Black Badger

The best outcome would be if Kyle truly intended to ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) negotiate.

And I believed that, as a leader, that was the correct decision for him to make.

Of course, the kin outside the Core would see my words as an insult. They would call him the worst kind of chieftain—a man without honor or pride.

Still, I didn’t let go of that single strand of hope.

Even while organizing what would be said on negotiation day with Yoow and the leadership, I kept clutching that hope. Their numbers had grown now. Children must have been born. Many would have already forgotten the Empire.

For their sake as well, I hoped Kyle would surrender.

I kept dreaming of it.

Dreams where Kyle finally changed his mind.

Happy dreams that left my body trembling with frustration every time I woke. Day after day, without fail, I dreamed those dreams while finalizing the operation. There were clashes between the Badgers and the kin, but given the circumstances, none of the conflicts lasted long.

In fact, after Ro summarized the situation bluntly, there were no disputes at all.

The curly-haired senior, picking at his ear, had said in bafflement,

‘So what, then? Hyunde betrayed the enemy and came over?’

‘It’s Hilde, not Hyunde.’

‘You gotta treat a defector well!’

When Ro slammed the desk—bang!—the surface caved in. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

‘Switching to a rival team takes courage!’

I didn’t really get the analogy, but in any case, there were no more close calls after that day.

The plan was organized. The agreement took shape.

Time passed quickly.

***

Negotiation day. The sky was painfully bright.

Under the clear blue expanse, I stood there seeing off Kairos and Ami.

The Remnant Wraith lure team.

“Stop thinking about us now.”

Ami spoke when she saw my face refusing to relax.

“Just focus on what’s in front of you. Worrying about us won’t change anything.”

“Yes. Don’t wake the Remnant Wraith immediately. There’s still a chance I won’t be kidnapped.”

“Yeah.”

Ami murmured, her voice carrying a small sadness.

“I hope so.”

Truly.

After that, Ami said she should go say her goodbyes to the others and left Kairos behind.

The summoner looked at me with orange eyes.

From the chest pocket of his uniform, Milk poked her head out. When I stroked Milk’s fluffy white crown, the summoner laughed softly.

“We’ll definitely come back.”

Kairos took my hand—still resting on Milk—and said firmly,

[My captain.]

For a moment, I was afraid he might kiss my hand.

Thankfully, my subordinate kept hold of his sanity. Laughing, he said that since he couldn’t kneel or kiss my hand, it was regrettable—and that it would look bad in front of the seniors anyway.

That’s what you say now?

When I made a speechless face, the man burst into laughter.

“Be careful.”

After letting go of my hand, he spoke heavily.

“Honestly, it makes more sense for me to be worried about you.”

“We’re both in desperate need of luck. Kairos. I wish you good fortune in battle.”

My subordinate nodded.

Then he added a phrase that hadn’t been used in a long time.

[May the blessing of the World Tree be with you.]

The same words Igor and Rose had said before departing.

The World Tree was gone now—but still.

After offering that nostalgic farewell like the others, the man turned and walked toward the fighter jet. Wind whipped up by the propellers sent his hair fluttering. I watched Kairos—and Milk leaping onto his shoulder.

He stopped beside the jet and lifted his head.

The moment Kairos began speaking with the other seniors, I turned away as well.

I crossed the bustling airfield.

Rows of neatly lined helicopters. We would soon board these and head for the negotiation site. Officially, it was an “exchange of hostages and negotiations,” so we couldn’t go in fighter jets.

Of course, the helicopters were packed with weapons.

Some fuselages even carried vehicles—motorcycles and four-wheelers. Equipment the Human Retrieval Team would use if I were kidnapped.

“Hilde.”

As I was watching, someone approached.

“They’re set. Three morphine capsules.”

Samuel and Yun.

The best Badger doctor would be waiting in the safe F Zone.

The doctor handed me my dog tags.

