SFRW-Chapter 48

Ch. 48 Sword God From The Ruined World

“Are you asking me to believe that?”  

Daniel Lopes, the Chairman, looked at Hyun Joo-yeon with an expression full of disbelief.  

“Whether you believe it or not, I have nothing more to say.”  

Even before speaking, she hadn’t expected him to believe her easily.  

If she were in his position, she wouldn’t have either.  

Seo Do-jun’s abilities, which defied all common sense, were impossible to believe unless witnessed firsthand.  

But now, she felt it was necessary to make him understand the truth.  

‘Seo Do-jun is humanity’s real hope! No—he HAS to be!‘  

She didn’t think she was exaggerating.  

When the first dimensional rifts appeared and neither the police nor the military could handle them, it was the awakened Heroes who became humanity’s hope by defeating the monsters.  

But what about the Heroes now?  

They were squabbling over petty rivalries, measuring their strength like children comparing acorns.  

While some still dedicated themselves to protecting humanity, most had already become corrupted.  

In such a situation, Seo Do-jun’s existence would be an earth-shattering revelation.  

He was the kind of figure who could cause a tectonic shift in the Hero world—someone who would undoubtedly become humanity’s true savior.  

‘Most Heroes can’t even handle monsters infused with dark magic.’  

She could say this with confidence because she had experienced it herself.  

Even a sub-boss-level monster couldn’t be handled by just one or two S-rank Heroes.  

And what if a Boss Monster’s abilities were enhanced by dark magic, doubling or more in strength?  

It would be impossible to guarantee victory even with dozens of S-rank Heroes.  

In short, sub-boss monsters would become as strong as current boss monsters, and Boss Monsters would become untouchable.  

Most importantly, if all monsters’ abilities were enhanced by dark magic, would the countless rifts around the world remain manageable as they are now?  

No way.  

It was obvious—dimensional breaches and monster waves would erupt everywhere.  

That would be…  

‘The true beginning of the apocalypse.’  

Just the thought made Hyun Joo-yeon’s face stiffen in horror.  

“So, you’re saying Hero Seo Do-jun really closed the dimensional rift alone?”  

“Most likely. He has more than enough power to do so.”  

When Chairman Daniel Lopes suddenly visited and asked about the rift’s closure, Hyun Joo-yeon had somewhat expected it.  

Of course, she was surprised to hear that another rift had been closed, but she believed it was entirely possible given Seo Do-jun’s strength.  

Moreover, the fact that Daniel Lopes himself, who was effectively the overseer of the rift-closing operation, had come in person meant that no official Hero team had entered that rift.  

“The reason I find it hard to believe is…”  

Daniel Lopes paused, sighed, and continued.  

“Well, you’ll find out soon enough anyway. We’re currently under a Code Red alert, and reports are coming in that many Heroes have died inside the rift zones.”  

“…I see.”  

“You don’t seem surprised.”  

“If it weren’t for Hero Seo Do-jun, I wouldn’t even be here right now.”  

“…Just what the hell is happening?”  

Daniel Lopes’s voice trembled more than ever before.  

Hyun Joo-yeon told him everything exactly as it was.  

After hearing her out, Daniel Lopes couldn’t hide his despair.  

If what she said was true, then the success or failure of closing a rift zone wasn’t the only thing that mattered.  

At the very least, Brazil’s safety—and on a larger scale, the safety of the entire world—was at stake.  

“But we heard there was another Hero team that closed a rift zone.”  

“That’s right.”  

“Then that means the rift zone was different from the one we experienced. The rifts where Hero teams failed and the ones where they succeeded must be different.”  

“You’re saying the color of the entrance was different?”  

“At this point, that’s the only way to tell.”  

“I’ll issue orders to inspect all rift zones immediately.”  

Daniel Lopes immediately pulled out his phone.  

***

The third rift zone Seo Do-jun entered without rest was located near a river.  

A ruined village and the massive river flowing before it—this was one of the environments Heroes avoided the most when dealing with rift zones.  

“Damn it! It’s a river! We’ll have no choice but to go into the water!”  

“There’s nothing worse than fighting monsters underwater…”  

“I’d rather fight flying monsters on a cliff!”  

“How many people even carry underwater gear?! Damn it!”  

Rivers, lakes, islands.  

The defining feature of these three environments was that the rift’s exit had a 50% chance of being underwater.  

The problem was that very few Heroes could fight effectively underwater.  

Worldwide, there were fewer than 100 Heroes specialized in aquatic combat.  

The undisputed top among them was New Zealand’s national Hero and S-rank Hero, Ivan Rufer.  

A scuba diver and holder of the Guinness World Record for breath-holding (24 minutes and 21 seconds), Ivan Rufer awakened as a Hero with the unique ability of underwater breathing. Thanks to that, he became one of the three highest-paid Heroes in the world.  

Brazil had hired Ivan Rufer multiple times for exorbitant sums.  

It was better to spend money hiring him than to send ordinary Heroes into underwater rifts, only for them to die without being able to fight properly.  

“The rift zone’s core is underwater.”  

After checking the rift zone map given by Jung In-joo, Seo Do-jun surveyed his surroundings.  

As expected, the concentration of dark magic was thick.  

And more importantly—  

“It’ll be even worse underwater.”  

That was just how magic worked.  

