In that room, there were only two men.

  No one else was in the room. No one was granted the authority to dare to enter. The attendants simply waited, never dreaming of interrupting the conversation of the two men inside.

  The two men.

  The expressions of the Deputy Leader and the General Manager were extremely serious. Recent events were creating new distortions in their fate.

  Thanks to this, unlike usual, the two were sitting facing each other like this. And they had set aside formalities, only exchanging pure, necessary words.

  Normally, the Deputy Leader would never meet the General Manager alone. That was perhaps natural.

  The Deputy Leader, the General Manager, and the Executive existed as the pillars currently supporting the cult, three becoming one.

  The three checked on each other, maintained balance, and proceeded with work without any loss to each other—that was the cult's own method of overcoming chaos.

  It might seem inefficient at first glance, but the entity that gave them their power seemed to greatly welcome the three of them doing one task this way.

  But that was now an old story. And they could no longer do it.

  The Executive was unconscious. And the tool for controlling fire was no longer in his body.

  Someone had stolen his power.

  Due to this, the Deputy Leader, the General Manager, and all the devotees were worried about his state, not knowing when he would wake up.

  Fortunately, the entity who shared power with them said that his body was extremely healthy and it would only take time to recover because the tool was gone.

  But now he would no longer be able to use the tool's power under the name of a miracle. That would be impossible since the tool was gone. And because of that, his mind might gradually collapse.

  The sense of loss from something that existed disappearing was unknowable as to how far it would break him down.

  Furthermore, the person who lost their power would no longer be able to exercise any authority, and the balance of power would completely collapse because of it.

  However, now was not the time to worry about such things.

  The Executive's recovery was something the devotees would take care of. If they elevated one of the apostles, the power would regain balance. It was certainly a bothersome task, but still doable if they had enough time.

  More importantly, they had to find out who had stolen his power. That was a threat that might completely collapse the cult.

  "It is surprising that no one saw anything. Even the CCTV is gone."

  During the somewhat aimless discussion, the Deputy Leader suddenly brought up the subject. He was purely admiring the skill of the person who handled this matter, regardless of their anger.

  Since they had also engaged in dirty work at times, they knew well the skill of the person who brought down the Executive. An enemy who deserved hatred, but perhaps precisely because of that, they could admire the skill.

  The meticulousness of leaving no trace, as well as the hacking of the CCTV through the internal network, was perfection that even a seasoned professional assassin couldn't achieve.

  In the first place, that was not something an ordinary human could do.

  This was only possible for someone who had an otherworldly tool implanted in their body. Nothing else could explain it.

  "The discussion is back to square one, but it ultimately means that there is someone else besides us who has the tool, doesn't it? That entity told us there are no others with the tool besides us, but is there anyone who holds a grudge against us who possesses such a tool?"

  The General Manager asked calmly. That was a natural point.

  A cult is inevitably accompanied by countless grudges. It was natural, as they sometimes did things they shouldn't just to survive.

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  However, such an incident doesn't happen just by accumulating grudges. There weren't as many people as they thought who had the courage to try to resolve a grudge.

  Even a criminal organization wouldn't dare to look directly at the cult right now. The cult's power was that great.

  Moreover, the person who was attacked this time was none other than the Executive.

  His power could easily burn to ashes any assassin who dared to touch him. Without leaving a single trace.

  However, the Executive was unable to resist at all. And even his tool was stolen. They might be lost in a maze unless they considered one possibility.

  "It's probably the person who took the Leader's tool. Only he could oppose us."

  The Deputy Leader said in a low voice and sighed. The General Manager also remained silent at the only possibility they could immediately think of.

  But even if it was confirmed that he acted, they couldn't know the reason.

  Only when they understood the motivation could they come up with a countermeasure. But since there was nothing they could know right now, their worries began to deepen again.

  "Surely this isn't because we touched that Master, is it? I heard you sent an apostle there just in case before."

  The General Manager brought up the story of the apostle the Deputy Leader had sent. The Deputy Leader then smiled bitterly, pulling up the past failure from the recesses of his memory again.

  "Do you remember the story about the drug organization that collapsed some time ago?"