This was my first time wearing them on a mission. Badgers almost never wore dog tags—too bothersome.

They were issued after passing promotion exams, like a certificate of sorts, but I’d never seen a senior actually wear theirs.

This time, though, I had to.

A small tracker was embedded in the ID plate. The morphine capsules the doctor had attached clinked beside it.

“Thank you.”

I smiled as I accepted the dog tags.

As I put them on, Yun suddenly held out a capsule.

A poison-gas capsule—part of the operation.

“You already took the antidote.”

“Yes.”

“If you bite down, the gas will spread. Spit it out immediately after biting. The antidote doesn’t completely neutralize it. If you’re discovered, don’t bite—just swallow it.”

“Yes.”

I took the pill and slipped it into my mouth.

Then I rolled it with my tongue and tucked it behind my molars.

A biochemical weapon to be used if my life was in immediate danger after being kidnapped.

Ah—and there was also a cutting-edge micro tracker, like ultra-thin rice paper, attached to the side of my molar.

After stowing all that in my mouth, I practiced speaking.

“A not-moist chocolate chip from the not-moist chocolate chip country went to the moist chocolate chip country because it wanted to become a moist chocolate chip after seeing the moist chocolate chips there.”

“Damn, good pronunciation,” the doctor praised.

I grinned, feeling proud. My mentor snorted.

In any case, preparations were complete.

“Go board.”

As I felt the dog tags against my bare skin and fiddled with the morphine, other seniors approached.

Hildebert — Human Retrieval Team.

“Did you get any sleep last night~?”

Ricardo passed by while sliding a magazine into his gun.

His green eyes curved lazily.

“Let’s try not to let you get dragged off at all, yeah~....”

Carl Dow followed behind him.

“Got all your comms?”

His blue eyes swept over my ears and clothing.

“You checked the charge levels too, right?”

Unlike Carl, Sophia stopped in front of me.

The senior suddenly held out a chocolate bar.

When I raised an eyebrow with a puzzled smile, she explained flatly,

“You look tense.”

I smiled awkwardly and took it.

“Thank you.”

Sophia nodded silently and followed Carl toward the helicopter.

Watching her short hair flutter, I melted the chocolate on my tongue.

By the time it disappeared, Ruta Ayer stopped in front of me.

The former squad leader of the kidnapped unit.

One of the top Badger combatants.

For some reason, the man assigned to my rescue team looked at me with pale sky-blue eyes.

“Senior.”

Meeting his gaze, I spoke quietly.

“No matter what, I’ll bring back those who were kidnapped.”

Ayer stared at me, his expression unreadable.

His short brown hair whipped about in the strong wind.

The wind swallowed half of his words.

“This isn’t something you have to shoulder alone.”

...Huh?

“I’m sorry I fired that shot back then.”

What?

Why is he saying this all of a sudden?

Did Yun go threaten him or something?

I looked at him in confusion, but Ayer turned sharply, as if finished, and strode toward the helicopter.

What was that....

“Get your head on straight.”

Only after Asil smacked me on the back did I come to my senses.

“You’ve got everything, right, rookie?”

At that familiar title, I let out a small laugh.

Waving him off as the former police officer walked away, I smiled. A senior I was grateful to—despite not having gone to explain things myself, he showed no resentment or hostility.

He boarded the helicopter last.

I would be taking a different one.

After Asil left my sight, I headed toward my assigned helicopter.

The one at the very end.

When I climbed inside, the people already aboard turned their heads.

Including someone wrapped in black cloth like a hijab.

“Byung Yeong-baek.”

I met the man’s eyes and smiled.

“It’s been a while.”

As his brow furrowed, my smile widened.

I greeted Yehyeon and the other seniors seated across from him, then sat down beside Byung Yeong-baek. I felt him flinch, but ignored it.

Not long after, the fuselage began to shake.

I was going to see Kyle again.

***

The negotiation site was a plain.

