SFRW-Chapter 182

Ch. 182 Sword God From The Ruined World

When Veronica and Rakun appeared before him following Kusak, Seo Do-jun felt not just confusion but devastation.  

“How did you all…?”  

Seo Do-jun bit his lip, unable to continue speaking.  

“What’s this bastard saying?”  

Kusak’s death was still vivid in Seo Do-jun’s mind – drained of every last drop of magic, his chest torn open by monsters.  

“How do you know my name?”  

Seo Do-jun also remembered Rakun’s heroic end – always charging first into battle against monsters until his glorious demise.  

“……”  

And Veronica…  

[What does nobility or commoner matter when the world is ending? Did you learn to swing your sword differently based on class when fighting monsters?]  

[What’s so wrong about comforting each other in the harsh battlefield every day?]  

[Why be ashamed of mixing bodies? If that’s the case, we shouldn’t even hold hands.]  

[…If we’d met in peaceful times, maybe we wouldn’t have been drawn to each other? Thinking that way, even those damn monsters seem a bit pretty now. Pfft!]  

[Huh? When did I say let’s love? Just date! Just date! But make it as intense as lovers would. You can do that much, right?]  

Veronica, his battlefield lover who would find him whenever the scent of blood filled the air. To Seo Do-jun, she had been both his only escape from the bloody war and his most trusted comrade – only realizing after her death that it had been love.  

Seeing Veronica now, who had died smiling in his arms covered in blood saying she’d go first to find happiness, left Seo Do-jun with unbearably complicated feelings.  

“…What the hell is going on? Why…why…”  

Why were they all alive again?  

Why were they allied with those who killed them?  

Why were they hostile toward him now?  

Seo Do-jun’s lips trembled too much to continue speaking.  

“Did you hear about us? From who? Vaitel? Avarr? Or maybe Maharunta or Rebley?”  

At Rakun’s question, Seo Do-jun exhaled slightly and asked one thing:  

“The name Kassal…remember?”  

At Seo Do-jun’s question, both Rakun and Kusak frowned.  

“Isn’t that your name?”  

“Now that you mention it, it feels strange. Hearing ‘Kassal’ gives me a weird feeling. Like…bugs crawling through my head? Anyway, it’s annoying.”  

Kusak added his distaste for the name after Rakun.  

“You don’t remember Karserian Le Vandeyan?”  

“Hmm…never heard that name before…but it’s really bothering me.”  

“Getting scared facing the two of us? What? Trying to buy time to recover stamina?”  

At Kusak’s taunt, Seo Do-jun leaned back and exhaled deeply.  

They didn’t know him.  

Unlike Avarr or Vaitel.  

Their memories had been forcibly erased, or perhaps something went wrong when they were resurrected after death.  

One thing was clear:  

“This is truly fucked up.”  

His former comrades, who had fought side-by-side with him against common enemies, had completely forgotten and were now pointing blades at him.  

“Enough boring talk! Let’s have a proper fight!”  

Rakun swung his axe, clearly done with confusing conversations. The massive magic coating the axe rushed toward Seo Do-jun.  

Just like in the past, Rakun’s fighting style was no different from Kusak’s. As the closest candidate to become Mercenary King, Rakun’s axe strikes were relentless.  

KAAANG!  

When the axe was blocked, sparks flew everywhere.  

“Better than expected!”  

Rakun grinned broadly, satisfied that Seo Do-jun matched his strength. Yes, he always smiled like that when facing strong opponents.  

“HYAAAH!”  

Even his habit of shouting with each strike remained the same.  

KANG! KANG! KANG!  

Despite his large frame, Rakun twisted and turned with surprising flexibility as he swung his axe. Kusak used to mock him for being ‘unusually flexible for his size’ – though it was clearly a compliment. Few warriors combining Rakun’s brute strength with such fluid movements existed.  

Seo Do-jun angled his sword to deflect the axe aiming to split his skull.  

“HAH!”  

The moment Rakun felt his strike land uselessly on the ground, he leaned forward and charged with his shoulder.  

THUD!  

Countless opponents had fallen to Rakun’s full-body attacks. Early on, Seo Do-jun too had struggled against his unpredictable style – especially when Rakun would suddenly drop his axe and tackle.  

But that was the past.  

“Huh?”  

Rakun’s eyes widened when Seo Do-jun unexpectedly met his charge shoulder-to-shoulder. The slender-looking Seo Do-jun seemed ill-suited for such brute clashes.  

“I must have told you – big muscles don’t mean strong!”  

“…URGH?!”  

Rakun staggered back, overpowered by Seo Do-jun’s strength. Then a lightning-fast kick sent him reeling as pain shot through his calf, thigh, side and shoulder.  

“GRUHH!”  

Staggering, Rakun instinctively pulled his axe close to block follow-up attacks. Normally he’d use his shield, but he’d thrown it far away earlier to help Kusak.  

TATATATANG!  

Seo Do-jun relentlessly hammered the wobbling axe before twisting his lips and swinging again.  

KANG! KANG! KANG! KANG! KANG!  

The onslaught was overwhelming. The sight of the much larger Rakun flinching from each strike was almost comical.  

“Pretty disappointing for someone who came to have fun.”  

Seo Do-jun kept up his swordplay while talking. His rapid, powerful strikes covered every angle – left, right, head, legs – leaving Rakun no breathing room. Now he understood why Kusak had been overpowered.  

But Rakun wouldn’t fall so easily.  

“RAAAAH!”  

BOOM!  

Stomping hard, Rakun swung his axe like a windmill. magic surged wildly, ready to split anything in its path. Even Seo Do-jun stepped back this time, allowing Rakun to press his advantage.  

