Black Badger

Ska did not even try to clean up the shattered mug.

Phones began ringing from every direction inside the office. Alarms shrieked nonstop from his computer.

Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!

Messages flooded in without pause, and the phones in the outer secretary office rang just as frantically.

Ska did not answer a single call.

Instead, when the secretarial staff rushed into his office, he shouted,

“Contact CIS immediately!”

He did not know who his surging fury was directed at.

CIS. The press. The Elders. Hildebert.

Probably all of them.

He had no time to examine it.

“Contact the reporters too! Get a full grasp of the situation and report back to me immediately!”

The staff carried out his orders without hesitation.

Ska tore his gaze away from the people running back out, grabbed his phone, and began rejecting the incoming calls one after another.

He kept rejecting them until he cursed violently and hurled the phone aside. Then he pulled out the private one from his drawer.

He rejected Jonathan Kudo’s incoming call and dialed the strategist among Hildebert’s kin.

No answer.

“Fuck!”

Ska Owen spat the curse and reached toward the aide who burst in announcing a call from CIS.

Inside his head, he was spewing every curse imaginable.

He should never have taken Hildebert’s words at face value.

***

Yehyeon dropped his phone.

He had been dozing at the dining table buried in paperwork when the phone began ringing like it had gone mad. He woke, tried to parse the flood of calls, and barely managed to piece together what was happening.

For a moment, his vision went white.

He sat there for several minutes, unable to move, staring down at the phone.

What is this supposed to mean?

What the hell—

Right hand?

Left leg?

His hand began trembling violently.

When the phone slipped from his grip and clattered to the kitchen floor, Yehyeon finally remembered what Hildebert had said before being taken.

‘In this situation it’ll be hard for me to move freely. After I’m taken in, I plan to lie low for a while. But I’ll definitely come back, so don’t be alarmed.’

He had not said this was the method of lying low.

He had not mentioned leaving behind a right hand and a left leg.

Yehyeon sat blankly before staggering to his feet and turning on the television.

His phone kept ringing. He did not have the presence of mind to answer.

The moment the TV came on, the breaking news appeared.

[Considering the amount of blood loss, the probability of survival appears extremely low...]

Blood loss?

[CIS has not released an official statement, but judging from the scene, torture appears to have been carried out during interrogation...]

“Torture?”

“Lee Yehyeon.”

As he mindlessly echoed the word, someone seized the back of his neck.

Yehyeon looked up with unfocused eyes at the man who had yanked him around.

Yun stared down at him coldly.

“We’re going to headquarters.”

“...Yun. What the hell is all this...?”

“Get a grip.”

Yun shook him roughly.

“Hold it together properly. Hilde gave you at least some hint, didn’t he?”

“He said he’d disappear after being taken in. He didn’t say anything about this.”

Yehyeon’s voice trailed off hollowly.

“Did he tell you anything else? Did you hear more from him? This isn’t real, right? It isn’t, is it? Right, Yun?”

Yun grabbed his earlobe and yanked hard.

Only when it felt like it might tear did Yehyeon regain some composure.

It was a pitiful calm, barely enough to stop shaking.

“Yun...”

“It can’t be true.”

Yun grabbed Yehyeon by the collar and dragged him out of the house.

“We’re going to headquarters. To the executive offices.”

Yehyeon did not resist.

He only asked to retrieve the phone he had dropped. He did not know what kind of call might come through it.

Yun replied that he had already picked it up and put it in his pocket, then headed to the garage.

The moment they got into the car, Yun slammed the accelerator without even fastening his seatbelt.

Yehyeon did not stop him as he normally would.

He merely scrolled through the avalanche of messages with trembling hands.

In truth, he did not even realize Yun had not buckled up.

***

When Ricardo’s phone began ringing like it had lost its mind, he had just been handed a glass of whiskey at a bar near headquarters.

It did not take long to understand.

Patrons around him began gasping in shock. Ricardo irritably swiped away the cascade of alerts dropping down from the top of his screen.

Then he checked the breaking news.

“That fucking lunatic...”

The muttered curse slipped out reflexively.

A blinding white rage — or was it fear — wrapped around him instantly.

The only reason he did not lose himself entirely was the strange attitude Hildebert had shown recently.

The junior who had said he would return, golden eyes burning with seriousness.

There had been something odd about that expression. Ricardo had thought then, This bastard is hiding something again.

He had never imagined it would be something this insane.

[The right hand and left foot confirmed to belong to Hildebert Taleb were discovered at the scene...]

Bang!

He kicked his chair aside and stood.

With the last shred of restraint, he refrained from smashing the table with his fist. ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ His eyes burned hot with fury as he bolted outside.

He headed toward headquarters, half-unconscious in motion.

There had been a reason he told him to come back intact.

He failed to regulate his strength for the first time in a while, crushing the phone in his grip.

He did not even properly register it as he ran.

Right hand. Left foot.

The silver handcuffs around his wrists.

The CIS agents lined around Hildebert, eyes set as if braced for something.

‘I’m updating my will.’

The memory surfaced. Ricardo swore viciously and began running.

‘I wish I could keep all of you within the reach of my blade....’

Headquarters came into view.

Cars and motorcycles screeched into the Black Badger compound, engines screaming.

Shrill cries, sobbing, and agitated shouts filled the grounds.

Ricardo shoved through the crowd and entered the lobby.

Black Badger Headquarters. First-floor lobby.

He forced his way into the mass of terrified, frantic people.

