Black Badger

Chapter 93

The seniors talked by the opposite wall.

It was because Ricardo needed to check Barbie and Asil's fighting styles. The only weapon they had was his shape-shifting weapon. But Ricardo couldn't make a gun out of it like Ye-hyeon could.

So he planned to create spears or swords sized for each individual.

His words were harsh, but he was a truly diligent person.

I approached the elder, leaving the seniors focused on adjusting their weapons.

I sat down on the bench opposite him.

"There's nothing I can do for you."

"So you did hear my story."

The man was young.

It was baffling how someone so young had managed to sit in the elder's seat, even if only temporarily. But the cold glint in his deeply sunken eyes revealed that he was one of them.

The root cause of all this.

"This mess happened because of you in the first place, didn't it?"

"It was a fate of death anyway, so I had to try something."

The elder answered nonchalantly.

It was true, but that meant there was nothing I could do for him either.

The elder scanned me up and down as I sat there blankly.

"It's nice to see the protagonist of the rumors in the flesh."

Is that so?

"Save me, Prometheus. Then things won't get any worse."

Watching someone die wasn't easy on the conscience.

But this man was an exception. He was the fundamental cause that had worsened the situation. Moreover, he was someone who had drawn his sword, staking his life on it, only to fail.

Despite being in a position where he should have known that drawing the sword meant he had to win no matter what.

I looked at his disheveled silver hair and replied.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have the authority or the ability to do that."

"So the rumor about you losing your memories is true."

The elder crossed his arms and stared at me.

Even though I showed no particular reaction, the elder stubbornly continued the conversation.

"Then did you forget how to tame them too?"

Ah.

Creatures.

It was about the one who controlled them. Fragments of memories popped up at the brief question.

The fragments consisted of a familiar voice.

Kyle came to mind especially that day.

"They'll never know."

The voice of my old comrade echoed in my head.

"Imagine if they did. Don't worry about it. We've got the upper hand anyway."

"That ability isn't omnipotent."

"But it's definitely a powerful force."

The two abilities they had kept hidden until the end back then.

One of them was the ability to "tame" creatures. There weren't many who could use that ability proficiently, and I didn't remember the exact method. It wasn't applicable to all living beings either, and its utility varied greatly depending on the ability.

Even back then, very few could tame creatures with the precision to make them tap dance.

And as far as I remembered, I wasn't particularly exceptional at that ability either.

Even before I forgot the method, I didn't think I tamed creatures much.

"I'm sorry, but I forgot."

So it was only natural that I didn't remember.

I tried to recall how my past self had used such a bizarre power but failed.

"So I can't be of any help to you."

"Remember it."

"That won't work."

I should have asked for something reasonable...

My collar was grabbed.

I let myself be pulled along obediently. I could have resisted, but this man had also been injected with a small dose of Green Dream, so he didn't have the grip strength of a badger.

A face shrouded in the shadow of death.

From within that darkness, green eyes flashed with madness.

"I don't plan on dying alone."

If he went down, he would burn everything.

Why did Colton's words suddenly come to mind at a time like that?

It might have been because of the eerie vibe unique to elders.

In any case, my mood soured, and I pushed the man's shoulder away.

"I know. That's why you dragged us into this situation, isn't it?"

I spoke coldly and roughly smoothed out my wrinkled clothes.

I was almost in awe of the man's shamelessness and stupidity. Shouldn't he have been grateful that I wasn't punching him? And yet, after shoving us into this mess, he grabbed my collar and threatened me to save him. He was impressive in many ways.

My inner thoughts slipped out without me being able to hold them back.

I muttered it softly, so he probably didn't hear.

"You don't know your place."

I caught a glimpse of the man's eyes widening opposite me.

He stared right through me and retorted.

"What? It's just like the rumors."

I didn't ask what part was like the rumors.

I wasn't particularly curious.

"You've been through a lot."

I stood up from the bench and bowed politely.

"I hope your final journey isn't too painful."

No sooner had I finished speaking than the door opened.

The arena staff rushed in. The seniors, who had been busily moving along the wall, whipped their heads around.

At the same time, the gray iron bars rattled.

The iron bars separating the arena from the waiting area slowly began to rise.

With a humming sound, the iron bars lifted up and eventually disappeared from view. Naturally, the view opened up, revealing the smooth arena.

The EDM stopped.

"The match is starting."

The newcomers cut the bomb chains from the wrists and ankles of the illegal augmentee who had been doing drugs. Then, they shoved the illegal augmentee into the arena at gunpoint.

The augmentee stumbled out into the arena.

"Good luck."

Clang!

