Chapter 577: Creature Research Lab (1)

I need to separate them.

That was the first thought that crossed my mind the moment the father and son saw each other.

Of course, I still hoped the relationship between Yehyeon and Lee Seunghyun would soften. I hadn’t given up on that hope, and I still occasionally asked Seunghyun about counseling.

But that was one thing, and this was another.

The fact that both of their expressions twisted almost simultaneously was already a bad sign.

“Alright.”

Before either of them could say anything, I stepped between them and blocked their line of sight.

With my back to Seunghyun, I looked at Yehyeon.

“Let’s get out of here first and talk.”

“What business do you have here with that man?”

Before I could even finish, Yehyeon fired off a question.

He wasn’t looking at me, but at Lee Seunghyun behind me.

His voice was sharp.

“Did Spitfire call you?”

I swallowed the urge to sigh.

“Yeah. Said he had something to tell me, so I just came along. But first, let’s get out of here, Yehyeon. I don’t know why you’re here alone, but—”

“I’m not alone.”

...What?

There was no one in sight.

I turned my head and scanned the surroundings, sharpening my senses, but I couldn’t feel any presence.

Don’t tell me someone’s buried under the rubble?

“They’re inside the lab. Hilde, did you go into the main building?”

“No. I was waiting in the visitor lounge next to it.”

“The door leading underground has been sealed.”

Yehyeon explained in a gloomy voice.

Even then, his gaze stayed fixed on Seunghyun.

“I was in the main lobby, so I wasn’t trapped. There’s a sample zone underground where they raise Creatures and store carcasses. Since there are live Creatures, there’s a containment door that completely isolates the sample zone from the outside. That door has been shut.”

“Who’s inside?”

Ska should be at work.

Ami had said earlier she was going to a pop-up store with Yun. They were supposed to have an early dinner and do some shopping afterward, so she wouldn’t be with Yehyeon.

But Yehyeon had called Kairos earlier.

When did he come here?

“Black.”

As I retraced the timeline, Yehyeon gave the answer.

“He’s inside.”

I drew in a sharp breath.

“Did the interior collapse too?”

The rookie Elder had destroyed the outer walls of the lab.

It looked like explosives had been planted at intervals along the wall. But everything inside had remained intact. The visitor lounge, the parking structure, the main building—all fine. So I had stepped out to clear the debris with a relatively light heart.

From the moment Yehyeon mentioned Jack Black, he had been watching me.

“It didn’t collapse, but the containment door won’t open.”

“Kai... Jack Black is behind that door?”

“Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to be injured.”

Yehyeon took out his phone and looked down at it.

After staring at the screen with a slight crease in his brow, he looked up.

“Communication is still possible.”

I immediately made the call.

I still didn’t have a full grasp of the situation. But I knew the connection could be cut at any moment.

Fortunately, Kairos picked up before that happened.

[Hilde. Sorry, but right now—]

“You’re in the sample zone of the Creature Research Lab.”

I cut him off.

There was a brief silence, as if he was surprised.

But he was someone with instincts as sharp as Ricardo’s—sometimes even sharper.

The summoner asked calmly,

[Did the Commander contact you?]

“I heard it directly. I was in the visitor lounge.”

[Ah.]

There was a faint trace of amusement in his short response, though I couldn’t tell why.

[I see.]

“Are you hurt?”

[I’m fine.]

“Answer exactly. You didn’t hit your head or anything?”

[Got lucky. But I doubt the Creatures in the sample zone stayed peacefully in their cages.]

I closed my eyes for a moment.

I didn’t let out a long sigh.

“Anything you can summon?”

[There aren’t many from my homeland here.]

That was the answer I expected, but it still twisted my stomach.

I moved my free hand to my sword.

“I’m coming to get you. Hide somewhere. Your weapon?”

[I didn’t bring one. But I came with Milk.]

So he could turn invisible.

I let out a quiet breath of relief.

“Stay hidden from now on. Call immediately if anything happens.”

It would be better not to make unnecessary noise.

The moment Kairos gave a brief confirmation, I ended the call.

What kind of mess is this, the day right after returning from a mission?

Though, to be fair, even that mission had been strange from the start.

Either way... we need to push in.

Just as I turned toward the main building, Seunghyun’s voice came from behind me.

“There’s an underground passage leading there.”

I spun around.

Lee Seunghyun had already drawn his pistol.

“If we go down the central staircase through the main lobby, things will get complicated. The moment we force the containment door open, sleeping gas will be deployed across the entire facility. But the back entrance connected to the underground passage has no additional security measures.”

“We’ll talk while moving.”

I had no intention of wasting time standing around.

Seunghyun didn’t argue. He turned and headed toward the visitor lounge.

“I’ll come too.”

Yehyeon followed.

It wasn’t me who responded.

“You’ll just get in the way.”

“You always think that, don’t you?”

I was a little surprised at Yehyeon’s sharp retort.

But Seunghyun didn’t seem surprised at all—he didn’t even turn around.

“Black is my subordinate.”

“You’re the one who brought him.”

“That’s why I’m going.”

“Has retirement dulled your instincts?”

Seunghyun still didn’t look back.

“You’re bringing a regular Badger into an Elder’s territory?”