***

“What the hell is this supposed to mean?!”

Jason Trevain roared from the center of the lobby.

“What the fuck does this even mean?!”

“It’s not confirmed.”

Eyes bloodshot. Legs trembling from agitation.

Both special-duty and general staff had flooded into the lobby the moment they saw the news. Scientists. Administrative workers. Café employees. Part-timers. Even people who were not Black Badger staff at all.

All of them stood clutching their phones, unable to leave.

In the middle of the crowd, Chen Koenig anxiously gnawed his thumbnail.

“They didn’t find a body, right? He could still be alive!”

“The blood loss...”

Scientist Sean muttered tearfully.

“Judging by the blood loss... the possibility of survival is low...”

“Blood loss my ass!”

Jason Trevain stomped.

BOOM!

The lobby floor cratered under his foot. The thunderous sound echoed through the vast space.

On any other day, people would have flinched away from him.

Today, no one stepped back.

The blond first-generation Black Badger snarled,

“Only idiots who don’t know what kind of lifeform he is talk about blood loss! Didn’t you see the 10th-class Creature footage?!”

“Is that why they took him?!”

Kate shouted, wiping tears from the back of her hand.

“Is that why they dragged Hilde away? A Creature... Creature... Hilde is a Black Badger! Not a Creature!”

“What do they mean torture?”

People who had just finished missions and rushed over murmured in panic.

On the news, the word torture was being repeated.

Gasps and small cries broke out across the lobby.

Veins rose again on Jason Trevain’s forehead.

Before he could speak, someone shouted—

“Commander!”

Heads snapped around.

The crowd parted.

Jason Trevain and the other special-duty officers saw who was pushing urgently into the lobby.

Yun and Yehyeon entered first.

Ricardo followed.

Behind the green-eyed Black Badger were Jonathan Kudo and Tom Husson, clearly having abandoned patrol duty.

Farther back came Carl Dow and Asil Fiscer.

Sophia Kalak...

“It’s the Commander.”

“It’s Yun!”

“Commander! Hilde—”

“Yun! Hey! Taleb—!”

“You incompetent bastard!”

The flood of words was drowned out by Jason Trevain’s furious roar.

He shoved people aside and grabbed Yehyeon by the collar.

“Couldn’t even stop CIS from taking a Black Badger agent?!”

“Let go.”

Yehyeon answered distractedly.

He was not even looking at Jason.

“I need to go to Ska and assess the situation—”

“You let CIS cut off a Black Badger’s hand and foot?!”

“Shut the fuck up!”

Yehyeon shouted sharply and shoved Trevain away.

The onlookers’ jaws dropped.

Even Yun, who had been about to pry Trevain off, froze.

People stood stunned.

Only Jonathan Kudo, who had been walking toward the executive elevator to find Ska regardless of whether Yehyeon was being grabbed, did not react.

Ricardo, who had been following Jonathan, halted and turned back to look.

Yehyeon glared at Jason with bloodshot eyes.

“Do you think we have time for this?”

His voice, sharp and unrestrained, rang through the lobby.

“If you’re not going to help, then shut up!”

Beep— Beep—

The argument never erupted.

At that exact moment, everyone’s phones vibrated simultaneously.

Beep— Beep—

“It’s a mass message from the executive office.”

“Ah.”

“Assistant—”

“Yehyeon!”

As heads lowered to check the message, a heavy voice resounded.

Heads turned again.

Ska Owen had appeared.

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

Ska raised a hand and called out several names.

“Yun, Carl, Sophia, Jonathan, Rick — come to my office. No, go upstairs. Questions later.”

“Assistant Commander! What about Hilde? He’s not really dead, right?!”

“Commander Ska! Are those body parts really Hildebert’s? Is CIS fabricating this?!”

“Save Hilde!”

“Quiet!”

Silence fell instantly when Ska raised his voice.

Trevain, still rigid from Yehyeon’s outburst. Chen Koenig, trembling while frantically refreshing news feeds. Staff clinging to each other in tears.

All of them looked up at Ska.

Acting Commander Ska Owen spoke heavily.

“We’re assessing the situation right now. So calm down and wait.”

Those he had called entered the executive elevator.

Ska stood before the open doors and added steadily,

“I’m sorry that inadequate response allowed CIS to insult us like this. We will not let this pass. We’ll issue updates as things develop. Stay composed and help prevent operational gaps. I’m asking you.”

“Is Hilde alive?!”

A former Café Senabi employee shouted as Ska turned to board.

“Just tell us he’s alive! This is false, right?!”

Ska turned his head.

For the first time, something like fear crept into his eyes.

The employee read it and covered their mouth.

Others groaned.

Some sank to the floor in a daze. Hiroshi and a few others collapsed, clutching their heads.

Ska Owen looked at them for a moment and forced out his voice.

“Let’s believe.”

Then he turned and stepped into the elevator full of Black Badgers.

“Wait just a little longer. I’m sorry that’s all I can say.”

With that, the doors closed mercilessly.

***

Bang!

Executive conference room.

The door, which had been closed heavily, was flung open as those trembling with fear and anger took their seats.

Heads snapped toward the sound.

A man in combat gear stood in the doorway without permission.

Orange eyes they all knew well.

“Jack.”

Ami, who had arrived earlier, sniffled and called his name.

“You too... you don’t know what happened to Hilde, do you?”

The summoner with the cold expression silently looked at his partner.

Cold fury burned in those orange eyes.