Black Badger

The seniors quickly grasped the situation.

Ricardo looked down at the back of his hand and spat out curses in an unintelligible language. I couldn't understand it, but it was definitely profanity.

Asil peered at the back of his own hand beside him and widened his eyes.

Barbie stared at the back of her hand in a panic.

"Huh?"

She couldn't believe blood was still coming out and frantically wiped it away with her hand.

"Huh? Why isn't it healing? Huh?"

"Like a damn dog...."

Ricardo rolled his eyes upward.

He looked up at the sky to swallow his anger, then clenched and unclenched the hand where blood had beaded.

"My strength is all gone.... We got done in without a fight...."

"It's just back to a normal body, right? Your condition is otherwise fine?"

"It's not like we got hit with a drug bullet, so why is the power draining like this?"

Barbie looked at Ricardo, her face pale.

No one answered my questions. Asil's expression had also hardened rigidly.

They were shocked by the unexpected turn of events. A heavy atmosphere settled over the now even more deserted area.

It was Barbie who broke the mood filled with shock and anger.

"There's no way the mafia would have something as potent as Green Dream!"

It seemed Green Dream came in effective versions and not-so-effective ones.

The male seniors frowned but didn't respond. I lightly furrowed my brow as I watched the seniors, who were caught in a small shock. Naturally, Marie—who had personally handed out the hot dogs to us—was nowhere in sight.

But that didn't matter anymore. Honestly, I didn't care about Marie's whereabouts right now. I didn't know who she was or why she'd orchestrated this, but we needed to focus on countermeasures instead of dwelling on it.

Should I report this?

The moment the thought crossed my mind, Asil pulled out his phone.

"I'll report to headquarters."

But things didn't proceed smoothly.

The senior couldn't adapt to his changed grip strength. Even pulling out the phone and using it took time.

Seeing Asil tap the screen too gently, I slipped my hand into my pocket.

"Senior, I'll make the call."

"You're fine?"

Barbie looked at me, her eyes widening.

"Why are you fine?"

Bang!

The moment I turned my head to respond after pulling out my phone, a gunshot shattered the device in my hand.

The phone exploded into fragments and scattered across the ground.

"What the—?"

"Mommy!"

After smashing the phone, the bullet embedded itself in the ground.

Barbie, who had nearly been hit in the instep, screamed and stumbled back.

"What the hell is this now?"

The answer came quickly.

Mafia members—clearly identifiable as such—emerged from behind the food truck, guns trained on us as they approached. They surrounded us in a circle, each holding a pistol or knife that glinted under the lights.

Ha....

This was completely screwed.

Those without weapons held phones and filmed the current situation.

Ricardo let out a deep sigh and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Having a pleasant evening?"

The mafia pressed their gun barrels to our temples.

The cold chill of the metal against my temple spread. I stayed still and narrowed my eyes slightly.

The seniors stood motionless and rolled their eyes around.

Ricardo radiated irritation from his entire body. Asil scanned the situation with cold, furious eyes. Barbie was a bit stiff but held her chin up, looking down at the mafia.

The criminals smirked triumphantly at them.

My eyes landed on the phones in their hands.

We'd been caught off guard.

I couldn't see an immediate way out of this. Green Dream didn't seem to affect me, but with gun barrels pressed to the heads of the now-ordinary seniors.... I couldn't make any rash moves. And it wasn't just one—three of them were hostages.

On top of that, the video.

They were probably exploiting the fact that Black Badgers weren't allowed to harm civilians.

Whose plan was this?

Who had schemed so meticulously to corner us like this?

The moment I sharpened my senses to find out, a voice rang out.

"Long time no see, everyone. Nice to see you all."

It was a voice laced with satisfaction.

The seniors' and my gazes turned toward the source. A man strolled leisurely out of the building where the match was taking place.

He looked like some kind of action leader.

Curly hair reached his shoulders, hands in his pockets, lazy footsteps.

He walked through the subordinates who aimed at Ricardo and Asil's heads.

Then, he widened his smile at the seniors who glared coldly at him.

"Sordi, Fisher, Winter too. Nothing's changed since last time. All three of you."

"Mick."

Asil murmured in a voice suppressing his rage.

"What the hell is this?"

Mick's smile brightened.

The man laughed brightly and threw up his arms in a V-sign.

"The plot to put you in the arena is succeeding!"

Things just kept getting worse.

The seniors' faces crumpled upon understanding his words. My face did too. It wasn't hard to comprehend. Just minutes ago, we'd been watching the match.

Ricardo let out a long sigh.

"What an idiotic thing to do...."

"Why is it idiotic? The audience will go wild!"

Mick seemed thrilled.

"The arena will heat up like never before! The badgers who always crack down on matches with the cops—standing in the arena themselves! And as civilians! What a stimulating setup! We're definitely making a fortune!"

"Come to think of it, where are the cops?"

Barbie suddenly spoke up amid Mick's foot-stomping excitement.

She scanned the desolate wilderness, eyes wide, and sensed no signs of people.

"Where did all the police go?"

Are they in on it?

Or did they fall for this plan like us?

Asil and Barbie frantically rolled their eyes, searching for police.

The mafia burst into mocking laughter at the seniors' actions.

Derisive laughs echoed through the eerie wilderness.

Beside Ricardo, who stood still staring at the sky, Asil and Barbie stiffened with anger.

Mick, watching them, threw up his arms again.

He declared in a mocking tone.

"The police withdrew on orders from above!"

The flashy piercings in Mick's ears jingled noisily.

"A young cop came to relay those orders!"

