There were three main ways to seal a channel.

Among them, the only option the Bureau could choose right now was just one.

A method known as the "suicide seal."

A minimum of an A-rank Awakened had to carry a grade-1 mana stone and enter the channel.

Both channels and gates always had a source.

By throwing themselves into that source along with the mana stone and causing all the ether within their body to go berserk, they could destroy the channel.

It was akin to a backfire operation.

“I will go in.”

That statement meant Choi Sungkyun was willing to burn himself away to seal the Bamsum channel.

“……”

“Director.”

“……”

“Now that the black hole has weakened, this is our chance. If we wait any longer… we won’t have any options left.”

“There must be another way. There has to be another way….”

“There isn’t.”

Choi Sungkyun’s voice was firm.

Lee Myung-seop silently took out a cigarette and placed it between his lips. He stared at the channel black hole beyond.

“Shit.”

As people get older, they tend to swear less. It had been years since Lee Myung-seop had last cursed out loud.

“I’m a lifelong A-rank, anyway.”

That was another nickname for Choi Sungkyun.

Lifelong A-rank.

While those who joined the Bureau alongside him and even juniors had undergone transformations and ascended in rank, Choi Sungkyun had remained exactly as he was from the moment of his first evaluation.

But when Sungkyun called himself a lifelong A-rank, it wasn’t a joke like the term "lifelong middle manager" in ordinary society.

It was an acknowledgment that he had no chance of advancing, that his limits were clear, and that by sacrificing himself, he could preserve the potential of more promising fighters.

Lee Myung-seop, who had been silently watching Choi Sungkyun, slowly nodded.

“Thank you for everything.”

With that farewell, Choi Sungkyun quietly boarded the boat.

The boat roared to life and headed toward Bamsum.

The distance from the Han River Park, where the temporary camp was located, to Bamsum was barely a kilometer.

Yet, why did it feel so far away?

Choi Sungkyun glanced at the distant island, then pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

- What is it now?

“What are you doing?”

- What do you think? You asked me to make soybean paste soup for tomorrow’s breakfast. I’m grocery shopping.

“How’s Hyeseon?”

- Do you want to talk to her?

“No, it’s fine. And, honey.”

- Hold on, Auntie, this tofu doesn’t look too fresh… Huh? What is it?

“I love you.”

- What’s gotten into you? Did you start drinking in the middle of the day? Nothing’s wrong, right?

“Nothing’s wrong. I’ll hang up now.”

- Come home early today. Hyeseon wants to brag about getting a perfect score on her dictation test.

“Alright. I’ll be home early. Bye.”

- I mean it. Come home early.

“I said I will. Hanging up now.”

By the time he finished the brief call, the boat had already arrived at Bamsum.

Choi Sungkyun stepped into the channel. Though the black hole’s waves had weakened, it was still a channel black hole.

It felt like his soul was being sucked out.

But he had to stay sharp. If he lost focus here, he’d be pulled into the channel and everything would be for nothing.

Forcing himself forward, Choi Sungkyun finally made it inside the channel.

The interior of a channel and a gate were never the same.

Some channels took the form of caverns, while some gates resembled vast grasslands.

The inside of the Bamsum channel was a massive cavern. So massive that its ends stretched out far beyond sight.

But there was no time to admire the surroundings. Sungkyun quickly searched for the source that had generated the channel.

How long had he been searching?

A white radiance spilled out from a distant point.

That must be it.

Sungkyun pulled out a scroll from his inner pocket. It was an acceleration buff scroll.

Screeech-!

His body felt lighter, and he dashed toward the source.

And then…

Crackle-.

“I’ve arrived.”

- …I see. I’m counting on you.

“Yes.”

Sungkyun unfastened the mana stone securely strapped to his back.

And at that moment—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With a deafening roar, something massive shot out from the source.

“……!”

As an Awakened of the Bureau, he had undergone periodic audiovisual training.

