Chapter 310
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 310.
The beach in Busan.
It was the time of year when vacationers would gradually start to arrive, but today, not a single soul was in sight.
Instead, what was visible were hunters.
An enormous number of hunters had formed a defensive line, staring out at the sea.
“Damn, it’s hot.”
“They said something’s coming. When?”
They were hunters affiliated with the Hunter Association.
And behind them—
At the command post set up outdoors, the upper echelons of the Association had gathered.
“Association Chairman!”
A place where the Association’s top-ranked hunters, key figures, and the Chairman himself were present.
A loud shout erupted from there.
“Chairman, this is absurd! You’re saying we won’t cooperate with the Sword Saint’s family? And for what reason? Just to keep them in check?”
It was Chae Jeong-jun.
The people gathered here had come to prevent the disaster that was said to arrive today.
But, ridiculously, the Association had declared they would handle it on their own.
They refused to borrow the power of the Sword Saint’s family, the ones who had actually foreseen this event.
“Does that make any sense?!”
“Deputy Director Chae, watch your tone with the Chairman! Calm down—”
“Do I look calm to you right now?!”
This was nonsense. Just because the Sword Saint’s family was gaining prominence, people were starting to doubt the necessity of the Hunter Association?
How could that even make sense?
‘What foolish talk!’
Was it really necessary to suppress guilds and families like the Sword Saint’s?
Why couldn’t the Hunter Association become a leader that could unite them, seek cooperation, and move forward together?
“Please reconsider, Chairman. We don’t know how this situation will unfold. Especially considering the scale of the incidents the Sword Saint’s family has dealt with before, this one might also—”
“You’re unusually talkative today, Chae Jeong-jun.”
“Chairman!”
Chae Jeong-jun pleaded sincerely, but Baek Jang-hyeon remained unmoved.
“Have you forgotten the attitude the Sword Saint’s family showed us? What about Yoo Baek-jun? They see us as enemies.”
“And who made them that way?!”
“……”
Baek Jang-hyeon fell silent.
If they had started on the right foot, if they hadn’t provoked them unnecessarily—
“Have you forgotten the former family head? Yoo Moo-hak—remember how much that man disregarded the Sword Saint’s family and even the government.”
“Yes! Yoo Moo-hak was like that. But his son, Yoo Baek-jun, is different!”
“How would you know that?”
“Because I’ve worked with him!”
Yoo Baek-jun, the new head of the Sword Saint’s family, was a reasonable man.
Unlike his father, Yoo Moo-hak, who had been inflexible and unwilling to negotiate, the son was different.
Not just him—several families and guilds that had successfully undergone generational shifts were also changing in a positive direction.
‘This isn’t necessary.’
There was no need to suppress them.
If they offered fair compensation, these people would always be willing to come to the negotiating table.
Unlike the figures of the previous generation.
“They’re people we can talk to. It’s not too late—let’s contact the Sword Saint’s family and ask for their cooperation—”
“Deputy Director Chae.”
Baek Jang-hyeon spoke quietly.
“I believe I’ve made myself clear. I have no intention of cooperating with the Sword Saint’s family.”
“Chairman…!”
“Go outside and get some air. The sea breeze is quite refreshing.”
Baek Jang-hyeon nodded to the hunters guarding the entrance. They grabbed Chae Jeong-jun by the arms and escorted him out.
“Chairman!”
Chae Jeong-jun called out to Baek Jang-hyeon several times, but he didn’t turn back.
Forced outside, Chae Jeong-jun stared blankly at the command post.
From inside, he could hear the voices of Baek Jang-hyeon and the others discussing the operation.
“……”
Under normal circumstances, Chae Jeong-jun would have been in that room too.
He had been Baek Jang-hyeon’s right-hand man.
Not anymore.
‘But this… this is absurd.’
Chae Jeong-jun let out a deep sigh and turned away. Lost in thought, he walked aimlessly until someone tapped him on the back.
“Deputy Director Chae.”
“Chang-woo… cheer up a little.”
