Silence is a virtue considered important in any religion. True believers introspect and temper themselves in silence, offering penance.

  Therefore, the temple was quiet. No believer would be unaware of how sacrilegious it would be to disturb this place with noise.

  However, things were a little different now.

  Unlike usual, the sacred temple was filled with rage. The source of the emotion, unbefitting of the temple, was none other than the cult leader.

  She seemed to have lost her usual composure in a whirlpool of uncontainable fury. Her voice was sharp, and no one could be safe in front of her.

  "Why do you keep causing trouble like that? Why do people who supposedly serve me, and God, keep doing this?"

  The cult leader was furious. She was a woman who despised failure. She always mobilized every means to achieve what she desired and consequently achieved success.

  As is common for those intoxicated by their own success, the cult leader was one who could not tolerate the failures of others.

  "Did I tell you to be careful when bringing that woman, or did I tell you to get caught by the police? And on top of that, you got caught assaulting a police officer?"

  Failure.

  It was no different from soiling the name of God and burying the cult leader's honor in the mud.

  Furthermore, this wouldn't just be the end of it. It would clearly be a major obstacle to the countless future endeavors.

  "I-I apologize!"

  The voice of the one apologizing was trembling.

  It was pure terror and fear. It would be natural if one knew that once the leader's anger was incurred, they would depart to a place from which they could never return.

  "H-However, we never thought the police would react so quickly! We had calculated everything in advance. We even accounted for the patrol car timings!"

  The executive who led this operation said that, making an excuse. However, excuses sometimes escalate a person's anger even further.

  "Is that so?"

  The cult leader's voice chilled to an extent that made it hard to believe she had been shouting just moments ago.

  However, that didn't mean she had calmed down.

  It was quite the opposite.

  The cult leader's hand began to emit an unknown light. That light, like a high-voltage current, made a threatening crackling sound.

  "Say that one more time. What did you say?"

  The executive who had spoken realized his mistake. If he remained still, he would vanish from this world forever, with a death so complete that not even his corpse would be found.

  To survive, he had to make any excuse. Yes, for him to live, someone else had to die in his stead.

  "O-Our failure was because there was a person who interfered just as we were trying to take her away!"

  The executive said that, relaying the report he had received. The cult leader then showed her anger by incinerating the spot directly in front of where the executive was prostrating.

  "Why didn't you kill that bastard?"

  The cult leader asked quietly.

  "It was difficult because of people's eyes at the school. We thought it would be alright because we had the tool to neutralize the CCTVs, but he drew people's attention, stalling for time. His movements were as if he knew everything! T-There might be a traitor! Furthermore, those who were involved in this matter only knew they were bringing a seemingly ordinary, vulnerable female student!"

  An excuse.

  But to think that would keep him alive was too foolish a judgment.

  Without any hesitation, the cult leader expressed her fury.

  There was no scream.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  With a single crackling sound, the executive who had incurred the cult leader's wrath was reduced to ashes.

  One might think it impossible, but nonetheless, it was reality. The remaining people merely trembled in fear.

  'I won't forgive him.'*

  The cult leader thought that and ordered them to definitely bring the person the executive had mentioned.

  The remaining executives replied that they would surely do so to survive, and they retreated.

  Staring at their pathetic departure, the cult leader had to breathe heavily for a while to suppress her anger.

  Jihyeon could only sigh as he emerged from the police station after writing his statement. Things might get much more troublesome.

  "I'll have to do some investigation."

  Jihyeon thought. According to what he had investigated so far, they were different from ordinary cults.

  Fear was ingrained somewhere in their minds. He couldn't accurately articulate what it was yet, but one thing was certain.

  It was the fact that they were so desperate that they dared to attack a police officer, knowing full well they would be arrested.

  He was initially bewildered, but Jihyeon soon realized that it wasn't just due to rage. Therefore, Jihyeon thought.

  "It's dangerous... I need to find out more first."

  An ominous feeling.

  Jihyeon's intuition kept warning him. If he didn't deal with it properly, it could clearly become a major danger.

  And the die had already been cast to ignore this. The cult members were clearly very persistent.

  Ultimately, the only way to survive was to destroy the opponent.

  "Maybe I should have looked more closely at what the person who attacked me had... If I had at least touched his hand, I could have found out a lot more then..."

  Jihyeon muttered regretfully. Even to properly utilize his ability, he needed what could be called a 'keyword.'

