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3:30 PM.

A large café located on the main road in front of Seong Eun Women’s Middle School.

In the innermost corner of the second floor.

Choi Jin-seo, with a drink she had ordered in advance placed before her, was nervously glancing around.

Soon, Kwon Tae-ho would arrive here, alone without an aide. She had specifically requested it that way.

However, it was naturally not her will.

‘Can I really do this…?’

Choi Jin-seo was brought here under the orders of the church.

Her mission was to feed Kwon Tae-ho the blood of the Celestial Lady.

Choi Jin-seo pulled out a small vial from her pocket.

It was tiny, about the size of a single-use eye dropper. The amount of blood inside was also quite minimal. It would be impossible to completely brainwash Kwon Tae-ho with just this.

However, as proved in Lee Ha-yeon’s battle, even a little blood could still affect his movements.

It may not fully control him, but if she could limit his movements even a little, that would be enough. The church had judged it that way.

In other words, it would be nice if she succeeded, but if she failed, there was nothing she could do about it.

The mission entrusted to Choi Jin-seo was just that much. This meant that her value as evaluated by the church was just that much as well.

Logically, the chances of success were slim. If she got caught, she could worst-case scenario be treated as a criminal.

The reason Choi Jin-seo couldn’t refuse such a dangerous mission was obviously that her parents were being held hostage.

The church had never threatened her directly. However, if silent pressure could be considered a threat, then it was indeed a threat. Choi Jin-seo had no right to refuse.

Having already betrayed Lee Ha-yeon once, she had already stepped so deep into the church that escaping seemed nearly impossible now.

“Huff.”

Overwhelming tension, fear, and pressure made it impossible for Choi Jin-seo to even think about drinking the beverage placed in front of her.

It would have been nice if she could enjoy the mission with a happy heart due to brainwashing by the holy water.

Unfortunately, Choi Jin-seo could not do that.

Those who did not know about the church would feel joy and ecstasy from drinking the holy water and worship the deity.

However, Choi Jin-seo, who feared and was hostile towards the church, only found her fears magnified the more holy water she drank. She was terrified of the church, terrified of the Celestial Lady, terrified of losing herself, and thus found herself desperately compelled to follow the church’s orders.

—Wuuuuuummm.

Just then, Choi Jin-seo’s phone rang. A message from Kwon Tae-ho.

After she replied, Kwon Tae-ho came up to the second floor holding a cup of coffee. Choi Jin-seo gazed intently at the coffee he held.

“It’s been a while.”

“…Yes, it has.”

“Why ask to meet alone?”

No unnecessary rhetorical phrases were present. Choi Jin-seo recited the excuses prepared by the church one by one in response to Kwon Tae-ho’s directness.

“…I-I’m feeling anxious. I can’t trust anyone anymore. It feels like everyone around me is a spy planted by the church…”

“What happened?”

“…”

Suppressing the guilt from lying, Choi Jin-seo spoke to Kwon Tae-ho.

“L-Lady Ha-yeon betrayed us.”

At those words, Kwon Tae-ho’s brow furrowed sharply.

“…Betrayed? She wasn’t caught?”

The thought of the worst possible outcome becoming reality caused Kwon Tae-ho to try and deny that statement.

“…Yes. Lady Ha-yeon has betrayed us. She ratted us out, both on me and the Office of Executors.”

But the response he received was still cold.

‘So she’s already brainwashed…’

He thought that with her soul intact, she might be able to withstand it. It seemed the church’s methods of brainwashing were stronger than expected.

As Kwon Tae-ho sighed and took a sip of his coffee, Choi Jin-seo spoke tremulously.

“Because of that, my mother is caught by the church, and my father and I will soon be punished. Originally, I was called to the church headquarters right after school… But I got too scared to go alone, so I contacted you, the Executor…”

“…I can understand why you’re scared, but coming to meet me might not have been the best choice. From what I can tell, a spy might already be watching.”

“A spy…?”

Of course. They would not leave Choi Jin-seo unmonitored knowing she could run at any moment, especially after warning her about ‘punishment.’

Kwon Tae-ho calmed the trembling Choi Jin-seo and looked around.

The person who looked like a spy was…

‘There are a few shady ones, for sure.’

Their actions seemed slightly unnatural, and occasionally their gaze flicked this way.

However, such things were merely circumstantial evidence. He couldn’t interrogate every suspicious person individually, and it would be difficult to pinpoint a spy just from appearances.

