SFRW-Chapter 58

Ch. 58 Sword God From The Ruined World  

The safest house not only in South Korea but in the entire world.  

If you tame a Casserian, you can at least secure safety from monsters.  

A Casserian will protect its territory at all costs, making it trustworthy.  

Even if the world becomes tainted by dark magic, like in Brazil’s rift zones, the Casserian will grow stronger and be fully capable of protecting a single house.  

Of course, if monsters that even a Casserian can’t handle invade Earth, like in the ruined world, then safety would no longer be guaranteed.  

“In the current situation, there’s no guardian as reliable as a Casserian.”  

With safety from monsters secured, the next concern was safety from rift zones.  

Though rift zones appear suddenly and without warning, Seo Do-jun knew a way to perfectly suppress them within a certain space.  

“I never thought I’d end up relying on Ryuntna’s help even here.”  

Ryuntna, the greatest scholar from the ruined world, knew everything.  

Even if there was something she didn’t know, her terrifying persistence drove her to dissect every detail from start to finish.  

Thanks to that persistence, Seo Do-jun also knew how to suppress rift zones.  

“Connecting different dimensions through a single passage isn’t fundamentally difficult. The problem is the enormous energy required—so much so that it’s questionable whether any human or monster could achieve it. But if dimensions can be connected and opened, then conversely, it’s also possible to sabotage those connections beforehand.”  

A Magic Circle.  

Seo Do-jun planned to engrave a massive Magic Circle across his property.  

Drawing the Magic Circle wasn’t difficult, but activating and maintaining it required an immense amount of magic.  

Even Seo Do-jun, who once wielded the Sword God’s power, couldn’t do it easily.  

Thus, a magic-infused medium was necessary to activate and sustain the Portal—a magic stone.  

“The Magic Circle requires the most magic during its initial activation. The quality of the magic stone used at that moment determines the circle’s efficiency. So, if you ever need to use a Magic Circle, prepare the best magic stone you can for the first activation. Once activated, maintaining it isn’t too hard. Oh! You could even draw the Portal with powdered magic stone—that’d be even better.”  

Recalling Ryuntna’s words, Seo Do-jun headed to the one who possessed the best magic stone he knew of.  

“Kwaaaaaaaah!”  

A 15-meter-tall one-eyed giant—a Cyclops.  

The Cyclops roared at Seo Do-jun, radiating monstrous fear as it stomped forward, as if crushing a weak human like him wouldn’t even qualify as a post-meal snack.  

Unaware that its predecessor, the former ruler of this rift zone, had been hunted by Seo Do-jun, the Cyclops felt no fear.  

Watching the approaching giant, Seo Do-jun lightly extended his right hand to the side.  

Space split open, and a sword materialized in his grip.  

A blade forged from the fang of a Giant Black salmo.  

The masterpiece that Choi Cheol-gwan proudly declared his life’s work.  

“Ooooooooom—”  

As Seo Do-jun channeled magic into it, the sword hummed in response.  

Crimson magic enveloped the blade, causing the Cyclops’ massive eye to twitch.  

Instinctive fear arose in the monster—fear of a human it had dismissed as mere prey.  

“Kwaaaaaaaaaaah!”  

As if denying the impossible, the Cyclops roared even louder, shaking off its fear and fueling its bloodlust.  

But why was this human unaffected by its fear aura?  

Before the Cyclops could question further, Seo Do-jun stepped forward and swung his sword.  

Vandeyan Family Swordsmanship  

Third Form: Spiral Frehido Catast!  

-The destructive spiral hidden within elegance-  

It seemed like a single slash, but reality was different.  

Dozens of crimson lines appeared in the air, spinning like living creatures.  

The mesmerizing beauty of the movement could enchant any onlooker.  

Even the Cyclops’ single eye grew dazed by the spiraling brilliance.  

Then, the spiral’s sharp claws revealed their true nature.  

“Slick! Slick! Slickslickslick! Slickslickslick!”  

“K…wa—?”  

Before it could process what happened, the Cyclops’ body was diced into pieces.  

Like puzzle pieces scattered haphazardly across the ground.  

A pitiful end for a monster that couldn’t even block a single attack.  

Seo Do-jun returned the sword to subspace and collected the Cyclops’ blood in a large glass vial he had prepared.  

With his true objective—the magic stone—now in hand, he leisurely exited the rift zone.  

But as soon as he left, he received an unexpected call.  

“Kassal? Can you help us? No—help us, please.”  

Gloria Tyler’s voice was filled with urgency.  

