Black Badger

Chapter 343: Luca (1)

I answered in a hoarse voice.

“My condition isn’t great.”

“No, I mean why are you like this?”

“It’s been this way since before we got here.”

I wanted to lie down and sleep.

I was grateful the four-legged starfish-like Creature that had come at us was the simple, instinct-driven kind with little brains. It could be dealt °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° with without keeping my nerves stretched too tight.

Its size made it easy to cut down, too.

After a few sword strikes, the beach grew quiet. For now, there were no immediate threats closing in.

If my sixth sense had still been intact, I would’ve been able to tell at a glance what kinds of unhandled entities were still around.

I stared blankly at the shoreline carpeted with corpses, then put strength into my legs.

Straightening my body off the sword, I turned toward Trevain.

“Can we go?”

“Manage your stamina properly.”

The senior said it suddenly.

“Until we shove those people into the emergency Core, don’t you dare be sick, even if it hurts.”

He meant it.

I gave a bitter smile at the man frowning deeply.

This wasn’t concern for my health. He was worried about what would happen if I went down—because then he’d have to handle everything himself.

Right now, he was probably the person who most wanted me not to collapse.

I understood. I’d once felt despair myself after hearing that a knight I disliked had taken to his bed. Not because I worried about him, but because I hated having to pick up his share of the work.

“I’ll do my best.”

I replied slowly.

“How many are left?”

Five dead.

Not from Creatures, but from the traffic accident.

There were several injured. Only a few cars could still run. One vehicle that hadn’t been involved in the crash had been stolen. Others who’d been caught in the accident but still had drivable cars had fled with them.

As a result, there were more injured people than remaining vehicles.

“I can ride up top with you.”

Samuel rolled up his blood-soaked sleeves.

“And tell those two to ride up top as well. That’ll free up some space.”

“Are you confident you won’t fall?”

“If I fall, I’ll recover soon enough. Still, I think we should put you in the car, Hilde.”

Samuel muttered this as he looked at me dragging my feet toward him.

Seeing the doctor frown, I smiled faintly.

“I’m fine.”

“I’ve never seen you say you’re not fine.”

Grumbling, the doctor pulled a handkerchief from his inner pocket and scrubbed my face roughly.

“I should’ve brought antipyretics.”

I dodged his hand as he tried to wipe more sweat away.

Murmuring that I was fine, I took the handkerchief from him instead. A faded, crumpled cloth, embroidered with the initials J.S. I stuffed it back into the doctor’s pants pocket and returned to the intact stretch of road.

Trevain had already pulled the drivable vehicles aside.

The cars were packed as full as they could be.

Three vehicles had survived.

Thankfully, one of them was an SUV.

Even so, two people still couldn’t fit. So Erhart and Shashinsky climbed onto the roofs.

Shashinsky shoved Erhart toward the rear vehicle where I was.

“The view looks better up front.”

“If you push me off at an appropriate spot, I’ll pretend not to notice.”

When Erhart joked with a smile, the red-haired aide muttered darkly.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

I smiled bitterly.

I didn’t have the energy to add a “thanks for your hard work,” so I just nodded.

People prepared to depart again.

I climbed onto the trunk and turned my gaze toward the sea.

Even after the car started moving, I kept watching the water.

A fierce wind scraped across my skin.

I hoped that if anything crawled out, it would go for the corpses I’d already killed first. Eating the piled bodies should be more than enough to fill it.

Whether that strategy worked or not, things stayed quiet for a while.

The cars drove along the coastal road without interference. Sunlight glittered dazzlingly on the sea.

I’d always liked the ocean, at least moderately. Maybe because I’d lived in forests. The unfamiliar scent of the sea, no matter how often I smelled it, and the open view felt good. Sailors were rough people, but even that roughness had its own appeal.

I just didn’t like the Creatures that lived in the sea.

I’d never gotten used to them...

“It’s the Core!”

Shouts snapped me back to reality.

“I can see it! I see it!”

[Ah, fuck.]

Cutting through the cheers of the civilians came Trevain’s low curse.

I understood immediately why he swore.

The emergency Core appeared ahead.

And along the road leading to it, there were traces of an accident.

The cars that had abandoned us and fled earlier.

