Black Badger

Chapter 39

John Mullen didn't speak first.

I didn't mind and got straight to the point. I skipped lengthy explanations like "Hello, senior. I'm the new recruit Hildebert Talev." Such introductions wouldn't catch his interest anyway.

I just threw out the main topic.

"How do I kill the Fire Shield?"

A short silence.

About five seconds of quiet? John Mullen broke the silence flatly from the other end of the phone.

[Three ways.]

As expected, he answered the given question faithfully, like an AI.

[Douse it with a large amount of water to extinguish it, then kill it with physical attacks.]

"Yes." [Or heat it to death.]

"Oh... Yes."

[Or trap it and suffocate it to death from lack of oxygen.]

None of them were easy.

I turned my gaze to the stair door we'd jumped down from. The Fire Shield still showed no sign of coming down. The stair door remained quietly closed in the darkness.

But soon enough, it would blast the door open with a fire pillar. If it made its way down to the underground parking lot, things would escalate quickly. There were plenty of cars here, so the moment the Fire Shield spewed flames, the whole place would turn into a sea of fire in an instant.

I glanced uncertainly at the cars parked in front of the electric vehicle charging station.

If those caught fire, putting it out wouldn't be straightforward.

Had coming down to the parking lot been a misstep?

But if we hadn't come this way, we might have been buried under the collapsing debris just minutes ago. On second thought, this had been the only option.

With things as they were, I had to keep the Fire Shield from entering the underground parking lot or escape as fast as possible.

I furrowed my brow slightly.

"How much water does it take to extinguish it? Even the fire hydrant spray didn't work."

[Enough to drown it. Fire extinguishers or hydrants won't cut it.]

"What if I burst a water tank right in front of it?"

[Depends on the tank's size, but it could work.]

"Thank you. Ah, for suffocating it to death, how sealed does the space need to be?"

[Moderately enclosed is fine.]

Mullen stopped there and fell silent.

After a brief pause, he asked in return.

[But who are you?]

So he just picked up because the phone rang.

He must have answered on reflex. It wasn't a video call, but I flashed a wide smile anyway. Kudo, watching me, raised an eyebrow like he'd witnessed something bizarre.

Ignoring the reactions around me, I replied brightly.

"I'm a junior who admires you, senior!"

[It says Test Subject 0 here.]

This guy.

Irritation flared up, but I quickly reined it in.

At least he didn't recognize me.

I needed to hang up before he pieced together who I was.

In a cheerful tone, I called out.

"Thanks for the cooperation. I'm busy, so I'll end it here!"

Click.

I hung up. After stuffing the phone back in my pocket, I looked up.

I met the chairman's bewildered stare in the darkness, Kudo blinking impassively, and the kids circling around, eyeing Kudo's Japanese sword.

The chairman muttered in astonishment.

"John Mullen actually answered, and you hung up on him first? That genius scientist picks up for... questions like that?"

"Why are they trivial? Our lives depended on it. Senior, did you hear?"

"There are too many cars."

Jonathan Kudo voiced exactly what I'd been thinking.

He rested a hand on the hilt of his Japanese sword and lowered his gaze to the kids.

"I'll lure it to the water tank. You get the civilians to the exit and run."

"Yes."

"You can keep going, right?"

His gaze flicked to my injured leg.

Brushing off the heavy, stinging pain, I gave a wry smile.

"Yes. I said it wouldn't hold me back."

"Go."

Kudo looked up and met my eyes.

Dried blood and debris clung to him. The hem of his shirt had burned away. Yet he somehow maintained an oddly composed demeanor.

Just like the pristine Japanese sword at his waist.

"Now."

Kwaaang!

The door exploded.

"Mommy!"

"Shit, again!"

"Hyung! I'll run on my own!"

"Don't talk nonsense."

I scooped up the wailing Becky and the brash Luke in one go.

"Take care, senior."

No response came.

But I didn't turn back. Ignoring the pain in my thigh, I searched for the underground parking lot's exit.

In the gloom, a faint arrow marked "Exit" came into view.

I bolted after it. The chairman followed, cursing a storm as he ran.

Becky wailed steadily.

"Becky, endure! Don't waste your strength crying!"

Even as we weaved through the car-packed lot, Luke spouted something far too mature for a kid.

"They teach us in kindergarten. If you run into a creature, don't cry—hide or run!"

Peureng!

A car exploded.

The parking lot lit up, heat slamming into my back. Intense heat.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw it was an electric vehicle that had blown, and I swallowed a curse.

Ominous gray smoke began billowing from the burning car. Biting my lip, I ran on, glancing at the man huffing beside me.

"Wet your clothes with spit and cover your nose and mouth."

"What?"

"If you don't want to inhale the toxic gas and die."

"Becky, spit!"

