Black Badger - Chapter 403



Only Noblemtl

403. Flowering

People were lost in thought and looked at where the park had been.

There was nothing left there, as if caught in an explosion. No, only one thing remained. A huge flower that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

A halo of light like fireflies circled the flower.

People didn’t react right away. People and vehicles passing by on the street all stopped and didn’t move.

A sight unfolded, as if a giant hole had opened up in the middle of the city.

The floor of the area engulfed in dazzling light was burned black.

People walking in the park disappeared without a trace.

There was no sign of any trees, benches, or structures.

Everyone stood still, doubting their eyes.

Until the curled leaves bloom.

The flowers have bloomed again.

“ah….”

A dizzying light seeped out from the center of the flower.

“iced coffee….”

There were also confusing sounds.

It sounded like a human voice. A voice that sounded like it was in pain and confusion.

Some people read anger and despair in it.

A sound of despair that is decades old.

Some thought it sounded like the cries of a being driven to madness by trials.

Before the light and shockwaves spread out.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Kwaaang!

“Whoa!”

“Eww!”

“Ahh!”

The destruction has begun.

***

“Commander!”

Secretary Michelle came running barefoot.

He threw down his shoes and ran.

“Aide!”

The executives coming out of the audit office immediately sensed something unusual.

A wealthy person who rarely gets upset.

The fact that Michelle came running with such shaky eyes meant that something had happened that required putting everything else aside.

Aide Gilbert quickly checked the alarm.

“The creature appearance alarm did not go off.”

“The headquarters intrusion alarm is also….”

“park!”

As Scar continued to report, Michelle suddenly held out her tablet.

“Something strange has happened to the flowers in Dayzilla Park!”

The three executives immediately turned their gaze to the tablet screen.

The eyes of the men who saw the image on the tablet widened simultaneously. Their eyes, which had maintained their composure until they looked at the LCD, were filled with surprise and confusion.

Yehyun raised her head.

“Did the flower explode?”

“It seems so. And around it, large and small explosions keep occurring, and it seems like the explosion radius is expanding.”

“What is the cause?”

“Not understood.”

“What about the badgers in your jurisdiction?”

Michelle chewed her lip.

“He passed away.”

The movements of the leadership suddenly stopped.

But it was literally a moment.

Yehyun immediately asked an additional question.

“Are the citizens being evacuated?”

“Yes. The fire department and police department have also responded.”

“Which Badger is on duty nearby?”

“The badgers on patrol at the nearest distance are Jonathan Kudo and Tom Hutson. They should be heading towards the park.”

“To all the former Badgers on patrol.”

“The head of human resources will be notifying you.”

“It looks like there are people there.”

Gilbert, who was the only one who didn’t take his eyes off the LCD, said.

While receiving Michelle’s report, Ye-Hyeon and Scar turned their heads as they gave instructions on their cell phones.

Gilbert pointed to the screen with his finger.

Video taken by a drone flying in the sky.

The screen was unclear due to the shockwave, the wind it created, and the impact of the explosion.

This happened even though the headquarters deployed the most advanced drone it had in its possession.

But eyes that have been watching drone footage for decades are quick to spot the small silhouette.

Right in the middle of a giant flower.

A very human-like silhouette was reflected in the place enveloped in dizzying light.

If multiple silhouettes had been visible, the leadership would have immediately decided that it was Kyle’s intrusion and taken action.

But the silhouette reflected in it was of only one person.

A person appeared to be crouching in the middle of the flowers.

Holding his head with both hands.

“What about you?”

Yehyun asked Scar a question without taking her eyes off the screen.

As soon as they heard Michelle’s report, Ye-Hyeon immediately contacted Hilde, and Scar immediately contacted You.

Scar answered.

“I just got here.”

An aide who quickly opens the message.

His eyes widened as he checked You’s contact.

Scar’s fingers holding the cell phone trembled faintly.

“Commander.”

In a trembling voice, the senior aide reported to the commander in chief.

“According to the Titan’s strategist… .”

***

[Are you alive?]

The senior’s cold voice was heard.

The sword pushed the floor and raised its body.

“yes.”

[You saved your life. Go home.]

“I will go and support you.”

Carl responded politely as soon as the expected words came back.

It wasn’t hard to guess what was happening. The explosion was loud enough to burst eardrums. The shock wave roughly pushed things out of the street. People’s cries and screams of pain.

After decades as a Black Badger, it was obvious he had a grasp of the situation.

He turned around and walked out the back of the building onto the street.

The expected sight unfolded before my eyes.

It was more chaotic than anything he had ever seen before.

It is the Abigail Return itself.

Of course, even within that, it was possible to see at a glance where the explosion had occurred.

If you’re in the center core, you can’t not know.

Yoon said dryly.

[I feel like I might die if I go. I don’t know about other badgers, but not you.]

“Well, that may be true, but when hasn’t that been the case?”

[When was that not the case? You probably never heard that from Yonghan again. If you don’t want to go home, then open up the streets and control the humans.]

“That’s for the police and firefighters, sir. Badger is much stronger.”

[There are many other badgers besides you.]

“We also know that we do not have enough personnel to respond immediately to the current situation.”

[Why are you being so stubborn?]

“Because both I and the civilians have one life.”

Carl spoke monotonously.

“So I, the Black Badger, will go.”

It never occurred to me that Yoon would shed tears and mourn over his death.

However, he knew very well why this sociopathic shooter was stopping me.

Because Yoon has had no interest in the lives of civilians for a long time.

