Black Badger

He’s a high-maintenance bastard.

I let out a dry laugh and stopped moving.

The narrow, dark passage was full of insects. There were rats, too.

But they don’t make creaking sounds.

“You hear that?”

“No.”

The soldiers’ voices came from directly beneath Lin.

“But it won’t hurt to check.”

Tat-tat-tat-tat!

Bullets tore through.

If I hadn’t yanked Lin’s body toward me, he would have turned into a beehive. But pulling him down didn’t solve anything. The moment I dragged him, there was noise—loud enough for even those who hadn’t heard the earlier creak to catch it.

“There.”

“Fire!”

The three of them unloaded at once, and the rounds punched through both Lin and me.

I clamped a hand over Lin’s mouth before he could scream.

Blood poured out.

“Big catch.”

The soldiers snickered under the ceiling.

“There’s always idiots like this.”

“If they’d come out nicely, we wouldn’t have had to shoot.”

Tears streamed from Lin’s eyes.

He shot me a look—move us, now.

I didn’t bother saying we were lucky so many things lived around ventilation shafts.

Instead, I grabbed a nearby rat.

The life in my hand dissolved into nutrients and vanished.

Not enough.

Fortunately, a few small monsters lived nearby with the rats.

I enslaved them.

Two were within arm’s reach—fortunate. Even in the Empire they’d been treated as filth no better than rats, so when the monsters crawled up, Lin flinched despite crying silently.

This isn’t the time to argue about what’s filthy.

I snatched one quickly and used it to treat the wounds in both Lin and myself.

Ignoring the nausea rising in my throat, I slit the other silently with my dagger.

Bang!

As expected, they weren’t going to just leave.

Blood from us and the monsters dripped through the holes and fell to the floor below.

The soldiers kept firing at the ceiling, now riddled like Swiss cheese.

They would keep shooting until the blood burst through and a bleeding body fell down.

Idiots all act the same.

Tat-tat-tat-tat!

The moment I tossed the monster corpse into the spot where Lin had been, another hail of bullets came.

The dead monster jerked and danced under the impacts.

Meanwhile, Lin crawled forward without a sound.

He didn’t even look back. Just put distance between us.

I’m not being sarcastic—that’s exactly what he should do.

It meant I no longer had to worry about him.

The old spider was already ahead.

Only I stayed still. I sat behind a panel already perforated with holes.

And I watched as the panel, having taken too many rounds, finally gave way.

Thwack!

The monster corpse dropped with it.

“Ah, fuck!”

“It wasn’t human?”

“A Creature?”

Just accept it and move on.

“It’s a Creature.”

I didn’t move.

I held my breath and listened as the soldiers approached and examined the body.

The scrape of gun barrels nudging it over.

They quickly realized it wasn’t an animal carcass but a Creature corpse—and also that in this situation they couldn’t exactly call in a Black Badger.

“These things aren’t much.”

Someone chuckled.

“They yap about Creatures all day, but it’s no different from killing animals.”

“Most Badgers are just narcissists who don’t want to age.”

Most of them indulged in pointless backtalk about Black Badgers.

Unfortunately, one of them had a working brain.

“The amount of blood’s too much for its size.”

“Guess it’s just packed full of blood.”

Yes.

Think that simply and move on.

“Or there’s a whole swarm up there. Let’s go. Doesn’t look human.”

“Give me a shoulder. I’ll climb up and check.”

The ominous voice—the one who had pointed out the blood—spoke again.

I suppressed the urge to sigh.

Sharp. Conscience-free. Persistent.

He would’ve made an excellent assassin.

Unfortunately, he chose the wrong moment to be persistent.

I sat there lazily, waiting for the soldier to stick his face above the ceiling.

Disappointingly, the others, though grumbling, humored the difficult one.

Like a whack-a-mole game, the moment his face appeared, I grabbed it and yanked him up.

“Fucking—!”

“Dima!”

“Fire!”

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

If they hadn’t panicked like that, Dima might have lived.

But before I could do anything, Dima was riddled with his own comrades’ bullets and died instantly. I was pierced in two more places as well.

Fortunately, no arteries.

I left Dima’s corpse where it was and moved.

