SFRW-Chapter 50

Ch. 50 Sword God From The Ruined World  

When he opened his eyes, Seo Do-jun realized he had been swept away by the river.  

It wasn’t just buoyancy—the backpack he had been carrying had acted as his lifeline while he was unconscious. The fact that it was filled with magic stone, which floated well in water, had made it possible.  

Once he regained his senses, Seo Do-jun first checked his physical condition.  

“…Did I surpass my limits?”  

A poison had turned into medicine.  

His body, which had been pushed to the brink of destruction due to excessive absorption of dark magic, had overcome its limits and evolved into an even more exceptional form.  

That said, it wasn’t a two- or three-fold improvement. At most, his magic capacity had increased by about 20 percent compared to before.  

Even this much progress was undoubtedly remarkable, but for Seo Do-jun, such changes were far from unfamiliar. He had experienced them multiple times in the ruined world.  

Back then, however, his body had been trained enough to overcome certain limits, and capable comrades had stood by his side to guard against unforeseen dangers, so there hadn’t been much risk.  

Thinking about it, the past when he was called the ‘Sword God’ didn’t seem like something he had achieved alone. One by one, memories of his former comrades surfaced in his mind.  

Lost in brief reminiscence, Seo Do-jun channeled his magic.  

Even while unconscious, his body had maintained magic circulation to recover. As a result, he could feel his power more replenished than ever before.  

‘Subspace.’  

Following Seo Do-jun’s will, space twisted before his eyes, creating a subspace. It was the perfect ability to generate a subspace, its shape and size entirely subject to his will.  

“To think I’d acquire Achromos’ subspace.”  

It had been an extremely perilous adventure, one that had risked his life, but Seo Do-jun didn’t consider the reward insignificant.  

Getting up, Seo Do-jun stored his backpack and sword in the subspace. With light steps, he re-entered the water.  

Even before discovering Achromos, he had hunted many monsters. During the process of suppressing the subspace’s power, all the aquatic monsters had disintegrated and vanished, leaving no trace of life in the river.  

Since there was nothing left to see in this rift zone, Seo Do-jun immediately located and destroyed its core.  

***

After exiting the rift zone, Seo Do-jun’s phone, which had been out of service range, began ringing loudly from his pocket. He pulled it out.  

Thirty-nine missed calls.  

Fifteen messages.  

Even Hyun Joo-yeon had sent him seven chat messages.  

“They must have been looking for me urgently,” 

Seo Do-jun thought, dialing Hyun Joo-yeon first.  

She picked up before the second ring.  

—Seo Do-jun?  

“Did something happen?”  

If they were searching for him so urgently, something must have occurred.  

—Where are you right now?  

“Here? Well…”  

As Seo Do-jun was about to pull out his GPS receiver to explain his exact location, Hyun Joo-yeon spoke hastily.  

—Can you come to the hotel now? No—you have to come.  

“The hotel?”  

—It’s urgent. Chairman Daniel Lopes is also waiting for you.  

Hearing that even the chairman of Brazil’s Hero Association was waiting for him, Seo Do-jun realized the problem was bigger than he’d thought.  

“Fine.”  

—If you give me your exact location, they’ll send a helicopter.  

“No need. I’ll be there soon.”  

With that, Seo Do-jun ended the call.  

Waiting for a helicopter would take longer than just running there himself. After checking his location on the GPS receiver, he dashed off in a straight line.  

***

“It’s not an official announcement yet, but… the deaths of the Heroes have been confirmed.”  

At Deputy Director Min Hong-gi’s words, Association Chairman Na Tae-hwang let out a sigh and closed his eyes.  

“We’ve lost irreplaceable talent.”  

“It only happened in certain rift zones, they say.”  

“And the only team that emerged from such a zone without a single casualty was Hero Seo Do-jun’s team, correct?”  

“Yes. Hero Jung In-joo mentioned that Hero Seo Do-jun is currently waiting at the hotel in Santarém.”  

“Well… He’s even more remarkable than I thought. Hero Seo Do-jun.”  

