I Became the Successor of the Martial God Chapter 125

I Became the Successor of the Martial God

Chapter 125.  

Yoo Baek-jun headed to his room in the Seoul branch of the Sword Saint family.  

In his hand was a large shopping bag.  

‘I ended up spending more than I expected.’

Before coming to the Seoul branch, he had stopped by a luxury store with Han Seong-ah.  

For her, who had been disappointed by the party’s desserts, he had swept up every kind of dessert the store had to offer.  

‘That bright, beaming smile…’  

The image of Han Seong-ah, holding several shopping bags in her arms and smiling brightly, came to mind.  

Surely she wouldn’t eat them all in a single day.  

“Whew.”  

Yoo Baek-jun sat down in a chair.  

He carelessly tossed the shopping bag aside and pulled out the items from his pocket.  

Among them was a business card.  

—Grrrr!  

“Hey, don’t bite. It’s not food.”  

He stopped Seol-yeong, who was trying to play with the business card.  

“Sigh, a gathering, huh…”  

The Cult of Resurrection had its own ranking system.  

They don’t assign separate names to distinguish them, but followers of the cult are divided into higher and lower ranks.  

Several factors determine these ranks—wealth, martial prowess, and so on… but the most significant one is ‘trustworthiness.’  

—This person will never betray our cult and will do anything for it. They were made that way.  

Of course.  

The higher the rank, the deeper one can delve into the inner workings of the Cult of Resurrection, and the more important tasks one can undertake under Vincent’s orders.  

‘To me, they’re no different from slaves.’  

To them, Vincent’s words are ‘truth,’ the means to make themselves ‘immortal beings,’ and the method to resurrect ‘the dead.’  

They cannot defy him. They can only obey faithfully.  

‘The highest rank can’t be reached in a short time. Not that I plan to go that far anyway.’  

Yoo Baek-jun’s reason for infiltrating the Cult of Resurrection to trigger an event was extremely simple.  

He needed information.  

Information about the cult’s hidden branches and the facilities where they research demonification.  

‘If I attend a gathering of around third-rank members, I’ll find valuable information. To attend… the method is simple.’  

A massive donation.  

And decent acting skills.  

These two things alone are enough.  

“I’ve already achieved some results.”  

Soon, they’ll start mass-producing the serum for demonification and administer it to people.  

Demonification doesn’t grant true immortality, but it does bestow youth and strong vitality.  

‘Using that, the Cult of Resurrection will begin rapid growth and eventually cause a major incident.’  

And in Busan, no less.  

That absolutely cannot be left unchecked.  

It must be stopped at all costs to change the event.  

“For a while…” 

Yoo Baek-jun thought about the balance in his bank account.

 “…I’ll have to play the fool.”  

* * *  

Yoo Baek-jun faithfully kept his word.  

He enthusiastically attended gatherings for Gate victims hosted by Savior International.  

And played the fool, too.  

“Oh my, such a large amount…”  

“Thank you. All of this will be used to comfort fellow victims like us.”  

The employees smiled fakely as they expressed gratitude for the donation.  

Yoo Baek-jun mirrored their fake smile.  

“It’s nothing. I’m just sorry that donations are all I can do. If there’s anything else I can help with, please let me know anytime.”  

“Such kind words…”  

The employees’ eyes gleamed strangely for a moment.  

Yoo Baek-jun noticed but pretended not to as he left the building.  

And the moment he stepped outside, he cursed.  

“Those damn bastards.”  

His face trembled with anger.  

“They really think they’ve got a sucker, huh? Sticking a straw in my head and sucking my brains dry.”  

The gatherings themselves weren’t particularly significant.  

Just people sharing stories about losing their families and comforting each other.  

Utterly ordinary—except the venue wasn’t ordinary at all.  

‘Those incense burners…’  

The gathering place had incense burners.  

The employees claimed it was incense to help calm the mind, but of course, that wasn’t true.  

It was incense designed to break down mental barriers.  

‘The longer you’re exposed, the more it erodes your reason… They use this to make people follow the Cult of Resurrection.’  

Yoo Baek-jun already knew and took precautions, but others didn’t.  

He recalled the words of the employees—no, the devout followers of the Cult of Resurrection—and their dogmatic teachings.  

“Phew, what a waste of money.”  

He had attended multiple gatherings.  

Naturally, he donated each time—and in substantial amounts.  

To avoid suspicion, to make them believe he followed their teachings, and to gain access to more important gatherings.  

But he couldn’t just keep playing the fool. Yoo Baek-jun pondered what else he could accomplish in a short time.  

“Hm?”  

Just then, his phone rang.  

He answered.  

“Ho-yeon, what’s up?”  

The caller was Ho-yeon.  

The one who managed the Sword Saint family’s underground interrogation room—and Yoo Baek-jun’s ally.  

—Young master, the remnants of the Treasure Hunters are returning to Wakkanai.  

Remnants.  

Yoo Baek-jun’s eyes sharpened.  

“Perfect timing.”  

He had a new task.  

* * *  

The quiet airport of Wakkanai.  

A group of people disembarked from a plane. At a glance, none of them looked ordinary.  

They were the remnants of the Treasure Hunters.  

“Whew! That Gate was disgustingly long!”  

The red-haired man at the front, Cory, stuck out his tongue and complained.  

“Don’t you think our boss works us too damn hard? Or is it just me? Huh?”  

“It’s not just you! I think so too!”  

“Right? She’s way too strict!”  

Cory began joking around with his nearby companions, laughing mischievously.  

