Black Badger

He resembled a lion with a black mane.

That was the thought I'd had when I first met Kyle. He had sleek yet thick black long hair. He had sharp eyes with upturned corners. He had piercing golden eyes.

His appearance evoked a lion and drew people's gazes. That was why I'd stood there staring at him for a while.

Until he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and turned to look at me with a smile.

Kyle quickly noticed my stare.

"Ah."

I remembered his jet-black hair fluttering in the wind.

"You're Hildebert, aren't you?"

We'd first met in the training grounds.

It was a spirited time. It was a time when we all sought opponents to sharpen our swords at our waists. For various reasons, I'd encountered Kyle, whose name already made waves, and he had done the same with me.

That was how our tough bond began.

A bond that lasted until the world ended.

It was never a light connection. The memories with him weighed heavily. I'd gone through so much with him. Magical beast extermination. Rebellion suppression. War. Dragon hunting. Relic searches.

As we entrusted our backs to each other through those ordeals, the world expanded. I met people like Deltei, Ivon, and Rin. We introduced each other to new connections or shared the ones we'd made.

Kyle and I were so different from each other. Maybe that was why our bond lasted so long. We complemented each other's weaknesses and pressed forward.

It was a time when I only needed to look after myself. Even on extermination missions, it was just about risking our lives—mine, his, and those who went with us.

That carefree era passed, and the responsibilities piled up.

But even until the world ended, my friendship with Kyle remained solid.

We witnessed the world's collapse together.

The portal that spread endless darkness as well....

"You've seen it all, so now it's time for your story, Hildebert."

A cold voice pierced my ears.

"If there's giving, there must be receiving."

That was fair, but....

I didn't want to climb onto the operating table in one piece....

I hung my head and groaned.

After huddling like that for a while, someone in a white coat approached me. I looked up and saw the figure that emerged from the darkness. A fluttering white coat and tall stature.

A jet-black turtleneck beneath the lab coat.

John Mullen stopped in front of me.

"You came on an empty stomach this time, right?"

The gray-haired scientist asked in a low voice.

"Test Subject 0."

Whirrr! The electric saw spun to life.

The genius scientist of the century pressed the electric saw to my unresponsive neck.

The words that followed were pure terror.

"No, Hildebert Talev."

Why my real name....

Agh!

Wait a second.

People,

"Help! Somebody help!"

"Whoa!"

Thud!

A dull pain struck my head.

I blinked my dry eyes several times.

I accepted the sensations that flooded in all at once.

By now, I was used to situations like this, so I assessed it quickly. I saw the seniors looking down at me with incredulous expressions. Ricardo leaned against the wall with a smirk. Barbie sat wide-eyed. Asil gazed at me with a mix of worry and exasperation.

It seemed Asil had shaken my body.

I'd sat up and smacked my head against the nearby wall.

The pain lingered as I tried to rub my head but failed, ending up lying on my side instead.

Then, as I took in the scene that filled my vision, I gathered more information.

We were still imprisoned.

"You coming around~?"

Ricardo chuckled at me, where I lay blinking.

Fortunately, he and the other seniors seemed fine.

I forced open my gritty eyes, looked at him steadily, and nodded.

"Yes."

"How's your condition?"

Asil knelt close and narrowed his eyes.

At the question, I rolled my eyes to check myself.

For starters, I desperately needed artificial tears, and my head hurt from hitting the floor. And my body was numb. It felt like cramps all over.

Probably because those lunatics had force-injected some unknown drug into me.

But this was lucky enough. No hallucinations or tinnitus. Once the numbness faded, I would be able to stand and move normally.

I met the seniors' clear gazes.

"Do you have any artificial tears?"

The three seniors just stared at me silently.

Barbie was the one who answered.

"Do you have dry eyes?"

"No, but my eyes really feel gritty...."

"Maybe from crying too much?"

Asil said bluntly.

With his stoic face, he wiped away the dried tear tracks on my cheek with his thumb.

"You were crying nonstop."

