The night had already drawn its curtain over the city when Riko sat in the back seat of the taxi, with Hana beside him.
A quiet silence filled the vehicle, broken only by the sound of the engine and the reflection of streetlights on the glass.
Suddenly, Hana leaned her head on his shoulder again.
Riko looked at her calmly… and found her fast asleep, her breathing steady and her features relaxed.
'She was overcome by sleep.'
He lowered his gaze for a moment, then his eyes narrowed slightly.
'But sleeping in front of men is dangerous.'
His expression hardened.
'Is she always like this? Letting her guard down in front of any man?'
A brief silence passed through his mind before he exhaled quietly.
'Anyway… I will protect her. She is a girl… and my fiancée.'
His thoughts drifted to another matter.
'Tomorrow I have to go on a mission. I must increase my level… and bring money to pay the house owner's rent.'
He slowly raised his hand and gently patted her hair, carefully so he wouldn't wake her.
'I promise I will protect you… no matter the cost.'
The taxi stopped in front of Hana's villa.
Riko raised his head slightly and said to the driver,
"How much is the fare?"
The man replied through the mirror,
"Eight thousand won."
Riko took out the money and paid without arguing, then turned to Hana and gently shook her shoulder.
"Wake up… we've arrived."
She slowly opened her eyes, her voice coming out in a whisper,
"Riko…?"
He nodded to her, then stepped out first and helped her out of the car.
He entered the villa with her to make sure she was safe. The place was noticeably quiet.
He paused for a moment in the hall, his eyes scanning the area.
'Why aren't her uncles here? Nor her uncle's wife?'
His face darkened slightly.
'It's dangerous to leave a girl alone in a large house like this.'
Then he exhaled slowly.
'Perhaps they are asleep… I don't know.'
He escorted her inside, exchanged a few short farewell words with her, then turned and left the villa.
As soon as he walked a few steps away from the house, something in his expression changed.
His features went still, and his eyes suddenly glowed with a faint red aura.
'Is it time… to hunt some insects?'
The neighborhood where Hana lived was drowned in silence. The streets were nearly empty, and the houses were dark. Midnight had arrived, and people were asleep.
Not far from there…
A young woman was trying to escape the grip of a man who held her hand tightly.
He said in a disgusting voice,
"Let's have a little fun, beautiful."
The girl screamed, trying to break free, but his grip tightened.
Suddenly—
A fist appeared as fast as lightning.
One strike.
The man crashed onto the ground after being sent flying a long distance, his body rolling over the asphalt before becoming motionless.
Riko stood in place, staring at the man lying far away.
'What…? Did I overdo it a little?'
The girl looked up at him, her voice trembling.
"W-who are you?"
He didn't look at her for long. His eyes were still shining with that faint red glow.
He said in a cold voice,
"Go home. I can't guarantee I'll protect you again."
She hesitated for a moment, then ran away without looking back.
As for Riko…
In the next moment, his presence vanished from the street as if he had never been there.
"Hmm… I wonder what I should choose?"
"Which mission will I accept?"
Riko was sitting on the sofa in his house in the morning, slowly browsing through his phone, searching among the announcements for a suitable mission.
'I want a C-rank gate mission.'
'Right… a hunter cannot choose a mission higher than his rank.'
'This is allowed only in one case.'
'Your team must be the same rank as the gate or one rank higher.'
Riko found a C-rank gate mission that required clearing the gate and extracting monster cores.
He calmly pressed the screen.
"Alright… I accepted it. I will go to the mission in two hours."
In the Sol family mansion…
Inside Sato's room, the young man was lying on his bed after leaving the hospital just one day ago, while his father stood beside him.
Sato said in a low voice,
"Father… I want you to kill Hana only."
"As I told you… this person is not ordinary."
"I only want you to take Hana's soul."
Father Park laughed with cold sarcasm.
"No… I will kill him and Hana as well."
"I cannot allow someone who almost killed my son to remain alive."
Sato quickly said,
"I don't advise you to do that, father… after all, Riko is not an ordinary person."
The father replied without hesitation,
"Just rest, my son. I will kill them both."
"I will kill them soon."
In an abandoned company building in the middle of the city…
The gate of the accepted mission was there.
Riko arrived at the abandoned building, then entered quietly.
He found three people inside, and among them was a familiar face.
Yes… it was Ryu Myoung.
Ryu waved his hand with a smile.
"Hello, Riko."
Riko approached him.
"How are you, Ryu?"
"Good."
Riko said calmly,
"It seems fate brings us together again."
One of the men stepped toward Riko and said,
"I am Kang Min. Nice to meet you."
He extended his hand toward Riko.
Riko shook it and said,
"My name is Riko. Nice to meet you too."
Then the second man stepped forward and said,
"I am Do Hyun. Nice to meet you."
Riko shook his hand as well.
"Nice to meet you too."
After that, Kang and Hyun got to know Ryu.
Riko said,
"Let's go… let's enter the gate."
The four of them stepped forward calmly and entered the gate together.