Wherever you looked, the horizon stretched unbroken—making ambushes difficult. A place chosen precisely for hostage exchange and negotiation. The Badgers assigned to remain here had combed it thoroughly in advance.

The helicopters arrived overhead.

I couldn’t see outside, but I could tell we’d reached the destination by the presence of kin.

There were many of them on the ground.

Kyle was there too.

That overwhelming presence.

“As you know.”

As the helicopter began its descent, Yehyeon broke the silence in a dry voice.

“The best case is that you aren’t kidnapped in the first place. If negotiations collapse, we withdraw everything and return.”

“Yes.”

Ignoring Byung Yeong-baek’s twitch, I answered.

“I understand.”

The helicopter touched down.

As the vibration died out, the rear ramp opened.

Cold wind rushed in. Green grass swayed where the ramp met the ground. Sunlight poured in, filling my view with the world outside the Core—fresh green fields, a blue-cleared sky, vast white clouds wider than they were tall.

A beautiful day.

As I descended the ramp, I took in the horizon before me.

Helicopters were landing one by one across the open plain.

Opposite the heat churned up by the rotors, people stood in tight formation.

Kin.

Those who had split off and become enemies.

They stood in single lines beyond the long markers on either side of the negotiation field. The aura they emitted struck my instincts painfully. Now that I remembered everything, there was no hesitation—but facing the hatred and killing intent pouring off them made my skin prickle.

It feels like I’m back on the battlefield.

And this is supposed to be a negotiation?

With a faint sneer, I looked at Kyle.

A man like a black lion.

His curly black hair scattered in the wind.

I could also see those standing beside him—figures with their arms bound. Wearing familiar special suits, they were staring in the same direction.

At Ruta Ayer, disembarking from another helicopter.

I saw one of our people subtly raise a thumb.

Leeho’s here too.

Good—he looks fine.

But Jin Silver was nowhere to be seen.

He wasn’t part of the negotiation terms, but still—he’d been alive even during the interrogation of the black mage....

“To your positions!”

Richard’s booming shout snapped me back.

The seniors scattered.

I remained where I was, watching them move into place. The Hildebert Human Retrieval Team positioned themselves closest to the negotiation field, ready to respond instantly to any anomaly.

Behind them, Richard Green’s squad—the ones staying at the site—lined up.

Kyle, however, didn’t spare the Badgers a glance. His gaze remained fixed on me, unmoving.

It’s hard to breathe with all that hatred pouring out.

“Hilde.”

I tore my eyes from those burning golden irises.

The Supreme Commander stood there, hands in his pockets.

His face was deathly pale.

For a moment, I felt the urge to ignore everyone watching and soothe him like a child.

But there are times when risk must be taken.

I stopped beside Yehyeon and smiled.

“Commander. I will come back.”

Yehyeon stared at me with a blanched face, then nodded.

Only his next words were steady, purely professional.

“Let’s go.”

He walked straight toward Kyle.

“Step out in front of the assembled Badgers and hand me your sword.”

Byung Yeong-baek, cloaked in black cloth, followed behind him.

As we advanced, the line of Badgers parted like the Red Sea, opening a path.

Passing through them, we crossed the designated line toward the white square marking the negotiation zone. Reaching the chalk boundary, we stopped and faced Kyle and the hostages.

Kyle’s gold earring clinked as it reflected the sunlight.

With eyes ablaze, Kyle stared at my sword.

I smiled faintly and unfastened the scabbard at my waist.

“One more time, please.”

I handed the sword to Yehyeon with a smile.

“I’ll be back to retrieve it soon.”

Yehyeon’s face twisted strangely, as if he were holding back tears.

Still, he accepted the sword quietly. Taking it carefully with both hands, he naturally belted the scabbard at his waist—like someone who’d done it countless times before. Like someone who knew exactly how to wear it comfortably for his height.

I watched with a smile, then turned my gaze.

To Byung Yeong-baek.

“Shall we?”

The negotiation began.