Chapter 223
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 223.
The Hunter Association branch on Jeju Island was relaxed— sometimes excessively so, considering it was supposed to deal with the danger of monsters.
“Huh? What’s this? A Gate appeared near Seongsan Ilchulbong?”
“Send some Hunters. There are plenty of people around, right? If things go south, just offer a bounty to the foreign Hunters and have them clear it.”
“That sounds good.”
It wasn’t that the island was peaceful because monsters rarely appeared.
Jeju Island was actually one of the regions where monsters frequently emerged.
Yet, the relaxed attitude stemmed from the island’s unique characteristics.
“It’s great that there are so many tourists.”
“Mmm.”
Tourists.
Many foreigners came to Jeju Island, and among them were plenty of Hunters.
Though they came to enjoy their vacations, they often took on requests as long as the difficulty wasn’t too high.
“What’s the point of guilds? Things run smoothly even without them.”
“Yeah, let’s just take it easy. I’m already pissed I got dragged all the way from Seoul to Jeju.”
While the aforementioned reasons played a part, another factor was that many of those stationed at the Jeju branch weren’t originally from Jeju.
Forced to relocate, they were simply waiting for the day they could return to Seoul.
“Ugh, this damn sea breeze.”
And the biggest culprit behind the Jeju branch’s current state—the Branch leader.
Park Jae-mun was enjoying the peace.
“This damn island… I can’t stand the sight of it.”
The branch leader’s office on the top floor of the Jeju branch. Park Jae-mun sipped his drink while gazing at the scenery outside.
“It’s not like I’ll be here forever. I’ll go back to Seoul eventually.”
Park Jae-mun had been sent to Jeju after causing trouble in Seoul.
To him, Jeju was just a temporary stop until the public outcry died down.
‘I can’t stay here forever.’
He would return to Seoul someday—he had no intention of staying here indefinitely.
As long as he pretended to work while idling his time away, the Association’s headquarters would eventually recall him.
That’s what he believed.
“Just let things stay quiet, and pass the time peacefully. Yeah…”
With the Branch leader himself lacking motivation and only waiting for the day he could leave, it was no surprise his subordinates felt the same.
And their laziness—
—EEEEEEEEK!
“Huh— Huhk!”
A sudden alarm shattered the calm.
Park Jae-mun barely caught the glass he nearly dropped. The blaring siren almost made him fumble and break it.
The intercom in the office rang.
“What? What’s going on?!”
—B-Branch leader! An urgent report…!
“What report? Spit it out!”
—A-A Gate has appeared! In the lava cave zone… T-This is… an S-rank Gate!
“What?!”
An S-rank Gate.
A Gate of a rank that had never appeared on Jeju Island before.
Park Jae-mun’s face paled.
“H-Has a high-rank Gate like this ever appeared on Jeju before?”
—N-No, sir.
“Hurry and put out a request! Like usual, offer it to the tourists, damn it!”
—W-We’re trying, but the difficulty is too high—no one’s accepting!
“Then what about the guilds?!”
—They’re too far away! Even if we call them now, they’ll likely be too late…!
Until now, the Gates that appeared on Jeju had been low-difficulty, so Hunters on vacation had willingly cleared them.
But this time was different.
“Wait, the lava cave zone?”
And on top of that, S-rank.
Park Jae-mun pieced together the familiar information and recalled something.
‘Shit! That’s the Gate I was briefed about when I first took office and ignored!’
It had existed for a long time.
Back then, experts said it was stabilized and would take a long time to break free.
So, he left it for the next Branch leader to handle.
Who would’ve thought that ticking time bomb would go off now?
“T-This is bad.”
Park Jae-mun slumped into his chair.
Doom, crisis—his mind blanked as he instinctively sensed the gravity of the situation.
* * *
Heavenly Destruction lunged at the Blood Demon.
A vicious chill bloomed like snowflakes before exploding, countless ice shards piercing her entire body.
—Keuhk!
Her body was thrown back.
Yoo Baek-jun didn’t miss the opening, closing the distance to unleash his skills.
