Was I crying?

When I brushed my eyes with my fingers, my hand came away wet.

I stared blankly at my palm, then lifted my head.

The sound of battle vibrated faintly through the temporary wall surrounding us.

We were inside the barrier—back with the seniors who were fighting the territorial reclamation war.

“I’m sorry.”

I muttered, rubbing away the tears with my forearm.

“Why did we retreat?”

“Because I planted a tracker on Kyle.”

The answer came from Yehyeon, who was standing like a ghost, listening to a report through his communicator.

Even in my daze, I instinctively flinched. He was erasing his presence completely—just like Lee Seunghyun used to.

Yehyeon took his hand off the communicator.

“It was worth confronting him directly. And our primary objective right now is territorial reclamation.”

His husky voice held no trace of emotion.

“Striking the enemy leader is secondary. While the bombardment continues, we’ll regroup our forces and move out to the designated point.”

Ah.

He’s trying to lure the enemy away from the weakest defense point.

I nodded while looking at my pale superior.

Then I widened my eyes at what came next.

“Hilde, you’re out.”

“Sorry?”

I asked stupidly.

“Weren’t I the bait?”

“Get treated first.”

I’m not even hurt.

So I thought—until I ran my gaze down my body and suddenly remembered that I’d been shot in the arm earlier, hit by a stray bullet. There were smaller wounds too, but they didn’t look serious.

I could just tie a tourniquet and head back out.

Maybe he read my thoughts—Ricardo grabbed my good arm roughly.

At the same time, Ami came running.

“Hilde.”

She threw her arms around my chest and murmured, her face buried against me.

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

For what?

“It must’ve been so hard. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Carl twisted the tourniquet tight around my arm.

While he did that, I looked down at the person hugging me. All I could see was her round crown—black and small.

If I hadn’t gone to stop Rei’s rampage, Ami would never have fallen into a coma.

I couldn’t even imagine how the young Yehyeon and Yun must have felt when they heard that news.

I stared at the top of her head for a while, then smiled faintly.

“Ami, you’re allowed to resent me a little.”

Everyone in the makeshift shelter turned their eyes toward me.

Ami blinked wide, lifting her head.

“Huh?”

“You said you used to be friends with the Level 10. And you said you slept for two years because of him.”

If we hadn’t arrived in this world, that wouldn’t have happened.

As I looked at my senior crushing my chest in her embrace, reality struck me again—because I finally remembered that my own kind weren’t the victims anymore. Still, I didn’t regret stepping onto Earth. No matter what happened, I couldn’t regret that.

But the fact that I hadn’t been able to stop the war pressed heavily on me.

That girl who used to play badminton so brightly, wearing gym clothes under her school uniform.

When the First War began, Ami had been a high school student.

“Why would I resent you for that?”

Her puzzled voice snapped me back.

“Shouldn’t I be grateful to you instead?”

“The war happened anyway. Because of my kind.”

“But you stayed on this side all along.”

She stepped back, still looking up at me.

Her confused expression quickly turned angry.

“In the end, you chose our side, didn’t you?”

“I failed to stop the war. If I’d handled things properly, none of this would’ve happened.”

“How could you have stopped a war, Hilde?”

“Because I was the commander.”

Sophia drew in a sharp breath.

Carl’s hands, checking my wound, froze in place. Ricardo’s mouth opened to say something—then shut again. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The three seniors all stopped, stunned.

Silence fell over the partitioned space. Outside, the sounds of war were loud, yet inside it was eerily quiet.

Even Yehyeon, still holding the communicator, didn’t move.

Only Ami frowned deeply.

“So what?”

“Sorry?”

“You said you were the Captain of the Knights. Not a king.”

“Well... yes. That’s true.”

What was she getting at?

“You never did politics, right?”

“Uh, not until I came to Earth. On Earth, I did meet a lot of politicians though...”

“Then how could someone who isn’t a born politician stop a war!”

Ami’s argument made no sense.

“How could you have stopped a war all by yourself!”

“Uh, well, on Earth I was leading them. If I’d handled it properly as their leader—”

“You handled it properly—you took our side, and you’re still standing here now!”

Ami was shouting, fists trembling, looking ready to punch me.

“Don’t feel weird guilt over it!”

The small senior waved her hands wildly.

Then she suddenly threw herself at me again, arms swinging tight around me. The pressure made me cough a few times.

That actually hurts.

“If it was eating you up that much, you should’ve told us.”

She mumbled against me.

“So that’s why you kept crying. If it were me, I could never have done what you did...”

What a warm person.

I thought that as I looked down at her sniffling against my chest.

She was the one who had driven Rei to the edge of life and death.

In that moment, the memory came back—the thought I’d had when I once stepped out onto the battlefield. When I handed my sword to Jaeyeon to end the war, and took my first steps toward killing Kyle.

The resolve I’d made after seeing the corpses of the naïve, kind-hearted scientists I hadn’t been able to protect.

