Black Badger

Sophia Kalak fought on the very front line alongside Carl Dow.

Richard Green was there with them as well—a veteran Black Badger who had survived countless battles. Even while issuing commands, Richard never stepped back from the front for even a moment. He was the one who shot down the Creature that slipped through the damaged Core device first.

BANG!

The moment the Creature’s head inside the Core shattered—

Richard shouted at the Badgers.

“Fire!”

And he followed his own command.

They were facing a charging wave of Creatures with far fewer numbers than during the territory reclamation war. Sophia couldn’t afford to look around for a while. She was too busy picking off target after target.

She thought they had prepared as much as possible. They had predicted the enemy would come after dawn and had loosened their tension just slightly—but under Richard, fully relaxing was impossible to begin with.

Because of that, when the enemy stormed in without warning, the Badgers were able to respond without being too late.

Tick, tick, t-t-tick!

Tripwires snapped in succession.

BOOOOM!

The mines they had planted detonated one after another. All of them were anti-Creature, anti-colossus mines. The thunderous blasts made her ears ring.

The mines killed many.

Clutching their ringing ears, the Badgers kept throwing grenades. There was no need to aim carefully. As long as they threw them far enough, they would hit something.

Under the bombardment, a hill of corpses began to form in front of the trench.

But they were outmatched.

“There are too many!”

Isaac Lane shouted from somewhere.

“Isn’t this just telling us to die?!”

No one responded.

Richard Green was far too busy to even hear such pathetic words, and Carl Dow was the kind of man who chose not to react to the complaints of someone notorious for poor character. Sophia, too, ignored Isaac Lane entirely.

He was the type who would push others forward just to survive.

It wasn’t easy to earn Ska Owen’s contempt, yet Lane had drawn disdain not only from Ricardo but even from Ska.

“Requesting blood injection!”

A little later, Isaac Lane made a request over comms.

He said it when the leading Creatures were still about 40 meters away from the trench.

“Running low on AB-type blood injections!”

Sophia immediately recognized it as a lie.

He was trying to hoard some for later. As she swapped out yet another magazine, she found herself wishing Isaac Lane would just die.

He would only drag them down. Too afraid of insubordination to run away, but surely the kind to pretend to fight while hiding somewhere.

In that case, better to just—

“Ghk.”

As she raised her rifle with the new magazine, a sound came through the comm.

A death rattle.

She had heard it enough times to recognize it without mistake.

“Isaac Lane is dead.”

A junior reported it.

“Isaac Lane is dead.”

RATATATATATAT!

After that, she lost track of the flow of battle.

She couldn’t grasp how the fight was unfolding. Even during the territory reclamation war, she had never faced such a massive swarm of Creatures—there was no way she could read the battlefield now.

Eeeeeee—

She hated the sound of suicide drones.

It gave her a visceral sense of disgust. She had always thought combat drones with guns mounted under propellers were far better.

But as she kept firing from the trench, when she heard that sound, her face lit up.

BOOOOM!

At least they had air support.

Reloading again, she fell into a trance within the battle.

At some point, she ran out of blood injections—but she didn’t even realize it, stubbornly holding on.

Just as the illusion began to take hold that this situation might continue forever—

An entity appeared that neither gunfire nor suicide drones could affect, and the atmosphere changed instantly.

“Fall back!”

Richard Green gave the order immediately.

“Fall back!”

“Richard.”

Sophia only realized how serious things were after Carl threw away his rifle and rushed toward Richard Green.

“Do you have any blood injections?”

“Just fall back.”

The man holding a machete caked with dried blood panted heavily.

“Don’t let your guard down.”

He was low on blood.

Only then did Sophia realize how many times her superior had been wounded and healed.

His combat uniform was in tatters.

The left lens of his ballistic goggles was shattered, and both gauntlets were scorched black. His uniform was soaked with dried blood, with bits of burnt flesh stuck to it. The equipment stored on his left upper body had either exploded or was gone entirely. Something had clearly detonated on the left side of his body.

Most Badgers would have lost consciousness from the shock already.

If his visible injuries were this severe, then the actual damage must have been even worse.

