Chapter 181
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 181.
From the upper floors, the sounds of battle continued to echo.
The fierce clashes of combat, the screams of the undead and cult members reverberated through the air.
Yoo Kang-ho was slaughtering the enemies blocking his path as he made his way upward.
‘He probably thinks I’ve already gone ahead.’
He knew Yoo Kang-ho had learnt demonic techniques.
The side effect of demonic techniques was the loss of reason. Yoo Kang-ho was already impulsive by nature, and now that he had mastered demonic techniques, he is completely uncontrollable.
‘No need to waste energy fighting him head-on.’
The most important enemy was Vincent.
Yoo Kang-ho was also someone he planned to deal with this time, but he couldn’t afford to expend too much energy on him.
“What’s the situation on the upper floors?”
“While Vivianne was buying time, she left traces behind. So that Yoo Kang-ho could recognize them…”
“Good.”
While Vivianne was fighting, Min Yi-jae had moved through several floors, leaving behind various traces.
Specifically, traces of battle.
He left behind signs that made it seem as though Yoo Baek-jun had fought there, ensuring Yoo Kang-ho would follow them.
—Kuaaaah!
—You damn bastards! Don’t get in my way!
Yoo Baek-jun smirked.
‘If my dear older brother is kind enough to clear the path for us, why bother stopping him? Just follow along.’
Inside that building, countless traps, undead, and cult members were lying in wait.
Breaking through wouldn’t be easy.
Even if they managed to push through, the losses would be heavy.
‘Might as well use that brute Yoo Kang-ho to make the climb a little easier.’
From the upper floors, the sounds of intense fighting continued.
Undoubtedly, it was Yoo Kang-ho.
Yoo Baek-jun followed behind him.
“Yoo Kang-ho… he’s no ordinary opponent. Are you confident you can defeat him in a fight? After that, you’ll have to face Vincent immediately…”
“Well, I have my own methods.”
“Methods?”
Yoo Baek-jun nodded.
There was a reason he had used Vivianne to restrict Vincent’s movements. It was to lure Yoo Kang-ho into this building.
Before Vincent could begin the Summoning ritual.
“No need to worry. Min Yi-jae, you should fall back now. Take Vivianne and go to where Yoon Song-ha is.”
“Understood. Then my next task is…”
“Reducing the number of swordsmen loyal to our dear older brother as much as possible. I’ve already given you the list of targets, so you know what to do, right?”
“Of course… I’ll also deal with any members of the Flying Dragon Swordsmen who try to escape.”
Min Yi-jae turned his back.
“Yoo Baek-jun… stay safe.”
“Who are you worrying about?”
Yoo Baek-jun stomped the ground.
Before dealing with Vincent, he had to take care of Yoo Kang-ho first. It was time to bring an end to their long-standing grudge.
* * *
As the thoughts of many intertwined and each moved in their own way—
Whoosh!
Vincent reached the rooftop of the building.
The souls gathered from all over Busan flowed into this building, ultimately converging on the magic circle prepared on the rooftop.
This magic circle had one purpose.
The summoning of Thanatos.
“…….”
Vincent stood at the center of the magic circle.
He slowly surveyed his surroundings. On the ground, a fierce battle raged between the undead and humans.
Collapsed buildings, the screams of people.
This much should have gathered enough power.
“This is…….”
But contrary to his expectations, the magic circle had accumulated far less power than anticipated.
Vincent looked down at the ground again.
Then, he noticed something new.
‘The undead… are being pushed back.’
Though the undead were indiscriminately attacking people, they were actually losing ground.
Hunters were rescuing people all over Busan, and defensive lines set up by other Hunters were holding back the undead.
On top of that, there were various anti-undead devices deployed.
“And that… the floating island.”
High in the sky, a massive island floated, and people were being teleported onto it.
Only then did he realize.
Why the magic circle hadn’t gathered enough power.
‘That island Yoo Baek-jun is said to possess. They’re rescuing people and teleporting them there.’
Vincent’s goal was to turn all of Busan into a slaughterhouse, killing countless people.
As long as that floating island remained in the sky, his goal would remain out of reach.
In that case—
“Rise.”
Vincent raised his staff high.
Countless ghosts roamed the skies of Busan. Under the influence of Vincent’s power, they were reborn as flying undead.
“Destroy that island.”
—Kyaaaah!
The undead surged forward in unison.
Then, Vincent swung his staff once more. Behind him, countless dark magic circles appeared and unleashed spells.
Their target—the floating island.
But—
Kwaaaang!
“…….”
A barrier surrounding the floating island blocked the spells.
Vincent’s expression twisted.
But it didn’t matter.
The shockwaves from the blocked spells had torn a massive hole in the barrier. The undead he had created would pour through that hole.
“Someone’s fighting.”
Vincent looked down at the ground.
The sounds of battle rose from below.
Hearing this, Vincent summoned a cult member and asked what was happening downstairs.
“…There are intruders.”
“Intruders? What happened to Park Cheong-mun?”
“Th-that’s…”
The cult member hesitated.
That alone was answer enough.
“Who killed him?”
“Yoo Baek-jun.”
“So he’s the intruder?”
“N-no. The intruder is someone else.”
Vincent closed his eyes and focused.
He could sense powerful presences inside the building. The energy they radiated made Vincent’s eyes gleam.
The strong possessed more life force and potent souls, making them excellent fuel.
With this much…
‘And if I sacrifice every cult member still in this building as offerings, then yes.’
The summoning ritual could proceed.
