The Truth Behind the Dragon Summoning
The otherworld monster summoning experiment was the kind of project that anyone with half a brain would want to pursue.
Up until now, they had to bow and scrape before returnees and awakeners just to beg them to clear gates. When things got urgent, they had no choice but to throw soldiers into the meat grinder.
Naturally, when soldiers died and public confidence in safety plummeted, so did the government's approval ratings.
If they could summon and control monsters from another world, it would solve everything beautifully.
[However, the experiment was scheduled to proceed in stages. Since summoning monsters from another world was highly unpredictable, the plan called for starting with the weakest specimens and gradually calling forth stronger ones.]
That was written in the middle section of the report.
[At that time, Lieutenant Colonel Yeo Juhwan, commander of the Special Counter-Abnormal Team, raised an objection. The materials and budget required for each summoning were enormous, so rather than conducting many small experiments, they should attempt to summon the most powerful monster possible. While many expressed concern, just as many agreed, and the proposal was adopted.]
“Yeo Juhwan…”
Lim Dojun knew that name very well.
He had been the man in overall command of the Special Counter-Abnormal Team—his direct superior.
He had never particularly liked the man.
The lieutenant colonel only cared about his own promotions, performance reviews, and keeping his seat. He never spared a thought for his subordinates.
On top of that, he had reached his rank through connections and time served rather than skill, so he had always looked at Lim Dojun—who had earned rapid promotions purely through ability—with jealous eyes.
Because of that, they had never been close. Even after Lim Dojun was discharged, the man had never once reached out. Lim Dojun hadn’t held it against him… until now.
“Special Team 2! Lieutenant Lim! Deploy immediately! Head for Paju!”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s a monster! A monster broke out of the gate!”
“What? There wasn’t any emergency signal beforehand…”
“Just shut up and move when I tell you to! Get going!”
Back then, Lieutenant Colonel Yeo Juhwan hadn’t said a single word about it being a Crystal Dragon.
If he had told them everything and allowed them to prepare properly, would more people have survived besides Lim Dojun?
There was no way to know.
There were no “what ifs” in life.
[The available materials were expensive and rare, so supplies were limited. The same went for the budget. Therefore, the suggestion to summon the strongest possible monster seemed reasonable. It was the worst possible choice. No one could have predicted that a Crystal Dragon would emerge.]
Whether it was because the Ghost Temple’s sorcerers had performed their ritual flawlessly, because the materials used were of exceptional quality, or simply because of terrible luck, the Crystal Dragon had appeared.
The dragon’s majesty was overwhelming.
“Grrrrr…”
“A… a dragon!?”
Maintaining such a massive creature’s size and power on Earth was no easy task.
The materials that had been poured into the summoning had already been drained of all their energy and reduced to dust. Yet that still wasn’t enough. The beast turned its gaze on the Ghost Temple’s sorcerers.
“Guhk…”
“Gaaahk…”
[All the mana and life force of the Ghost Temple sorcerers who participated in the summoning were completely drained by the creature. In exchange, the Ghost Temple suffered catastrophic losses and was forced into seclusion. Because the experiment had been classified, the outside world never learned how badly damaged the organization was. Still, regaining their former strength might prove impossible.]
Having gained some time to remain in this world, the Crystal Dragon began to rampage in earnest.
Whatever had displeased it, the beast half-destroyed Paju. Lim Dojun and his team, who had rushed to the scene, stood in its way.
Just remembering that day made Lim Dojun’s face twist unconsciously.
Of course, defeating the Crystal Dragon had been impossible. The best they could do was desperately hold it back and prevent it from reaching Seoul.
‘So the reason I survived… was because the Crystal Dragon’s summoning time finally ran out.’
When every last member of his team had fallen and only Lim Dojun remained, the monster had dissolved into smoke and vanished.
At the time, he had been too badly injured and half-conscious, so he hadn’t understood what was happening. Now it all made sense.
Even in the moment it was being forcibly returned, the dragon had poured its will into a curse—one that had remained lodged inside Lim Dojun.
“Haha… Well, then…”
Lim Dojun clenched his fist tightly.
After reading the entire report, the truth of the past had finally been laid bare.
First, there was an unknown organization that had planned the experiment.
The report never named them. They were only ever referred to as “them.”
The Ghost Temple, when you got down to it, had simply been a subcontractor that performed the rituals as ordered.
Of course, they had gladly participated. If the experiment succeeded, they would gain a share of the profits. Even if it failed, there would still be valuable data.
But the failure had been catastrophic. The damage was severe enough to shake the entire organization.
‘The real culprits are the organization that planned this… and the government.’
There had to be high-ranking government officials who had personally overseen the project.
And then there was one more.
‘Lieutenant Colonel Yeo Juhwan.’
When he had visited the National Cemetery before, he had made a promise.
If the events of that day hadn’t been an accident, but had been orchestrated by someone with intent, he would have his revenge.
Lim Dojun closed the report and stood up.
The soul stone had already exhausted its power and shattered into pieces, but he no longer cared about it.
“I’ve rested enough.”
Lately he had focused entirely on his activities in Astelgard, but it seemed the time had come to move on Earth once more.
Lim Dojun put on a mask to hide his identity as much as possible, opened the front door, and stepped outside.
—Creak.
Outside the villa.
The pitch-black night streets and the glow of neon signs greeted him at the same time.
