Chapter 189
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 189.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing serious. It's just..."
As Yoo Baek-jun's expression darkened, Chae Jeong-jun grew concerned. Yoo Baek-jun let out a small sigh.
"I was just lost in thought. If we include the recovery teams working in Seoul, the restoration efforts in Busan will finish sooner than expected."
"That's likely. Truthfully, we don’t have the luxury of dragging it out. Even if the damage wasn’t catastrophic, two major cities were attacked."
Chae Jeong-jun smiled bitterly.
Seoul and Busan—two major cities—were paralyzed, even if only briefly.
No matter how quickly they acted, the impact couldn’t be negligible.
The losses would be significant.
"Well, that’s something for us to handle. But more importantly, the Association Chairman and the Mayor of Busan wanted to express their gratitude to you, Yoo Baek-jun."
"If they’re just going to call me over to give me some pointless award, I won’t go. I’ve been busy lately."
"Oh dear. Then I’ll let them know you won’t be attending."
Chae Jeong-jun scratched the back of his head.
"I’ll arrange for a proper reward later and bring it to you, Yoo Baek-jun."
"That sounds good."
Busan could have been completely destroyed, but his preparations had prevented the worst.
Though he was grateful to Chae Jeong-jun and Han Chang-woo, he still intended to claim what he deserved.
‘A reward from the Association and Busan… What should I take to make sure word spreads that I got my due?’
As he watched Chae Jeong-jun and Han Chang-woo walk away, Yoo Baek-jun sank deep into thought.
‘Considering the large-scale events coming up… It might be wise to save it for later.’
Especially with the Hunter Association.
He’d been growing increasingly wary of their movements lately.
Lost in thought, Yoo Baek-jun didn’t notice someone quietly approaching from behind.
"Young Master."
It was Choi Gun Woo.
Recently appointed as the Busan branch leader of the Sword Saint family, he had been swamped with work.
Though the position was technically temporary, it wouldn’t be long before it became permanent.
"How does it feel to finally become the branch head you wanted?"
"Not bad. More than anything, I’m glad that disgusting Im Woo-do is gone."
"Good for you. I doubt Yoo Tae-rang’s faction took it lying down. Did they cause any trouble?"
"There was some grumbling, but the family head personally instructed them to leave it to me..."
"Well, then even my brother couldn’t do anything about it."
Yoo Moo-hak must have heard about the incident by now and understood the details.
"Yes, and..."
Choi Gun-woo bowed his head.
"The family head has summoned you. He said he has something to discuss with both you and Yoo Tae-rang regarding this incident."
"Hmm, is that so?"
An expected development.
Yoo Baek-jun smirked.
"Tell him I’ll gladly attend."
***
The next day.
Standing on a swiftly moving ship, Yoo Baek-jun stared blankly at the sea with unfocused eyes.
"Who am I? Where am I?"
He muttered dazedly.
"I want to rest."
—Awoong?
"I… desperately want to rest right now."
—Kwawoong…?
Yoo Baek-jun kept muttering to himself.
Seol-yeong, nestled in his arms, tilted its head in confusion each time.
"Why can’t I ever rest?!"
—Ee, n…?
Yoo Baek-jun sniffled.
Startled by his sudden change in demeanor, Seol-yeong tapped his face with its front paws.
As if telling him to snap out of it.
"Hey, I’m perfectly sane."
—Kkeuung.
"Why are you shaking your head? I said I’m fine."
—Kkeueuung…
Seol-yeong kept shaking its head.
It was as if it was insisting he wasn’t in his right mind—and it wasn’t entirely wrong.
‘Damn it, it hasn’t even been that long since I recovered.’
Yoo Baek-jun wasn’t heading to the family estate. Instead, he was bound for an island overseas.
To be precise, the dungeon on that island.
The place where he would purify Grandal.
"What was it called again? The Flame of Purification… or something? I can’t remember."
—Awoong?
Yoo Baek-jun stared blankly at the sea.
After sailing for a while, the ship docked at a deserted island.
Not exactly uninhabited, but close—few people lived there.
"Here… this is the place..."
Yoo Baek-jun wandered around the island until he reached a spot with a massive boulder.
Using his Spiral thrust skill, he began rapidly drilling into the hard ground.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
"Oh, nice. Very nice."
It was practically a drill.
The rotating spear dug deep into the ground in an instant.
And before long—
‘Found it.’
An underground cavern appeared.
Without hesitation,
Yoo Baek-jun leaped into the hole made by the Spiral thrust.
There, hidden beneath the island, was a cavern no one had ever set foot in before.
—Kyawooo…
A pitch-black space devoid of light.
Seol-yeong bared its fangs and growled, as if sensing something ominous.
But the cavern itself wasn’t dangerous.
The problem lay beyond it.
Whoosh!
Yoo Baek-jun lit a flame and began walking through the cavern, relying on his memory.
At the deepest part of the cavern—
"Hmm, just as I thought."
There was a fissure.
Or rather, a gate—leading to a dungeon, another world.
[Sanctuary of Purification]
A sacred site said to house the Flame of Purification, left behind when the god of light descended long ago.
Normally guarded by countless paladins and priests, recent unknown events have caused drastic changes within the sanctuary.
Now, the Sanctuary of Purification is overrun with undead, who seek to corrupt the Flame of Purification and turn it into a tool for their own purposes.