It felt like getting caught without washing my face.

A bit embarrassing. I hadn't moved a muscle (or rather, couldn't), so I looked at Asil and gave an awkward smile.

"Thanks. My limbs are still numb.... I'll wash up properly later."

"Your limbs are numb?"

Ricardo asked sharply.

Keeping my awkward smile, I met the senior's green eyes.

"Yes. Aside from that, I'm fine. The numbness should go away soon."

The three seniors didn't respond.

What were those suspicious looks? Seeing their stares—especially Ricardo's—I felt a little wronged.

I really took good care of my body.

They didn't trust me much.

Anyway, how were we going to get out of here now?

As I rolled my eyes to assess the situation, Asil spoke.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

Ah.

Recalling the dream I'd had made me exhausted all over again.

"Yes. I dreamed John Mullen was calling my real name."

"Hm?"

It was an unexpected answer, and Asil blinked his blue eyes.

"John Mullen? That genius scientist in the lab?"

"Yes."

"Why would that be a bad dream?"

Ricardo started chuckling.

Ignoring the senior's laughter, I vaguely brushed it off by saying something like that had happened. Even thinking back, it was a chilling dream. No doubt a nightmare conjured by that mystery drug.

It was horrifying, really.

The tears were probably from the dream about Kyle.

Fortunately, Asil didn't pry further.

Instead, the silver-haired senior asked if I wanted help sitting up. I politely declined. I appreciated the offer, but I wanted to lie down for a bit. The cold floor's chill wasn't even bothersome.

More than that, I didn't trust myself to sit up properly.

When would this drug wear off? I was the only one who could use strength properly right then, so I needed to recover fast.

I tilted my chin slightly and scanned the pale corridor beyond the bars.

A place where chilly air lingered. No signs of life. I'd thought they'd lock us up with the illegal augmentees, but we were alone in this prison.

Oh.

Perfect timing?

"What are you doing?"

Barbie asked in surprise as she saw me wriggling toward the bars.

"Need help?"

"No, I'm almost there."

The cell was small, so I reached the bars quickly.

Ignoring the cramp-like numbness, I stretched out my hand. I didn't care if it trembled or if the seniors gave me disbelieving looks.

Who cared about dignity in this situation?

Just get out first!

Zzzzt!

"Ugh!"

"Hey!"

I let out a short groan and pulled back my hand just as Asil shouted sharply.

The shock from the jolt kept me from responding. The senior grabbed my nape roughly and dragged me away from the bars.

"You idiot! You think these are ordinary bars?!"

"That kid's gonna drive me crazy...."

I heard Ricardo, who'd been leaning against the wall, stand up.

He clicked his tongue and walked over. I lay on the floor with my cheeks pressed down, my hands that had gripped the bars splayed out.

It hurt like hell.

Ricardo sighed and pulled me even farther from the bars.

"Don't be reckless when you can't even sit up properly...."

"But I'm the only one who can use strength right now."

"Can't you see the handcuffs on your wrists and ankles-?"

Ricardo pointed to my left hand and foot, still sprawled on the floor.

Feeling the foreign weight, I nodded, and the man added an explanation.

"There's a bomb inside.... There's CCTV on the ceiling. It'll blow if you try to get out."

"Ah, damn. They're thorough."

I'd been about to try a few more times, but it was pointless.

Ricardo snorted as if reading my thoughts. But I ignored the seniors' grumpy reactions. At least for now, it wasn't the time for them to worry about me.

Sure, I was doped up on drugs and couldn't even sit, but my recovery wasn't like a normal person's.

Whereas the three of them were completely ordinary now.

I could feel their weakened grips from how they grabbed me. We needed to find a way out before things got worse.

"We just win, that's all."

Barbie, who'd been sitting quietly, said flatly.

She'd let down her tied-up hair and sat with her palms on the cold floor.

"The illegal augmentees gained fame by winning matches, so what's stopping us?"

That was the cleanest scenario, sure.

