Chapter 257
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 257.
Dante and the Black Shadow members entered the underwater passage leading to the Magic Tower.
Inside, an eerie silence lingered, accompanied by the foul stench of blood.
“So many have died.”
Dante frowned in disgust as he glanced at the corpses strewn across the floor.
They were members of Staggler and Black Shadow.
“Any signs of movement?”
“None.”
Dante also tried sensing any presence around him but found nothing.
With a twisted grin, he strode forward through the wide underwater passage.
Squelch, squelch.
The sound of blood pooling underfoot.
“It should be this way.”
Dante and his subordinates advanced cautiously through the passage, surrounded by silence.
A suffocating silence.
“…….”
Suddenly, Dante sensed something amiss.
It was too quiet. The sound of breathing he had heard nearby was gone.
Even the footsteps beneath him had vanished.
He glanced around.
“Hmm.”
A thick fog enveloped everything.
A dense, impenetrable mist filled the passage, obscuring his vision entirely.
His subordinates, who had been nearby, were no longer visible. Their sounds had disappeared as well.
Instead, what he heard was—
Kaaang!
The sound of blades surging forward.
Countless flashes of light flickered, cutting down his subordinates hidden within the fog.
Horrified screams erupted.
“Aaaah!”
Blood splattered across the floor.
Dante wiped the blood splashed on his face with his finger and smirked.
“A barrier formation, huh.”
Despite the dangerous situation, his face remained composed.
He took a deep breath.
—Kyaaaaaaa!
A monstrous roar erupted from Dante.
A sound no human could produce—a scream only a monster could unleash.
The deafening roar, infused with immense magical power, shook the passage, and the fog that had filled the area vanished in an instant.
“…Kuhk?!”
The Mist Barrier was forcibly dispelled.
Han Seong-ah, who had been at the center of the formation, widened her eyes in shock.
The swordsmen who had been slaughtering the Black Shadow members retreated to her side.
“The Mist Barrier… dispelled by a single scream?”
“Pathetic tricks, humans.”
Han Seong-ah scowled.
His tone was strange.
“…You speak as if you’re not human yourself.”
“I’m no ordinary human, that’s for sure.”
Dante chuckled darkly.
“Under normal circumstances, I’d play along, but I don’t have the luxury today.”
“What? Ugh!”
An intense surge of magical energy erupted.
A whirlwind of magic swirled around Dante, completely clearing the remaining fog in the passage.
And moments later—
Paaaat!
“Kuhk!”
The whirlwind exploded outward, unleashing a devastating shockwave.
Han Seong-ah and the swordsmen raised their sword barriers to block the impact.
Even so, the force was enough to push them back.
“What is this…?”
Han Seong-ah opened her eyes.
At the center of the magical whirlwind—where Dante had stood moments ago—something entirely unexpected came into view.
“This is…….”
A grotesquely enlarged body.
Scales like steel covering his skin, a massive tail, and four pairs of membranous wings sprouting from his back.
“…A Dragonkin?”
Dante slowly opened his eyes.
His pupils were no longer human—they resembled those of a reptile.
Scales covered half his face.
—What, never seen this form before?
“……!”
Something gathered at the corner of his mouth.
Han Seong-ah shouted urgently.
“Split up! Dodge!”
Whoooosh!
The moment she spoke, a torrent of black flames surged through the center of the passage.
The flames were massive enough to fill the entire passage, and anything they touched began rotting horribly.
The floor, the ceiling—even the corpses.
—What a waste of time. You all die here. I’ve got more important things to do.
Dante licked his lips.
Han Seong-ah was stunned.
“Why didn’t the Family head warn us he’s a damn dragon?!”
Had she known, she could’ve at least prepared mentally. This was too sudden.
Han Seong-ah steadied her stance.
“Han Seong-ah. I’ve… never fought a Dragonkin before.”
“Same here.”
“What do we do?”
Han Seong-ah exhaled deeply.
“Just buy time. The Family head must have a plan if he ordered this.”
No matter what, Han Seong-ah had absolute faith in Yoo Baek-jun.
If they just stalled, things would work out somehow.
Han Seong-ah gripped her sword.
Dante grinned eerily as he brandished two grotesque daggers.
—Perfect timing. I’m hungry, and you… look delicious.
“…Is that so?”
—Kuhk?!
Daggers suddenly shot toward Dante from thin air.
Chains linked countless daggers embedded around him, tightening from all directions.
—Annoying…
Dante roared in frustration.
The restraints binding him shattered instantly. Swatting away the daggers aimed at his neck, he snarled.
—Persistent little thing, Min Yi-jae.
Min Yi-jae stood beside Han Seong-ah, joined by intelligence agents under his command.
Dante gestured behind him.
In response, the Black Shadow members unleashed the monsters they had tamed.
“This time, I won’t miss….”
—Won’t miss? Heh.
Dante sneered.
Numbers were on his side. And in terms of power, there was no contest.
—Worry about surviving first!
The battle in the underwater passage erupted.
* *
`While the battle raged underground, Yoo Baek-jun and Jin Seo-yeon were chasing after Harun, who had fled.
Harun was hurriedly navigating the corridors while communicating with someone.
—Harun, I’ve checked near the Magic Tower Master’s quarters. No one’s there. Something’s…
“Kenneth! Hold your position there! Stop them at all costs! Now!”
“Y-Yes?!”