***

Three days before Seo Do-jun entered the Paju Rift Zone to obtain the Cyclops’ magic stone…  

Phoenix Rift Monitoring and Control Center, Arizona, Southwest U.S.  

“The rift zone… has broken.”  

A Level-1 containment rift zone had breached.  

Center Director Michael immediately reported the breach to the U.S. Hero Association and dispatched Heroes to assess the situation.  

“Good God! A breach…?”  

Eric Jonathan, chairman of the U.S. Hero Association, clutched his forehead at the grim situation.  

Before the rift zones appeared, the U.S. had been the world’s strongest nation.  

It acted as it pleased, while other nations scrambled to keep up.  

But in the age of rifts, the U.S. could no longer maintain that title.  

Though the U.S. boasted the second-highest number of S-rank Heroes globally (thirty-one in total), seven of them were foreign recruits—more than any other nation.  

This raised doubts: Would these naturalized Heroes truly risk their lives for America?  

For now, they complied without issue, but the question lingered.  

As proof, they had all gathered promptly after the breach alert.  

“That’s the new rift zone east of Phoenix, right?”  

The towering black man, Gael Ruakani, spoke dismissively.  

“The one that appeared recently.”  

The Hispanic man beside him, Coby Borgetti, clicked his tongue.  

“So, that’s the place.”  

Gael chuckled to himself, amusing no one else.  

Coby scolded him for laughing in such a dire situation, but Gael didn’t stop.  

The two shared three traits:  

Age (both 37), illegal immigrant backgrounds (Congo and Mexico, respectively), and naturalization.  

After awakening post-rift, they had risen to S-rank, prompting the U.S. Hero Association to recruit them as citizens.  

“You think this is funny? Do you realize how disastrous a monster wave would be?”  

Chris Twelman, a stereotypical white American, couldn’t comprehend Gael’s laughter.  

“What’s it to you?”  

Gael’s expression turned bestial.  

Chris had always looked down on him for his immigrant past.  

Gael was ready to smash his face in at the first opportunity.  

Before Chris could retort with a slur, the conference room door opened.  

Eric Jonathan and several others entered.  

“Tch!”  

Gael clicked his tongue, disappointed at the missed chance.  

“Damn illegal immigrant… I’ll shove a knife down your throat one day.”  

Chris, equally frustrated, stiffened at the chairman’s grave expression.  

“Is everyone who could make it here?”  

The secretary confirmed. All available S-rank Heroes had gathered.  

“You all know why we’re here. Four hours ago, the newly formed rift zone at Browns Peak, 47 miles (75 km) from Phoenix, entered a breach state.”  

“A predicted breach?”  

Eric shook his head. 

“Completely unexpected.”  

“Is it like… the U.K. situation?”  

Months earlier, an unforeseen monster wave had nearly turned London to ruins.  

“While the breach itself is similarly unpredictable, thankfully, unlike the U.K., we know what monsters are in there.”  

Images of the rift’s monsters appeared on screen—some familiar, others never seen before.  

Three stood out as the chairman’s top concerns:  

– Deambsi, massive boulder-like creatures.  

– Utidum, shadowy black entities.  

– Herutun, giant humanoids made of earth.  

Eric turned to John Gaychens, a seasoned S-rank Hero who had previously explored the Browns Peak rift.  

John began explaining the monsters’ traits and abilities.  

The Heroes’ expressions darkened. Some looked grave, others frustrated or confused.  

“So, if these things trigger a wave, stopping them won’t be easy?”  

Maximo Obregon, a naturalized Hero from Ecuador, cut to the point.  

“If all of us work together, we can contain the wave within a 3-mile (5 km) radius. The problem is…”  

John paused, glancing at the secretary.  

The screen changed, showing a massive rocky mountain.  

“What… is that?”  

Before John could explain, the secretary displayed another image.  

The ‘mountain’ was standing up.  

“No way!”  

“Jesus!”  

“Oh my God!”  

The next image showed the mountain transforming into a colossal monster, hurling house-sized boulders like missiles.  

The most shocking photo, however, depicted the monster absorbing the surrounding land like a black hole, growing larger and more destructive.  

“The Boss Monster of this rift zone. Unknown name, unknown origin. If it emerges during the wave… it’ll be the worst disaster in U.S. history.”  

No explanation was needed.  

If that thing left the rift zone, it was over.  

A Boss Monster defying all logic.  

“How often have Boss Monsters emerged during waves?”  

“Never. But… we can’t afford optimism with an unpredictable breach. Most importantly…”  

Eric took over.  

“The rift’s core is embedded somewhere in that thing. Unless we kill it… the monster wave will never end.”  

A crushing pressure filled the room.