SFRW-Chapter 264

Ch. 264 Sword God From The Ruined World

“━━. ━━━. ━━━!”  

As Rahf’s muttered incantation grew longer, the magic swirling around him became so intense it made the skin tingle.  

He had worried that the Barbarian warriors might notice the sudden surge of magic, but they remained solely focused on eating and drinking.  

The magic swirling around Rahf gradually rose into the sky, transforming into massive dark clouds.  

Even Seo Do-jun, seeing this dark magic for the first time, was curious about what effect it would have.  

“…Keuk-keuk-keuk! Now the fun begins.”  

Up until now, the only thing Rahf had done as part of Seo Do-jun’s group was open dimensional portals.  

Of course, that alone made him the most crucial member of the team, but deep down, he couldn’t help feeling dissatisfied.  

‘Open your eyes wide and watch! The might of true dark magic!’  

Perhaps because it had been so long since he could properly display his skills, Rahf’s laughter sounded more sinister than ever.  

The mass of magic, now shaped like storm clouds, sluggishly drifted over the heads of the barbarian warriors.  

Given how dark the night sky already was, no one noticed it easily.  

“What the hell is he even—!”  

Just as Choi Kang-soo frowned and spoke, having waited for something to happen with no result—  

The magic, now resembling rain clouds, began spreading outward like actual rain.  

From a distance, it looked like a downpour, but in reality, it was entirely different.  

“It doesn’t feel like anything, and I can barely see it.”  

“Is it clearly visible to me?”  

“That’s because you were consciously aware of it from the start, and also because you’re just that skilled.”  

“So, in short, it doesn’t work on the strong?”  

“It’s not that it doesn’t work… It’s just visible to them.”  

Rahf twisted his lips at Choi Kang-soo’s sarcastic remark and retorted.  

While the two bickered briefly, the cheerful atmosphere among the barbarian warriors suddenly turned violent.  

Warriors who had been clinking cups and laughing abruptly began screaming at each other, swinging swords and thrusting spears without warning.  

“Have they lost their minds? They were drinking fine just a second ago— Wait, don’t tell me…?”  

When Choi Kang-soo looked at Rahf, the dark mage grinned unpleasantly.  

“Human emotions are quite delicate. I merely amplified them a little. In a negative direction, of course. Keuk-keuk-keuk!”  

Dark magic itself was a branch of magic developed to exploit humanity’s darker impulses.  

The spell Rahf had just cast amplified negative emotions—rage, hatred, envy—to the point of inducing homicidal urges.  

If described plainly, it might not sound like much, but in reality, it was an extremely high-level spell. Its effects were as dangerous as they were horrifying, evident in how the barbarian warriors were now frenziedly killing each other.  

“Raaaaah—! Die! Die!”  

“You bastard, you insulted my brother last time, didn’t you?! You son of a bitch! I’ll slaughter you!”  

“I’ve been grinding my teeth waiting for the day I could kill you! And today’s the day!”  

The warriors, their eyes filled with madness, had no hesitation in beheading comrades they had been laughing with moments earlier.  

They swung blades over the pettiest of slights, dredging up old grudges.  

And with each kill, the thrill of bloodshed only intensified, pushing the situation beyond control.  

As if convinced that everyone but themselves was an enemy, those who had slain their comrades turned their weapons on others without hesitation.  

“Talk about wiping someone out without lifting a finger.”  

At Choi Kang-soo’s remark, Rahf puffed out his chest as if to emphasize the power of dark magic and began chanting another spell.  

This one was to harvest the souls of the Barbarian warriors to restore Grichuk.  

“Dark magic… It’s truly vile.”  

Shinjo spoke up for the first time in a while.  

“It is. That’s why no one welcomes it anywhere.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s words, Shinjo watched the Barbarians killing each other with visible discomfort before turning his head away.  

With no more than two hundred warriors involved, the slaughter didn’t last even twenty minutes.  

As with all battles, where there were the dead, there were also survivors.  

However, fewer than ten warriors remained alive, and even they were grievously wounded.  

Yet the murderous glint in their eyes remained, a clear testament to how vicious Rahf’s dark magic truly was.  

“They even killed all the defenseless prisoners.”  

So drunk on bloodlust, they had slaughtered even the foreign prisoners tied to wooden posts.  

“I’ll handle the rest. They’re as good as dead anyway, so I might as well make their passing a little easier… Not like anyone else here would dirty their hands with this, right?”  

Rahf’s mind was fixated on harvesting every last soul to restore Grichuk.  

Only after personally executing each of the agonized warriors did he finally lick his lips in satisfaction.  

“I’d forgotten for a moment.”  

At Choi Kang-soo’s words, Seo Do-jun and Shinjo looked at him questioningly.  

“That Rahf… was a villain.”  

Traveling together had made them forget temporarily.  

They had overlooked all the atrocities Rahf had committed on the Bastlo planet and the kind of person he truly was.  

Shinjo nodded in agreement.  

***

For days, Sliver, the King of Barbar, had been unable to relax his furrowed brow.  

“At last… the Third Army of Osus has been annihilated.”  

“You’re certain it wasn’t the work of the Bamut Kingdom?”  

At Sliver’s question, Hatis, the Grand Warrior and second-in-command of Barbar, shook his head.  

“It wasn’t Bamut. They’ve never employed such cruel magic before.”  

“Dwar wouldn’t hesitate to use any means necessary.”  

Sliver muttered, thinking of Dwar, Bamut’s King. But Hatis firmly denied the possibility.  

