SFRW-Chapter 294

Ch. 294 Sword God From The Ruined World

“…So you’re saying you’ll stay here?”  

“That’s the best course of action.”  

At Luam’s shameless reply, Vipiens’s brow twitched slightly.  

After leaving as if he would never return, Luam and Ratio had suddenly reappeared, declaring that they would kill the man who was the hostages’ hope. To Vipiens, their words seemed more pitiful than absurd.  

“What if the Seven Apostles kill him first?”  

The news that the Seven Apostles had fought against that man was surprising even to Vipiens. He almost laughed mockingly, wondering how desperate Barhaut must have been to ask Ophel for help.  

Moreover, with Allekuhi dead due to the battle against the Seven Apostles, even if that man were killed, Barhaut’s losses from this incident would be catastrophic.  

‘He’ll never recover.’  

The reason Barhaut had been feared—the reason others had no choice but to bow to him—was because he possessed the Gem of Authority.  

But from the moment the Gem of Authority, which could manifest divine power, was destroyed, Barhaut had effectively fallen from grace. He was no longer worthy of titles like ‘Dimensional Conqueror’ or ‘Planet Destroyer’.  

‘If not for the oath…’  

Had it not been for the Dragon’s Oath, Vipiens would have severed ties with Barhaut without hesitation.  

No—knowing Vipiens, he might have done something even more drastic.  

“There’s no chance the Seven Apostles will kill him. Like I said, Felts and Seil were severely injured and are out of commission.”  

Luam spoke with absolute certainty, dismissing the Seven Apostles entirely.  

“Are you underestimating the Seven Apostles? Or…”  

“He’s strong.”  

Moreover, his companions were no pushovers either. Luam was absolutely convinced that the Seven Apostles, missing Felts and Seil, stood no chance against him.  

“That’s the most reasonable thing you’ve said so far.”  

Vipiens grew even more curious seeing Luam acknowledge his opponent.  

‘You’ll regret this.’  

‘Once news of our deaths spreads, Kassal will kill you—and everything connected to you.’  

‘Just as you said, that human is humiliating Barhaut. No, soon enough, rumors will spread that Barhaut was killed by a human.’  

Recalling the words of Kusak, one of the hostages, Vipiens turned away.  

He wasn’t pleased with Luam and Ratio staying in his lair, but he couldn’t be bothered to force them out either.  

If Luam, who would willingly throw away his life for Barhaut, was being this stubborn, causing more trouble would only be a nuisance.  

Vipiens decided he wouldn’t care what Luam and Ratio did.  

‘A human who pushed that lich to such extremes… I’m looking forward to it.’  

A deep smile formed on Vipiens’s lips.  

It didn’t take long for Hyun Joo-yeon and the others, who had been taken hostage by Vipiens, to learn about their new housemates.  

Not that it mattered—Vipiens’s lair wasn’t their home anyway.  

“You’re waiting for Seo Do-jun?”  

The problem was the new housemates’ purpose.  

At Hyun Joo-yeon’s question, Kusak nodded.  

Since he had heard it directly from Vipiens, Kusak had no choice but to believe it. There was no reason for Vipiens to lie to mere humans.  

“Three of the Six Seats—the Transcendents—are dead. Now, only the Lich, the Dark Elf, and…”  

…Vipiens remain.  

Of course, even if they were called the Six Seats or Transcendents, Luam and Ratio had lost to Seo Do-jun and fled here, so they weren’t a concern.  

The biggest obstacle was Vipiens.  

‘No matter how strong Kassal is, Vipiens is a Dragon on a completely different level.’  

Could Seo Do-jun really surpass Vipiens?  

Having watched Vipiens up close and even learned magic from him, Kusak believed it would be anything but an easy fight.  

No—to be brutally honest, Seo Do-jun’s chances didn’t seem high.  

Of course, Kusak had no way of knowing how much Seo Do-jun had grown since he last saw him, but even then, Vipiens’s strength was inherently on another level.  

“We have to help somehow.”  

Rather than worrying, Hyun Joo-yeon insisted they had to help.  

And the others taken hostage with her—Gloria, Veronica, and Rakun—felt the same.  

“Even if we can’t do anything about Vipiens, we might be able to handle the other Transcendents,” Gloria said coldly.  

Among the hostages, Gloria had changed the most.  

She had been the most active in Vipiens’s lair, constantly training and drawing her bowstring.  

Above all—  

Squeeze.  

Gloria tightened her grip on the bow in her hand.  

A plain, unremarkable bow.  

It looked like a crude branch bent into shape, strung with a strange bluish cord of unknown material. It was anything but impressive—in fact, it looked downright shabby.  

It seemed like the kind of bow given to beginners for draw practice, hardly worth a second glance.  

She had stumbled upon it inside a rotten ancient tree while rummaging through Vipiens’s lair. At first, Gloria hadn’t paid it any attention due to its ugly appearance.  

She assumed someone had discarded it, but when Dea, the wind spirit who rarely showed emotion, began circling the bow relentlessly, she picked it up on a whim.  

Thinking she might as well try drawing it, the moment she pulled the string—  

Gloria realized an immense power was hidden within the bow.  

‘Where did you find that? Hmm… I searched for so long but never could… Since you found it, you want to play owner? Fine. You won’t hold onto it for long anyway.’  

When Vipiens first saw the bow in Gloria’s hands, he acted as though he would take it back immediately but then relented.  

Though he had searched for it for so long, since Gloria had found it, he allowed her to play owner—at least for as long as she lived.  

