Black Badger

“...I’m not exactly a beggar.”

The restrictions would be lifted soon anyway.

“It’s not like the deadline to repay the debt has been set yet.”

“You have debts too?”

Ricardo asked.

I closed my mouth, then cautiously opened it again.

“I picked them up... while working on a few things recently.”

“How much?”

That was embarrassing to answer.

I was wondering how to gently confess the enormous amount of debt — I hadn’t even calculated it precisely yet — when Igor, who had been standing behind us blankly, suddenly joined the conversation.

“Won’t your financial transactions be unfrozen soon?”

“Probably. But the money in my account isn’t enough to cover it.”

“Should I transfer the money from my account?”

Igor asked.

As if... that might actually solve part of the problem...

“Give me your account number. I’ll send it the moment your account is unlocked. Mine isn’t frozen.”

“I appreciate the thought.”

I raised my palm as I answered.

“But it’s fine. Use that money yourself.”

“You said you have debt. I don’t have a single coin of debt, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Well, that’s true, but...”

But the amount in your account...

I felt awkward saying the real reason out loud and tried to mumble something vague instead, but Igor did not help me.

Instead he started fiddling with his phone, saying things like, “Can’t you transfer money through messenger too?”

I gave up and decided to just say it honestly.

“Do you even have five hundred thousand won in your account?”

Igor blinked.

“Well, about that much. Maybe more. I got some money back that I had lent someone before.”

“That’s enough.”

I pressed my brow and let out a sigh.

I wasn’t desperate enough to accept the entire fortune of a man who owned neither house nor car.

His loyalty was truly touching and I was grateful, but Igor needed to develop a better sense of finances.

“That’s your entire fortune.”

“So?”

“Entire fortune?”

William was the one who cut in.

The enormous young man crossed his arms and looked at Igor as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Your entire fortune is fifty?”

“About that. I’d have to check the exact amount.”

“You own a house and a car?”

“No.”

Igor answered proudly.

“I don’t.”

Ricardo and Jonathan looked at Igor in horror.

Neither of them was particularly close with him, so they didn’t say anything outright, but their gazes clearly asked how that could possibly be.

If Ricardo had been a little more blunt, he would probably have scolded Igor to take care of his own situation first.

Which would actually have been correct...

I sighed and organized the situation.

“You don’t have to worry that much. I have about one billion won in a frozen account. And that account will definitely be unlocked on time.”

“And you still have debts~...”

“I bought Core devices.”

I muttered, averting my gaze.

“About ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) four of them. On advance payment.”

“Core?”

Jonathan asked.

“The ones from X District?”

“...Yes.”

“Wait, so you didn’t buy a home security Core — you bought actual Core devices?”

Ricardo asked again.

“With your own money?”

Should I tell a small lie?

I hesitated briefly.

Maybe I should reduce the level of worry they felt.

Of course, I immediately discarded that ridiculous thought.

They would notice the lie instantly anyway.

So I surrendered.

“Yes.”

“...That wasn’t the time to be checking whether your limbs had grown back~?”

Ricardo said while rubbing his chin.

Jonathan blinked and stared at me.

It seemed he had just realized the situation was worse than he had initially thought.

William looked me up and down for a moment.

“It might be faster to declare bankruptcy.”

“Well... I’m sure there’s a way.”

Colton couldn’t have stored all his money only in that mansion that had been blown away.

If Yoow tracked things later, we might be able to scrape together some money.

And if that didn’t work, I planned to use my seed capital to invest.

“I still have better financial sense than this guy.”

The seniors did not seem convinced.

Even while we walked toward the showers, they kept questioning me about how I intended to resolve the current crisis.

I insisted that everything would be fine, that even in the worst case — if Colton’s assets truly couldn’t be recovered at all — there would still be a way out.

But their skeptical mood did not change.

Every solution I proposed was rejected.

Selling cider.

(“But the taste changes every year~... You know it might not sell for as much as last time, right?”)