When had he run out of ammunition?

Why hadn’t he stepped back from the front and let those in better condition take over?

How is he even still alive?

Biting her lip, Sophia ran.

“Sophia.”

Carl, who had been checking Richard’s condition, turned to her and spoke.

Without hesitation, she supported Richard Green.

“Cover us.”

“Got it.”

“Take my remaining rounds too.”

Dragging the man of steel as they retreated, she spoke urgently.

“You’ve used up all your blood injections?”

And so they retreated—leading to the present moment.

The steep slope ahead of them.

If not for the red-haired summoner joining midway, they wouldn’t have even made it this far. Even retreating had been difficult. Things they had never seen before emerged from the sky and from beneath the ground. Having given her ammo to Carl, Sophia had to kick and punch away anything that came near.

Even so, Richard Green saved her life twice.

It was shameful.

All she could feel was respect.

He couldn’t even walk properly.

“They’ll be here soon.”

It terrified her how much heavier Richard was becoming.

She knew better than anyone how strong his pride was.

He would stand as a wall for his juniors—but never lean on them.

Even being supported was something he considered humiliating.

“Green.”

She called out urgently as his body began to slump.

“Richard!”

“Reinforcements have arrived.”

Carl approached and reported.

He, who had been leading at the front and carving a path, was now kneeling on one knee in front of Richard.

The summoner seemed to have collapsed.

Combat drones had arrived in large numbers, preventing them from being crushed under Creatures, but the Creatures were no longer parting like Moses’ sea as they had earlier.

But Carl paid no attention to that.

More precisely, he had no capacity to.

With desperate blue eyes, Carl examined Richard’s face.

“Richard. Don’t fall asleep.”

“...I’m not.”

“Yes. You must not sleep.”

Richard Green’s knees buckled.

Matching the complete loss of strength in his lower body, Sophia slowly bent her knees as well, sitting down. She scanned the slope above desperately.

What is everyone doing?

Where are the B-type blood injections?

Biting her lip until it bled, she searched for her comrades.

I said it was urgent!

“Get lost!”

THUD!

A Creature leapt in behind Carl—and a metal ball on a chain smashed its head in.

“Get lost get lost get lost get lost!”

“Ro! Give me a blood injection!”

She shouted, but Giacomo Ro didn’t hear her.

Sophia’s heart shrank.

She pressed her communicator and shouted into it.

“B-type blood, urgent! Urgent!”

“Richard.”

Carl’s hoarse voice came.

The blue-eyed Badger had forgotten everything else—he was looking only at Richard Green now.

“I said B-type is urgent!”

“Say something to keep him awake. Talking will help.”

“...You.”

Richard spoke in a low, strained voice.

“You’re... a model soldier.”

Sophia froze mid-shout.

She turned sharply to look at Richard Green.

She stared blankly at the side of the man of steel.

A man she had never once seen smile.

The ultimate goal of his life had been the complete eradication of Creatures.

He always spoke of reclaiming the stolen land.

Because of his unwavering conviction and the life he lived to match it, many found him difficult.

But just as many followed him.

Rumor had it that when Yehyeon was offered a promotion, the first person he went to see was Richard Green.

He had even wanted to hand over the Commander position, but political reasons and Richard’s refusal prevented it.

Sophia didn’t know how much of that was true—but she did know that every Commander in history had treated Richard Green with respect.

Because he had been everyone’s pillar.

The man who had built the very foundation of the Black Badgers.

A man whose standards were so high he was never satisfied with anyone.

The same man who could lecture even Hildebert Taleb for two straight hours—now looking down at Carl Dow with a faint smile.

“Carl.”

He stared at Carl, who stood frozen, eyes wide.

“The Core....”

Blood ran down Richard’s face and dripped to the ground.

“Install it... inside... reorganize the perimeter....”

His words cut off.

He stopped breathing.

Sophia felt fear seize her—but she did not freeze.

She gently laid Richard Green on the ground.

Then she rose to begin CPR.

At that moment—thud!—a Creature collapsed nearby, and a Badger appeared.

Leeho Chang.