But they wouldn't pit normal-bodied people against a creature they could beat. I didn't smooth out my furrowed brow. While I was out, the seniors must have agreed to enter the match and win.

I didn't like that agreement.

Ignoring Asil's question about whether this guy was always so reckless and Ricardo's response that he'd never not been reckless, no matter how much he nagged, I racked my brain for solutions. I heightened my senses and carefully reviewed the situation.

Our weapons had been taken before we were thrown in here, but fortunately, Ricardo's ring and the protective suits we wore under our civilian clothes were still there.

A silver lining.

Still, if something happened to them, I'd shield with my body.

I pulled in my still-tingling arm.

If not for the sound of footsteps, I'd have pitched the "Hildebert meat shield plan" to the seniors.

Click-clack.

Footsteps.

The sharp sound echoed in the stark space. The seniors froze mid-motion.

I stopped wriggling too and just lifted my head slightly.

The sound came from the end of the pale blue corridor.

Thud-thud.

At some point, the shoe sounds turned into military boot steps.

The pace didn't stop, but the echo changed. Neat yet lazy, heavy but not clumsy.

The owner of the footsteps emerged leisurely from the darkness.

He wore a crisp blue police uniform.

My senses sharpened as I saw the man who tilted his police cap and smiled.

"Senior."

He smiled not at me, but at Asil.

"Long time no see. Doing well?"

Bang!

Zzzzt, crash! As soon as Asil lunged at the bars, electricity surged through the metal. Ricardo and I jumped up and pried him off.

I even had to pin down Asil, who kept trying to throw himself at the guy outside.

Asil, caught by me, ground his teeth.

He kept struggling under my arm and finally shouted.

"Jae-yeon!"

Ha....

I'd hoped it wasn't that guy.

I swallowed a sigh. Then, I pressed down on the flailing senior with my forearm while glaring at Jae-yeon. Suppressing him was easy since he'd been hit with Green Dream.

Ricardo and Barbie watched the scene without moving.

Holding back the urge to sigh, I looked outside the bars.

Jet-black shoes and a blue uniform. Short hair. But the fox-like eyes and handsome nose were the same.

Today, he was in male form.

Surprisingly, Jae-yeon, who seemed to know Asil, laughed long and hard in the form Asil remembered from back then.

"First time since that day."

I had to press harder on the arm holding Asil.

"I heard you quit the police and became a badger."

"You...."

Rage and betrayal dripped from Asil's scraped voice.

"Did you order the police withdrawal?"

"Ding dong dang."

To the low question laced with suppressed anger, Jae-yeon replied brightly.

He pushed his police cap back into place.

"It was me this time too."

"Someday, I'll put you behind bars."

Asil spat an impossible vow.

Something only someone unaware of who was behind Jae-yeon could say.

"You and the guy behind you."

Jae-yeon burst into laughter.

His laughter echoed down the cold corridor. It was filled with pure delight. Of course. How amusing and enjoyable Asil Fisher's words must have been to him just now.

Even I was still shocked that Asil had survived facing Jae-yeon in his "Jae-yeon" state. Seeing the man in the police uniform broke the dam of blocked memories. Even before the war broke out, Jae-yeon had been a truly unique existence.

Those who saw his face usually died by Colton's hand. Unless they were special like the elders or his retainers.

But plenty had met Jae-yeon when he wasn't in "Jae-yeon" mode.

A genius actor.

Flawless method acting. A being who ignored physical limits like gender or height. Only Colton could recognize Jae-yeon disguised as someone else. Even Jae-yeon himself sometimes forgot he'd transformed.

Kyle and Ray called Jae-yeon a shapeshifter.

A being with such exceptional mimicry that he lost his own identity.

He could only be identified by his preferred aesthetic traits. Upturned eye corners, a fox-like beauty aura, and such.

After laughing heartily, Jae-yeon wiped a tear from his eye with his pinky.

"Ah, that's why I like you, senior."

Genuine pleasure seeped from his voice.

"Buddy, please don't give up. I always look forward to it."