Chapter 256
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 256.
Jin Seo-yeon unleashed her magical power.
Kyiing!
With a deafening roar like the sound of machinery circuits activating, countless magic circles appeared behind her back.
Kwaaaang!
And then came the bombardment.
Pillars of light shot from the magic circles, engulfing the traitorous mages.
"Ahhhhk!"
"Sa, save me...!"
Originally, the golems should have blocked them. But those golems were being held back by other golems and swordsmen.
The mages had no chance.
“You dared to steal the blueprints.”
And then, Yoo Baek-jun.
He stepped forward and slammed his fists together with all his might.
Kwoong!
Magic surged from his fists, transforming into the shape of gauntlets.
"St-stop him!"
"Try stopping me if you can!"
Yoo Baek-jun charged toward Harun, who hastily pushed his golems forward.
But it was futile.
Kwaaang!
"Th-this can't be..."
S-rank stats.
With the addition of Aura Install, Yoo Baek-jun's combat prowess was beyond what the golems could handle.
His fists shattered the golems—harder than steel—like breaking rocks.
'Thanks to the Evil Dragon, their magic resistance was strengthened. But they probably didn’t focus much on physical defense.'
Since their goal was to suppress the Magic Tower, there was no need to reinforce physical defense.
Now, that has become a fatal mistake.
Kwaaaduduk!
Yoo Baek-jun folded a golem in half with his hands as he charged forward.
Harun gritted his teeth.
"Don’t come any closer...! You trash!"
His eyes glowed blue.
A Cold aura surged from his entire body as icy magical energy swirled around his hands.
"How dare... a lowlife like you stand in my way!"
Harun unleashed his magic.
A massive swirling sphere appeared at his fingertips, scattering blades in all directions as it shot forward.
At the same time, a fierce blizzard erupted around Yoo Baek-jun.
'Two spells at once.'
No wonder he had S-rank traits. Harun was a mage of extraordinary talent.
But.
"Th-this can’t be!"
He had the worst possible opponent.
Especially when that opponent was Yoo Baek-jun, who possessed every trait related to cold.
His ‘Master of the Extreme Cold’ trait nullified the blizzard’s slowing effect.
"Hup!"
Yoo Baek-jun pulled his gauntlet-clad fist back and struck the air.
Aura Burst.
Magical energy shot out in the form of a shockwave, slamming into the approaching sphere.
Whooosh!
Unlike the shockwaves used by Tugwi, this one was imbued with flames.
He had used Elemental Manifestation while executing Aura Burst, infusing the shockwave with fire.
First shattered by the impact, then melted by the flames, the sphere vanished into nothingness.
"...!"
Yoo Baek-jun quickly closed the distance and conjured numerous magical orbs.
In an instant, the Aura Orbs were created and simultaneously fired at Harun.
"Ghk, guuuuhk!"
Harun frantically deployed a barrier to block the attack but was sent flying back.
No visible wounds.
But.
"How dare... how dare you...!"
This humiliation.
He bit his lip.
Yoo Baek-jun scoffed, shaking his hand, then glanced behind him.
"What was it you said to me earlier?"
Tap, tap.
Jin Seo-yeon walked toward Harun.
"I think I heard some nonsense that made my ears rot. Say it again."
A red energy swirled in her hand.
"Uuughk!"
Harun’s face trembled.
The current situation was nothing like what he had anticipated. If things had gone according to plan, this wouldn’t be happening.
'Where did it go wrong?'
He had crafted the plan so that Jin Baek-cheon and Jin Seo-yeon would never find out.
Hadn’t he fooled Jin Seo-yeon, who had doubted him, right before her eyes?
'No.'
He took a step back.
'Was I the one who was fooled?'
Harun glanced around, quickly assessing the situation.
And what he chose was—
“This place is compromised…! Hold them off here as long as you can!”
"Lord H-Harun! Where are you going?! You’re leaving us behind?!"
"Lord Harun!"
—to flee.
He abandoned his comrades and used an item to send a signal to the Black Shadow.
Time, he needed time.
'If only I had that!'
Harun disappeared.
The mages stared blankly at his retreating figure.
"Pathetic man."
Jin Seo-yeon glared at the mages. Her magic glowed ominously.
"Now, tell me. Give me a reason why I should spare traitors like you."
"L-Lady Jin Seo-yeon. At least spare our lives..."
"Is that all for your last words?"
Harun had fled.
The mages realized they stood no chance and slumped in defeat.
Jin Seo-yeon smiled coldly.
"What a shame."
Magic engulfed the mages.
A massive explosion echoed through the underground. When the dust settled, the mages were gone.
Only unrecognizable fragments remained.
"......"
Jin Seo-yeon stared at the fragments with a complicated gaze.
Yoo Baek-jun patted her shoulder.
"No time. Let’s go."
"...Yeah. It went as you predicted."
That these mages would betray them was something Yoo Baek-jun had already warned her about.
Knowing and accepting it in her heart were two different things.
'I really didn’t think they’d betray me.'
They had been mages who had long served as Jin Seo-yeon’s escorts.
The fact that they had betrayed her—even she couldn’t feel good about it.
"...Harun went there, right?"
"Yeah."
Yoo Baek-jun looked up at the ceiling.
The place with the core. Jin Baek-cheon’s office at the top floor of the Magic Tower.
"Let’s go. It’s time to finish this."
As he walked, Yoo Baek-jun issued simultaneous commands to multiple people.
"Han Seong, Min Yi-jae. Move as planned. They’ll come through the underwater passage."
