The Cult always moves in tandem with the darkness. That darkness holds numerous eerie truths, including human experimentation. None of this should ever be known to the public; the moment it is revealed, everything ends.

  Therefore, the members of the Cult were always cautious. They were taught never to speak of what they must protect. They learned the vital importance of silence and exactly what must never be done.

  Most importantly, they were instructed never to do anything that would allow the police or any public authority to gain a foothold against them.

  No one knew how ruin approached. There were many "infidels" trying to dig into the Cult's shadows. The moment a gap was shown, those enemies would strike at their weaknesses, much like the venomous fangs of a wicked serpent biting a throat.

  So, one must never show a crack.

  And one must never fail.

  Should a gap be shown or a failure occur, the price must be paid. Even Apostles were no exception. If necessary, they had to atone for their sins by offering their very lives.

  Yet, sometimes even death was not enough. This was why they were careful, and careful again. It was the duty of those belonging to the Cult. No one was free from this.

  "It cannot be helped."

  The Vice-Leader could not hide his regret upon receiving the report. Ha-eun, burning with a desire for revenge against Jihyeon, had devised various plans to punish him.

  The Vice-Leader hadn't thought that was a bad thing. However, this time, an unforgivable mistake had been made. The deaths of the police officers during the attempt to kidnap the woman named Min-ah would be a major problem. If they had achieved their goal, perhaps they could have smoothed it over somehow.

  But not only Ha-eun, but all the other Apostles had been defeated. Even worse, their Tools had been taken.

  It was impossible to show mercy or grant new opportunities to such failures. As an Apostle holds great authority, the responsibility for failure is equally heavy.

  Now, the Vice-Leader had to make a decision. The disposal of the failures rested in his hands. The Chancellor had said nothing about the matter, but he knew well what choice the Vice-Leader would make.

  Nevertheless, he did not object. The Vice-Leader felt the same way.

  Clearly, they had performed their duties well until now. Considering their skills, it was natural to feel that wasting them was a pity.

  But now, police interrogations awaited them. Every tiny action would become evidence, and the potential damage to the Cult was unimaginable.

  In such a case, there was only one thing to do.

  Disposal.

  Things that needed to be settled had to be settled quickly. It was foolish to linger on emotions. Knowing how close to the darkness they resided, the Vice-Leader did not hesitate. Regret was just regret. The punishment befitting a failed Apostle had already been prepared.

  "Then..."

  The Vice-Leader muttered as he signed the document. The Chancellor watched with emotionless eyes.

  "Deliver this."

  The Vice-Leader handed the document to a subordinate, who quietly exited the room.

  "I know it was unavoidable, but they underestimated the enemy too much. And then they were caught by the police. If they had returned safely, it might be different, but for us..."

  The Vice-Leader still seemed regretful. But the document was no longer in his hands.

  "It is inevitable," the Chancellor said, letting out a sigh. All that remained was to leave it to the Leader who had ascended to heaven.

  The air in the room was heavy, and that weight did not dissipate for a long while.

  Defeat in battle.

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  But that wasn't all. Not only were their Tools taken, but the police had swarmed in and arrested everyone in the building—from Apostles to lay believers.

  Kidnappers have no right to protest. They were all kidnappers and accomplices in the abduction of Min-ah. Using Tools without a permit was a serious crime in itself. Mercy was out of the question for those who committed violent felonies.

  Thus, Ha-eun, Mu-yeong, and Young-wook were all confined together in the detention center. Because they were Tool users, they were under surveillance several times stricter than usual.

  Bound so perfectly that they couldn't move, the three were incensed by the fact that they could do nothing but exercise their right to remain silent. Normally, they would be crushing the Cult's enemies or hunting berserkers according to orders.

  But they had lost. They had lost to Jihyeon and were captured in a pathetic manner. No options remained. This was the treatment befitting losers.

  Those without the right to speak. That was all the failed Apostles were now. All three knew this better than anyone.

  "Tch."

  Leaning his back against the wall, Ha-eun clicked his tongue. Normally, he should have been a glorious victor, placing Jihyeon's head upon the altar of the Leader.

  But he had failed. He had lost. And now, he had become an ordinary man. A powerless man who couldn't even break these ropes, he could only sit there in misery.

