Black Badger

Chapter 275: Nest (4)

I ran across the thorns and drew my sword diagonally.

Woom—

The shield split open like a ginkgo nut cracking, vibrating hard.

I gave a crooked smile and slipped straight into the fracture.

KAANG!

Kang! Kang! Kagagang!

I deflected the flying crimson crosses in succession. Once the Lich entered my blade’s range, I redirected the sword tip and stabbed straight into the creature’s fundus.

A sound rang out—its skull breaking behind the eye.

It wouldn’t feel pain, of course.

I slid the blade forward just a little, then pulled it sideways.

Tunk.

The top of the skull came off cleanly like a lid on an ice machine.

It happened to wedge neatly between the thorns. I saw crimson light spilling out of the exposed skull cavity.

The High Lich’s body trembled violently.

Unbelievable. It still wasn’t dead.

Grrrreeee—

The Lich made a strange sound, like something scraping the inside of its skull.

I had no idea what it was trying to say, but it meant the injury wasn’t fatal.

“In that case, I should tenderize you.”

I muttered that while spreading my sword sideways.

I would leave it with no vessel left to spew its red light.

Kang! Kagang! KAANG!

I stepped between the thorns and drove the Lich into a corner of the classroom.

Swinging my sword in wide arcs, I forced the monster along the route I wanted. It jerked back quickly, avoiding the sword’s path.

The superior Monster retreated farther and farther.

I gave it no rest, herding it like a rabbit.

No fatal strike yet, but I had plenty of gains: I severed its arm, sliced off the robe covering its nonexistent lower body, and deflected its blackish-red attacks.

Kagagagalk!

At some point, my blade scraped the wall.

The High Lich was cornered.

No more space to flee.

It could fly, but it could not teleport.

I stopped in front of it and, unable to suppress it, smiled.

Then raised my sword.

I would bisect it.

Passing precisely between its eyes.

KAGAGAGAGALK!

My sword came down.

The monster split cleanly in two.

Its body fell to the floor in left and right halves.

A crimson circle appeared.

Like a dragon’s heart detonating, the Lich’s core unleashed a dramatic death cry.

The core exploded.

KWAAAANG!

Even though I instinctively blocked with a sword slash, some blood vessels burst.

Fssshhk.

At least none of it was a critical injury.

As the ringing in my ears and eyes faded, the post-battle silence settled. No presence, no movement remained.

I swung my sword lightly, shaking off blood and debris.

After sliding the wiped blade into its sheath, I dragged my right hand across my left arm, smearing away the blood.

The thought that I might cleanly defeat a High Lich...

That was arrogance. Now I had the proof.

Good thing Kysis wasn’t here to see this. He would have exploded into laughter for sure.

Anyway—since it was over, time to return to the seniors—

Whip.

The moment I turned to call to them, someone grabbed the back of my neck and yanked me down.

A firm hand pressed my crown down and flattened me to the floor.

Cold radiated up from the ground. Warmth, human warmth, came from right beside me.

It was Yun.

The senior had slipped into the classroom where the thorns were already melting away.

Tilting my head slightly, I spotted Kai too.

They didn’t move. Like ghosts hiding their presence, both seniors stared toward the corridor. Kai stayed plastered to the front door, utterly still, while Yun lay flat beside me, only his eyes lifted toward the shattered corridor window.

I didn’t move either.

Zjjjk....

A dragging footstep.

Zjjjk... zjjijik....

Slip-Ghoul.

The sound came from the quiet corridor. Approaching from the direction of Class 2-1.

We listened as the sound grew, holding even our breaths.

The classroom door was tightly shut.

Yun and Kai had already locked it.

Smart choice. There was nowhere to hide in here. There had been, but my fight with the Lich had reduced the room to fragments. Even the High Lich’s bones and robe were now dust.

And with both windows shattered, if the Slip-Ghoul turned its head toward the classroom, it would see us.

So we had to make the first move.

If we killed it, Kairos could infiltrate more easily.

Kai asked with his eyes whether to attack.

Whip-whip.

I moved my fingers, making an X.

Because the Mire-Tendril was currently descending via the ramp staircase.

Whip-whip.

Let it pass for now.

Best-case scenario was the two of them fighting and one dying. But since both had tolerated each other’s presence in this building so far, that seemed unlikely.

Therefore, once it passed the Class 2-2 front door, we would spring out and stab it in the back.

Through the front-door window, the Slip-Ghoul's form came into view.

Its head hanging low, hair grown wild.

Zjjjk... zjjjk....

Zjj—

...jjk.

What?

I blinked.

Why stop?

Right as it reached the front door, the Slip-Ghoul suddenly froze.

It exhaled harshly—just loud enough to irritate the ear.

Hair clumped with blood and dust.

We remained absolutely silent.

Waiting for it to pass—

RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE!

Not strong enough.

I thought that as the front door shook.

It was locked, and Kai had wedged a broom handle diagonally against it.

