

At the same time, thick black smoke began pouring from his body in an unprecedented volume.  

“What? Did it… fail—Kkh!”  

Kusak had to swallow his words.  

Veronica yanked his ear before he could speak further.  

Dudududududu—!  

Grichuk convulsed violently, his body trembling as the black smoke grew even fiercer.  

Soon, his figure was completely obscured by the dark fumes.  

‘Is this still not enough?’  

Sensing something unusual, Seo Do-jun gripped Grichuk’s head and channeled more magic.  

As he forced the magic into Grichuk’s skull, two opposing energies clashed.  

One was the Soul Gem’s energy, saturated with Seo Do-jun’s magic to its limit.  

The other was an aura steeped in malice and darkness.  

The Soul Gem’s energy rapidly absorbed Seo Do-jun’s magic, familiar with its flow.  

The situation began shifting.  

The weakening Soul Gem energy, empowered by Seo Do-jun’s magic, started pushing back the corrupt aura.  

‘So this is another way to utilize a Soul Gem.’  

Seo Do-jun realized the gem could be applied differently than usual.  

Meanwhile, the Soul Gem’s energy had already taken complete control over Grichuk’s body—finally succeeding in binding his soul.  

However, one unexpected thing happened…  

-You… who are you?  

A strange voice echoed in Seo Do-jun’s mind.  

***

Thud.  

The man reading a book flinched as the chain binding a soul snapped.  

“W-what is… this…?”  

The book slipped from his hands as he stood frozen, unable to process what should have been impossible.  

The one whose soul chain had broken was Grichuk.  

One of this world’s strongest, painstakingly turned into a Black Knight over years.  

Nourished by hundreds of thousands of souls, Grichuk was the man’s masterpiece—his life’s work.  

Unlike ordinary Death Knights, Grichuk possessed incomparable strength, near-limitless regeneration, and even immortality.  

An existence that could never be recreated.  

And yet—  

“WHO DARES?!”  

Black magic erupted from the man’s body like a tidal wave, flooding the room.  

His eyes burned with fury and madness, his hair stood on end, and his clothes billowed as if about to tear apart.  

“ALL OF YOU—OUT!”  

At his roar, over a dozen figures emerged from the darkness.  

All were Black Knights, though none matched Grichuk’s level.  

Still, they were once knights who had led royal houses or earned fame across empires—far from weak.  

Their strength eclipsed the Papal Court’s pathetic paladins entirely.  

“FIND GRICHUK!”  

Finding him came first.  

If Grichuk still existed intact, the broken soul chain could be reforged.  

The Black Knights nodded silently before vanishing one by one.  

“Huuuu…”  

Exhaling deeply, the man suppressed his rage and returned to his usual demeanor before leaving the room.  

***

“You really bound his soul completely?”  

At Kusak’s question, Seo Do-jun gestured to Grichuk obediently following behind him.  

“I still don’t get it. Even if it’s a Soul Gem, how…?”  

Kusak’s face was stuck in disbelief.  

“That’s the difference in skill.”  

At Veronica’s remark, Kusak frowned—what nonsense was she spouting now?  

“The difference is that Kassal can do what you never could. Pfft—hahaha!”  

Kusak bristled at her mockery but eventually sighed and hung his head.  

“Fine. This time, Veronica, you’re right. I could never have done this.”  

“…Huh?”  

Veronica blinked, thrown off by his easy admission.  

“But Veronica, you know what?”  

“What?”  

“I could at least try. You? You couldn’t even attempt it. That’s the difference between us.”  

Kusak grinned as Veronica’s face twisted.  

“The gap between Kassal and I is the same as the gap between me and you. You’ve always just been a brute who only knows how to swing a sword. Right?”  

“…You damn bastard!”  

“Heh! You started it!”  

As usual, Kusak and Veronica were like fire and water—unable to coexist without bickering.  

Ignoring them, Seo Do-jun studied Grichuk following silently behind him.  

This was his second soul conversation.  

The first had been with Seo Do-jun after his soul crossed dimensions to Earth.  

Now, the second—with Grichuk.  

-I… was denied peace. Trapped in this cursed body, doomed to an unending, immortal life.  

Grichuk had called it ‘immortality’.  

-My soul is being eroded. Countless soul fragments—I don’t even know how many—are consuming my sense of self. Eventually… I will lose everything.  

His name, his past—everything.  

He would become an empty shell, living an immortal life with nothing left.  

-I beg you. Release me. Destroy this cursed body and grant my soul rest.  

The problem was—Seo Do-jun didn’t know how.  

To his surprise, the Soul Gem had been absorbed into Grichuk’s body.  

The gem, meant to be the medium for summoning bound souls, was now gone.  

He even tried cutting off Grichuk’s arm, but it regenerated instantly, black smoke wafting from the wound.  

In fact, after absorbing Seo Do-jun’s magic, his regenerative abilities had grown even stronger.  

When Seo Do-jun explained this, Grichuk despaired.  

He raged, screamed—condemned to live as an undead, obeying Seo Do-jun’s orders, his mind slowly fading into nothingness.  

When asked who had done this to him, Grichuk only remembered a face—not a name or purpose.  

But one thing was clear:  

-It involves the Pope.  

Someone connected to the Pope.  

Ultimately, meeting the Pope was the only way to solve Grichuk’s problem.  

-If you find a way to free me… will you truly do it?  

Seo Do-jun answered honestly.  

Not yet.  

Then, he explained everything about Barhaut.  

Hard to believe, but in a soul conversation, lies were impossible.  

-If that’s the case… I ask one more thing. Let me fight at the forefront.  

To Grichuk, Barhaut was an absolute enemy. He vowed to aid Seo Do-jun’s cause willingly.  

Seo Do-jun added one more promise:  

If he failed to complete his revenge, he would release Grichuk without hesitation.  

But first, they needed to find out how.  

And that started with meeting the Pope.  

Soto was the key to speeding up the process.  

As one of the Papal Court’s four most powerful Apostles, he could serve as their ‘express ticket’ inside.  

***

“Toredo, was it? I’m taking them to the Papal Court personally. Step aside. Once His Holiness speaks with them, this will all be over.”  

A group of paladins, holy soldiers, and a bishop blocked their path.  

Soto recognized the bishop and spoke dismissively.  

“His Holiness Alfrey is truly remarkable.”  

At the sudden praise for the Pope, Soto frowned.  

“He warned me another traitor would emerge within the Papal Court.”  

Soto’s face twisted violently.  

Seo Do-jun clicked his tongue.  

“What are you implying?”  

Soto kept his composure, but the bishop’s smirk broke it completely.  

“Apostle Soto, His Holiness Alfrey foresaw your betrayal.”  

Before the bishop finished speaking, dozens of paladins and over three hundred holy soldiers raised their weapons.  

“H-how…?”  

Soto felt wronged—but he knew better than anyone.  

Once branded a traitor, returning to the Papal Court was pointless.  

“Guess this baggage is useless now.”  

“Knew it. Since when did we ever take the easy path?”  

“Should we just throw this trash back at them?”  

Kusak, Veronica, and even Choi Kang-soo treated Soto like worthless cargo.  

Only Seraph and Jerome briefly pitied him.  

“A-Alfreyyyyy—Cough!”  

Soto coughed up blood as he collapsed, screaming the Pope’s name.  

“Ooooh?”  

“Shame, shame~!”  

Kusak and Veronica mocked him in unison, cackling.  

Step. Step.  

Ignoring them, a single knight moved forward to face the paladins and holy soldiers.  

“Pro. tect. Mas. ter.”  

It was Grichuk.