It is the same for everyone.

  In a situation where escape is impossible, faced with a power one cannot control, there are only two choices:

  Resist or submit.

  In most cases, people choose submission over resistance. Some courageous individuals choose resistance, but that is extremely rare.

  Usually, people rationalize their choice, saying they had no choice, and follow that power. Saying there was no alternative instead of using the word submission.

  However, those who chose resistance were different.

  Those who fought regardless of whether death awaited them at the end of that resistance sometimes achieved miracles. It's close to impossible, but sometimes it happens.

  But that was in a tiny minority of cases. And only if they were very lucky.

  For those who didn't belong to the minority, what returned was violence that was difficult to express in words. It was overwhelming violence against which resistance was impossible.

  Before that, humans collapsed.

  Everything—human dignity and even the physical body—is broken and destroyed. In that state, everything just becomes meaningless.

  Haeun was no exception.

  The prison beneath the new headquarters of the cult was the only space allowed to Haeun, but it was certainly not a comfortable resting place. It was a cold nightmare space where only survival was permitted.

  There was no sound spot on his body. Exposed to such severe violence, his whole body was covered in bruises, and scars here and there seemed to prove how cruel the torture had been.

  How did it come to this?

  A question.

  Haeun questioned himself about what had happened to him. But no answer came.

  No, he couldn't find an answer.

  The pain, which let him know he was still alive, instead prevented Haeun from thinking deeply. Numerous wounds, like thorns, bound his soul and body.

  And hunger.

  He couldn't do anything when he was hungry. Since he couldn't do anything with these broken arms and legs anyway, the situation of his mind not working was just utterly sad.

  All that remained was to wait for food. Even amidst the pain, his stomach rumbled with hunger.

  Fortunately, the meal came on time today.

  Although it was just cold rice and some strange soup, he would die if he didn't eat even that. Haeun scooped it up with his damaged hands and tried to think again.

  And he remembered.

  What he had tried to do.

  He had tried to escape from the cult. But the attempt came to naught. When he was first discovered, he was beaten over and over, so much that it was a miracle he was still alive.

  He thought the time the Leader died was an opportunity, but luck was not on Haeun's side, and ambitious people ran wild to seize control of the remaining cult as soon as the terrifying Leader died.

  Thanks to that, the surveillance over ordinary members only increased. Mutual surveillance was basic, and some people deliberately framed others.

  In the midst of that, Haeun, who had tried to run away from here, was a perfect example case. They wouldn't have punished him this severely normally.

  Thanks to that, he was in this state.

  It was ridiculous that this was the price for abandoning his family and devoting himself to the religion. His family probably wouldn't even answer his calls. They would treat him as dead.

  But he couldn't help but run away.

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  What Haeun saw that day made it impossible for him not to run. And because of what he saw that day, he might still be alive.

  "Hoo..."

  He didn't know when it would end. Haeun thought that for now, he was just giving up on thinking.

  Drip.

  Tears flowed. The thoughts that came to mind the moment his stomach was full might have made him emotional. Wiping his eyes with fingers so bruised he couldn't even remember the color of the past, Haeun just sighed.

  Haeun continued to cry without caring that there was a CCTV watching him.

  Evening, after all the day's tasks were over.

  Jihyeon was deeply focused on information searching. But the material he wanted was not coming up as he expected. Closed groups were obsessively dedicated to hiding their information to a terrifying extent, so Jihyeon couldn't find any more material on the internet.

  That was enough for today.

  "Hmm..."

  Jihyeon took his hand off his smartphone and sighed. The data was much scarcer than he thought. That was not good news for Jihyeon.

  Jihyeon might have to risk going out again. If that was the only way. Although it felt somewhat unfair, it seemed there was no other choice for now.

  Jihyeon thought the Master must be quite happy. His gamble of meeting Jihyeon, risking his life, had succeeded, and he had managed to get Jihyeon to move as he wished.

  He must have earned enough money doing dirty work anyway. That attitude, suggesting he could pay any amount if needed, was somehow irritating, but it couldn't be helped.

  This matter was Jihyeon's own way of taking responsibility.

  Of course, the Master probably just wanted to clean up the cult that had become a rival. That might be the thinking of those who parasitize the darkness.