Trading futures and options.

(“You could just say you want to go bankrupt.”)

Playing poker.

(“Are you serious?”)

Completing quests posted by the Science Department.

(“How cute~...”)

“And you were talking about compensating for someone’s house...”

Ricardo muttered while pulling off his ballistic vest and shirt and tossing them roughly into a locker.

I stood there sulkily among the seniors who were already moving with determination to jump into hot showers as soon as possible.

I hadn’t even taken off my gas mask.

As lockers slammed shut one after another—

BANG! BANG!

—I grumbled.

“It really isn’t that serious.”

Of course, my protest was not accepted.

They didn’t even bother replying.

Leaving me behind, the seniors and Igor disappeared to shower.

***

The train arrived.

The vehicle stopped in the darkness.

When the sound of it died away and the train was swallowed not only by darkness but by silence as well, Yun slowly raised his eyelids.

He had already grasped the situation.

Core5 contained a Grand Archmage, a young and talented handler, and a fair number of Titans.

And nearby, outside the Core, aggressive Creatures that had always been mobilized during the Empire’s wars had gathered in formation.

Kyle was probably here.

The enemy had split into two groups.

According to satellite and drone footage, there were no Titans anywhere except here and Core5.

Most likely, the warriors were here while the civilians were in Core5.

That was the leadership’s judgment.

The train that had entered Core5 definitely contained civilians.

What they intended to do by bringing them here was unclear, but several possibilities had been proposed by the leadership and their strategist.

One: release the civilians inside the Core and hide among humans.

Two: negotiate to allow the civilians to live quietly integrated into society.

Three: cross dimensions.

Which of those was the truth did not concern Yun.

For now, the swarm of Creatures across from the Core and Kyle himself were what he had to worry about.

“Report the moment the Creatures enter combat posture.”

He stepped out of the stopped train and installed a portal device.

Meanwhile most of the Badgers were preparing for battle under Richard Green’s command.

They laid out weapons and dug trenches so they could hold out even if the Creatures poured in immediately.

Badgers busily unloading combat drones from the train.

Among them, after finishing the portal device setup, Yun called Jack Black and gave him instructions.

Jack Black nodded.

“Yes. Understood.”

“If you think you can’t handle them, retreat here and fall back.”

Yun had to remain beside the portal device.

He was the only one capable of operating it proficiently.

They could not simply leave the device that guaranteed the Badgers’ retreat standing unattended.

As a result, Yun had no choice but to remain in the rear.

He handed command of the anti-Creature battle to Richard Green.

However, Richard Green did not understand Kyle or the handlers as well as Yun did.

That was why Yun had originally been designated as squad leader.

Therefore, even though he had handed over command authority, Yun would still issue direct orders to Jack Black and Ami.

Jack nodded obediently again.

“I will.”

“Good. Try not to die.”

Yun pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips.

After lighting it with a Zippo, he exhaled smoke indifferently.

“I don’t want to be the one telling that bastard you died.”

“Yes.”

Jack answered.

“Even hearing that the opponent might be dead is unbearable. I will make sure to survive.”

There’s always a barb hidden in what he says.

And he delivers it without sounding unpleasant. That’s a talent.

Thinking that, Yun checked the message that had arrived from Yehyeon.

***

Thanks to the seniors keeping watch over the shower area, I was able to wash without worry.

I slept in the leadership lounge.

More precisely, I slept in a room Yehyeon used to use frequently — a room no one dared approach.

The seniors shoved me into a corner of that spacious room so that even if someone entered, my face wouldn’t immediately be exposed.

Up to that point everything had been comfortable and quite nice.

But before going to sleep, I had to endure a terrible scolding.

“Scars on your face?”

Because William had answered Ricardo’s question about what had happened earlier.

“Not one, but two?”

He could have glossed over it.

But William gave me a ridiculous look that seemed to say, “How could I disobey the instructions of a second-generation senior as great as the sky,” and told the story of when we had met.