I should love humanity after all.

I had hated them as much as I loved them. If slaughtering them could have saved more of my kind, I would have done it without hesitation.

But in the end, I did the opposite.

Since I made that choice, I should love humans all the more.

Smiling faintly, I stroked Ami’s hair.

“Thank you. Since the bleeding’s stopped, I can head back out now.”

“No. Go to Samuel first. Once he clears you, you can rejoin. We’ve still got a long way to go, so don’t rush it.”

Yehyeon’s voice was cold as he gave the order.

I looked up at my superior.

“Forgive me for asking again, sir, but if I don’t act as bait, we won’t be able to lure Kyle out—”

“Oh, this bastard... You’ll only come to your senses after collapsing, huh~?”

“If we need bait that badly, we’ll drag your unconscious body out there.”

Ricardo snapped irritably, and Yehyeon spoke beside him.

“I’m telling you to rest because you can. Don’t be stubborn—go get treated.”

Thank God.

I could tell Yehyeon was keeping work and emotion strictly separate. If necessary, he’d use me as a card without hesitation.

That was oddly reassuring.

Since I wasn’t needed for the operation right now, I should follow orders and get treated.

I was nodding to myself when someone entered through the partition.

“Commander.”

It was Yun.

“A Level 10 is attacking the Fourteenth Breath Device.”

“Unit 1?”

“A different group.”

My nerves tensed.

So Kyle had split his squads.

The ones targeting the Breath Device must have departed later than him. That way, while I focused on Kyle, I wouldn’t notice them.

Meaning Kyle had become bait to draw my and the humans’ attention—just as I had become bait to draw in my own kind.

I focused my senses, trying to identify who was attacking.

At the same time, I looked at the commander.

“Commander.”

“Yun. Take Hilde to the medical tent. We’ll handle the Level 10 near the Device.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Rest well, Hilde!”

Maybe reading my thoughts, Ami shouted as she let go of me.

“Don’t you dare show up on the battlefield before you’re properly treated!”

“See you later.”

“Behave yourself~.”

Carl’s hoarse voice followed, and Ricardo grinned, waving his hand.

All of them made it perfectly clear they weren’t taking me along.

Well.

I understood that I was injured and a burden, but still—I needed to confirm which of my kind had come and report back—

I was just about to speak when Ami’s eyes went wide.

She was looking at something behind me. Her whole body jolted.

“Oppa!”

She ran forward, hand outstretched.

“Wait!”

What—

Why are you suddenly—

***

?

When I opened my eyes, I saw the ceiling of the medical tent.

“You’re awake?”

Wow.

That voice—no mistaking it. There’s only one man with that cold, emotionless tone.

I was lying on a bed next to my marksman.

You’ve got to be kidding me...

I was so dumbfounded I stared at the ceiling for a while before croaking,

“You knocked me out and dragged me here, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

Yun was staring at some kind of machine display, not even glancing at me.

“You looked like you wouldn’t listen to reason.”

“Did you even have any intention of reasoning with me?”

“Maybe.”

The man answered flatly, then turned his head.

“If you hadn’t been crying, maybe I would’ve.”

Cold black eyes.

The Black Badger in full combat gear, checking the Core status. He didn’t look like he’d entered the battlefield yet. His uniform was spotless, absorbing all light.

Maybe he was stationed in the rear to monitor the Core device.

I sent him a dull glare.

“Don’t lie.”

“Guess your intelligence hasn’t completely deteriorated.”

“I’ve been treated. I’ll be going back.”

I grumbled, pushing myself up with my good arm.

“Thanks for hauling me all the way here.”

Whoosh!

Something flew straight at my face.

I instinctively blocked it with my forearm.

A sharp sting shot through as I deflected the object.

I looked at the silver thing I’d knocked aside and shouted at my marksman, who was smirking crookedly.

“What the hell was that for!”

“You’re faster now.”

Yun sneered.

“Better than before. Once the transfusion’s done, you can head out again.”

“I’ll just leave now. If I stay here, my condition will only get worse.”

“Don’t rush. You’ll be heading outside the barrier with me soon anyway.”

“...What?”

His unexpected words made me blink. Yun’s cold smile deepened.

His thick fingers tapped along the bed rail—tap, tap, tap.

“Bombardment costs money. Once it stops, you’re ordered to go meet the king. Yehyeon will be coming in.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll be taking his place out there.”

“Understood.”

“The reclamation war’s far from over. Rest properly and prepare for the next turn.”

I nodded obediently as his dry explanations poured out.

“If you can catch the king, catch him. If not, retreat through the Portal. Then prepare again for the next round. Rinse and repeat. That’s the plan. No questions, right?”

Yun had a talent for ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) making everything sound brutally simple.

I nodded again, unwillingly impressed by the strange sense of calm he created.

After confirming my response, my superior turned back to his work.

I rubbed my dry eyes and felt the faint presence of my kin drawing near.

Even sensing them was enough to fill me with longing.