Black Badger

“Disgusting!”

While Bobby shouted that, the first-generation Badgers who had already reached the portal zone either laughed or snorted.

Trevain, Gregory, and Chen Koenig loaded their rifles at the same time.

Shapeshifting weapons writhed and melted.

Ska, positioned below the first generation, shouted.

“Command from above!”

Almost at the same moment the words ended, Trevain spoke.

“Who’s the squad leader?”

“I’ll yield that to you.”

Yehyeon answered immediately.

“You’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”

Chen ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) couldn’t hold it in and coughed.

A vein bulged on Jason Trevain’s forehead.

But instead of getting angry, he answered by firing his gun.

Creatures descended.

Badgers climbed upward.

“Prepare for engagement.”

Jason Trevain spoke.

The moment the order fell, the Badgers released their grip on the wires and raised their rifles.

“Fire!”

RATATATATAT!

Crack-crack-crack!

Silver shapeshifting weapons spread across the building wall.

Beside Yehyeon’s weapon, Ricardo’s shapeshifting weapon formed the same shape and followed. Above them, bullets burst into sparks and blood.

Creatures were flung into the air, spraying blood.

Insect-type monsters were knocked downward when they collided with corpses.

The Badgers placed their feet against the building and climbed upward, bodies horizontal to the ground.

In truth, they didn’t need to climb the building like rock climbers.

As long as the wires remained firmly attached.

If Hildebert learned this fact, he might feel wronged.

RATATATATAT!

Training and real combat were different things.

The Badgers advanced steadily while being pulled upward by the wires. Those positioned lower moved while avoiding corpses falling from above.

“Insect-type Creatures are particularly disgusting.”

“Ah!”

Bobby, beside Ska who had been muttering, suddenly shouted.

“A spider!”

Fear trembled in her voice.

“A poisonous spider!”

Long legs emerged from the shattered window.

The two black legs visible at first quickly became eight.

Clack-clack-clack.

The eight-legged Creature crawled out of the window and began descending along the wall.

Insect-type monsters had already covered the outer wall densely, but the poisonous spider was ten times larger than them.

“The other spiders weren’t that big.”

Chen grumbled.

Gregory was about to reply when Jason Trevain spoke.

“Check your wires.”

At the command relayed through the communicator, the Badgers climbing the building immediately inspected their wires.

The poison those Creatures spat was lethal.

It corroded both wires and shapeshifting weapons.

“It’ll spit poison soon.”

“When I signal, fire together.”

While Gregory spoke ominously, Trevain issued his order.

“Front line, prepare to fire.”

The four in the lead raised their rifles.

The moment Trevain gave the command, they fired simultaneously.

The gunshots from the four swallowed the noise of the Creatures.

The bullets struck the giant spider.

But they couldn’t penetrate the hard shell, and the ricocheting rounds scattered everywhere.

Ting! RATATATAT!

The ricocheting bullets tore through the Badgers’ skin.

“Damn.”

Chen rubbed the arm that had been hit by a stray round.

“How does something that big stick to a wall like that?”

“Cease fire.”

Trevain said.

“You’ll have to hit the abdomen. Don’t waste ammo.”

“Chen!”

Just as Trevain lowered his rifle and drew a dagger, Yehyeon shouted sharply.

“The wire!”

Pshhh!

The giant spider sprayed poison.

The thick wire was instantly corroded by the powerful acid.

Just as Chen opened his mouth to curse—

The wire snapped.

Chen dropped downward.

“Grab him!”

Jason Trevain and Yehyeon both shouted while looking down.

Gregory, meanwhile, shot and stomped the insect Creatures closing in.

“Fire! Fire!!”

Thud!

Chen, frantically searching his chest for a spare wire while falling, was suddenly caught by Ska.

When Ska lifted his left hand holding Chen, Chen exhaled heavily.

“Thanks. No—thank you.”

“Your spare wire?”

At Ska’s calm question, Chen answered by firing a new wire upward and attaching it to the wall.