Thinking along those lines, Kwon Tae-ho redirected his gaze back to Choi Jin-seo. She averted her eyes and spoke with guilt written all over her face.

“I-I had no idea there was a spy following me. But… if we keep going like this, our family is done for, and I wanted to seek help however I could…”

Looking down at the table, Choi Jin-seo spoke in a whimpering tone.

“Please help me…! Lady Ha-yeon betrayed us too, and now the only person I can trust is you, Executor…! If you turn out to be a person from the church too, then—”

“…So you were trying to meet alone because of that? Because the aide could be a church member?”

Choi Jin-seo nodded at Kwon Tae-ho’s question. Kwon Tae-ho tightly grasped her hands and said.

“It’s okay. At least I and the aide are definitely on your side. So don’t worry.”

“R-Really…?”

Choi Jin-seo lowered her head as if to show her relief, her gaze briefly flitting toward the coffee in front of Kwon Tae-ho.

“…”

After a moment’s pause, Kwon Tae-ho finally stood up. Choi Jin-seo looked up at him with a surprised expression.

“I’ll talk to my aide for a moment. Just wait here; it won’t take long.”

With that, Kwon Tae-ho exited the café. Simultaneously, Choi Jin-seo clenched her fists.

‘N-Now’s my chance!’

Choi Jin-seo took out the vial of Celestial Lady’s blood she had tucked deep in her pocket. Without hesitation, she attempted to pour its contents into Kwon Tae-ho’s coffee.

However.

-Thud.

Just before she could pour it in, someone grabbed her wrist.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Gah…!”

The one holding her wrist was a young woman with a glamorous appearance. Her hair was dyed a bright blonde, and she wore large sunglasses. She looked just like a movie star straight out of a magazine.

However, Choi Jin-seo soon recognized the tightly shut eyelids visible beyond the sunglasses. She had met someone recently who walked around with their eyes closed like that, even though they weren’t blind.

“Y-Yoo Seol…?”

“I was worried you might have already turned to the church, so I came disguised to wait. Lo and behold, my fears were confirmed.”

With a calm voice, Yoo Seol looked slyly at the customers around them. The patrons in the café had briefly glanced their way due to the commotion between Yoo Seol and Choi Jin-seo, but soon returned to their business as though nothing was amiss.

Except for one person.

“I found you.”

Yoo Seol’s gaze fell on a male customer in the corner of the café. The man who had been staring at them stood up in a hurry when he felt her gaze.

He was quick to assess the situation. But it was already too late.

“Hey.”

Feigning leaving for the first floor, Kwon Tae-ho blocked the man trying to escape.

“What do you want?!”

“You’re a spy sent by the church, aren’t you?”

“U-Um, no, that’s not right!”

In response to the man’s reply, Kwon Tae-ho glanced at Yoo Seol. By now, Yoo Seol had removed her sunglasses and was using her glowing ruby-red truth-seeing eyes, shaking her head at Kwon Tae-ho.

“An outright lie.”

“No, I’m not lying. That can’t be—”

“And isn’t the usual response to ‘Are you a spy?’ to ask ‘What do you mean?’ instead of saying ‘No’? ”

“Damn…!”

Seeming to have run out of options, the man used his powers against Kwon Tae-ho. A technique that paralyzed the opponent’s sense of balance through ultrasound.

“Oh.”

Just as Kwon Tae-ho’s body slightly weakened from the ability, the man took the opportunity to shove Kwon Tae-ho aside and tried to dash away.

-Bang!!

“Ugh….”

However, immediately after, Kwon Tae-ho’s palm slammed into the man’s cheek. The man flew several meters and crashed into the café wall, collapsing to the ground.

“Thanks. I had no justification to arrest him, but you’ve provided the reason for me.”

Skillfully pulling out handcuffs, Kwon Tae-ho restrained the man and approached Yoo Seol and Choi Jin-seo.

“So, since there are too many eyes here, shall we move somewhere else to talk?”

The four made their way to Kwon Tae-ho’s car parked behind the café. Kwon Tae-ho took the driver’s seat while Yoo Seol and Choi Jin-seo got into the back seat. The restrained man sat in the passenger side.

“So.”

Kwon Tae-ho turned to look at Choi Jin-seo. He exchanged a glance with Yoo Seol, who nodded as she activated her truth-seeing eyes.

“From now on, lies won’t work. So speak only the truth.”

“…”

“First, let’s ask why you did this.”

Inside the car, Kwon Tae-ho and Yoo Seol interrogated Choi Jin-seo. The moment she realized her attempt had been discovered, she had already lost her fighting spirit. As a result, it didn’t take long for the two to understand most of the situation.

