SFRW-Chapter 45

Ch. 45 Sword God From The Ruined World 

Seo Do-jun, Hyun Joo-yeon, and the Silk Flower Guild continued forward while hunting monsters.  

Soon, they arrived at a place where monsters were tightly bound in cocoons and hung from tree trunks or branches.  

“Everyone, be careful. From here on out, this is Belcera’s territory.”  

Some sub-boss monsters, not to mention Boss Monsters, clearly marked their own territories.  

Among them, Belcera was one of the most notorious.  

“Wow… I’d heard about it, but seeing it like this is creepy.”  

“Right. It feels like we’ve stepped into a spider’s lair.”  

“If we’re just talking about environmental manipulation, even a haunted house wouldn’t compare.”  

The Silk Flower Guild members muttered among themselves.  

“Do you know about Belcera?”  

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

Even in the ruined world, Belcera had been a troublesome foe.  

Its defining trait was that it attacked all living creatures—human or monster—that trespassed into its territory.  

And then—  

“Burn those first.”  

Seo Do-jun immediately conjured red magic in his palm.  

“You’re not even a mage, so how can you manipulate magic like magic?”  

Even Hyun Joo-yeon, an S-rank Hero, was amazed by Seo Do-jun’s magic control.  

“…It’s basic.”  

He had a lot to say, but he held back.  

Otherwise, he’d end up treating all of Earth’s Heroes like fools.  

The red magic in Seo Do-jun’s palm ignited the cocooned monsters, burning them away.  

Since the magic carried embers that never extinguished, the monsters were quickly reduced to ashes.  

“Aren’t those just prey? Do we really need to burn them?”  

At Hyun Joo-yeon’s question, Seo Do-jun shook his head.  

“That might’ve been true before. But not anymore.”  

As he burned another prey, he continued explaining.  

“A Belcera that’s absorbed dark magic like this can control them like puppets.”  

Ryuntna had called this Belcera’s hidden ability.  

Unaware of this fact, the French Heroes were walking into danger.  

***  

BA027 rift zone, 310 kilometers west of Santarém.  

A Belcera resided there as well, and naturally, it had firmly established its own territory.  

The French Heroes assigned to close this rift zone had entered Belcera’s eerie and grotesque domain, focusing solely on the sudden appearance of the creature as planned.  

Already battered by monsters far stronger than anticipated, the French Heroes were on high alert for the sub-boss monster Belcera.  

“Once you’re caught in its threads, escaping isn’t easy. Everyone, stay sharp.”  

The threads Belcera shot from its mouth were incredibly sticky and tough.  

Sometimes, it fired thin, long threads like wires, and other times, it launched clumps that spread into nets midair.  

The latter was far more dangerous.  

A moment of distraction, and an A-rank Hero could find themselves completely ensnared without outside help.  

Sweat dripped down the faces of the French Heroes as they advanced toward the heart of Belcera’s territory.  

Shhhhk—!  

The sound of multiple legs skittering echoed like thunder to the French Heroes.  

“It’s coming!”  

“It’s here!”  

“Stay alert! Intercept any nets before they reach us!”  

David, France’s S-rank Hero, felt the heavy weight of responsibility—he couldn’t afford to lose any more guild members.  

‘Too many have already died! No more sacrifices!‘  

The rift zone’s difficulty was several times higher than expected.  

With their current numbers, it was impossible to handle.  

‘When we get back, I won’t let this slide!‘  

David blamed the Brazilian Hero Association for this mess.  

He was furious they hadn’t accurately warned them about the situation.  

But first, he had to ensure as many of his guild members escaped alive as possible.  

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!  

Four clumps of thread shot toward the guild members behind David.  

“Throw!”  

Following David’s command, they hurled daggers, precisely striking the thread clumps before they could expand into nets.  

The countermeasure worked—but only if they were prepared.  

Krrrrrrrk—!  

A massive spider-like monster with ten glowing red eyes emerged, its eight slender legs carrying it before the French Heroes.  

“Support from the rear!”  

David drew his longsword and stepped forward.  

Even a sub-boss monster should pale before an S-rank Hero’s strength.  

But as he charged—  

Rip—! Squelch!  

A tearing sound filled the air.  

“L-Look over there!”  

“Oh god! The prey—it’s moving!”  

“Z-Zombies?!”  

“Uwaaah!”  

