Hwang Munseok smiled broadly as if pleased. It was a completely different feeling from the polite but stern image he had heard rumors about.

“I thought you didn’t know about my director position since there had been no reaction until now.”

The man before him muttered in a slightly whining voice. A gaze full of excitement like a young boy’s poured towards him.

“When did you notice? What gave it away? Why didn’t you contact me right after the hunter exam ended?”

Hwang Munseok, or rather the Church’s Fourth Apostle using his appearance, urged for answers in a voice dripping with expectation.

“I’ll answer everything you’re curious about.”

“Wow, really?”

“First tell me where Director Hwang Munseok is.”

Hearing the coldly added condition, the Fourth Apostle pouted. His wrinkled lips twisted mischievously.

“Aw, no fun. Come on, let’s…”

As the Fourth Apostle reached out towards him while grumbling like a sulking boy, a faint breeze brushed his earlobe. Before he could react, the defensive item he was wearing under his outer clothes activated.

The sharp sound of a sword being drawn belatedly reached his ears. Clang! Almost simultaneously came the sound of a sharp blade hitting the barrier surrounding the Fourth Apostle.

“What’s this, you brought a tail?”

The Fourth Apostle, rising to his feet, expressed his disappointment without even avoiding the sword flying at him again. With a clang, a woman wearing an eyepatch over one eye stepped in front of Ryu Seo-ha protectively.

It was The Last, an A-rank stealth hunter who had been silently guarding him from an invisible place until now. Another heroine candidate from the original work who had worked as a contract killer until being scouted by Choi Gang-hu.

“Hmm, now that I look closely, you seem familiar.”

The Fourth Apostle tilted his head. The Last took another step towards him. Her blonde hair tied in a ponytail swayed lightly from side to side. Ryu Seo-ha obediently stepped back a couple of paces.

“Ah! You’re the one who survived to the final round in the battle, right?”

“…”

“I wondered what you were up to after running away, turns out you got a job as our sacrifice’s bodyguard?”

“…”

“Oh right, you lost your voice, didn’t you?”

The Last’s bright blue eye stared directly at the Fourth Apostle, who was rattling off sensitive information as if talking to himself. The back muscles wrapped in black clothes that revealed her body line could be seen tensing tightly.

“But your hair’s grown so long. You used to keep it short because it interfered with missions…”

Clang!

The blade of the scimitar, curved like a crescent moon, swung horizontally. It was an impeccable slash. However, it could do nothing against the Fourth Apostle wrapped in countless S-grade items.

“Mr. Choi Gang-hu.”

Not wanting to drag things out, he quietly murmured the name of Choi Gang-hu, who was surely watching closely nearby. As if he had been waiting to be called, he appeared like a ghost.

“Gasp, it’s a monster!”

The Fourth Apostle exclaimed in shock upon seeing Choi Gang-hu’s face.

“Mr. Ryu Seo-ha.”

No further words were needed. As soon as Ryu Seo-ha heard his soft call,

The characteristic ‘Sanctification’ is activated.

As previously agreed, he enveloped The Last and himself with [Sanctification]. Immediately after,

Boom!

A force so massive it was hard to even recognize its type mercilessly crushed the scene before his eyes. Chairs, tables, and wall decorations exploded in all directions. Eventually, the ceiling crumbled with a rumble.

In an instant, the café was completely transformed into an open space. A whitish dust settled thickly over the remains of the building. The form presumed to be the Fourth Apostle could be vaguely seen sprawled out.

The weapon floating above his head caught attention. A massive weapon about the size of a small car. It was the Ruyi Sword obtained from China’s treasure vault.

“Urgh…”

A faint groan was heard. Even after the dust cloud slowly settled, the Fourth Apostle’s form couldn’t be seen properly. As if his entire body had been tattered, he just writhed while barely maintaining human shape. Even that suddenly shrank to the size of a finger joint in the blink of an eye, like a candle flame suddenly extinguished by the wind. He had changed into a small creature to conserve energy.

Expensive items rendered useless by the brutal attack fell with a clatter. The Fourth Apostle, transformed into something like a half-eaten jelly, quickly attempted to escape.

“Useless effort.”

With a slight gesture from Choi Gang-hu, the Ruyi Sword split into hundreds of pieces. Daggers flew in with telekinetic skill and pounced on the Fourth Apostle. A scream resembling ultrasound echoed loudly.

Soon after, a pitch-black form that sprang out from the building next door blocked the shower of sharp daggers. Bloodshot whites of eyes were briefly glimpsed. It was evidence of borrowing power from a higher being.

