Black Badger

Hildebert made a small sound.

It wasn’t a cry of pain. It was closer to the sound of realizing something. As Yun was splattered with blood, he watched Hildebert’s heart regenerate.

Would it regenerate even if his head were blown off?

A scholar’s curiosity surged up.

Not that this °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° was a situation where he could calmly check something like that.

The golden eyes slowly rolled toward Yun.

“...Can you move your body~?”

“No.”

Hildebert stopped trying to stab Ricardo’s neck.

Instead, he took a step back—to stab Yun’s throat.

With both hands finally free, Ricardo asked in a voice heavy with exhaustion, and Yun answered readily.

“My organs are completely ruptured.”

“Oh dear....”

“Looks like it’ll take five minutes before I recover.”

If he were an ordinary person, he’d have died instantly.

The problem was that whether his organs recovered or not, he was still about to die. If he couldn’t dodge the needle aimed at his neck here, there’d be no point in having survived Hildebert’s punches thanks to his enhanced body.

I’m not dying that easily.

Yun aimed his gun barrel at the needle in Hildebert’s hand.

BANG!

The needle burst apart.

The hand holding it burst as well—but immediately regenerated.

Hildebert didn’t look surprised.

He bent at the waist and grabbed Yun’s throat with his blood-soaked hand.

“Ah.”

Yun frowned deeply.

“Of all things....”

「Commander! His Majesty’s stomach!」

Yoow’s sharp shout echoed through the ruined area.

「Ambush!」

Hildebert reacted.

Yun saw Hildebert twist his body in a flash—so fast Yun barely registered it. His pupils dilated sharply, his hand reflexively snapping toward his waist. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Hildebert froze in a posture he used when unleashing a sword strike, his waist bent.

Muscles taut in a way they hadn’t been when fighting them.

Sharply opened eyes searched for the attacker.

Yun and Ricardo held their breath, watching Hildebert stand perfectly still.

「There’s nothing.」

Hildebert muttered.

The yellow irises gradually relaxed.

A calm voice—still guarded—brushed their ears.

「Did I miss something, Strategist?」

The golden eyes continued to sweep empty space.

The writhing ground beneath his feet calmed slightly.

Every Badger held their breath.

Yoow pushed himself up into a seated position.

「Yes. You’re missing quite a lot.」

Despite the strategist’s grumbling, Hildebert didn’t look at him.

「So please, wake up already.」

“...My head hurts.”

Hildebert straightened.

When common language spilled from his mouth, the Badgers’ eyes widened.

Everyone stared at Hildebert as he pressed a hand to his head.

Hildebert clenched his white hair with his right hand.

Cold sweat beaded across his brow.

“My head....”

Please, wake up like this!

“What kind of headache is this....”

Everyone in the sinkhole prayed the same thing.

Just open your eyes like that!

Hildebert furrowed his brow.

That was the moment their hopes shattered.

The man who had been standing there making every kind of grimace lowered the hand clutching his head and murmured,

「What did you make me eat this time?」

Bodies stiffened.

Even if they didn’t all understand his words, there was no mistaking the irritation in his voice.

「I’m sick of this....」

“Hildebert.”

Yun, having recovered enough to move, called his name.

Hildebert didn’t respond.

Asil shouted toward Yoow.

“I don’t know what that was, but try it again just now!”

「Knight Commander!」

Yoow shouted, craning his neck.

「Sir Hildebert! Imperial summons!」

It had no effect.

The ground beneath Hildebert’s feet began to heave noisily.

Ah.

A quiet sigh slipped from Yoow’s lips.

The golden eyes lost focus again.

Ricardo and Yun, having recovered their condition, were ready to widen the distance the instant Hildebert moved.

He still hadn’t moved yet, but—

Sophia shouted.

“Do emotional transfer!”

She clung to the opposite slope, aiming at Hildebert’s head.

Igor snapped back.

“You want to make him go even more berserk? Unauthorized emotional transfer is a crime!”

“Crime or not, we have to stop him from killing one of us!”

“And what if fear or pain gets mixed in?”

The swordsman shot back firmly.

“It’s impossible to completely filter out your own emotions. In a state like that, there’s a high chance he’ll confuse transferred emotions with his own!”

Hildebert turned his head.

The bright yellow eyes rolled as he surveyed those nearby.

“If he mistakes transferred fear as his own, it’ll be a catastrophe!”

BOOM!

Hildebert smashed his fist into the ground.

BANG! BANG! BOOM!

Every place his fist struck caved in. Dirt blasted into the air.

Ricardo and Yun, who had been at the impact point, leapt away instantly. Guns in hand, they retreated to the diagonal slope.

[Is the Commander coming because of the sword?]

The rescue team focused on widening the distance as they fled.

Carl Dow’s voice came through the communicator.

Keeping his eyes on Hildebert, who was scanning for a suitable weapon, Yun answered.

“That’s one reason.”

The man brushed his left thumb over a grenade.

He didn’t continue. It was too much trouble to explain that Hildebert might react to someone he’d once accepted. Asil Fiscer and Ruta Ayer—who knew nothing of the past—had called it “a suicidal gamble,” but Yun hadn’t answered them either.

No intention. No leeway.

Hildebert bent down, picking up what looked like a sharp fragment.

Yun threw the grenade.

KABOOOM!

The acrid stench of an explosion washed over them.

The sound of shrapnel scattering.

Sand and dust rising—then settling.

As the hazy air thinned, a familiar voice came through Yun’s communicator.

[Almost there.]