It was Han Chang-woo.
Usually, he wore a friendly smile, but today, his expression was uncharacteristically gloomy.
“You should look in a mirror too, Deputy Director. You should see what your face looks like right now…”
“Is it that bad?”
“It’s terrible.”
Han Chang-woo laughed briefly, then let out a deep sigh.
“Does it have to be like this? Are we really going to act alone? Without even contacting the Sword Saint’s family…”
“……”
He, too, had his doubts.
This operation lacked legitimacy. There was no compelling reason to proceed this way.
It was a meaningless action.
One that would only needlessly sacrifice the Association’s manpower.
“They said the foresight was incomplete. Since the disaster wasn’t fully predicted, things could go wrong.”
“Yeah, that’s right…”
They weren’t seeking the help of Yoo Baek-jun, who had already prevented two disasters.
All for the sake of the organization’s benefit.
And that so-called ‘benefit’ was laughable from Chae Jeong-jun’s perspective.
“I don’t get it either. This isn’t the Chairman Baek Jang-hyeon I knew. Not the man I wanted to follow.”
He owed Baek Jang-hyeon a great debt and had been drawn to his charisma.
Enough to want to support him when he declared his intention to become the Association Chairman.
But not anymore.
“……”
Walking without direction, Chae Jeong-jun found himself in the city center before he knew it.
What he saw was an empty downtown, evacuated of people.
‘When did they rebuild this much?’
Busan had once been destroyed by the undead incident, but now it had regained its former appearance.
No, it had developed even further.
Thanks to the help and donations of the Sword Saint’s family and other guilds and families.
‘And yet, they want to antagonize them?’
Chae Jeong-jun shook his head.
“……”
“Deputy Director Chae?”
Chae Jeong-jun looked around at the buildings, lost in deep thought.
Then, a conversation he’d once had with Yoo Baek-jun surfaced in his mind.
―Have you ever thought about becoming the Association Chairman?
It was a thought he’d never entertained.
He’d never considered becoming the Chairman, nor had he felt the need to.
But now, things were different.
“Chang-woo. If asked to follow me, would you?”
“What kind of question is that all of a sudden?”
“I need to ask you for a favor…”
Chae Jeong-jun trailed off, stopping mid-sentence.
“What favor?”
“……”
Han Chang-woo asked, but Chae Jeong-jun didn’t answer. He just stared blankly at the sea in the distance.
His eyes were filled with shock.
The eyes of someone who had seen something unbelievable.
“Deputy Director? What on earth—”
Sensing something was wrong, Han Chang-woo turned his head. Then, like Chae Jeong-jun, he froze.
Shocked.
He couldn’t help it.
“T-this is…”
Beyond the sea, the East Sea.
That place was—
“What… am I looking at?”
—Being ‘corrupted.’
* * *
The first anomaly occurred on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
An island that hadn’t existed before, born from tectonic shifts caused by Gates.
The entire island began to glow.
―Begin.
Those stationed at Black Shadow’s hideouts, whether near or far from the island, activated their magic circles.
In response, an enormous magic circle appeared over the Pacific Ocean.
“An incredible surge of magical energy… Something’s appeared in the Pacific. We’re checking now.”
“Wait, is this… a magic circle?”
People noticed the anomaly.
They hurriedly tried to dispatch hunters, but it was already too late.
―Proceed as planned. Remember, the target location has changed.
―The target location is…
Powerful surges of magical energy erupted from Black Shadow’s hideouts scattered across the world.
Resonating with them, the magic circle over the Pacific Ocean glowed.
A pitch-black, ominous light.
―The East Sea.
The magic circle activated.
An immense amount of magical energy circulated, gathering at a lake in the center of the island.
The energy condensed, then shot into the sky like a pillar.
Kwaaaarururu!
The sky trembled.
And then—
Kwaaaaang!
An anomaly occurred in the East Sea.
The sky split apart, and a massive pillar of light struck the ocean.
Tremendous magical energy scattered in all directions, creating a Gate.