As soon as they crossed the threshold, they found themselves inside a dense forest.
Riko observed the place for a moment.
'This place… brings back memories.'
The four advanced slowly through the forest, heading to clear the gate and complete the mission.
Silence surrounded the tall trees, as if the forest itself was watching their steps… waiting for what would happen.
The four — Kang Min, Do Hyun, Ryu, and Riko — entered deeper into the gate, and soon the dense forest trees surrounded them from all sides. The air was humid, and the ground was covered with decaying leaves that made a faint sound beneath their feet.
Riko walked beside Ryu, behind Kang Min and Do Hyun.
Ryu said while observing the trees,
"This place looks like the forests of our world… doesn't it, Riko?"
Riko replied calmly,
"Yes."
Then he continued in his mind,
'But it's not my first experience in a gate like this.'
The four continued walking carefully until the silence of the forest was pierced by a sharp sound.
A goblin's voice.
They exchanged glances, then quickly rushed toward the source of the sound.
When they arrived, they froze for a moment.
Thirty goblins… lined up in front of them, as if they had been waiting.
'It seems they have some level of intelligence.'
Not even a second passed before the goblins rushed toward them in a collective attack.
Their sharp screams rose, and their primitive weapons gleamed under the dim light.
Ryu, Do Hyun, and Kang Min stepped forward and clashed with the first wave of goblins. Swords fell, and the clash of metal cut through the air.
As for Riko, he remained in the back… watching.
He smiled with confidence.
'They're busy… now is the time.'
He summoned his two daggers, which appeared in his hands with a cold gleam.
Then—
His trace disappeared from where he stood.
In the next moment, he had already plunged into the middle of ten goblins at once.
He moved like a black shadow among their bodies.
First strike — it slit one's throat, warm blood flowing into the air.
Second strike — it cut off an arm before its owner could scream.
He spun his body smoothly, his daggers drawing deadly arcs.
In the blink of an eye, the ten bodies turned into scattered pieces on the ground, blood flowing between the roots.
Eleven goblins remained fighting the other three.
Riko joined them without a word.
He disappeared again—
And appeared behind five goblins.
They felt nothing but a fleeting pain before their heads separated from their bodies and fell to the ground with a heavy roll.
On the other side, Ryu and Do Hyun were fighting with their swords, wearing heavy armor, while Kang Min held a single dagger.
But suddenly—
Kang's body vanished from sight.
A complete disappearance.
The screams of the last six goblins rose into the air, their bodies being torn apart one after another, as if a ghost was slaughtering them in the darkness.
Only seconds passed… and they all fell to pieces.
Kang Min appeared in front of Ryu and Do Hyun, who were looking at him with obvious shock.
As for Riko, he stood calmly as if he had done nothing noteworthy.
'It seems they didn't notice that I killed most of them.'
The four continued walking between the trees.
Kang Min stole glances at Riko without the latter noticing.
'This Riko… does he enjoy killing like I do?'
'I saw him using two daggers… does that mean he is stronger than me?'
'I don't understand.'
'It's the first time I've seen someone like me fight with two daggers.'
'When I use two daggers I can't focus… so why can he?'
They continued advancing while faint rays of light filtered through the branches above them.
Suddenly—
Five wolves emerged from between the trees, their fangs exposed and their eyes glowing with hunger.
Kang vanished at the same moment and appeared behind four of them.
His dagger flashed.
The four fell before they could howl.
The fifth wolf stepped back in fear… then turned and ran away.
Do Hyun said in shock,
"Do monsters feel fear like humans?"
Riko answered calmly,
"It's not that. It seems it went to inform the pack about us… and most likely the pack leader will appear soon."
The moment he finished his words—
The ground shook beneath their feet.
Thirty wolves emerged from the trees at once, and behind them was a huge wolf larger than the rest, its eyes shining with intelligence and hostility.
Riko said while staring at it,
"It seems the one in the back is the pack leader."
The four rushed toward the pack without hesitation.
Riko moved among the wolves like a black storm.
He lowered his body under the claws of one, then slit its belly upward with a rising dagger, its entrails spilling onto the ground.
He spun behind another and stabbed his dagger into its neck until the blade came out the other side, then violently pulled it out, sending blood spraying like a dark fountain.
A third wolf jumped at him, and he met it with a direct stab to its lower jaw that pierced its skull and threw it to the ground motionless.
On the other side, Kang was slaughtering in deadly silence.
He appeared behind a wolf — cut the tendon of its leg — it fell — then he slid his dagger across its neck with a clean motion.
Screams, howls, and blood staining the grass.
Meanwhile, Ryu and Do Hyun were clearly struggling against five wolves, their experience still limited.
Within minutes—
The howls died out.
All the wolves had fallen… and only the pack leader remained.
It stood before them while the corpses of its pack surrounded the area.
Its eyes moved between them… with intelligence and hostility.
Riko said in his mind,
'It seems this wolf is dangerous.'
[Pack Leader — Rank C]
'But… it is not the gate boss.'
End of Chapter (14)