The Resurrection of Red Dragon, The Truth Revealed to the World
Destruction is faster than creation, killing is faster than giving birth, and being consumed by despair is faster than holding onto hope. The air in the room was already thick and sticky, saturated with the frustration in everyone’s breath.
"How could this happen! You said fifty days, you said fifty days!" The Association President paced back and forth, his feet stomping in agitation. The monitors in the operation room were broadcasting the scene at the Suwon site. Two massive, fortress-like airships hovered in the sky. Combatant monsters were descending to the ground one after another. On the ground, a monster that appeared to be a commander was brandishing a giant trident. It had the lower body of a horse, resembling a centaur.
"I am Pegasus, the First Knight Captain of the great Galactic Empire! You wretches, who do not know the grace of His Majesty the Emperor and fail to show even the slightest respect, have no reason to be kept alive. Pay for your sins!"
"What is Pegasus's danger level?" Kang Yerin asked.
"Unmeasurable... it is SSS+," the operator replied. Like the Emperor, the combat power of the Galactic Empire's monsters was beyond estimation.
"The number of combatants?"
"Currently one hundred and ten. It continues to increase. We judge each individual to be on the level of an S-class villain."
"Over a hundred S-class villains...." Ji Sehwa bit her lip.
"Yerin, how are we going to respond? We can't use those weapons yet." At Shin Yukyung's question, Kang Yerin fell into thought. It didn't take long.
"We haven't been sitting idle all this time, have we? I don't know about the Emperor, but we have a chance against a commander. Let's go."
"Are you serious? SSS+ level? They might be on the level of Dark Arthur...." Shin Yukyung's legs trembled. The fear born from a continuous string of defeats was consuming her body. Kang Yerin looked straight into her eyes.
"We can win."
Shin Yukyung nodded slowly.
"All Association heroes, sortie. Organize squads for those A-class and below to handle the combatant monsters," Kang Yerin commanded. The Dragon King Squadron began to move toward the mecha hangar.
"Hey, I-I don't have to go, right? Haha." Arkshi, who had been standing in the hallway, asked while sweating profusely. Kang Yerin glared at him with eyes that looked like she was viewing an insect.
"Just catch a combatant or two. Don't get in our way."
"B-but I'm only B-class."
"You're like trash, smearing the name of Red." Kang Yerin revealed a chilling murderous intent and walked away as if every second was precious.
The Dragon King Squadron boarded their mechas and moved rapidly to the scene. From the ground, they could see the combatants maintaining formation, centered around Pegasus. Everything in their path was being destroyed, leaving only corpses behind.
"Mechas, use auto-pilot to attack the enemy ships! We are dropping!" Following Kang Yerin's command, the four members of the Dragon King Squadron jumped from their mechas.
"“Transform!”"
Simultaneously, the four attached switches to their transformation devices. Light enveloped each of them, and four warriors—Blue, Silver, Yellow, and Green—landed on the ground.
"Foolish wretches who dared to commit sacrilege against His Majesty! It is the natural order to commit suicide in gratitude for his mercy, yet you are ingrates!" Pegasus roared, his eyes glowing with rage. The horse-monster spun his trident above his head. That alone created a powerful blast of wind.
"I am not as merciful as His Majesty. I will bury all of you right here!" Pegasus entered a combat stance. Kang Yerin took her position.
"Everyone, follow the formation." Shin Yukyung, Ji Sehwa, and Choi Minseo nodded. Each unleashed the power of the dragon. Weapons appeared in their hands: knuckles for Kang Yerin, a sword for Ji Sehwa, a staff for Shin Yukyung, and a magic staff for Choi Minseo.
"Ooooooh!!" Pegasus charged. The battle began. It was a high-speed clash that the eyes of ordinary people could not follow. The Dragon King Squadron each exerted their dragon powers, landing strikes as they had practiced in training. However, Pegasus's body was made of matter from a distant universe that didn't exist on Earth. It couldn't be described by the word "hard."
What looked like a close match at first gradually tilted toward the Dragon King Squadron's disadvantage. Suits were torn, helmets were shattered. Blood flowed. Weapons were broken, and their fists lost their sharpness. Their breathing grew ragged.
"Haa, haa." Kang Yerin realized it. They couldn't win. The entire Dragon King Squadron would die here. Seeing this, all the citizens of the world began to despair as well. These were the four heroes known to be the strongest in the world. The reality that they couldn't even defeat one commander, let alone the Emperor of the Galactic Empire, was staring them in the face. A prophecy of ruin, of the end, was being presented before them.
