“Are you alright?”
Dan Yeoun, who had been staring blankly up at the man, snapped back to her senses at his calm voice.
“Ah, yes. Thank y—”
As she quickly tried to thank him, the man grabbed her arm and helped her up.
Fortunately, her ankle throbbed but wasn’t seriously injured. Just as she managed to stand with his support—
“Is there a survivor here?”
Rescue personnel had arrived. A Hunter rushed over, spotted the man supporting Dan Yeoun, and recoiled in surprise.
“Ah, wait—are you Hunter Cover?”
“Yes. Please escort her somewhere safe.”
Cover’s reputation as someone who showed up at every disaster site to help fight was already well known, so the Hunter didn’t question it further and assisted with Dan Yeoun’s evacuation.
Dan Yeoun looked at Cover’s retreating figure and called out in surprise.
“Wait—aren’t you coming with us?”
“I have something else to do.”
“Something else...?”
Before she could stop him, Cover turned and disappeared into the thick black smoke without hesitation.
“This way, please. Watch your step.”
Even as she followed the Hunter, Dan Yeoun’s thoughts were tangled.
“Cover...?”
She’d heard plenty of stories about him.
An S-rank dealer who always wore a mask—his identity unknown.
People said the Association knew and let him act, that he was probably part of Yesung since he was close with Kwon Taehyuk. The rumors were endless, but no one knew the truth.
Given his history of helping resolve major incidents, it wasn’t strange for him to show up here.
It wasn’t strange, but...
“Hah...”
Dan Yeoun let out a bitter laugh.
“Same outfit as yours, Hunter Cha Seohu.”
Saved twice by the same person, she couldn’t stop thinking about how she was ever going to repay that debt.
Cover cut down a charging gremlin and quickly advanced toward the hotel.
Once he pierced through the smoke clouding his vision, the full extent of the battlefield came into view.
The shield meant to keep flying monsters contained had already been shattered by more than 50%, and the defense line established to protect the treatment facility had collapsed—leaving no trace.
Cover stared at the sky, where monsters swarmed like a plague, and then moved again, biting his lip.
He pulled a cloak from his inventory and draped it over himself as he scanned for survivors. His eyes locked onto a familiar face.
“...!”
Gasping in, he sprinted forward and reached out.
He pulled the figure from the blood-soaked dirt, where half their body had been buried.
Park Minhyuk’s face was pale, his eyes shut. Blood stained his lips, and the fabric around his abdomen was soaked through.
Cover touched the man’s belly—and his fingers came away bright red with blood.
“......”
He quietly looked down at the blood-stained man, then held his red-drenched hand beneath Park Minhyuk’s nose.
Thankfully, there was still a faint breath.
Trying to calm the surge of unstable emotion, Cover took a deep breath—and immediately activated his skill.
Fsshh!
Brilliant white light burst from both his hands.
The gaping wound beneath the bloodied clothes began to close, and Park Minhyuk coughed violently like a man pulled from water.
“Cough—! Haaack!”
Dark blood poured from his mouth, but color slowly returned to his face.
“Ugh...”
“Team Leader.”
Cover, now supporting him against the rubble, spoke calmly.
“This isn’t the time to rest.”
“Urgh... What...?”
“Get up.”
Cover gripped his shoulder firmly, urging him to focus—and stood first.
As Park Minhyuk opened his eyes at the familiar voice, he slowly raised his head.
“Hunter Cha Seohu...?”
That familiar cloak fluttered in the wind.
The figure turned and moved away. And just as Park Minhyuk noticed the golden hair—not black—Cover leapt forward, vanishing into the distance.
Massive bat-like wings flapped.
High in the air, the goat-headed monsters let out bubbling growls.
Those bloodshot eyes with horizontal pupils locked onto Cha Sahyeon.
Two had already been beheaded by Sahyeon’s blade as he soared through the sky, his black wings slicing across the battlefield.