To be exact, he had no interest in the well-being of those he ‘did not like’, but thankfully and strangely enough, he was included in the group of people Yoon ‘relatively liked’.

maybe.

So, what this means is that Yoon would rather have a bunch of nameless civilians die than risk losing his sword.

Not enough to get annoyed or run to stop me, though.

[Well, if you’re going to be stubborn, then do it carefully.]

“Yes. Thank you for your concern. I will return safely.”

[okay.]

Yoon replied in a voice that showed not a shred of worry.

Then he gave practical help.

[Shoots the locations of all badgers in the vicinity.]

Before I could even reply thank you, my phone vibrated.

While rescuing three or four pedestrians from a speeding car that had lost control, Carl checked his cell phone.

Information showing not only Badgers on patrol, but also Badgers on vacation.

– Jason Tvein (35 min walk from here)

– Aki Naegland (50 min walk from here)

– Ruta Air (45 minutes walk from here)

– Jin Silver (5 min walk from here)

– Jonathan Kudo (13 min walk from here)

– Tom Hutson (13 min walk from here)

– Jack Black (20 min walk from here)

– Ricardo Sordi (16 min walk from here)

– Shu Diamond (16 min walk from here)

– Hildebert Taleb (16 min walk from here)

ah.

“Is Hilde nearby?”

[okay.]

A dry answer came back.

[So, listen to his judgment first and then move.]

This time, Carl listened to Yoon.

***

“Whoa!”

“mom!”

“Grab it, grab it tight!”

The pop-up store collapsed.

It was hit by a shock wave. It wasn’t a very sturdy building. There was only the first floor and the basement, and the basement was lightly dug out for a pop-up exhibition, so it collapsed easily.

Figures flew away and the stand overturned.

And then something went off. Something seemed to have gone wrong with the power supply to the lights. The shockwave shattered windows and knocked people over, followed by a loud bang! and then part of the floor and ceiling collapsed.

Ricardo and I gathered the civilians and pushed them back as soon as the window broke, so a disaster did not occur.

What that means is that no one went out with the power unit.

That doesn’t mean there were no casualties.

It was not possible to conclude for certain that there were no deaths.

Some people fell to the collapsed basement floor, while others were bleeding after being hit by debris.

A space that has become a battlefield of fear and crying.

Ricardo jumped down to the basement.

I reflexively helped the civilians on the first floor out of the danger they were facing.

Shu also helped skillfully. He expertly maneuvered the wheelchair over the cracked floor and guided people to safety.

“Come inside!”

Ricardo and I focus on rescuing those caught in the building collapse.

Meanwhile, half of my mind was somewhere else.

Kyle still wasn’t transferring his emotions.

But clearly Kyle was still outside the core.

It’s not in the core.

Instead, there was someone else inside the core.

Completely unexpected… .

I still can’t believe it.

Cecil.

I thought about this while tearing the sleeves of the white shirt I was wearing today and providing first aid to visitors to the pop-up store.

Cecil?

Why are you here?

How did you get here?

My returned physical abilities allowed me to estimate the direction from which the explosion occurred and roughly how far away it was.

However, the area where the explosion occurred and the place where Cecil’s presence was felt coincide.

Cecil seemed to be at the center of the explosion.

Her… .

A strong presence… .

… Have I been with Cecil for the past 50 years?

It’s not unfamiliar.

It was strange.

According to my revived memory, I broke up with Cecil a long time ago. It’s been 50 years, almost 100 years since I last saw him.

Before the empire burned to the ground.

Briefly at a banquet attended by Kisis.

But if that was truly the last time we met, her presence would not have felt so familiar.

“Hilde! Call!”

Just as I was about to lose myself in thought, Shu’s shout brought me back to my senses.

Even though I was half-conscious, I finished administering civilian first aid and flipped over to take out my cell phone.

Then I got a call from You.

[heartbreak!!]

Youga did something evil.

[Why are you answering the phone now!!]

“Sorry. So what is this?”

[It’s Cecil!]

I know that too.

There’s no way he’d be calling in such a hurry to tell us what we all already know.

Wait 3 seconds, important information has come out.

[I think it’s going crazy, you piece of shit!]

ah.

[I’m receiving drone footage right now…]

no.

[No matter how you look at it, this is clearly the rampage of the children of the World Tree.]

no.

“People?”

[It appears that everyone caught in the explosion that initially sparked the rampage is dead, including the two Badgers.]

“Can you see Cecil?”

[You can only see the silhouette briefly.]

“What about reason?”

I thought I knew the answer, but I held on to a ray of hope.

But it was terribly destroyed.

[Would you like to be there?]

The bookworm spoke hysterically.

[I’m completely out of control! I feel like I have no control over my rampage at all… I’m literally going wild!]

“Fuck.”

[The Archmage’s rampage.]

I swore, and You lost your mind in return.

[Have you ever experienced this?]

There’s no way… .

The wizard is not a good child of the World Tree.

Moreover, Cecil was the only one who was a child of the World Tree and was a great wizard.

The point was that no one knew how far she could go.

no one.

[They say that if you leave the Sword Master alone, he will burn for a week…]

The bookseller spoke to himself in half-resignation.

[How good is the Archmage?]

The recklessness of the powerful is a disaster.

It was literally considered a disaster on the level of a natural disaster.

A fact that humans know and that we know too.

The 10th level creature has reappeared.

In the middle of the center core.

It was a signal flare announcing the beginning of a disaster.