SFRW-Chapter 246

Ch. 246 Sword God From The Ruined World

Arriving at their location after contacting Hyun Joo-yeon through the communication device, Seo Do-jun could confirm it when he saw the dimensional portals he had witnessed upon first coming to Bartloma.  

“Uncle! These are definitely the dimensional portals leading to Earth, right?”  

Choi Kang-soo, who had seen them together with Seo Do-jun, also assumed the portals before them must lead to Earth.  

“Were the monsters trying to enter the dimensional portals?”  

At Seo Do-jun’s question, Choi Kang-soo immediately nodded.  

“Yes! When we arrived, a significant number of monsters had already entered the portals. We only cleaned up those that couldn’t make it in!”  

“Then it must be certain.”  

If Rixis’s words were true, Earth was currently the only place where monsters were being poured into.  

“Kassal! Is this dwarf, Rebley?”  

Kusak examined the dwarf that Seo Do-jun had brought, skewered like a kebab.  

“That’s right.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s confirmation, the others began carefully observing Rebley’s appearance.  

“Keuk…keukkeuk…”  

Rebley felt unbearable humiliation being scrutinized like some spectacle.  

Though he wished he could capture them all and turn them into monsters, without the black orbs created by Barhaut’s authority, he was now just a weak dwarf with no power.  

“This puny little shit was Sauron?”  

Choi Kang-soo was dumbfounded that the terrifying black eye that had haunted his dreams was actually this small, pathetic dwarf.  

“Tch…damn it!”  

He had vowed to beat Rebley senseless when they met, but seeing his pitiful state now, he couldn’t even muster the will to raise a fist.  

In the end, Choi Kang-soo just sighed and turned away.  

“Why did you bring Rebley along?”  

At Veronica’s question, Seo Do-jun gestured toward the dimensional portals with his chin.  

“Ah…”  

Veronica nodded in understanding – killing Rebley would close the portals.  

“What about Shinjo?”  

“He said he’d come as quickly as possible, so we should just wait a bit longer.”  

As Hyun Joo-yeon had said, about an hour later, Shinjo, Gloria, Rakun, Grichuk, and Rahf appeared in the distance from the eastern direction.  

Their bodies drenched in monster blood and fluids showed just how many battles they had fought.  

“So this is the dimensional portal to Earth?”  

Rahf showed more interest in the portal than anyone else.  

Since he wanted to compare it to the dimensional portals he created, Seo Do-jun didn’t stop him.  

Once everyone had gathered, Seo Do-jun voiced what he had been thinking.  

“Some of us should return to Earth.”  

His words made everyone look at him with startled expressions.  

“Some of us?”  

Hyun Joo-yeon looked at Seo Do-jun as if asking why only some.  

An uneasy thought flashed through her mind.  

Call it women’s intuition – she felt like she was about to hear something she didn’t want to hear.  

“Can’t we all go together? With Rahf here, we can always come back, right?”  

Gloria also spoke with a displeased expression.  

But the answer came from Rahf, not Seo Do-jun.  

“That’s impossible.”  

“Impossible? What do you mean?”  

Shinjo asked for clarification.  

“The dimensional portals I can currently open are only connected to one of the countless links – Barhaut’s Guardian Planets.”  

“What does that mean?”  

“Hmm. Explaining this is a bit complicated… Let me try to simplify it visually.”  

Rahf began drawing countless chaotic lines on the ground.  

“There are far more dimensional planets than we can imagine. So many that no one knows exactly how many connections exist between them.”  

He then randomly dotted points across the lines.  

“Are those dots the links between planets?”  

“Simply put, yes. Think about it – how could I move only between Barhaut’s Guardian Planets among countless unknown worlds? It’s because I’ve connected the portals only to these specific links.”  

Rahf emphasized one particular line by drawing it thicker.  

“But what happens if we go to Earth, which is on a completely different link that hasn’t become one of Barhaut’s Guardian Planets?”  

He pointed to a dot on a different line.  

“We immediately detach from the chain of Barhaut’s Guardian Planets.”  

“But we’d be using a different dimensional portal – why does that matter?”  

“That’s complicated to explain…”  

Rahf smacked his lips, pondering how to explain.  

