Black Badger

So this is how it comes out.

That was the thought that crossed my mind as I looked at the senior who hadn’t yet managed to wipe the blood and dust from himself.

Who had died, and who had been taken?

“Who...?”

Ami asked in a trembling voice.

For the first time, Ruta Ayer’s gaze left me.

The stench of the battlefield stabbed at my nose.

As the man dryly recited the list of the dead, there were—thankfully—no names I recognized. I thought it was a relief, though if anyone noticed that thought, I’d probably get hit for it.

The seniors’ expressions darkened rapidly.

Ami couldn’t hold it in and let out a small sound.

Standing beside Yun, the only one who hadn’t wavered at all, Ruta Ayer continued.

“That was the list of the fallen.”

Then he recited different names.

“And these are the ones who were kidnapped.”

“Ah.”

This time, the sound escaped my lips.

“Leeho.”

So he’d been taken too.

A chill ran through me. Fear and anger scraped at my insides. It was selfish, but the fact that there was a name I knew made it worse.

The senior I’d first met while fighting the ink-cap mushroom Creature.

After that, we’d only gone on one mission together, but every time we crossed paths, he’d taken easy, casual care of me. He was the one who had scratched his head and apologized, saying he was sorry for treating me coldly even after noticing something strange about me during that mission. From that day on, even when I spat out ridiculous excuses, he never questioned me and let them slide.

And now he was under the blade of our own kind.

By now, he must understand why I’d been making those nonsensical excuses.

“But.”

As I bit down hard on my lip to steady my emotions, Yun broke the silence.

Arms crossed, the shooter stared straight at Ayer.

“What does any of that have to do with slashing my deputy’s cheek?”

Ayer met Yun’s gaze.

“You might not realize that there’s no guarantee they’d release the kidnapped just because you hand Hilde over. Or that specifically naming Hilde means he’s the most dangerous one. That is—if you’re lacking in intelligence.”

Yun’s voice was thick with irritation and fury.

It was the first time I’d ever seen him this viciously angry.

“But even if you didn’t know that, why the hell did you shoot him?”

His irritation seemed to build the more he spoke.

“Do you think I’m easy?”

Every squad member watched Yun carefully.

The rage in his voice felt like it could explode at any moment.

I was no exception. I stayed taut with tension, eyes locked on Yun’s hand.

It looked like he’d deliberately shot to miss my face. Someone who’d survived something this horrific couldn’t possibly be in a sound state of mind.

I wanted to say that.

But I couldn’t bring myself to.

Even with Yoow, Yun hadn’t been this angry. That was probably because he’d decided Yoow had to die.

This one couldn’t be killed, and the fact that he’d provoked Yun seemed to make his blood boil.

Ayer answered slowly.

“I know there’s no guarantee the squad members will come back alive even if I hand that white-haired one over.”

“Then—”

Yun hissed.

“Why did you shoot?”

He must have fired in a surge of emotion.

I failed to say it.

“I heard he betrayed the humanoid Creatures. If that’s true, wouldn’t you usually welcome him? Or am I mistaken again?”

“....”

“And if you really wanted to shove him out there to die to save the squad, shouldn’t you be crawling on your knees at his feet instead of firing a gun? Even that wouldn’t be enough sincerity. So why fire a gun when you’re doing neither?”

That’s enough, Yun. He’s going to cry.

“Didn’t you know I’m his shooter?”

While I hesitated over whether to speak, Yun kept going.

A voice barely restraining boiling murderous intent.

“No, there’s no way you didn’t know.”

My nerves were on edge, my gaze fixed on the shooter’s hand.

“You just didn’t care.”

Bang!

Fast as hell.

If I’d been a second slower, the bullet would have gone straight through Ayer’s hand. Thank goodness I hadn’t taken my eyes off the shooter’s hand in his pocket for even a moment.

The instant his hand came out, I drew my sword and slapped Yun’s arm down with the flat of the blade.

