“Gahhh!”

As I registered the slender object protruding from Rio’s chest, a vibrant red liquid spilled from her mouth—she was coughing up blood.

What had just happened? Until a moment ago, I hadn’t sensed anything unusual. Had a new enemy appeared?

“Damn it!”

Fury boiled within me as I watched her wounded state. My mind refused to think clearly.

I turned to see the cloaked figure, the one who had likely stabbed Rio. The man’s mouth curled into a twisted smirk under the shadow of his hood.

Was it this bastard? Did he stab Rio?

I recalled the moment I had shoved her aside. The flash of black clothing—it had to be him.

When the figure drew a dagger from his cloak and directed his murderous intent toward me, I was already moving.

Eliminate him immediately, then save Rio.

With my entire body coursing with mana, I lunged toward him. Closing the distance in a single leap, I aimed my palms upward, striking into his side.

He tried to block, but he was too slow. My palms connected with his ribs, and I unleashed a burst of wind magic—Air Hammer.

“Gaaaahhhh!”

The force sent him flying, his ribs crunching beneath my hands. Blood spurted from his mouth as his body was hurled off the road and into the bushes.

“Huh?”

The sound of his impact—landing somewhere dozens of meters away—finally snapped someone from a nearby adventurer party into speaking.

“Rio!”

Ignoring the murmurs, I rushed back to her side. Her upper body lay limp in a pool of blood, and her unfocused eyes stared into nothingness. She gurgled, tiny bubbles of blood foaming at her lips.

I carefully cradled her and pulled the blade from her back. With everything I had, I poured healing magic into her, layering it with antidote and status recovery spells.

“Sh-Shu…”

“Don’t talk!” I barked.

If the assassin was anything like the black-cloaked killers we’d encountered before, the blade had to be poisoned. Healing magic was my forte, honed through endless practice in the monster-filled Demon Forest. But poison? I’d only ever studied the theory.

I pushed those doubts aside, focusing entirely on visualizing her recovery. I imagined the wound knitting together, the toxins breaking apart, and her nerves sending clear signals to her limbs.

“Hang in there, Rio!” I called, keeping the spells flowing.

Her pale face slowly began to regain its color.

“Shu… I’m okay now…”

Her voice was faint but steady, and she weakly wrapped her arms around my neck.

“I’m okay, but… I was so scared…”

“It’s okay now. You’re safe!” I reassured her.

She trembled as I held her tightly, letting out a shaky breath. Though I didn’t stop the healing magic, I knew she’d pull through.

“I was so scared… Hic…!”

As Rio sobbed into my chest, I stroked her back, my gaze shifting to where I’d flung the assassin.

I couldn’t see him through the tall grass, but his presence was still faintly detectable. He wasn’t dead—yet.

Some of the adventurers from the queue had wandered off the road, presumably to check on him. They didn’t seem like accomplices, but I kept my guard up.

I let my guard down.

He’d hidden his murderous intent until the very last moment, blending seamlessly into the crowd. Unlike others I’d faced, he hadn’t masked his presence deliberately—he’d simply been invisible amidst the noise of daily life.

The thought made me sick. I had been so careless, leaving Rio vulnerable. I should have known she might be targeted too.

Damn it!

Anger surged—at myself, at him, at the world.

But most of all, at him. The assassin.

“Taku—Neguro Takuto!”

The face I’d glimpsed for a fleeting second as I struck him was unmistakable. A classmate.

I didn’t expect to encounter him so soon… and certainly not like this.

What had happened in the past four months? Why had he tried to kill us?

“Shu…”

“What is it?”

Rio’s trembling eased as she released her grip and looked up at me.

“Back then… is this how you felt?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“That time… when you were poisoned by those cloaked assassins.”

“Oh…”

The memory came rushing back—my body refusing to move, my senses fading away.

“Maybe… but I passed out quickly, so I didn’t have much time to be afraid.”

“I see…”

Her expression darkened with fury.

“But I can’t forgive them!”

“What?”

“I can’t forgive anyone who made you feel that way!”

I blinked in surprise.

“Uh… well, yeah. I can’t forgive anyone who hurt you either,” I admitted.

Her cheeks flushed at my words, and she gazed up at me with a soft expression. Rio was undeniably cute, her vulnerability making her all the more endearing.

Still, I felt relieved. Her recovery had been quicker than I’d expected—maybe the blade hadn’t been poisoned after all.

Reaching into my dimensional storage, I pulled out a towel, soaked it with water magic, and gently wiped the blood from her face.

As I leaned in to kiss her forehead, a cheer erupted from the crowd.

“Don’t think we’ll just keep taking hits. From here on, it’s our turn to strike back.”