Black Badger

Chapter 57

The nail broke.

The sharp nail shattered, slicing its body diagonally. The blood was red. Clutching my left shoulder, which felt like it was about to fall off, I took a breath.

The attack had landed properly.

It collapsed to the floor. Its body tumbled, spilling blood. But it was still breathing. I gripped my right hand tightly and charged at the fallen creature.

I had to sever the tendons.

I had to cut the tendons.

"Hyah!"

I stabbed.

I plunged the knife into its ankle.

Blood sprayed, and I felt the sensation of muscle tearing. Good. Now I needed to sever the tendon in the left foot too.

I pulled the knife out of its right foot and shoved it into the left one.

The blade sank into its left ankle.

Only after turning the thing into a specimen-like object did the tension finally ease a bit. Panting heavily, I looked down at the life form at my feet.

It seemed almost dead. Its eyes were unfocused.

It looked like a person on the verge of death, which felt a little strange.

I didn't regret my actions, though. If I hadn't charged in with the resolve to kill, I would have been the one dead.

As the adrenaline faded, exhaustion washed over me.

I looked for something to lean on. That was when I noticed the pillar next to the creature had been felled by my sword slash. I'd put too much force into that strike.

Or maybe not. Perhaps that was why it went quiet so quickly with just one hit.

My mind wasn't clear enough to make a judgment.

In any case, there was nothing suitable to lean on.

I just plopped down right there. Clutching my left shoulder, I lay on my side and observed the life form sprawled beside me.

If it died, there was nothing I could do. If it regained consciousness in that near-death state, I'd have to ask some questions.

More questions about me...

Thump.

Thump.

A pulsing sound.

It took me a moment to realize it came from the creature.

Once I pinpointed the source, my mouth fell open.

I couldn't speak. I was too stunned for words.

Dazed, I watched its wounds heal. A dark, rippling wave-like energy vibrated the surrounding gravel. From the body of what I'd thought was a dying creature, black waves emanated.

Just like the Tier 10 creature I'd seen in the footage.

An inexplicable emotion churned in my gut.

"What."

The word barely escaped my lips, but it didn't continue properly.

"What is this..."

Boom!

There was a sharp pain.

I only grasped the situation after the pain subsided, flashing like light before my eyes.

Now I was the one on the ground. I'd instinctively tried to block the creature. It had shoved me over from where I'd been sitting.

Its movements were too fast to follow with my eyes.

Breathing in, I looked up at the creature hovering over me.

Up close, it was grotesque. Inverted eyes. Pitch-black sclera and barely visible Golden Eye.

What the hell had just happened?

I struggled to push away the creature pressing down on me with its forearm.

Damn it!

"What kind of strength...!"

This was bad. I might actually die.

The jagged edge of its broken nail drew closer. The sharp tip narrowed the distance to my throat. Even pushing with my arms had its limits. My left arm wouldn't respond anymore.

This wasn't good.

Sensing the looming death, I gritted my teeth. I had to relay Jin Silver's story to the seniors. That he was alive, that he'd stayed behind to deal with the pursuing creature.

So that you top-notch fighters could go save him...

"Ugh."

The creature's nail pierced my forearm.

A sharp pain drew a groan from me.

At the same time, the ceiling broke open, and a fist burst through.

Huh?

"...A fist?"

Even through the agony, I stupidly stared at the ceiling.

Why had a fist punched through the ceiling?

How had it punched through?

The ceiling anywhere else might break, but not here. This didn't make sense.

"This is the subway..."

Boom!

The ceiling collapsed.

The right side of the ceiling, where the fist had emerged, came crashing down. I blankly watched the falling debris.

Light poured in. Not artificial light or the dim glow from mushrooms, but brilliant sunlight.

So beautiful it made me forget the pain in my pierced arm.

Voices carried on the outside breeze.

"Hilde!"

Ami was on the verge of tears.

"Hilde!"

A senior flew through the hole in the ceiling.

The other seniors leaped and landed on the tracks.

Squinting against the sudden influx of light, I confirmed their faces. Richard Green. Jason Tvain. Aki. Lee Ho-chang.

William Walker landed with a heavy thud.

The creature was kicked away.

"Let's get out of here."

Ami shoved the creature off me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Sorry for missing it."

Her small body trembled slightly.

"Next time, I won't let it get away. Never again."

"Ami."

I smiled, infusing it with apology and gratitude.

My voice wasn't as clear as I'd hoped.

"Thank you for saving me."

"What the hell is this?"

Jason Tvain's voice echoed through the subway next.

"Isn't this a Humanoid Creature?"

"This is insane."

"And it's still alive."

"Ami, get the injured out of here!"

Beside the shocked Lee Ho-chang and Aki, Richard twisted his body and shouted.

"The fight isn't over yet!"

Bang bang bang!

No sooner had he spoken than gunfire resonated.

