SFRW-Chapter 309

Ch. 309 Sword God From The Ruined World 

“You were the one who said it.”  

—Give up. The world you lived in is already ruined.  

“Now, I’ll return the favor. Give up. The world you lived in will be destroyed by my hands.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s words, Barhaut’s expression visibly wavered.  

Tirotio—the planet all the Planetary Sovereigns had sought to conquer.  

Barhaut had lived his entire life as the last of its royal bloodline, fighting to protect his world as it crumbled into ruins amidst endless wars.  

To ensure he would never lose, he took from others—until, at some point, he rose to the top among the many Sovereigns.  

And then, greed grew.  

The desire to become a God.  

The pursuit of divine authority to elevate himself.  

Everything had gone smoothly.  

The divine status that shimmered before him had felt within reach.  

If only Seo Do-jun hadn’t been there!  

If only the Gem of Authority hadn’t shattered!  

Had he still possessed it, Barhaut would have crushed Seo Do-jun again with even greater power.  

As if mocking Barhaut’s thoughts, Seo Do-jun spoke:  

“You should’ve prepared yourself the moment you stood atop a mountain built from the corpses and blood of countless others. You should’ve known it could all collapse so easily.”  

With a light swing of his sword, a blinding slash of sword energy shot forward.  

CLANG!  

Barhaut raised his hand to block, but as he felt his fingertips—no, his entire arm—trembling violently, he gritted his teeth.  

“You should’ve been ready from the moment you started taking from others. That one day, everything you had would be taken from you in the same way.”  

Seo Do-jun’s sword traced another white arc through the air.  

CRACK!  

—Ghh…!  

Unable to withstand the impact, Barhaut was forced back, disbelief flashing in his eyes.  

A mere human.  

Just a few years ago, he had treated this man like an insect. Now, Seo Do-jun loomed before him like an insurmountable wall.  

Barhaut forced strength into his legs, refusing to let them shake.  

“You trampled and stole what others held dear. Now, it’s your turn to lose everything the same way. On Earth, we call this karma.”  

The word was unfamiliar, but its meaning was clear.  

—You… intend to destroy my world?  

For the first time, Barhaut’s voice trembled.  

Seo Do-jun smirked in response.  

“Just returning what you did. Of course, with interest.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s cold words, Barhaut’s mind conjured the image of Tirotio—reduced to ruins, then ultimately annihilated.  

This could not happen.  

No matter what it took, he had to stop it.  

—Impossible!  

A dark, winged shadow descended rapidly over Barhaut’s head as he roared.  

One of his divine abilities—though it carried a heavy penalty, damaging the soul, it doubled all his physical capabilities.  

BOOM!  

The air exploded as Barhaut charged at Seo Do-jun.  

A simple tackle—but with enough force to obliterate most monsters on impact.  

Seo Do-jun crossed his twin swords and thrust them forward.  

KWAANG!  

Even after clashing with the X-shaped sword energy, Barhaut pushed through. Seo Do-jun swiftly bent his torso, twisting his body as he slashed horizontally with both blades.  

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!  

The recoil was so strong it stung his palms.  

Yet, despite the devastating strikes, Barhaut’s body bore only shallow scratches.  

‘He’s so tough he barely even gets cut?’  

Ophel’s twin swords were divine artifacts, forged by a God. And Seo Do-jun, wielding them, had grown strong enough to be called a true Sword God.  

Yet Barhaut’s body remained largely unharmed.  

—If not for you! If not for a worthless insect like you!  

Barhaut’s rage erupted.  

The fury he had suppressed for so long burst forth as he charged like a maddened beast.  

BOOM!  

“Ghk—!”  

Seo Do-jun was forced back by the sheer, overwhelming physical force.  

But he wasn’t just retreating.  

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH—!  

With every swing of Seo Do-jun’s sword, another wound appeared on Barhaut’s body.  

At first, they were mere scratches—but gradually, they deepened, turning vivid red.  

It was as if an invisible shell was being peeled away layer by layer. Seo Do-jun realized that even Barhaut’s near-impenetrable skin could be cut.  

