Black Badger

It seemed he had impersonated a police officer before.

That must have been with Asil and Buddy. I felt sympathy for Asil from the past, who had to patrol while pretending Jae-yeon was fine.

Asil quitting the police force was probably related to this guy too.

Surprisingly, seeing Jae-yeon didn't anger me as much as I thought. I had anticipated he would show up here in some way. If I hadn't been able to confirm his presence, that might have been more unsettling.

At any rate, one thing was now assured.

I wouldn't die here.

"Green Dream."

A pale place enveloped in chilly air.

Asil looked up at Jae-yeon, his voice suppressing fury.

"Did you provide that too?"

"Ah, our dear Marie?"

A faint remnant of a pleased smile lingered on Jae-yeon's lips.

The sharp-featured man narrowed his eyes.

"She was the futile struggling of the defeated, not me."

Only I understood his words.

Assuming Jae-yeon was telling the truth, the high school girl who planted the Green Dream was a retainer of some unnamed elder who had lost to Colton.

The loser hadn't given up yet.

Even his final plan had been seen through by Jae-yeon and Colton. Jae-yeon must have found the opponent's flailing amusing. So he watched the loser's rebellion with delight, then worsened the situation by posing as a corrupt cop.

All for his own amusement.

Ah... memories from back then again.

Jae-yeon, living a life bound to Colton, would act so willfully like this.

When Jae-yeon relieved his stress, his master would look at him with pity. If Colton nagged, "Don't do such useless things," Jae-yeon would smash his belongings with a wave of his hand.

Crash! Bang! As the sounds of breaking objects started, I remembered slipping away quietly.

I let out a small sigh.

"Can you survive the arena?"

Ignoring my sigh, Jae-yeon asked Asil.

But before Asil, who was grinding his teeth, could retort, footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.

Multiple sets of footsteps.

From the darkness, a familiar voice rang out.

"Cops."

The first to appear was Mick.

"Got more Green Dream?"

"Unfortunately not."

Jae-yeon turned with a grin toward Mick.

His posture, hands behind his back and politely responding, felt unfamiliar. It was the first time I'd seen Jae-yeon use formal speech with someone other than Colton.

But who could say which version was closer to the truth?

"Green Dream has tricky export procedures anyway. The woman who tipped you off about this plan probably has the extras."

"She's not here."

Mick replied, and the three or four mafiosi trailing behind grumbled.

Listening to their complaints, I roughly pieced together the situation.

Sending the badgers into the arena must have been the plan of the defeated elder and the mafia.

The plan's creator seemed to be the former elder ousted by Colton, with the mafia as initial collaborators. The elder would hate the badger leadership for standing by as he died, and the mafia would be annoyed by the badgers constantly interfering with their business.

Jae-yeon must have slyly inserted himself into it, posing as a corrupt cop.

Mick sighed theatrically and beckoned with his hand.

"Can't be helped. We'll just inject more drugs as a consolation prize."

The seniors' bodies stiffened.

I pretended not to notice them glaring at the mafia while grinding their teeth. Yelling at the mafia now wouldn't change anything.

Mick took syringes from his subordinates.

"Rookie. Come here."

He held a syringe in his right hand and crooked a finger at me.

"Stick your arm out through the bars."

"Yes, Mom."

I replied innocently.

The seniors, about to protest Mick's actions, whipped around to look at me.

Jae-yeon burst into laughter. I heard Ricardo let out a "Huh." Asil and Barbie stared at me with wide, rabbit-like eyes.

The mafiosi watched me with puzzled expressions.

Only Mick's face remained unchanged.

Mick, gripping my left forearm extended through the bars, blinked a couple of times.

The mafioso peered intently into my eyes and then laughed long and hard.

"You're too young to know better, huh?"

He jabbed the needle into my forearm and pushed in the liquid.

"Rookie badgers like you never learn. You get drunk on the sudden power you gain."

"So you keep injecting us with drugs like this?"

I smiled faintly and asked softly in return.

"Because you're scared of me?"

Zzzzt!

Thud!

A heavy impact sound, and I collided with the floor.

Ah... that really hurts.

My body curled up from the electric shock's aftermath, a small groan escaping me. Laughter from the mafia and panicked voices from Asil and Barbie washed over me.

Ricardo's low sigh.

Jae-yeon's snort too.

Mick, who had yanked me back and slammed me against the bars, stood up quickly. Then, while I panted on the floor, he kept silent.

Finally, he spoke.

"After intermission, drag these guys to the arena."

"Yes!"

The mafia moved.

