Black Badger

"I'll report this to the police."

The first to regain his composure was Ska.

Ye-hyeon couldn't tear his eyes away from the replaying video—the footage of Hilde writhing in agony from the electric shocks—so he just nodded.

"The elders must already be aware, right?"

Gilbert, his face pale but determined, pulled out his work phone.

The Supreme Commander nodded again. But he didn't stop Gilbert from contacting the elders to confirm.

He himself remained pale, staring intently at the video for a long time.

Until Ska and Gilbert finished their calls and turned back around.

"In truth, they probably wanted to capture me."

Ye-hyeon muttered to himself.

"But that must have been impossible.... When did they kidnap Hilde?"

"There's a record of him using the shooting range until 6 p.m. today."

Gilbert peered at his screen.

"He might have been taken on his way home. I'll contact Yoon."

"Yeah. Tell him to come to the office."

Yoon arrived quickly.

While Ye-hyeon responded to a call from the elders' side and then contacted his father—who was likely resting on the holiday—he wrapped up his conversation in his native tongue and showed Yoon the video.

Yoon watched it in silence.

As soon as it ended, he spoke.

"It looks like he was kidnapped after his schedule wrapped up, but this isn't something those guys did alone."

Ye-hyeon finally tore his eyes away from the video, which he'd been replaying on loop.

Ska and Gilbert also watched the new recruit's mentor intently. Yoon met the heavy worry and guilt in the high command's eyes with a cold gaze.

"There's no way he wouldn't have noticed a stranger approaching with that much malice."

"I think so too. But that's not important right now."

Ye-hyeon spoke in a voice thick with sorrow.

"Let's find him quickly."

"They won't kill him."

"I know. But he's suffering."

The Supreme Commander brushed his white hand over his face.

"He's in pain. So...."

His words trailed off for a moment before he continued.

"He's someone who doesn't deserve to go through something like this...."

Everyone in the office understood Ye-hyeon's quiet murmur.

Ska and Gilbert's eyes mirrored the same guilt as Ye-hyeon's. They knew full well that the organization's targets were actually themselves.

In fact, those culprits must have wanted to capture and kill the three of them. He could guess which group it was: the most radical among those opposing the existence of badgers. They periodically launched physical attacks whenever they faded from memory, and in truth, they were after the high command.

But instead, they'd taken a new recruit.

He wasn't as young as outsiders might assume, but he was undeniably a rookie. Hilde hadn't even gone on a solo mission yet, hadn't taken the periodic fitness assessment, and didn't have clearance to freely wield Green Dream.

In short, he was a complete newcomer.

If Hilde had been young or sensitive, this incident might have made him abandon life as a badger.

But Yoon wasn't worried about that.

"The biggest problem is that he has an exam tomorrow."

Ye-hyeon, who had been burying his face in his hands, lifted his head.

The aides' eyes widened.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

Yoon nodded at Gilbert's question.

"Starts at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow."

"What kind of timing is that?"

Ska exclaimed in disbelief.

"If he doesn't make it to the exam on time, he'll fail, right?"

"That's correct. That rule has never been broken before."

"There haven't been exceptions in situations like this, though."

Ye-hyeon muttered with hollow eyes.

"We should rescue him as quickly as possible."

"Wouldn't they have helicopters or shooting gear all set up for something like this?"

"Yes. Changing the exam schedule is impossible."

"That guy's luck is rotten."

Gilbert muttered in a dazed voice.

"Of all times, the day before his promotion exam...."

"Call Walker or Asil—whichever one is free."

Ye-hyeon's sharp voice cut through their conversation.

The men's heads turned. Toward their superior, who frowned slightly as he stared down at his phone.

The air in the office grew tense.

The Supreme Commander stood up and issued a brief order.

"I'll contact my connections in the police and the intelligence agency."

He headed inside to make his calls.

The others followed Ye-hyeon's command without hesitation.

*

I was hungry.

They'd kidnapped me on my way to grab dinner, so my stomach growled unbearably. I lay on the cold floor, staring blankly at the kidnappers as they rustled around.

