Black Badger

Chapter 480: White

Yun did not waste time.

He knew Jack Black was not the type to waste time on nonsense either. Rising from his seat, he immediately asked the red-haired Titan whether this had been reported up the chain.

“I’ve reported to Sasu. It’s already been relayed all the way up, it seems...”

“Enough. I can guess how it played out.”

“Judging by the numbers and types, they’re clearly preparing for a full-scale engagement.”

“Ska Owen?”

“He’s in a meeting with the Commander. For now, it seems they plan to dispatch a portion of the Badgers—including you and me—to the area first. Detailed orders should follow shortly.”

Yun liked the conciseness and composure in this junior’s report.

He wore the face of a good-natured man on the street, but he understood boundaries perfectly. Like Carl Dow, he required no additional instruction—efficient, clean, precise.

The scientist cast a glance at the monitor.

The incompetent currently sitting in the Commander’s seat would not send the bulk of forces to the Core perimeter. With the Elders’ struggle unresolved, he would want as much strength gathered around himself as possible.

No matter how loudly Ska argued, he would not listen.

Ska knew that too.

Which was why he had chosen a workaround. Before that narcissistic incompetent could anchor the Black Badgers at headquarters, Ska was trying to preemptively deploy those worth using.

Naturally, Yun—classified as a scientist—and Jack Black, still treated as a rookie, would be included.

Choi Ami would be there as well—surely underestimated as a small girl.

Not that it would be enough.

“Isaac Lane and Tom Husson are also being deployed.”

“Isaac Lane?”

Yun’s brow furrowed.

“That disgrace from the second generation?”

“...You call him that?”

Yun offered no elaboration.

He knew that Ricardo Sordi disliked Isaac Lane. Even the easygoing Ska did. But Yun was not kind enough to explain.

He merely assessed the situation.

“Are they using the chaos as an excuse to eliminate him?”

“That wouldn’t be the intent, would it?”

The driver said with a faint smile.

Yun ignored the barbed remark from the green rookie.

He slid his hands into his pockets and fell silent as the junior continued.

“They’re instructing us to take a portal device.”

Jack said.

“So we can retreat immediately if we’re pushed back. Given the number of creatures they’ve brought, Kyle won’t withdraw easily this time.”

“So you still don’t know where Hildebert is or what he’s doing?”

It seemed the driver had been separated from Hildebert’s group.

Hildebert must have deliberately cast him off. He wouldn’t want that man’s reputation tarnished.

It was a characteristically unilateral decision—one befitting his adjutant.

Yun was fully aware that the driver was angry with Hildebert over it.

He had no intention of accommodating that.

And sure enough, the sharp question made the driver flinch.

It was not a reaction one often saw from Jack Black, who handled most things effortlessly.

“...I’m sorry. He hasn’t been detected at all.”

“In a situation like this, what the hell is he doing?”

Well. As long as he doesn’t die, it doesn’t matter much.

Yun thought it was taking longer than expected and began preparing to leave the lab.

Better to end this quickly—for his own mental health.

Leaving John Mühlen behind—who was unaware Jack Black had even entered—Yun stepped into the corridor.

Dragging things out rarely improved the outcome.

***

I buried myself in peaceful time.

Even wrapped in that soft light, I did not stop practicing.

Grand Duke Jacques had personally come out of concern for me, and still I could not stop.

Whenever it was Kysis’s allotted hour, I crossed blades with him.

During the remaining hours, I completed my duties. If time remained after that, I swung my sword alone.

I barely slept.

Ever since the promotion celebration, I had felt no drowsiness.

Perhaps because when my strange behavior first manifested, everyone kept forcing me to rest—and now I needed no more.

Or perhaps sleeplessness itself was part of the abnormality.

I did not dwell on it.

I simply used the extra time that had been granted to me.

Swing.

Swing.

Swing.

To ignite Aura.

The first to notice was Rei.

Naturally, he was horrified and tried to make me sleep. As a Swordmaster, it was nearly impossible to escape his hearing, so I had to pretend to sleep whenever he returned to the Count’s estate.

Once Rei left the palace briefly, I resumed training without rest.

Kysis and Kyle noticed as well.

Kysis said nothing.

“At least try releasing it.”

That was all he said.

“I wonder what color your Aura will be.”

“Won’t it all be blue?”

“Legend says otherwise.”

The prince scoffed and adjusted his grip.

“They say it differs for each person.”

Clang!

Our blades struck so often they dulled faster than they had on the battlefield.

Kyle, who learned of it only a day after Kysis, did not force me to sleep either.

He envied me.

He said he was jealous that after finishing tedious paperwork, I could still train as long as I wished.

