Black Badger

The scientists were devastated.

They plunged into grief. They rushed out to the lab at John Mullen's emergency muster order and wailed at the sight of Martin's stolen spot.

I stared blankly at the scientists clutching their faces.

People knelt and cried out to God for mercy.

Was it really this bad?

Of course, they did not just wallow in despair. The situation unfolded rapidly. I had no idea John Mullen could move so quickly.

Led by John Mullen, the scientists moved with disciplined efficiency. They pushed desks aside and prepared for the meeting.

They even prepared a chair for me.

Why?

"Miss Hilde, sit down. The meeting's starting right away."

"I'm supposed to sit?"

"Yes!"

The scientists chimed in unison and pulled me to the seat.

"The meeting's starting!"

So why me?

But the scientists showed no intention of letting me go. The ones who had exchanged names with me while following my mentor around the lab now gripped my clothes tightly.

I was not even from this place. Sure, I came to the lab often, but I was not a scientist.

Anyway, as they forced me to sit, Yoon spoke up.

"CCTV footage."

"We're reviewing it now."

John replied.

It shocked me that he answered so promptly, but it shocked me even more that he stared intently at the massive screen. It had not even been an hour since he had pressed the red button to assemble everyone.

Had he always been capable of moving this fast?

But no one seemed surprised. Instead, they nodded vigorously, as if affirming that John was someone reliable enough to entrust with this. Yoon just nodded slightly without questioning John's response.

My mentor scanned the grief-stricken scientists.

"From now on, we'll apply the principle of presumed guilt."

What principle was that, you madman?

"Write down your detailed movements from yesterday until now and post them on the board."

"It could be someone from outside the lab. Shouldn't we get alibis from the entire headquarters?"

"I think we need to investigate not just headquarters staff but outsiders too!"

"That's a valid point. It's something an external company would covet."

"I'll check the logs for outsiders who entered headquarters!"

The scientists erupted into lively discussion. I listened in a daze, picking up snippets from here and there.

They were serious. They showed no reluctance to disclose their own movements; in fact, they thought revealing just the scientists' paths was not enough.

Other methods for catching the culprit came up too. They would confirm when Martin's power had been cut. They would figure out what tool had severed the cable. They would trace where the tool had been bought. Was there any power left in the Martin Core Unit? Could checking Martin's last signal provide a clue?

I only half-understood the back-and-forth.

But I could tell Yoon was furious right down to his hair ends.

"If the culprit's among you, come clean now while I'm being nice."

My mentor issued the threat.

"If you confess, we'll consider leniency. If we catch you, we'll interrogate you on the spot."

Could a badger threaten civilians like that?

I heard someone swallow hard under the pressure. But no one objected. The scientists nodded solemnly.

I let out a hollow chuckle at the resolute group.

But seriously, who had stolen Martin?

Cute little Martin. The lab's idol-like existence.

I watched the unfolding chaos with keen interest. I wanted to observe as long as possible, but I could not. My mentor, who had received a call from someone, looked up from his phone and fixed his gaze on me.

Yoon's eyes locked onto mine.

"Rookie."

"Ah, am I still a rookie?"

"Come with me."

After barking at the scientists to start the Martin investigation, he turned to leave, so it seemed important.

I excused myself from the scientists clutching my clothes and scurried after my mentor out of the lab.

*

It was Ye-hyeon who had contacted him.

A single room far cleaner and more spacious than the one in which I had been hospitalized. A space so quiet that my ears rang. Following my mentor inside, I gasped at the sight of the supreme commander lying there.

Ye-hyeon lay in a limp, flattened state like a deflated cushion.

The men brushed off my startled reaction. Yoon strode toward the man who looked obviously unwell. His superior, paler than usual, rolled his eyes.

Ye-hyeon confirmed my presence, then met Yoon's gaze.

"Why the emergency muster?"

Yoon and I sat side by side in the chairs by the bed.

"Martin's gone missing."

"Ah."

Ye-hyeon let out a short sound.

He must have really been in pain. His expressionless stare at my mentor suggested that he lacked the energy to be surprised or angry even at the scientists kneeling and wailing.

Ye-hyeon turned his gaze to the ceiling.

"It's nothing major."

Was not it?

"Why isn't this a big deal?"

"It's just a machine."

Ye-hyeon responded to Yoon's protest.

"It won't cause any major issues, right? Nothing confidential is stored in it?"

"It's not stored, but."

Yoon glowered down at Ye-hyeon sullenly.

I watched my mentor's reaction with some amusement. So even he grumbled at Ye-hyeon.

My mentor grumbled.

"Headquarters property was stolen. Shouldn't you at least be annoyed?"

"You'll find it, whatever."

Ye-hyeon remained nonchalant. He lay straight, IV needle in his right hand resting on his stomach, staring at the ceiling.

Then he muttered to himself.

"Martin.... consumes too much electricity...."

So that was the issue.

I suppressed a bubbling laugh.

And I stayed silent, eavesdropping on the seniors' conversation.

They discussed the Martin problem for a while. Did they have any guesses on the culprit? No, but things would clarify in a day. They would interrogate them the moment they caught them. Catching them was fine, but they should not threaten civilians. He always picked on Martin.