“...Blood injections.”

Leeho stood there blankly, holding syringes.

“B-type. Several—”

Carl snatched the syringe from his hand.

He drove it into Richard’s vein, and while he did, Sophia began chest compressions.

She couldn’t let go of that sliver of hope.

Even knowing that the death Richard Green longed for was one on the battlefield.

Even knowing that retirement did not exist in his world, and that dying in combat was, to him, the duty of a Black Badger.

Still—

Did it have to be this battlefield?

There were still so many Badgers who needed his guidance.

She was one of them.

She had only just decided to move past Johan’s death and live diligently again.

I’m not ready yet...

We’re not ready yet.

“Sophia.”

Carl’s voice came.

“That’s enough.”

Slowly, Sophia stopped.

She looked down quietly at her unmoving superior.

A soldier who had always felt more like a superior officer than just a senior.

A man who had been a soldier even before the Black Badgers were created.

THUD!

A Creature’s corpse flew through the air.

Giacomo Ro appeared.

The curly-haired first-generation Badger blinked at Richard Green lying on the ground.

“What’s this?”

He asked, holding his blood-soaked chain.

“Why is he lying there?”

No one could answer.

They only stared blankly at the Badger who had just torn through the Creatures around them.

Ro’s expression twisted.

“Hey... you’re joking, right?”

He threw aside his flail and walked toward Richard Green.

Dropping roughly to his knees beside the unmoving man, Ro grabbed him and started shaking him violently.

“Hey, stop screwing around and get up!”

There was no answer.

The body moved only as Ro shook it.

“Get up!”

Now Ro began striking the corpse.

“Richard Green!”

The sharp shout made those nearby flinch.

“Get up!”

THUD!

A punch filled with strength.

After that, Giacomo Ro didn’t move for a moment.

Sophia, too, forgot how to move, staring blankly at the first-generation senior.

A low, overlapping hum.

Reality slipping away.

Only when Ro suddenly stood up did she come back to herself.

The Badger picked up his flail and looked at the approaching Creatures.

“I’ll kill them all.”

His voice was grim.

“They all said we’d lived long enough.”

His voice didn’t tremble.

“But that’s fucking different from this.”

Muttering darkly, Ro suddenly broke into a run.

“I’ll fucking kill every last one of you!”

BOOOOM!

Explosions rang out one after another.

From where Giacomo had vanished, and from just beyond the slope, something detonated.

And not long after, Sophia Kalak saw more familiar faces.

Jason Trevain and Chen Koenig.

Badgers arriving behind them, their faces twisting as they realized they were too late.

They stopped in front of Sophia, Carl, and Leeho.

Richard Green had fallen in battle.

Another /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ war hero was gone.

***

They’ve arrived.

In the middle of relentless combat, I sensed the flow of the battlefield change.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Kyle—but I could feel the air itself shift.

Kyle must have noticed too.

He couldn’t look away from me either, but I caught the fleeting emotion that passed across his face.

「I can’t let an outsider interfere in Rei’s revenge.」

That was what Kyle had said.

I answered quietly.

「I won’t interfere.」

I probably can’t.

But Kyle didn’t seem to believe me. Not surprising—but this time, it wasn’t just disbelief. It felt like he hadn’t even bothered to listen.

Instead, for a brief moment, he seemed to consider something.

The faint flicker of translucent black aura gave it away.

An opening.

I tightened my muscles.

At that moment, the air around Kyle changed.

Zzzzzzt!

The ground beneath his feet shifted color instantly.

He had begun absorbing.

Even without bleeding.

The knight absorbed, increasing the size of the aura wrapped around his sword.

As if determined to defeat me as quickly as possible.

With a sharpened will to avenge Rei no matter what, the knight looked at me.

「Hilde. Rei burned to ash when he died. There’s nothing left to absorb.」

「Children of the World Tree cannot absorb one another.」

I answered calmly.

Then, to satisfy my utterly selfish desire, I wrapped my sword in an even brighter white light.

「Only transfer is possible.」

CLANG!

At the same time, we kicked off the ground.

Our blades collided midair.