Black Badger

There was a man carrying a Japanese sword.

To be precise, it was a man with a Japanese sword's scabbard at his side. In his right hand, he held a meticulously maintained Japanese sword.

He had taken real care with it.

I stared blankly at the drawn blade, lost in thought.

Top-notch maintenance work.

I approached the man, who had his back turned to me. Purple coat, sword in his right hand. He stood like a statue amid the totally panicked, fleeing crowd.

The codex, shoved into my pocket, reacted.

[Creature 'Fire Shield']

The creature wheezed next to the ruined fountain.

[Tier 5. Aerial floating-type creature. It drifted slowly through the air before it unleashed a powerful fire pillar. The stronger the individual, the more intense the flames. Chemical attacks were more effective than physical ones. It enlarged its body to devour anything that approached. It was weak to water and fire. It was frequently sighted in deserts.]

I watched the ember-like thing that floated beside the melted fountain.

Until the unmoving man turned his head to look at me.

His gaze held not even a fragment of interest.

"I'll make sure the civilians aren't swept up in the fire pillar."

I looked at the young, resolute, handsome man.

"I won't get in your way, senior."

"Motorcycle."

Jonathan Kudo raised his Japanese sword, pointing at the one on display on the first floor.

His voice, as always, held no trace of interest.

"Get it out of here."

Before I could even say yes, he swung his arm to grip the Japanese sword properly and charged straight at the creature.

I picked up the motorcycle and ran. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Keeping my eyes on Jonathan Kudo, I dashed while assessing the situation. The shopping mall's characteristically wide, airy lobby. The collapsed fountain in the center. The escalator.

A short run from the escalator led to the door. The elevators must have stopped. People from the second floor all crowded onto the escalator.

A whirlwind formed at the center of the floating fireball that drifted by the fountain.

The senior halted right in front of the fireball.

Whoosh!

An immense heat poured out.

"Kyaaah!"

"Run, hurry!"

The fleeing people screamed.

I shoved the motorcycle into a corner and spun around. I turned my gaze to the center of the lobby to check the situation.

The man struck by the creature's powerful fire pillar.

He gracefully lowered his longsword.

It seemed he had blocked the heat with his sword.

Screeech!

Kudo's sword, heated red-hot, scraped across the marble floor.

The floor didn't crack easily. It was thick, after all. The flames that hovered over the marble generated another whirlwind around its body. It would spew fire again soon.

I quickly turned my head to find the people I needed to protect.

Almost everyone in the first-floor lobby had evacuated. The problem was the people from upstairs. They desperately rushed down the stopped escalator.

They ran toward the door, eyes fixed ahead.

There was quite a distance from the escalator to the main entrance. I needed to protect that stretch.

Time to become a human firewall.

I charged toward the escalator.

"Ugh!"

"Got you."

I caught a man who tripped while running for the door.

I helped the flustered, stumbling man to his feet and pushed him onward.

"Keep running."

"Yes, uh, thank you."

"Watch the distribution panel."

Students leaping down from the escalator whispered.

"Thanks!"

"Block it properly for us."

I brushed off the barrage of voices half-heartedly.

I stretched out my arms, using my body to separate the people running for the main door from the creature. I formed a wall with myself and watched as they descended the escalator and headed for the exit.

Shu seemed to move quickly from above. I could hear the whoosh of her hoverboard slicing through the air, people murmuring their thanks, and those who had reached the second floor rushing toward the escalator leading to the lobby.

And the sound of the creature spewing fire again...

"Over there!"

"Kyaaak, get away!"

"Ugh!"

Boom!

Scorching heat seared my back.

I rolled across the lobby, holding a burly man. Roll after roll. After several tumbles, I sprang to my feet, and there was the senior blocking our path.

The hem of his purple coat sizzled and burned to ash, crumbling away.

Once again, he had sliced through the flames with his sword. Thanks to him, my back, wrapped around a civilian, hadn't caught fire.

No time to be grateful, though.

"Run!"

"Yes! Thank you!"

"Hey, wait, you!"

Screeech!

Jonathan Kudo began scraping the floor again with his red-hot sword.

The thick marble cracked. I jumped up and ran to protect the evacuating people while keeping an eye on Kudo and the creature.

He was trying to cut it. Cut through the floor to burst the pipe underneath.

The water pipe connected to the fountain.

Boom!

"Ugh, damn, it's hot!"

"Run! Run!"

"Almost everyone has evacuated!"

Shu's voice came from above, where she rode her hoverboard.

"These are the last ones!"

"Hey!"

As I protected the people running for the door, someone shouted from behind.

"You! White hair! Protect me!"

"No!"

A woman helping a mobility-impaired person down the final escalator step yelled.

"Don't go! There are more people over here!"

"I told you to protect me! Badgers are supposed to protect civilians!"

"It's coming again!"

Whoosh!

Intense pain engulfed my back.

It was because of the two attacks. Kudo had gracefully sliced through one fire pillar, but he couldn't block the follow-up. Fortunately, the flames poured right near me. In a single step, I could rush in to protect the civilians.

I wasn't wearing my combat uniform, so the pain was excruciating.

Unable to relax my expression, I pushed the woman I'd shielded toward the exit.

