Chapter 258
I Became the Successor of the Martial God C1
Chapter 258.
Jin Baek-cheon.
The master who built this magic tower and led it for a long time.
The magical power he possessed was incomparable, to the point where no one dared to match him.
However,
“What difference does it make if a powerless wretch like you shows up alone…!”
His strength had diminished to a pitiful degree compared to his prime.
It was because he had passed on his unique abilities to Jin Seo-yeon.
Harun knew that all too well.
“Just because I’ve weakened doesn’t mean you’ve grown stronger, does it?”
“What?”
Jin Baek-cheon spread both hands.
As he drew in magical power, pure white particles appeared around him, glowing brightly.
Harun’s eyes widened. Were those particles magic? No, they weren’t.
“Th-those are…”
Tiny spirits.
But they weren’t any kind of spirit Harun recognized.
Fire, ice, wind—no spirits of any element looked like that.
“What… are those spirits?”
“Artificial spirits.”
“A-artificial spirits?”
The miniature spirits gathered and amplified Jin Baek-cheon’s magical power, making his spells even more potent.
Though it still couldn’t compare to his prime, this was more than enough.
“Do you not understand why I’m still alive and haven’t aged?”
“Ghk… Keugh!”
The spell Jin Baek-cheon used tightly bound Harun’s entire body.
He gave Yoo Baek-jun a glance, and as if waiting for it, Yoo Baek-jun charged forward.
“Graaah!”
Harun roared.
Though his body had only halfway transformed into a Thunder God Bird, the power of lightning still dwelled within him.
Around him, lightning began to swirl like a storm.
One.
“……!”
It was meaningless against Yoo Baek-jun.
The Thunder Monarch trait he possessed, along with various items, allowed him to ignore the lightning crashing down on him.
Harun was shocked as he watched Yoo Baek-jun approach, completely unaffected by the storm of lightning.
“What, is this your first time seeing something like this?”
In an instant, Yoo Baek-jun closed the distance and drew Grandal.
His sword was imbued with magical power.
“You insect…!”
And then, a Single slash.
Following Moonlight, the slash severed Harun’s head in one clean strike.
Harun tried to say something, but Yoo Baek-jun was faster.
Boom!
The massive body collapsed.
The half-transformed Thunder God Bird Harun was a grotesque sight.
‘Did this guy dislike his own unique ability or something?’
Using his unique ability caused his body to mutate, and he supposedly avoided it because he found the appearance hideous.
Yet, the fact that he still used it meant he was truly cornered.
Yoo Baek-jun stood before him.
“Ugh, keugh!”
Harun coughed up blood.
Though his head had been separated from his body, he was still alive.
But he wouldn’t last much longer.
“You slipped through my fingers.”
Jin Baek-cheon stood before the dying Harun and conjured a mirror in the air.
The mirror showed scenes from all over the magic tower.
Comrades cornered. And—
“A teleportation magic circle…!”
Even the teleportation circle that had appeared in the tower.
From that circle emerged the expedition team that had set out to conquer the gate alongside Jin Baek-cheon.
They were the elite mages of the tower, renowned as the very best.
With their return, any hope was lost—the situation was already dire enough.
If the golems had been present, things might have been different, but now, even half of them had lost their control, rendering them useless.
“Do you understand the situation now?”
“…….”
Harun’s pupils darkened.
He had realized it too.
Their rebellion had failed, and his plans had collapsed miserably.
“H-how?”
Harun asked.
His voice was hoarse and phlegm-filled, but the words were clear.
“How… did you prepare all this?”
“Because I knew from the beginning.”
Yoo Baek-jun stepped forward.
“I’ve known about the plans you were scheming for months. Dealing with a rebellion I already knew about wasn’t that difficult.”
“You… knew all along?”
Harun let out a hollow laugh.
He thought he had prepared in complete secrecy, but that wasn’t the case.
He tried to say something more, but no more words came out.
“…….”
Harun was dead.
Yoo Baek-jun rubbed the back of his neck.
