I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 128.
While the mad religious event was taking place at the banquet hall above ground, Min Yi-jae had infiltrated the underground.
“…….”
As Yoo Baek-jun had said, many hunters were standing guard underground. But among them were hunters of a kind he had never seen before.
‘What are those……?’
They looked like ordinary people, but they were different. They possessed some kind of inexplicable power…….
Min Yi-jae racked his brain to figure out what they were.
One thing came to mind.
‘Demons.’
They were beings with power similar to demons.
Min Yi-jae watched them with wary eyes before slipping between the walls like a ghost and disappearing.
‘Yoo Baek-jun told me to keep an eye on where that Vincent guy comes from…….’
Of course, he had.
Vincent had emerged from a room in the deepest part of the underground, a place guarded more heavily than anywhere else.
That was where Min Yi-jae was headed.
“…….”
He waited for a while.
Then, the hunters stationed underground began to leave their posts. He didn’t know if something had happened or if it was just a shift change.
‘This is my chance.’
Min Yi-jae entered Vincent’s room.
A room darker than dark. Inside were various ledgers and lists.
And within the computer, all sorts of data lay dormant.
“…Found it.”
Min Yi-jae accessed the information.
The screen scrolled rapidly. He took everything he could get his hands on.
Then, he suddenly glanced outside.
‘Someone’s coming.’
But he had already collected all the information.
Slinking silently, Min Yi-jae stood against the wall.
“…….”
Creak.
The guards outside peeked into the room for a quick inspection.
But there was no one inside.
“Hmm.”
Min Yi-jae had already vanished.
The door closed again.
* * *
The gathering had ended.
Yoo Baek-jun, drunk to the point of staggering, made his way to the Seoul branch of the Sword Saint.
“Ugh… I might puke if I get on a boat.”
He had downed drink after drink while making all sorts of conversation to keep Vincent occupied.
On top of that, he had also mingled with the other attendees, which had been quite the ordeal.
“Huuu!”
“Young master, how much did you drink……?”
“Just a bit.”
When he returned to the Sword Saint branch, Han Seong-ah greeted him. It seemed she had waited for him.
Yoo Baek-jun deployed the Heavenly Destruction Mind Technique inside his room, and Han Seong-ah stood guard.
“The smell of alcohol is overwhelming, young master.”
“I know. I’m starting to sober up now.”
After fully deploying the Heavenly Destruction Mind Technique, Yoo Baek-jun’s flushed face returned to normal.
“Here, some water.”
“The alcohol was disgusting. Where’s Seol-yeong?”
“It fell asleep waiting for you.”
As if he’d never been drunk at all, Yoo Baek-jun calmly took a sip of water.
On the bed, Seol-yeong lay curled up in a ball, softly snoring—with the fairy sprawled on top of it for some reason.
“Does that fairy have nothing better to do?”
“She said she gets lonely sleeping alone, so she asked Seol-yeong to call her before bed.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
He’d have to quickly make more friends so she wouldn’t feel lonely.
Yoo Baek-jun sat in a chair and waited for someone to arrive.
“Were you waiting……?”
Whoosh!
As Min Yi-jae emerged wraith-like from the wall, the sound of a sword being drawn rang out.
It was Han Seong-ah pointing her sword.
“You’ve got some rough manners…….”
“Huu, please don’t startle me like that.”
“He’s my most trusted subordinate. Why do you have to scare people by coming in like that?”
Min Yi-jae did have that kind of personality.
Outwardly, he seemed stoic, but he had a bit of a goofy side and a mischievous streak.
Yoo Baek-jun held out his hand.
“You got it?”
“What do you take me for……?”
Min Yi-jae placed a USB on his palm. Along with an envelope stuffed with an enormous number of photos.
“I took all the data I could get…….”
“Good. You probably didn’t get caught.”
“Of course…….”
He was reliable in that regard.
Yoo Baek-jun checked the contents of the USB on his laptop. Inside were the organization’s structure and the locations of future gatherings.
And one last thing.
“Found it.”
The location of the research facility.
What Yoo Baek-jun had been after all along.
“What are they researching there……?”
“Demonification. Remember those demons we fought a while back? They’re implanting their genes into people.”
“Young master, what happens then?”
“What happens? They turn into monsters. It varies from person to person—some even get younger. But the problem is……”
Demonification isn’t some miracle cure that only benefits people.
There are side effects.
“They’ll gradually start to look more like monsters and grow increasingly violent. Just like the mindless demons.”
“People don’t realize that, do they……?”
“No, and by the time they notice the problems, they’ll already be Vincent’s slaves.”
Vincent was no saint.
Demonification wasn’t meant to heal people but to create more usable subordinates.
It was also a way to show miracles to those who doubted him and make them worship Thanatos.
“We have to stop it before that happens.”
Yoo Baek-jun stood up.
‘I need to meet Han Chang-woo.’
He and the Hunter Association’s help would be necessary.
Yoo Baek-jun immediately called Chae Jeong-jun.
“Yes, Mr. Chae Jeong-jun.”
A weary voice answered.
“Let’s meet. Secretly, where no one will know.”
* * *
The next day, Yoo Baek-jun met Chae Jeong-jun at a hidden safehouse where no one would find them.
Chae Jeong-jun had arrived early and was waiting for him.
“You’re here, Mr. Yoo Baek-jun.”
“Yes, this safehouse is……”
“It’s a place the former association chairman used. Is it alright?”
Yoo Baek-jun glanced around.
It was a bit messy but well-furnished.
“Where is Mr. Han Chang-woo?”
“He went to make some coffee… Hey! When are you coming back?”
“I’m coming, I’m coming!”
Han Chang-woo came rushing in. He had made coffee, but it was mostly water.
“Hmm…….”
“…….”
