Jihyeon felt a sense of frustration as he looked at the enemy before him. This was a foe whose abilities he couldn't grasp. Even with his vast knowledge, information about someone possessing a Tool was impossible to know instinctively. If there had been others nearby, he could have deduced something indirectly, but the man stood alone.

  Analyzing the man's breathing to find an opening would take too much time. Jihyeon was troubled; neutralizing him without lethal force seemed difficult.

  Of course, if he intended to kill, it wouldn't matter. No matter how fast the man was, he couldn't move faster than light. Moreover, Jihyeon himself possessed the ability of high-speed movement. If he wished, he could snap the man's neck in a myriad of ways. He could even stop the man's heart simply by willing it.

  Even if the opponent wielded psychokinesis or a Tool that froze movement, Jihyeon had ways to counter it.

  However, no matter how enraged he was, Jihyeon had resolved never to kill. He knew that the moment he crossed that line, there was no telling what he might become. He would likely turn into a cold-blooded killer. To avoid such a future, murder had to be excluded as an option.

  And so, he pondered. He wasn't sure how to defeat his enemy. For an ordinary person, he could resort to extreme measures like dislocating every bone in their body, but it was uncertain if such a thing would even neutralize a Tool user.

  Ultimately, the only way was to identify the opponent's ability and counter it. But no immediate ideas came to mind. If all else failed, he would have to deploy a shield and escape as quickly as possible. That was something he was capable of.

  Thinking this, Jihyeon mobilized all his five senses, trying to scrape together any shred of information about his opponent.

  The man before him, however, wore the relaxed smile typical of those hiding a scheme. He looked as if he was certain he could defeat Jihyeon.

  Jihyeon felt a prickle of irritation. That expression felt like a direct provocation. Yet, he did not commit the folly of showing his emotions. He remained still, as if he felt nothing at all.

  "She is our precious guest. I cannot allow you to take her," the man said.

  Jihyeon scoffed and replied, "There’s nothing funnier than a kidnapper calling his victim a 'guest'."

  The man remained brazen, his expression unchanging. "A bit of trouble during the invitation doesn't mean we can't call her a guest."

  Jihyeon had to struggle to suppress a laugh. "Is that why the Leader tried to kill her?"

  Jihyeon spoke, recalling the first time Min-ah was almost kidnapped. At the mention of the deceased former Leader, the man's expression hardened.

  "Right. I forgot that there is something we must take back from you," the man said, letting out a sigh. It was the signal for battle.

  But in that instant, the man truly realized for the first time who he had challenged. He never imagined he would be exposed to an attack during that split second he took to prepare himself. It was a fatal mistake. His vision flashed, and a sensation like his entire body was burning surged through him.

  It was a powerful electric shock.

  His body was too weak to withstand it. Unlike Ha-eun, the Tool he possessed was not particularly helpful for defense.

  Even so, he didn't lose consciousness immediately. He was a man of significant willpower, which was why he had become an Apostle. However, despite his will, his body collapsed, convulsing in agony that he couldn't control.

  Jihyeon looked down at the man with cold eyes. But he knew he couldn't stay here forever.

  "Tch... I’m short on time."

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  Jihyeon set Min-ah down and made a request. "Watch if anyone else is coming."

  He cast a protective barrier around the area to keep Min-ah safe, then approached the fallen man and grabbed his hand.

  "What—ugh!"

  The man tried to ask what Jihyeon was doing, but he was immediately met with a pain that felt like his very brain was being torn apart.

  "AAAAAAARGH!"

  There was no way to stop the scream. In pure agony, he couldn't think of anything. He didn't know how much time had passed.

  But everything in this world has an end. At some point, the pain vanished. Simultaneously, he felt an unfathomable sense of emptiness. He quickly realized the source of that void.

  "So there's a Tool like this too..." Jihyeon muttered, looking at the Tool he had just detached.

  Seeing this, the man felt fear before rage. That was a Divine Tool he had received after overcoming difficult training under the protection of God. The fact that someone could simply pluck it from his body was incomprehensible. It was something not even the Vice-Leader could do. The man trembled in shock. A terror greater than emptiness or pain broke him from within.

  "Mr. Kim Young-wook. Are you happy after abandoning your family?" Jihyeon asked, looking at the information that appeared as he dismantled the Tool.