Apostle. Before identifying its identity, a human-shaped form surrounded by a hard black shell snatched up the Fourth Apostle and tore a scroll. No, just as it was about to tear it, the Ruyi Sword, stretched out like a long whip, snatched it away.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Choi Gang-hu, eyes narrowed as if to say escape was out of the question, approached the unknown apostle step by step. The apostle holding the battered Fourth Apostle in its arms spread wide black tentacles that looked like crustacean legs.

Only then could its identity be confirmed. The Eighth Apostle of the Church, with abilities specialized in defense. Was it protecting the Fourth Apostle whose power had temporarily decreased due to borrowing a higher being’s power during the kidnapping incident?

The appearance of the Eighth Apostle with dozens of pairs of tentacles trailing behind its back was reminiscent of a spider. It must have taken some form of combat stance. It would have noticed that Choi Gang-hu wouldn’t give it a chance to use scroll items.

A tense situation. Citizens who had rushed out of nearby buildings upon hearing the sound of collapsing structures could be seen in confusion. Choi Gang-hu, about to take another step, paused at Ryu Seo-ha’s action of grabbing his hand.

“…Didn’t I say you could run wild as you please?”

His well-shaped eyebrows furrowed slightly.

-But there’s a condition.

Ryu Seo-ha nodded, recalling the promise he had made with him before coming to the café.

-Once the identity is revealed, leave the aftermath to me.

-Okay.

-No matter what I do, no matter what damage is done to the surroundings, are you confident you won’t be disheartened?

Since meeting him, Choi Gang-hu had never once run wild to his heart’s content. Surprisingly, he had been suppressing his destructive instincts as much as possible. During the kidnapping incident, he had at least displayed his abilities to some extent. Other than that, he had only lightly expressed dissatisfaction within limits that wouldn’t cause damage to the surroundings. Even when something upset him, even when he encountered the Fourth Apostle again after losing him once due to a higher being’s intervention.

“Yes. Do whatever you want. Just lend me your hand.”

He smiled brightly, interlocking their fingers and swinging their hands gently. Choi Gang-hu’s pupils, momentarily dilated like a feline’s, trembled faintly.

The characteristic ‘Sanctification’ is activated.

The safe zone spread wider than ever before. Wide enough to cover all the people in the vicinity. Choi Gang-hu, quickly grasping the intention to each do what they wanted, shook his head with a slightly helpless smile.

“Really, you…”

As if saying he couldn’t be helped, he squeezed the hand he was holding tightly then loosened his grip, and lifted Ryu Seo-ha up. Reflexively wrapping his arms around Choi Gang-hu’s neck, he swayed his arms like a cradle as if soothing a startled baby.

Clang! The body of the Eighth Apostle, who had rushed in for a surprise attack, was flung into the air by the counterattack of the Ruyi Sword, now transformed into a greatsword. But Choi Gang-hu’s gaze remained fixed on Ryu Seo-ha.

“How is it? The ride quality of a mana charger.”

He even joked with a grin. His attitude made the sight of the Eighth Apostle battling the greatsword right in front of them feel distant, like a scene from a movie.

“…Isn’t this position inconvenient for you to move?”

Choi Gang-hu’s extreme preferential treatment wasn’t entirely pleasant. It was due to the anxiety that if he became useless, he too might face cold treatment, or perhaps even face retaliation for hiding that he was terminally ill.

“Do I look like I need to engage in close combat?”

Choi Gang-hu chuckled and slightly tilted his head to rest his chin on Ryu Seo-ha’s left cheek. Startled by the unfamiliar posture, Ryu Seo-ha pressed against his shoulder as if to push him away, but a languid smile returned.

Bang! Bang!

The Ruyi Sword struck down hard on the Eighth Apostle. So crudely that it seemed it might be better to change its form to a hammer. The force was powerful enough to crush even buildings that happened to be grazed by the apostle’s movements, as if mashing soft konjac.

“If you want to save people, you have to touch me.”

“…”

“Come on.”

The man displaying overwhelming prowess urged physical contact in an almost adorable whining tone. As if ignoring the anxiety felt from the appearance showing tremendous dissonance, Ryu Seo-ha stretched out his arms. He wrapped one hand around his neck and caressed his cheek with the other. Then, while staring at the satisfied smile like a beast after a feast, he focused on the life forces detected within the [Sanctification] area.

The awakened within range were avoiding on their own. On the other hand, civilians hiding in nearby buildings or out on the streets seemed at a loss for what to do. Drawing strength from Choi Gang-hu’s warmth on his fingertips, Ryu Seo-ha,

The debuff ‘Teleportation’ is applied to the designated targets (94 non-awakened individuals).

He moved them all to a rear area beyond the battle’s influence.