Black Badger

The first to react were Ami and Ricardo.

While the other badgers sat there with their mouths agape in shock, the two of them rushed over to the new recruit who had his head buried low.

The badgers showed various reactions, but only those two actually moved from their spots. Ami rubbed his back and checked his complexion, while Ricardo lifted Hilde's upper body.

"What, did seeing a corpse freak you out?"

Jason shoved his hands into his pockets and chuckled.

"You're still a long way off!"

"It was a bit too graphic, Richard."

Aki sat up and turned to look at Richard.

"That thing looked way too much like a human head."

William Walker wore a subtle expression.

But he didn't say anything noteworthy for a while. Instead, he silently watched Hilde hacking up and emptying his stomach completely.

Ami patted Hilde's back and offered him a water bottle every time he lifted his head.

A heavy silence descended. People kept their eyes on Hilde for a while. Richard furrowed his brow as he stared at Hilde and grumbled, "I didn't think the guy would be this pathetic."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gale Dawson quickly chimed in.

"I can't imagine him handling any missions if he can't even stomach that."

"But isn't it surprising that he's more useful than you?"

"That kid stayed perfectly fine even after watching an illegal augmented body explode like a balloon."

Yoon muttered indifferently while gazing at the sky, and Walker roughly joined the conversation.

Dawson's face flushed red.

But without paying him any mind, the former fixer cracked his knuckles one after another, each the size of a child's head.

"And now he's puking his guts out over the head of something that's not even human?"

"Isn't it because his internal injuries are severe?"

"Oppa! Got any more water?"

Aki muttered, and Ami poked her head out.

"If you've got more water, toss it over!"

Yoon and Jason pulled out water bottles and threw them.

Ami caught the two bottles and unscrewed the caps. As soon as the vomiting paused, she thrust a bottle toward Hilde. Ricardo grabbed the hem of Hilde's clothes again and propped up his upper body.

The man with green eyes closely observed the white-haired new recruit who was breathing raggedly.

The following words were only audible to Hilde and Ami.

"He saw spectators turned into sandwiches and terrorists with their lower bodies crushed like dolls, and he was fine with that. There's no way something like this would make him nauseous."

Ami remained silent, her expression unchanged.

And for the first time since he started vomiting, Hilde spoke.

The new recruit gave a small laugh as he looked at the ruins.

"It's probably because my internals are messed up."

"Ah~. I heard a similar excuse last time too.... Back then, you said it was aftereffects from drugs, right~?"

"Yes."

Hilde let out a long breath and closed his eyes.

With his beautiful golden eyes hidden, he continued in a whisper laced with laughter.

"This time, it's the internals."

"You were fine running around clutching your damaged internals until now~.... So, just like back then, you suddenly felt like puking~?"

"Yes."

He replied and emptied his stomach again.

Even though there was nothing left to bring up, the retching continued. Once it finally stopped, Hilde's body began to tremble uncontrollably. Ami firmly held onto him as he seemed about to lose consciousness. She had heard the entire conversation between Ricardo and Hilde but showed no particular reaction.

Instead, she squinted and seriously examined Hilde, then brushed his white hair aside and pressed her forehead against his.

Her dark, round eyes widened even more.

"You're burning up!"

"It seems like PTSD symptoms...."

Ricardo grumbled as he straightened his bent back.

While the badgers approached, he pulled out the new recruit who was hanging his head and panting.

"Should we just open a portal and send him back quick~? He can't even pull himself together...."

"What's his portal compatibility percentage?"

Richard asked bluntly.

The two badgers behind him flinched at the indifferent question.

Yoon completely ignored them.

"I don't know. He used the portal before we could run the compatibility test."

"What?!"

Richard's head whipped around.

"You shoved him through a portal without even testing him?!"

The other badgers also turned to Yoon with incredulous expressions.

Jonathan Kudo blinked in surprise, while Ricardo narrowed his eyes with a furrowed brow. Aki raised her eyebrows, as did Walker. Jason let out a delinquent "Huh?" and arched his brow.

Even Ami dropped her jaw.

Yoon observed the series of reactions before responding nonchalantly.

"While I was away, Gale Dawson and Joe McDonald shoved the guy through the portal."

Gale and Joe's faces turned pale.

"I did give them a beating for it."

The important thing was that Richard still hadn't gotten to beat them yet.

Richard roared.

Under Richard's furious shout, the punishment began. Even though a brawl had broken out because Mashu Sarin had died, the man who had been holding back his lecture finally snapped. He yelled, stomped his feet and shattered the ruins, and unleashed his rage by punishing both the perpetrators and the bystanders.

He didn't care even when Lucia burst into tears.

Normally, Ami would step in to mediate, but this time, she didn't seem inclined to move either.

The little badger draped several layers of clothing over Hilde, who could barely keep his eyes open.

"Let's contact headquarters, and if the portal seems too dangerous, ask them to send a fighter jet. I can ride with him to E Zone."

