SFRW-Chapter 118

Ch. 118 Sword God From The Ruined World  

“I’m going too.”  

Before Seo Do-jun could respond to Gloria’s words—  

“I will also go.”  

Shinjo joined in as well.  

“The closure of domestic Gates is also an urgent matter. I’d like both of you to stay and handle the work of the Gate Closure Task Force Bureau.”  

The fact that Seo Do-jun raised his tone meant he was making an official request as the director of the bureau.  

“You don’t need to worry about that. Deputy Director Jung In-joo has already volunteered to take responsibility.”  

When even Hyun Joo-yeon stepped forward and said that, Jung In-joo glanced at her sharply.  

Her expression seemed to say:  

‘When did I say that?’  

However, when Hyun Joo-yeon winked at her as if asking for help, Jung In-joo let out a small sigh and said to Seo Do-jun:  

“Even if everyone here leaves, there will be no hindrance to closing the domestic Gates.”  

In fact, it wouldn’t just be ‘no hindrance’—they’d have more than enough manpower.  

Thirty-six S-rank Heroes.  

Jung In-joo was also one of them, and with such a force, they could honestly increase the Gate closure speed several times over compared to now.  

Truthfully, if there were someone to replace her, Jung In-joo herself would have wanted to join the mission in China.  

With Jung In-joo’s words, Seo Do-jun could no longer break the three’s stubbornness.  

“Then let’s go together.”  

In the end, Seo Do-jun decided to head to China with Hyun Joo-yeon, Gloria, and Shinjo.  

***

“How much do you know about Pentago?”  

Inside the plane preparing for takeoff.  

Hyun Joo-yeon was the first to answer Seo Do-jun’s question.  

“Pentago is a monster that possesses anything—objects, people, animals, plants—without discrimination.”  

Since it had appeared multiple times overseas (though not in South Korea), Hyun Joo-yeon knew at least that much about it.  

“It’s a rare spiritual-type monster, so unless the attack is infused with magic, physical strikes won’t work.”  

Pentago had appeared several times in Japan. And Shinjo, who had fought them directly, added:  

“Once the accumulated damage reaches a certain level, it goes berserk. And if you don’t finish it off completely, it can hide by latching onto any nearby object or living being.”  

Berserk ability and stealth ability.  

Both were troublesome. Many Heroes had lost their lives to the berserk ability, which nearly doubled the host’s power.  

The stealth ability was also a huge headache. If you didn’t finish off a Pentago properly or mistimed your attack, it could transfer to another object or lifeform without anyone noticing.  

Then, it would hide, recover its strength, and attack Heroes who were either tense or caught off guard.  

Truly an infuriating monster to deal with.  

Seo Do-jun nodded at their explanations.  

These were well-known facts about Pentago, and none of them were wrong.  

But he added one more thing:  

“Strictly speaking, Pentago isn’t a monster—it’s a spirit.”  

At his words, the three’s eyes filled with confusion.  

To clear their doubts, Seo Do-jun explained:  

Severe environmental destruction.  

And magic-deficient environments.  

Spirits could never exist on a planet like Earth.  

From a spirit’s perspective, it would be like being forced to live while suffocating.  

Conversely, in ruined worlds, spirits were common.  

The most perfect definition of a spirit is a ‘pure emotional entity’.  

Fire, water, wind, earth, light, and darkness are the primordial sources, and beings born from them are spirits.  

There isn’t a single person who doesn’t know that magic originated from spirit arts.  

A spirit mage who manipulated water spirits developed stronger power through magic, giving rise to water-based magic.  

The same goes for fire, earth, wind, light, and darkness.  

The origin of magic lay in spirit arts, and without the help of spirits, magic would never have been derived.  

Such spirits, born from the purest sources, coexisted with humans for ages.  

“So Earth lacks the magic for spirits to form?”  

“Exactly. It’s not that water or fire don’t exist here. But there isn’t enough magic within them for spirits to manifest.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s explanation, Hyun Joo-yeon nodded.  

“Then shouldn’t Pentago be unable to leave the gate?”  

At Shinjo’s question, Seo Do-jun shook his head.  

“Earth’s environment is changing. You all know that, right?”  

“That’s true.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon was the first to understand.  

The change in Earth’s environment meant the quantity and quality of magic were increasing.  

‘Compared to when I first learned Magic Heart Methods from Seo Do-jun… it’s completely different now.’  

Regardless of training results, Earth’s magic was undeniably growing.  

“Now, you can even feel magic in the middle of downtown Seoul.”  

Gloria and Shinjo also nodded in agreement.  

“Still, I doubt as many Pentagos as China fears will come out.”  

Just as humans need oxygen to breathe, Pentagos—as spirits—require magic to function.  

No matter how much Earth’s environment has changed, it’s still far from enough for hundreds of Pentagos to remain in the same space at once.  

“At most, maybe a little over a hundred.”  

Of course, even that would be threatening enough. Especially knowing Pentago’s traits.  

“What do you think would be the most ideal host for a spirit like Pentago?”  

“A living creature, maybe?”  

Hyun Joo-yeon answered first, but she was wrong.  

The correct answer came from Shinjo and Gloria, who spoke simultaneously:  

“Ancient relics.”  

“A corpse filled with resentment.”  

Seo Do-jun gave a small nod as he looked at them.  

“Those are the most suitable hosts for Pentago to draw out its maximum latent abilities.”  

“Wait, I get the corpse part, but why relics?”  

At Hyun Joo-yeon’s question, Gloria also looked at Shinjo, curious.  

Without hesitation, Shinjo answered:  

“I’ve seen Pentago control nearby lifeforms through relics.”  

A secret incident that had happened only in Japan—one Shinjo had experienced firsthand.  

“Hashima Island once had a rift zone.”  