I saw Asil's body tense.

I confirmed his blue eyes widened, the emotions in them shifting from surprise to suspicion and anger. It was an oddly excessive reaction.

He reacted to the phrase "young cop."

Why did that word provoke him so much?

Of course, now wasn't the time to dig into questions.

Especially since the woman who pressed her gun to my temple sharply broke the silence.

"Mick. Green Dream didn't take properly on this one."

Mick froze in his beaming smile pose.

I met his gaze as he slowly turned his eyes toward my face.

Twisted values and cruelty filled both eyes.

Mick looked at me with a smile frozen on his face and said,

"Why?"

"How should I know? Anyway, Green Dream didn't work right on this one."

The woman replied, then drew a knife with her free hand.

A short jackknife. She deftly flicked it open and slashed my forearm.

"See."

Red blood trickled along the path of the blade.

People's gazes flew to my forearm and stuck there. The seniors rolled their eyes to check it too. The red blood flowed briefly before the wound slowly began to heal.

The healing speed was slower than a badger's but much faster than a normal person's.

Mick wiped the smile from his face.

"I see."

The man lowered his arms, which he'd raised to the sky.

"Why is that? Did Green Dream not get injected in the right amount?"

"No. That Green Dream was super potent—they said it works like a drug bullet just by piercing the skin."

The woman sheathed the knife and retorted.

"It's not a dosage issue. That idiot must've skimped on this one."

"Shit. Do we have more?"

Mick muttered without taking his eyes off my arm.

"Did she leave any behind?"

Who was "she"?

Was it Marie? I narrowed my eyes and recalled the person I'd pushed to the corner of my mind. The high school girl with bizarre tastes. The one who'd injected us with Green Dream.

I'd thought she was in league with them, but from the way they talked, she wasn't.

The woman answered irritably.

"Nope."

"Hmm! Shit! Then what do we do with this?"

Mick cursed vulgarly to himself.

I watched as he ruffled his black hair with his hand, then shrugged his shoulders in frustration.

"Should we just pump him full of regular drugs?"

The opening still wasn't there.

The mafia showed no sign of lowering the guns pressed to the seniors' temples. They didn't seem intent on killing us right away, so we'd have to come up with a plan while being dragged to the arena.

I tuned out Mick bickering with the mafia and racked my brain.

They'd probably throw the now-civilian seniors into the arena to fight creatures. We'd likely be taken up that elevator to where the illegal augmentees were confined. Maybe an opening for a counterattack would arise during the process. When the situation kept changing and their guard slackened a bit.

Aim for that moment....

"Alright! Bring a ton of drugs!"

"Can't we just kill this bastard?"

As Mick finally decided and gave orders to his subordinate, a mafia member who held a camera spoke up.

Gazes turned.

I saw the hollow-eyed man pointing at Ricardo.

"Holiday got caught because of that bastard."

Ricardo raised one eyebrow.

The senior soon formed a long smile. He looked straight at the one pointing at him and sneered with evident contempt.

A chill ran down my spine.

Senior. In a situation where one wrong move could get you killed, don't make that provocative face.

In fact, the hollow-eyed man bristled.

"He's gonna die anyway—let's kill him with our own hands now!"

"Hmm."

Mick stroked his chin, looking thoughtful.

"Should we?"

Asil and Barbie's heads snapped around.

Fear flickered in their eyes as they stared at Mick. Meanwhile, the pointing man and the surrounding mafia's eyes gleamed with cruel delight.

Ricardo blinked calmly amid it all.

But before Mick could give the order, before Asil and Barbie could open their mouths to shout something, I spoke first.

I said calmly.

"No."

People turned to look at me.

"If you kill Ricardo, I'll kill you all too."

The air froze.

Silence descended. A heavy silence born of shock.

Everyone stopped moving and stared at me blankly. Eyes widened all around. The man pointing at Ricardo, Mick, Asil and Barbie.

Even Ricardo Sordi himself.

I ignored the surprise in Ricardo's green eyes.

"I'll kill everyone here and bury you with your phones. So don't pull the trigger for no reason."

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

Mick shot back.

Twisted confidence peeked from his posture with hands in pockets.

"You think you can kill all these people and keep your sanity?"

They'd handed me my sword to kill a friend.

As if something like that would shake my mind. I'd lived normally after worse deeds—trash that I was. I didn't voice the bitter thought.

Instead, I let out a short laugh. Ignoring the woman who now gripped my nape with a hand tinged with faint fear.

Ignoring the seniors who stared at me with startled rabbit eyes.

After that short laugh, I turned my gaze back to Mick in front of me.

I smiled faintly at Mick.

"You think killing an enemy breaks your mind?"

For the first time, fear entered Mick's eyes.

I felt the bodies of the surrounding mafia stiffen with fear.

If there was only one hostage, this would be the perfect timing. It was frustrating that with three, I couldn't move.

Hiding a small sigh, I drove in the final nail.

"Mick. Don't pull the trigger. It'll only bring mutual destruction."

A mafia member nodded, raising his palm to affirm my words.

In the end, the seniors were herded in this state to the waiting area where the illegal augmentees were held. Powerless but unharmed.

With handcuffs on their wrists and ankles.

Thrown behind iron bars with mocking words to wait their turn. At least that was a relief. It was the best outcome I could wring from that situation.

The moment I confirmed the mafia had left, I let go of the mental strain I'd been holding.

Staying conscious after the potent drug was pure torment. Nauseous. Dizzy, overly noisy....

Sleepy....

Darkness quickly overtook my mind.