It was razor-close. If I hadn’t calculated the trajectory in advance for moments like this, I would’ve been too late.

Yun stared blankly at the wall the stray bullet had pierced, then rolled his eyes.

“What.”

His voice was laced with irritation. I kept my mouth shut.

“It looked like you were about to shoot his hand.... Yun, calm down. Let’s go to the conference room. It seems the TF has been disbanded. I was told to come to the conference room once things were settled.”

“Why are you interfering when I’m disciplining a junior?”

Terrifying.

For a split second, I was genuinely scared. I forced myself to pull it together.

“I’m sorry.”

The mission was over, and I wasn’t even a squad leader now. I had nothing to say.

I sheathed my sword obediently and bowed my head.

Ayer’s gaze returned to me, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet it.

“Tell the Personnel Director I’ll be late.”

“I’ll stay behind.”

Ami—the only one in the squad with comparable seniority to Yun—placed a hand on my arm.

“Go on ahead.”

I didn’t refuse and left the waiting area.

To be honest, I had no idea what to say. One squad had been wiped out, and another had been entirely kidnapped except for Ayer. What could I possibly add in a situation like this?

I knew it wasn’t my fault. But guilt still surged up.

I stepped outside the waiting area.

Walker took Shu from Ami. Walker and Shu weren’t part of the TF, so they didn’t need to go to the conference room. Walker would take Shu to the medical wing for admission, then head home.

Before we split at the junction, Walker called my name.

“Taleb.”

I stopped and turned back to him.

“Yes, senior.”

“There’s no guarantee that hostages will be released even if you pay the ransom. I know that because I’ve handled kidnapping cases to the point of disgust.”

The man who had once been a famous fixer in the underworld let his eyes gleam in the shadow cast by the aisle lights.

They were the eyes of a hungry bear.

“Carve that into your brain.”

“I will.”

I answered quietly, then smiled faintly, grateful he’d said it.

“Thank you.”

Walker didn’t reply. He turned away.

Without another word, the senior headed toward the medical wing. We parted there, each going our separate ways. No one spoke as we walked toward the conference room. We stripped off our outerwear that reeked of sand and moved down corridors that swallowed our footsteps.

Looks like I don’t have much time left living under the protection of those who favor me.

That was the thought that came to me as I walked in silence.

***

The Personnel Director wasn’t waiting.

The Commander was.

The supreme authority, receiving reports through the earpiece hooked around his ear.

He lifted his head as we entered.

“Sit.”

There was none of his usual gentle greeting.

As I took my seat, I reported that Yun and Ami would be late. Yehyeon nodded indifferently. He didn’t ask why, nor did he say he’d relay the meeting contents to them later.

Instead, once everyone was seated, he got straight to the point.

“As you’ve been notified, the TF is disbanded effective today.”

No one dared to speak.

“The TF was formed to draw out Hilde’s combat potential while concealing his identity. The plan was to make full use of him to expand territory. But if the humanoid Creatures are already spreading word of his identity, there’s no reason to maintain the TF.”

It seemed many of his kin had come down.

That made sense. Unlike humans, they had no leeway.

My gaze settled on Yehyeon’s jet-black tie.

“Too much power was concentrated in the TF as well. But now that they’ve decided to kidnap Badgers, we can’t afford to concentrate our forces in one place. Each of you is {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} capable of leading a squad. From now on, the TF is disbanded, and you’ll operate individually.”

“Are you sending Hilde out?”

Sophia asked.

For the first time, Yehyeon lifted his gaze from the pad and looked at her.

Large black eyes that revealed no emotion.

“No.”

His voice was cold.

“The loss would be too great if we lose Hilde.”

Kyle’s side knew full well that the Badgers wouldn’t hand my head over so easily.

Still, it was an efficient strategy. No matter which choice was made, backlash was inevitable, and internal division was guaranteed.

Those who’d had experiences like Sophia’s couldn’t help but resent Yehyeon’s decision.