No matter how pleased he was, Na Tae-hwang couldn’t openly express it in the face of foreign Heroes’ deaths. He cleared his throat and regained his composure.  

“Last time in England, Hyun Joo-yeon was the center of attention. This time in Brazil, Seo Do-jun will be the one the whole world watches.”  

“Given the incident with Takashi, the impact will be even greater.”  

“As it should be. Who knows—he might become the Hero representing all of South Korea.”  

The mere thought filled Na Tae-hwang with pride.  

‘The President will be pleased too.’  

The President had privately been concerned about the special privileges granted to Seo Do-jun, but Na Tae-hwang believed this incident would completely wash away those worries.  

“Speaking of which, how are the domestic rift zones?”  

“Fortunately, no abnormalities have been detected. But given what happened in Brazil, we’ve significantly increased personnel to monitor them around the clock without a moment’s lapse.”  

“Good work. And make sure the Gate Control Center is fully briefed. Even gates we thought were safe could change unpredictably, right?”  

“I’ll personally visit the Gate Control Center.”  

“I appreciate it.”  

Na Tae-hwang patted Deputy Director Min Hong-gi on the shoulder.  

“It’s only what I should do.”  

At Min Hong-gi’s reliable response, Na Tae-hwang smiled.  

“Still, I’m worried about Seo Do-jun.”  

“Worried about what?”  

“Daniel Lopes isn’t the type to accept losses. He’ll try to squeeze every last drop out of Seo Do-jun—ahem, I mean, exploit him as much as possible.”  

At Na Tae-hwang’s concerned remark, Deputy Director Min Hong-gi’s expression twisted oddly.  

“…I think the opposite.”  

“Opposite?”  

“I’m more worried that Chairman Daniel Lopes might get stripped down to his underwear by Hero Seo Do-jun.”  

“What? Hahahahaha!”  

This time, Na Tae-hwang couldn’t hold back his laughter.  

“Well! Seo Do-jun isn’t the type to take things lying down!”  

***

At that very moment, Seo Do-jun was indeed leaving Chairman Daniel Lopes flustered, just as Na Tae-hwang and Deputy Director Min Hong-gi had anticipated.  

“Y-Your demands are outrageous!”  

“Outrageous, you say…”  

Seo Do-jun nodded as if in understanding, then stood up.  

“W-Where are you going?”  

“No reason to stay when there’s nothing left to discuss.”  

“Don’t you care even the slightest bit about Brazil’s safety?”  

“I don’t see why I should be responsible for Brazil’s safety.”  

“Isn’t it a Hero’s duty to protect civilians?!”  

As Chairman Lopes raised his voice, Seo Do-jun’s expression turned cold.  

“Duty and responsibility? I’ve already closed two rift zones single-handedly, and you’re talking about duty and responsibility? Is sacrifice the only thing you consider duty?”  

His tone had changed, and the aura emanating from Seo Do-jun was entirely different now.  

For Chairman Lopes, it was an unfamiliar, vague fear he had never experienced before.  

His instincts screamed at him:  

This man is the real deal.  

“Let me make this clear. Brazil’s safety? What does that have to do with me? If South Korea’s rift zones were in the same state, would you send all of Brazil’s Heroes to sacrifice themselves for South Korean citizens?”  

“T-That’s…”  

Chairman Lopes couldn’t respond.  

He knew all too well what he would have thought if South Korea’s rift zones had been the ones affected.  

Above all, the man before him wasn’t soft enough to be swayed by empty words.  

***

“Takashi was unilaterally assaulted. The Teikoku Guild members present were too terrified to even intervene. Some say he would’ve been beaten to death on the spot if not for the South Korean Heroes stopping it.”  

He had dismissed it as exaggerated rumors.  

No sane person would ever consider beating Takashi to death over a mere dispute.  

But seeing Seo Do-jun’s demeanor now…  

‘This man would do it—and more!‘  

Chairman Lopes gulped dryly.  

Currently, rift zones within 500 kilometers of Santarém had become inaccessible.  

