SFRW-Chapter 290

Ch. 290 Sword God From The Ruined World

A massive crater, easily 30 meters in diameter.  

At its very center, a single sword floated in the air.  

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on it.  

Even the demonic beasts paused for a moment, as if stunned.  

A pure white sword.  

Its flawless, immaculate radiance, untouched by even a speck of dust, exuded an air of nobility just by existing.  

‘A famous sword.’  

Seo Do-jun couldn’t help but admire it the moment he saw it.  

As someone who prided himself on knowing swords better than anyone—being called the Sword God—he instantly recognized its value.  

It was a rare blade, so extraordinary that desire welled up in him unbidden. He couldn’t tear his eyes away.  

Then, the ground at the center of the crater exploded violently, sending up a cloud of dust as Ratio burst forth.  

“Piiiiiiiiiiiooooooo—!”  

Ratio let out a scream that sounded like it was wrung from the depths of her soul.  

Her hair was disheveled, her eyes glowed with a bloody light, and an overwhelming killing intent radiated from her entire body.  

‘A Dark Elf?’  

When she had been hidden in the ashen winds, Seo Do-jun had only glimpsed her silhouette. Now that he saw her clearly, he understood why he hadn’t been able to sense her presence.  

A master of stealth.  

Dark Elves were beings born with an innate talent for concealment. Tracing back their long history, it was inevitable—they were the sworn enemies of the Elves.  

No, to be precise—  

‘They’re the Elves’ shame.’  

Though Elves were known as guardians of nature and peace, their relationship with Dark Elves was anything but peaceful.  

So much so that there was even an elite Elf hunting squad dedicated solely to tracking down and eliminating Dark Elves.  

“Don’t you dare utter my name with that filthy mouth. It disgusts me.”  

An Elf with skin so white it was dazzling—the complete opposite of Ratio’s pitch-black complexion—appeared on the Khetalu Plains, frowning.  

The seventh Apostle, Pio.  

The moment Pio appeared, Ratio’s obsession with Seo Do-jun vanished as if it had never existed.  

“Ratio! Calm down—!”  

Luam tried to soothe the enraged Ratio, but it was futile.  

Merely facing each other was enough to spark flames between them, and now that she had been attacked outright, even the usually composed Ratio couldn’t control her emotions.  

‘This is the worst. Of all people, why did Pio have to show up?’  

He had just barely found a way to turn the situation around, but now they were back to square one.  

‘Well, maybe it’s not so bad if Ratio goes wild against Pio. After all, the important one is that bastard.’  

All they had to do was capture Seo Do-jun.  

The battle with the demonic beasts had proven it beyond doubt.  

Despite Ratio’s relentless interference, Seo Do-jun had single-handedly taken on three Antarion-class beasts.  

There was no room for doubt anymore.  

Among Seo Do-jun’s group, he was the only real threat. The others weren’t worth worrying about.  

‘If Ratio can just keep the Seven Apostle’s attention…’  

Luam believed that, with the help of the demonic beasts, he and Allekuhi could capture Seo Do-jun.  

Moreover, since Allekuhi had staked his life on this, they were willing to die together if necessary. The odds were solid.  

Good.  

The more Ratio lost herself to madness, the more restricted the seventh Apostle’s movements would be.  

Just as Luam finished his calculations, another unexpected variable appeared.  

“Allekuhi, what the hell is this? Don’t tell me you—”  

It was Felts.  

For Allekuhi, Felts was as much of a thorn in his side as Pio was for Ratio.  

‘Why is everything going so wrong?!’  

Luam clenched his fists so hard they nearly shattered in fury.  

With Felts’ appearance, the likelihood of Allekuhi being hindered had skyrocketed.  

‘They’re serious.’  

The Seven Apostles were clearly determined to succeed this time, no matter what.  

Which meant—  

‘Kael and Ver will probably show up too.’  

Only three of the Six Seats were present.  

And even then, Allekuhi had already staked his life here.  

‘If only Vipiens were here…’  

Luam sighed as he thought of Vipiens, who was utterly useless in this situation.  

