Black Badger

After pushing the Creatures back in a straight line, I began to build a barricade out of the tangled desks.

With the two of them supporting me, it was much easier. While I hastily gathered desks, they took care of the Creatures I couldn’t finish off.

Yun even dragged John Mühlen over.

“Let’s shove him into the Core.”

Thunk!

As I stacked the barricade higher than my own height, it crushed a Creature.

Its head, jutting out like a dragonfly’s, was caught between the desks and snapped cleanly.

The neck fell at my feet.

Seunghyun’s support was shining. I shouted again as I admired his ability to plant bullets precisely into the pouring Creatures.

“Yun. Please put John inside the mini Core!”

Yun dragged John toward the mini Core and answered.

“He can’t go inside. He has to research how to close that thing.”

“Ah.”

I had briefly forgotten that this man was a giant of the scientific world.

Yun lightly pushed John’s back.

“Go, genius. Go figure out how to close that.”

Thunk!

Seunghyun hurled another heavy desk, reinforcing the barricade.

The genius scientist staggered toward his own desk next to Yun’s. He didn’t seem too shocked by the situation compared to everyone else.

Or did he just not notice Creatures exploding out?

“The inside of the Core is strangely unstable.”

...No, he noticed.

John murmured to himself.

“Especially around here.”

“Of course. Because a Portal is open right in front of your eyes.”

“I need to contact the Portal Management Corporation.”

Ignoring Yun’s reply, John stood in front of the desk.

The words that followed, I didn’t understand at all. Something about spacetime or whatever, but I had no idea what he meant.

Anyway, at least he had started his research.

Either way, now it would be hard to use sword blasts.

If I sent one out, the barricade would probably collapse. Still, because I stacked the desks cleverly, handling the Creatures had become easier. And for a while only low-grade Creatures burst out, which made building the barricade convenient.

Thunk!

That luck didn’t last long.

Seeing the triple-layered barricade tremble, I let out a bitter laugh.

“If a high-grade one comes out, that’ll collapse immediately.”

“Let’s close the lab door and hold out.”

Seunghyun kicked aside an empty magazine and approached.

“If we keep it open, civilians will definitely get hurt.”

Yun snorted.

I saw Seunghyun furrow his brows and roll his eyes toward the shooter, and the shooter, pretending not to notice the reaction, lifted his chin and looked toward Martin.

“Martin!”

When Yun shouted, Martin whirled his body around.

[Did you call, Yun?]

“Shut this floor down.”

[Understood.]

A red light flashed in Martin’s black lens.

[Research Lab 5 shutdown. Research Lab 5 shutdown.]

KUUUUNG!

With a tremendous sound, the massive entrance behind us closed.

It was as thick as the doors used for Portal zones.

The noise felt partially blocked. I turned my gaze toward the shivering barricade and gave a faint smile.

“Seunghyun. Give me a ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) gun. Your shoulder’s hurt.”

“I’ve been shooting with my left hand.”

“...Ah?”

Smack.

As I stood there startled by the unexpected answer, a gun flew toward me.

I caught the gun Yun had tossed.

There was now distance between us and the enemy thanks to the barricade. There wasn’t a precise gap I could pierce with a sword blast, nor was the barricade firmly enough constructed to withstand a blast.

So a gun was perfect.

I prepared to fire the rifle I received.

Only then did I realize that Lee Seunghyun was giving me a look of disbelief.

“Who taught you?”

My disciple asked in a displeased voice.

For a moment, I thought I understood how Yehyeon feels whenever he stands in front of him.

“...The seniors....”

“Wasn’t it that shooter bastard?”

“...Well, yes...”

“If you’re unhappy with him, then you teach him.”

Yun said as he shot down the Creatures clinging to the ceiling one after another.

Seunghyun arched his brow and interrogated the shooter.

“Shooting should be a required skill.”

“I taught him, and that’s why he’s this good. If you don’t believe me, try teaching him yourself.”

“Please don’t fight because of me.”

I muttered in a miserable voice.

“I can make him hit the target. He’s just slow—”

BANG!

Bang! Bang! Tatatatang! Gunfire exploded as if to show off. While I adjusted my stance, the two injured men shot down several Creatures.

Bang!

And the bullet I fired missed and hit the ceiling.

A silence heavy enough to tear ears apart followed.

Without moving, staring ahead, I spoke.

“Don’t focus on me.”

Bang! Bang!

Tatatatatatatang!

Almost before I finished speaking, the men began firing at Creatures.

The sound that the suppressors couldn’t erase hammered my ears.

Creatures’ agonizing screams. Muscles bursting. Blood raining down over bodies.

The sound of casings scattering.

In the gunfire and Creatures’ death cries, the men’s low voices mixed in.

“Learn shooting from the beginning.”

“...It’s not like I’m bad because I didn’t learn. Really.”

For the first time, I felt sorry toward Yun.

“I just never had the will to learn.”

“The shooter lacked the ability to draw out his deputy’s will.”

“No.”

Stunned, I raised my head without thinking.

He kept firing without giving me a glance.

Of course, the shooter wasn’t the type to stay quiet either.

“Then teach him yourself and make me realize my shortcomings.”

Please don’t fight because of me.

“If you show a proper demonstration, I’ll accept it.”

Seunghyun snorted instead of answering.

Then he began popping Creatures more irritably than before.

Bang! Bang! Tatatatatang! Creatures bursting like fireworks in a row.

A mountain of corpses formed near the barricade. It served as a second barricade. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Both Yun and Seunghyun seemed to be calculating this as they shot.