Since newly discovered monsters from other countries could also appear in Korea, they had to be prepared.

Choi Sungkyun had gone through hundreds of these training sessions. But he could say with certainty—no, with absolute conviction—

He had never seen a dragon before.

And definitely not a dragon made entirely of bones….

Kwaaaaah!

The dragon let out a thunderous roar.

Then, it flapped its enormous wings.

A violent gale surged forth, strong enough to push his body backward.

‘A wyvern’s weak point is the protruding lump behind its neck. The same applies to drakes.’

There had been no official training on how to deal with dragons.

But Sungkyun reasoned that a dragon’s weak spot might be the same as that of a wyvern or drake.

He wasn’t sure.

It was just an educated guess, based on experience and knowledge.

Once an Awakened made a decision, they moved without hesitation.

That was the way of an Awakened.

Having reached his conclusion, Choi Sungkyun pushed off the ground and leaped.

The dragon’s head was a staggering 80 meters above him, an overwhelming height, yet he reached it without difficulty.

But then—

Kwaaah!

With another deafening roar, the dragon flapped its massive wings once more. A fierce gust of wind sent Sungkyun flying far off into the distance.

Though he managed to regain his balance and land safely, the real problem was what came next.

Fwoooosh—!

The dragon spewed something from its mouth.

Even from a considerable distance, he could feel the scorching heat. As the attack neared, the heat intensified into pure fire.

There was no way to dodge.

Sungkyun realized he was about to die.

He regretted not talking to Hyeseon a little longer earlier.

He regretted not telling his wife he loved her more sincerely.

Then, at that moment—

A dark crimson barrier formed before him.

Shhhhhhhh!

The barrier blocked the dragon’s attack.

‘What the hell…?’

But before Sungkyun could understand what was happening, the instant he recognized the barrier—

He lost consciousness.

“That dragon… it looks like the ones from my world.”

Lee Seo-jun furrowed his brows.

It felt strangely familiar.

Of course, he couldn’t be certain.

With Doo-shik’s magic, he had been able to confirm it without doubt.

But this bone dragon—it felt both familiar and artificially altered.

“That is indeed the dragon from your world.”

At some point, Park Yeon had come to stand beside Seo-jun. His expression was one of utter disbelief.

“How can you be sure?”

“…Because I was the one who defeated it.”

“Defeated it?”

“Deikarante… That bastard.”

Seo-jun suddenly recalled a name Park Yeon often mentioned.

- I didn’t want to brag, but I once took down Deikarante, the so-called Evil Dragon. A Hydra is nothing in comparison.

“I definitely killed it… I even saw its dragon heart split in two, so how…?”

“Are you certain?”

“I’m certain. Just as you can immediately recognize the monsters under your command, I can recognize an evil dragon I personally defeated. It is definitely Deikarante.”

Seeing Park Yeon’s firm conviction, Seo-jun was inclined to believe him.

Then why was the evil dragon he had killed now on Earth?

There was only one possible explanation.

‘It must be them…’

Seo-jun let out a sigh.

Kwaaaaaaah!

At that moment, the bone dragon spewed out a breath attack. Park Yeon swiftly dodged. But Seo-jun did not. He simply stood still.

“What are you doing?! Get out of the way!”

To Park Yeon, this was reckless.

Deikarante was not called the Evil Dragon for nothing.

It was a dragon that absorbed the hearts of its own kind, maximizing its power.

To transcend demi-godhood and become a true god.

That meant the breath it had just unleashed was equivalent to the combined breath attacks of dozens of dragons.

There was no way anyone could take that head-on and survive. This was sheer madness…

“…!”

Park Yeon’s eyes widened.

Seo-jun had taken a direct hit from the breath attack. And yet, he stood there unscathed, casually brushing off the ashes from his shoulder.

“It’s weaker than I expected.”

Weaker?

That breath attack?