“Payback time!”  

The spinning axe came at Seo Do-jun with undeniable force. Rather than block, Seo Do-jun leaned back to dodge.  

TOCK!  

The axe grazed Seo Do-jun’s nose before Rakun abruptly halted and swung downward. With his torso already leaning back, Seo Do-jun seemed destined to be split in half – until…  

THWACK!  

Slamming his sword into the ground, Seo Do-jun bounced left.  

“Where!”  

The axe trajectory bent unnaturally, chasing Seo Do-jun as if connected by invisible strings. This was unavoidable.  

Tsk. Seo Do-jun raised his sword resignedly.  

ZZZEEEOOONG!  

Seo Do-jun went flying back explosively. Tremendous force vibrated through his wrist, arm and shoulder.  

The problem? Rakun wasn’t done.  

‘Still annoyingly fast.’  

Like a dark shadow, Rakun closed the distance instantly, axe already swinging. Once on the offensive, he wouldn’t stop until his opponent was mincemeat.  

Three sparks flew consecutively. Despite Rakun’s brute-force approach, Seo Do-jun calmly defended, dodged, and occasionally countered – making Kusak’s expression gradually darken.  

“Damn it! Have to admit it!”  

This world’s irregular, Seo Do-jun, was strong. On a completely different level than other Earth Heroes. While someone like Kerzaman was an S-rank Hero commanding thousands, to Seo Do-jun he was just an insect.  

“…Disgusting.”  

Objectively, Seo Do-jun was an opponent none of them – Kusak, Rakun, or the watching Veronica – could defeat alone. Now he understood why Vaitel failed, why Avarr died powerless, what made Rebley nervous to invade that space, and why Maharunta’s primitive tribe was annihilated on Earth.  

Just one person – no, two counting the hidden Holy Knight – was enough to ruin their grand plans.  

Seeing Seo Do-jun regain control after briefly being pressured, Kusak decided he couldn’t just watch anymore.  

“Going all out…”  

As Kusak gathered magic, he suddenly chuckled and stepped back – spotting Veronica sneaking up behind Seo Do-jun like a stalking cat.  

With Rakun and Veronica…  

“Will it be enough?”  

Even if difficult alone, together they could overwhelm Seo Do-jun. Confident, Kusak crossed his arms, anticipating the coming three-way battle.  

“……!”  

Seo Do-jun suddenly twisted his body to avoid a sword beam aimed at his back.  

SWISH!  

It barely grazed his abdomen, slicing off part of his clothes.  

“Dodged that?”  

Veronica adjusted her reverse-gripped longsword, looking at Seo Do-jun like a surprised cat. Despite her eyes, a seductive smile played on her lips.  

Seeing her face up close made memories flood back, hardening Seo Do-jun’s expression.  

“What? Pouting because it’s two-on-one now?”  

At Veronica’s words, Rakun exploded before Seo Do-jun could respond.  

“Veronica! Don’t interfere in a warrior’s duel!”  

“Warrior my ass. Weren’t you the one who said we weren’t here to duel earlier?”  

“T-that’s…”  

“I wasn’t going to interfere, but he’s just too cute.”  

Seo Do-jun nearly laughed at how unchanged Veronica was.  

“Smiling makes you quite handsome. Hmm…pretty much my type?”  

As Veronica giggled, Rakun sighed deeply and raised his axe resignedly. With Veronica involved and no reason to stop her, he focused on ending this quickly.  

“Don’t worry. I’m not as crude as some people.”  

At Veronica’s words, Seo Do-jun shook his head as if to say “how could I stop you?”  

Rakun moved first.  

“RAAAAH!”  

With his trademark roar, he swung his axe wildly like a madman.  

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!  

Violent sword beams tore through the air toward Seo Do-jun – Rakun’s favored ‘Mince’ technique, explosively releasing massive magic in an instant.  

Facing the unavoidable onslaught, Seo Do-jun raised his sword.  

Vandeyan Family Swordsmanship

Fourth Form: Cergel Selado Duhart!  

-Sealing Power of the Unyielding Circle-

Sword beams branched from Seo Do-jun’s blade, forming a hemisphere shield around him.  

Would they recognize it?  

Maybe just this once…  

“What’s this? Ridiculously tough.”  

Veronica, having slipped to Seo Do-jun’s left, stuck out her tongue at the hemispherical shield deflecting her attacks. Undeterred, she gathered magic into her longsword.  

The blade shimmered with red magic like heat haze. When thrust, it split into 2, then 4, 8, 16, 32, finally 64 blades hammering Seo Do-jun’s shield.  

Simultaneously, Rakun’s violent sword beams charged like wild beasts spotting prey.  

BOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM BOOM BOOM!  

Amid the terrifying assault, Seo Do-jun calmly retrieved two spears from subspace and threw them.  

THWUMP!  

“…Guh!”  

“KYAH!”  

One spear embedded deep in Rakun’s side, while the other grazed Veronica’s thigh before continuing onward. Their fierce offensive abruptly quieted.  

“What’s this? Can’t handle two-on-one?”  

Kusak laughed mockingly. While glad not to be the only one humiliated, his wariness of Seo Do-jun grew further.  

“Now what about three?”  

Kusak formed fireballs in both hands, radiating killing intent toward Seo Do-jun.  

Rakun yanked out the spear and threw it aside before retrieving his discarded shield. Veronica glared venomously at Seo Do-jun while irritably examining her wounded thigh.  

One versus three.  

“This’ll be fun.”  

Seo Do-jun’s smiling challenge made Kusak, Rakun and Veronica exchange glances before moving simultaneously.