The purple-haired woman, Kendra, watched with a frown.  

“We were the ones slacking off the most when Emma found the treasure, so it can’t be helped.”  

“Yeah, but still.”  

“The pay’s good, isn’t it?”  

At Kendra’s cold remark, Cory pouted sulkily.  

But no one paid him any mind.  

“Didn’t expect things to turn out like this. Who’d have thought we’d get caught in a Gate while treasure hunting?”  

“Heh, we got double the pay, so it’s a win, right? Emma’ll probably just hand over whatever we got from the Gate anyway!”  

“Whatever. I don’t care.”  

Kendra replied icily.  

They soon exited the airport.

Cory stretched lazily.  

“Ahh, the smell of the East. How long has it been?”  

“Don’t you remember hunting the Snow Tiger in Korea not long ago? It hasn’t been that long.”  

“Oh, right. We took down that tiger too. Then we left right after, so I forgot!”  

Snow Tiger.  

A spirit beast they had hunted under Emma’s orders before leaving the country.  

It hadn’t been an easy opponent, but with a perfect strategy, they had subdued it.  

“Made a sweet profit.”  

“Such a shallow way to put it…”  

“You know what I mean, right? Women, booze, gambling… Ah! These Eastern countries just don’t suit me. Show me a glamorous casino!”  

“Tell that to Emma.”  

Kendra snorted and climbed into a large van—one prepared by the Treasure Hunters.  

The group boarded and headed to the Treasure Hunters’ hideout in Wakkanai.  

“…….”  

Amid the noisy ride, Kendra was lost in thought. Cory, who had been loudly chatting beside her, noticed and leaned in.  

“What’s up?”  

“Move your face and get lost.”  

“Aw, don’t be like that. What’s on your mind?”  

“…I can’t reach Emma. I’m wondering if something happened at the base.”  

“No way.”  

Cory laughed as if it were ridiculous.  

“You know how thorough Emma is.”  

“…Yeah, I must be overthinking it.”  

It was unimaginable for something to happen to that meticulous woman.  

Kendra thought so too.  

Soon, they arrived at the hideout and descended underground.  

“…What the?”  

Kendra felt something was off.  

It was too quiet. 

Was no one here? Normally, they’d already be hearing loud chatter.  

“No one’s here?”  

“Maybe they went treasure hunting?”  

Unlike Kendra, the others didn’t seem concerned.  

Cory reached out to turn on the lights.  

At that moment.  

Slice!  

A sharp cutting sound rang out.  

“Gaaahhh?!”  

Followed by Cory’s agonized scream.  

He rolled on the ground, clutching his right hand—or rather, the wrist where his right hand had been.  

“W-what the?!”  

“Holy shit! Cory! What the hell?!”  

The others panicked and tried to draw their weapons. But before they could—  

Blades flashed through the air.  

“Ghk!”  

“Ugh!”  

Screams echoed in the darkness.  

Slicing sounds, screams, more slicing sounds, more screams. Finally, the sound of someone collapsing.  

Then, the lights turned on.  

“Y-you… who the hell…?”  

Only then did Kendra see the situation underground. Her comrades, bleeding and incapacitated.  

And the swordsmen surrounding them.  

“We’ve been waiting.”  

And finally, Yoo Baek-jun, sitting leisurely in the highest seat.  

Kendra paled.  

“Y-you… who are you…?! Aaahh!”  

Bang!  

Before she could finish, Yoo Baek-jun fired the Soul Eater gun without warning.  

The radial soul bullets shattered Kendra’s knees completely.  

“Yoo Baek-jun.”  

He slowly rose from his seat and walked toward the fallen Kendra.  

“You don’t know the name, do you? No need. You’ll all die here anyway.”  

“D-die…?”  

With the barrel of the gun pointed at her head. Her body trembled with fear and terror.  

“Of course, I won’t be the one to kill you.”  

—…….  

Seol-yeong leaped from Yoo Baek-jun’s arms. Eyes blazing red, fur bristling.  

Baring hostility at the remnants.  

“Are these the ones?”

—Grrrr…  

Seol-yeong gave a small nod.  

“What do you want to do? The choice is yours.”  

There was only one reason Yoo Baek-jun hadn’t killed these criminals outright and went through the trouble of capturing them.  

To leave them to Seol-yeong.  

They were its targets for vengeance. 

How to deal with them was its decision.  

—Grrrr…  

Whether to take revenge or forgive.  

That wasn’t Yoo Baek-jun’s call. 

He watched to see what Seol-yeong would do.  

A hazy memory surfaced in Seol-yeong’s mind. The memory of being captured by strangely dressed people. And Seol-ho’s final roar.  

—Kyaaaah!  

Seol-yeong glared at the remnants and began gathering magical energy.  

A rising blue aura enveloped Cory and the others.  

The temperature in the room dropped.  

Below freezing—no, even lower.  

“Waaahhh!”  

“Ghk! Keh!”  

An icy whirlwind struck.  

A blizzard stormed in, laced with razor-sharp ice shards that slashed through the remnants. 

Their flesh was frozen, cut, and torn apart.

The remnants screamed in agony.  

—Kyaaaah!  

But it didn’t kill them instantly.

Seol-yeong controlled the intensity, subjecting them to endless torment.  

Their bodies were mangled, but its vengeance wasn’t over yet.  

‘That’s…’  

A pure white energy rose from Seol-yeong’s body. The power of the Snow Tiger—the ability to manipulate souls.  

It glared at the remnants with fierce eyes.