I quickly plastered a bright smile on my face.

“Thanks to you, sir. You guided an inadequate rookie like me onto the right path.”

“You sure talk smooth~.”

Ricardo smirked as he walked ahead with his usual swagger.

Watching that sharp smile of his, I deepened mine a little more.

Maybe it was because of the way he was dressed tonight, but he felt even more dangerous than usual. Now that I was fully aware that Ray, Kyle, and I were of the same kind—non-human—the act of hiding that truth from Ricardo made me uneasy.

He’d even tried to reassure me, convinced that I was human.

Still, I kept grinning, pretending I wasn’t weighed down by that bitter thought.

“And that was a compliment, sir.”

“Oh really~? So now the lowly rookie’s lying to his heaven-sent senior~.”

“I mean it. At least halfway. The name that came up first really surprised me.”

“Jason?”

Bobby blinked and looked up at me.

“Jason? What about him?”

What about him, she says...

I hesitated, wondering how to explain. I disliked Jason Trevain, sure, but not to the extent of talking trash about him behind his back.

Ricardo, amused by my silence, chuckled softly.

Asil stepped in to answer instead.

“He’s only nice to women.”

Ah.

“So it’s not strange that some people don’t like him.”

One of those types...

That wasn’t the reason I disliked him, but still.

We kept walking down the bleak road without much surprise. Come to think of it, Jason had hated Yehyeon so intensely that he’d despised both Yun and me by extension, yet he’d treated Ami decently enough. It was exactly the sort of behavior I’d expect from him. Hearing it out loud didn’t even feel new.

If he ever found out what I really was, he’d probably come at me with his teeth bared.

Well, it’s not like Ricardo or Ro would react much differently.

Thinking about how drastically Earth had changed with the appearance of Creatures and people like us, I followed the others toward the arena.

And I remembered the question Yun had asked me when he took “FROM E.”

***

The matches were held on the seventeenth floor of a twenty-story tower long since abandoned.

The area around the tower was packed. It was a place that was usually deserted, but when a match was scheduled, the crowd would pour in like a flood. Rich-looking elites brushed shoulders with people who looked like they couldn’t afford their next meal; average office workers stood beside obvious gang members. The mix of people was utterly chaotic.

Walking down the ruined street, I froze, mouth slightly open, at the sudden sight of it all.

The seniors who’d been assigned to this mission before didn’t seem surprised.

They moved casually through the crowd toward a food truck glowing under harsh portable lights. The pair we were looking for—a man and a woman—were standing at a high table drinking beer.

When we stopped beside their noisy table, they both turned and looked our way.

The man was the first to react.

“Oh! Our beloved traitor.”

Huh?

Me?

“Asil Fiscer! Been doing well?”

“Craig.”

Asil’s expression tightened as he gave a short nod.

“It’s been a while. You too, Regina.”

Ah.

Not me. Him.

I almost answered before realizing it wasn’t about me. Feeling awkward, I looked between Asil and the pair smiling at him.

Why are they calling him a traitor?

Ignoring the odd greeting, Asil went straight to the point.

“Where’s the entry ticket?”

“Hey now, don’t be so cold. It’s been ages since we met.”

I narrowed my eyes, watching the silver-haired senior talk to the two who were clearly police officers.

There was venom in Craig’s words. His tone and expression made it clear that “traitor” wasn’t a nickname of endearment.

He set his beer glass down ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) on the table with a rough clunk.

“You haven’t changed a bit. Preserved like you’re pickled in chemicals. Oh wait, you really are, aren’t you?”

“If you were going to betray us, you should’ve done it a few years earlier.”

The woman—Regina—laughed, pointing at Asil’s eyes with her beer glass.

“Then you’d still have had that tension in your gaze.”

“Yeah, every time I look at your face I feel bad for you. Guess you guys can’t erase your crow’s feet after all?”

“You two are getting more pathetic by the year~...”

Ricardo’s calm voice cut in from beside Asil.

His mouth smiled, but his green eyes didn’t. Hands in his pockets, one eyebrow raised, his grin was razor-sharp.

Bobby flicked her unlit cigarette lazily and added,

“Maybe worry about your receding hairline instead, old man.”

“Enough, both of you. Craig, the tickets—”

“I know this one.”

The woman suddenly pointed at me.

Was she drunk?

Asil’s tired face immediately tightened. But Regina, too focused on me, didn’t notice.

“You’re the rookie, right?”

Ah, so that damn article really did spread everywhere.

I nodded stiffly.

“Yes.”

“How’d you know?”

“Come on, he’s the one who went with Jonathan Kudo and got lucky rescuing Ford.”

“Got lucky?”

Ricardo’s voice turned ice-cold.

“So in your heads, getting buried under rubble counts as lucky?”

They did say he had a temper.

The fury in his tone silenced everyone. Even Asil and Bobby turned to look at him.

Maybe it was the setting — a fight arena run by criminals — that was putting him on edge. Normally, he’d snark, not rage like this.

Still, to keep things from getting worse, I hurried to intervene.

