SFRW-Chapter 47

Ch. 47 Sword God From The Ruined World

Upon entering the rift zone, Seo Do-jun hunted monsters strengthened by dark magic.  

‘Similar level to the previous rift zone.‘  

That was his assessment.  

It was as if someone had sprayed dark magic at a consistent concentration throughout the rift zone.  

Though he had received an internal map from Jung In-joo, Seo Do-jun didn’t bother checking it.  

Sealing the rift zone could wait – his priority was investigating the source of the dark magic, so he simply wandered wherever his feet took him.  

Without Hyun Joo-yeon and the Silk Flower Guild members slowing him down, his pace was incredibly fast.  

Monsters continuously appeared before him, and Seo Do-jun slaughtered every single one without exception.  

Then the strongest creature yet blocked his path.  

Grooooooar!  

An ogre with two heads – one red, one blue.  

Though classified as a sub-boss monster, the Twin Head Ogre possessed power rivaling actual Boss Monsters.  

Few S-rank heroes had successfully hunted one alone.  

And now this creature had absorbed dark magic?  

It had become stronger than most Boss Monsters.  

“Ah, you’re on my shopping list.”  

As the ogre roared ferociously at him, Seo Do-jun only thought about its spinal column.  

Clenching his fist briefly, Seo Do-jun then drew the sword from his back.  

Vandeyan Family Swordsmanship  

Second Form: Grami Grimora Fora!  

-Magic Woven Through Lines-  

The sword, saturated with Seo Do-jun’s magic, left crimson trails in the air with each movement.  

These lines sliced through space itself as they flew toward the Twin Head Ogre.  

Their speed constantly shifted – fast then slow, accelerating then decelerating in unpredictable patterns.  

The ogre couldn’t ignore the approaching lines.  

Primordial instinct screamed warnings – contact would mean certain doom.  

It uprooted massive trees and hurled boulders as projectiles.  

The red lines silently cleaved through everything in their path with terrifying precision.  

Realizing evasion was impossible, the ogre decided to leap over the lines and crush Seo Do-jun directly.  

The instant it tensed to jump –  

Swish!  

A previously slow-moving line suddenly accelerated explosively, cleanly severing the ogre’s lower body.  

Grooooooar!  

Its agonized roar shook the entire rift zone as it collapsed.  

More red lines severed both arms, then neatly decapitated both heads.  

Remarkably, not a single drop of blood spilled from the perfectly cauterized wounds.  

Despite being enhanced by dark magic, the ogre remained pathetically weak before Seo Do-jun.  

After collecting the magic stone, Seo Do-jun extracted the intact spinal column from the severed neck – a 1.8-meter-long specimen extremely valuable as weapon material.  

“One of these goes for 5 billion won, right?”  

And this pristine specimen would be worth even more.  

After roughly skinning the ogre and wrapping the spine in its hide, Seo Do-jun stuffed it into his backpack and continued.  

Creatures of all kinds foolishly attacked only to die instantly.  

He hunted three more Blue Crocos and hundreds of other monsters until his backpack could hold no more.  

But monster hunting was secondary – his true focus was investigating the dark magic’s origin.  

Eventually he concluded:  

“The source isn’t inside the rift zone.”  

His expression darkened.  

An internal source (typically a space or object emitting dark magic) would be easier to locate and neutralize.  

Even if unsolvable, sealing the rift would contain the threat.  

But an external source changed everything.  

“Does someone exist who can flood rift zones with dark magic?”  

Given Earth’s current hero standards, this seemed impossible.  

Heroes here barely understood basic magic manipulation.  

Expecting them to comprehend and wield dark magic was like expecting a crawling infant to compete in track and field – utterly absurd.  

Nor did any known monster fit this scenario.  

Well, some could theoretically do it.  

“An Undead Lord or Imperial Lich might manage it.”  

Seo Do-jun chuckled darkly at the thought.  

If such beings were active outside rift zones, half of Earth’s life forms would already be undead.  

Which current heroes could possibly stop an Undead Lord or Imperial Lich?  

Thus he dismissed this possibility.  

The remaining option:  

“Some environmental factor or situational anomaly?”  

Even as he said it, Seo Do-jun knew how improbable this was.  

Especially given Earth’s current conditions.  

Yet it remained the most plausible explanation.  

The critical point:  

Not only was the cause elusive, but its external origin posed grave concerns.  

Seo Do-jun’s instincts screamed that this situation couldn’t be taken lightly.  

Driven by this unease, he meticulously re-scanned the entire rift zone at blinding speed.  

For hours he swept through like a hurricane, yet found nothing.  

“Definitely an external influence…”  

Muttering, Seo Do-jun destroyed the rift core with a single punch.  

Crack!  

Another rift zone sealed.  

***    

Beep beep beep!  

“Another rift zone just sealed!”  

The monitoring center’s large screen showed another red light turning blue – the fifth sealed zone.  

“Which one this time?”  

Team Leader Mauru’s subordinate immediately answered:  

“BA013 rift zone.”  

“BA013?”  

Mauru frowned skeptically.  

“Which team was assigned there?”  

“I’m not entirely sure—”  

“I asked which team claimed it!”  

The flustered subordinate quickly checked.  

“S-rank heroes Hyun Joo-yeon and Seo Do-jun with the Silk Flower Guild.”  

Mauru immediately grabbed the phone.  

After a brief ring, someone answered.  

“Where is Hero Hyun Joo-yeon’s team currently?”  

His face stiffened at the response.  

“Are you certain? They really returned to their Santarém hotel fourteen hours ago?”  

Confirmed. Mauru hung up, utterly baffled.  

“How does this make sense?”  

The claiming team was back at their hotel, yet the rift sealed itself?  

“This requires the Strategic Planning Team’s attention.”  

Meanwhile, chaos reigned in Strategic Planning.  

“What’s happening here?” Mauru asked a familiar staffer.  

“We just had a Code Red situation.”  

“Code Red?”  

The operation’s contingency system classified unexpected variables as Red (most severe), Blue, or White.  

“Where’s Team Leader Edvaldo?”  

“Meeting with Chairman Lopes.”  

Mauru headed to the chairman’s office, finding both men grim-faced.  

After explaining his anomalous rift report, they briefed him on the Code Red:  

Five S-rank heroes dead – Brazil’s Arvado, France’s David, Germany’s Bern, Sweden’s Andrean, and India’s Farhan.  

All perished in supposedly manageable rift zones.  

Survivors reported the monsters were ‘not what we knew.’  

As they grappled with this catastrophe, Mauru’s BA013 report added another mystery:  

Hyun Joo-yeon’s team had sealed BA016 earlier, and now BA013 sealed itself while they rested at their hotel.  

“Then who sealed BA013?”  

The three men could only exchange bewildered looks.  

“We should question Hero Hyun Joo-yeon’s team immediately.”  

Meanwhile, Seo Do-jun had already arrived at another rift zone entrance.