SFRW-Chapter 238

Ch. 238 Sword God From The Ruined World

“A Transcendent…”  

Barhaut wasn’t particularly surprised by his subordinate’s report, having somewhat anticipated this.  

He believed only a Transcendent would dare challenge him, and considering they had liberated over 20 Guardian Planets, this development was expected.  

However.  

“Even with the Himaid siblings present, they fled in fear?”  

No matter how powerful a Transcendent might be, with the Himaid siblings – who had cultivated similar strength – joining the fray, Barhaut found it irritating that the Administrator had abandoned the Guardian Planet without seeing things through to the end.  

“Araes sent word that you should be informed of the facts.”  

With Araes’s strong insistence and, more importantly, his own orders prioritizing confirmation of identities, Barhaut couldn’t press the Administrator further.  

“With Araes and the Himaid siblings involved, there’s likely no need for further concern.”  

At his subordinate’s suggestion to stop worrying, Barhaut felt inclined to agree.  

Moreover, since there was reportedly only one Transcendent among their enemies, he believed it would be extremely difficult for that individual to handle the Himaid siblings alone.  

“To end like this without even knowing who they are…”  

Barhaut found his current situation bitterly ironic.  

As the ‘Dimensional Conqueror’ and ‘Planet Destroyer’ who had built immense authority through countless achievements, this incident would remain an indelible disgrace and humiliation.  

The most painful loss was the reduction of his Guardian Planets from 39 to 19… no, 18.  

What enraged Barhaut most was knowing he could no longer increase their number.  

“Earth?”  

Earth remained the only place where he could potentially restore the count from 18 to 19.  

Before the Gem of Authority was destroyed, he had already set plans in motion to make Earth his 40th Guardian Planet.  

“With Kantos Planet’s liberation, we could only send one Heavy Mountain, slowing our progress significantly.”  

“Tch.” Barhaut clicked his tongue in displeasure.  

“How long until we can send Rixis?”  

Rixis, Barhaut’s direct subordinate, was equal in rank to Araes.  

Sending Rixis alone to Earth would be enough to ensure its conquest.  

The problem was that sending someone as powerful as Rixis required Earth’s synchronization rate to exceed 90%.  

“Depending on Heavy Mountain’s performance… at the current pace, it will still take considerable time.”  

“Current synchronization rate?”  

The subordinate retrieved a measuring device from subspace and answered:  

“81% currently.”  

“81%…”  

Displeased with the slower-than-expected progress, Barhaut retrieved a ring imbued with his authority from subspace.  

“Send this to Rebley.”  

Providing his Monster Legion Commander Rebly with this authority meant deploying large numbers of monsters to Earth.  

More monsters rampaging on Earth would accelerate synchronization, shortening the time needed to deploy Rixis.  

“By your command.”  

As the subordinate carefully accepted the ring and departed, Barhaut remained alone, drumming his fingers on the armrest of his World Tree chair, lost in thought.  

He trusted the Himaid siblings and Araes—their abilities had earned that much confidence.  

However.  

“I can’t afford to repeat the same mistake.”  

With Guardian Planets drastically reduced to 18, Barhaut couldn’t foolishly rely solely on the Himaid siblings.  

Retrieving an obsidian crystal sphere from subspace, several names surfaced in his mind.  

***

“Disgusting creature!”  

Araes found Grichuk repulsive—no matter how many times he shattered, sliced, or tore its body, it rapidly regenerated and recovered.  

Moreover, Grichuk was formidable in skill.  

While Araes held the advantage in speed and strength, Grichuk’s dark hole techniques effectively neutralized the physical disparity.  

Adding to this, Grichuk’s movements remained as sharp as ever, while Araes’s stamina gradually waned, tilting the battle’s momentum.  

Crunch!  

Araes’s greatsword shattered Grichuk’s left thigh in one strike, but the painless Grichuk ignored it and swung his blade.  

Swish—!  

Araes twisted his torso hastily as the sword grazed his chest, leaving a long gash.  

The real problem came next.  

Normally, a grazing strike would end there, but Grichuk was different.  

A dark hole formed at the sword’s tip, swallowing the blade as it plunged inward—only for another dark hole to appear behind Araes’s right thigh, from which the sword emerged.  

Stab!  

“Guh—! Aaargh!”  

Araes grimaced as his thigh was impaled by the unavoidable attack, then whirled his greatsword like a windmill.  

Fierce sword energy swept through the area like a storm, cleaving everything in its path.  

Grichuk, his body shredded, collapsed—but thick black smoke billowed around him, restoring him to his original form.  

“Let’s see how long you last!”  

As Araes raised his sword again, a devastating magic pillar surged toward him unnoticed.  

Koroka, who had been waiting for the right moment to intervene, seized the opportunity and unleashed his breath attack.  

Simultaneously—  

BOOM!  

Obsidian orbs of darkness converged around Araes and detonated in a chain explosion.  

“Whew!”  

Rahf whistled, thoroughly satisfied with the flawless teamwork.  

But victory celebrations were premature—amidst the swirling storm of sword energy, Araes stood firm on both feet, his appearance revealing the battle’s toll.  

His clothing hung in tatters, scorched and slashed to ribbons, while his long hair, now disheveled, obscured half his face.  

“Keh… kehahaha!”  

Araes chuckled darkly at his own state before alternating his gaze between Koroka and Rahf.  

“Your eyes are arrogant.”  

Koroka showed not an ounce of fear at his glare.  