While his subordinates bustled, Mick stayed put. He just kept looking down at me, head bowed ominously.

The man's shadow loomed over me.

"With Green Dream not working well, all this must seem ridiculous to you, right?"

My attitude had clearly irked him.

Mick spoke in a voice thick with suppressed fury, his words dropping low.

"You think you'll win in the end as time passes. Better recovery than civilians, strength intact."

"Are you calling me arrogant?"

Panting, I couldn't help but retort with a chuckle.

"Me? From you?"

"Whether your seniors live or die, you think you'll make it out alive. That's the delusion letting you act like this."

The mafioso didn't even pretend to hear me.

Maybe he really didn't. With my eyes a bit unfocused, mumbling like that.

"Let's see how long that confidence lasts."

Mick turned away.

The mafioso walked off, exuding a gloomy aura. Panting, I listened to the sounds of those outside the bars leaving. The crowd that had swarmed in now swarmed out.

Even Jae-yeon, who had been smirking and watching Mick and me, left.

The marching boots midway turned to high heels.

Then, at some point, the footsteps stopped.

Pale silence.

A chilling quiet settled over the cold place. The chill seeped into my body.

As the electric shock's aftereffects faded in that chill, the drug's effects kicked in.

"Rookie."

Asil's voice buzzed in my ear.

But I had no energy to respond to his worried question.

"You okay?"

I needed to stay away from the seniors.

The disorienting sensations pressed down hard on my body.

Asil seemed to jump up and say something, but I couldn't make out the words anymore. The other seniors' voices just buzzed without meaning.

One thing was clear: I had no confidence in controlling my strength right now.

Gathering what little judgment I had left, I rolled across the floor to distance myself from the others. Once I reached the cell's corner, I curled up.

Is this really the drug they injected?

What kind of drug makes you feel worse instead of better?

The seniors kept calling out, but I couldn't understand any of it. Giving up on comprehension, I extended one palm.

Barely managing to say to the approaching seniors,

"Stay back."

Ricardo seemed annoyed.

Good thing I couldn't understand.

I gave a faint smile to the frowning seniors.

"I can't understand a thing."

...Had Ricardo just kicked the wall?

Scary. Ricardo that angry.

Seeing Barbie and Ricardo stand up abruptly, I decided to fake fainting.

I closed my eyes naturally, curling up in case I flailed and hit them.

If I endured like this, the effects should wear off.

I just couldn't accidentally hit any seniors until then...

I struggled to hold onto consciousness. The cell was cramped enough; losing it might lead to smacking a senior by mistake. Gripping and ungripping my hands against the unpleasant sensations, flailing in the air for something to grab, then scraping the floor when nothing was there.

Scratching the innocent floor with my nails kept me from passing out, thankfully.

I felt someone pull me from the corner to the center.

I blinked away the cold sweat beading on my lashes.

"Should I make you throw up?"

A frightened voice.

Another replied in a low tone.

"It's no use.... We can only wait for the effects to wear off...."

"Don't send the rookie to the arena."

A stiff voice.

"Let's end this among us."

End what?

In my dazed state, I listened to their conversation.

I remembered not to pass out no matter what, but other things were fuzzy.

Why was I like this here?

The floor was cold.

Who was talking? Their tones didn't sound happy....

Ah. My limbs were numb.

As I wriggled, the voices cut off.

Someone's face filled my blurred vision.

"Hilde!"

Hm?

"Can you see me?"

Ah.

I gave a faint smile to the hazy figure. Shoulder-length hair, round eyes peering at me—it felt familiar.

Some annoying ordeal must have ended.

Smiling smaller at the swaying hair,

"Eve."

The person looking at me froze.

"I can see. Looks like it's over. What about Kyle?"

No reply came.

The unfamiliar silence made me blink.

Why didn't she answer? Lost in the foggy sensations, I wondered. She was usually so talkative.

Especially with us—she always had so much interest, gave excited speeches after every experiment, shook her unique two-tone hair, purple inside the blue....

"Who are Eve and Kyle?"

Hm?

...Oh.

Damn.

Reality snapped back suddenly.

"People you know? Anyway, it's clear he's not in his right mind."

"I'll carry him to the waiting room."

Asil muttered gloomily.

"He can't even walk properly."

I had to pretend not to be in my right mind.

Embarrassed for mistaking Barbie for someone else, I kept acting heavily drugged. Until Asil lifted my lying body.

Worried about burdening the silver-haired senior, I tensed up, but even until Ricardo caught on that I was back to normal, I continued the act.