Stopping all seven of the Seven Apostles was impossible, no matter what he did.  

Would he just have to stand by and watch as the Seven Apostles fulfilled Barhaut’s request?  

Even knowing the price Barhaut would have to pay?  

‘…No! Absolutely not!’  

Luam would rather hope that Seo Do-jun’s group didn’t die here.  

Even if they failed, he believed that Vipiens would remain an insurmountable wall in the end.  

‘There’s no choice.’  

As someone who never imagined he’d make this decision, Luam was frustrated—but for Barhaut’s sake, he had no other option.  

“Allekuhi.”  

At Luam’s call, Allekuhi—who had been glaring at Felts—turned to look at him.  

“The situation has changed.”  

Allekuhi furrowed his brow and spoke.  

“Don’t tell me… you want me to hold off Felts and the Seven Apostles?”  

“We can’t let the Seven Apostles kill him.”  

“…What a joke.”  

“It is. But we have no choice. For now… we have to let them live.”  

Though Luam gritted his teeth in frustration, he judged that letting the Seven Apostles kill them would be worse.  

“If I’d known it’d come to this, I wouldn’t have staked my life.”  

Despite his words, Allekuhi slowly rose to his feet.  

The faint smile on his face didn’t show a hint of regret.  

Instead, he seemed almost satisfied that his final moments would be spent facing Felts, his lifelong rival.  

“If Kael and Ver show up, things will get even harder.”  

“No doubt. Seeing how determined those bastards are… Fine. Let’s make this last blaze a spectacular one.”  

Allekuhi clenched his fists and advanced toward Felts.  

At the same time, the demonic beasts, no longer restrained, began moving again—some toward Seo Do-jun’s group, others toward the Seven Apostles.  

***

“This… the atmosphere…”  

Choi Kang-soo couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the sudden shift in mood.  

It was understandable—Ratio had launched herself at Pio, and Allekuhi had swung his fist at Felts.  

“It seems their relationships are more complicated than we imagined.”  

Shinjo, watching the Six Seats and the Seven Apostles turn on each other, spoke calmly.  

“No. Problem. For. Us. Now.”  

Grichuk, who had been tense at the appearance of new Transcendents, muttered in relief that they were fighting among themselves.  

For now, it didn’t seem like a bad thing—but with more and more Transcendents appearing, Seo Do-jun couldn’t help but grow wary.  

“From now on, stay on high alert. No matter what happens here, protect your sides and backs.”  

Seo Do-jun positioned his group defensively.  

He took the front, Shinjo the right, Grichuk the left, and Choi Kang-soo the rear.  

Given the caliber of their opponents, their top priority was ensuring their own safety.  

As the four of them stood in a diamond formation, four demonic beasts charged toward them.  

“Grichuk and Choi Kang-soo, focus on defense. Shinjo, support us.”  

Seo Do-jun lunged forward.  

‘I can’t let the demonic beasts run wild any longer.’  

With the Six Seats and the Seven Apostles now turned from competitors into adversaries, Seo Do-jun resolved to deal with the beasts swiftly.  

Vandeyan Family Swordsmanship  

Fifth Form: Torrential Flurio Stfluer!  

-The flooding of a whirlpooling river-

Seo Do-jun’s sword energy overlapped at high speed, engulfing all four beasts at once.  

BOOOOOM!  

CRACK!  

A single strike wasn’t enough to take down four mid-tier Antarian beasts, but the damage was substantial.  

Before, he’d had to hold back because of Ratio—but this time was different.  

This was the full might of the Vandeyan swordsmanship.  

The four beasts, caught in Seo Do-jun’s overwhelming assault, let out agonized screams.  

Burtilas, its arm severed, unleashed a sonic attack in furious pain.  

Two Tulukas, one with a torn wing and the other missing a leg, spewed acidic fluid.  

Matun, its eye burst, curled into a ball and fired spines in all directions.  

Aside from Burtilas’ sonic attack, the other assaults were blocked by Choi Kang-soo or deflected by Grichuk.  

ZZZAAAAP—!  

A thick bolt of lightning struck down, neutralizing Burtilas’ sonic waves.  

