WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
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◈ Black Badger ◈
Chapter 88: Colosseum (4)
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The others grasped the situation quickly.
Ricardo looked down at the back of his hand and cursed in a language I did not know. I could not understand it, but it was definitely a curse.
Asil looked at the back of his hand too, his eyes widening.
Bobby panicked as she stared at hers.
“Huh?”
As though she could not believe she was still bleeding, she frantically wiped the blood away with her hand.
“Huh? Why isn’t it healing? Huh?”
“Damn it....”
Ricardo rolled his eyes upward.
He looked up at the sky, suppressing his anger, then clenched and unclenched the hand beaded with blood.
“All my strength is gone.... We got taken without a chance....”
“You have reverted to an ordinary body, but you are otherwise all right, correct?”
“You were not even hit by a drug round, and it still drained that much strength from you?”
Bobby looked at Ricardo, her face pale.
Nobody answered my question. Asil’s face had gone rigid too.
Everyone had been shocked by this unexpected situation. A heavy mood settled over the even more deserted area.
Bobby broke the atmosphere of shock and anger.
“There is no way the mafia could have Green Dream that powerful!”
Apparently, some Green Dream was more effective than others.
The male seniors did not answer, their brows furrowed. Watching them reel from the shock, I frowned slightly. Naturally, Marie, who had personally handed us the corn dogs just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.
But that was no longer important. Honestly, I did not care where Marie was right now. I did not know who she was or why she had done this, but we needed to stop worrying about that and figure out what to do.
Should we report this?
The moment I thought that, Asil pulled out his phone.
“I will report this to headquarters.”
But things did not go smoothly.
My senior had not adjusted to the change in his grip strength. Even taking out the phone and using it took time.
Watching Asil tap the screen far too gently, I put my hand in my pocket.
“Senior, I’ll call.”
“You’re fine?”
Bobby stared at me with round eyes.
“Why are you fine?”
Bang!
As I turned my head to answer with my phone in hand, the phone was shot to pieces at the same time.
It shattered, scattering fragments across the ground.
“What?”
“Oh my God!”
The bullet that had destroyed my phone flew into the ground.
Bobby, who had nearly had the top of her foot pierced, screamed and stepped back.
“What is this now?”
The answer came quickly.
People who were clearly mafia members emerged from behind the food truck, walking toward us with guns raised. They approached with weapons in hand and surrounded us in a circle.
The pistols and knives in their hands reflected the lights.
Ha....
This was completely screwed.
Those without weapons were filming the situation with phones in hand.
Ricardo let out a deep sigh and put his hands in his pockets.
“Are you having a good evening?”
The mafia pressed gun barrels to our temples.
The cold metal touched my temple. Without moving, I only narrowed my eyes.
My seniors stood still too, their eyes rolling as they took in the situation.
Ricardo radiated irritation from every inch of his body. Asil surveyed the situation with coldly furious eyes. Bobby was a little stiff, but she held her chin high and looked down at the mafia.
The criminals grinned triumphantly at them.
My eyes darted around before settling on the phones in their hands.
We had been played.
I could not see a way out right now. Green Dream did not seem to work properly on me, but gun barrels were pressed to the heads of my seniors, who had become ordinary people.... I could not move rashly. There were not one but three hostages.
And there were the videos.
They were probably trying to use the fact that Black Badger could never lay a hand on civilians.
Whose plan was this?
Who had devised such a thorough plan to corner us like this?
The moment I sharpened my senses to find the answer, a voice rang out.
“It’s good to see everyone again after so long.”
The voice was full of satisfaction.
My seniors and I looked toward the sound. A man was leisurely walking out of the building where the matches were being held.
He looked like an operations leader.
Shoulder-length curly hair, both hands shoved into his pockets, lazy steps.
He walked through the subordinates aiming guns at Ricardo and Asil’s heads.
Then he smiled wider at my seniors, who were looking at him with cold eyes.
“Sordi, Pisker, and Winter. None of you three have changed a bit since the last time I saw you.”
“Mick.”
Asil spoke in a voice holding down his anger.
“What the hell is this?”
Mick’s smile brightened.
The man smiled cheerfully.
Mick raised both arms in the air.
“The plot to put you in the arena is succeeding!”
Things just kept getting worse.
My seniors’ faces twisted as they understood his words. Mine twisted too. It was not hard to understand. Had we not been watching matches only minutes ago?
Ricardo let out a long sigh.
“Doing something this stupid....”
“Why is this stupid? The audience will definitely go wild!”
Mick seemed excited.
“The arena will be hotter than ever! The Badgers who always crack down on these matches alongside the police will stand in the arena! And after returning to ordinary bodies! What a provocative setup! We’ll make a fortune!”
“Come to think of it, where are the police?”
Bobby suddenly spoke at Mick’s words as he stomped his feet.
Her eyes widened as she swept her gaze over the empty wilderness.
“Where did all the police go?”
Were they in on it?
Or had they been caught in this plan, just as we had?
Asil and Bobby searched frantically for the police.
The mafia burst into laughter at the sight.
Their mocking laughter echoed through the bleak wilderness.
Ricardo stood perfectly still, only looking up at the sky. Beside him, Asil and Bobby went rigid with anger.
Mick, who had been watching them, raised both arms again.
He declared in a fake voice.
“The police withdrew on orders from above!”
The flashy piercings on Mick’s ears made a loud clatter.
“A young police officer came to deliver those orders!”
I saw Asil’s body stiffen.
His blue eyes widened. The emotion in them changed from surprise to suspicion, then anger. It was an oddly excessive reaction.