I still couldn’t take my eyes off his tie.

“Another unit will be deployed for the rescue operation. For now, you’ll rest. You can’t be assigned a new mission the moment you return from one.”

“Commander.”

“But Jack, I’d like you to come in after one day’s rest and review the footage the rescue unit sends back. You know Creatures well, and as a former insider, you might notice something.”

“Understood.”

I couldn’t hold back and opened my mouth to speak, but Yehyeon ignored me and continued.

Kairos answered crisply.

Yehyeon turned his gaze to Ricardo, Carl, and Sophia.

“You three will rest for your designated days, then take on the missions assigned to you.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Ricardo and Carl answered quietly.

Only Sophia didn’t respond, her expression complicated.

Yehyeon didn’t seem to care and finally looked at me.

“Hilde, you’ll rest for your designated days as well.”

And then—

“And you’re going to another Core.”

“What?”

My eyes widened at the completely unexpected words.

Why?

“One of the primary reasons we suffered a setback this time is Green Dream. We’ve received reports that it’s leaking out of Core 3.”

Yehyeon lowered his gaze to his pad.

“Go there and lead Sylvia and Leonard to find and seal the route through which Green Dream is leaking. It’s as urgent and important as the rescue operation. Only you and Jack are immune to Green Dream, but Jack will be assigned to Creature analysis for the time being.”

“Understood.”

“The two deserter-capture teams are already in Core 3. They’re tailing Doug Clark.”

So that was it—they’d deliberately let him loose and watched.

The urgent fire Yoow had mentioned had spread like this. I resisted the urge to bite down hard on my lip.

I’d had a bad feeling ever since Yun was hit by Green Dream–laced ammunition. The problem was that we’d realized far too late that there were traitors on the human side.

Still, if we could block the leak of Green Dream, the chance of defeat would drop dramatically.

Every one of Yehyeon’s decisions made sense.

Except—

“Commander.”

When I spoke, everyone looked at me.

“There’s also the option of me pretending to offer my head and entering enemy territory. Jack and the ones under my command inside Center Core won’t be detected.”

“I know. I considered that strategy too.”

The plan where I’d be captured willingly, and Kairos and Igor would infiltrate enemy territory to rescue me and the other Badgers.

It wasn’t a low-probability strategy.

But Yehyeon didn’t endorse it.

“We can’t use that strategy yet. If you seek them out that early, they’ll be certain you’re being tailed. They won’t kill the hostages immediately, so we have time to try other approaches.”

A cold conclusion.

I understood it logically.

“If the situation worsens, we may have to accept the risk.”

Yehyeon finished calmly.

“But not yet.”

Being forced to quantify what should never be quantified was the burden of the Commander.

I bowed my head, signaling my acceptance of his judgment.

I didn’t show how tangled my insides were. Not that it would’ve gone unnoticed.

There was no room to push back, no better alternative to propose. So I simply bowed my head. Just as Yehyeon said, I wasn’t in a position to charge blindly into enemy territory.

Even if the other Badgers might think differently.

“That’s all. Good work on the mission, and thank you for performing beyond expectations.”

As Yehyeon concluded the meeting, a heavy fatigue and sorrow suddenly settled over his voice.

“Go rest.”

Leeho.

As I stood with the others, that name crossed my mind.

Leeho and Jin.

They were far too young compared to me.

***

I returned to the cabin.

I don’t remember exactly how. I only remember Ricardo wiping the blood from my cheek before we parted.

He’d told me to stop thinking stupid thoughts and get counseling while I was resting, hadn’t he?

I also remembered Carl gripping my shoulder and saying, “Hold fast,” before leaving.

Both of them must have been shaken by the news of their juniors’ deaths, yet they still took such careful consideration of me. I was grateful.

Unfortunately, I probably wouldn’t have time for counseling.

Deltei greeted Kairos and me when we returned to the cabin.

“Going to play the game right away?”

We were.

Now, we really had to.