A vein rose on Yehyeon’s temple.

I tried to intervene, but Yehyeon was faster.

“You’re the one who failed to keep your subordinate Elders in check.”

His tone was cold—the same one he used when he was Supreme Commander.

“You’ve got Falcon and Sukhoi’s limbs right under your nose, and this is the best you can do? Especially against some green brat.”

“Seunghyun. Unless the passage is too narrow, it’s better if all three of us go.”

I cut in quietly.

The argument paused for a moment.

I didn’t miss the chance.

“Let’s move.”

We needed to get Kairos out first. Everything else could come after.

That was my judgment.

Separating them would stop the argument, sure—but it would also drastically reduce our combat strength.

Three people were far better than one or two.

It might not be an extremely dangerous situation... but you never knew how things would turn.

We still didn’t know what kind of trap the Elder had prepared.

In situations like this, the more cautious you were, the better.

I’d talk to Yehyeon separately tomorrow.

“Is the entrance far?”

Maybe because I had cut them off earlier, the argument didn’t resume.

Yehyeon followed behind me quietly, his expression unreadable.

The entrance to the underground passage appeared when we opened the storage door in the visitor lounge.

It hadn’t been used in a long time. The moment it opened, dust and the stale smell of underground air spilled out.

We climbed down a ladder without speaking.

Only after we started walking # Nоvеlight # through the passage did I speak.

“Anything I should know? I don’t fully understand the situation yet.”

“It’s a lab Falcon used.”

Seunghyun answered briefly.

We didn’t stop walking.

He led the way, I followed in the middle, Yehyeon at the rear.

“After the war, Erhart took it over. Falcon seems to have gathered Creatures with unusual traits here. He’s already benefited greatly from that kind of thing.”

So... Jaeyeon.

Colton had already kept Jaeyeon by his side even before I arrived here. And he had climbed the ladder of power by using him to the fullest.

So of course he would’ve collected Creatures from other worlds.

Especially with how many strange entities had been appearing recently.

That must be why Yehyeon and Kairos came here.

Kairos had mentioned being busy because of this phenomenon before.

“Dangerous specimens?”

“There are some highly aggressive ones. But the more dangerous ones are those whose abilities we don’t understand.”

“I’ll go first.”

Yehyeon suddenly spoke up.

“I’ve been coming here often recently. I’ve at least identified the core specimens.”

“Don’t act proud for doing the basics.”

Seunghyun cut him off immediately.

He didn’t stop, didn’t turn.

I was about to say something—

but Yehyeon beat me to it.

“At least I did the basics. Monitoring subordinate Elders is the duty of their handlers, isn’t it?”

“Hey.”

The moment I saw Seunghyun start to turn his head with a frown, I quickly seized the chance to interrupt.

This wasn’t as bad as Yun and Seunghyun.

But the relationship between this father and son was far longer and more complicated.

If I didn’t step in, something would definitely break.

With Yun and Seunghyun, at least I could imagine what that “break” would look like.

Probably the tunnel collapsing, blood flying—something along those lines.

But between Yehyeon and Seunghyun... I couldn’t even picture it.

That made it worse.

I looked at the two pairs of black eyes staring at me and spoke.

“Sorry, but I’m taking command for now.”

Neither of them objected.

But they didn’t stop glaring at each other either.

The hostility was so sharp it felt like it was scraping against my skin.

I forced myself not to sigh.

“Who knows the layout of the sample zone?”

“I know all of it.”

“Certainly better than someone who didn’t even know this passage existed.”

“Seunghyun, you take point.”

I should really tell him to fix the way he talks.

But if I started that now, it would only complicate things, slow us down, or start another argument.

They must have faced each other plenty during Elder meetings.

Since nothing had exploded back then, they were probably used to working while being aware of each other’s presence.

“...Feels like I should apologize.”

After restoring order, I muttered as we continued walking.

“If my body were in perfect condition, I could’ve just sent you both back and gone in alone.”

Honestly... I should’ve just had Kairos drop the presence concealment from the start.

That would’ve made everything much simpler.

I’ll tell him to lift it as soon as we meet.

From behind me, Yehyeon spoke gloomily.

“No... I’m sorry, Hilde. I was the one who brought Black here. This is my responsibility.”

“Did Kai just linger too long in the sample zone?”

Yehyeon wasn’t the type of leader who said, “I’ll stay here, you go check it out.”

A brief silence followed.

Looks like I was right.

“I knew he had a strong interest in unusual lifeforms...”

After a pause, Yehyeon continued.

“He said he’d just check the last specimen...”

“...Sorry.”

This time, I apologized.

I could more or less guess what had happened.

“Well, it should be fine. He’s with Milk, so he’s probably invisible. And it’s not like he can’t fight.”

“He’s actually quite good.”

Yehyeon admitted.

“Honestly... at this point, he’s an employee we absolutely cannot afford to lose as a Black Badger.”

He fell silent again.

Then suddenly muttered in irritation,

“Why didn’t Erhart detect the bombs in a lab he took over? Was Spitfire always this sloppy?”

Seunghyun stopped walking.

Standing between them, I found myself thinking—

Should I send one of them back now?