The iron bars slammed back down.

As cheers poured in, a creature crawled out from the end of the arena.

*

Was his journey painful?

The elder, defeated by Colton, was torn into two pieces by the creature.

I didn't even have a chance to intervene. He was the last of the remaining three, but his match time was shorter than the combined time of the previous two.

The moment he stepped into the arena, he seemed to have given up on life.

The elder willingly approached the creature in the form of a luring team member and hastened his death. I didn't pity his end.

I didn't feel any thrill either. The elder's death didn't affect me much.

I just silently watched his conclusion.

A robot displaying a smiling emoticon on its screen whirred around the arena, absorbing the mangled corpse.

"If I pass the creature to you... Asil, you can hold out against two of them, right?"

Now it was their turn.

Barbie gnawed on her nails as she looked at the arena.

The mafia in the waiting area had just injected me with drugs and left their seats.

Asil nodded curtly.

I craned my neck forward.

"Just pass it right over."

Ignoring my spinning vision, I joined the conversation.

"The moment you confirm the creature, shove it my way. That would be best."

"If we get out, we have to run a different mission together for sure."

Not liking my response, Asil crossed his arms and grumbled.

"Your attitude rubs me the wrong way."

"I'm sorry. If we get out safely, I'll bow my head properly and reflect."

"No. The moment we get out, it's drinks on the house."

Barbie continued, chewing on her thumbnail.

"We'll drink ourselves to death on company money. I should call Dad right away and have him reserve all the good liquor."

"O~... Looking forward to it~."

Ricardo smirked, puffing on his cigarette.

The acrid smell overpowered the stench of the corpse wafting from the arena.

"Then later, let's see how much this cocky newbie can drink... Winter, I made the spear as light as possible, so don't drop it."

"Yes."

Barbie whipped her head toward Ricardo.

She reached out both hands and carefully took the silver spear.

"Thank you. It's much easier to handle than before."

The iron bars opened.

With a heavy thud, the iron bars rose up. The chains on Barbie's wrists and ankles also clattered loose and fell to the floor.

Restraints released remotely.

It meant it was her turn to go out. It was an ominous message, but seeing the chains disappear from my senior's wrists and ankles gave me a small sense of relief.

She wouldn't explode now.

I glanced at the handcuffs on the floor, then turned my gaze to the blonde senior.

"Senior. Please, if it gets too bad, just..."

[Thank you for waiting!]

The announcer's voice drowned out mine.

[The moment you've all been waiting for is here!]

Cheers so loud they could deafen.

The amplified voices full of heat pounded my ears.

My dizziness surged. I reflexively covered my mouth against the feeling of stomach acid rising.

Because of that, I couldn't finish my sentence. Barbie, standing next to me, was already walking toward the arena with a face full of tension.

"I'll be back."

After a few steps, she turned her head to look at us.

"I'm not that great to begin with, but I'll do what I can."

"Yeah.... Don't get too tense."

"If it gets urgent, forfeit right away."

Asil replied in a stiff voice.

I tried to say the same, but overwhelmed by the drug's effects, I missed the timing again.

"Senior..."

Crackle!

The moment Barbie fully entered the arena, blue electricity shaped like iron bars covered my view.

Instead of the iron bars coming down, electric bars in the shape of iron bars blocked them off. It was probably a measure to quickly switch players in case of forfeiture.

My brow furrowed.

Barbie awkwardly smiled at them grimacing beyond the electric bars.

"I'll run around hard and at least wear off some energy."

[The player has finally entered!]

The entrance opposite the arena opened.

[And the opponent appears!]

Even in my muddled senses, I could feel the creature's presence.

It was a sense of existence detected not by sight, smell, or hearing. Despite my senses being distorted by the drug, I could detect it as it spread its wings and flew heavily over the arena.

It was a massive lifeform that must have spent most of its time in the air.

A flying creature.

The sound of massive iron chains clanking echoed through the arena.

[Now, everyone! We'll introduce the creature facing Barbie Winter, so please start placing your bets!]

It spread wings studded with nails and flew up to the height allowed by the chains.

Wings large enough to cover a car.

A human face in the center of the wings.

All eyes focused on it. I too lifted my head to take in the massive shadow-casting lifeform in the arena.

It blocked the lights with a heavy gust of wind. Despite the huge nails embedded in it, the creature had no trouble flying.

It flapped its wings and hovered above Barbie.

"Shit."

Ricardo muttered a curse beside me.

"Level 4."

[Our cute pet bird!]

Level 4.

It was a lifeform that even a group of heavily armed civilians would have struggled to take down.

[It's Pepper!]