‘That was resolved more easily than I thought.’
Originally, Harun’s plan would have succeeded without anyone noticing.
By the time Jin Seo-yeon realized, the plan would already be in motion.
She would try to stop the rebellion alone but ultimately fail.
‘Jin Baek-cheon’s behavior patterns vary, but this one was relatively easy.’
During the fall of the magic tower event, Jin Baek-cheon either secluded himself in his office or, like this time, went out to conquer a gate.
His actions followed multiple patterns.
Among them, this pattern was the most favorable for dealing with the event.
Luck was on their side this time.
“Oh dear, the item…”
Yoo Baek-jun snatched up the essence of magic power that spilled from Harun.
[Essence of the Thunder Bird (S-)]
―An essence left behind by one who attempted to become a Thunder Bird but failed.
Since he truly had been the Avatar of the Thunder Bird, the power contained within this essence was genuine.
Consuming it carries great risk, but if one can endure it, a unique power can be obtained.
Yoo Baek-jun shook his head.
“Good, not bad at all.”
A satisfying item indeed.
While he examined the essence, Jin Seo-yeon stood face-to-face with Jin Baek-cheon.
“…….”
“…….”
Silence hung between them.
Though they were father and daughter, the atmosphere was as awkward as if they were strangers.
Jin Baek-cheon was the first to speak.
“I believed you had the qualifications to become the master of the tower. That’s why I passed my power to you. But look.”
He showed Jin Seo-yeon the scenes of the tower reflected in the mirror.
“Is this the result?”
Jin Baek-cheon’s tone was harsher and colder than usual.
“Was the position of Tower Master too burdensome for you? If so, just say the word. I’ll take it back.”
“…….”
Jin Seo-yeon remained silent.
Leading the tower properly was already a challenge, but a rebellion had erupted before she could even fully assume the role of Tower Master.
No words could justify it.
However,
“…I already knew a rebellion would happen. I judged it better to let it occur than to prevent it in advance.”
“So you’re saying you’ll use this opportunity to purge all the rebels in the tower?”
“Yes. I believe it’s a necessary process to lead the tower properly.”
Jin Baek-cheon’s gaze was icy.
“If you had acted properly from the beginning, this rebellion wouldn’t have happened.”
“I admit I’ve neglected those around me and ignored those under my command.”
Jin Seo-yeon acknowledged her shortcomings.
This situation was the result of her own failings.
“I’ll make sure this never happens again. I’ll pay attention to the people and earn their trust and loyalty…”
She raised her head.
Her eyes shone with determination as she looked at Jin Baek-cheon.
“…I’ll do my best.”
“…….”
Jin Baek-cheon’s expression changed slightly.
A flicker of surprise, but it vanished quickly.
“…Fine. I’ll give you one last chance. If something like this happens again, I won’t stand idle.”
“Yes, Father.”
Yoo Baek-jun studied Jin Baek-cheon’s face. Outwardly, he spoke coldly, but his true feelings were likely different.
‘He seems satisfied, doesn’t he?’
Jin Seo-yeon had grown up stunted due to Jin Baek-cheon’s harsh teachings—borderline abusive.
Someone who had always obeyed her father’s words without question was now clearly expressing her own opinions.
‘If you wanted this, you should’ve raised her properly from the start…’
Yoo Baek-jun sighed inwardly.
Yoo Moo-hak was a terrible father, but Jin Baek-cheon wasn’t much better.
He turned away.
“Deal with the remaining rebels yourself. Command the mages.”
“Understood. Then, Father, you’ll…”
“I have something to discuss with this one.”
Jin Baek-cheon looked at Yoo Baek-jun. The sudden statement made his eyes widen.
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Wait, why me…?”
Without another word, Jin Baek-cheon walked ahead.
Yoo Baek-jun exchanged glances with Jin Seo-yeon. She gave a slight nod, as if telling him to just follow quietly.
“Ugh…”
Yoo Baek-jun followed Jin Baek-cheon.
He entered one of the many rooms in the office.
Inside was a magic circle.