They won’t chase now. They’ll be too afraid.

Indeed, bullets rained for a while longer, but they didn’t pursue me. I had unintentionally played the role of a Creature living in the ceiling.

...Ah?

Not playing?

...Whatever.

After quickly staunching the bleeding, I crawled forward again.

The plan—to slip unnoticed into the Hawk’s Nest—resumed smoothly.

Suppressing nausea, I pushed forward and soon caught up with Lin and the old spider.

They were far more capable than I had expected.

For one thing, their sense of location was flawless.

Lin had correctly guessed we were above the men’s restroom stalls.

“How’d you know?”

I carefully lifted the ceiling panel, confirmed no one was inside, and dropped down onto a toilet.

Then I received the old spider from Lin above.

He gave a strange smile.

“Ah, Commander. Just luck. I roughly guessed by the smell.”

This bastard’s not new to this place.

So that’s why he immediately suggested the ceiling.

I understood, but I didn’t nag.

Instead, I quickly scanned the surroundings, let the two of them step out, and emptied my stomach.

Thought I was going to throw up in the ceiling.

After rinsing my mouth at the sink and turning around, I saw Lin’s pale face.

“Are you sick or something?”

He hesitated before saying it.

“Last time too—you made some nonsense excuse and threw up....”

“I can get at least you out safely. Don’t worry.”

I tapped his shoulder and walked toward the door.

The old spider was crouched outside the men’s restroom, performing the role of a homeless woman with absurd naturalness.

“What exit number?”

“Number 3. The soldiers will definitely be blocking it.”

She spoke gently.

“There were casualties inside the subway.”

“Ah, for fuck’s sake. They’re the ones who shot them....”

Lin cursed, clutching his head.

I stood on the restroom threshold, considering.

I wasn’t lacking in strength. If I wanted to, I could collapse this entire station.

But if I intended to carve a path out with sword strikes, there’d have been no need to go through the trouble of securing the Core device in the first place.

Until I enter the Hawk’s Nest, I have to hold back.

On the way to Colton’s mansion, I didn’t want someone catching my face rampaging like a madman, news of Hildebert’s survival spreading, the danger of a 10th-class Creature becoming visible again, and eventually Kairos’s identity exposed.

A disaster like that.

A few days ago, when I expressed this to Yekaterina, she had stared at me and scoffed.

‘You want quite a lot.’

Do I?

We’ll see. If luck cooperates, I think I can catch two land whales at once.

So far things had gone well. We just had to stay hidden like this until we reached the information broker’s house.

I glanced at Lin’s wristwatch.

Two hours until the Core device finishes forming.

“Let’s go out in disguise.”

Lin spoke while I was calculating.

“We just knock out two of the guys roaming inside. Take their clothes and weapons. Shouldn’t be a ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) problem getting out of the station.”

“Yeah. That’s probably our only option.”

If we had more time, I’d have chosen to carve a tunnel out with sword strikes. But we didn’t have that luxury.

“Let’s set bait.”

We couldn’t exactly wait around for someone to feel the urge to use the restroom.

***

I think this every time.

Plans are best when they’re simple.

The most irritating thing about playing moves with Colton was precisely that. Fights with him—and politicians like him—never stayed simple. Too many variables. Always something overlooked. And they’d dig into what I missed with infuriating precision.

But capturing soldiers? That can be simple.

In fact, I proposed an extremely efficient plan that even the old spider praised.

Lin, however, looked horrified.

He acted as a drug-addled resident and lured the soldiers in.

Four or five shots were fired, but none hit.

Thud!

Thanks to my quick subordinate, I was able to sprint in and knock out the two soldiers chasing him with blows to the back of the neck.

“Fuck, seriously....”

The moment the operation succeeded, Lin sniffled and approached me.

“How could you do that to me? I’ve listened so well this whole time....”

“Put the clothes on.”

1 hour 50 minutes.

“Tie these two up and stash them.”

Black assault gear.

Primary weapon: AK-74. One carried a Colt .45 pistol. The other had a SIG M17.

Lin and I moved quickly. Stripped them, bound the unconscious soldiers in a restroom stall. The boots were slightly large but not small, and soon we looked like soldiers.