Those who’d said the living had to live and escaped in intact vehicles. Parts of those cars were scattered along the edge of the asphalt.

Erhart made an intrigued sound as he looked at the wreckage.

“Eaten?”

Good instincts.

Too tired to answer properly, I just nodded.

The Elder didn’t seem particularly displeased.

“By what?”

“Shadow Fang, most likely.”

I replied while lying almost flat on the car.

I wasn’t certain. I couldn’t sense it. But the disaster had happened on a road some distance from the sea, and among the Creatures that could do something like this here, that was the best guess.

It likely came up from the shore and coiled itself near the road.

A Creature capable of transparency, like milk.

The same species as the one that had once tried to eat Hesh. Its body was flat like paper, making it hard to detect without sixth sense.

If it swallowed two cars whole, it had to be large.

Whether it was still coiled nearby or had moved on, sated, I couldn’t tell.

When I relayed this to Trevain, the senior cursed.

[If it opens its mouth, can you dodge?]

“It depends on the size, but it’s not impossible.”

[Then I’m stepping on it.]

He didn’t hesitate long.

The experience of someone who’d faced Creatures for years showed clearly.

I agreed that breaking through was better than stopping.

[We’re right in front of the Core. Push through. If something goes wrong, you back us up.]

“Yes.”

[Requesting Core activation.]

The senior sent the request to the emergency Core.

[Speeding up!]

The first vehicle accelerated.

The others, set to maintain distance, matched its speed.

The wind grew harsher.

Shashinsky nagged Erhart urgently to hold on tight.

I lay low against the car body, staring hard at the place of predation ahead.

Still nothing visible.

I couldn’t tell if it was there or not.

I hoped it had left, full.

Or moved deeper inland—

Wooooong!

The sound of the Core opening rang out.

Seeing the Core begin to open, the civilians inside the cars erupted in cheers.

At the same time, a small puddle caught my eye.

“Senior!”

I still couldn’t be certain the Shadow Fang was there.

I only knew that if it was, we were already late.

As I shouted, the first vehicle was passing near the puddle.

“Watch—”

Bang!

A tire burst.

The right front wheel of the lead car was punctured.

The only good thing was that it had bitten only the tire itself. The car had passed too fast for it to fully open its mouth.

The bad thing was that the speed meant the puncture immediately caused an accident.

Screeeech, crash! The vehicle zigzagged violently, then flipped onto its side. Trevain and Shashinsky, who’d been riding on top, jumped off at the same time. I saw them curl their bodies and roll across the asphalt.

But there was no room to worry about the first car.

Civilians screamed.

Thanks to the first car’s sacrifice, the second vehicle brushed past the Shadow Fang unharmed.

The last vehicle—the one I was on—closed the distance fast.

I pulled the dagger I’d stowed on my right.

Thwip!

The blade struck transparent fangs.

The Shadow Fang screamed.

Graaaargh!

“Waaah!”

Samuel’s body lurched.

The Shadow Fang writhed on the ground.

As the car passed over it, the chassis bucked wildly. But it didn’t tip over. Thank god it was a sedan, not an SUV—the lower center of gravity saved us.

As the doctor’s body pitched backward, Erhart and I grabbed him at the same time.

The instant we hauled him back up, the car completely cleared the Creature.

The moment I felt the tires grip the asphalt again, I twisted around.

Samuel stared at me in horror.

“What are you doing?!”

“I’m going to help the first car.”

If it were only Trevain and Shashinsky, that’d be one thing—but there were still five civilians left. They needed hands.

Ignoring Samuel shouting, “In that condition?!”, I leapt down onto the asphalt.

“Doctor, please!”

“Don’t worry.”

Erhart replied calmly.

“I’ll hold on tight.”

My body felt too heavy.

It wouldn’t move the way I wanted. Normally, I would’ve landed lightly and sprinted off with minimal impact—but this landing sent a jolt through me, and I couldn’t pick up speed.

Just endure a little longer. Then you can rest.

I soothed myself and ran toward Trevain, who was delivering the final kill to the Shadow Fang, and Shashinsky, who was pulling people out of the overturned car.

The red-haired man turned and flinched when he saw me.

“You should go back inside.”

“Erhart is safe.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

As he checked that the second and third vehicles had made it through, the aide corrected himself.