A moment later, he melted into the shadows of the alley.
* * *
“Ha. These stupid bastards. Not a single one of them can do their job properly.”
Yeo Juhwan.
Or rather, former Lieutenant Colonel Yeo Juhwan, lived with complaints constantly on his lips.
After Special Counter-Abnormal Team 2 was wiped out, he had been forced to retire to take responsibility for the command failure. Since then, he had been forced to take on all sorts of work just to survive.
Naturally, none of it was legal.
Legal work didn’t pay enough, so he danced along the edges of the law.
Using his old connections, he diverted military supplies for resale and trafficked illegal weapons.
He also worked as a broker, buying and selling military intelligence and information on returnees.
Thanks to that, he lived far more comfortably than he had during his military days. But every time he looked at his empty-headed, idiotic subordinates, he felt like his blood pressure would explode.
“I told you that’s not how it works! You take the deposit first, then make contact, and only then hand over the goods! How many times do I have to say it?!”
No matter how many times he explained it, these idiots kept making mistakes.
And every time, Yeo Juhwan was the one who had to clean up the mess. It felt like his hair was turning white by the day.
Whenever he felt like this, there was always one subordinate who came to mind.
“That Lim Dojun guy had no manners, but at least he got the job done cleanly.”
Unlike Yeo Juhwan, who had followed the standard military career path, the man had earned rapid promotions all the way to captain through pure skill. Maybe that was why his eyes had always irritated him.
While other soldiers tried to get close to those above them, that bastard had always stood alone, acting like he was better than everyone else.
Back then, nothing about him had been likable. But now, Yeo Juhwan sometimes thought it would be nice to have at least one competent subordinate.
“Uh… Boss.”
“What! What is it now!”
The voice calling him pulled him out of his old memories.
Wondering what new disaster had occurred, he looked at his subordinate, who wore a puzzled expression.
“It looks like several of our broker offices and weapon storage warehouses have been attacked.”
“!”
Yeo Juhwan’s face grew serious.
This wasn’t some minor mistake. This was an outright raid.
“Do we know who did it? What are our losses?”
“Well… they say they don’t know.”
“What?”
“Everything. The places were completely trashed, but there were no casualties. The guys who were there said when they came to, the whole area had been turned into a garbage dump.”
Multiple locations had been hit.
Yet the reports that came in were bizarre.
No one had died. Everyone had simply passed out and woken up with no memory of what happened.
Not a single person remembered anything right before losing consciousness, and all the security cameras and recording devices had been destroyed. Nothing remained.
Yeo Juhwan was dumbfounded.
“What the hell… Did these guys all take drugs together? Where do you get your supply from? Looks like the stuff works pretty well. Maybe we should start selling it too.”
“They don’t seem to be lying. They really say they don’t understand what happened.”
“I’m the one who doesn’t understand, you idiots. Are you seriously doing drugs while on duty now? I think it’s time for a proper disciplinary session.”
Yeo Juhwan was shouting in anger when it happened.
—BOOM!
The entrance to the large container warehouse they were using exploded, and a single person walked through the smoke.
Step. Step.
This warehouse was where they stored weapons for illegal transactions.
That was why it had been under heavy security. Yet the entrance had suddenly blown open.
An enemy had reached all the way here without a single radio warning, and only one person had come.
“……”
Yeo Juhwan carefully gripped the pistol at his waist.
The intruder wore a fluttering robe and a mask. Only his eyes were visible.
But his identity was obvious.
‘The only ones who could pull something like this off alone are awakeners. And not natural ones—only returnees.’
Cold sweat ran down his back.
He had no idea how the man had found them, but if this wasn’t some ordinary gang attack, the situation was extremely dangerous.
At that moment, the masked man stared straight at Yeo Juhwan.
“Lieutenant Colonel Yeo Juhwan.”
“…Do you know me?”
Yeo Juhwan flinched and raised his guard even higher.
It had already been five years since his discharge. If the man knew his old rank and name, it meant they had crossed paths before.
“I know you very well.”
“…Haha. Hearing you say that, your voice does sound a little familiar.”
Yeo Juhwan racked his brain desperately.
It wasn’t a lie. The voice was unpleasant for some reason, but it did feel like he had heard it somewhere before.
But that wasn’t what mattered right now.
While he dragged out the conversation to buy time, Yeo Juhwan secretly signaled his men with a hand gesture.
And then—
—Ratatatatang!
—Tutututu!
—Bang! Bang!
—Boom!
Gunfire erupted from every direction toward the entrance.
Rifle rounds, pistol shots, grenades, and even pre-installed Claymore mines.
In an instant, the inside of the warehouse was completely filled with gunpowder smoke.
Even though he couldn’t see anything, Yeo Juhwan burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha! You think being a returnee makes you invincible? Let your guard down and it’s over, you stupid bastard!”
A moment later.
The warehouse’s ventilation system sucked the smoke away, revealing a massive sphere of ice.
Even after being bombarded with bullets and explosions, the ice remained perfectly smooth.
—Crack!
A fissure appeared in part of the ice, opening a hole just large enough to reveal a face.
From within, masked Lim Dojun stared at Yeo Juhwan.
“Now it’s my turn.”
—Shatter!
The moment the words left his mouth, the ice sphere exploded into countless tiny fragments that shot in every direction.