Black Badger

To think they'd abandon me like this.

Richard Green ignored Yoon's rude response. From what I could tell, these people knew each other far too well. They were probably fed up with one another.

Green didn't seem angry at Yoon's irritated retort.

"Since it's come to this, you should think carefully too."

[Yeah, yeah.]

No one was surprised by the perfunctory reply.

It seemed that was how Yoon always responded whenever Richard Green nagged him.

I'd gotten enough sleep. The group had gathered around the rusty table in the control room.

Somewhat pathetically, most of the seniors avoided sitting next to me. It wasn't so much that they found my creature-attracting nature creepy, but more that they felt betrayed because I'd kept quiet about it until now.

Ami and Silvia were the exceptions.

Ami knew my situation. And Silvia... well, she didn't seem interested in my situation at all.

The more I looked at her, the more she reminded me of someone from the same department as my mentor.

Anyway, I was grateful to have people filling the seats on either side of me. I sat quietly between Ami and Silvia, keeping my mouth shut.

The seniors had my mentor on speakerphone. The safe point map floated in the air.

Tvain, still furious at me and everyone else for having hidden this fact, shouted.

"You crazy bastard. You knew and didn't say a word to us?"

My mentor remained nonchalant.

[I didn't.]

He had no intention of making excuses.

The conversation didn't continue for long.

Tvain, who had briefly fallen silent expecting a follow-up, grew even angrier.

"You psycho! We should scrap all the guys like you with brain problems!"

[Isn't Silvia there?]

Yoon chuckled lightly over the phone.

[Going for a wide shot?]

"Cut the unnecessary chatter."

"Hey, isn't it great? Getting all that favoritism from the boss? Be honest. You two are practically glued together, right?"

"Jason Tvain!"

"Oh, come on!"

Green and Ami snapped in anger at the same time.

Iho and the blonde senior, Barbie, also hardened their faces. But Yoon himself wasn't angry.

His mocking voice came through the phone.

[Are you scared? Or is it jealousy because you don't get Ye-hyeon's favoritism?]

My mentor had a natural talent for getting on people's nerves.

Bang! The table cracked. Tvain stood up, ready to smash the phone too. In the end, we had to pause the meeting for a while.

Richard Green ordered everyone to leave the room so he could review the terrain and plan the operation. The seniors shuffled upstairs.

Meanwhile, Iho handled the excited Tvain. Ah, senior, you're not an amateur—why act like this? That distinctive goat-like voice carried over.

The control room emptied.

I stayed in my seat until the seniors had gone first.

As I was about to leave, I made eye contact with Richard Green and nodded politely.

"You."

The senior stared at me with burning eyes and spoke heavily.

I didn't avoid his gaze.

"Yes."

"You must be prepared."

"Yes."

In truth, I'd been prepared ever since I accepted Ye-hyeon's words about becoming a badger.

I hadn't told anyone, but anyway, I'd steeled myself back then before accepting his proposal.

Now, I had no intention of being surprised or devastated. Whether privately or officially, I wasn't about to turn a blind eye to the problems I'd unintentionally created.

Ami waited at the stairs. Feeling her presence, I nodded to Richard again.

"I'll follow whatever plan you devise."

After responding, I turned and headed for the stairs.

*

We were surrounded by a horde of creatures, but the safe point was also enclosed by a small breath, a protective barrier that shimmered faintly like a translucent veil.

So it wasn't immediately dangerous. Ami led me to the second floor.

"You'll get weird looks from the seniors if you stay on the first floor."

The senior gently pulled my arm.

Hearing Ami's calm voice made my chest tighten a bit.

Her natural kindness, shown since the day we first met, was something I was grateful for.

We climbed the stairs and headed to the room with the widest windows on the second floor. A room where one side was entirely glass. As soon as I pushed open the creaky door and entered, my view was filled.

The head of what was estimated to be a tier 7 creature was right in front of me in the darkness.

The creature stared straight at me.

With an eye that took up nearly half the glass.

"Weird human-like thing."

Ami, who had trotted into the room, said casually.

"You know about Hilde's eight-foot ghost?"

"No?"

"It's a huge, elongated ghost. Kinda like that."

But her voice didn't sound scared at all.

I got what she meant, though. Gray strands—whether hair or fur, I couldn't tell—draped over its elongated face like a curtain.

And in the midst of that, a sharply opened massive shadowed eye.

The bloodshot eye looked at me resentfully.

What the hell did I ever do to you guys?

As I walked diagonally across the room, the creature's huge pupil rolled after me. Its body didn't move an inch, but the eye steadily followed where I went.

Ami made a disgusted sound.

"Ew."

"Yeah. It's creepy."