Then this was just a battle of attrition.  

Sure enough, after tens of thousands of strikes—  

SCHLICK—!  

Skin finally split, and crimson blood sprayed into the air.  

—H-How…?  

Despite boosting his physical abilities with divine power, Barhaut couldn’t overpower Seo Do-jun. His frustration grew.  

In truth, Barhaut had known since the moment he saw Seo Do-jun—alive and well—plunge his sword into Ophel’s chest.  

Killing him was impossible.  

Whether it was due to the Gem of Authority or something else, he didn’t know.  

‘He has surpassed the me of the past.’  

A fact he hated to admit, but had no choice but to accept.  

If he could turn back time—  

If he could return to the moment he first met Seo Do-jun—he would kill him with everything he had.  

No, he wouldn’t even reveal himself.  

Seo Do-jun had been slowly dying from endless battles with monsters anyway. He could’ve just left him to rot.  

Even if he had survived, Barhaut could’ve just summoned the Six Seats to finish him off.  

He had admired the tenacity of that lone human—his unyielding will, his stamina, his spirit—enough to consider making him a new sword.  

A mistake he would never repeat.  

But what did it matter now?  

Even if he still had the Gem of Authority, he couldn’t turn back time.  

THUD—GAAH!  

—Ghk—!  

A blade pierced deep into Barhaut’s armpit, forcing a pained groan from him as he crumpled.  

Seo Do-jun showed no mercy, carving into Barhaut’s body relentlessly.  

Flesh split. Blood sprayed.  

Barhaut, who had done this to countless enemies but never experienced it himself, found the pain unbearable.  

“Back then, I only took a single finger from you, didn’t I?”  

As he spoke, Seo Do-jun cleanly severed Barhaut’s left hand.  

—Grrrruuuuhhh…!  

Even divine power wasn’t enough.  

Seo Do-jun had grown so strong that he could overwhelm most divine abilities with sheer skill.  

Clutching his severed wrist, Barhaut staggered back—only to see the spectral forms of two massive dragons behind Seo Do-jun.  

Arhekto and Vipiens.  

With the power of both Dragons, this outcome was inevitable.  

“You stole from others to protect what was yours?”  

Seo Do-jun’s sword pierced Barhaut’s knee.  

—Ghk!  

A critical hit. Barhaut’s body swayed.  

“If your own things are precious, you should’ve acknowledged that others’ are too!”  

Memories flashed in Seo Do-jun’s mind—his dying comrades in the ruined world, even the faces of family he could barely remember.  

Emotions surged.  

Fury, resentment, all the feelings he had suppressed exploded at once, making his sword strikes even fiercer.  

Barhaut, who had seemed unshakable, finally dropped to one knee.  

Seeing the bloodied tyrant kneeling before him, Seo Do-jun’s face twisted.  

He had lost everything to this bastard.  

And almost lost it all again.  

He thought revenge would bring satisfaction…  

Instead, it only felt hollow.  

What would change if he killed Barhaut?  

His dead comrades wouldn’t return. The ruined world would remain ruined.  

But still—  

THUNK!  

—Cough…!  

Seo Do-jun drove one sword deep into Barhaut’s collarbone—so deep only the hilt remained visible.  

Then he plunged the other sword just as deep into the opposite side.  

With both blades forming an X inside his body, Barhaut couldn’t move.  

—Ghh…!  

Coughing blood, Barhaut trembled uncontrollably as Seo Do-jun turned to his comrades.  

“Anyone want to vent?”  

Revenge wouldn’t change anything—but they couldn’t just walk away.  

If even a little catharsis would help, Seo Do-jun was willing to give them the chance.  

Joi was the first to step forward.  

Healed by Choi Kang-soo’s divine power, she gripped her sword tightly.  

“…I want to cut off one of his arms.”  

She would’ve preferred his head, but an arm would suffice.  

Seo Do-jun nodded, and Joi stood before Barhaut.  

—Keh… keh…  

Barhaut laughed weakly, blood dripping from his lips.  