Later, Gloria learned the unremarkable bow was actually made from the roots of the World Tree.  

Not only that, but Vipiens had personally strung it with the toughest tendon of Antarian’s high-tier fiend, the Kokra.  

Once she learned its true nature, Gloria clung to the bow as if she would never let anyone take it, even sleeping with it in her arms.  

‘I won’t let anyone take it!’  

For the first time, Gloria’s expression turned fierce.  

She remembered Ratio’s greedy face as she demanded she hand it over immediately.  

If Vipiens hadn’t appeared at that moment—  

“I agree! Vipiens is someone we can’t handle even if we die and come back to life, but we can at least slow down the other Transcendents. That’s how we’ll help Kassal.”  

Gloria snapped out of her thoughts at Veronica’s words and looked at her, still gripping the bow tightly.  

Veronica agreed with Gloria, and Rakun wore a determined expression beside them.  

When Kusak looked at Hyun Joo-yeon, she nodded as if it were obvious.  

“Then it’s settled. Let’s figure out a way.”  

“A way to do what?”  

Veronica tilted her head in confusion.  

“They’re Transcendents—survivors who’ve been through everything to make it here. We can’t just fight them recklessly. We need to find a way to hold them back as effectively as possible so we can truly help Kassal…”  

Kusak didn’t say it aloud, but the unspoken thought was that it might allow even one more person to survive. The others understood, their expressions growing heavy as they exchanged glances.  

“This might be our last battle…”  

Kusak paused, exhaled deeply, and continued.  

“Let’s make sure we have no regrets.”  

***

“A bow made from the World Tree?”  

“Not just any part—its roots. No doubt about it.”  

Greed flickered in Ratio’s eyes as she spoke.  

Though she hadn’t examined it closely, Ratio had instantly recognized the bow’s value just by looking at it.  

“Just…”  

Luam was about to ask why she couldn’t just take it from a mere human, but Seo Do-jun’s face flashed in his mind, stopping him from uttering those words.  

“Should I help you?”  

“It’s not that simple.”  

Ratio shook her head vigorously.  

“What do you mean?”  

Was the bow’s wielder really as strong as Seo Do-jun?  

“Vipiens forbade me from laying a hand on her.”  

“Vipiens did?”  

Luam tilted his head in confusion but soon clicked his tongue, as if realizing there was no point trying to understand Vipiens.  

“If I had that bow, I could kill Pio!”  

In their last battle, Ratio and Pio had fought to a standstill.  

Objectively, Ratio was slightly stronger.  

Given the gap between a High Elf, born with the finest traits among elves, and a lesser Dark Elf, Ratio’s strength was absurd.  

Yet Pio had matched her because of the divine relics she possessed.  

But if Ratio had a bow made from the roots of the World Tree—  

‘The outcome would change!’  

Certain she could crush Pio with it, Ratio desperately wanted the bow in Gloria’s hands.  

“It’s a shame, but we’ll have to wait. Once Vipiens kills him, I’ll help you get that bow.”  

Luam believed they couldn’t afford further conflict with Vipiens with such an important task ahead.  

“What if that bow alone is enough to kill him?”  

Ratio’s words startled Luam.  

“Is it really that powerful?”  

“A bow made from the World Tree’s roots is called a Divine Weapon for a reason.”  

“A Divine Weapon?”  

Luam looked surprised, so Ratio calmly explained everything she knew.  

After hearing it all, Luam’s thoughts shifted slightly.  

“It’s far too good for a mere human to wield.”  

“Exactly! She probably can’t even use its full power!”  

Ratio scoffed, as if it were pearls before swine.  

“The bowstring didn’t look ordinary either.”  

Had he known it was strung with the tendon of Kokra, Antarian’s toughest high-tier fiend, Ratio would have killed Gloria on the spot and taken the bow, apologizing to Vipiens later.  

But that chance was gone.  

With Vipiens’s warning not to covet it, Ratio couldn’t risk killing Gloria and taking it.  

Frustrated, she had brought it up, hoping Luam might have a solution.  

Sure enough, once Luam understood the bow’s value, his stance changed.  

“Hmm… We can’t leave such a powerful weapon unattended.”  

Though they desperately needed Vipiens’s help, Luam reasoned that if Ratio obtained the bow, their combat strength would skyrocket—which would also benefit Barhaut.  

“We’ll take it.”  

That was the conclusion.  

“But how? Vipiens won’t just stand by.”  

Ratio was certain Vipiens wouldn’t allow it, knowing his intentions.  

“No need to dirty my hands and fight Vipiens over it.”  

Ratio immediately understood what Luam meant.  

“That’s a great idea.”  

A satisfied smile spread across Ratio’s face.  

***

Crack—crrrk.  

Barhaut silently watched as more letters vanished, the walls themselves beginning to crack.  

Only three guardian planets remained.  

The walls, once covered in letters, were now nearly bare, looking as though they might collapse at any moment.  

Where…  

Where did it all go wrong?  

If he had sensed the impending crisis the moment the letters first disappeared and sought a solution, would things have turned out this miserably?  

But regret was pointless now.  

Time couldn’t be reversed, so Barhaut held no attachments.  

Luam had said he and Vipiens would kill the human, but could Barhaut really just sit back and trust them?  

I must end this myself.  

Slowly, Barhaut rose.  

For the first time in years.  

Though his body, weakened beyond comparison after losing the Gem of Authority, was a shadow of its former self, he could no longer stand by.  

He would finish this personally.  

Barhaut began to move.