Even if it was dark magic, it was still a natural energy, so in places rich with natural energy—like underwater—it would expand both in quality and quantity.  

Seo Do-jun walked straight into the water.  

Surprisingly, not a single drop of water clung to his body.  

Magic Barrier.  

By creating a thin, membrane-like barrier with magic, he could remain unharmed whether in water or fire, as long as he maintained the magic.  

The buoyancy in water could also be negated by shifting his center of gravity to his feet using magic.  

If Ivan Rufer, the world’s top underwater Hero, saw Seo Do-jun right now, he would be utterly shocked.  

However, Seo Do-jun did have one weakness.  

Breathing.  

No matter how powerful magic was, it wasn’t omnipotent. To take another breath, Seo Do-jun would have to surface.  

That said, his breath-holding ability far surpassed common sense, allowing him to last up to an hour underwater.  

Though the water was murky due to dark magic, Seo Do-jun’s vision remained clear.  

Shoooaaah!  

A massive water serpent over 20 meters long surged toward him, cutting through the current.  

An Aracon—a common underwater monster even in the ruined world.  

It didn’t have any particularly special abilities, but like most serpents, it moved swiftly underwater, coiling around its prey to crush their bones before swallowing them whole.  

With dark magic enhancing it, the Aracon was more confident than ever.  

Whirrrrl!  

Like a miniature whirlpool, the Aracon instantly coiled around Seo Do-jun’s body.  

Wrapping around someone as small as Seo Do-jun (only 185 cm tall) was no issue.  

Now, all it had to do was squeeze and shatter every bone in his body.  

The Aracon began tightening its grip.  

But—it couldn’t.  

Its strength, which could crumple steel like paper, had no effect.  

Before the Aracon could even process what was happening—  

BAM! BAM! BAM!  

Its body exploded like a firework, torn apart in all directions.  

“Disgusting.”  

Seo Do-jun looked at the scattered remains with distaste before stretching out his hand to collect only the magic stone. Then, he continued walking along the riverbed.  

All sorts of creatures came at him.  

In a way, underwater monsters were among the easiest to deal with.  

Their combat patterns were limited—mostly just biting or, like the Aracon, coiling around their prey.  

The reason most Heroes avoided them was simply because few could fight properly underwater.  

Buoyancy and breathing issues alone reduced their combat effectiveness by half, and most sword-wielding Heroes who experienced how difficult it was to swing a blade underwater never wanted to do it again.  

Even Ivan Rufer, the world’s top underwater Hero, used a harpoon as his main weapon—proof of how crucial weapon choice was in aquatic combat.  

So, how did Seo Do-jun, the Sword God, fight underwater?  

BAM! BAM! CRACK!  

He punched his way through dozens of piranha-like monsters swarming him.  

Even for Seo Do-jun, swinging a sword underwater was… unappealing.  

While he could protect his body with a barrier, replicating his sword techniques underwater was impossible. Even the Sword God’s abilities would be halved.  

As a result, the scene around him was gruesome.  

Floating monster carcasses, blood and brain matter dyeing the water—if someone with a weak stomach saw this, they’d be vomiting instantly.  

As Seo Do-jun swept through the riverbed, his eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.  

“That’s—!”  

***

“Let’s summarize.”  

Daniel Lopes unfolded a map of the dimensional rift zones and began marking X’s with a red pen.  

Swish, swish, swish.  

One by one, X’s appeared. After marking a total of twenty-four, he finally set the pen down.  

“This… It looks like only the rift zones within a certain radius around Santarém are marked, doesn’t it?”  

Just as Jung In-joo said.  

When Daniel Lopes glanced at his aide standing nearby, the man immediately began measuring the distances on the map.  

After a brief moment, everyone understood.  

“Every single rift zone within a 500-kilometer radius of Santarém has been corrupted by this ‘dark magic.'”  

As the aide explained, Daniel Lopes, who had been silent, picked up the pen again and began circling some of the X-marked rifts.  

“This BA035 rift is where Arvado died. BA027 is where David died. And here…”  

These were the rift zones where S-rank Heroes had fallen.  

Six in total. The only one without casualties was the one Seo Do-jun’s team had closed.  

“And if your assumptions are correct, then Hero Seo Do-jun must have closed this BA018 rift?”  

At Daniel Lopes’s question, Hyun Joo-yeon and Jung In-joo nodded confidently.  

“Sigh…”  

After roughly organizing the situation, Daniel Lopes slumped into his chair as if drained.  

He still didn’t understand why dark magic had strengthened the rifts, but one thing was certain—an unforeseen variable had caused the deaths of multiple S-rank Heroes.  

At the very least, he could breathe a sigh of relief knowing he had justification to avoid full responsibility.  

But he still had to prove all of this, and for that, he desperately needed one person’s help.  

“Still no contact with Hero Seo Do-jun?”  

The aide tried calling again but reported that the line was still out of service.  

“We’ll leave messages too.”  

Jung In-joo immediately sent a text, and Hyun Joo-yeon did the same via chat.  

“Unless the rift situation changes, your team is the only one capable of closing the marked ones.”  

Daniel Lopes laughed with a hollow expression.  

He had thought of them as disposable cards—just shields to buy time. But in reality, they were saviors.  

All he felt now was shame and regret.