“What’s so funny? Because of you… because of you—!”  

Tears welled in Joi’s eyes, streaming down her face.  

—You swore loyalty to me, received my power, and now blame me? Keh…! How typical of a cowardly human.  

“I—I had no choice…!”  

—If I had reduced you to my state, you’d be making the same excuses, begging for another chance. Wouldn’t you?  

“That’s not true!”  

—Are you sure?  

Barhaut looked at her with disdain, as if she were a pitiful insect.  

“Why bother talking to this bastard? Move.”  

Rahf shoved Joi aside and shoved a spear—where he got it, no one knew—into Barhaut’s mouth.  

THUD!  

—G-guh…!  

“Now he can’t run his filthy mouth. If you’re going to do it, do it right. Don’t let his words mess with you.”  

Rahf twisted the spear, mangling Barhaut’s mouth before wiping his hands and turning away.  

He would’ve loved to carve Barhaut to pieces, but with others waiting their turn, he had to step back—though his face showed clear reluctance.  

Inspired by Rahf’s ruthlessness, Joi steadied herself and swung her sword with all her might.  

SLASH—!  

True to her word, she cleanly severed one arm, then turned away with an eerily calm expression.  

Next was Grichuk.  

After a moment of silence, he cut off Barhaut’s remaining arm and drove his own sword deep into his chest.  

As if to say, This ends here.  

His face was serene—no more vengeance needed.  

“My turn now?”  

Kusak formed a searing fireball in his hands and pressed it against Barhaut’s body.  

WHOOSH—!  

As flames engulfed Barhaut, Veronica extinguished them—with a torrent of freezing water that wrapped around him, making his wounds split further in agony.  

“Rakun. You want a turn?”  

Kusak glanced at Rakun, who stared at Barhaut’s mutilated form before shaking his head.  

He wasn’t cruel enough to vent on someone who couldn’t even resist.  

“You’re making the rest of us look like villains.”  

Kusak grumbled, shoving a dagger into Rakun’s hand—but he still refused to move.  

“What about you two?”  

Veronica looked at Hyun Joo-yeon and Gloria.  

“We’ll pass.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon shook her head.  

Earth hadn’t been destroyed, and they hadn’t lost anyone close. They had no personal grudge to settle.  

“You too?”  

“My sword isn’t so light that I’d swing it at a wreck like him.”  

Choi Kang-soo’s reply made Veronica snort.  

“You’ll regret it later. 

‘Should’ve taken one swing when I had the chance.’”  

Choi Kang-soo wavered for a moment but ultimately turned away.  

“Tch. Boring. Kassal, you’ll finish this, right?”  

Had Seo Do-jun softened?  

Veronica glanced at him curiously.  

“I’ll do it.”  

He knew the others had spared Barhaut for his sake.  

Since he had started this revenge, it was only right he ended it.  

Looking at Barhaut—barely clinging to life—Seo Do-jun formed a magic blade in his right hand.  

Sensing the end, Barhaut raised his head with great effort, meeting Seo Do-jun’s gaze.  

For a moment, their eyes locked.  

Then Seo Do-jun swung like lightning.  

SWISH—!  

THUD.  

Barhaut’s head rolled to the ground.  

His torso remained kneeling, held upright by Ophel’s twin swords—until Seo Do-jun retrieved them, letting it collapse beside the severed head.  

“…So this is how he dies.”  

Kusak’s voice was bitter.  

The one who had destroyed their world—ending in such an empty death.  

It was satisfying, yet left a bitter aftertaste. The group fell silent, as if by unspoken agreement.  

After a long pause, Veronica spoke.  

“What now? Really going to destroy his world?”  

Seo Do-jun chuckled as if the idea was absurd.  

“Just wanted him to feel despair. I’m not becoming him.”  

“Right. He was the problem, not his people.”  

Veronica nodded approvingly.  

“Then what’s next?”  

At Hyun Joo-yeon’s question, Seo Do-jun looked at his comrades and sighed tiredly.  

“We go home.”  

***