Thunderwheel Strike, followed by Flame Kick.
A dazzling flame engulfed her.
‘I need to hit her as hard as I can now.’
Yoo Baek-jun activated the Heavenly Aura.
A Heavenly Aura dragon coiled around him as he unleashed an enhanced Heavenly Destruction Fist Technique.
Countless blades of energy shot forth, and his clones mercilessly struck the Blood demon with relentless attacks.
—Kuhk, aah… AAAAAH!
The Blood Demon visibly writhed in pain. Then, she hunched over and—
—UUUAAAAAH!
—let out a deafening roar.
A crimson aura condensed around her, centered on her position.
And when that energy reached its limit—
KWA-GWA-GWANG!
A deafening explosion erupted.
The energy burst outward, engulfing everything—including Yoo Baek-jun.
“Ugh!”
Yoo Baek-jun staggered back.
The Blood Demon chased after him.
—How dare you!
She spewed blood energy from her left hand, forming a long, sinister crimson sword.
A cursed demonic blade.
—Die… Die!
Closing the distance in an instant, The Blood Demon swung the blood-red sword like a madwoman.
Each time the sword’s blood-soaked edge touched Yoo Baek-jun, it detonated.
—GRAAAAAH!
The Blood Demon raised the dagger in her right hand high and slammed it into the ground.
A massive fissure split the earth, and pillars of blood erupted from the cracks.
Yoo Baek-jun used the Ghost Phantom Step to evade and hastily retreated.
—Where do you think you’re going?!
The Blood Demon swung her crimson sword.
The blade morphed, taking the form of a long, whip-like serpentine sword.
The serpentine blade shot forward, snaring Yoo Baek-jun as he tried to flee.
KR-R-R-R!
The Blood Demon released a surge of blood energy.
The energy split into dozens of orbs, hovering ominously in the air.
—Come… here!
The serpentine sword yanked Yoo Baek-jun forward.
His body was dragged straight to The Blood Demon in an instant.
Then, the blood orbs surrounding them locked onto him.
Just as they were about to collide—
WHOOSH!
The blood orbs engulfed Yoo Baek-jun.
The orbs struck him simultaneously, detonating in a violent explosion.
—Die, die, DIE…!
The Blood Demon screamed, charging forward in a frenzy.
But then—
—……!
Something strange happened.
The blood orbs that had engulfed Yoo Baek-jun—
The explosions they triggered were rapidly dissipating.
The Blood Demon’s eyes widened.
—What is this?!
The blood orbs were vanishing.
No, to be precise—
—He’s absorbing them?!
Counter Return.
Yoo Baek-jun absorbed all the blood orbs that had struck him, converting their energy into his own.
A crimson aura flickered around his hand.
—Huhk!
The distance between him and The Blood Demon had already closed.
Once again, Heavenly Destruction struck her abdomen. The reversed explosion of blood energy swallowed her whole.
The Blood Demon was sent flying, unable to withstand the impact.
—Kuhk, AAGH!
Blood spilled from The Blood Demon’s lips.
The Heavenly Destruction had ravaged her insides, severely damaging her organs.
But what truly pained her wasn’t her abdomen—
—Hah, ugh… UUUUGH!
The Blood Demon clutched her head.
The massive shock had disrupted the brainwashing controlling her.
The pain was unbearable—her skull felt like it was splitting apart.
—B-Blood…!
The Blood Demon frantically looked around.
The swordsmen who had deployed the mist were nowhere to be seen. Instead, only her allies—the Blood Jiangshi—remained.
Her eyes darkened.
—Give me your blood!
The Blood Demon swung her serpentine sword.
The blade coiled around her before plunging into the ground.
Then, crimson roses began blooming from the earth.
BOOOOM!
As Yoo Baek-jun tried to approach, the roses suddenly exploded.
The blast shook the earth—so powerful that even he couldn’t recklessly charge forward.
—KYAAAAH!
While Yoo Baek-jun was stalled, The Blood Demon sensed the Blood Jiangshi nearby.