"Run."

"Ah, ah..."

"Hurry!"

I shoved the dazed woman away and heightened my senses.

After confirming she was fleeing on shaking legs, I turned my head.

The fireball quivered in the melted lobby.

It had spewed two fire pillars in a row, which didn't sit right with me.

Screeech!

Another sharp sound rang out.

In the instant Kudo sheathed his sword in a straight line, I saw water bursting from the pipe.

Pssshhh!

"Mommyyy!"

"Oh! Water!"

"White hair! I told you to protect me!"

"Excuse me."

Shu, now on the first floor, scooped up the stragglers. I, too, lifted the remaining few one by one to aid their escape.

I ignored the voice from behind. There was only one man's voice coming from that direction.

In a situation like this, I had to make decisions that saved as many as possible.

If I had to choose...

Thanks to Shu and me darting about busily, the civilians' evacuation sped up considerably.

While Shu set down three kids at the exit, I turned to rescue the last civilian.

"You can run, right?"

"Yes."

I helped the man who'd just descended the escalator for the last time escape.

Protecting him from the flames, we reached the main door, where it swung open and a woman cried out urgently.

"Have you seen two kids?"

"Stay outside. We'll look for them, ma'am."

"I can't see the two children!"

"What the!"

Surprisingly, the man's voice from behind me still echoed.

"What's wrong with him?!"

Boom!

There was an explosion.

The heavy force of the blast struck the surroundings. My vision flashed painfully bright.

Fortunately, in one step, I could shield the man who'd been calling me white hair. I rolled on the floor, embracing the very man who'd demanded protection.

A groan escaped me from the shockwave slamming into my back.

I hoped the others had all gotten out safely...

The impact left my body unresponsive.

My voice wouldn't come out properly either. I propped up my upper body at an angle, using myself to shield the man obliquely.

Forcing my eyes open, I surveyed the situation.

The lobby lay wrecked by the explosion.

The fountain had melted without a trace, and the water gushing from the pipe had weakened. Shattered glass windows. Glass shards scattered across the melted marble floor.

The creature, now blue and wriggling in midair.

Fortunately, all the civilians seemed to have evacuated.

The lobby was empty of people. They'd all slipped out by a hair's breadth. Except for the man I was protecting. He was in shock too, but his body looked intact.

I turned from the man and took in Kudo, who'd likely been caught closest to the blast. He staggered to his feet, leaning against the opposite wall.

"Are you okay?"

No response.

But seeing him grip his sword cleanly again, I knew he'd be fine.

"I'll get this guy out and be right back."

"Don't come."

The senior roughly discarded his tattered coat.

Without sparing me a glance as I forced myself up, he declared.

"You'll just get in the way."

Yeah, I figured he would react like that.

But I needed to check if there were more civilians inside. That lady had yelled about missing kids earlier.

I didn't respond to the senior. I just grinned and turned to the civilian.

No telling when it might explode again, so I had to get this guy out fast.

I extended my hand to pull the dazed man to his feet. He looked to be in his late thirties, dressed impeccably in a suit.

"Let's go."

I lightly gripped the dazed man's shoulder.

"It's dangerous here."

"Why did that suddenly explode...?"

"Who knows. Anyway, better to get out before it does again."

"Senior!"

Shu's voice came from midair.

Kudo didn't react. It was clearly meant for him, but the senior gripping his Japanese sword ran through the lobby, slicing through the successive fire pillars.

Boom, boom. Bang! The sound of fire pillars bursting against the Japanese sword.

Shu's hoverboard vanished from my sight.

"I'll burst the aquarium tank on the third floor!"

"Hey! Wait! Why burst that?!"

"Let's go."

Realizing the man wouldn't move on his own, I hoisted him up.

"It's dangerous here, so as you wished, I'll escort you out."

"I invested so much in that! Don't burst it. Don't!"

"Headquarters."

As I carried the man and ran for the door, I heard Kudo reporting into the communicator in his ear.

"H Tower civilian evacuation comple..."

KABOOM!

The impact hit my body.

Twice as strong as before. Enough to make my mind blank out for a moment.

My vision flipped upside down.

A piercing ring filled my ears. My body swept up in the massive explosion. Heavy pain battered every inch.

Amid the wild shaking, I struggled to protect the man.

I lay sprawled on the floor, wrapped around him for a while. Even after the explosion passed, ominous cracking sounds began right after the shockwave.

The building was about to collapse. The tower, unable to withstand the previous blast, would probably do so in a few minutes.

But my body wouldn't obey.

Get up.

Get up, grab this guy, and run.

Right now...

Crack, crack, THUD!

A massive sound, rivaling the explosion, filled the hall.

My body, mustered with all my strength. The memory of scooping up the civilian and running toward what looked like a safe spot. I only remembered running. While running, as rocks poured down from above, my consciousness cut out.

Along with the sound of the stone rain.

I lost consciousness.

*

The sound of clearing rubble.

"Senior Kudo."

Rocks tumbled to the side. Light seeped in.

Seeing the face that came into view, I smiled faintly.

"Are you okay? I was worried you'd been crushed."

Jonathan Kudo, covered in dried blood, looked down at me coldly.