“Even if Dwar resorts to any means, he lacks the caliber of mage capable of such a feat. Moreover, a spell that turns allies against each other is unheard of.”  

“Hmm…”  

Sliver couldn’t refute Hatis’ words. No, he didn’t want to.  

“Then who do you suspect?”  

“Could it be… His Imperial Majesty’s doing? That’s what I find most suspicious.”  

“His Majesty?”  

Yes, if there was one being capable of such absurdity, it was the Emperor.  

“Right now, isn’t our kingdom far more dominant than Bamut or Gauman?”  

“That’s true. Dwar and Juke were never my equals to begin with.”  

“Precisely. That’s why I suspect His Majesty orchestrated this to restore balance.”  

Now that he heard it, it made sense.  

The Emperor had always desired a brutal war—so much so that he had divided a perfectly stable empire into three warring kingdoms.  

With the war tilting too decisively in Barbar’s favor, Hatis’ theory that the Emperor had intervened was plausible.  

“His Majesty, huh… This complicates things.”  

Though he called it a complication, Sliver’s face was full of displeasure.  

“So, what should we do now?”  

“Why not play along with His Majesty’s wishes?”  

“His wishes?”  

“Stage a grand battle and deliberately suffer a crushing defeat.”  

“Lose on purpose?”  

Seeing Sliver’s reluctance, Hatis reassured him.  

“A convincing defeat, but one that preserves our true strength.”  

The plan was to sacrifice only expendable forces while keeping their core military intact.  

Though it would appear as a devastating loss for Barbar, the actual damage would be minimal.  

Sliver grimaced at the proposal.  

“Do we really have to go that far…?”  

“What choice do we have? It’s what His Majesty desires.”  

At the mention of the Emperor’s will, Sliver could no longer refuse.  

Above all, he couldn’t bear to see Barbar’s finest forces sacrificed further.  

“…Fine. Begin preparations immediately.”  

“Leave it to me.”  

***

While Barbar busily schemed to play the Emperor’s puppet, Seo Do-jun’s group continued targeting the kingdom’s Barbarian warriors.  

“How much longer do we have to keep doing this?”  

Choi Kang-soo asked Rahf while eyeing Grichuk.  

Though the Death Knight’s condition had improved, it was far from fully restored.  

“Hard to say…”  

When Rahf frowned in response, Choi Kang-soo pressed further.  

“We’ve already harvested over two thousand souls, haven’t we? So why is he still like this? Just how many more do you need?”  

Rahf had initially claimed that thousands of souls were needed to restore Grichuk.  

But even after absorbing over two thousand, the knight’s recovery was bafflingly slow.  

This made Choi Kang-soo suspicious—was Rahf deceiving them?  

“I’ve never seen anything like this before. I don’t know what kind of attack he suffered, but… the damage is too severe.”  

Choi Kang-soo opened his mouth to argue, but Seo Do-jun raised a hand to stop him.  

Seo Do-jun had no choice but to take Rahf at his word.  

He knew that Vampica had wounded Grichuk with the power that can kill Gods.  

If a strike capable of slaying deities had landed, it made sense that Grichuk’s injuries were far graver than expected—and that recovery wouldn’t come easily.  

“If he took Vampica’s attack head-on, there’s nothing we can do.”  

With Seo Do-jun defending Rahf, Choi Kang-soo could say no more.  

Noticing this, Rahf turned his head slightly and allowed himself a small smile.  

‘I can’t waste this perfect opportunity!’  

In truth, Rahf was hiding a dark scheme from the group.  

‘I’ll forge another Death Knight’s Essence here!’  

Grichuk had nearly been destroyed fighting one of those so-called ‘Six Seats’ under Varhaut.  

For Rahf, it was a blow to his pride—and he feared losing Grichuk again.  

At first, he had focused solely on the knight’s recovery.  

But the sheer number of souls available on Tamad had stoked his greed.  

‘Even if I forge another essence to strengthen Grichuk, what can they do? They’ll have no choice but to accept a stronger ally.’  

Rahf justified it as being for the group’s benefit, not his own ambition.  

So while some souls went toward Grichuk’s recovery, he secretly diverted the rest to crafting another essence.  

And no one noticed.  

Not even Seo Do-jun, who knew little of dark magic, could detect Rahf’s deception.  

Though suspicions arose occasionally, they were fleeting.  

The terror of Vampica’s ‘Power of Godslaying’ lingered too strongly in Seo Do-jun’s mind.  

With Seo Do-jun silencing the group’s doubts, Rahf worked tirelessly on his essence.  

“They say Barbar is preparing for a massive battle… Should we head there?”  

The upcoming battle, personally planned by Barbar’s king, would be a three-kingdom clash at the borders—involving Bamut and Gauman as well.  

“Barbar alone is fielding over twenty thousand troops…”  

Rahf’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.  

Twenty thousand troops—and with the opposing forces from the other two kingdoms, the total would exceed fifty thousand.  

‘I can forge the essence in one go!’  

Not just that—Grichuk’s recovery would be guaranteed too.  

“So if we go there, this ends?”  

After days of watching barbarians slaughter each other, even Choi Kang-soo was weary. He wanted this battle to be the last step in Grichuk’s restoration.  

“Of course! With that many, Grichuk will be fully restored!”  

At Rahf’s confident declaration, Choi Kang-soo looked to Seo Do-jun.  

“Sounds good to me. We might as well make our presence known and draw out the Emperor while we’re at it.”  

With Seo Do-jun’s approval, Rahf was the most delighted of all.  

‘I’ll forge an essence even stronger than before! So powerful that even those ‘Six Seats’ will tremble!’