The ones that had been struck by Yoo Baek-jun earlier. They had just gotten up to aid her, but—
—Keuhk!
The Blood Demon didn’t need their help. She only wanted one thing.
—Give me your blood!
The Blood Demon spread her hands wide.
A surge of energy erupted from her palms, pulling the Blood Jiangshi toward her.
She seized one by the throat.
Her grip glowed crimson as she began draining something from it.
The Jiangshi's body withered instantly—like a mummy.
—HAAAH!
What she absorbed was blood.
But it wasn’t enough.
The Blood Demon glanced at the number of Jiangshi around her and crouched low.
—Uuuugh…
When she straightened, a pool of blood formed beneath her.
Countless hands emerged from it, grasping the Blood Jiangshi standing above.
—KYAAAAH!
—KUHAAAK!
Just as The Blood Demon had done earlier—
The hands from the blood pool drained the Blood Jiangshi blood.
‘All of The Blood Demon’s skills consume her own life force.’
A massive amount of it.
To replenish it, she had a means of recovering life force.
And that was this.
‘What a pain.’
The Blood Demon was, frankly, a troublesome opponent.
When she ran low on life force, she could drain her allies or enemies to recover—an incredibly annoying ability.
On top of that, if cornered, she’d go berserk and enter her second phase, which was just as troublesome.
‘The Blood Demon Form.’
The Blood Demon’s martial arts drove its user into madness.
Once fully consumed by madness, she loses control and enters the Blood Demon Form.
In that state, The Blood Demon was a calamity worthy of an S-rank Gate.
‘Then, as always…’
The solution was simple: don’t let her reach her second phase.
Yoo Baek-jun watched as The Blood Demon drained the Jiangshi’s blood.
The crimson orbs rising from all directions—they would flow into her, restoring her life force.
So, before that—
“Activate the trap!”
He triggered the prepared trap.
KOOOOM!
The sound of machinery activating.
Four altar-like devices emerged from the ground.
Flames flickered atop them, forming violet chains centered around The Blood Demon and Yoo Baek-jun.
—A Futile effort!
The chains glowed ominously.
At the same time, the blood orbs were sucked into The Blood Demon’s body.
Her life force was being restored.
—W-What is this?!
Or so it seemed.
The Blood Demon had absorbed the Blood Jiangshi’s life force—but something felt off.
The life force that should’ve filled her body felt less than half.
—What… What did you do?!
The Sacred Flames of Decay.
A trap that halved healing and life force recovery effects.
But that wasn’t all.
—GRAAAAH!
Flames erupted across The Blood Demon’s body.
A secondary effect—inflicting agonizing wounds on those attempting to recover life force.
The burns covering her further reduced the healing effects.
“Good, it’s working.”
The trap’s counter was simple.
Destroying even one of the four altars would disable it.
Of course—
“Let’s make sure she takes a few hits first.”
He had no intention of letting that happen.
* * *
Some time later—
—…….
The battle reached its conclusion.
The fight between Yoo Baek-jun and The Blood Demon. The result, as expected—
—Keuhk!
—was Yoo Baek-jun’s victory.
The Blood Demon, her body riddled with wounds, staggered before collapsing.
“Hah…!”
Yoo Baek-jun wasn’t unscathed either.
The Blood Demon had relentlessly used her skills, draining her life force significantly.
Even weakened and unable to recover properly, her combat prowess remained threatening.
“What a pain to deal with.”
Still, he had succeeded in subduing her.
Yoo Baek-jun spat out the blood in his mouth and surveyed the surroundings.
The battle against the Jiangshi wasn’t over yet. Even within the mist, the fight continued.
‘The shrine’s about to open again.’
If more Jiangshi arrived as reinforcements, holding out would become even harder.
Before that—
“First, I need to undo the brainwashing.”
Killing The Blood Demon would be the simplest solution, but he couldn’t just kill this walking skillbook.
“Even if you die, you’re spilling all your skills first.”
Yoo Baek-jun pulled out his tools.