  Jihyeon thought it was not a pleasant task. After all, he couldn't deny that he had, in a sense, become a hired gangster.

  But this matter was not just about the money. Jihyeon wanted to get closer to the truth, which he couldn't figure out even with his own ability.

  Jihyeon had been determined for a long time to clearly understand the ability that shouldn't exist in this world. This opportunity might provide Jihyeon with some clues.

  The possessor of the same ability as him—if he pursued him, he would surely get closer to the mastermind behind the cult.

  Speaking of which, the cult seemed to be noisy recently. After the Leader's death, the executives of that religion seemed to be engaged in an internal war to seize control of the position.

  Naturally, that would probably be a gruesome power struggle where all the dirtiest aspects could be seen. In a way, it would be exciting, but for Jihyeon, it was just unpleasant behavior.

  However, that made it the most suitable time to find information. Thinking that, Jihyeon recalled the moment that was still vivid in his memory.

  The moment he absorbed the ability from the cult Leader.

  Truthfully, at that time, he was only focused on saving Mina and didn't care about anything else. Thinking the cult would collapse on its own was too naive, but Jihyeon was limited to that much at the time.

  It was close to a matter of life and death, to begin with. Furthermore, he had no time to worry about anything other than saving Mina.

  In fact, the Jihyeon of that time was, in terms of combat power, just an ordinary person. When he met the Leader, Jihyeon had to be half-prepared for death.

  If the Leader hadn't listened to him and tried to achieve what he wanted in his madness, Jihyeon would probably have died.

  Fortunately, the problem was solved because Jihyeon approached the truth, but he didn't want to be in such danger again.

  Still, the ability he gained thanks to that was more useful than anything else. Jihyeon's current survival was likely all because of that ability.

  Speaking of which, the information he saw in the Master's mind came to his mind. The Master, who recalled the cult Leader just by hearing rumors about Jihyeon, was certainly a man with deep karma.

  However, it would be strange if those who lived in the back alleys didn't have that much karma.

  What was important now was not the Master's karma, but the future. The cult would definitely have the potential to be a danger to Jihyeon.

  As always, it's best to crush danger before it materializes. That's why Jihyeon considered this matter to be of utmost importance.

  Speaking of which, Jihyeon reconsidered his ability. A kind of thought experiment about the enemy he might have to fight.

  Ostensibly, his ability seemed to be about manipulating electricity. But that was the superficial ability.

  In reality, it was the ability to change pure power itself into the form of electricity and use it as desired. It was highly versatile and had infinite possibilities depending on how it was utilized.

  However, it demanded a price.

  It changes a person's personality and demands even life force if necessary.

  In Jihyeon's case, he didn't pay with his life, but the Leader, thanks to it, extinguished his own life.

  The new user of the ability will probably be no different from the Leader. He will be swayed by a power he cannot control and approach death.

  But what does that matter?

  There are plenty of people who will do anything to get what they want. They are ambitious yet foolish individuals.

  Therefore, they will blindly rush toward their goal regardless of death. They won't care even if they sacrifice others.

  If so, Jihyeon's task was determined.

  Regarding the cult itself, it was enough to let it collapse appropriately. If he secured enough information and neatly handed it over to a police executive who wanted credit, they would move without hesitation.

  As he did before, he could use the media to deal with those who could be called the political backers.

  Jihyeon's task was mainly twofold.

  First, to crush the cult so that it wouldn't pose a threat to him and his family, and next, to find the mastermind.

  Those who distributed things that shouldn't be in this place were clearly not doing it merely to make money.

  There was something.

  Everything—the fact that he gained his ability, and the fact that countless tools that shouldn't exist circulated in the underworld.

  He had to take the risk and get closer to the truth, to the reality. That was something Jihyeon absolutely had to do.

  "Damn it..."

  Jihyeon never expected that after solving the most dangerous moment of his life by gaining an utterly unexpected power, things would get complicated again like this.

  But life, as always, was full of unexpected events. Thinking that he could overcome this too, Jihyeon put away his phone and closed his eyes.

  One must rest well to run wild properly.

  Stopping here for today, Jihyeon soon fell into a deep sleep.