-The treasure of an evil angel, coveted by a pure devil, has arrived.

Ryu Seo-ha recalled what Kitlova had said upon seeing him. It was one of the matters he hadn’t been able to ask about due to time constraints, along with questions about his world of origin.

‘Could it be…’

The knowledge he had from the original work, overlapping with the hints he had deduced through various events so far, led him to form one hypothesis.

He tried to focus his hazy vision and stared straight at the Four Apostles. It seemed like if he coaxed gently as before, they might spill related information.

But whether aware of this intention or not, his overheated mind in the sweltering heat couldn’t think of a way to induce information disclosure as usual.

“Is there… a Dimension Core of the White Wing forces inside me?”

The words he barely managed to utter with a breath-laden voice were a straightforward pitch without any tact.

“Gasp! What, how do you know that too?”

Fortunately, the Four Apostles’ unfiltered honest reaction signaled a strike. Ryu Seo-ha’s eyes wavered at the question that turned his guess into fact. His already dizzy mind became even more complicated.

Dimension Core. In the original work, it was mainly called a nucleus – a substance or energy. To put it metaphorically, it could be considered the core component that maintains the operation of a huge machine called a dimension, or world.

The higher beings of the opposing Black Wings and White Wings would even wage war to gain even one more dimension from the opposing force’s territory. In other words, a nucleus held by a weak human was like coveted unearned income.

“Well…”

Although there were countless questions about why he was carrying a Dimension Core and how such a thing was possible, Ryu Seo-ha focused first on drawing the Four Apostles’ interest to secure a favorable position for himself.

“Are you curious?”

When he asked back, curling his eyes as if relaxed, the Four Apostles nodded vigorously with a seemingly innocent expression.

“Very much!”

Seeing such a reaction from someone with Choi Gang-hu’s appearance automatically made him furrow his brow. Though it was clearly a face so handsome it would always make his heart flutter, instead of the usual excitement, it only made him feel worse.

But hiding his true feelings was something he was used to. Ryu Seo-ha gave a subtle smile that seemed like it could melt even a stone’s heart, and tilted his head as if to say there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

“Then you’ll have to pay a price.”

The Four Apostles, who had been staring blankly at that face as if entranced, looked troubled at these words.

“Ugh, I really can’t release the people…”

“Are you willing to grant other requests?”

“What do you want?”

Just as he saw room for negotiation and his eyes sparkled, the tightly closed doors of the cathedral burst open with a bang!

“Why are you answering everything in detail?”

The woman who criticized the Four Apostles in a sharp tone was wearing a burqa that covered her entire body from head to toe.

“We need to finish the preliminary work quickly. There’s chaos outside.”

It matched perfectly with the impression of the Second Apostle who had only been briefly mentioned in the original work. She was also the one Ryu Seo-ha had suspected to be the identity of the ‘Puppeteer’ who had terrorized Europe.

“Outside? Chaos?”

“The East Asia Branch 3 has been disintegrated. That madman, he completely sank an entire island without a trace.”

Judging by the woman’s attitude towards the Four Apostles, it seemed almost certain that she was an apostle.

“You mean Choi Gang-hu?”

“Who else would do such a thing? He crossed the Pacific Ocean in an instant and raided all the branches in Mexico, El Salvador, and Brazil.”

“Wow, how does he find and know about these places?”

It seems Choi Gang-hu had caused another uproar. He appeared to be thoroughly searching all suspicious locations, referring to the ‘Future Event Log’ that Ryu Seo-ha had prepared as a final gift.

“Oh, but wasn’t East Asia Branch 3 where quite a few apostles had gathered for a meeting today?”

“That’s the problem. Even when four apostles rushed at him at once, three died and one barely escaped in a half-dead state.”

“…Is that monster really human?”

The Four Apostles’ expression was struck with shock as they heard the external news delivered by the Second Apostle, who was quickly approaching the altar.

“Could it be that he’s actually an apostle who came over from the other side or something?”

“He’s the savior.”

“Huh?”

“That madman is the Messiah we’ve been waiting for.”

The Second Apostle spat out the words in a tone of displeasure as she stepped onto the altar.

“…Are you sure?”

“The one who escaped half-dead is the 11th Apostle. There’s no room for doubt.”

The two apostles who had been conversing non-stop fell silent for a moment. The words of the 11th Apostle, who specialized in detection and search abilities, carried considerable weight within the cult.

“Anyway, hurry. Let’s just quickly retrieve the core and get out of here.”

