It did not take long to go down.

I descended through the cold air. The chill stung my ears painfully. The wire burned against my palms, scraping the skin, but with the speed we were falling, there was no helping it.

The ground came rushing up.

I landed safely.

Fortunately, this time there were no incidents. We reached the ground without harm and got out of the arena. Ricardo, who had landed first, was already making a report on a phone he had somehow obtained.

Most likely, it was a phone taken from a dead policeman or a mafia thug.

I had not even thought to pick one up myself. Something to reflect on.

As I approached, holding Bobby more comfortably in my arms, the senior lifted his head.

“Status.”

“My chest hurts a little, but otherwise I’m fine.”

Ricardo frowned slightly.

But he did not question me further.

The low murmur of his report cut off after a while, leaving a cool silence in its place.

We stood in the moonlit wasteland, waiting for support.

Bobby, who had been crying hard, reached out toward Ricardo, asking for the phone.

“I’ll call my dad...”

Still sniffling, she took the phone Ricardo held out to her.

“I’m gonna tell him to wipe them all out...”

...Huh?

I just heard something quite alarming.

I stared at Bobby with trembling eyes, but she only sniffled, pressed the phone to her ear, and said nothing more.

Ricardo gave a bitter smile and kept silent.

Well.

I suppose calling their operation “not entirely legal” wasn’t wrong after all.

I put down the blond senior in a comfortable spot so the girl could talk freely.

Then I stood a few steps away, quietly waiting for help while looking down at Asil, who still hadn’t regained consciousness.

The time dragged on, burning me up inside.

The rescue helicopter arrived.

“Send the wounded up first!”

A shout came from the helicopter.

From then on, everything was chaos.

Asil and Bobby were loaded one after another, and I boarded after them.

Once everyone was aboard, the helicopter headed for Black Badger Headquarters. Inside were medical staff, who immediately crowded around Asil and Bobby, working frantically.

In Bobby’s case, the conclusion was already # Nоvеlight # clear. She would need a prosthetic leg; there was nothing else they could do for now.

As for Asil, the arm would heal, but the poison that had already spread through his body was the real problem.

They said proper treatment would only be possible at headquarters. After explaining that, the medics focused entirely on treatment. Ricardo and I sat in the cramped helicopter, silently checking on the seniors’ condition.

What would happen to the arena, the people inside, the police and the mafia—how they would be dealt with—none of it mattered now. I talked to Bobby so she would not sink into despair and kept an eye on Asil’s state, answering the medical team’s questions when they came.

The noise was so loud that it was hard to talk, adding to the confusion.

So it was only when the pilot spoke that I realized we had arrived at headquarters.

Through the darkness, the base came closer.

The top floor.

We landed on the roof.

***

Ska was there.

The aide-de-camp watched us disembark with a troubled expression.

He slowly walked toward the landing pad.

I saw his eyes linger on the stretcher carrying Asil, then shift toward Bobby on the next one.

He said something to her, then briefly put a hand on her shoulder before letting go.

Asil and Bobby disappeared from sight soon after.

Once the wounded were safely taken below, the man approached us.

“You all right?”

“Ah... can’t really say that I am...”

Ricardo gave a weary smile in answer to Ska’s question.

The exhaustion in his voice was obvious. He was probably in a terrible state inside, trying hard not to show it.

I resisted the urge to tell him to just go down and rest.

“To come back like this from such a simple mission... even brought the rookie along, and look how that turned out~.”

“Go to the hospital, both of you.”

“I still have to write the report... I’ll send the kid down first~.”

“Tomorrow.”

Ska’s reply was firm.

“You already gave a brief report.”

“Thanks to the rookie throwing himself in, I got all my limbs intact... Might as well tell you while it’s still fresh~. The site was a total mess, by the way... body count’s not small~.”

The aide-de-camp stared at the smiling Ricardo for a long time.

Behind those well-shaped eyes, the superior’s gaze carried a weight of unrest. I looked at the two men, guilt tightening my chest.

Truly shameful.

To make him wear that expression, after we had eaten dinner together and he’d explained the mission’s peculiarities... Ricardo was right. This was a failed mission.

Even though I alone knew that the mission wasn’t as simple as it looked...

“Hilde.”

Ska’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I straightened my back.

“Yes.”

“Go get treatment. Now.”

“I’m fine too.”

Well, except for the chest pain.

It felt tight and sore, like after sprinting with all my strength, my shoulders aching, but otherwise fine. The small scratches on my hands would heal in a day or two.

Ricardo was obviously in far worse condition than I was.

There was a reporting chain, so I couldn’t exactly say “I’ll make the report instead,” but—

Instead, I said,

“I’ll wait until the report’s finished.”

“Why~? You waiting around like an idiot won’t change anything~.”

“Ric.”

The senior flashed me a sharp smile.

Ska immediately cut him off.

I looked at that chilly smile and forced a polite one of my own.

“No...”

“Then get lost already...”

Right. I should go check on Asil’s condition.