Belcera’s prey—monsters tightly bound in cocoons—began tearing free and moving.  

Some had their heads torn open, others trailed entrails, and some limped or crawled with missing limbs.  

Their hollow eyes locked onto the French Heroes as they shambled forward.  

“T-This… can’t be…”  

Even David was stunned.  

No matter how many monsters he’d slain, he’d never imagined Belcera’s prey could reanimate.  

Before the French Heroes could react, the grotesque horde was upon them.  

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!  

Belcera, sensing David as the greatest threat, targeted him.  

“You damn monster!”  

David’s longsword, infused with pale magic, sliced through the threads effortlessly.  

But Belcera was just getting started.  

Empowered by dark magic, its strength had more than doubled.  

David soon realized it matched him blow for blow.  

Meanwhile, the French Heroes were being overwhelmed by the unrelenting undead monsters.  

‘This… This is despair…!‘  

Helpless to aid his guild, David’s face twisted in horror.  

***  

Crunch!  

Choi Do-yeon grimaced as she crushed a twitching finger underfoot.  

“If it weren’t for Hero Seo Do-jun, we’d really have been…”  

She shuddered at the thought.  

“Right? Imagine all those prey coming back to life! This year’s scariest moment, hands down!”  

Hwang Jin-ju shook her head in agreement.  

“But honestly, even if the corpses moved, would it have mattered?”  

Park Seung-ho gestured ahead.  

A massive Belcera, its legs severed, whimpered in terror.  

Krrrrrk…  

Had anyone understood monster language, it would’ve been begging for mercy.  

But no one did—and even if they had, Seo Do-jun wouldn’t have spared it.  

Splat!  

Seo Do-jun’s kick exploded Belcera’s head.  

“His whole body’s a weapon. No wonder he barely uses his sword. Only a monster that forces him to draw it is worth calling one. The rest are just… bugs. Right?”  

Park Seung-ho couldn’t stop praising Seo Do-jun’s prowess.  

And no one in the Silk Flower Guild disagreed.  

If Seo Do-jun started a religion, they’d be his most fervent believers.  

From Belcera’s corpse, Seo Do-jun retrieved two items:  

A gray silk sac, the size of a 5-liter portable keg, and a smaller transparent venom sac.  

Mixing the fluids inside produced Belcera’s infamous threads.  

Along with a sizable magic stone befitting a sub-boss, Seo Do-jun incinerated the remains.  

“The other Heroes should know the ‘prey‘ can move. Belcera’s in nearly half the rift zones marked for closure.”  

Hyun Joo-yeon worried about unnecessary casualties.  

But without a way to warn them, she could only hope for the best.  

“Don’t worry too much. They’re national-level Heroes for a reason. And every team has at least one S-rank. How bad could it get?”  

Jung In-joo didn’t think Belcera posed a serious threat.  

After all, it was still just a sub-boss.  

Hyun Joo-yeon hadn’t even seen Belcera’s full strength—Seo Do-jun had dismantled it instantly.  

“With Belcera down, only Nanocheris remains.”  

Having hunted Blue Crocos and Belcera, Nanocheris was the last sub-boss.  

Unlike Blue Crocos, which varied in number per rift, Belcera and Nanocheris were always singular.  

Krooooooaaar—!  

Nanocheris made Heroes question if they’d traveled to the dinosaur age.  

Resembling a Triceratops, it had two massive horns and a smaller third one.  

“This one’s twice as big as the one in Czech last year. What’s in Brazil that makes monsters like this?”  

“The Amazon, obviously.”  

Even knowing rift zones were separate dimensions, the answer felt fitting.  

Earth’s ‘lungs,’ the mysterious rainforest—if any place could birth such monsters, it was the Amazon.  

Yet before Seo Do-jun, even Nanocheris was less threatening than a stray dog.  

Its three horns were ripped out by the roots as it died with its tongue lolling.  

“At least 3 billion won per horn!”  

Weapon crafters prized them for their workability.  

But Seo Do-jun handed them off without a second glance.  

‘Now, Draconian bones—those would be worth keeping. But until then, the Giant Black salmo’s fangs aren’t bad.’  

Had they not been, he wouldn’t have bothered coming to Brazil for Blue Croco hearts in the first place.  

“More importantly… No point leaving loose ends.”  

Seo Do-jun’s gaze settled on the rift’s core, not far ahead.