Yehyeon.

[If things go wrong, we’ll do an air strike. Prepare to withdraw.]

Yehyeon really did arrive quickly.

The shriek of aircraft tore across the sky, and the next moment Yehyeon stood at the edge of the sinkhole. He was alone, Hildebert’s sword hanging at his waist. A morphing weapon sat at his ear, its surface catching the light.

He had arrived at the moment Ricardo, Yun, and Igor shattered the weapon in Hildebert’s hand.

At a time when three of the best couldn’t even leave a scratch on their opponent.

“Stick to the slopes and surround him.”

Yehyeon issued orders over the comms.

“Leave the center open.”

The Badgers moved in perfect unison.

Hildebert noticed the new arrival.

He didn’t chase those retreating from him. Instead, he stood at the center of the sinkhole, staring intently at the man sliding down the slope.

His left eye had fully inverted.

Golden pupils curiously traced the face of the one descending.

Jin Silver noticed Yehyeon too.

The deserter Badger panicked.

“Hey, are you insane?!”

The man propped against the slope with Asil’s help shouted loudly.

“Why is he here?!”

Yun was about to shout at him to shut up—then stopped.

Because Yehyeon slid down and came to a halt right beside him.

Without taking his eyes off Hildebert, Yehyeon muttered into the communicator.

A low command reached Yun, Ricardo, and Igor.

“All units, withdraw.”

There was no urgency in his tone.

“Objective achieved. Beware pursuit by the Black Knight.”

Black Knight—the name the humans in this operation used for Kyle.

It seemed Kyle was chasing those who had infiltrated the main force.

No reply came through the comms, but Yehyeon wasn’t finished.

As he slowly walked toward the center, he added,

“Send a medical helicopter to the Remnant Wraith decoy team as fast as possible.”

Igor reacted.

“Why the decoy team?”

“Jack.”

Yehyeon answered shortly.

Then he immediately shifted topics.

“We can’t win.”

Hildebert’s gaze was fixed on the sword at Yehyeon’s waist.

“We might be able to stab him. If that fails, full withdrawal and wait for self-stabilization.”

“And if that fails, Commander—your retrieval?”

“I’ll leave that to you, Yun.”

“Understood.”

「A knight?」

Hildebert’s calm voice cut through their exchange.

Only three Titans and one human understood Imperial speech.

But everyone present felt a faint chill of fear.

「Fine.」

The murmur was composed.

「I’ll face you.」

Yehyeon unintentionally complied.

He stepped forward without hesitation and stood directly before Hildebert.

The man opposite him smiled faintly, taking Yehyeon in.

Seeing the blood-soaked cheek and sharp eyes, Yehyeon exhaled deeply.

“I’m coming.”

He deliberately lowered his voice.

With a stiff, formal tone, he added the title.

“Instructor.”

The title Hildebert had once held—confirmed moments ago by asking his father.

“Just as you taught me.”

Yehyeon kicked off the ground and charged straight at Hildebert.

At the man standing unmoving at the center, bright yellow eyes watching.

The sword he had entrusted to him in hand.

***

Why does that look like my sword?

I thought as I looked at the waist of the approaching man.

A practice sword modeled after mine...?

I guessed, my mind far from clear. My head felt flooded, like a dam inside my brain had collapsed, memories rushing in.

I killed three hardliners yesterday.

I should check how their deaths were processed after training....

I won’t be able to keep training human soldiers for much longer.

I can’t teach them real swordsmanship anyway....

Still, it’s fortunate that a few humans can at least imitate the surface of it.

Though I wish they’d never have to wield swords....

But I have to be realistic.

Even if I don’t want to think about it.

The sword-wielding human rapidly closed the distance.

Running in long strides, he gripped the hilt tightly in his right hand.

Good form, but his speed is lacking.

I thought as I watched the human grit his teeth.

I should tell him to compensate for that....

Will Rei ultimately side with Kyle?

If he refuses to believe me in the end, Rei will raise his sword to purge those who know of our existence.

It would be good if we had enough strength to subdue him.

It would be better if I could face him myself.

But in case that proves impossible, I had to teach humans at least the shell of my swordsmanship.

If I placed my sword in the hands of someone who learned it, perhaps I could stop mad humans from pressing the button for mutual destruction.

That’s why I gathered soldiers renowned for their skill from every nation.

About three of them succeeded in imitating my sword.

This one was among them.

The most outstanding of the three.

“Lee Seunghyun.”

I murmured to the one now right before me.

“At this distance, you need to lower your body—”

To avoid Rei’s sword—

...could....

...The length of the blade....

Rei’s sword....

.......

...Rei’s sword?

My memories tangled.

Why was I teaching a human how to avoid Rei’s attacks?

Why—

.......

Why did Rei hesitate?

THUD.

The instant the question formed.

The instant countless memories erupted and nausea surged. The instant I felt my chest tearing apart with a strange pain—

Agony tore through my body, overwhelming even the pain inside.

Pain sharp enough to snap my blurred consciousness awake.

A warning bell to dulled senses.

Lowering my head to find the source, I saw a familiar light.

The light emitted by my sword’s edge.

And the gaze of the one holding my sword.

In the eyes of the one who had stabbed my sword into me, pain glittered.

Guilt. Sorrow. Resolve. And a tiny, tiny hint of pride.

I blankly met the child’s complex gaze.

Gentle eyes.

“...Yehyeon.”

“Did I wield the sword as well as my father?”

The child murmured in a trembling voice.

“That’s a relief.”