  It shouldn't have turned out like this. He was a man destined to crush the Cult's enemies and seize the future. He was supposed to help the Vice-Leader and become the guardian of the Cult.

  But what was this? He had even abandoned his family to come this far, and to end up like this was unacceptable. Yet, reality was accompanied by the rough texture of the binding ropes.

  "Phew..."

  Mu-yeong could only sigh. The price of failing to overcome the anxiety that had gripped him was too miserable. He should have searched for the enemy with patience until the end, but there is no better target than a sniper who reveals himself.

  He had dug his own grave. There were no words to add. Having been the first to fall and providing no help in the battle, he had now become a prisoner threatening the Cult's safety. Shame weighed heavily on him, but he had to taste the bitterness of failure without any way out.

  "Leader..."

  Young-wook, the one with the shortest career among them, called out to the deceased former Leader. Having survived ordeal-like trials to become an Apostle, he entrusted everything to his true faith. In the reverence that any faithful believer should possess, Young-wook simply prayed and prayed, repenting for his mistakes.

  Of course, he knew well that he had become a stain on the history of the Cult, which was supposed to be filled only with glory. He also knew that no more opportunities would be given.

  Yet, if by some miracle he could grasp a new chance, he desperately wanted to make up for this failure. Even knowing there was no "next time," it was only human to want to hold onto a futile hope.

  For now, however, silence was their only weapon and final resistance. The three said nothing to each other in the room. There was nothing else they could do.

  Consequently, the room was strikingly quiet. Aside from minimal ambient noise, they stayed as still as the dead.

  Naturally, the investigators sighed as they watched them. These men wouldn't say a word until the end. They wouldn't speak of those who gave them orders; they would swallow their sins in silence.

  For the investigators trying to dismantle the Cult, this was the worst barrier. It is extremely difficult to deal with those willing to shoulder all the guilt themselves. They wanted to find even a small crack, but these men wouldn't talk at all. They even appeared as if they had forgotten how to speak.

  This was their resistance to avoid showing any weakness. To make matters worse, they were now refusing food, driving the investigators to their wits' end.

  If they were to cross the legal line and resort to torture, who knew what the outcome would be? But even though the Tools had been removed, there was no telling if some residual power remained. For now, monitoring them and pressuring them with words was all the investigators could do. They couldn't even use truth serum, which was frustrating.

  At least the fact that surveillance was stricter than ever—given the recent rise in crimes involving Tools—was the only consolation for the investigators. Indeed, it was natural, as related crimes had noticeably decreased since these men were caught.

  But silence was still a grueling ordeal. It was a battle of patience that no one knew how long would last.

  Watching this, the prison guards let out sighs. These were the kinds of people even they found hard to handle. No one is harder to talk to than those who seem prepared for death. Even so, it would be a problem if they actually died. Though they hadn't been there long, all three Apostles were like ticking time bombs to the guards.

  "Seriously, what is wrong with those guys? Are they completely insane?" one guard muttered in irritation. He complained that he got goosebumps every time he passed their cell.

  "They're cult followers, so of course they're not normally crazy," another guard replied, chiming in. To them, the three Apostles were people they wanted to send off to prison and forget.

  "Wait, what's this?"

  While the other guards were venting their frustrations, the guard watching the CCTV felt something was wrong. Simultaneously, he realized through the watches on their wrists that something abnormal had occurred.

  "Get in there now! Their hearts aren't beating!"

  The alarm blared, and the guards rushed in. Who could have predicted that those under their watch would all die at the same time?

  But it was reality. There had been no warning. No one had broken a window. There wasn't even any sign of someone tampering with the CCTV. This made the guards even more bewildered.

  Despite there being no fault on their part, the men were dead.

  The three Apostles. And among the Cult members arrested with them, not a single one survived.

  The guards turned pale. Without any chance to intervene, they had lost those who were supposed to be under their management.

  "What on earth happened..." one guard muttered. But no one answered. Perhaps it was because they couldn't easily accept the catastrophic result despite their best efforts.

  However, seeing even the paramedics shake their heads, they had to accept their failure. The worst failure since this detention center was established.

  All suspects were dead.