  No matter how much knowledge he had, if he couldn't properly recognize it, it would be nothing more than text.

  Therefore, Jihyeon wanted something more concrete. But the opponents were fanatics of a cult.

  Madness always led many things to ruin. The possibility was very high this time as well. So, the conclusion was that destroying them before that was the best course of action.

  However, he needed rest for now. The fatigue that came over him when he stepped outside the police station was difficult to describe.

  "I think I should go home... No, this is not the time."

  Hostility.

  It was pure hostility. Hostility directed at Jihyeon was eyeing him from somewhere.

  Jihyeon sighed. He was annoyed that he couldn't just go home and rest.

  But even though he felt the hostility, he couldn't immediately tell where it was coming from. It was probably someone carrying a tool to neutralize CCTVs.

  "Both this one and that one..."

  Jihyeon muttered and swore in disbelief. It seemed they were determined to kill him. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to hide from his ability.

  However, Jihyeon had no intention of just dying. If the opponent hid their body, he could now use that to catch them.

  "If I can't go straight, I'll go around."

  Jihyeon thought that and changed his approach. Police officers approach criminals with countless clues from a crime scene.

  Jihyeon was no different.

  If, by chance, they were using a tool to hide themselves, he could, conversely, find the person who hid their information.

  And Jihyeon's ability didn't only work on living things. It was also possible to trace back through an item that a person had used.

  Even breathing alone would be sufficient if necessary.

  He would have to pay the price of a terrible headache, but that was much cheaper than dying. Didn't the story only begin once one survived?

  Jihyeon thought that and began searching for his opponent. Fortunately, through a method he had recently become familiar with, Jihyeon quickly found his target.

  It was called 'filtering.'

  It was natural to set the desired conditions when searching. It was no different from that.

  Searching only for those who couldn't be detected was much easier than expected, and Jihyeon soon found the person showing hostility towards him.

  But finding them is never the end of the job.

  Jihyeon's top priority was securing his own safety. To do that, he had to consider who the opponent was and how to deal with them.

  Fortunately, even if the man possessed a tool to trick CCTVs, Jihyeon was soon able to secure his information.

  Breathing, saliva, and other insignificant things were enough. Jihyeon's ability instantly converted the opponent's information into his knowledge.

  However, the knowledge he gained was not pleasant.

  "The cult leader's personal guard? Insane..."

  It was perhaps natural that a curse word escaped Jihyeon's mouth. Such people were like perfectly brainwashed moths.

  In a sense, they were more malicious than a 'chip shot'—an assassin who kills people for small change.

  A person who could do anything under the cult leader's command due to fanaticism was, as always, dangerous. Jihyeon already sufficiently tasted the man's murderous intent, which gave him a headache.

  It was natural to get goosebumps. And the annoyance was unavoidable.

  But it wasn't all bad.

  "So this is the kind of woman the cult leader is... Interesting?"

  Jihyeon was able to grasp a lot about their cult leader through the man trying to kill him.

  A twisted person who possesses something that shouldn't exist in this place.

  In a sense, she might be similar to himself. But she was twisted. And intoxicated by her own power, she crossed the line repeatedly.

  "Well, it's a power that's difficult to even use properly..."

  Jihyeon thought that and laughed in disbelief. The cult leader clearly possessed dangerous power.

  However, that power had already completely dominated her. Now, she might rampage anywhere, driven by that power.

  The fact that it wasn't the power she was originally meant to have probably wouldn't be important to her.

  "The tool on that side is always annoying..."

  Jihyeon muttered that and began to think about how and what he should do now.

  Even though he had information about the cult leader, dealing with the current nuisance right in front of him was the priority.

  Fortunately, that was simpler than expected.

  Jihyeon turned around. And walking slowly, he brought his hand to his phone.

  He didn't need to make a phone call. Jihyeon, now skillful, reported the assassin through a different line.

  Of course, he knew well that the police wouldn't move if he just reported it ordinarily.

  But what if he were a wanted criminal?

  The man following him was someone who had committed enough crimes to be listed on a wanted poster.

  Reporting a wanted criminal was, as always, enough to mobilize the police.

  And a short while later, the police moved. No matter how much a tool tricks CCTVs, it cannot deceive the eyes of people.

  Glancing at the man struggling with the police, Jihyeon quickly disappeared into the crowd.