“At this rate, I’ll fall completely behind.”

He ran a hand through his hair as he approached our training ground.

“When did you improve this much?”

“Kyle.”

I wiped sweat from my forearm and approached him.

“Finished already? You could’ve passed some work to me.”

“You’re trying to ignite Aura?”

Kyle stared at my sword.

“That’s real?”

In that moment, something strange happened.

Of course it’s real. If you practice, you’ll get there. I’ll ignite it first—try and catch up.

I meant to tease him.

But the words caught in my throat.

Why?

I had always enjoyed healthy rivalry with Kyle and Rei.

I had never felt compelled to reach a height they couldn’t follow.

We never hid our achievements. We exulted in surpassing one another—but we always extended a hand back.

The one who lagged never hesitated to congratulate the one who advanced first.

So there was no reason to hide Aura from Kyle.

No reason to fear him learning it.

And yet—

I felt I had to learn it before him.

No—more precisely, I felt I must never fall behind him.

Why?

We weren’t competing for anything.

What is this urgency?

“You could’ve given me a hint.”

After Kysis gave him a brief explanation, Kyle raised one eyebrow at me.

“Were you holding back because you thought you’d give me false hope? You’re not the type to grow anxious over not earning some title like youngest Commander or Swordmaster.”

“I’ve got enough titles. ‘Unfilial son’ will do.”

I joked—but my chest felt heavy.

Why did Kyle suddenly feel like a threat?

I didn’t feel this way facing Kysis or Rei.

What is this wariness?

I wasn’t exactly stable to begin with.

When did I break this badly?

The abnormal behavior had caused minor inconveniences in my life.

But this depth of despair was new.

It was different from the inexplicable hurt I felt with Kairos.

The soft surrounding light seemed to recede like a tide.

I truly—

“Let me know when you succeed.”

Kyle grinned.

“Tell me. And tell Rei.”

Ah.

“You would anyway.”

No.

I can’t tell Rei about Aura.

A crushing self-loathing and shame washed «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» over me.

Yet the urgency remained.

Rei will never ignite Aura.

And we will never know what color his would have been.

We might see each other’s.

We might see how the colors change when Aura-clad blades clash.

But Rei’s—

Rei...

My friend...

Turned to ash—

***

Memory severed.

***

[Get a grip, Hildebert!]

***

Darkness again.

[Sunbae! Sunbae!]

“We’re almost there.”

Kysis’s desperate voice overlaid the shared tongue.

“A little more. You can release it.”

***

Nerves burning.

Unwilling absorption.

A transfer laced with rejection.

It was horrific.

And yet—I knew it was powerful.

The war lasted longer than expected.

In a stalemate more balanced than anticipated, both sides threw their final gambits.

The child stepped forward, holding my sword, standing before Rei—who was spiraling out of control.

“And now you’re clinging to me and crying.”

Rei grumbled.

“Did you miss me that much while I was away at the Count’s?”

“It’s getting worse, him.”

Kyle’s voice drifted faintly.

“He’s losing focus during Aura training...”

***

Clang!

A sharp sound.

That strange sensation again.

The same feeling I had sensed when facing Cecil.

“Remember that sensation.”

Kysis ran toward me.

“Don’t lose it!”

***

Darkness.

A dragon charging through.

Someone pushing me aside.

Blue Aura coiling around the blade.

“Look.”

Kysis grinned, releasing Aura.

“It can even cut your sword.”

A tremendous sense of crisis engulfed me.

Aura could shred dragon scales like flesh.

It could snap my blade like a twig.

That cannot happen.

In that moment, I thought only one thing.

I will not let my sword be cut.

I must end everything with this blade.

The final game with Colton.

The battle with Kyle.

From beginning to end—I want it finished with this sword.

Clang!

Our blades met.

I deflected instinctively and struck.

Panting, I stared at my sword pressed against my opponent’s throat.

The knight of Zaan smiled strangely at me.

His movement was sealed—

Blocked by white smoke swirling from my blade.

“White.”

Kysis grinned.

I looked into his purple eyes.

Then tears fell.

Because I knew—

In reality, I could never defeat Kysis.

“Are you ready now?”

Kysis spoke before me as I wept.

“Will you wake up?”

Crack!

Something shattered.

The warm-toned world receded, replaced by ash-gray.

I knew I couldn’t stay.

And yet I wanted to.

I didn’t want to wake.

“But you have to go.”

Kysis said.

“You did well.”

The sweet dream shattered.

A lifeless expanse enveloped me.

“I can’t call you a fledgling anymore.”

The final words sounded like illusion.

Perhaps a false hope created by my own mind.

「So you chose to return after all.」

Those who remained welcomed me.