They seemed to be heating something up.

Next up was a burn attack, I thought indifferently, blinking.

My stomach rumbled loudly.

"I'm hungry."

When the ones watching me stared at my belly, I declared confidently.

"Got any dinner?"

Thud.

They kicked my stomach.

But unfortunately, it didn't hurt much.... Partly because they were civilians, but mostly because the guy just couldn't kick worth a damn.

I let out a deep sigh.

"You could at least give me a last supper."

"Shut up."

The masked one whispered through gritted teeth.

The guy next to him chimed in with agreement: "Yeah, shut your mouth."

Then, suddenly, he got excited.

"Shut your mouth!"

A punch.

While taking the punches, I stared ahead with bored eyes. As the agitated guards unleashed their futile attacks, I glanced at the twins. They seemed to be heating something up, sizzling away.

It was definitely headed for my body.

Part of me hoped they'd burn a non-lethal spot, while another part wished for a fatal one so Colton would intervene faster.

But did they really send that video of me to Ye-hyeon?

I thought about it while watching the glowing red thing. The surroundings were still dark and cold. They kept assaulting me with various forms of violence until midnight approached. It hurt, but it was bearable.

That must have gotten under their skin.

Ah, and repeating the same questions over and over probably irritated them even more.

Because even while twitching from the aftershocks of the electric shocks, I'd stubbornly kept asking.

"How did you kidnap me?"

Even as they donned rubber gloves and pressed the stun gun to me multiple times, I didn't flinch.

"Who did you hire?"

Zap!

After that kept repeating, at some point they tossed the stun gun aside.

Now they prepared something new. They were completely unhinged. I could understand opposing an immortal organization, but what justified putting this much effort into killing me?

No point explaining logically; they wouldn't listen.

Time passed.

"Hildebert."

Right after midnight, the male twin turned to me.

I sighed at the sight of the long branding iron in his hand.

It was big.

The glowing iron drew closer.

"We'll brand you."

"Wow."

The overflowing madness was suffocating.

I scanned the mark on the red-hot metal stamp with my eyes.

Below a circular emblem, there were letters.

It wasn't hard to make out what they said.

"Lab rat."

"Why am I a lab rat?"

"Do you know who received the first augmented body implants?"

The female twin clicked her heels as she approached.

I looked up at the woman gracefully sweeping her curly hair behind her ear.

I rummaged through my memories and gave half the truth.

"No."

"Death row inmates."

A low voice echoed in the quiet space.

"They experimented on death row inmates first. Once the experiments succeeded, the ones behind it started implanting augmented bodies into themselves one by one."

"Impressive. How did you find all this out?"

It didn't sound entirely wrong.

It probably happened that way in reality. Of course, Eve wouldn't have known. She had a naive side that earned Kyle's mockery. But we who came through the portal weren't the only ones she encountered. And I'd never expected the world to turn beautifully.

They must have conducted human experiments on death row inmates based on Eve's results.

The woman's words made sense.

But it was more likely their baseless speculation had coincidentally hit the truth.

"We've dug fiercely into the past and finally faced the truth."

Oh, I saw.

"You might not know, but in this world, there are powerholders with augmented bodies who aren't badgers."

I knew. They were about to meet the one at the very top soon.

"We intend to tear down this rotten society. It's regrettable that you'll be sacrificed in the process."

"You cause all this and then say it's regrettable?"

"I'll make your death beautiful."

"Saying that while holding a branding iron...."

And they were still filming.

I sighed as the heat grew closer.

The male twin knelt on one knee in front of me. I felt my clothes rustle and burn as I whispered.

"At least brand it somewhere not visible."

They pinned down my limbs and rolled up my shirt.

The heat enveloped my body.

Sizzle!

A muffled sound burst out.

I twisted in agony, flinging off the civilians holding me. They tumbled backward with screams.

A string of thick curses hit my ears.

But I had no energy to care. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Ah....