Amazing.

But aren’t they running low on ammo?

After shooting down one Creature, I asked:

“Ammo?”

“It’ll run out soon.”

After answering, Seunghyun flicked his hand toward Yun.

His eyes still didn’t leave the Creatures.

“Ammo.”

Yun ignored him.

More irritated gunfire sounded like his answer.

Am I supposed to act as the communication bridge now?

While I hesitated—BANG!—a deafening shot rang out.

Seunghyun had deliberately removed his suppressor before firing.

A stingray-like Creature collapsed right beside me.

Its guts spilled out and soaked my shoes.

Seunghyun’s low, irritable voice followed.

“Rookie.”

At this rate they’ll start shooting each other.

“Didn’t you stockpile ammo?”

“I have no fundamentals, you see.”

“Let’s not fight.”

I muttered in a tired voice.

“And is there really no ammo? If not, I’m going to push everything with sword blasts, barricade included.”

Yun irritably kicked his desk drawer.

The locked drawer burst open with a bang! He pulled out ammunition and I heard him angrily kick it toward the middle of the hall.

Seunghyun snatched it and shoved the rounds into a magazine.

BANG! Bangbangtadatang!

While he did that, Yun also removed his suppressor and began firing.

I clamped my hands over my ears.

When one barrage of gunfire ended, Seunghyun’s barrage began as if on cue.

The scent of blood and raw protein thickened.

Only after that wave ended did I lower my hands from my ears and mutter:

“Species hatred?”

Bang!

Bang!

“Uwah!”

If I had moved, I would have been hit.

Seunghyun fired at my left foot, Yun fired at my right.

I stared blankly at the neat bullet holes lined up beside me.

Truly garbage personalities.

I looked back and forth at Seunghyun on my left and Yun on my right; both gave almost identical reactions.

Seunghyun snorted and chambered another round.

Yun lifted his brow and dropped an empty magazine.

Neither of them showed a hint of strain despite still being injured. Seunghyun had been hospitalized less than three days. If Samuel knew this, he’d faint and start swearing.

Instead of showing how hard it was, the two refused to stop disliking each other.

Even when I shouted at them to support each other as I called out Creature directions, they didn’t listen.

And when the last of the lab’s bullets finally ran out, nothing changed.

I told them to use the last bullets on the Creature pushing through the barricade, but Yun pretended not to hear me.

The grotesque monster pushing aside desks and the corpses erupted forward and ended up striking Seunghyun.

SMAAACK!

“Yun!”

I swung my sword, pushing back the barricade and the Creatures together, and shouted.

“Please stop acting like a damn child!”

I know full well he hates Seunghyun, but still—he’s injured—

SMAAACK!

Something burst to my left.

Startled, I snapped my head over—only to see Seunghyun mercilessly pounding a Creature twice his size with his fists.

Smack! Crack! Crack!!

...Did he really need to kill it that brutally?

“Alright, calm down.”

I held out my palm toward my disciple, who was flattening the Creature’s heavily wrinkled face.

“It’s already dead.”

[Yr pnchs r ld ngh t brng the whl flr dwn]

?

Yun suddenly muttered in a language I couldn’t understand.

Seunghyun froze mid-punch and straightened his back.

[Nd yr shtng s slppy engh t mtch]

[Fx yr m frst bfr crtczng nyn]

Don’t talk in Korean without me.

[Lk wh’s tlkng]

[Kp rnnng yr mth nd ll sht t fr y.]

“Oh, stop fighting!”

I couldn’t hold back and raised my voice.

“When are you going to grow up?”

KWA-AANG!

I was about to scold them that after living nearly a century they should learn to control their personalities, when a heavy sound rang out and the barricade exploded.

I pushed everything back—the desks and the pile of corpses—with a sword blast.

The ones I didn’t manage to push struck my body and flew back.

Squelch, squelch! Corpses slapped flat against the lab door.

And then I sensed the source of the explosive attack.

I immediately turned toward Yun and shouted.

“Mühlen!”

Yun didn’t hesitate.

Even in the chaos, the shooter lunged and yanked the peacefully researching scientist aside.

Seunghyun sprinted toward the mini Core device.

I pushed back the flood of rat-like Creatures and sensed the heavy presence at the end of them.

Not one of my kind.

But definitely a high-grade monster they couldn’t handle.

{The stage is small.}

The echoing Imperial language stabbed my ears.

{Shall I widen it?}

KWA-AAAAANG!

The laboratory floor collapsed.

Cracks spider-webbed in an instant, then crumbled like brittle biscuit.

Even as I fell to the lower floor with my sword in hand, I kept my eyes fixed on it.

A high-grade monster capable of speaking Imperial.

Even Kairos couldn’t command it.

“Usurper.”

It wouldn’t be much different from a dragon breaching the lab.

“Even that fire couldn’t devour it?”

How did it cross over to Earth?

How did the fire that seemed to burn everything fail to burn creatures like that? Just where had Kyle and Rei brought so many monsters from?

After muttering something close to a lament, I looked at the monster that landed on the lower floor at the same time I did.

A sharp hood that came down to its nose, and a transparent blue veil covering its nose. A dark navy mantle covering its entire body.

Two arms protruding from the mantle—black as ash.

Covered in deep, terrible wrinkles.

“Yun.”

I whispered like a sigh.

“Prepare the suction device.”

Because I wasn’t sure my body would remain intact after fighting that thing.

There was no time to hear a reply.

I bent my knees and leapt toward the high-grade monster that even the Empire had feared.