  Young-wook stared at Jihyeon with renewed horror. "W-what are you trying to say? I... I..."

  Young-wook tried to argue, but his mouth wouldn't move properly. Even though Jihyeon's eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, Young-wook felt as though he was being peered through.

  "If you ever see your family again, be sure to apologize. You've done something you should never have done."

  With those words, Jihyeon moved on with Min-ah. He quickly dealt with those who came running at the sound of Young-wook's screams and vanished from their sight.

  Young-wook just sat there, dazed.

  Family.

  The weight of that word crushed him more heavily than his failure.

  Ha-eun wore a cruel smile, realizing his younger brother was slower than he had expected. Ha-hyeon seemed to have some experience with his fists, but the important thing was actually being able to hit the opponent.

  Compared to Ha-eun, who could move faster with the help of a Tool, Ha-hyeon was not that fast. Of course, Ha-hyeon was much faster than an ordinary human; he moved at a surprising speed and exerted overwhelming violence. But that was only in comparison to normal people.

  In front of Ha-eun, who had overcome trials and could use two Tools simultaneously, Ha-hyeon's speed was so slow that Ha-eun could practically yawn while dodging.

  Even now, a fist that grazed Ha-eun's head would have surely dazed him if it had landed. But that was only if it landed.

  When he first reunited with his brother, Ha-eun hadn't held such a speed advantage. But now it was different. He delighted in the fact that he could teach his brother what an overwhelming advantage felt like.

  "Slow! Too slow!" Ha-eun shouted to provoke him.

  But Ha-hyeon looked as if he couldn't even understand the words. Perhaps it was inevitable, as Ha-eun's speech was much faster than a normal person's.

  It didn't matter if he couldn't understand. Ha-eun swung his fist at Ha-hyeon. He felt the impact as his fist connected solidly. Ha-hyeon was sent flying, hit by a punch powerful enough to tear an ordinary person's neck off.

  Different speeds meant different power. That fact made Ha-eun even more joyful.

  "You really are a deficient fellow. How good would it have been if you had come with me? Instead, you’re doing this useless nonsense."

  Ha-eun approached Ha-hyeon. Having taken a direct hit to the head, Ha-hyeon hadn't yet fully regained his senses. His movements as he shook his head, trying to stand up, seemed incredibly slow to Ha-eun.

  It seemed the gap in power was not easily bridged. Using two Tools at once was difficult, but a chosen one like Ha-eun could manage it.

  Still, the energy consumption was high. Ha-eun temporarily deactivated the Tool that allowed him to accelerate several times over. To have a proper conversation, he needed to turn off that power, as his brother's speech sounded too slow otherwise.

  Ha-eun reached out, grabbed Ha-hyeon's hair, and lifted him up.

  "Let go!" Ha-hyeon couldn't hide his rage at the humiliation.

  But his meaningless anger, not yet fully recovered, posed no threat to Ha-eun.

  "So noisy."

  Without hesitation, Ha-eun swung his fist. Ha-hyeon was sent flying again. Since Ha-eun had aimed for the head, it would be hard for him to move immediately.

  "It would have been better for you too if you had followed God's will. It's laughable that a weakling like you would challenge me just because you got your hands on some strange thing."

  Ha-eun grabbed Ha-hyeon's hair again and lifted his head.

  "Bullshit," Ha-hyeon replied, his face contorted in pain but refusing to give in.

  At those words, Ha-eun slammed Ha-hyeon's head into the ground without hesitation.

  "I guess you haven't had enough of a beating yet. Do you think a weakling like you has the right to say such things?"

  Speaking with contempt, Ha-eun slammed Ha-hyeon's head into the ground several more times. Then, he launched Ha-hyeon high into the air and kicked him with full force as he came down.

  "Agh!"

  With a short cry, Ha-hyeon was sent tumbling away. Ha-eun smiled with satisfaction. He thought he should take his brother back and train him as a new Apostle under their teachings.

  However, a sudden, explosive sound in his ears knocked him unconscious. Although he had noise protection measures in place, a sound echoing directly in his ears neutralized him instantly.

  Ha-eun could no longer think of anything. He fainted on the spot.

  And when he finally woke up, what Ha-eun felt was an unfathomable sense of emptiness.