“T-this is…”
A Gate so vast it completely obscured the East Sea.
A Gate of a scale no hunter had ever seen before.
And then, the Gate ‘corrupted’ the land.
―What a beautiful place. Devour it.
The once-vast East Sea transformed into a barren wasteland.
The clear sky vanished, replaced by thick darkness.
The creatures that had lived in the East Sea disappeared, and in their place, corpses appeared on the barren land.
Not human, not beast, and not even monster—
The corpses of ‘dragons.’
―Aaaaaah…
―Grrruuuaaaaah…
Souls now wandered the skies where birds had once flown over the East Sea.
The vast ocean that had stretched across the East Sea was gone—literally in an instant.
Replaced by a desolate continent.
“What… am I looking at?”
A hunter guarding Busan’s beach muttered in shock.
He couldn’t help it.
“T-the sea… it’s gone.”
The ocean that had stretched before their eyes just moments ago had vanished.
In its place, a vast continent now touched the shoreline.
“C-corruption phenomenon.”
“Holy shit… it’s still spreading!”
Even the edges of the sandy beach where the continent met were being corrupted, turning into barren land.
But the anomaly wasn’t over yet.
Kurururu…
The first change came in the sky.
The cloudless sky darkened, and clouds began to gather.
But these clouds were… strange.
“What the hell?”
“The color of the clouds… why are they like that?”
They were unnaturally murky, tinged with a sickly green light.
The moment people noticed, countless clouds filled the sky, soon blotting out the sun.
The surroundings darkened as if it were night, but the anomaly didn’t stop there.
Zzzzt! Kwaaduduk!
“Aaaagh!”
The ground split apart.
The once-solid earth crumbled and cracked, creating fissures.
From those fissures, an immense amount of smoke billowed out.
Smoke rising high into the sky.
Swoooosh!
Then, an enormous amount of rain fell from the sky, followed by the appearance of fog.
The smoke rising from the ground merged with the fog descending from the sky, engulfing the entire city—no, the entire country—like smog.
Sssssss!
“Aaaah! My… my body…!”
It began to ‘melt.’
The fog, thick enough to obscure everything, melted whatever it touched.
Buildings, asphalt, the ground, trees, people—nothing was spared.
Pssshhh!
Everything the fog touched turned black and melted away.
“Aaaah! It’s collapsing!”
Kwaaaaang!
This phenomenon wasn’t limited to Korea.
Japan, Russia, America, France—it didn’t matter which country. No, the same phenomenon was occurring all over the world.
―The Authority of Corruption.
The Authority possessed by a dragon said to wield power rivaling that of a god.
Its Authority of Corruption was now engulfing the entire world.
―We, who have lost everything, have long wandered in search of a place to live…
At the center of the massive continent that had appeared in the East Sea, where the ruins of a temple stood.
Right there—
―From now on, this land belongs to us.
A dragon revealed itself.
Multiple horns sprouting from its head, sharp scales resembling armor, a body so black it seemed ominous.
From its body, drops of black, corrupting liquid fell.
And most striking of all was its overwhelming, almost transcendent size.
―Rejoice! Brethren! The time has come to reclaim our flesh!
The creature spread its wings and took flight, the corrupting energy carried by the wind like a plague spread across the world.
―Demon! The time has come!
The colossal dragon that had soared into the sky in an instant glared straight ahead.
―Keep your promise, Demon! I have upheld my pact with you! Now it’s your turn to fulfill your oath!
Ahead, there was only pitch-black darkness.
Nothing was visible.
―Pitiful dragon.
But a voice could be heard.
An utterly hollow voice.
―Your wish shall be granted.
―Good! Prepare to lift the seal!
The massive dragon—
No, the Evil Dragon gazed down at the vast land below and let out a mighty roar.
―The time of resurrection is upon us! This time, no one will stop us! Not the detestable humans, nor the gods!
The main event of Part 2.
A roar heralding the return of the Evil Dragon.
“Is that so?”
Hearing that roar.
Yoo Baek-jun smiled quietly.