While Ska nodded, Ricardo kept his gaze fixed on the poisonous spider.

It was one of the Creatures he had encountered in the Colosseum.

Just as Trevain said, the abdomen had to be targeted.

In that case, a weapon other than a gun...

“Two shapeshifting weapons.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Hearing the overlapping responses from both the communicator and nearby, Ricardo and Yehyeon answered at the same time.

“You two take responsibility for killing that.”

That would be the most efficient.

Perhaps Yehyeon had reached the same conclusion.

His personal communication arrived immediately.

[Sordi. I’ll circle left.]

“Yes.”

Pshhh!

While the two prepared to activate their shapeshifting weapons, the spider spat poison again.

It struck Jonathan’s wire.

But Jonathan had already hung a spare wire. He discarded the severed one and continued climbing.

Jason Trevain’s order followed.

“The rest of you keep climbing!”

RATATATATAT!

The Badgers fired wildly at the approaching swarm of Creatures while pulling their wires and ascending the building again.

“Push through, push through!”

To the right.

Ricardo saw the skyscrapers stretching into the night sky, the insect-type Creatures emerging from shattered windows, and in the center of the swarm—

The poisonous spider looming like a queen.

The Badgers ran forward, ignoring it.

A route for sending the shapeshifting weapon flashed through Ricardo’s mind.

Between the comrades rushing ahead—

The silver shapeshifting weapon melted and formed spikes along the wall, racing ahead of them.

It created small spikes rapidly.

Passing between the spider’s legs.

Soon it reached the insect’s abdomen.

Gathering all remaining material—

KRAAAASH!

Yehyeon’s and Ricardo’s shapeshifting weapons erupted at the same time.

It looked as though a silver flower of spikes had bloomed on the building wall.

Jagged silver spikes formed shapes like the leaves of a sharp cactus.

Ricardo narrowed his eyes.

Holding the wire with one hand, he drew his rifle.

Yehyeon’s voice came through.

[We won’t be able to recover everything. It’s contaminated.]

“Yes.”

[Let’s retrieve only the parts that aren’t corroded.]

As he pulled the wire and kicked off the wall, Ricardo saw the senior climbing toward the corpse.

[You can synchronize brainwaves, right?]

It seemed the poison sac had been on the right side of the body.

Most of Ricardo’s shapeshifting weapon—aligned with his brainwaves—had been damaged.

Yehyeon’s weapon, however, remained relatively intact.

But since their weapons had connected, Ricardo could receive part of Yehyeon’s if he wished.

It would require synchronization.

Ricardo followed Yehyeon while firing at smaller Creatures.

Yehyeon was examining the corpse, stuck like a clock hand on the wall.

“I’ve never done it before, but I know the method...”

“Then take the remaining intact parts.”

Once the distance closed enough, the personal communication ended.

At the same moment one of the silver spikes melted and pushed the corpse away from the building.

“Dropping it.”

“Yes.”

THUD!

The poisonous spider fell.

A distant impact echoed.

Hearing a sound not much different from when a human fell, the two synchronized the remaining shapeshifting weapons.

Crash!

At that moment, the sound of a window shattering came from above.

Jason Trevain had kicked in the top floor window.

“Entry!”

Trevain shouted.

“Subdue them all!”

Yehyeon and Ricardo’s muscles tensed instantly.

Without missing the moment, they formed their shapeshifting weapons into a sword and a spear and pulled their wires upward.

Stepping over the countless Creatures they hadn’t been able to eliminate, they rushed to the portal zone.

The top floor portal zone had thick windows installed.

Through the broken window, a foul stench poured out.

The smell of corpses and blood.

Sweat and gunpowder.

A swarm of Creatures.

Black Badgers pushing forward while firing into them.

BOOOOM!

That sound wasn’t from a gun.

It was the sound of those who had just climbed the stairs kicking open the portal zone door.

The heavy door burst open.

Walker and Igor entered.

The moment Walker stepped in, he grabbed a nearby Creature and hurled it like a cannonball.

Igor drew his sword and unleashed a slash.