The very ground had melted away. Even the air itself had been incinerated. This wasn’t just burning—it was complete annihilation.

And yet, he called it weak?

As Park Yeon struggled to comprehend, Seo-jun’s figure suddenly vanished. Even he couldn’t track Seo-jun’s movement.

A moment later, Seo-jun reappeared—right above Deikarante’s head.

In his hand was a slender, crimson-black blade.

Without hesitation, Seo-jun drove the sword into Deikarante’s skull.

Park Yeon thought it was a futile effort.

A dragon’s bones were said to rival the legendary Adamantium, crafted by the mythical dwarves.

They were that tough—no metal could cut through them.

…Or so Park Yeon had always believed.

But then, something unbelievable happened.

Fwuuuush—!

The blade slid through Deikarante’s skull with ease.

Kwaaaaaah!

But it wasn’t over yet.

Writhing in pain, Deikarante suddenly spread its wings, as if realizing it couldn’t win.

Seo-jun, of course, didn’t allow it to escape. Another sword had already appeared in his hand.

Shraaak!

“How…?”

Park Yeon was stunned once more.

If a dragon’s bones were as hard as Adamantium, then its wings were like water.

Could one cut water?

Could one slice it apart?

No.

At best, one could disturb its flow, but cutting or severing it was impossible.

A dragon’s wings could only be severed with the divine armaments of the gods.

And yet, it had been sliced off.

Cleanly.

So cleanly that the cross-section was perfectly visible.

Shraaaak—!

This time, the right wing.

Just like the left, it was effortlessly severed.

Kuwaaaaaah!

As Deikarante thrashed in agony,

Seo-jun reached into its spine.

A moment later, he pulled out something—a Lich’s signature artifact, the Life Vessel.

Crack!

The Life Vessel shattered into pieces, and Deikarante collapsed with a heavy thud.

Sungkyun opened his eyes.

“Huh?”

“You’re awake?”

“Director?”

“Hah… Thank goodness.”

“How did I get here?”

“That’s what we want to ask you.”

“Huh?”

“The Bamseom Channel has been sealed.”

“What…?”

“Wasn’t it you who sealed it?”

“I was about to, but then there was an explosion.”

Lee Myung-seop nodded.

Indeed, there had been an explosion—one visible even from the temporary camp.

“And then a dragon appeared.”

“A dragon? Are you sure it wasn’t a wyvern?”

“It wasn’t a wyvern. The size alone was different. And when it saw me, it breathed something out…”

“It breathed something out?”

“Yes. It was so hot I could feel it from a distance—like magma.”

“It breathed something as hot as magma… Then did you manage to defeat this dragon-like monster?”

“No. I thought I was done for, but then some kind of shield appeared in front of me. I think that’s what saved me.”

“You think?”

“I lost consciousness right after. That’s all I remember.”

“Hmm.”

Lee Myung-seop nodded and patted Sungkyun’s shoulder.

“You did well. And thank you… for coming back alive.”

At that moment, there was a commotion outside the hospital room. The source of the noise was Sungkyun’s wife.

Shoving past the crowd, she entered, eyes teary as she smacked his back.

“Are you insane?! Do you even know where you went?! Huh?!”

“Ow, ow! Honey, that hurts!”

“How can you be smiling?! Do you know how terrified I was when I got the call?!”

“I’m sorry.”

Still sniffling, his wife asked,

“You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Really? You’re not lying again, are you?”

“Really. Right, Director?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah.”

“Where’s Hyesun?”

“Look at you, worrying about your daughter first.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s in the lobby. Hold on, I’ll bring her.”

His wife stepped out briefly and returned with their daughter, who was clutching the doll he had given her last birthday.

“Daddy!”

“Hyesun.”

“Why are you in the hospital? Are you sick?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“I got a perfect score on my spelling test!”

“Really? That’s amazing, Hyesun!”

Beaming, Hyesun proudly held up her test paper. Sungkyun smiled and patted her head.