Black Badger

Hecate had brought the things she favored.

A wolf the size of a mid-sized car, bizarrely fitted with limbs resembling those of a human.

The shape-shifting slime that Ricardo had encountered in the Colosseum.

A mineral clan member that, at first glance, looked like nothing more than a massive rock.

They were creatures that were generally loyal and easy to control in groups.

The slime had virtually no will of its own, while the wolves and mineral clan lived in packs.

That meant they could be controlled simultaneously. When war broke out, the empire's forces would lead such creatures into battle.

The neat formation typical of controlled creatures.

Hecate stood before them, using one of the shape-shifting slimes as a shield as she advanced.

A barrage rained down.

"Do you know her?"

Yoon pulled the trigger swiftly and precisely, bursting the translucent slime.

He nodded in admiration at the sight of her taking down a shapeshifter that was barely visible.

"Yes."

"Any peculiarities?"

"She was an ace of the empire."

She halted in the middle of the road.

Then she lifted her head and looked straight at me.

Her gaze hurt.

In her orange eyes, reminiscent of amber, contempt and hatred boiled over.

"She was also a noble knight."

"Can you kill her?"

Gunfire and explosions, the sounds of muscles tearing and bones shattering, and the seniors' screams of "Fuck, it's just like a human!"

Even amid that chaos, Yoon's low voice came through clearly.

At first listen, it sounded like a question born of consideration for me.

But I read boredom in that low tone.

"Or should I clear the way for you to kill her with your own hands?"

"The latter would be preferable."

I didn't have full confidence in taking her down one-on-one right now.

"But if you're willing to accommodate..."

"Do you have confidence in winning decisively in a fair one-on-one?"

"Uh, no."

The senior, who hadn't taken his eyes off the creatures, whipped his head around.

His face was hidden by the badger mask, but I could too easily imagine what expression he was making.

But I couldn't lie.

"What do you want me to do?"

Yoon said after a brief silence.

"What exactly do you want?"

"I'll do my best to contribute to the victory like a proper newbie."

As I replied, I fired my gun diligently.

I had no idea where the bullets I shot were flying.

I wanted to use my sword. I wanted to jump down and charge at Hecate.

But leaping into the ground covered in bullets and bombs didn't seem wise...

I debated hiding my true feelings but decided to be honest.

"I have no intention of charging out in excitement upon meeting an old acquaintance. But I want to deliver the final blow."

"I've spoiled you too much." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

My mentor clicked his tongue.

"When we get back..."

Thud.

A heavy sound came from behind me.

Thud. Thud.

My eardrums, numbed by the bomb blasts, throbbed with pain as if they might burst.

The excited seniors froze in place all at once. Even the creatures, who had been steadily closing the distance while piling up corpses, halted their steps.

Even Hecate stopped her quiet advance and turned her gaze.

I turned my head as well, taking in the thing that filled the background.

"Uwaaak!"

Jerry Jones's scream echoed.

"What the hell is that!"

A giant.

To be precise, it was a necromancer possessed by the spirit of a giant. It cast a shadow over the building, blotting out the moonlight.

It stood as tall as a three-story building.

It approached with heavy footsteps. With each step, the asphalt trembled.

The massive armor clanked, producing a sound like it tore through the air. The rusted chains on the helmet covering its head swayed this way and that.

It had lain dormant on the decayed city floor.

Covered in accumulating dust, not even breathing, forgotten by all until Hecate's call brought it here and awakened it.

Something that could be awakened, but which most of its kin could not control.

Yet once awakened, it was sure to bring great chaos to the battlefield.

In the necromancer's right hand was a sword as tall as a two-story building.

The tip of the sword, which no human could possibly lift, scraped along the road.

The giant closed the distance in a single bound.

The vibrating earth.

Boom!

Screams erupted from the building.

"Uwaaak! It's coming!"

"What is that thing!"

"Hey."

Yoon stepped onto the rooftop railing and gave orders.

"Jump."

No sooner had he spoken than the necromancer stopped in front of the building.

Slash.

And then the building was sliced diagonally.

The sword's path began at the fourth floor and ended at the first. Yoon and I jumped to the adjacent building simultaneously. I felt the ground give way beneath me, but we weren't too late.

We landed on the rooftop of the next building.

The original building collapsed along the sword's trajectory.

Like a skull sliced diagonally, the building's cross-section unfolded before our eyes.

"Uwaaak!"

A cross-section of a human lower body.

"Aaak! Fuck! Fuck!"

"Mashu Sarin, deceased."

As Gale Dawson stared in shock, Yoon reported coldly.

"Mashu Sarin, killed in action in Zone 7."

Mashu Sarin's body had been severed along with the building.

It must have been instantaneous. Even for a badger, survival from such a wound was impossible. The cut was clean. The severed upper body was nowhere to be seen.

It was probably buried in the building's debris.

The remaining lower half toppled to the ground with a thud.

Blood and organs spilled out.

The giant raised its sword again.

"Aaaak!"