A typical Badger could probably have shattered the door. But the Slip-Ghoul wasn’t quite that strong.

Could it think to reach through the window to dislodge the broom?

Its fist suddenly thrust into the classroom.

I said:

“Blow its arm off.”

TAAANG!

Kai did exactly that.

The Slip-Ghoul's arm exploded.

“Kyaaaaark!”

I didn’t miss the moment the recoil sent the Slip-Ghoul stumbling back.

I sprang like a coil and charged for the front door.

Fwoosh—

My sword pierced its shoulder joint cleanly.

The collapsing front door and I spilled together into the corridor.

My senses sharpened to a razor edge, time stretching long.

The Slip-Ghoul falling backward.

The old wooden door crashing down the blue-lit corridor.

Splintered fragments jutting like teeth.

And in the darkness—those glowing red eyes.

I locked eyes with the Slip-Ghoul.

PAAAAAAAAANG!

Air ruptured.

It was exactly where my head had been.

“Ah.”

The Mire-Tendril had arrived at Class 2-3.

Perfect timing. I couldn’t dodge the Slip-Ghoul's gaze and the six tendrils the Mire-Tendril was about to fire.

I rolled my eyes quickly. With life on the line, the world slowed again. In that stretched-out view, one angle shone—the slanted angle that let my head escape both the Mire-Tendril and the Slip-Ghoul's sight.

I twisted my body right and swung.

PAAANG!

Part of my left arm swelled like a boil and burst.

Papapapak!

But I hadn’t just taken damage—my blade sliced the Slip-Ghoul's forehead down to its chin, releasing a spray of red blood.

Not deep, but effective.

TATATATATATANG!

Gunfire snapped reality back to normal speed.

Shots rang from both sides—Yun and Kai were firing simultaneously. I didn’t have time to see where or what they were shooting at.

I only saw one bullet tear off the Slip-Ghoul's ear.

Nor did the Mire-Tendril skewer my side.

Bang! Tatatatatang!

The seniors’ bullets must have shredded the extending tendrils.

But the Mire-Tendril would regenerate soon, just like the skin of Black Badgers.

And like an amoeba, each cut would double them. With every bullet impact, it would grow, block the corridor, and send dozens of tendrils toward its prey.

With a near-immortal body, it would devour its target.

“Bullets aren’t the method, it seems.”

Yun said coolly to Kai.

“Fire?”

No.

It was a Monster with a notoriously difficult countermeasure. And the longer the standoff dragged on, the more dangerous the Mire-Tendril became.

We absolutely couldn’t face both at once.

So—

“Run to the opposite side of the tendrils!”

KWAANG!

I shoved the staggering Slip-Ghoul back with a sword slash.

Before the creature could regain its senses, I grabbed Carl Dow’s arm and ran.

“To the ramp staircase!”

Until we reached it, the swelling, fattening mass of tendrils would hide us from the Slip-Ghoul.

I dove through the narrowing gaps between tendrils and rolled across the opposite side of the corridor.

Kai followed right behind me.

Yun had already arrived a step ahead.

“And that one?”

“It won’t die unless we chop off all its limbs.”

It was a chimera already half-dead to begin with.

“Let’s change the stage for now. Ramp staircase.”

We sprinted down the corridor at full speed.

***

Kairos had found the nest.

And the senior Badger in the center of it. And the mage looming over her.

So the black mage I was introduced to earlier is the owner of the nest.

Standing outside the 4th-floor window, he looked inside.

The 4th floor was filled with Monsters. Grotesque shapes surrounded the nest in a perfect ring, unmoving. They must have been waiting for Hilde’s arrival. Their purpose was to shield the mage from the squad leader’s assault.

Creatures likely under the black mage’s brainwashing.

Kairos inhaled their presence deeply.

“They’re beautiful in their own way. Don’t you think so?”

A fullness of life he hadn’t felt in a long time.

They were not holy Monsters. But Kairos never felt repulsion toward specific Monsters. If he could tame them, he could become fond of them.

Unlike ordinary animals, these were beings with whom one could feel a ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) shared mind.

As he traced the bursting vitality they radiated, the handler spoke to the snake coiled beneath his feet.

“Just like you.”

A massive blue serpent, large enough to wrap around an entire building, blinked.

Kairos laughed softly.

“One hundred sixty-five.”

The rest were evenly distributed across other floors.

“No way to draw all their attention.”

Meaning: sneaking in to extract Shu Diamond was impossible. Even without superior Monsters among them, controlling all 165 was impossible.

Thus, only one option remained.

The captain said to cause just enough chaos...

I shouldn’t tame anything too difficult.

Kairos quickly chose his target.

Not too hard to subdue, strong enough to kill the Monsters crowding the 4th floor.

Good at friendly fire.

Capable of creating enough havoc for him to slip in and retrieve the senior.

KWA-A-A-ANG!

“What was that?!”

On the 4th floor of the ruined building—

A Reversed God had begun to rampage.