The higher a monster’s grade—and the more humanoid it was—the more intelligent it became. When intelligence remained with primal instinct, that only fueled a stronger hunger for conquest and hatred toward those who resisted.
Krrrk, krrrk, krgh!
The remaining three howled in rage. Then, each flew in a different direction.
They moved to the tops of tall buildings, spreading out and howling in unison. One of them, perched atop the clock tower, opened its mouth.
Its long snout stretched grotesquely wide.
Flesh tore, fangs jutted out violently, and the maw kept opening—until a red glow lit up within.
“...!”
Cha Sahyeon, who had just stabbed his sword into the heart of the third goat-headed monster, snapped his head up.
A murderous aura pricked at his skin. He spotted the remaining three monsters on rooftops and twisted his body sharply.
A flash of circular red light shot forward like an arrow.
The beam pierced through Sahyeon’s black wing and blasted into the ground below.
KRA-KRAK!
The red ray split the ground open and exploded violently.
BOOM!
The thunderous roar echoed multiple times, shaking the entire area. The heat wave {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} reached high into the sky, and Hunters fighting gremlins below screamed in agony.
Fire burned in all directions. Monsters continued to pour out endlessly.
In that chaos, Kwon Taehyuk’s sword kept moving without pause.
At some point, the blade that had been killing monsters was now being used to save people.
The rifts were still wide open, monsters were still pouring down, and the number of Hunters at death’s door only grew by the minute.
Fighting monsters nonstop without a break was already overwhelming.
On top of that, these were A-rank flying gremlins. It was no wonder that many Hunters died before reinforcements could arrive.
“Huff...!”
He knew it wasn’t his fault.
Still—
His hand, braced against a wall, slid downward. A long smear of blood trailed behind it.
Kwon Taehyuk, who had tried to keep standing, collapsed at last. His sweat-soaked face gasped for breath.
Through his blurred vision, he stared straight ahead. Amid the shifting smoke, countless bodies lay scattered.
He couldn’t tell which ones could still be saved, or which were already corpses.
With a trembling hand, he gripped his bleeding shoulder.
Just as he’d cut down a gremlin lunging toward an unconscious Hunter, a red beam from the sky had pierced through his shoulder. It happened in an instant.
It barely missed his heart, but even that single hit had blown his shoulder apart. The only reason he didn’t die from shock was because he was S-rank.
To make things worse, blood from a wound on his forehead—he didn’t even remember when he got it—streamed into his eyes, blinding him.
Kwon Taehyuk exhaled with a breath so faint it was barely audible.
He didn’t know how long he sat there.
Eventually, footsteps approached.
He instinctively gripped his sword hilt, thinking it was a monster—only to spot human legs and ease his grip.
The person stopped and knelt before him, meeting his eyes.
Golden hair, slightly tousled. A mask concealing his face.
Recognizing Cover, Kwon Taehyuk felt genuine relief.
He was a skilled S-rank dealer. With his help, more people would survive—even if Kwon Taehyuk himself had no hope left.
He wanted to say, Take care of them, but couldn’t move his lips. His black eyes, filled with urgency, stared at Cover.
Cover did not look away. He reached out.
His bloodstained hand gently brushed Taehyuk’s cheek, then moved to the shoulder that had been blown away.
And from his palm, a warm, radiant light burst forth.
The shredded flesh on Taehyuk’s shoulder began to regrow. Strength returned to his body. The demon-type poison that had been stifling his breath was completely purified.
Kwon Taehyuk’s eyes widened as he felt the change in his body.
“H-How...?”
He finally managed to speak, his voice trembling with disbelief.
Cover, having fully healed him, stood again—and slowly removed his mask.
For the first time, the face hidden behind it was revealed.
A bitter smile on a familiar face.
Cover tossed the mask aside and reached out his hand.
Kwon Taehyuk stared at him—then at the hand offered to him—and after a long moment, finally took it.
Cover’s lips curled up slightly more as he gently pulled Kwon Taehyuk to his feet.

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