Luke caught on to my words brilliantly.

"Spit it out!"

The parking lot grew brighter by the second.

Cars detonated sporadically, struck by the fire pillars the Fire Shield was unleashing. But thankfully, Kudo had drawn the creature away properly. The blasts were at a safe distance. I shoved my worries for my senior aside and kept running.

The fire illuminating the path was a silver lining.

No chance to cover my mouth—I just ran, my thigh ablaze with pain.

Kwaaang!

I rounded the corner into the exit.

A narrow, distant ramp. Without looking back, I charged up the exit-only passage.

I tried not to dwell on Kudo. As a badger, his recovery was top-notch, so he'd pull through. He had tons of field experience, and word was he'd survived the Second War...

My goal was to get these people out.

"Wa-wait a sec."

The chairman running alongside halted on the ramp.

"I can't... run anymore..."

"Catch your breath."

I turned to the panting man who'd stopped.

Then I eyed him slumping down and the ramp's base, growing ever brighter.

"I'll get the kids to the surface and come back."

"What?!"

The chairman whipped his head up in shock.

"You're abandoning me?!"

"I'll be back in one minute. Right away—I'll carry you out."

"Don't go!"

Terror filled his eyes as he bellowed.

"Don't! Tell that boy to run on his own and carry me! He said he can! Damn it, if you can't save me, you're all screwed! Screwed!"

"Hyung, I can run."

"I'll be right back, for real."

Arguing would just burn time—better to shave off even a second by moving.

Staring straight into his despairing eyes, I spoke deliberately.

"Immediately. I'll return right away. Keep your nose and mouth covered tight, and stay low, crawling if you have to."

"Hey, please..."

"Hyung, I'm seriously okay."

I pivoted.

And ran up the ramp again. Without glancing at the man frozen in place. I tuned out Luke's mutter: "I can run, hyung. That guy's super famous. If a famous person dies, it'll be huge trouble."

Becky sobbed in hiccups. She followed her brother's lead, sealing her nose and mouth firmly, but the tears kept flowing.

Her cries echoing, I ran with legs ready to give out. Toward the entrance spilling white sunlight.

Life threw choices at you sometimes. Moments where you picked between the worst and the lesser evil. Each time, I'd suffered but chosen the lesser one.

To avert greater losses, ranking irreplaceable lives...

Watching those I'd left behind die, their eyes brimming with resentment...

Hold on. When did this happen?

No time to chase the nagging doubt. The surface appeared. I set the kids down. Camera flashes popped from all sides, but I ignored them and kept moving.

Rushing firefighters handed me three portable oxygen masks. They swiftly fitted one over my face.

I waved off those insisting on heading in.

"If something goes wrong inside, I'll call for rescue."

The firefighters nodded and clipped a radio to my ear without argument.

Thanking them, I snatched two oxygen masks and dashed back inside.

Toward the people still waiting.

*

Scalding heat climbed the parking lot entrance.

Smoke choked the air so thick it took moments to assess. Eyes narrowed to slits, I raced down the ramp.

The air burned too hot.

The civilian chairman's state gnawed at me.

That's when I spotted him, sprawled out.

I bolted to him and clamped the oxygen mask on.

A human silhouette flickered at the ramp's base.

"Senior!"

I yelled at the man ascending, soaked like a drowned rat.

"You okay?"

No answer. His face looked grim, though. Dizzy, like he'd taken a bad hit, he climbed slowly. He'd inhaled plenty of toxic gas, no doubt.

I hauled the limp chairman into my arms and tossed the mask.

"Put this on!"

The mask tumbled away.

It rolled to a stop right where I'd aimed. Kudo bent down leisurely and snatched the falling mask.

He could move, at least.

Relief washing over me, I hoisted the chairman.

Luckily, he was still conscious. Carried in my arms, he glared up at me, eyes full of resentment.

"Let's get out of here."

I held his furious stare.

"I'm truly sorry for leaving you."

But now it was done...

The chairman thrashed.

Puzzled, I watched him flail his limbs, groping for his pocketed phone.

"What's up?"

Had he gotten hurt somewhere?

"You in pain somewhe—"

Kwaang!

Kuuung!

A thunderous boom. From overhead. An indescribable racket.

Just before the noise, I'd glimpsed something slicing through the air upward. But no time to puzzle it out.

My ears buzzed instantly, and I registered debris cascading from above.

On instinct, I shielded the chairman.

Distant pain soon scorched my back. The shock too fierce, sensation dulled. Noise. Relentless noise.

Embracing him amid the crumbling ceiling, I caught my senior's frantic shout. The man, sleek as a honed blade, yelled urgently.

No chance to respond.

Only one word cut through clearly.

"Talev!"

At least he wasn't buried too—small mercy.

That thought fading, consciousness slipped away.