Tvain and the other seniors opened fire on the creature as it tried to rise again.

Snapping out of my daze, I widened my eyes at the ear-shattering blasts.

Bang bang bang bang!

The seniors fired without missing a beat.

Some kept pulling the trigger until their magazines ran dry.

Tvain and Green fired the most fiercely.

They seemed more tense than when they'd faced that building-sized creature at the safe point. Their gazes were fixed on the tattered creature, unmoving.

At this point, it had to be dead, but no one stopped shooting.

A humanoid creature that had instilled fear in humanity.

With its pitch-black Shadowed Eye and golden eyes.

The one that, because I'd hesitated for a split second, had given Ye-hyeon a chance to attack...

Ah?

A thick emotion, like one that choked my breath, began to consume me.

What was this?

I blinked.

Why had I suddenly felt like I was drowning in emotions?

Had it been because I realized I was the same kind as that thing?

Was that why this sense of alienation and fear had crept in? Because I wasn't human? Because if they found out, I'd be treated the same way?

Motionless, I probed the inexplicable heavy emotion.

...No, that didn't seem right.

What had enveloped my body then wasn't fear.

It was more like...

Self-loathing?

And sorrow?

Did I hate myself for betraying my own kind?

But if I was going to feel this way, then why had I betrayed my kin in the first place...

"Hilde."

Lost in tracing the source of the emotion, I snapped back at Ami's voice.

She tightened her arms around me.

"Let's go."

Looking down at the seniors with blank eyes, her youthful face immediately crumpled into a sob.

"Sorry we were so late."

They weren't late at all; they'd arrived at a perfectly astonishing time, I wanted to say.

If they'd come too early, they might have discovered my true identity, and if too late, that thing would have killed me.

But before I could open my mouth, Ami's boots ignited.

I was in her arms as we shot up to the surface.

*

The air enveloping my body changed in an instant.

The sunlight falling on my head felt welcoming. The wind rustling my hair coolly filled my ears. The dilapidated city spread out clearly beneath my feet.

I'd finally made it to the surface.

Dangling in Ami's arms, I watched the asphalt ground approach slowly.

We landed lightly.

Ami leaned me against what seemed like a long-unmoved car.

"I'll treat you."

She worked her hands quickly, even as she sniffled and cried.

"That must hurt a lot."

"No..."

It didn't hurt that much, I thought, but I lacked the energy.

So I relaxed my body completely and let Ami treat me. Right beside us, the ground had a massive hole.

The exact spot where Walker's fist had punched through.

Sharp voices from the seniors echoed up from the hole. But I didn't have the strength to listen to what they were saying one by one.

Intermittent gunshots.

As the realization sank in that it was truly over, my energy drained away.

My head felt numb. I stared at the clear blue sky and the pure white clouds floating in it, unmoving. So much had happened since I'd opened my eyes after falling into the ravine.

The events from the bottom of the ravine slowly replayed in my mind.

Thoughts of my identity were swept away, replaced by other scenes.

The creature dissolving in mold and dying. The Fruiting Body sprouting up. Jin, who had shouted for me to come into the subway. The one who blocked the mold, guided me inside, showed me the lettuce, and gave me chicken soup. The one who said he'd once been called the badger's druid, and that he'd tell me all sorts of stories...

'Tell Joo I'm sorry.'

The voice, quiet from lack of use, echoed in my ears.

I quietly let tears fall.

"Does it hurt?"

Ami asked in a panicked voice.

"Why are you crying? Hilde, does it hurt that much? Did you get hurt somewhere else besides your arm?"

"Ami."

I pulled the senior peering into my face closer.

Then, looking at her blinking eyes, I whispered.

"Ami. Jin Silver is at the last station."

Ami didn't move for a long while.

Her eyes wide, she just stared up at me blankly. Through my blurred vision, I looked down at her round eyes.

People did not react right away to massive shocks.

It was only after a long moment that Ami spoke.

"Jin is dead."

"He was alive down there."

"...He's alive?"

"He deserted."

I brushed the hair stuck to Ami's cheek.

"He said he's been on the run for ten years."

Ami went unresponsive again for a long time. Kneeling right in front of me, she just looked up blankly.

I didn't blame her for not reacting. I didn't urge her. Instead, I gently tucked the black hair that kept whipping her cheek behind her shoulder.

Her face had always looked so young.

"Where?"

After a long pause, she asked with an expressionless face.

"How?"

"He seemed to be living in the subway. Growing vegetables, raising chickens, that sort of thing."

"Vegetables?"

Ami's eyes went blank.

"Chickens?"

"He said he used to be called the badger's druid..."

I added, looking into the eyes of the senior who hadn't stirred.

"Please find Jin Silver."

Her round eyes blinked open and shut several times.

"He stayed behind at the last station to let me escape."

Ami reacted immediately.

She stood up and ran toward the seniors.