“So you’re saying we can’t return?”  

Hyun Joo-yeon cut to the chase.  

“We could go back. The problem is predicting how long it would take – how many portals we’d need to open, whether it would take dozens, hundreds, or even more attempts. Even I can’t predict it.”  

At Rahf’s explanation, Choi Kang-soo frowned.  

“But you said you can return to places you’ve been to before?”  

“Right. So what?”  

“Then we could come back to Barhaut’s Guardian Planets…”  

“The liberated planets have likely returned to their original links. Just like Earth would, most of those planets have probably gone back to their proper connections.”  

Choi Kang-soo opened and closed his mouth wordlessly.  

Then Gloria asked:  

“But we can return here, right?”  

“Correct.”  

“Then why don’t we go to another Guardian Planet now and immediately return here?”  

At Gloria’s words, Hyun Joo-yeon clapped as she understood the implication.  

“Right! Once we remember a Guardian Planet, we can return to it! So we could come back here first, then go from Earth to a Guardian Planet!”  

She spoke cheerfully as if the problem was solved.  

“If it were that easy, I wouldn’t have needed to bring this up. Unfortunately, that’s also impossible. Even if we use a portal I didn’t create, the moment we do, the dimensional path naturally connects to a new link.”  

“Why does that matter?”  

“Barhaut has locked down the Guardian Planet links tightly. He’s built defenses to prevent external intrusions. Normally, he can’t sever existing links at will, which is why I could move freely between Guardian Planets. But once a link is broken, there’s no guarantee it can be reconnected.”  

Moreover, with Seo Do-jun’s group having liberated so many Guardian Planets, Barhaut’s defenses had become even tighter. At Rahf’s explanation, everyone’s disappointed expressions were evident.  

“Did you know all this, Seo Do-jun?”  

“I only suspected.”  

He hadn’t heard the full explanation from Rahf. But by questioning how Rahf could move only between Barhaut’s Guardian Planets among countless worlds, he had roughly guessed the answer.  

“So…those who return to Earth from here – that’s it for them?”  

At Hyun Joo-yeon’s question, everyone’s faces hardened.  

“Not the end – they’ll have a new fight to protect Earth from crisis.”  

Seo Do-jun spoke calmly.  

“So who should return to Earth?”  

Gloria asked while glaring intensely – clearly expressing her refusal to be sent back.  

“Gloria, Hyun Joo-yeon, Kusak, Veronica, Rakun, Koroka.”  

“Absolutely not!”  

“I refuse!”  

“Why me?!”  

“That’s ridiculous!”  

“I have no desire to do so.”  

The moment their names were called, they vehemently protested. Only Koroka remained indifferent, arms crossed.  

But Seo Do-jun’s expression showed no intention of backing down.  

***

“…Why do I have to go?”  

Hyun Joo-yeon looked at Seo Do-jun with resentful eyes.  

Having risked her life to come this far together, being told to return now naturally made her resentful.  

Seo Do-jun understood her feelings but gave a cold, practical answer.  

“Because the fights ahead will become too dangerous for you.”  

“…Are you saying I’m a burden?”  

“I’m saying you could really get hurt.”  

“…Ha.”  

How could she not understand what he meant?  

When she first obtained the Seed of Radiance and the Spirit Stone of Light for her sword, she had believed she could be of real help.  

But reality was cruel.  

Against Transcendents like the Himaid siblings or powerful foes like Rixis or Araes, she was completely useless.  

If anything, she might become a hindrance or a liability. She had already been feeling increasingly inadequate.  

‘The strong foes are beyond anything I imagined.’  

So she understood why Seo Do-jun wanted to send her back to Earth.  

Rather than facing insurmountable enemies with Seo Do-jun and risking danger, it was better – a hundred, a thousand times better – to return and be useful protecting Earth in its crisis.  

But still…  

“…Will you come back?”  

Hyun Joo-yeon couldn’t shake the fear that Seo Do-jun might never return to Earth.  

“Of course. Earth is the only place I belong.”  

Though Seo Do-jun answered matter-of-factly, his words didn’t sound as reassuring as usual to her.  

“Then…promise me one thing.”  

When Seo Do-jun silently looked at her, wondering what promise she meant, her cheeks flushed red as she spoke.  

