Jihyeon moved with the utmost caution. Unlike moving alone, he had to do it with Min-ah.

  Fortunately, the outside was still filled with chaos. If he timed it right, grabbed Min-ah, and climbed a tree to escape through that confusion, escape wouldn't be difficult.

  But first, he had to get out of the building. And the best option was to leave while causing the least amount of commotion.

  Fortunately, Min-ah just held Jihyeon's hand and followed, not saying a word. She knew well that silence was necessary for their escape now.

  Jihyeon's heart ached.

  She was suffering this for no reason other than the cult leader happened to be her next-door neighbor. Her hand, trembling with fear, was deeply pitiful.

  And he felt sorry that she was going through trouble again because of him. He had only thought of his family, so he felt even worse since he hadn't imagined that acquaintances around him would be harmed in this way.

  "I'm sorry."

  Jihyeon apologized to Min-ah in a very low voice. Since there was nothing but the quiet footsteps of the two of them, Min-ah didn't miss the sound.

  Min-ah's face flushed unconsciously at the sound. She knew whether Jihyeon liked her or not, but hearing those words somehow made her feel cheap.

  However, Jihyeon simply held her hand and walked forward without saying anything more after the brief apology. Soon, they would be outside and could go home.

  Just as he was thinking that, Jihyeon suddenly stopped. He quietly looked at the existence blocking their way.

  There was a man. He was waiting as if he knew they would come.

  The man, dressed in the unique clothes worn by the Apostles, had a flushed expression, like a warrior going out to a battlefield. He seemed to be looking forward to what was about to begin.

  Jihyeon felt thwarted. He had intended to get outside without being caught by anyone. But with a hindrance, the task would not be easy.

  They just needed to move a little further. The problem was that they had to walk a bit due to the internal structure, and he hadn't expected to be obstructed like this.

  Still, Jihyeon felt a sense of admiration. It was proof that an organization, in its own way, was functioning.

  The man meeting him must have been part of the predicted scenario. The headphones he was wearing were a measure against noise. The man's thorough, layered preparation was excellent, even for an enemy.

  Come to think of it, Jihyeon knew his face. It was the man from that time.

  "I didn't expect to meet you like this."

  Jihyeon spoke first, as if glad to see him. The opponent nodded in response.

  "Last time, I was caught completely off guard. It was truly a disgrace that I failed to capture you then. But things are different now. I will fulfill my duty to the former cult leader by apprehending you."

  The man said that and took a stance. It was a stance for decisively overpowering an opponent at a short distance.

  Instead of engaging in a long conversation and giving them an opening, he seemed to want to quickly finish this and re-imprison Jihyeon and Min-ah.

  Of course, Jihyeon had no such intention. But since the previous method wouldn't work at all, he had to quickly come up with a response on how to proceed.

  He knew that for an ordinary person, once the man started his attack, they would be absolutely unable to respond. He would likely use an intense, gut-punching strike, like a professional wrestling spear, to take the opponent down.

  Jihyeon knew well that he couldn't use an electric attack to stun him because he used a tool, and the man possessed considerable strength.

  Jihyeon thought he was a difficult opponent. But he also felt he couldn't ignore a fight that had come his way.

  However, feeling Min-ah's grip tighten on his hand, Jihyeon changed his mind.

  His purpose was not to fight.

  If he could just escape, he could do anything. There was absolutely no need for a head-on confrontation.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  All he needed to do was run away. Jihyeon already had the answer as to what the best way to do that would be.

  "Min-ah. Cover your ears. It's going to be a bit loud."

  Jihyeon said that, then let go of her hand and began to draw power from both of his hands. It was the power of the cult leader, as they called it, electricity, or more precisely, the ability to control power materialized in the form of electricity, that he activated.

  "So, the power of God, you..."

  The man said that and tried to approach Jihyeon. But instead of allowing his approach, Jihyeon simply destroyed the wall next to him.

  A powerful spark flashed, and the brick part of the wall crumbled. Fortunately, it wasn't a load-bearing part, so there wouldn't be a big issue.

  "W-what are you doing?"

  Jihyeon's action was completely unexpected. The man shouted in confusion. But Jihyeon had no intention of playing along with him anymore.

  "Let's make it a little louder!"

  Jihyeon said that and this time carried Min-ah in a bridal carry. Then, he immediately used the tool to disable the CCTV.

  WHOOOOSH!

  The sound resonated once again. But Jihyeon no longer had to worry about his position being exposed. Instead, he released his power as he did when he first came here and jumped high.

  He leaped with jump power comparable to a movie hero's, having concealed his form and amplified his leg strength to the maximum. Jihyeon soared high.

  "Kyaak!"

  Min-ah, surprised by the totally unexpected change in altitude, screamed. The sound echoed high into the sky.