"You've never fought a huge creature like Hilde has?"

I nodded while looking at the bloodshot eye that occupied half the window, and Ami came to stand beside me.

She looked at the creature with me and offered advice.

"The easiest way is to slip under its body, hit the legs, and attack when it loses balance."

"Ah, I think I get what you mean. Thanks for the advice."

"Yeah. If you time it right and dive into its body, it won't be able to attack easily."

Just like Ye-hyeon had done, slipping into the gap created by a tier 10 creature.

It was textbook swordsmanship. That unforgettable scene replayed in my mind.

Flawless draw and smooth technique. Skilled footwork. Yoon's words about him having properly learned the sword.

Who had taught him swordsmanship?

I placed my hand on the hilt of the sword at my waist. Thanks to my desperate shout in that underground parking lot where I'd stabbed the pig to death, Yoon had given me a bigger sword.

As expected, a thicker, longer sword fit my hand better than a thin, short one.

Sometimes I felt this sword was oddly unsatisfying too, but...

I didn't have major complaints. It was just a small regret. This sword was fulfilling its role well enough.

After hearing Yoon's irritated insistence, I'd probably use the sword instead of a gun once the operation started.

I hoped that would be the case.

"But really, how does it know where you are?"

Ami muttered, glancing at the eye outside the window that wouldn't leave me.

"It's amazing. Right?"

"Yeah, that's the part I'm most curious about."

"Anyway, let's just kill them all."

The young-sounding senior suggested breezily.

"Headquarters scientists tried to tame them for decades, but creatures never could be tamed."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Especially the ones closer to humanoid."

Her following words were almost to herself.

"They're much more vicious than the others..."

Told you so.

A voice suddenly popped into my head.

Words from the long-haired black-haired man. Think about it. The things our world has given us. What only we can feel. You feel it. The life force about to explode. The sense of connection. The vivid sensation of life flowing through the body.

He burst into his characteristic refreshing laugh.

They know nothing. That blue-haired researcher, the squinty-eyed human, the old folks too.

That's how he always mocked the two-tone-haired researcher. I sank into the faint emerging memory.

Who would know? Who could even guess at our bond?

In the memory, we were always obsessively in that white room. When the two of us were left alone in that pristine room, he would reveal his hidden thoughts openly.

His habitual phrase echoed in my mind.

They're blind. They know nothing.

They know nothing...

So what don't they know?

In the end, I couldn't remember that far.

*

Sever the bridge.

Noon. The sun stood high in the sky, securing visibility.

It was time to start the operation. A few kilometers away, there was a bridge. Thick and sturdy, it still held its shape.

Below the bridge was a cliff. Unless it was a flying creature, nothing would survive the fall.

I'd drive there and lure the creatures.

The seniors would follow the tail of the creatures focused on me. They planned to hunt them one by one from behind.

Most creatures would be too fixated on me to look back. No matter how many there were, it wouldn't be too hard.

As long as Ami and I played our parts well.

Ami, with the best mobility, was paired with me. Her role was to scoop me up and fly over the bridge once it was severed.

We'd eliminate any remaining creatures by destroying the bridge. As soon as Ami and I crossed, we'd throw the bomb. Boom! Creatures plummeting with the exploding bridge.

It was a simple and effective plan.

No obvious problems were in sight.

I'd memorized the map.

"I'm ready."

Inside the sleek vehicle like Yoon's sports car, I checked the gear and reported.

"I'll head out as soon as the signal drops."

[Ami.]

"I'm ready too."

Ami, wearing black gloves, clenched and unclenched her small hand.

"Give the order."

The radio cut off.

A brief silence fell. As I emptied my mind and looked out the window, I turned at the gaze I felt from beside me.

Ami grinned.

"You got this!"

I widened my eyes too.

"Yes. I'll floor it as much as I can."

"You're not nervous."

Ami let out a clear laugh.

"Isn't this your first time dealing with such a big creature? Hilde finds it really amazing."

Is it?

I blinked a couple of times. Actually, I wasn't tense. I just thought it wasn't unusual.

My cohort members like Hesi or Tom probably weren't that tense either.

Hesi might have even enjoyed it.

Vroom!

As I wondered about my cohort's well-being, the sound signaling the start of the operation rang out.

It wasn't over the radio. But the sound was so loud I couldn't miss it.

The sound of the breath activating.

With the brake on, I looked at the gate. The wide-open gate inside. The translucent barrier in front of it.

It rippled and opened with a sound.

A bizarre, massive noise. Wooong. Wooong.

Like a balloon.

The barrier opened.

I stepped on the accelerator.

Screeech!

As I plowed through the creatures gathered in front of the breath, the operation began.