Judging that Choi Gang-hu could find this place soon, the Second Apostle promptly urged the Four Apostles. Despite talks of saviors and such, they seemed afraid of confronting him right away. In the original work too, they had avoided him until they finished their so-called ‘preparations’.

“The setup is done. It’s your turn now.”

The Four Apostles nodded and stepped aside, gesturing towards Ryu Seo-ha hanging on the large red cross. Without hesitation, the Second Apostle approached and grabbed his face with her gloved hand, turning it this way and that.

“Hmm… For a man, he has quite a usable face.”

A gaze that seemed to be appraising an object slowly swept over Ryu Seo-ha from behind the mesh covering her eye area.

“Nice body lines too.”

Her hand, following her gaze downward and pressing on his abs, was dry. Even as she pulled something out from her bosom, the Second Apostle’s eyes remained fixed on the body wrapped tightly in red cloth and bound to the cross.

“This one, I should add to my collection.”

“No! I called dibs first!”

The Second Apostle glanced at the Four Apostles who immediately objected and clicked her tongue lowly.

“He’ll die anyway once we extract the core, what are you going to use him for?”

“I’m going to ask the First Apostle to stitch his body and soul back together.”

The Four Apostles, who casually spouted such chilling words, smiled brightly at Ryu Seo-ha as if seeking praise.

“That necromancer doesn’t care about appearance. Handling dolls is my specialty.”

“But I want to talk more with Mr. Sacrifice…”

“Then just take the soul.”

“Where else can I find a body I like this much?”

“Make one yourself.”

“Oh, should I?”

“Well then…”

The Second Apostle, who had been bickering with the Four Apostles over absurd topics despite urging haste earlier, held out a pendulum-shaped item – a blood-red jewel hanging from a thin, long chain – in front of Ryu Seo-ha’s eyes.

It was a tool that had been shown by an extra in the original work who had appeared claiming to be a descendant of the apostles, only to be instantly destroyed by Choi Gang-hu when trying to use hypnosis. Ryu Seo-ha immediately squeezed his eyes shut.

“What, why did you suddenly close your eyes?”

“Our Mr. Sacrifice always does that. He’s so quick-witted. Isn’t it amazing?”

Ignoring both the Second Apostle’s irritated grumbling as if dumbfounded and the Four Apostles’ proud boasting like a doting parent, Ryu Seo-ha desperately tried to think with his dizzy, barely functioning mind.

According to the original content revealed near the ending, the Dimension Core that Ryu Seo-ha was said to be carrying would be embedded in the place connecting his soul and body. As soon as the apostles extract it, his soul and body would separate.

Currently, the Second Apostle was trying to obtain the Dimension Core using hypnosis. Though he couldn’t know the exact method, they were likely trying to draw his state into the subconscious world to induce specific actions. The moment his eyes follow the pendulum, it’s over.

“Tsk, we don’t have time. Should we torture him to force his eyes open?”

“Ah, I can’t give up such a good thing. I’ll do it!”

A cheerful voice rang out excitedly following the brutal statement. The grinning expression of the Four Apostles was vivid in his mind. It was truly a critical situation.

“Did you know?”

Ryu Seo-ha moved his lips slowly, still keeping his eyes closed. A calm and composed voice, almost dry, echoed softly inside the cathedral.

“Hm? Do you want to leave last words? You don’t need to do that, I’ll find a new body for you and listen to everything you…”

“About the assassination attempt on the Chinese President. He was in a mind-controlled state, drooling like some beast.”

Cutting off the Four Apostles who, as always, were babbling useless content lost in their own world, Ryu Seo-ha’s voice was followed by,

Penalty for violating the obligations of ‘Pledge S004’ is applied.

Status ailment ‘Blindness’ is applied.

A system message appeared before his closed eyes. It was exactly as he had expected. Who would have thought he could use the binding effect of the confidentiality pledge he had signed formally in this way.

“What are you suddenly talking about…”

The Four Apostles, who were about to express doubt, hesitated as if sensing the flow of mana.

“What did you just do?”

To the Four Apostles’ question filled with bewilderment, Ryu Seo-ha, with a faint smile, slowly opened his eyelids, inwardly satisfied.

“Oh my. I can’t see.”

All he could see was pitch-black darkness.

“Would you like to try treating it with a potion? You have enough, right?”

In any case, the two of them don’t know how he blinded himself. Using that information advantage as a shield, Ryu Seo-ha tried to put on a relaxed front.