Harun’s subordinates desperately tried to block the two, but they were no match for Yoo Baek-jun and Jin Seo-yeon.
The distance between them closed rapidly.
“Kuhk, ugh…!”
Harun realized instinctively.
If this continued, he’d be caught.
“…I can’t let that happen!”
Gritting his teeth, Harun activated his unique ability—Avatar of the Thunder God.
Crackling lightning enveloped him.
Whooosh!
Giant wings of lightning formed on Harun’s back.
He glared at Yoo Baek-jun before leaping upward without hesitation.
Kwaaaang!
The ceiling shattered as Harun’s transformed figure vanished above.
“Hey, he grew wings.”
“What are you doing? Chase him.”
Harun tore through the ceiling at incredible speed, ascending to the upper floors.
Yoo Baek-jun pursued him.
In an instant, Harun reached the top floor and stood before Jin Baek-cheon’s office.
‘What’s going on?’
Harun felt a sudden unease.
The Magic Tower Master’s quarters were usually heavily guarded.
Protected by countless defensive spells and mages loyal only to the Tower Master.
‘No one’s here.’
The area around the office was deserted.
Though uneasy, now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
“It’s not over yet….”
Harun opened the office door and commanded his subordinates.
“Kenneth, hold off the intruders here.”
“Yes, but something’s wrong—”
Thud!
The office door slammed shut.
“…….”
Kenneth’s expression darkened.
Something felt off. The situation was spiraling strangely.
But it was too late to turn back.
The enemies appeared before him.
“…Prepare.”
Yoo Baek-jun and Jin Seo-yeon.
Kenneth, Han Beom-cheol, and their comrades began chanting spells in unison.
But Yoo Baek-jun remained unfazed.
“Who’s that?”
“Kenneth. A professor of flame magic. The one next to him is Han Beom-cheol—a mage considered promising in the Magic Tower.”
“The Magic Tower’s future looks bleak, huh.”
“Shut up.”
A professor and a promising mage participating in a rebellion.
Jin Seo-yeon sighed.
Where had things gone so wrong?
“…I’m sorry, Jin Seo-yeon. I can’t let you go any further.”
“Is that so?”
“I’ll stop you here.”
Yoo Baek-jun glanced at Jin Seo-yeon.
A cold smirk played on her lips—an open sneer directed at Kenneth.
“Stop me?”
Beneath her feet, an enormous magic circle formed in an instant.
“You? Me?”
“Attack…!”
Kenneth and the mages chanted their spells. But before they could finish, something seized their legs.
“Ugh, kuhk?!”
“M-My magic!”
Crimson vine-like tendrils.
As they wrapped around their legs, Kenneth and the mages felt their magic being drained.
Kenneth looked down.
“This is—!”
Flowers with countless tendrils.
The plants greedily devoured the mages’ magic, growing larger.
“Feast.”
“Professor Kenneth… Gahk!”
“N-No…!”
Han Beom-cheol and the mages were consumed. Kenneth desperately tried to resist.
But his body wouldn’t move.
“……!”
A Cold aura and blood-red mist emanating from Yoo Baek-jun bound them in place.
The now-gigantic flowers unfurled massive buds.
Rows of jagged teeth inside glowed ominously.
“Ah… Aaaah!”
That was the end.
The plants swallowed the mages whole, dissolving their bodies.
Kenneth screamed.
“T-This is forbidden magic! How… the next Tower Master… Kuhk!”
Silence fell instantly.
The only sound left was the grotesque digestion of the plants.
Yoo Baek-jun stepped forward.
“These things… they won’t eat me, right?”
“…Want to find out?”
“No thanks.”
Yoo Baek-jun and Jin Seo-yeon passed the plants and stood before the office door.
An overwhelming surge of magic—enough to make their skin tingle—emanated from inside.
After exchanging a glance with Jin Seo-yeon, Yoo Baek-jun forcefully pushed the door open.
“Kuh… Uuuugh!”
The first thing they saw was a massive magic stone.
And Harun, absorbing its energy.
He let out a mad laugh.
“The plan hasn’t failed! I’ll set everything right from here!”
As Harun absorbed the magic, his body began transforming.
Lightning coursed through his entire being.
His flesh melted away, reshaping into the form of a giant bird.
‘Thunder God Bird.’
A divine beast of thunder.
A monstrous creature from another world, its body composed of formless lightning, larger than a house.
Harun’s unique ability allowed him to wield its power—
“Give me strength!”
Under specific conditions, he could manifest the Thunder God Bird itself.
The cost, of course, would be immense.
“Ha, hahahaha!”
The situation was dire.
The Thunder God Bird was an S+-rank monster. If it fully manifested, the Magic Tower would suffer irreversible damage.
But Yoo Baek-jun remained calm.
He had no choice.
Thud!
“Kuh… Huk!”
Because he had faith.
Without warning, a spear of light pierced through the wall, impaling Harun.
Countless magic circles appeared in an instant.
“Aaaah!”
Innumerable spears of light mercilessly skewered Harun’s transforming body.
The unexpected attack halted his magic absorption.
Magical barriers erupted from the floor, blocking Harun as he staggered back.
“W-What is this…?”
Harun’s pupils trembled.
“Seems like quite a lot happened while I was away.”
Then, a voice spoke.
Harun’s body froze. His trembling eyes recognized the speaker.
“J-Jin Baek-cheon?”
A man who looked impossibly young for his age.
Jin Baek-cheon stared down at Harun from above, his face expressionless.