He seemed to have reacted to the words “young police officer.”
Why did those words provoke him so much?
Of course, now was not the time to dwell on that question.
Especially since the woman aiming at my temple broke the silence sharply.
“Mick. Green Dream did not work properly on this one.”
Mick froze with his bright smile still on his face.
I quietly met the eyes that slowly turned toward me.
Both held twisted values and cruelty.
Mick stared at me with his smile frozen in place.
“Why?”
“How should I know? I’m telling you, Green Dream did not work properly on this one.”
After answering, the woman took out a knife with the hand not holding the gun.
It was a short jackknife. She skillfully unfolded the blade and cut my forearm.
“Look.”
Red blood flowed from the path of the blade.
Everyone’s gaze flew to my forearm. My seniors rolled their eyes to check it too. Blood trickled from the wound before it slowly began to heal.
The wound healed more slowly than a Badger’s wound, but far faster than an ordinary person’s.
Mick’s smile disappeared.
“You’re right.”
He lowered both arms, which had been raised in the air.
“Why is that? Did it not get the proper dose of Green Dream?”
“No. You said that Green Dream was incredibly potent. That it would work like a drug round as soon as it pierced the skin.”
The woman put the knife away as she argued back.
“It’s not a matter of dosage. She must have been stupid enough to inject only this one with less.”
“Fuck. Is there any more?”
Mick muttered without taking his eyes off my arm.
“Did she leave any behind?”
Who was he talking about?
Marie? Narrowing my eyes, I thought of the person I had pushed to one corner of my mind. The high school girl with bizarre tastes. The one who had injected us with Green Dream.
I had thought she was working with them, but judging by the way they spoke, apparently not.
The woman answered irritably.
“No.”
“Hmm! Fuck! Then what do we do?”
Mick cursed crudely as he muttered to himself.
I watched him rake his hands through his black hair before shrugging with an irritated motion.
“Should we pump him full of drugs?”
There was still no opening.
The mafia showed no sign of removing the guns aimed at my seniors’ temples. They did not seem to be trying to kill us immediately, so we would have to find a solution on the way to the arena.
I thought things over while half-listening to Mick argue with the mafia.
They would send my seniors, now ordinary people, into the arena to fight creatures. We would probably take that elevator up and be dragged to where the illegal implant recipients were being held. Would there not be an opening to strike back during that process? As the situation kept changing and their guard loosened somewhat.
That would be the time to....
“All right! Bring lots of drugs!”
“Can’t we just kill that bastard?”
Mick finally made a decision and ordered his subordinate. Then a mafia member holding a phone spoke up.
Everyone turned.
I looked at the hollow-eyed man pointing at Ricardo.
“Holiday was captured because of that bastard.”
Ricardo raised one eyebrow.
My senior soon gave a long smile. Looking directly at the man pointing at him, he sneered with open contempt.
My stomach dropped.
Senior. We are one wrong move away from dying, so please do not make a face that provokes them.
The hollow-eyed man did get worked up.
“He’s going to die anyway, so let’s kill him ourselves right now!”
“Hmm.”
Mick stroked his chin with a thoughtful expression.
“Should we?”
Asil and Bobby whipped their heads around.
Fear filled their eyes as they stared at Mick. In contrast, cruel excitement flashed in the eyes of the man who had pointed at Ricardo and the mafia around him.
In the middle of it all, Ricardo only blinked with a calm expression.
But before Mick could give the order, before Bobby and Asil could open their mouths to shout something, I spoke first.
I said calmly.
“No.”
Everyone turned to look at me.
“If you kill Ricardo, I’ll kill you too.”
Everything froze.
Silence fell. Heavy silence born from shock.
Everyone stopped moving and stared at me stupidly. Their eyes were all wide. The man pointing at Ricardo, Mick, Asil, and Bobby.
Even Ricardo Sordi himself.
I ignored the surprise in Ricardo’s green eyes.
“I’ll kill everyone here and bury them in the ground with the phones. So don’t pull the trigger for no reason.”
“Have you ever killed someone?”
Mick asked back.
There was warped confidence in the way he stood with both hands shoved into his pockets.
“You think you could kill all these people and keep your mind intact?”
To kill my friend, I had even handed my sword to a human.
Would something like that shake my mind? I had done far worse and still lived normally. I was trash. I did not give voice to the thoughts that rose up inside me.
Instead, I gave a short laugh, ignoring the woman whose hand, now faintly afraid, gripped the back of my neck.
Ignoring my seniors, who stared at me with startled, rabbit-like eyes.
After stopping my brief laugh, I looked at Mick again.
I smiled faintly at him.
“Would killing an enemy wreck my mind?”
For the first time, fear appeared in Mick’s eyes.
I could feel the mafia members around us stiffen in fear too.
If there had been only one hostage, this would have been the perfect time. It was regrettable that I could not move with three hostages.
Hiding my small lament, I drove in the final nail.
“Mick. Don’t pull the trigger. It will only bring ruin to both sides.”
A mafia member raised a palm to show agreement with my words.
In the end, my seniors were taken to the waiting area where the illegal implant recipients were being held and locked up there. They had lost their strength, but they were not injured.
With one hand and one foot cuffed.
They were thrown behind bars with a mocking order to wait their turn. Still, that was fortunate. It was the best outcome we could have pulled from that situation.
The moment I confirmed the mafia had left, I let go of my hold on consciousness.
Staying conscious after being injected with such potent drugs was torture. I felt nauseous. Dizzy. Everything was far too loud....
Sleepy....
Darkness soon swallowed my mind.
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