Lin lifted the information broker.

I would take the lead toward the exit.

If we were discovered, we’d run. But let’s hope luck holds.

The biggest problem with this plan was the sword.

Long. Bulky. Obvious.

I decided to pass it off as belonging to the old spider and made Lin carry it.

He grumbled that it was too heavy, cumbersome, suspicious-looking.

“Can’t you stash it somewhere? Leave it inside for a bit?”

“If another missile comes, we die.”

Lin shut his mouth.

I smiled silently and headed toward Exit 3.

As expected, soldiers were positioned above the exit. Backlit, I couldn’t see the faces of the ones looking down at me.

After a glance at their white-lit silhouettes, I climbed the stairs calmly.

They stared at us.

Don’t talk to me.

I stepped into the daylight slowly.

Stay relaxed...

“What’s this.”

Ah.

“Volunteering?”

“Watch your mouth. This is a local big shot.”

Lin answered instantly.

“We’re escorting her home. Don’t even think about it. Grandmama’s love belongs to me.”

It was the way idiot soldiers talked.

Lin mimicked their bluster perfectly. I stared straight ahead, waiting for it to end.

“What, she’s a local boss?”

“Hey, show some respect. Hands off. You want to lose that hand?”

“Where’d you find someone this precious?”

“Local boss? She looks exactly like Tita who lived next to my ex-wife.”

“No. She looks exactly like my grandma who died years ago. We’re clearly blood-related.”

“Shut the stupid talk and mind your business. We’re busy escorting.”

“But this guy doesn’t look happy.”

Someone grinned, pointing at me.

“Did you make some deal to use him as bait?”

“Let’s go.”

I cut off the conversation before it could sink into something more vulgar, sighing lightly.

Then I walked straight down the empty street.

No one called out to me.

The view opened wide. The alarm had barely been issued, yet the streets were already wrecked. No civilians in sight.

Humvees the soldiers must have arrived in.

Pickup trucks and buses riddled with holes.

Don’t stop me. Just ignore us.

Lin handled them well, trading crude remarks about faces, so now we just return to alert—

“Wait.”

Ah.

“What unit are you from?”

1 hour 35 minutes.

I rolled my eyes once and turned around.

***

“1 hour 35 minutes left. Where the hell is that bastard?”

It was Yoow who spoke.

No one answered. They were in the middle of combat. The machine gun fire swallowed his irritated muttering.

Igor stared at the sky.

Behind the mounted machine gun beside him sat Rose, firing continuously at the enemy.

Only after a firing interval ended did she shout,

“Why is only Lin-sunbae with Commander?!”

Morning sunlight poured onto the rooftop—hardly cold at all.

Hildebert’s subordinates stood behind cover, laying down suppressive fire. All wore helmets, goggles, body armor.

At a glance, they looked exactly like some private militia.

At the center of the U-shaped building they occupied sat the Core device.

It had to be protected at all costs.

Fortunately, it remained intact, steadily building the Core that would cover the Hawk’s Nest.

Another hour and a half, and the Core would be complete.

The problem was that an hour and a half is short for those rushing here—and unbearably long for those defending.

They had even dragged retirees back in to make sure it held.

It hadn’t gone through Hildebert’s approval. The White Knight Commander hadn’t wanted to drag those living quietly inside the Core into this vendetta.

But manpower had been lacking.

So while Hildebert was busy having “Yaja time” with Lin, Deltei contacted people here and there, gathering those able to participate.

Hildebert would be annoyed when he found out.

But what could he do now?

Even if he’d known beforehand, he wouldn’t have been able to stop those who volunteered.

Even Georges had come.

He’d been told to stay and take care of Okazaki, who was suffering aftereffects from the kidnapping. The cook hadn’t listened.

“I want to be with Commander too!!”

“Shut up! It’s chaotic enough—focus on the fight instead of whining!”

“They’re coming.”

Igor grinned at the approaching drone.

Standing alone, he bared his teeth and drew his blade again.

“Come as you are. I’ll split you in two.”

“And maybe try becoming a Swordmaster.”

Yoow swapped magazines smoothly while nagging.

“If you don’t level up now, when will you?”

Tracer rounds arced through the sky.