Apparently waiting for the report wasn’t acceptable.

The cold wind bit at my ears. I brushed aside the pale hair fluttering at the edge of my vision.

The vast night view stretched out beyond the rooftop.

Ska, pressing his fingers against his brow at his comrade’s sharp words, looked at me.

“Yun will be here soon.”

“...Sir?”

Why?

“He must’ve already been told you arrived. Go to the hospital wing and report your location to your superior on the way.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Or you can wait here a bit if you want. He’ll probably show up soon.”

I doubted it.

There was no reason for him to come here in person. And even if he did, what difference would it make?

My superior—efficient to the extreme, born without a shred of human warmth—was not the kind of person to come check if I’d returned safely. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t even confirmed it.

I wasn’t stupid enough to say that out loud.

I gave the seniors a harmless smile.

“Then I’ll head down first...”

“Hildebert.”

What the—

I froze.

My body jerked instinctively, pain shooting across my chest.

Hurts...

I frowned at the stabbing pain but didn’t bother to smooth my expression, staring instead at my approaching superior.

Choi Yun, walking toward me in his lab coat.

His face showed no trace of emotion, as usual.

“What brings you here?”

“Well, it’s been a while.”

Yun brushed off my rude greeting lightly.

Then he walked past Ska, who blinked in surprise, and Ricardo, who raised his brow, stopping in front of me.

“You’ve gotten polite since last time.”

“Of course.”

Seeing his face brought back something I had almost forgotten.

“I haven’t even taken the promotion exam yet, so I should be polite, shouldn’t I?”

Ska coughed in shock.

My insolent tone must have surprised him. Not that I could blame him; he had no idea that Yun hadn’t said a single word about the promotion exam.

Would it kill him to give some advance notice about important things?

If Ricardo hadn’t mentioned it by accident, I probably wouldn’t have known until the day came and went. Even if Yun had told me a month beforehand, it wouldn’t have been strange for him.

I met my superior’s eyes with a flicker of complaint.

Of course, Yun ignored it.

Instead, narrowing his black eyes slightly as if puzzled, he said,

“What’s with your breathing?”

“Sir?”

My breathing?

“Does it sound strange?”

“It does.”

Yun stepped closer.

“Breathe.”

I...

It was hard to take a deep breath, so I drew in a shallow one—and froze as my superior suddenly acted.

What the hell?

“Why are you—!”

“Stay still.”

He abruptly leaned in, pressing his ear against my chest. I nearly jumped back, but he had already grabbed my arm, keeping me still.

Still silent and fast as ever.

With no way to escape, I stayed put as he ordered.

Standing so close, Yun furrowed his brow slightly.

“Sounds like a pneumothorax.”

At his low mutter, the seniors came closer.

I pretended not to notice their looks.

“Did you injure your thorax?”

“I took a pretty hard hit.”

“When the building collapsed?”

“No, in the arena.”

“I heard you carried Sordi afterward?”

I nodded obediently to his question.

Keeping my eyes fixed on him, I didn’t dare glance at Ricardo’s expression beside me.

I ignored Ska frowning down at my chest as well.

Yun blinked once, his eyes pitch-black.

“Must’ve been hard to run like that with the pain.”

Well.

“If I hadn’t run, I’d have been flattened to death.”

Yun stared at me.

His face revealed nothing. The same sharp, cold gaze as always.

The silence that fell over the rooftop was oppressive.

I couldn’t move, only wished this moment would end quickly. I didn’t want to provoke Ricardo’s temper any further. He’d wanted to leave me behind as it was...

Yun broke the silence slowly.

“With a pain tolerance that high, how come you refuse to get back on the testing table?”

“Are you seriously asking that, sir?”

“I heard you even ran up the stairs like this.”

“When adrenaline kicks in, it doesn’t hurt much.”

And please, don’t bring up the topic I least want to discuss. I really don’t want to make Ricardo any angrier.

But my superior, as always, ignored my silent plea.

He gave a cold, derisive snort.

Then released my arm and turned away.

“Follow me.”

His voice was low, flat, without inflection.

“And don’t sneak off to another ward.”

What a ghost of a man.

I stared at his back with a sullen face.

Then gave up. Turning my head, I bowed lightly to Ricardo and Ska, who were standing nearby.

They watched me with unreadable expressions.

Ah.

“I’m sorry.”

I apologized softly to Ricardo.

“I didn’t mean to lie... really, the adrenaline just made it not hurt that much... I’ll come by and apologize properly after treatment. Oh, and since you’ve got your strength back, please come and beat me up whenever you like.”

Ricardo didn’t respond, but I didn’t mind and bowed again.

Then, as I followed Yun, I added one last thing—words that might only help ignite my senior’s barely restrained anger.

“Still, thank you for believing in me.”

Yun would more or less look after me anyway.

“Please get some rest after the report, Ricardo.”

I didn’t dare check his face.

Turning away, I quickly followed my superior out of the landing pad.