CLANG!

Badgers poured in through the windows and door.

“Break the encirclement!”

Trevain shouted.

“The Creature encirclement!”

“Where’s the portal device?”

Ska muttered while Jonathan guarded him.

He hadn’t asked through the communicator, so no answer came.

Entering through the shattered window, the aide narrowed his eyes as he looked over the portal zone packed with Creatures and Badgers.

It was chaos.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Gunshots rang endlessly.

A stray round flew past, slicing through Ska’s and Jonathan’s skin.

Still, there was some structure.

The boy Titan was nowhere to be seen.

But the Creatures had formed a relatively organized formation.

They were clearly guarding—or blocking—something.

Inside the swarm was something like a small defensive barrier.

Another defensive spell?

No.

That was a small Core.

“Ha.”

Ska let out a hollow laugh.

“A human’s involved, huh.”

“They’re probably inside.”

Yehyeon said while firing at reptilian Creatures hanging from the ceiling.

“And when we try to interfere, they’ll say the Black Badgers don’t have the authority.”

“If it’s a small Core, we can break it.”

Ska pushed aside thoughts about the human aiding the Titan.

He knew there were lunatics who believed in cults like the Chronos Cult.

But this wasn’t the time to think about that.

And even if those people died, their deaths could easily be disguised as casualties caused by Creatures.

The real problem was how to destroy the small Core covering the portal device without damaging the device itself.

The Badgers who had sent the train through the portal hadn’t been supplied with enough ammunition or blood injections.

Many supplies must already be nearly depleted.

Time was short.

They had to push through here.

If possible, he wanted to bring explosives and remove the small Core covering the portal device.

But he couldn’t eliminate the possibility that the device itself might be damaged.

They would also need someone capable of operating the portal device.

The scientists—

BOOOOM!

Something exploded.

A wet sound followed as flesh splattered against the wall.

One of the Creatures must have detonated.

Some Creatures exploded when disturbed, like whale carcasses.

And their explosive power was immense.

Forced to crouch by Ricardo and Jonathan, Ska quickly raised his head.

“Asil!”

Creatures reduced to paste.

Blood scattered everywhere.

Badgers sprawled across the floor.

Bobby ran forward, shouting sharply.

“Asil! What’s his blood type?! Fiscer’s blood type!”

“O type!”

“Bobby Winter!”

The Badger closest to the explosion wasn’t moving.

Jason Trevain shouted his name sharply.

Thanks to the silver wall Yehyeon had created, the man nearest the Creature formation remained unharmed.

He jammed his rifle into a massive Creature eye and shouted.

“Front!”

Pshhh!

There was another poisonous spider.

Its poison drenched Bobby’s leg as she lifted Asil.

The Badgers inhaled sharply.

It had to be cut off.

That poison could corrode even shapeshifting weapons.

Soon it would spread through the skin and blood vessels—

“It’s a prosthetic anyway.”

Bobby snorted.

She grabbed the blood-soaked rifle of the junior and ran forward.

“But it’s an expensive one!”

CLANG!

She used the rifle as a lever.

Jamming the long rifle beneath the spider, she stepped on the far end with her foot and lifted the spider upward.

The spider tilted diagonally. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Its venom shot upward and struck the ceiling.

A burning sound rang out.

The ceiling frame was exposed.

And the spider’s abdomen.

RATATATAT!

Seizing the moment, Leeho fired bullets into the abdomen.

Hesh and Nana hurriedly carried Asil toward the wall.

“Why isn’t that thing moving?”

Ricardo’s anxious voice sounded.

Ska bit his lip while watching the juniors inject Asil with a blood injection.

But he couldn’t focus on a single Badger for long.

“Aide!”

Trevain shouted.

“Blow that up or not?!”

“I’ll call the scientists! Hold your position!”

“Mühlen!”

At the shout that followed the command, Ska whipped his head around.

From beyond the warped doorway, figures entered escorting a VIP.

They shouted.

“According to Aide Gilbert’s orders, we’ve brought John Mühlen!”