***
Harun’s mages were staging rebellions throughout the Magic Tower.
But Harun’s influence extended not only to mages but also to students.
"Ugh, ughhh..."
A dark library.
The students hiding there trembled in fear, their bodies curled up.
A male student named Ben stood at the front, as if protecting them, and peered outside.
Kwoong, kung!
―Target, searching.
Numerous golems patrolled the hallway. Seeing them, Ben shuddered.
"Th-those monsters... How does magic not work on them at all?"
"I’m scared..."
They had poured magic into the suddenly appearing golems to defeat them.
But against those golems, the students’ magic had no effect.
"Aren’t those the golems from our Magic Tower? The ones used in Seoul last time..."
"Yeah, right. I saw them too. But back then, their magic resistance was high, but not like this."
Ben bit his nails.
The golems’ magic resistance was clearly abnormal—completely beyond common sense.
'What the hell happened?'
There was no way to know the answer.
Drrrrk. Suddenly, the library door opened.
A group of students stepped inside.
"Oh my, here you are."
The woman at the front covered her mouth as she sneered.
Ben clenched his teeth.
"Aileen, you..."
Her name was Aileen.
One of the key figures who had spoken with Harun through the communication orb yesterday, she was also the former student council president.
"You were the student council president! Why are you involved in this madness?!"
"Because Professor Harun asked for help. What other reason do I need?"
"What?"
Ben was stunned.
Just for that, she had committed this insanity?
"Do you even know how many people have been hurt?"
"Why should I care? If they had just followed Professor Harun’s will from the start, this wouldn’t have happened. Right?"
"You’re insane!"
Ben exploded in anger.
Aileen scoffed, and a professor emerged from behind her.
"Aileen, don’t waste time. Finish this quickly. Once we secure this place, we need to assist elsewhere."
"Yes, Professor Elvin."
Like Aileen, Elvin was a professor trusted by Harun.
Aileen gestured, and golems appeared behind her.
"Kyaaak!"
"G-golems..."
"If you surrender, I’ll spare your lives."
Ben let out a hollow laugh.
"By surrender, you mean joining Professor Harun, right?"
"Yeah, exactly."
"Damn it! I’d rather die here than serve a madman like Harun!"
"......"
Aileen’s eyes burned with anger.
"Fine. Then I’ll grant your wish."
She flicked her fingers.
THUD, THUD!!
The terrified students screamed while the golems approached.
Ben summoned his magic, but he knew it was useless.
"Tsk tsk, how pitiful."
Aileen mocked Ben.
The golems raised their weapons—
Swaaak!
—and swung.
The sound of slicing.
Ben shut his eyes tightly, expecting to be cut down.
But,
'Huh?'
No pain.
Instead, he heard—
Kurururuk!
The sound of shattering fragments.
Ben opened his eyes. What he saw were the golems, mercilessly torn apart, and a man standing in front of them.
"Ghk?!"
And behind Professor Elvin, a woman pressing a sword to his neck.
"Wh-who are you...?"
"Why does it matter?"
"Ghk!"
The woman, Jeon Soo-yeon, slit Elvin’s throat without hesitation.
Even a mage with exceptional skills was powerless if given no time to chant.
"Ahh! What are you doing?!"
Aileen recoiled in shock and tried to cast a spell. But she was too late.
Intelligence agents had already surrounded her, swords at the ready.
"Who are you?! Let go!"
"I’d love to kill you, but we’ll keep you alive for now. Bind her and lock her up."
"Yes."
The intelligence agents swiftly subdued Aileen and the other mages.
The traitors were dragged away. Ben could only stare blankly.
"...Hey, you okay?"
"Huh? Ah, yeah. B-but who...?"
"...Good enough. Jeon Soo-yeon, I’m heading underground. If I miss him again, I won’t be able to face Yoo Baek-jun."
"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead."
Min Yi-jae left without looking back, taking some intelligence agents with him.
Jeon Soo-yeon approached the bewildered students with a smile.
"Alright, kiddos. Just follow this teacher, okay?"
"...Huh?"
"Shall we go somewhere safe?"
The students were stunned.
Jeon Soo-yeon led them all to safety.
***
Dante and the members of the Black Shadow watched the Magic Tower from the sea.
On the ground, swordsmen—not mages—were fighting.
"...Seems things went sideways."
Dante chewed his gum irritably.
Even from a distance, it was clear the situation had spiraled out of control.
Who would’ve expected the Sword Saint family’s Hunters to show up here?
"The Sword Saint family—where the hell did those bastards come from?"
"Didn’t Jin Seo-yeon request help? They’re close, right?"
"Idiot, I know that. The problem is, if she asked for help, that means she knew about this plan from the start."
"W-well, yeah."
Dante spat out his gum.
Since all external communication was blocked by magic, requesting help now was impossible.
Meaning she had known and prepared in advance.
"Damn it. Harun was so confident no one would find out, but he was just dancing in their palms."
"What should we do? Retreating is also an option..."
"You think that’s possible?"
Dante clicked his tongue.
The cost invested in this plan was enormous. Besides, the Magic Tower had to be eliminated—it was an obstacle to Black Shadow.
"Tch, no choice."
Dante bared his teeth in a grin.
"We can’t repeat the failure with the Sword Saint family. We’ll have to reinforce."
"The barrier is breached. Will you go in there?"
"Are you insane? Why would I go into that deathtrap?"
Dante grabbed the reins of his flying monster.
"We’re taking the underwater passage. Follow me!"
Dante and his subordinates flew toward the underwater passage’s exit.
Unaware of what awaited them inside.