The atmosphere grew awkward.
Yoo Baek-jun sipped the bland coffee and motioned for Han Chang-woo to sit across from him.
“How does it taste?”
“…It tastes like it’ll make me healthier.”
The coffee was so diluted that only a faint bitterness remained. Chae Jeong-jun laughed awkwardly.
“You must have called us here for a reason……”
“Yes, I do.”
Yoo Baek-jun set down his cup. It definitely wasn’t because the coffee tasted bad.
“You know about Savior International, right?”
“Yes, we saw them at the event the other day.”
“They’re plotting something.”
“Plotting… what?”
Chae Jeong-jun’s eyes widened.
A global nonprofit organization, one dedicated to saving people, was involved in a conspiracy?
Yoo Baek-jun showed him the evidence.
“This is……!”
Footage from the previous gathering.
A video of Vincent standing on stage, persuading the crowd.
“Vincent. What the… Thanatos?”
“……!”
Chae Jeong-jun looked puzzled.
In contrast, Han Chang-woo seemed to have realized something.
He flinched.
“Mr. Han Chang-woo, what’s wrong?”
“No, it’s just……”
Han Chang-woo hesitated.
The dragon inside him had reacted to the name ‘Thanatos. ‘ But he couldn’t just blurt that out to Yoo Baek-jun.
Yoo Baek-jun already knew, of course.
“As you can see, these guys are operating under the name ‘Cult of Resurrection’ in the shadows. And they’re researching demon corpses.”
“Demon corpses!”
“Check the numbers of the demon corpses you’ve disposed of. I’m sure some are missing.”
Chae Jeong-jun was horrified.
If that was true, it meant someone within the association had helped smuggle them out.
This was no ordinary matter.
“…What should we do?”
“We’ll raid their research facility in secret. The Cult of Resurrection has concentrated all their overseas forces domestically for their demon research.”
Yoo Baek-jun unfolded a large map.
Several points were marked on it—locations of the cult’s branches.
“They have branches everywhere, and that’s where they conduct their research. We’ll hit all of them simultaneously.”
“Simultaneously…….”
Han Chang-woo nodded in understanding, while Chae Jeong-jun looked worried.
“Won’t splitting our forces be dangerous?”
“If we don’t strike all at once, it’s meaningless. Some branches might escape, and if that happens, the simultaneous raid loses its purpose.”
Not a single one could be left alive.
They had to wipe them all out in one fell swoop.
“And most importantly, if even one research facility survives, they’ll just go back into hiding.”
“Until they recover their losses… right.”
“They’ll operate even deeper in the shadows.”
But if they destroyed all the research facilities at once and rendered their demonification research useless, the Cult of Resurrection—and Vincent—would be cornered.
Their last stand in Busan would be an event they could handle.
“I need your help, Mr. Han Chang-woo.”
“Me…? But I’m just a C-rank……”
“Let’s not pretend among ourselves. I know your actual power doesn’t match your rank.”
“……!”
Yoo Baek-jun waved his hand dismissively. Han Chang-woo stared at him in surprise.
“Please assemble a team of the most trustworthy people you and Mr. Chae Jeong-jun know. That team will attack this location.”
“We’ll have to move in secret. Understood. What about the other branches……?”
“I’ll handle them.”
Fortunately, he had plenty of allies.
Yoo Baek-jun pulled out a map of the research facility’s interior and briefed them in detail on how to proceed.
Then he emphasized once more:
“Not a single one can be left alive.”
“You mean kill them all?”
“Yes, without exception.”
Yoo Baek-jun’s tone was firm.
“They all have to die. Only then will there be no repercussions—no harm to civilians.”
If they didn’t eradicate the root here, demonification would continue. It would keep resurfacing, causing endless trouble in future events.
‘Demons are such a pain.’
Outwardly, they looked no different from humans, making them hard to identify.
On top of that, they grew increasingly violent, causing constant incidents, and their power was nothing to scoff at.
If left unchecked, they’d eventually form factions, which would be another headache.
‘This time… that won’t happen.’
Yoo Baek-jun’s gaze as he studied the map was heavier than usual.
Han Chang-woo tilted his head, watching him.
* * *
Chae Jeong-jun and Han Chang-woo left the safehouse first. Yoo Baek-jun stayed behind, saying he needed time to organize his thoughts.
“Hmm……”
Chae Jeong-jun and Han Chang-woo were driving away.
But Han Chang-woo, who was usually loud, was oddly quiet today.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uhh……”
“Hey, Han Chang-woo. What’s on your mind?”
“Huh? Oh, no. It’s just……”
Han Chang-woo scratched his cheek.
“About Mr. Yoo Baek-jun.”
“Yeah.”
“Like Director Baek Jang-hyeon said… he doesn’t seem like a bad person.”
“…….”
Now it was Chae Jeong-jun’s turn to fall silent.
Baek Jang-hyeon, the former executive director—no, the soon-to-be association Chairman—disliked Korea’s noble families.
The prestigious families and top guilds that had wielded influence for generations.
‘They’re all targets to be overthrown.’
After all, the country’s society and the Hunter Association had long been under their control.
Baek Jang-hyeon, had vowed to break this outdated tradition.
The association would stand above them.
‘But Yoo Baek-jun is…….’
Admittedly, noble families and guilds had their arrogance, so Chae Jeong-jun had agreed with his stance.
But Yoo Baek-jun was different.
He was humble, prioritizing people’s safety over his own gain.
Of course, that was also for his own survival, but Chae Jeong-jun had no way of knowing that.
“I respect and intend to follow Executive Director Baek Jang-hyeon, but… I’m a little shaken, Deputy Director Chae.”
“…Yeah.”
Chae Jeong-jun muttered while looking out the window.
“Me too.”
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