“I think she meant that we got out alive and Chairman Ford was safe. In that sense, we were lucky.”

“Oh, right. I remember now. So you’re the rookie, huh?”

Craig frowned suddenly and fixed his gaze on me.

“You ever done an inside mission before?”

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The massive speakers by the food truck blared, echoing through the crowd. The noise grew as more people poured in. The match was nearing. Over the rising chatter, I answered no — that this would be my first official mission inside a Core.

Craig didn’t like that answer.

“There are hundreds of people in there, and you’re sending in a green rookie?”

He raised his voice, scowling.

“Do you have any idea how cramped it is? If this kid loses control for a second, it’s a massacre! Christ, none of those freaks inside are sane, but this is reckless even for you!”

“Just hand over the tickets.”

There was anger in Asil’s voice now too.

He held out his hand, looking like he was barely restraining himself from grabbing his former colleague by the collar.

“Before we file a formal complaint with your superiors.”

“Oh? What’s that? You gonna hit me? Gonna lay a hand on me?”

“The moment you touch Craig, the press will get a tip-off,” Regina said, laughing as she pointed at Asil’s hand.

I stared at her in disbelief as she leaned her chin on her hand, smiling sweetly.

“‘Badgers assault civilians!’ — perfect headline, isn’t it? Miss the reporters, Fiscer? Been a while since your name made the news, huh?”

CRASH!

The side of the table they were leaning on collapsed.

I dropped my jaw, staring at the source of the noise.

Everyone froze — Asil, Craig, Regina — all wide-eyed.

Ricardo blinked once, then smiled long and slow.

Bobby straightened, brushing table debris off her elbow, completely calm.

“Oops. My heel’s too high — slipped a little.”

I couldn’t help laughing quietly.

And that’s how we got the tickets out of them. It didn’t feel worth the trouble, but we got them nonetheless. Three crumpled tickets shoved our way, accompanied by grumbling and glares. At least it meant we could finally leave those drunk, insolent people behind.

***

Asil apologized the entire walk to the building entrance.

Apparently, those two had some personal grudge against him. It wasn’t just resentment over him leaving the police and becoming a Badger.

It probably had something to do with why he left the force, but he didn’t elaborate.

Ricardo just waved his ringed hand dismissively, the silver snake coiling around his finger catching the light.

“Cops hating us isn’t exactly new, you know~?”

Right. No way the police and Black Badgers were on friendly terms.

“Let’s just finish the job and clock out~. Who knows if those idiots will even start things properly...”

“This arena’s worse than last time,” Bobby grumbled, swallowed by the crowd flooding into the elevator.

“Who the hell builds a stadium on a high floor of a tower?”

We had our tickets checked before boarding the elevator.

Then we were packed in tight until it beeped warningly and ascended fast toward the top floors. Only one button worked — the one labeled 17F: Arena.

Light poured out.

The doors opened, flooding our eyes with blinding brightness. Pressed among the crowd, I stepped into the arena and froze at the sight before me.

Wow.

They really built an arena up here.

It looked exactly like what I imagined when I heard the word “arena.” Two, maybe three floors hollowed out to form a huge pit below. The sloped walls were lined with seats packed tight with people.

Every one of them filled.

I stared at the metal fencing that surrounded the sunken arena floor.

“That’s where the Creatures and illegal grafted fighters come out,” Asil said, following my gaze.

“When the police give the signal, we jump in and take down the Creature.”

“You think they’ll actually give the signal?”

Didn’t sound very reliable.

Asil caught my expression and smiled faintly.

“They’ll have no choice. Without our help, they’ll be screwed too. I’ll stay outside and contact you when it’s time. Be ready.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

“...Don’t take what those jerks said to heart.”

The former detective hesitated, turning away as he spoke.

I looked at the senior avoiding my eyes, his face uncomfortable.

“They were angry at me, not you. You just got caught in it. Sorry.”

“Not at all. It didn’t bother me, sir.”

“Asil, you’re heading out soon, right?”

Bobby leaned in from the next seat, holding a bag of caramel popcorn from who-knows-where.

“When the cops contact you, tell us right away.”

Asil nodded. Ricardo, standing beside them, smoothly reached over and stole a handful of her popcorn.

Bobby giggled while swatting at him, and I glanced around at the swelling crowd.

The pounding EDM, the roar of countless voices, the glaring lights and sweeping lasers — it all pressed on my senses. The organizers, clearly mafia, stood at the edges of the stage overseeing everything. The sight made my skin crawl.

I just wanted this over with. I was tired.

Let the match start, let me witness the death of the one who had dared to draw a blade at Colton, and then let me face the Creature.

Creatures caught and caged in the mafia’s twisted way.

Beings humanity never tamed — yet those who still served the will of the Titans...

“High-school girl?”

Asil’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

“What’s a high-school girl doing here?”

The presence that stopped him in his tracks — and made even the other seniors pause mid-bite of their caramel popcorn — sat four seats away from me.

Wearing a neat school uniform.

And holding a luxurious opera glass in her hand.