Unless Brazil mobilized all its gathered S-rank Heroes, there was nothing they could do but watch helplessly.  

The real question was whether the anomalies in the rift zones would end here or escalate further.  

What if monster numbers surged exponentially and rift zone containment failed?  

The mere thought was horrifying. They had no choice but to rely on Seo Do-jun’s power.  

“I’ll accept your terms.”  

Seo Do-jun had demanded $50 million (50 billion WON) for each rift zone closure.  

It sounded absurd, but if a monster wave erupted in a rift zone, the damages would far exceed $50 million.  

Especially now that monsters were being enhanced by dark magic—if monster waves triggered a domino effect, what then?  

The tragedy that befell Namibia in South Africa could happen in Brazil.  

Money couldn’t justify such a catastrophe.  

“Transfer the first $150 million upfront.”  

Seo Do-jun’s demand for payment for the three rift zones he had already closed made Chairman Lopes shake his head in exasperation.  

Even Hyun Joo-yeon and Jung In-joo, who had been watching, couldn’t hide their stunned expressions.  

‘His demands feel excessive yet justified… But how will people react when they find out? I’m worried his image might become too money-driven.’  

‘With great power comes great audacity! I knew he wasn’t ordinary, but his sheer presence is on another level!‘  

As for Seo Do-jun?  

‘The safest house in South South Korea? Why not build the safest house in the world? Seo Do-jun, wouldn’t you be satisfied with this?‘  

If Seo Do-jun’s soul were present, he would’ve been grateful.  

Smiling, Seo Do-jun knew he could fulfill his promise to Seo Do-jun perfectly.  

***

“O-Oh! It’s Brother!”  

Eun-young, who had been playing at her friend Ha-yoon’s house, brightened up when Seo Do-jun appeared on TV.  

“Brother? The person on TV is your brother?”  

“Yeah! He’s my brother!”  

“Oh my! Hero Seo Do-jun is Eun-young’s brother?”  

Ha-yoon’s mother looked at Eun-young in surprise.  

“Yes! He’s my brother!”  

Whether it was because her brother was on TV or because she was proud of him, Eun-young answered with a radiant smile.  

The TV was currently discussing Seo Do-jun, introducing what kind of Hero he was—particularly focusing on his incident with Takashi.  

Given Takashi’s history of anti-South Korean remarks, public sentiment toward him was already poor. The fact that Seo Do-jun had defeated him in a fair fight only made viewers feel even more satisfied.  

Most citizens already knew about this through the internet, but it was the first time a major news network had covered Seo Do-jun’s story so extensively.  

“Mom, is that man a bad person?”  

At Ha-yoon’s question, Eun-young answered before her mother could.  

“My brother doesn’t fight good people!”  

“That’s right, Ha-yoon. That Japanese man was bad, so Eun-young’s brother scolded him. Just like how you get scolded when you misbehave, right?”  

Ha-yoon’s mother simplified the explanation for the children.  

‘Come to think of it, Eun-young’s brother is Seo Do-jun? Wasn’t her name Lee Eun-young?‘  

Having met Eun-young a few times at the apartment playground, she had become friends with Ha-yoon.  

With her pretty face and innocent demeanor, Ha-yoon’s mother often invited her over to play. Still, there was much she didn’t know about Eun-young, making her wonder if she’d misheard.  

“Eun-young, what’s your surname—”  

Just as she was about to ask, the phone-shaped pendant around Eun-young’s neck rang.  

“Hello?”  

Eun-young, who had mastered its use perfectly, pressed the call button naturally.  

—Eun-young, it’s Brother.  

“Brother! Brother! Where are you?”  

—Where else? Brazil. Are you and Grandma doing okay?  

A young man’s voice, and the mention of Brazil…  

‘I must have misheard.’  

Assuming Eun-young’s surname was ‘Seo,’ Ha-yoon’s mother looked at her in amazement.  

To think she was the younger sister of an S-rank Hero.  

She resolved to treat Eun-young even better from now on.