“You don’t look well.”

I knew.

But the civilians caught in the accident were worse off. I just felt unwell—those people had been in a serious crash.

Soft groans. Shattered glass scattered across the asphalt like grains of rice.

Helping pull people out of the vehicle, I was glad I’d come back.

Two men were bleeding heavily from their heads.

One of them was completely unconscious.

We hurriedly stopped the bleeding.

As soon as we finished, Trevain stepped up behind us and hoisted the unconscious man over his shoulder.

The senior stared down at me with blue eyes, then jerked his chin.

“You take the other one.”

“Yes.”

Good—this one’s conscious.

Even uninjured, he wouldn’t have been able to run. I carefully lifted the older man.

Then I looked to Shashinsky, silently asking him to take care of the remaining three.

The red-haired aide nodded.

“Don’t worry.”

“Hey! You can’t leave us behind!”

One of the abandoned men jumped up and shouted.

“You should save the people with the best chance to live!”

I ignored him and kept walking.

If we were riding, it’d be quick—but on foot, the emergency Core was still some distance away.

I needed to get this man to a doctor fast.

Given his age, the impact would’ve hit him hard...

“Michael.”

For a moment, I thought the rising fever had made me hallucinate.

I blinked, then looked down at the man I was carrying horizontally. The old man stared straight up at my yellow eyes.

“Have you come to kill me?”

...He’s seeing things, surely.

Let’s not develop a superiority complex.

Seems he’s seeing angels.

His injuries might be worse than they look. I should get him treated quickly.

“It’s not your time yet, so don’t worry. I’ll get you there right away.”

“Not my time.”

The old man snickered.

Even as I urged my heavy body forward, he coughed and continued.

“Everyone thought that way, too—and once they met Michael, they lost their lives.”

He’s old. He must’ve lost many friends already.

“Until now, you didn’t know I existed...”

Probably?

“But now that you do, you’ve come to kill me. Do as you like. I’ve lived long enough.”

“Sir, the Core is right there. Please hold on a little longer. With proper treatment, you’ll be back on your feet soon.”

“To go this far just to kill one old man!”

The old man burst into laughter.

“Disabling the Core device! Just to drag me out! You really are an incredible existence, just like the rumors!”

...No, I’m not.

Could this man be the rumored miracle doctor?

Unable to decide, I looked down at the old man in my arms.

Maybe time had changed him so much I didn’t recognize him?

But no—he was still a stranger.

Was this a mental health issue?

Or was he the rumored doctor and mentally unstable?

I kept walking, carrying the laughing old man.

“The Core device wasn’t disabled—it just hadn’t been inspected. A simple malfunction.”

“Ridiculous. The moment the Core went down, Michael arrived—do you expect me to believe that kind of coincidence?”

“Hilde!”

A familiar voice cut through the exchange.

I looked up to see Samuel driving a car out from the Core toward us.

Trevain was at the wheel.

Wow. So they went into the Core, then came back out with a perfectly fine car.

“Get in, now!”

“Samuel!”

“They always told me to beware white hair more than black hair.”

As the old man cheerfully called the doctor’s name, he intoned in a gloomy voice from my arms,

“One day, when a golden-eyed man with waist-length white hair is standing by your bed, you should ask him for time to write your will.”

...Ah?

“He’ll gladly grant it—and while you’re writing the words ‘With love,’ he’ll let you end your life without pain. Like a merciful angel.”

That... actually fits me.

I stopped dead.

Eyes wide, I looked down at the frail body in my arms.

Ash-gray hair matted with blood. Prominent veins at his throat. Knobby, bony hands.

Brown eyes staring straight back at me.

“You broke through that impregnable defense and finally killed Olivia.”

“Olivia?”

Who’s that?

“The one known as the Woman of Ice!”

Ah. The Ice Empress?

“So it was my mistake to try to run from you.”

His voice boiled as it rose.

I looked down quietly at the man growing more agitated with every word.

Even when the car Trevain was driving screeched to a stop beside us—

Even when Samuel and the senior kicked the doors open and rushed out—

I kept observing the rumored figure closely.

“So kill me, Michael!”

The old man shrieked.

“Michael!!”

Jason Trevain stared at us with an expression that said he’d just heard something utterly absurd.