"Ugh, k-kuh." Kang Yerin looked around. Buildings were burning and collapsing. Monsters were running wild. Corpses of citizens were scattered across the streets. Ji Sehwa, Shin Yukyung, Choi Minseo—all were severely injured. They were barely standing. Death was right in front of them. This was the last sight she would ever see. She thought that if she happened to meet him after death, she would definitely have to apologize. Soon, she realized that wouldn't happen. There was no way she would go to heaven.
She looked up at the sky. One eye was soaked in blood and wouldn't even open. Monsters were still descending from the two airships. Was this already hell? Just as she felt that hope had almost entirely drained from her body, a voice—one she had heard before, no, one she had heard hundreds and thousands of times—rang in her ears.
"Apocalypse."
"White of the Plague."
⟨ White Arrow of Annihilation ⟩
A beam of light shot across the sky. It instantly pierced through the Galactic Empire's airship. Pew— BOOOOM!! The airship exploded in an instant. But it didn't fall. A pure white hole appeared in the space where the airship had been. A void of nothingness. A true emptiness. The void swallowed the airship, flickered, and vanished in an instant.
Kang Yerin opened her eyes wide. She knew what that was. There was no way she could not recognize that arrow of light. Ji Sehwa, Shin Yukyung, and Choi Minseo, who had witnessed the scene, were the same. All of them hung their mouths open in disbelief.
Pew— Without giving them time to process the situation, another shot was fired. The smooth, beautiful white line of light, as if drawn by a ruler, annihilated the other airship as well.
"What is this! What is happening!" Pegasus panicked. Kang Yerin turned her head like a madwoman, searching for him. That hero's ability. The man with the pure white bow and arrow, which didn't suit the name "Red."
"My god! What is that! Could it be! Everyone! Am I seeing things! Camera! Get a proper shot!"
"A hero is stepping out in front of the commander, Pegasus! He is wearing a red! A red helmet!"
"Oh, my world. God has not yet abandoned us."
"R-Red Dragon!! It's Red Dragon!! Red Dragon is alive! Right here! Standing on the ground on his own two feet!!"
Red Dragon. He was standing there.
"A-ah." Kang Yerin could only make a choking sound, as if she had developed aphasia. She had the illusion that she was already dead and seeing a phantom. Ji Sehwa, Shin Yukyung, and Choi Minseo couldn't believe the sight unfolding before them either. Twenty meters. He was just that distance away. Red helmet and hero suit. He lowered the bow of light he was holding and brought his hand to his helmet.
Pshhh— Red Dragon took off his helmet. There was a face they knew too well, a face they couldn't possibly be mistaken about. Jung Uiseok. It was his face.
"......."
Jung Uiseok did not look back at them. He didn't give them even a shred of interest, as if no living beings existed there. His pitch-black eyes were focused solely on the monster.
"A new warrior, is it? It doesn't matter who comes! I will bury you all the same!" Pegasus scraped the ground with his hooves. He looked ready to charge and swing his trident at any moment.
"Uiseok..." The moment Kang Yerin tried to call his name,
"No, no! Red Dragon!!" Someone popped out and ran like an arrow. It was a middle-aged man in a white lab coat wearing glasses. He grabbed Jung Uiseok by the waist and clung to him.
"Where do you think you're going when you haven't even recovered! You can't fight! You'll really die this time!!"
"...Dr. Hyun."
Helicopter spotlights illuminated the two of them. Their conversation was being broadcast live to the entire world.
"When you defeated Dark Arthur, you were already half-dead! On top of that, you were caught in the explosion of the space battleship! Do you have any idea how much trouble I went through to recover you from space and save you!"
"I know. I am grateful."
"If you know that, then cherish your life! Why are you going after such a dangerous monster again...!"
"Because that is my justice."
Saying that, Jung Uiseok gently pulled the doctor away. About ten people who appeared to be the doctor's assistants ran up behind him.
"Doctor!"
"Doctor, it's dangerous here!"
"We must trust Red Dragon!"
The four members of the Dragon King Squadron couldn't understand the situation. No, there was one thing that was certain. Jung Uiseok was alive. Because of that man called the doctor.
"H-hey." Just as Shin Yukyung took a step forward, the doctor stepped between Jung Uiseok and Shin Yukyung with a fierce expression.
"Get lost!!" the doctor growled.
"You wretches...! Dragon King Squadron!! I saw the combat records from the space battleship! I still have the video evidence! Red Dragon asked me to keep quiet, but...!"
At those words, Kang Yerin, Shin Yukyung, Ji Sehwa, and Choi Minseo all realized that the moment their secrets would be revealed to the world was this very instant.
"To frame, betray, and kill Red Dragon after he defeated Dark Arthur, you absolute, heinous pieces of trash!!!" The doctor shouted at the Dragon King Squadron, veins popping in his neck. That desperate cry, filled with anger and sorrow, pierced the hearts of all humanity across the world.