That Lee Ha-yeon was caught by the church. That Choi Jin-seo was threatened using her parents as hostages. That she had intended to feed Kwon Tae-ho the Celestial Lady’s blood, which was the holy water’s main ingredient.

“So this is that blood, huh?”

Kwon Tae-ho muttered, turning the vial he seized from Choi Jin-seo around. Seeing this, Choi Jin-seo hung her head, tears welling in her eyes.

She couldn’t even muster an apology. No matter how much her parents were held hostage, she had betrayed Lee Ha-yeon and was now trying to drag Kwon Tae-ho into a trap.

She thought that even if she was arrested, there was nothing she could do. That was what Choi Jin-seo accepted. Her only concern was for her parents who had been captured by the church.

“Hmmm…”

Kwon Tae-ho observed Choi Jin-seo closely, then subtly shifted his gaze to the passenger seat. There lay the man who had been knocked out cold by Kwon Tae-ho.

“Hey. Wake up.”

-Smack. Smack. Gasp!

As Kwon Tae-ho struck the man a few times, he gasped for air and opened his eyes. As the man looked around, he eventually fixed his gaze on Kwon Tae-ho, who held up the vial containing the Celestial Lady’s blood.

“You came to monitor whether Choi Jin-seo was feeding me this blood, right? If you failed or betrayed us, you intended to harm Choi Jin-seo’s parents.”

“…”

“Your eyes are quite scary. Anyone would think I’m the villain here.”

-Boom.

After saying that, Kwon Tae-ho opened the vial. At the moment the man was puzzled as to what Kwon Tae-ho intended to do, Kwon Tae-ho downed all the Celestial Lady’s blood in the vial.

“Y-Executor?!”

“Why?!”

“Wow…! It’s unbelievably sweet, almost hard to believe it’s human blood! Plus, I feel somewhat tingly and good.”

Normally, a common person would faint from ecstasy and hallucinations right after drinking it, yet Kwon Tae-ho was completely unfazed. He held out the empty vial in front of the man.

“Here, pass this on to the church. Tell them Choi Jin-seo succeeded in her mission.”

“Executor! Are you out of your mind?! Do you even know what you just drank?!!”

“I know exactly what it is, so don’t worry. This won’t kill me; it’s likely just a stomachache at worst.”

“Are you seriously saying that…?”

“Hey, you.”

With the stunned expression on Yoo Seol’s face behind him, Kwon Tae-ho lightly slapped the man’s cheek and said.

“I said to report it. Choi Jin-seo succeeded in her mission. So they should release her mother, as she has completely surrendered to the church. Make sure to convey that.”

“Executor, you can’t—”

“Do it quickly.”

At Kwon Tae-ho’s insistence, the man took out his phone from his pocket. Struggling to type with his handcuffed hands, he sent a message to his superior after confirming the content with Kwon Tae-ho.

“There, with this, your mom should be safe for a while. Right?”

Kwon Tae-ho smiled faintly at Choi Jin-seo after confirming the message was sent, as if nothing had happened, with a calm expression.

“…Why?”

Choi Jin-seo, watching Kwon Tae-ho, couldn’t help but let tears stream down her face.

Why?

She had betrayed Lee Ha-yeon and even tried to trap Kwon Tae-ho. Yet, despite this, he voluntarily drank the Celestial Lady’s blood, which was poisonous to himself.

Why? For what reason?

“I’m an Executor.”

Kwon Tae-ho stated calmly in response to Choi Jin-seo’s confused expression.

“My role is to protect citizens from criminals. That’s what an Executor does. I was just doing my job.”

“…Ugh, ugh…!”

With that succinct answer, the dam holding back Choi Jin-seo’s emotions finally broke.

“Wahh…! Ugh, I-I’m so sorry…! I-I didn’t…! Waaaah!”

At that moment, she fully realized the wrong she had committed.

They were people who risked their own safety purely for the sake of protecting citizens.

What on earth had she done against individuals like that? Choi Jin-seo, understanding it too late, could only cry and cry until her voice went hoarse.

“Wha…! E-Executor…!”

However, despite everything, Choi Jin-seo pleaded.

She knew it was an unreasonable request. But she couldn’t leave it unsaid.

“Please, please save Lady Ha-yeon…!”

She implored him to save her, who was captured because of her mistakes.

This plea made Kwon Tae-ho give a resolute thumbs-up.

“Leave it to me.”