“A teleportation circle.”
“You know your stuff. Well, I suppose you’re familiar with it since it’s installed in the Sword Saint’s household.”
The magic circle had stopped functioning as the magic stones collapsed.
Jin Baek-cheon infused it with magical power.
“If it weren’t for the subordinates you sent, I wouldn’t have arrived at the tower in time. Should I thank you?”
“No need for that. I believed Lord Jin Baek-cheon would be able to construct a teleportation circle quickly.”
“Glad I could live up to your expectations.”
The magic tower handled all kinds of magical knowledge and housed mages skilled in diverse spells.
When nations needed mages, the tower was the first place they turned to—their abilities were that well-proven.
But that wasn’t all.
―Teleportation magic.
The tower’s true value lay in that.
Tower Masters had passed down the secrets of teleportation magic for generations, and its effects were astonishingly powerful.
‘To the point of creating a teleportation circle linking the gate they were conquering back to the tower in just tens of minutes.’
For an ordinary person, even days of nonstop work wouldn’t be enough—it was that difficult.
Yoo Baek-jun and Jin Baek-cheon stepped onto the circle, and the teleportation magic activated.
They arrived underground.
“This place is…”
“An Underwater passage. You had something to ask of me anyway, didn’t you?”
“You’re sharp.”
Yoo Baek-jun smiled wryly.
To be frank, he could have cleared the tower event without Jin Baek-cheon.
But the reason he went through the trouble of bringing him along was simple.
“You want to deal with that dragonkin, don’t you?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I figured there might be something useful among the forbidden spells.”
“You speak as if you know about forbidden magic. Interesting.”
Jin Baek-cheon stared intently at Yoo Baek-jun.
His gaze was unsettling, as if looking at an intriguing test subject.
Yoo Baek-jun smiled without answering.
“Normally, I wouldn’t have agreed. But this time, I owe you, and…”
The corner of Jin Baek-cheon’s mouth twitched upward slightly.
“You helped Jin Seo-yeon change, so I’ll indulge you.”
“Did you know your daughter was heading down the wrong path?”
“Who knows.”
Jin Baek-cheon didn’t answer. He simply waved his hand as if urging him to hurry.
“As you said, there is a forbidden spell suitable for dealing with a dragonkin. I’ll prepare the spell—you go ahead.”
Even without taking the forefront, he could chant the spell from the back.
Yoo Baek-jun left Jin Baek-cheon behind and advanced through the Underwater passage.
Inside the passage, a tremendous roar echoed incessantly.
“Family head! You never said we’d be fighting a monster like this!”
“Guh…!”
When he arrived, Dante and the swordsmen were locked in fierce combat.
Dante, transformed into a dragonkin, was a being far beyond human—his very body was a weapon.
―Kaaah! Weak, so weak!
“This bastard, where did he get such power…!”
Dante, wreathed in black flames in both hands, unleashed his martial arts.
A speed impossible to follow with the eyes.
On top of that, he was casting spells simultaneously while fighting.
“Guhak!”
“Kgh! The swordsmen…!”
A combat style only possible for a dragonkin.
Han Seong-ah and the other swordsmen fought back, but the best they could do was hold their ground.
Even if Yoo Baek-jun joined, it wouldn’t be an easy battle.
“Never thought I’d see the Black Flame Dragon with my own eyes. How touching.”
But Yoo Baek-jun was relaxed.
He cracked a joke as he revealed himself before Dante.
The dragonkin turned his head.
―You… the head of the Sword Saint’s family…
Dante burst into laughter.
―Hah! Perfect. Did you come to die on your own? Now I can correct my previous failure!
“Family head!”
Dante charged at Yoo Baek-jun, and Han Seong-ah called out to him urgently.
But Yoo Baek-jun did nothing.
No—he didn’t need to.
Kiiiiing!
―Guhk?!
The magic circle activated.
A massive circle appeared beneath their feet. Jin Baek-cheon’s forbidden spell, ‘Dragon Slayer,‘ had been cast.