Chapter 2 - The Map

The day went by so fast, and evening came.

Riko focused on reading the map at the study table. He studied each strange drawing on the old skin.

"Is this really the map? After a good look, this area was similar to the forest I would visit later. But is it possible that they live there?"

Riko was a little worried. Sometimes he doubted the existence of this strange creature.

"Did I hallucinate then, so I saw the culprit like a spider man because he was sleepy?" Noe Riko's feelings are like a net being tossed about amid the ferocious onslaught of the sea.

For Riko, the creature seems to exist and does not exist.

"Ck! What should I believe? My search for decades has never yielded results. I'm confused." Riko grabbed his hair in frustration.

Hatred and despair battle and destroy Riko's feelings. His brain and heart are never in sync. Sometimes his brain told him to stop, but his heart forced him to keep looking.

"Tomorrow, I will have to check for myself. If I don't find anything, I'm forced to stop and keep this hatred deep inside."

Riko folded his arms on the table, buried his face in his folded hands, and tried to sink into a dream.

 ∆∆∆

"Don't take the kid! Now that child is mine!"

The five-year-old little boy soon woke up from a beautiful dream. "Whose voice is it?" he muttered innocently.

"He is the son of the King of Morwen! You are only assigned to take care of him until he grows up! However, you instead snatched the baby and took him away!"

Riko caught the faint sound of a foreign man from outside his room. Although still sleeping, he got up and went outside.

"I want the kid to live happily! I don't want the child to suffer the same fate as his father! Am I wrong?"

"Of course! I regard your negligence as a betrayal of the kingdom Pyloruf!"

Arthur's eyes widened. "So you are…!"

Riko frowned in surprise.

'Who are you talking to? Why so angry?!' Riko thought, confused.

"You're right! Therefore you must die!" The four-legged creature spits out a web that entangles Arthur and his wife.

Riko walked limply down the stairs while rubbing her eyes. "Daddy, Mommy, what happened?" he called hoarsely.

Arriving in front of his parent's room, Riko found a dark blue light bursting through the gap in the door.

Out of curiosity, the five-year-old boy pushed the door slowly open.

His eyes widened when he saw a monster biting the necks of his mother and father.  

Riko gaped in shock until he froze in place. He didn't have time to scream and even forgot how to breathe when he witnessed that terrible moment.

After being satisfied with killing them, the spider-legged monster on its back hastily escaped through the window by crawling.

It took a few minutes for Riko to regain his senses and convince himself that everything wasn't a bad dream at night.

"Mommy! Daddy!" The boy ran and knelt beside the bodies of his two parents, wailing hysterically.

"Daddy! Mommy! Get up! Do not leave me!" Riko shook Arthur and Marie's lifeless bodies. Both died in a pool of their blood.

Amidst the wailing, mysterious footsteps sounded from behind Riko. The boy's body stiffened, and his breath hitched.

The air of someone approaching was so strong that the hairs on his neck prickled. With minimal guts, he turned and found a big man about to attack him.

 "AHHHH!" Riko screamed loudly.

 ∆∆∆

"Noooo!" Riko gasped in surprise when he woke up from his nightmare. He immediately surveyed his surroundings with apprehension. His breath was panting like he was running tens of kilometers.

Again, the nightmare of that night's tragedy came back to terrorize him.

The young man hurriedly took medicine from the desk drawer and chewed it without drinking. That was the impact of prolonged trauma that caused him to suffer from an anxiety recorder.

"Calm down, Riko. Calm down… it was all just a dream." Riko trying to subside the panic that suddenly attacks him.

When it calmed down, Riko stared at the open apartment window. Either he should have closed. He moved to approach it, then looked around for the hideous figure but found no one.

"If I hadn't slept then, maybe I could have prevented the monster from killing my daddy and mother!" Riko cursed herself while looking at the city's beauty from the 25th floor.

Even though the city looks beautiful and charming, that can't cheer Riko's heart.

 ∆∆∆

The next morning.

Before going to campus, Riko took the time to visit the police station. An annoyed look greeted Riko's arrival. However, the young man smiled awkwardly at everyone passing by while holding back his embarrassment. They must be so sick of it.

 "Excuse me, Sir. May I -"

"Why do you never get tired of bothering us?! All the cops here are busy! Get out, hurry up!" snapped Rudolf.

"But I have to meet captain Calvin. Just a moment."

"How many times do I have to say that your parents were killed by an assassin, not by a strange creature like your fantasy, you idiot!"

Riko lowered sadly. "But I witnessed it, Sir. I beg you to return to investigate the death of my parents. I want the culprit to be caught."

"So you want me and all the police to transform like superheroes and then fight those monsters using laser beams like in the movies?!"

Riko was not offended. "I want to know the real culprit. Am I wrong? Because I'm sure, the killer of my parents is a creature that was never considered real. Because of that, I want you to kill that creature like he took my parents' lives." Riko said softly.

"The creature, it's not real! Do you understand?!"

Riko was silent.

He doesn't know who else he should ask for help to unravel the mystery behind the death of his father and mother. In fact, justice enforcers have given up and no longer want to interfere.

It's been dozens of years, and Riko has never been absent from visiting the police station, searching for justice, or finding any clues. However, the police firmly said that both his parents died because of the work of a professional contract killer, but without presenting accurate evidence.

"Why are you still silent?! Quickly get out of here!"

 "But-"

 "Do I have to imprison you to give up?!"

"What's this commotion? Why are you both fussing in front of my office door?"

 "Captain!" Riko smiled broadly.

"Riko? Why did you come here again?" Captain Calvin asked with raised eyebrows.

"I want to tell you something."

Captain Calvin sighed tiredly but didn't refuse Riko's request.

"Come into my room if you want to say something." 

The two entered and sat across from Calvin's desk.

 "What is that?"

 "I want to ask you …."