Though the attack could pierce most barriers, it was powerless against the might of thunder—its natural counter.  

With the beasts’ attacks thwarted, Seo Do-jun pressed forward without hesitation.  

‘First, I’ll take down one for sure.’  

His target was the Tuluka with the torn wing.  

Vandeyan Swordsmanship  

Seventh Form: Lunatis Haros Execna!  

-Execution of the Mad Reaper-  

Planting his right foot forward, Seo Do-jun swung his sword in a wide arc—a blade of blue magic extending in a straight line from its tip.  

“KYAAAAAAAH—!”  

The targeted Tuluka seemed to sense the lethal threat, screeching as it spat acid and desperately tried to lift itself with its remaining wing.  

But it was futile.  

SLIIIIICE—!  

An unavoidable strike.  

The blue magic blade split the Tuluka cleanly in half, from head to groin.  

Not stopping there, Seo Do-jun swung seven more times, reducing the bisected beast to chunks.  

Following Qua and Raten, Seo Do-jun had now felled his third mid-tier Antarian beast.  

Watching this, Raten, Qua, and Seil frowned.  

If circumstances allowed, they would’ve attacked Seo Do-jun first, demonic beasts be damned—but the situation was far from ideal.  

Not only were there four beasts still targeting them, but undead monsters had also begun openly assaulting them.  

“They’re deliberately trying to stop us!”  

Raten, glaring at Luam controlling the undead from afar, shouted in frustration.  

“Stupid skull-faced bastard! You can’t even catch them without us!”  

Their presence here was entirely by Barhaut’s will.  

Yet Luam was defying that will.  

“Idiot! Do you really think this is helping Barhaut?!”  

Qua, infuriated, screamed at Luam—but he ignored her, instead ordering Dragonbone Knights to attack.  

“Damn it! So that’s how it’s gonna be?!”  

Qua sent three knights flying with a swipe, biting her lip before launching a barrage of spells at Luam.  

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!  

Fifteen massive orange fireballs bombarded Luam’s position—but he was no pushover.  

Where he had stood, a small bone tomb now rose.  

As the fragments fell away, Luam emerged unscathed.  

The bone tomb was his signature defense—sacrificing skeletal soldiers to shield himself.  

And now, having endured an attack, he retaliated.  

His green eyes flared as he thrust a hand forward.  

“Qua! Above you!”  

Even without Raten’s warning, Qua sensed the terrifying magic storm gathering above her.  

A massive vortex of darkness crashed down, tearing the surroundings apart mercilessly.  

But just as Luam had survived unharmed, Qua stood untouched, not a single hair out of place.  

A relentless exchange.  

Having clashed many times before, Luam and Qua knew each other’s strengths all too well.  

But this situation was disadvantageous for Qua.  

While fighting four Antarian beasts, she also had to fend off Luam’s attacks.  

CRRRRRACK—!  

As if to emphasize his resolve, Luam summoned hundreds of undead from the earth, sending them toward Qua and the others.  

And that wasn’t all.  

Allekuhi, more aggressive than usual, pressed Felts while also striking at Qua’s group, worsening their predicament.  

Meanwhile, another beast fell to Seo Do-jun’s blade, carved to pieces.  

The remaining two beasts were also in poor shape—it was only a matter of time before they too were slain.  

Watching this, only the Seven Apostles grew desperate.  

“You stupid skull-faced bastard! They might escape at this rate!”  

Qua’s shout went unanswered.  

“…Don’t tell me that’s what you want?”  

Qua stared at Luam in disbelief.  

It was obvious.  

There was no other explanation for this absurd behavior.  

“That insane bastard!”  

Raten, realizing Luam’s intent, cursed in genuine anger.  

No matter what, how could he help the ones who destroyed Barhaut’s Guardian Planet and killed the Six Seats escape?!  

“He’s completely lost his mind!”  

No matter what Qua and the others said, Luam remained silent, stubbornly obstructing the Seven Apostles’s efforts to kill Seo Do-jun’s group.  

Because he truly believed this was the only way to save Barhaut.