  "Damn it!"

  The man waiting for Jihyeon ran belatedly. But Jihyeon had already cloaked his body from visible light. He had adjusted the range to cover Min-ah as well, so an ordinary person could never find them.

  And even if they did find him, it didn't matter. Before landing on the ground, Jihyeon deployed his power and leaped high once more, easily clearing the compound wall.

  "What's going on!"

  The people who ran over, startled by the sound of the wall breaking, fell into chaos again due to the renewed warning. The man looked in the direction where he thought Jihyeon had vanished, full of frustration.

  But he couldn't help it. Although his vision was far superior to others, there was no way to find a man who could hide himself from visible light in the moonless darkness.

  A complete sense of defeat.

  A humiliating sense of defeat, greater than anything the man had felt in his life, consumed him.

  However, it wasn't a total loss.

  He had recorded it.

  Jihyeon's face.

  The tiny camera attached to his headphones had clearly captured Jihyeon's face, even in the darkness. Jihyeon must not have paid attention to this.

  "I'll get you someday."

  Muttering in frustration, the man stared into the night sky for a long time.

  Min-ah didn't say a word until they descended the mountain. When they first flew into the sky, she already thought nothing could surprise her anymore.

  But the truly astonishing part was next.

  She couldn't even scream. She had never imagined they would cross the mountain by moving from tree to tree in a manner straight out of a movie.

  Leaving no traces, Jihyeon moved from tree to tree until they reached a safe area.

  She didn't know how this was possible while carrying her in a bridal style, but Jihyeon did it effortlessly.

  And when they finally reached the foot of the mountain and Jihyeon put her down, her legs gave out, and she collapsed.

  "Are you okay?"

  Jihyeon asked cautiously. Min-ah nodded slightly. But she just sighed, as if she couldn't move at all.

  "Haa... Now that the tension is gone, I really can't move."

  Jihyeon gave a wry smile at her words. It would be natural for even a brave person to find it difficult to move for a while after experiencing something like this.

  Furthermore, being freed from extreme stress, moving immediately was almost impossible.

  "I'm sorry, let's just go with you on my back..."

  Jihyeon said that, gently lifted her with the power of his tool, and carried her on his back.

  "Ah... you don't have to do this!"

  Min-ah said, flustered. But Jihyeon ignored her protest, carried her on his back, and kept walking.

  "Don't push yourself now. You must have been incredibly scared. I drove here, so let's figure things out after we leave this area."

  Jihyeon only said that and walked silently. At his words, Min-ah didn't say anything more.

  Instead, she rested her head on Jihyeon's back. Carefully, as if she just wanted to feel his warmth, even though she didn't know what would happen next.

  Despite the heavy weight, Jihyeon walked silently down the mountain without a word. He walked without rest until they reached where he had parked the car, and only then did he set her down.

  "Can you walk now?"

  Jihyeon asked. Min-ah nodded, her face flushing with embarrassment at his question.

  "Yes."

  Jihyeon smiled slightly, satisfied with her answer, and got into the car. Seeing Min-ah get into the passenger seat, he started the engine and drove out of the parking lot.

  "Let's find a motel along the way, get two rooms, and rest. Don't worry about the money."

  Jihyeon said that and sped up slightly. Min-ah didn't comment on his decision. Instead, she asked, as if something was troubling her.

  "How did you get here? I know you heard my voice on the phone, but..."

  At Min-ah's question, Jihyeon felt the time had finally come to answer. It was time to talk about his ability, which he hadn't even told his parents about.

  "It's a long story. To be honest, others wouldn't believe it even if I told them. But Min-ah, you deserve to know."

  Jihyeon said that and slowly began to tell her about everything that had happened. It was a story that, as Jihyeon said, would be absolutely unbelievable without evidence.

  But she knew now.

  The lightning that flashed from Jihyeon's hand—it was absolutely not a lie. And his actions when he carried her to escape were not a lie either.

  "So that's all of it?"

  Min-ah asked.

  "Yes. I call it the 'other world,' and its tools somehow crossed over here. And I'm a case of an Irregular who had an accident during that process."

  Jihyeon said that and sighed.

  "Ah..."

  Min-ah didn't know what to say. Jihyeon cautiously continued.

  "So, things might get more dangerous from now on. I'm really sorry, but I'd like you to pretend you don't know me for a while. If it were just me, it'd be one thing, but I want to avoid getting you involved. I don't want the people around me to get hurt."

  Jihyeon said that and gave a bitter smile. Min-ah felt tears unconsciously flowing at his words. But even so, she didn't protest to Jihyeon. She understood why he was doing this.

  For a long time, Min-ah cried deeply. Jihyeon didn't say anything and quietly drove toward a motel where he could secure two separate rooms.