“What a shame! Had I met you before Grichuk, I could’ve crafted the dimension’s strongest dark knight—one even capable of facing Barhaut properly!”  

Rahf lamented like a researcher who’d lost his perfect test subject.  

Whether devoid of fear or naively optimistic, Araes slowly surveyed his surroundings.  

Most of the corrupted spirits had already dissipated, and the trusted Himaid siblings were struggling futilely against a single opponent.  

“KHAHAHA!”  

Never having imagined things would come to this, Araes now realized how wise he’d been to send the Administrator away early.  

“Even if I die here, none of you will survive.”  

“We. Live. After. Killing. You.”  

At Grichuk’s retort, Araes shook his head.  

“No. My death is irrelevant—you won’t survive because Barhaut already knows of your existence.”  

The challengers who killed the Himaid siblings and himself had revealed their strength, allowing their power to be measured.  

Like climbing mountains beyond mountains…  

If the Himaid siblings and himself were mere hills, the next obstacles these challengers would face would be towering peaks.  

How many such peaks must they scale before reaching Barhaut?  

“Reaching Barhaut is impossible for you.”  

Araes raised his greatsword again.  

He abandoned thoughts of survival—now resolved to fight to the death.  

Whether this determination would matter to his foes was irrelevant.  

Even the smallest wound, the tiniest speck of damage that might aid Barhaut—he would inflict it without fail.  

***

Sword storms raged from all directions, lightning struck relentlessly, and tidal waves repeatedly swallowed entire spaces.  

Seo Do-jun’s sword.  

Rooker’s lightning.  

Scal’s water.  

The Transcendents’ relentless battle erased nearby mountains without trace, upheaved and reshaped the land, and violently altered the surrounding atmosphere.  

Their mere combat transformed the environment, leaving even distant observers trembling.  

Boom! Boom! Boom!  

“Gah…!”  

Rooker, enduring the sword storm’s onslaught, finally collapsed to one knee, spitting blood.  

His entire body trembled violently.  

Has he ever fought this fiercely since becoming a Transcendent?  

Never.  

Before ascension, he’d fought desperate life-or-death battles, but after gaining the Thunder God’s power, everything had become trivial—a single punch or charge would obliterate foes.  

But this opponent was different.  

No matter how powerfully he struck or how much thunderous force he summoned, his enemy not only withstood it but countered with sword strikes of devastating pain—even his lightning-clad body reverberated with bone-deep agony.  

Rooker spat another mouthful of blood and charged again.  

‘This monstrous bastard!’  

Even as a colossal tsunami—high enough to engulf the land—surged toward them, Seo Do-jun’s casual sword swings were genuinely terrifying.  

Scal’s full-power attack split apart at Seo Do-jun’s blade.  

The towering tsunami, dozens of meters high, divided cleanly as Seo Do-jun shot through the gap—a move none anticipated, leaving both Scal and Rooker (who’d been flanking) wide-eyed.  

“Th-this…!”  

Scal thrust both hands forward at Seo Do-jun, who’d effortlessly cleaved through her attack, then suddenly glanced at her missing left shoulder.  

“You son of a bitch!”  

She’d told Rooker she was fine, but how could she be?  

Even as a Transcendent, her severed left arm wouldn’t regenerate.  

Though she could replace it through unsavory means, the result would only make her look monstrous.  

Living the rest of her life without a left arm would haunt her forever.  

“DIIIIE!”  

Bellowing with rage, Scal swung a watery spear toward Seo Do-jun, the source of her anguish.  

Vandeyan Swordsmanship  

Seventh Form: Lunatis Haros Execna!  

-Execution of the Mad Reaper-  

Having absorbed Seo Do-jun’s magic to its limit, the sword unleashed everything at once.  

The overwhelming slash—capable of bifurcating all in its path—filled Scal’s eyes with terror as she swung her watery spear.  

This can’t be blocked!  

A strike that seemed capable of severing anything across all dimensions instilled primal fear even in a Transcendent like Scal.  

Sssss—  

The watery spear split apart effortlessly, disintegrating before her eyes as she stood paralyzed.  

Nothing could stop Seo Do-jun’s sword.  

‘Is this how I die?’  

After overcoming countless hardships to finally become a Transcendent and build the life she wanted?  

‘I should’ve refused Barhaut’s request…’  

Scal regretted not declining, consequences be damned.  

“Hey.”  

A sharp voice pierced through his whitening consciousness.  

“Why just stand there dazed?”  

Crackle—!  

Familiar lightning energy surged through Scal’s body.  

“This is why you should call me ‘Brother.’ Heh!”  

The violent lightning repelled Scal’s body instantly, sending her flying.  

“…!”  

Her vision cleared as fear and helplessness receded, revealing Rooker standing where she’d been—taking Seo Do-jun’s strike head-on.  

Crackle—!  

Lightning was split apart.  

Seo Do-jun’s sword, capable of cleaving the world itself, now bisected even Rooker’s lightning—and Rooker’s torso along with it.  

The problem?  

Scal watched in horror as Rooker’s upper and lower halves separated midair.  

“…B-Brother…!”  

Scal crumpled to her knees before the fallen halves.  

“Brother…”  

Cradling Rooker’s head—still smiling, as if refusing to grimace in death—Scal hugged it to her chest.  

Watching this, Seo Do-jun raised his sword again.  

This was a fight where failure to kill meant his own death.  

The sword greedily absorbed his magic before unleashing it all in a colossal slash aimed at Scal’s head.