Jerry Jones let out a final scream and bolted out of the building. Isaac abandoned the panicking Dawson and raced down the stairs. Lucia Kwon and Joe McDonald stupidly stared up at the massive sword.

Seizing that moment when attention was diverted, Hecate dashed toward the badgers.

Silvia and Leonard, who had escaped the building at the same time as me, charged at her.

I too stepped onto the rooftop railing and jumped.

"Hecate!"

I slid down a building pipe, landing with my hand brushing it.

I couldn't stop the wolf that was overwhelming the badgers on the first floor, but I could at least draw Hecate's gaze.

"I am—"

Boom!

Everything ahead turned white.

My breath caught.

My entire body was engulfed in searing white pain.

Ah.

It hurt.

I exhaled the breath I'd been holding.

It had been this fast.

Blood burst from my mouth with a cough. I spat out bloody phlegm frantically and let out a bitter smile.

If I hadn't parried the sword strike with my dagger, I might not have woken up at all.

Panting, I narrowed my eyes.

In my blurred vision, people came into view. Two figures now stood before me, where I'd been slammed into the building. One glared at me as if to kill, while the other had his back to me.

Hecate prepared her third sword strike.

Choi Yoon had blocked her second.

Perhaps sensing her opponent's skill, Hecate didn't move rashly.

The sociopathic pair who had been charging at her were now in the midst of slaying the intervening creatures.

"Rookie."

My mentor called to me.

I forced out a voice clogged with blood.

"Yes."

"I'll grant your wish."

Yoon held a bizarrely shaped gun in his right hand.

Aiming it at Hecate, the man raised his left hand to tap his ear.

"We're splitting up."

Yoon's voice came through the communicator in my ear.

"Leonard, you and I take the giant."

[Got it!]

An excited voice replied.

[What a delightful mission!]

"Silvia, you and Hilde take out Tier 9."

Silvia, who had been gracefully slaughtering wolves amid the building debris, twisted her body.

Her silver hair scattered amid the spraying blood.

Boom!

The giant's massive sword split the asphalt in two. The other seniors fled from the giant while firing wildly. The area where wolves, slimes, and the giant mixed was utter chaos.

Amid the pandemonium, Silvia removed her helmet, flashing a white smile.

The senior was drenched in crimson blood.

[Got it.]

Silvia replied with a smile.

[I prefer them the closer they are to human, anyway.]

"Thank you."

I should express my gratitude for the orders too.

I discarded the crushed dagger and slowly rose to my feet. After brushing off the cement fragments covering my body, I tossed away my helmet.

The inside was damp and unpleasant from the blood I'd vomited.

My field of vision opened up all around.

"Good luck."

I offered a greeting, but Yoon barely acknowledged it as he continued with his instructions.

"The rest of you, mop up the small fry."

[Request air support! Request air support!]

"Fuck, fuuuck!"

[When's the portal opening?]

Lucia's voice leaked through.

Her voice, which had been fierce until now, was thick with fear.

[I want to go back....]

The communication cut off.

Yoon lowered his left hand. Silence fell in an instant. Just twenty steps away from the melee near the collapsed building. Even though we were only that close, this spot felt strangely quiet.

Hecate stood unmoving.

Silvia picked off creatures one by one as she extricated herself from the chaos.

My mentor moved his right hand with ghostly precision.

Yoon's left hand went to his waist.

"Here."

I caught the flying sword with my jaw.

"Yours."

It was Nol's Sword.

I'd swung it during training ever since receiving it from Seung-hyeon. I hadn't been permitted my own weapon yet, so I hadn't brought it.

Or so I'd thought.

Gripping the sword's hilt, I grinned.

"Thank you."

"Zone 5 reinforcements are heading this way."

Yoon explained without taking his eyes off Hecate.

"Hold out until backup arrives."

Truth be told, I wanted to finish it before reinforcements came.

I didn't want to see her caught by the elite seniors and torn apart by lead. Hecate was an ace, but she wasn't like Reina or me—she couldn't absorb the life energy of living beings.

Endless resurrection was impossible.

Moreover, this operation included badgers born for combat. By the time seniors of Yoon's caliber arrived as support, Hecate's chances of survival would be zero.

So I had to wrap this up somehow before the seniors arrived.

I gripped Nol's Sword firmly and resolved myself.

I knew it was presumptuous greed beyond my station, but I wanted to end it with my own hands. Just as she had longed for, to cross swords without interference, and meet our ends on each other's blades.

But such sentimentality wouldn't be forgiven on the battlefield.

This was truly a cowardly thought.

I knew it well. I knew it all too well. I had no right to desire anything.

But still.

I just...

"I'm going."

My mentor tossed out those words and vanished from my sight.

Rat-tat-tat!

The senior deftly carved through creatures as he moved away.

With him gone, Hecate came into sharper focus.

The former ace stared at me with eyes full of hatred.

To keep my heart from tearing at the surging memories, I swallowed my emotions.

"It's been a while."

Until Hecate spoke to me in that ancient language, just as she had long ago.

"My captain."