“Meet me…properly.”  

“What?”  

“I want to formally date you.”  

Rather than being surprised by her sudden confession, Seo Do-jun first chuckled at her courage.  

“Did you reach an agreement with Gloria about this?”  

“Huh?”  

At his teasing question, her face twisted in shock.  

“Wouldn’t I be a jerk to only give one person a chance? Work things out with Gloria before I return.”  

As Seo Do-jun turned away after saying this, Hyun Joo-yeon could only stand there dumbfounded, unsure what she had just heard.  

Only after a long moment did her brow furrow deeply.  

“That playboy bastard!”  

After mustering her courage to confess first, being told to ‘work things out’ with Gloria left her utterly furious.  

Seo Do-jun similarly persuaded Gloria to return to Earth.  

Though the process did involve some sudden kissing.  

While Hyun Joo-yeon and Gloria’s return was settled smoothly, Kusak, Veronica, and Rakun proved more difficult.  

From the start, the three firmly refused Seo Do-jun’s decision.  

“Earth means nothing to us.”  

“Kassal, not this time. This isn’t just your revenge – it’s ours too!”  

“I have nowhere to return to. Even if only death awaits me, I want to meet it as a warrior.”  

No words seemed capable of convincing them.  

Until Seo Do-jun said:  

“Do you want to put me through that pain again? Once was enough.”  

The three fell silent.  

They had fought together before, only to die before Seo Do-jun – leaving him to endure the agony of watching them fall.  

“But…still…”  

“Never again.”  

Seo Do-jun’s expression was graver than ever, leaving Kusak unable to continue.  

Veronica similarly hesitated, unsure what to say, while Rakun only sighed.  

“The choice is yours. But think about it – if you saw me die before you once, and it might happen again, how would you feel?”  

With those final words, Seo Do-jun turned away.  

More effective than any plea or threat, they were left speechless.  

One thing was clear:  

‘Even if I were Kassal, I wouldn’t want to experience that again.’  

‘This…would be too cruel to Kassal.’  

‘Sigh…’  

Kusak, Veronica, and Rakun could only exchange helpless looks and shake their heads.  

About an hour later, the three finally approached Seo Do-jun.  

“Damn it! You better not die and come back!”  

“You bastard! Always have to have the last word!”  

“Sorry we can’t be more help.”  

Seo Do-jun smiled brighter than ever at their words.  

“Fine, since it’s come to this. We’ll protect Earth properly, so you absolutely must crush that bastard Barhaut’s neck! Can you do it?”  

Seo Do-jun told them not to worry.  

“With the power to become a Transcendent…you know this is unfair, right? Maybe not Kusak or Rakun, but I could really be helpful by your side.”  

“I know. That’s why I’m even more apologetic.”  

“Good! If you’re sorry, how about a proper goodbye kiss?”  

“Absolutely not!”  

“What nonsense is this?!”  

Hyun Joo-yeon and Gloria immediately rushed over, grabbing Veronica’s arms and dragging her away.  

“Hey! Let go! You little—!”  

As Veronica was dragged off cursing, Kusak burst out laughing at the sight.  

“I believe you’ll return. Kassal, I’ll protect your family with my life.”  

Rakun’s words made Seo Do-jun smile gratefully as they exchanged a warrior’s forearm handshake.  

Thirty minutes later, they said their goodbyes before the dimensional portal to Earth.  

Hyun Joo-yeon in tears, Gloria barely holding hers back, Veronica sulking, Kusak forcing a grin while telling Seo Do-jun to suffer gloriously, Rakun assuring him not to worry about Earth, and Koroka looking more at ease now that survival wasn’t a concern.  

One by one, the six entered the portal.  

“They say you can’t tell where someone came from, but where they’re leaving leaves a mark… I feel strangely melancholic.”  

No one expressed more regret than Choi Kang-soo.  

With over half their group gone, only five remained, leaving him feeling hollow.  

“What’s our plan now?”  

Shinjo asked more eagerly than ever, as if sensing his increased responsibility.  

“First…we kill that bastard and clean this place up.”  

Seo Do-jun drew his sword from subspace, looking at the nearly-dead Rebley.