"Hey, isn't this like some kind of portal side effect?"

Jason gestured toward the trembling new recruit with his chin.

"He's really out of it."

They contacted headquarters.

After starting a video call, they consulted with Doctor Samuel Han and an expert from the Portal Corporation.

The two experts were furious about Hilde using the portal without a compatibility test. They ranted on about the dangers of portals. They strongly opposed using it again, saying that even if he was fine once, there's no guarantee he'd be fine twice.

Samuel slammed the table and shouted.

"Tell Ye-hyeon to send a fighter jet!"

But when Richard Green actually reported to Ye-hyeon, the response was the complete opposite.

[It'll be fine, so send him back via portal.]

It was a curt order.

There were no additional explanations. After issuing the command, he didn't take any more calls.

Jason Tvain bristled at the supreme commander's judgment. A stream of hate-filled complaints poured out.

"That guy's always treating our lives like they're worth less than flies!"

No one responded to his outburst, but he didn't stop complaining. It had to be because sending a fighter jet was expensive, so they were making them use the portal. He was trying to wrap things up easily with the portal. Treating badgers like consumables was still the same....

Others didn't voice their dissatisfaction as openly, but the atmosphere wasn't one of acceptance toward the order.

Still, they couldn't defy the command.

"Can I take him?"

While preparing to return to Zone 14 where the portal device was installed, Silvia broke the silence as she looked at Hilde.

People gaped in surprise at her unusual behavior.

Yoon cut in with a short reply.

"No."

"Why? Someone has to take him, right?"

"It's not you."

Yoon glared at the woman with eyes full of instinctive disgust.

"Stay out of that kid's business."

They eventually returned to Zone 14 where the portal device was installed and went back through the portal. Hilde, completely exhausted, was looked after by Yoon. William Walker and Ricardo Sordi had volunteered to take care of Hilde, but they were refused.

Yoon carried Hilde on his back, tied the bag containing the creature's head to his belt, and stepped through the portal.

The badgers followed behind him.

And so, the emergency muster that had resulted in one death came to an end.

*

After shoving the dazed new recruit into the hospital, the people scattered in all directions.

Ricardo and Kudo changed out of their combat uniforms and came out of the lockers.

The two men silently left the portal zone and headed outside headquarters.

The streets were starting to slowly come alive.

Kudo was the first to break the silence.

"Aren't you going to check on the new recruit?"

Ricardo rolled his eyes.

"You've been paying extra attention to him lately."

Ricardo didn't answer right away.

The man in the perfectly fitted black coat walked in silence alongside his comrade for a while. Kudo didn't press for a response.

They walked the usual route. It was a road they had walked so much that they could navigate it with their eyes closed.

As they approached the alley where they always parted ways, they stopped at a signal.

It was early dawn, so there were almost no people on the streets or sidewalks.

The silence of the chilly morning air hung over the streets.

Ricardo irritably shattered it.

"You're going to keep hiding your own issues to the end, huh?"

It was clearly referring to Hildebert Talev.

"Always pretending to be fine.... I hate seeing it because it's just like you, trying to hide your festering problems~."

Kudo blinked, caught off guard by the sudden jab.

But before he could retort, the signal changed.

Ricardo strode across the crosswalk without waiting for Kudo.

Kudo followed behind him.

As he caught up, he mulled over his comrade's words before speaking slowly.

"Why don't you just ask him directly?"

Ricardo turned to him with an incredulous expression.

He slowed his steps and raised an eyebrow, his eyes saying it didn't make sense. But that expression didn't last long. He soon snorted in a way that Kudo couldn't read his intentions, then quickened his pace more irritably than usual.

And at the fork in the road, he split off and went his own way.

Without even glancing at his blinking friend.

*

Ska gave Ye-hyeon a brief report that Hilde had been safely admitted to the hospital.

Ye-hyeon, who had been resting his forehead on his hand while waiting for the results, lifted his head.

Eyes filled with fatigue and sorrow.

The man looked up at Ska with those eyes.

"Yeah."

His voice was hoarse.

"Good work."

"The HR director is handling the procedures for Mashu Sarin's death."

"You said we couldn't recover the body?"

"Yes. But we've pinpointed the location. We'll notify the family and recover the body if possible."

"Yeah. Unless it's absolutely unavoidable, make sure to retrieve the body."

"Yes. And it doesn't seem like Hilde is suffering because of the portal...."

Ska paused his slow report.

The office fell quiet. The tall man stared at the hologram panel for a while before asking.

"How did you know Hilde would be fine using the portal?"

"Falcon."

The supreme commander answered curtly.

"I contacted him and asked."

The aides looked at their superior.

But the supreme commander didn't lift his head despite his subordinates' gazes. Ye-hyeon kept his head down and rubbed his dry face several times.

Then he muttered to himself, soaked in exhaustion.

"No one knows Hilde as well as Falcon does...."