The flawless banter cut off at some point.

Ye-hyeon turned his head to look at me.

"Hilde."

"Ah, yes."

Had I listened too enjoyably?

I wiped the smile off my face and straightened my back.

The top boss, seeing me tense, gave a faint smile.

"You don't have to be so nervous."

"Yes. Thank you."

"Any questions?"

The question came flying without preamble now.

I met the eyes of my pallid superior directly.

I had been waiting for this moment. Ever since Jin Silver had dropped that bombshell on the subway.

But now that the stage was set, picking the right question was hard. I had planned to bring up Jin. But I did not want to prod at the wounds of someone sweating coldly in bed.

He could hold a casual conversation, but he looked utterly drained.

After some thought, I chose different words.

"I'm not human, apparently."

Yoon looked up.

He blinked his dark eyes once.

Ye-hyeon's eyes, meanwhile, dropped downward. As if pitying me. Or regretting having kept this secret.

Their reactions alone told me the answer.

But I wanted verbal confirmation. I looked at the man as white as the blanket covering him.

"Did you know?"

A long silence followed.

A chilling quiet enveloped the room. I waited for the answer in the stillness of the hospital room. Yoon had also turned to Ye-hyeon, awaiting his response. So even Yoon had not known.

Information not even shared with Yoon, who had lived with Ye-hyeon and had known about Jae-yeon.

Why had he been so adamant about hiding it?

"I knew." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Ye-hyeon answered softly after a while.

"I'm sorry for keeping it from you."

"No. I never asked."

I gave a light smile.

Sadness and guilt flickered in Ye-hyeon's eyes. The man in the bed let his eyes droop. The authority he had shown in meetings was gone. Ricardo's words came to mind: In private, he's so mild it's almost nonexistent.

It was probably hidden out of necessity, so he did not need to feel this sorry.

But saying that only made Ye-hyeon look more downcast.

"Don't be so sorry. If it was okay to tell, you would have by now."

"Did Jin tell you?"

He had known it like a ghost.

I nodded.

"Yes. He told me. Along with saying I'd have to remember it eventually."

"...Yeah. You'll have to, eventually. For all our sakes."

"I'll try. Fortunately, I've recalled some important memories."

As I said it casually, my seniors' eyes widened.

I gave a wry smile. I had not told anyone about the subway incident yet. If I had to start somewhere, it should be with him.

I fiddled with my empty waist, missing the greatsword.

Feeling its absence, I said.

"Kyle's awake."

Yoon narrowed his eyes in confusion, but Ye-hyeon widened his.

"He seems to be looking for me. From what I heard, I betrayed them. That's why he's so desperate to kill me?"

The hand with the IV needle clenched into a fist.

The supreme commander did not answer, just looked up at the ceiling.

That was the answer. So all that information had been true. I was not human, I had betrayed my comrades, and Kyle, their current leader, had awakened.

Damn it.

So that was why there was no Hildebert Talev anywhere in Center Core. Of course Ami could not find my name when I had dropped through the portal.

"If not human, then what?"

Yoon's flat question pulled me back to reality.

"A creature? Like the Tier 10 one you stabbed to death?"

Ye-hyeon pondered long.

He gazed at the ceiling with complex eyes, then closed them. I etched the sight of my superior's refined face, slick with cold sweat, into my mind as I sorted my thoughts.

The creatures that targeted me. The enigmatic Jae-yeon who tried to kill me. Ye-hyeon had exiled me beyond the core to protect his target—me. But now that I had returned and Jae-yeon had welcomed it fervently, Ye-hyeon showed no sign of chasing me out again.

That meant he had taken some measure while I was away.

Thanks to his inscrutable actions, I could sit there peacefully then. I pondered those behind the world. Those above the law. The hushed power holders who dreamed of immortality. Jae-yeon, whom I had known and associated with.

And his master.

Ye-hyeon broke the silence with his eyes closed.

"Titan."

It was his characteristic husky voice.

"The elders called them titans."

*

The next day, I headed to the lab.

The conversation had ended there. I had dumped too heavy a story on a sick person too suddenly. Ye-hyeon thanked me for sharing, but right after I finished, he needed a nurse call, so it had not been without impact.

We wrapped up and left the room. Yoon handed me his car keys, telling me to rest at his place.

"You can drive, right?"

"I don't even know if I have a license...."

"It's registered."

Crazy.

"And anyway, it's mostly on autopilot. You'll drive better than recent license holders, so just take it."

I complied with the order.

After spending the night obediently in the guest room at my mentor's house, I retrieved my belongings from there. The sword from Yoon. The creature codex. The portable first-aid kit, and so on. I packed them up and diligently headed to headquarters. With no other instructions, I went straight to the lab.

The chaotic lab.

John sat beside my mentor's desk.

John Mullen, eyes bloodshot red, peered into the screen. I froze at the bizarre scene unfolding before me.

And I stared motionlessly at the century's genius scientist.

"You haven't slept since then, have you?"

"I've finished checking 126 people's movements."

John turned his burst-vein eyes to me.

"Now I just need to verify 362 more."

"...."