It hurt so much. The pain was enough to make me cleanly forget about tomorrow's exam for a moment. I writhed on the cold floor, skin scraping against it.

It hurt.

When the hell was that jerk coming....

"It branded so prettily."

The woman peered at my abdomen and smiled in satisfaction.

"You'll all come to fear this mark now."

No voice came out.

My heightened senses registered the pain sharply. Open senses had many advantages, but drawbacks too. My far more sensitive perception than an average human's took in the sound of the kidnappers heating another iron, the air shimmering from the heat, and the pain assaulting my entire body.

As I panted and tried to steady my mind, the man knelt by my head.

A different brand glowed above me.

"The one on your stomach won't show because of clothes."

The man smiled as he brushed aside the white hair on my forehead.

"It'd be a shame if it wasn't visible."

"End this madness with me."

I mumbled in a voice choked with pain.

I felt deep relief that I was the first badger they'd caught. I'd assumed they'd just shoot a few rounds. But these guys were far beyond unhinged.

"No. We'll make sure it ends with you."

The one who seemed least guilty—I'd planned to ask Colton to spare him.

But as the iron approached, I discarded that thought.

Sizzle!

My body twisted.

I arched my back in excruciating pain, then curled into a ball. The abdominal pain hadn't even subsided, and now the forehead agony piled on, making my mind feel like it would shatter.

Ah.

It was a good thing I was the one kidnapped, unaffected by Green Dream.

Amid the suffering, I felt relief.

Not Tom or Hesi. Not Sugar. If it had been them, they never would have survived this place. If things had gone wrong and they'd kidnapped Tom or Hesi instead. If my cohorts had died like this, I might have quit the badgers and hunted these guys down myself.

The excessive pain caused bile to rise.

I vomited it up.

"The video came out great too!"

"Let's send this one as well!"

Crazy humans.

And stupid ones at that. Sending videos like this would give away their location.

But whether they sent it or not, the elders would track them down anyway, so maybe it didn't matter. Clutching my face with my bound hands, I started to lose my grip on consciousness bit by bit.

I should sleep a little.

From the looks of it, Colton would arrive before 3 a.m. for sure.

I needed to close my eyes and rest.

My vision blurred, ears ringing.

A dull ache spread through my whole body, the smell of burning flesh piercing my nose.

Amid those sensations, trusting and waiting for the detestable Akwoo, I slowly drifted into sleep.

*

The high command received contact from the elders.

Yekaterina reached out first.

[Location identified.]

No sooner had they sighed in relief upon checking the message than Eric called.

[Ah. What an intriguing fellow! He's got me trembling all over. I'll go fetch him right away.]

Finally, from Colton—who had undoubtedly pinpointed the location first but had been watching the other elders' moves—came the last contact.

Surprisingly, to a personal line.

[I'll transport him directly to the exam site.]

The high command and Yoon were certain Hilde would attend his exam.

With Colton saying that, the situation was essentially resolved. The police and intelligence agents Ye-hyeon had mobilized onto the streets were no longer needed. The unique white-haired rookie would arrive at the exam venue before 9:30 a.m., no matter what happened.

They sank into their chairs with sighs of relief.

Until Michelle burst in, crying.

"Commander."

She called out to the man rising from his seat in a trembling voice.

"A second email—they sent another email—."

The high command fell silent upon seeing the second video.

Ye-hyeon buried his face in one hand and stayed that way for a long time. Ska kept his head bowed, unmoving. Gilbert stared at the video, his face drained of color.

Only Yoon watched with cold eyes.

Then, scrutinizing every pixel of the video keenly, he broke the silence.

"If those old fogeys leave us any scraps."

His voice was even colder than usual.

"I'll take the rest."

Normally, Ye-hyeon would have recoiled in horror, even if it was a joke, smacking his head.

Ska and Gilbert would have tsked in warning.

But this time, no one reacted.

Instead, after a long pause, Ye-hyeon replied in a subdued voice.

"Yeah."

His tone laced with thinly spread fury.

"Do that."