Chapter 28 - Level Ten (2)

The moment I enlarged the video for a closer look, I could tell that one of them wasn't human.

Two vivid yellow eyes gave off an eerie light. Their whites were scorched black. Something like dark waves shimmered around its body, and red blood flowed from the spearhead embedded in its back. Its skin seemed to be charring. In one hand, blackened at the tips, it held a long spear lined with sharp blades.

Yehyeon stood opposite it, empty-handed. He had pulled the black hood of his combat suit low over his head. His face, half-hidden in shadow, looked pale and exhausted.

But hadn't they said he used a sword? Squinting at the screen, I spotted a large sword strapped to his waist. Yet he didn't draw it. Instead, an earring gleamed beneath his hood.

"Wait."

The earring changed shape, just like Riccardo's snake ring. The silver earring melted, dripping onto the ruins below. The fallen liquid turned into sharp spikes that spread across the surrounding ground. Some flowed down Yehyeon's arm and became a silver gun.

Watching Yehyeon take hold of the gun, I murmured in bewilderment, "Didn't he use a sword?"

"Actually, Yehyeon uses a shape-shifting weapon, like Ric." Ami looked up at me with her round eyes as she explained. "He's the best at using them out of all the Badgers. That was the only time he ever wore a sword."

My eyes widened. In the blink of an eye, the battle began.

Silver spikes raced across the blood-soaked ruins toward the creature. It swung its barbed spear in a wide arc.

KRA-BOOOOM!

A shock wave followed the spear's arc. It gouged the ground, sending debris flying backward. The rubble in the spear's path disintegrated into nothing. At the same time, the silver, spike-shaped weapon transformed into a solid wall. But the shock wave shattered even that.

BANG! BANG!

Bullets flew through the crumbling silver wall. My eyes couldn't even follow them, yet the two-eyed creature deflected them with its spear.

Another heavy shock wave tore through the air. It struck Yehyeon as he charged forward. Blood sprayed in a line. I cried out involuntarily, but he kept closing the distance without stopping.

A small opening left by the swing of the spear. He slipped into it and planted his feet. With flawless form, Yehyeon drew his sword.

["You've got it!"]

The sudden sound of Tvein's voice startled me.

["Hey, stab it!"]

The broad blade gleamed in the sunlight. In that instant, I saw the creature freeze. Spotting the human who had slipped through its defenses, it lowered its gaze to drive the spear down, then abruptly stopped its arm. It was in a position to kill Yehyeon with a single swing, driving the spear through his head.

A split second of hesitation. Yehyeon's blade pierced it.

SHUNK!

The sword plunged into the creature's chest. A moment too late, its spear pierced Yehyeon's back. Red blood gushed from his body.

Meanwhile, the creature turned black and began to crumble. The wind stripped away its disintegrating body. The sword embedded in it fell to the ground. Yehyeon, who had been leaning against the sword, collapsed as well. His body hit the ground with a thud.

The video ended there.

I stared blankly at the phone screen. Standing in the quiet hallway, I had forgotten how to move. The footage clung to the backs of my eyelids, refusing to fade. That flawless draw. The brief moment of hesitation before the sword thrust.

Had the creature not hesitated, the outcome might have been different.

"Whoa." Ami's mouth fell open as she drew her phone back toward herself. "Hilde, are you crying?"

"Ah..." I felt my wet face. Even through my blurred vision, I could see Ami's eyes widening. I slowly wiped away the tears streaming down my cheeks.

Alarmed, Ami rushed over to me. "Why are you crying? Hilde! What's wrong?"

I wondered that myself. I kept wiping the tears away, but they wouldn't stop. I couldn't identify the emotion surging up inside me.

It was certainly sorrow, but what part had made me sad? Why was it so unbearably sad? I tried to think of a reason, but once again, I failed.

After struggling, I gave up resisting the feeling. Surrendering to the rising sorrow, I stood there for a long time, forgetting even to wipe away my tears.

* * *

I lifted my heavy eyelids. Through my swollen eyes, Room 304 came into view. Nothing had changed since this morning. Ami sat in a chair beside my bed.

I blinked, then slowly sat up. Ami, who had been looking down at her phone, abruptly raised her head.

"Hilde!" She looked at me, her eyes round. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Looking at my wide-eyed senior, I rubbed my neck awkwardly. "I'm sorry. I suddenly lost it..."

"Don't be." Her answer was firm. She tilted her head to look at me, her worried black eyes carefully searching my face. "Have you calmed down a little now?"

"Yes."

"Your eyes are all puffy," she said, her eyes full of all the worry in the world. "Do you remember crying yourself to sleep?"

"No. To be honest, I don't remember much past a certain point."

"Do you know why you were crying?"

I closed my heavy eyes and opened them again. The video came vividly back to me, along with the sorrow that pierced my chest. But I still had no idea why it had welled up. Struggling not to burst into tears again, I shook my head.

Ami quietly studied my face, her brows drawing together. Silence settled over us. Early-afternoon sunlight flooded the room. Apparently, not that much time had passed. It was still light out.

Standing quietly beside the bed, Ami patted my shoulder. I sat still, accepting the warmth of that comforting touch, until someone knocked and opened the door.