It was good to hear that Lin had arrived safely at Center Core.

But it was absolutely not good that Ricardo and Jonathan found out about the self-inflicted scars.

“Look! I’m completely healed now!”

“You and Ricardo are about the same.”

Jonathan Kudo said darkly.

He was probably in a bad mood from having to sleep somewhere unfamiliar, yet perhaps because he was a soldier, he had already finished preparing to take a quick nap.

“That’s a form of self-harm.”

“I really don’t want to hear that from you~...”

Ricardo replied from where he lay stretched out on the sofa.

“I agree with what you said... but let’s continue this conversation after we wake up...”

The lights went out along with that ominous remark.

I slept deeply.

When I woke up, dawn was breaking.

I hadn’t set an alarm, so I must have woken up from sensing movement.

Blinking, I saw Jonathan, Ricardo, and William’s empty spots.

And Igor sitting calmly in a chair with his arms crossed.

Igor moved only his eyes to confirm I was awake.

“Sleep more, Captain. Those three went to buy breakfast.”

“Did anything happen during the night?”

I sat up abruptly.

“What about the Center Core perimeter? And Core5? Did Yoow say anything? Ah, I should contact Spitfire’s side too...”

“Calm down.”

Igor cut me off.

“You’re trying to carry too many things at once. At least rest until morning. If something happens, the Captain will be the first one called anyway.”

That was true.

No matter how impatient I was, nothing would change immediately.

The space was dyed in the pale blue light unique to dawn.

I stared blankly at the subordinate sitting beneath that blue light.

I would soon have to face Kyle, so I really should rest well.

Instead of worrying like this, it would probably be wiser to practice the aura I had learned a few hours ago.

Or perhaps memorize the layout of Black Badger headquarters.

I wouldn’t be able to greet Yekaterina warmly even if she was still alive.

Because I might not return again.

Unlike last time, when I had left a will saying confidently that I would return...

This time, truly...

Just like the many Black Badgers who update their wills the day before the territorial reclamation battle.

“You’re awake~?”

“I should go say goodbye.”

Lost in thought, I murmured almost to myself the moment the seniors opened the door and entered.

I remembered the scientists whose eyes had been red and bloodshot.

“This time... a real goodbye.”

***

“Kyle.”

Valdez approached Kyle, who was gazing up at the sky.

“Any changes?”

“None.”

The black-haired knight answered without turning his head.

“It seems like the timing is just right.”

“Yes. Then please get some rest. Hildebert will certainly appear.”

“Valdez.”

Kyle spoke.

“If you truly think revenge is meaningless, go to Core5. This is your last chance. Things might work out better that way.”

“Commander.”

Valdez said in an angry voice.

He was genuinely furious.

“I lost Hekate right in front of my eyes.”

Of course, there were people who could forget such losses and move forward.

But there was a reason he stood on the battlefield despite being a mage.

Contrary to his appearance, there was something fierce within him.

He had not become Kyle’s subordinate for nothing.

Men who had always stood on the frontlines of the Empire’s battlefields. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Those who valued the honor of their comrades, who did not fear death, who vowed to fight in the flames of war and vanish within those flames.

When the Empire burned in fire, those who resisted until the very end prepared their final revenge.

“Do you think there’s a reason I’m called your right hand?”

“How strange. Listening to your lectures, you sound like the one who believes revenge is the most meaningless thing of all.”

“I only say that because it’s you. Because you are someone we absolutely need.”

“And your resolve won’t change?”

“Not for a single moment.”

“I see.”

Kyle let out a short laugh.

“If that’s what you want.”

Kyle did not ask again after that.

He simply looked up at the sky, which was growing brighter with golden light.

Then he left, giving only one command.

Rest well today.

The moment night falls, we begin.

One day.

Valdez also gazed at the bright blue sky and thought.

No—

Less than a single day remained.