  The General Manager nodded at the mention of the drug organization. The story of the lightning flashing and the truck stopping at that time was even reported in the news.

  "So, you sent an apostle there just in case, huh? Plus, since he was close to the Leader before, you were probably drawing a line, preempting any potential influence he might try to exert."

  The General Manager smiled bitterly at the mention of drawing a line. He had once acted on behalf of the Leader and, along with the Master's organization, eliminated the cult's enemies.

  "That's right. Speaking of which, do you remember the woman the Leader wanted brought in last? That woman might know something."

  The Deputy Leader said in a tone as if he was finally grasping something. The General Manager sighed at his words.

  "She wouldn't know anything. That girl wouldn't know anything. She was only trying to kill her out of jealousy. But the man who came to save her..."

  The Deputy Leader nodded at the General Manager's words.

  "Then let's capture the woman first."

  The Deputy Leader concluded coldly. And the General Manager agreed with the statement.

  Jihyeon spent several days organizing the information in his mind. It was quite a complex task.

  The Executive of the cult indeed knew a lot, befitting his position. No, he knew more than just a lot.

  The numerous pieces of information he possessed were not things that could be obtained through the internet.

  The vast amount of information hidden in his brain, shielded by his tool, was accompanied by a level of fear that would be difficult for an ordinary person to endure.

  "What on earth happened? Is this not just a typical cult..."

  The tool obtained by chance, the numerous miracles performed based on the power, and the followers that resulted.

  Jihyeon could understand that in itself. But the fact that the entity who gave the former Leader her power had stepped into the forefront was surprising.

  The Leader herself must have been completely unaware. Of the events after her death. She only founded the cult based on the tool she received from someone.

  Although her path was filled with blood, the Leader was certainly a formidable person. Even though she completely fell apart in her later years and chose the worst possible end for herself.

  But the remaining people were different.

  The three rulers.

  And the entity who handed them the tool, working in the shadows behind them.

  They were probably related to the power—or more precisely, the tool—that Jihyeon first acquired. Of course, they might not be, but in any case, they would possess some information.

  But it was also true that he was at a disadvantage. Jihyeon never forgot that what he possessed were only fragments.

  Jihyeon couldn't imagine how likely he was to win if he went in now. His initial resolve was shattering too easily.

  Of course, he still had to move. The more information he knew, the greater his fear grew, but he couldn't choose not to fight.

  The actions Jihyeon had already taken were enough to move them. And Jihyeon had no choice but to fight, as he didn't know what the other side would do.

  In the end, it was a matter of determination.

  If he couldn't coexist with them no matter what, all he could do was fight. This was especially true since he hadn't found a way to deal with the fire-controlling tool that had entered his body.

  It was so bewildering that once absorbed, it could no longer be removed. The constant discomfort, like indigestion, was also unbearable.

  He had to move even to resolve this discomfort. To find out the various truths, including his own limitations.

  It was then that Jihyeon received a phone call. It was a number he didn't recognize, and Jihyeon unconsciously answered the phone.

  "Who is..."

  The moment he was about to ask who the caller was, the other side spoke in an ominous voice. And before Jihyeon could say anything, they played someone's voice.

  At that moment, Jihyeon felt the string that maintained his sanity snap.

  "Kukukuku, hahahahahaha."

  Jihyeon couldn't help but laugh at the news delivered through the phone. It was nothing less than a declaration of war. Jihyeon hung up the phone without saying a word.

  And then he got up from his seat. There was no time for useless thoughts. Since the call had told him where and what had happened, he had to move immediately.

  Jihyeon gnashed his teeth while packing his bags.

  The fact that they had touched Mina, whom Jihyeon had barely managed to save through his efforts, made him feel absurd, beyond mere anger.

  It was good that they found the right person, but provoking him like this was extremely troublesome.

  But the other side started the fight.

  Then Jihyeon would simply move accordingly.

  "I think I need to go somewhere for a few days. Don't worry, I'll definitely be back."

  Jihyeon only said that and immediately rushed out. His parents were worried, but if he didn't move now, a person's life was at risk.

  So, without any hesitation, Jihyeon grabbed the tool he had bought in advance and set off towards the location of the cult's true main headquarters.