"What are you doing?" A low, dry voice broke the silence. "Choi Ami?"

Yun strode into the room. Ami whipped her head around to look up at her brother. Stopping beside her, he raised one eyebrow and met his sister's gaze. He shoved both hands into his pockets.

"Why are you in his room?"

"Hilde wouldn't stop crying, so I dragged him back to his room and put him to bed," Ami said clearly. "He watched a video and started crying like crazy."

"What video?"

Instead of answering, Ami held out her phone. My training officer bent his head to look at it and blinked once, slowly. Judging by his expression, he was puzzled. Fair enough. There wasn't anything in that video to cry about.

After staring at the screen, he slowly raised his head. "Why would you cry over this?"

"I'd like to know that myself."

"You're the one who cried, and you don't know why?"

"That's... exactly what I'm saying."

"He really was sobbing his eyes out without a sound. I think there's a reason, but he can't remember it. Don't treat someone who's lost his memories like that, Yun."

"Even if he's lost his memories, it still doesn't make sense." Yun had a reasonable point. Was I imagining that faint edge of irritation in his voice?

No. Watching him glance around the room and reach for a sharp-pointed pen, I realized I wasn't imagining it.

"Why the hell would you bawl over Yehyeon's video?"

"Yun!"

My training officer was the kind of man who could make even an ordinary pen look like a weapon. My sorrow vanished in an instant, replaced by a sense of danger. Fortunately, Ami slapped Yun's arm as he pointed the pen at me.

"Stop it!"

"Ow."

"I'm telling Yehyeon!" She plucked the pen from his hand, then began tapping it against that same hand. "I'm telling Yehyeon you're picking on your mentee for a completely ridiculous reason!"

TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP!

The pen picked up speed. Yun sighed.

The situation ended with a resigned sigh and Yun pressing down firmly on the crown of Ami's head. Having watched the whole exchange in terror, I let out a relieved sigh of my own. Ami left only once she was certain he wouldn't pick on me, leaving me with an apology: "Sorry. Yun gets especially touchy about anything to do with Yehyeon. Try to understand."

The room was quiet again. Yun jerked his head for me to get out of bed. I sprang up without delay.

"We're going to the medical building." Another pronouncement. I nodded obediently.

* * *

The hospital was connected to the research building. Yun took me to the research building first, saying he needed to stop by briefly. There was still some time before my appointment anyway.

The research building was crowded today, too. People in lab coats. People in shabby hoodies. A few rare employees smartly dressed in shirts. Yun strode through them without hesitation.

I was watching everyone clear a wide path for him when he stopped dead, and I nearly ran into him. He turned his head to glance at me.

"My desk," he said casually, standing in front of an automatic door fitted with a fingerprint reader. "It's in here. If you need anything from now on, come find me here."

"Whoa." I hadn't expected him to tell me where his desk was, and the sound that escaped me was one of genuine surprise. As usual, Yun brushed my reaction aside.

"I have something to pick up. Wait by my desk for a minute."

"Oh, yes, sir."

"Don't touch anything." He placed his finger on the reader. "Preferably, don't even sit in the chair."

I wouldn't want to sit in it even if you told me to.

DING!

The reader recognized his fingerprint.

WHIRR.

The automatic door opened, revealing the room beyond.

"Don't interrupt me! Don't interrupt me!"

"Don't pull that cord. You'll crash my computer!"

"What does this cord have to do with your computer?"

"That's the hub!"

"Where can I find that report from the other day? It was excellent."

Noise poured out. The instant the door opened, all sorts of sensations flooded over me. My mouth fell open at the sight. Since my training officer's desk was here, I'd naturally expected the place to be obsessively tidy and quiet. The reality was nothing like I'd imagined.

A vast space. Countless desks decorated with bizarre plants. Liquids in peculiar colors and machines in unidentifiable shapes. Researchers in all sorts of clothing seated at cluttered desks.

It was chaos. Yun walked into that grand chaos without batting an eye.

"Wait here." He walked straight through the lab and stopped at the most obsessively tidy-looking desk. (It wasn't empty, either.) "Don't touch anything."

"Oh. Yes, sir." I nodded as I looked down at the immaculate silver-gray desk. "So this is your desk. I'll wait here quietly. See you in a bit."

Yun left without a word. He strode deeper into the chaotic lab and disappeared. I watched him vanish from sight, then turned my head.

Yun worked here? In this madhouse? It didn't suit him. He seemed like the sort to work in a private room. The sort who would scowl unless even that private room was made of smooth marble.

Bewildered, I looked around. A large monitor. Binders. A keyboard. An ashtray. A desk that looked considerably larger than everyone else's. Another person's desk adjoined his on the right.

The neighboring desk was just as large as Yun's, though in contrast to his pristine workspace, half of it was buried under a staggering quantity of documents. A gray-haired man who resembled an old tree stood there reading a document.

He was incredibly thin. Thin and incredibly tall, and pale from lack of sunlight...

THUD.

Suddenly, the man toppled backward. I stared in disbelief as the gray-haired man fell in a rigid line, like an old tree.

"What?"

What was that?

"W-what just happened?"