They must be stopped.
―Difficulty: A+ Rank
―Entry Limit: 2
―Objective: Reclaim the Flame of Purification
―Reward: Varies based on choices
Yoo Baek-jun read the gate’s information.
The Sanctuary of Purification—originally a place guarded by Holy knights and priests. But those who coveted the Flame of Purification had either killed or driven them all away.
Now, the undead had taken over.
"Undead again."
Yoo Baek-jun rummaged through his subspace and pulled out Grandal, which he had stashed away somewhere.
A sword too corrupted by miasma for a human to wield.
‘Then I’ll just have to make it wieldable.’
Though currently an A-rank sword, the Flame of Purification could elevate its rank.
He’d been using the family’s swords until now, but he was starting to crave a proper weapon.
Especially considering what lay ahead.
"Ah… Ugh… Haaa…"
Yoo Baek-jun sighed heavily as he stood before the gate.
"Hey, come here."
—Kkeung.
Seol-yeong , who had been curiously looking around, hopped into his arms.
He stepped through the gate.
"Damn this life."
***
Fwoosh!
A blinding light filled his vision.
When it faded, Yoo Baek-jun found himself standing before an unfamiliar temple.
"A temple?"
—Myaoo…
Halpeon.
A temple located in a fantasy world, far removed from any city.
"Hmm, seems deserted."
Though traces of people were everywhere, there was no sign of life.
And the faint stench of blood.
‘So the backstory was… undead suddenly appeared and took over the temple?’
Their numbers must have been overwhelming—the defenders were wiped out.
And the one leading the undead horde would be in the sanctuary beneath this temple.
Where the Flame of Purification was kept.
Creeeak.
"Wow, this gives haunted houses a run for their money."
The once-glorious temple interior was now horrifyingly dark and in ruins.
Everything was broken and collapsed.
And in the distance, something like a scream echoed.
—Myaooooo…
"What? Do you see something?"
Hearing the noise, Seol-yeong puffed up its fur and tensed before nodding.
Yoo Baek-jun picked it up.
"Save your energy for later. Let’s go."
—Awoooo…
Yoo Baek-jun wandered the temple, searching for a path.
There had to be a way underground.
‘Where was it again?’
After some time, he stopped in a side chamber of the temple.
A seemingly empty room.
But the sound of wind could be heard.
"Hmm…"
Looking closer, he spotted statues.
Only their upper halves remained, each facing a different direction.
Yoo Baek-jun adjusted them to face the same way—directly toward the center of the room.
—Myang?
"Hey, you—can you stay still?"
Seol-yeong, seemingly interested in the statues, tried pawing at them.
Holding it back, Yoo Baek-jun waited until a deep rumbling filled the room.
Grrrr!
“Why does it always have to be some kind of puzzle?”
A staircase appeared in the center of the room.
Leading underground. Yoo Baek-jun descended into the pitch-black depths.
The further down he went, the stronger the stench grew.
—Grr, grrr…
Seol-yeong squirmed in his arms, wiggling its hips back and forth — like it was revving up, ready to pounce at any second.
Yoo Baek-jun held it down.
"Whoa, that’s grotesque."
At the bottom of the stairs lay the underground sanctuary.
What should have been a sacred place was now filled with blood, corpses, and bones.
An unrecognizable deity’s statue was covered in haphazardly attached bones, making it utterly grotesque.
"Hmm, three paths."
Yoo Baek-jun searched his memory.
This dungeon was likely an instanced one—where the layout changed with each entry.
‘This dungeon… is annoying and dangerous.’
That’s why he hadn’t planned on coming originally.
There were other ways to purify Grandal, and he’d intended to use one of those.
He’d considered seeking the Crimson Crusade’s help, but that would take too long.
‘Guess I should count myself lucky I have the Successor of the Death King trait.’
Without that trait, this place would be a nightmare. But with it, things were different.
Yoo Baek-jun glanced around.
Then raised his sword high—
"Come at me!"
Kwaaaang!
—Wkyang!?
He slammed it into the ground with all his might.
The deafening noise made Seol-yeong’s fur puff up in alarm.
And then—movement.
—Uuoooh…
Thick death energy.
The presence of undead.
Yoo Baek-jun waited, his sword still embedded in the ground.
Soon, an undead emerged from a passage.
—Human… eat…
An armored undead.
Likely a soldier who once guarded this place.
Yoo Baek-jun watched it approach, preparing to exert the Death King’s dominance.
But at that moment—
—Kyaoooong!
—Kkeoook!
Seol-yeong, wriggling its hips, shot out like lightning. With a swift swipe of its paw, the undead’s head went flying.
"Ah, crap!"
He had forgotten its hunting instincts!
On edge from earlier, Seol-yeong had pounced the moment it saw the undead.
Thud!
The corpse collapsed.
Yoo Baek-jun stared at it blankly.
"Hey! I was luring them in!"
—Kyawoong?
Seol-yeong tilted its head innocently, as if it didn’t understand.
Yoo Baek-jun picked it up as it tried licking its bloodied paw.
"You little menace…"
—Lick, lick.
"Stop licking! You’ll get sick!"
Now he had no choice but to find more undead.
Yoo Baek-jun stuffed Seol-yeong into his pocket and began luring new targets.