The role of the ordinary cult members was over anyway. Unless they had been injected with Metamorphosis serum, they would be of no further use.
Vincent closed his eyes.
“All of this is a necessary sacrifice.”
Vincent pulled out an orb-like object filled with something pulsating from within his body.
Without hesitation, he shattered it.
Pashhh—!
The contents of the orb flowed into the magic circle. At the same time, Vincent felt a draining weakness.
The sensation of losing his divine authority—the Authority of Immortality.
The magic circle emitted an ominous glow.
That light spread throughout the entire building.
“Ugh… aah… keuh!”
“Kuaaah!”
A moment later, the transformation began.
Black tendrils rose from the floor, coiling around the bodies of the nearby cult members.
Their bodies withered like dried-up trees, their vitality draining away.
“…….”
“……”
The surviving cult members—those capable of demonization—watched indifferently as their comrades died.
They were beings entirely under Vincent’s control. Something like this didn’t faze them.
‘If the magic circle had been properly completed, I could’ve done this to everyone in Busan.’
Vincent swallowed his frustration.
Since that wasn’t possible, he had no choice but to sacrifice his own divine authority—Immortality—to amplify the magic circle’s power.
He could feel the life force and souls of everyone in the building being rapidly absorbed into the magic circle.
‘With this… the intruders won’t be able to advance either.’
Losing Immortality didn’t matter.
After all, his enemies wouldn’t be able to reach him anyway.
Vincent raised his staff high.
“The time has finally come.”
Darkness spread in all directions.
Vincent closed his eyes.
“The God of Death… will soon descend.”
A massive rift tore open in the sky.
* * *
Yoo Baek-jun, still on the lower floors, also sensed the change.
“This is…….”
An overwhelming force had engulfed the building.
A vile aura of death—an energy diametrically opposed to the living—had taken hold of the entire structure.
Yoo Baek-jun felt his body grow heavy.
“That bastard Vincent… he sacrificed his divine authority.”
He took a deep breath.
Vincent had received an artifact from Thanatos containing an immense number of souls.
The power within it was the Authority of Immortality.
By sacrificing it, Vincent had compensated for the power needed for Thanatos’ descent and strengthened the magic circle.
‘On top of that, if he sacrifices everyone here and pours all the energy trickling in from across Busan into the magic circle…’
This building was filled with countless cult members meant to protect Vincent. By now, they had likely all withered away as offerings.
In any case, that would fulfill the required amount.
The descent was imminent.
“Guh… ugh……”
—Groooaaah…
Though the people inside the building were collapsing, the undead remained.
They were already dead—what life force did they have left? Those things were immune to the magic circle.
And surprisingly—
‘It doesn’t affect me much either.’
Yoo Baek-jun’s trait—Successor of the Death King.
Because of this, he was antithetical to divine power, and receiving healing from holy magic would burn him.
Just like an undead.
Normally, necromancers didn’t suffer injuries from holy magic.
Only undead were vulnerable to it.
‘If you think about it differently…’
Having the trait of the Successor of the Death King meant Yoo Baek-jun was effectively treated as undead.
Naturally, the effects of this magic circle had less impact on him compared to others.
‘Still, there’s not much time.’
Dealing with Yoo Kang-ho and stopping the summoning ritual would be tight on time.
“This is tough, so tough. Damn it, what sin did I commit in my past life to suffer like this…”
Yoo Baek-jun sniffled.
Maybe he’d finally rest after death.
* * *
Yoo Kang-ho and the Flying Dragon Swordsmen fought their way through countless undead to reach the upper floors.
But their losses were heavy.
Many swordsmen had fallen along the way, and Kang Dae-sung had ordered others to evacuate them.
“Kuh… kahk!”
“Again.”
Swordsmen coughed up blood and collapsed.
Kang Dae-sung’s vision was blurring as well. His body felt unnaturally heavy, and exhaustion weighed on him.
‘Something’s wrong.’
This fatigue.
Ever since that dark energy had appeared inside the building, these symptoms had begun.
This was no natural phenomenon.
‘We moved too hastily. We should’ve taken the time to assess the situation inside first.’
Kang Dae-sung lost his balance for a moment, swaying unsteadily.
His gaze landed on Yoo Kang-ho.
“Hah… hahk!”
He, too, was breathing heavily.
It wasn’t just from overusing demonic techniques. He was also affected by the dark energy.
Kang Dae-sung hesitated briefly before steeling himself and speaking up to persuade him.
“Yoo Kang-ho, sir, this building… it’s not normal. Some kind of unknown magic is at work here. We should retreat for now.”
“Shut up! Yoo Baek-jun, Yoo Baek-jun… I won’t leave until I kill that bastard. The same goes for all of you!”
“But—”
“Or should I kill you first?!”
Yoo Kang-ho’s glare at Kang Dae-sung burned with violent bloodlust.
These were not the eyes of a human.
They resembled those of a beast.
‘Was it a mistake to think we could stop him from going berserk?’
Kang Dae-sung regretted his decision.
That man was beyond stopping now. Kang Dae-sung sent his subordinates away and decided to accompany Yoo Kang-ho alone.
Just as he made up his mind—
“My, you all look exhausted. Are you okay?”
A voice rang out.
A mocking voice—but a familiar one.
Yoo Kang-ho’s head snapped toward the sound like lightning.
“Brother.”
There stood Yoo Baek-jun.
A sneer played on his lips.
“You son of a bitch…!”
A grin of ecstasy spread across Yoo Kang-ho’s face.