“Hashima Island…”  

Gloria seemed to recall hearing about it, but Hyun Joo-yeon was faster.  

“Battleship Island!”  

A place intertwined with South Korea’s history of forced labor and Japan’s shameless denial.  

“As a Japanese, I believe it’s a history we must apologize for.”  

Shinjo’s words were sincere.  

Though he had never revealed his political leanings, he had repeatedly voiced his stance on Japan’s shameful past.  

Because of this, he had faced significant criticism from Japanese right-wingers, but as Japan’s top Hero, no one could directly harm him.  

“So the rumors about a rift zone on Hashima Island were true.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s words, Shinjo shared everything he knew.  

The rift zone on Hashima Island had appeared five years ago.  

After the era of rift zones, Japan had been forced to close many islands for safety reasons—one of them being Hashima Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

“They didn’t keep a single promise, so they have no right to complain even if that ‘heritage’ gets destroyed.”  

Now, 90% of the island had collapsed, leaving nothing recognizable.  

Though Japan avoided official explanations, sharp observers guessed it was due to the rift zone.  

Naturally, South Koreans—like Hyun Joo-yeon—believed it was divine punishment for Japan’s attempts to hide its dirty past.  

Shinjo wore a bitter expression and continued:  

“We knew a new rift zone had formed, but other rifts appeared elsewhere, and with monster waves becoming urgent, it was left unattended for a while.”  

Five years ago, the world was struggling with new rift zones.  

Being a remote island, there was no choice. Even if it was a UNESCO site, the safety of major cities and citizens had to come first.  

“When we finally went to close the rift zone, Hashima Island was on the verge of a monster wave.”  

The decision was made: abandon Hashima Island if necessary.  

That was the call of Japan’s Hero Association and government.  

With no way to predict the monsters, deploying large-scale Hero forces was too risky.  

“If a monster we couldn’t handle appeared… everyone on the island could’ve been wiped out.”  

At Gloria’s words, Shinjo agreed.  

“But we couldn’t just give up without trying, so 30 Heroes—including me—were sent to monitor the situation.”  

They would defend if the monsters were manageable, but retreat immediately if things turned dire.  

“When the monster wave began, a dozen monsters emerged.”  

“What came out?”  

When Hyun Joo-yeon and Gloria asked, surprisingly, it wasn’t Shinjo but Seo Do-jun who answered.  

“Trolls or werewolves, right?”  

Shinjo’s eyes widened as if asking how Seo Do-jun knew.  

This was classified information, known to very few even in Japan.  

Seo Do-jun knew that trolls and werewolves always inhabited areas around Pentagos, but he wanted to hear Shinjo’s account first.  

“Seven trolls and five werewolves, just as the Guild Master said.”  

It was a pitiful number for a monster wave, and their quality was lacking.  

Since Shinjo alone could handle them, the Japanese Heroes attacked immediately.  

“The trolls’ regeneration made them harder to take down, and the werewolves’ defense was oddly tough, but we still had the advantage.”  

They thought victory was certain.  

But that was premature.  

A dying werewolf suddenly swelled in size, doubling its strength and speed, and took down a Hero.  

The same happened with the trolls.  

Though caught off guard, Shinjo—being who he was—focused on eliminating the enhanced monsters first.  

With only five trolls and werewolves left, it seemed over.  

“Then, an unharmed werewolf suddenly started digging frantically, as if searching for something.”  

It was suspicious, and with Heroes already falling to the monsters’ sudden power-ups, Shinjo tried to stop it.  

But the remaining monsters desperately blocked him, and by the time he finished them off—  

“A pickaxe?”  

The werewolf had dug dozens of meters in seconds, uncovering an ancient, rusted pickaxe.  

One so broken and corroded it was unusable.  

“It was absurd, but I prioritized killing the werewolf, so I cut off its head with my sword. It collapsed without resistance, and I thought it was over.”  

With all monsters defeated, Shinjo and the remaining Heroes waited near the rift zone for reinforcements.  

Since only trolls and werewolves had emerged, they assumed the rift could be closed soon.  

Then, the entire island shook—before the ground exploded, flipping over.  

And what appeared before Shinjo’s eyes was—  

“Skeletons.”  

“Correct.”  

Shinjo wasn’t even surprised anymore at how accurately Seo Do-jun guessed.  

The remains of those buried in the mines—as well as dead Japanese Heroes—had turned into zombies.  

Even Shinjo was stunned.  

“Among the hundreds of skeletons, one held the pickaxe. And the rest moved as if obeying its command.”  

What followed was a brutal battle.  

If they hadn’t been skeletons—if they’d been other monsters—Shinjo was sure he wouldn’t be alive today.  

“The skeletons were far stronger than usual, right?”  

“Yes.”  

“That’s Pentago’s true power. The greater the resentment of those buried in the mines, the stronger the skeletons became.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon fumed at how Japan could still hide such atrocities.  

“Every country is the same. No matter how much they preach righteousness, they prioritize themselves first. I’m sure South Korea has its own secrets too.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon denied it, but she couldn’t be certain.  

“Now that you know Pentago’s power, you realize how dangerous our destination is, right?”  

The Terracotta Warrior Gate.  

An ancient Chinese relic symbolizing Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s power—thousands of terracotta soldiers, hundreds of chariots, and horses buried underground.  

In short—  

“Pentago’s personal treasure trove.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon clicked her tongue.  

Seo Do-jun asked if they wanted to turn back now.  

“Give up a chance to test how strong I’ve become? No way! I’ll show you—the power of your first disciple!”  

She emphasized ‘first disciple,’ making Gloria glare.  

As the two women clashed, Shinjo quietly polished the new sword Choi Cheol-gwan had forged for him at Seo Do-jun’s request.