---

Creak—

The car carrying the Apostles came to a screeching halt as it reached its destination.

“Is this the place? The building looks pretty fancy.”

“Let’s move quickly.”

“You two! No entry without identification!”

Infinite Cheongdam.

A place where even a decent monster could be stopped by its own security.

The tight security system, built with the help of a former CIA agent, was so thorough that even reporter Kim Bit-na couldn’t get through.

Thanks to this, it boasted prices only the upper echelons and a select few could afford, and it was worth every penny.

But…

Even Infinite Cheongdam wasn’t enough to stop the Apostles of the Satan Church.

Two Apostles, capable of moving through any building as if it were their own living room.

Tap tap—

Rage, wiping blood off his hands, pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

“What’s with this place? It’s so tense. If I came alone, I’d have been in trouble.”

“That’s because you’re stupid and weak. How dumb do you have to be to light a cigarette in a state-of-the-art building like this?”

Eruogens, cutting the cigarette with a knife, scolded Rage with a look of disdain.

“You bitch! If it weren’t for the mission, I’d rip your head off right now!”

“Your limbs would be cut off before you could even try.”

“You wanna go?!”

There were no guards coming to check on the commotion in the lobby.

They were already all dead.

“Enough, let’s move before this gets annoying.”

“…I’ll let it slide this time.”

“Shut up and follow me.”

The Apostles casually crossed the blood-stained lobby, took the elevator, and headed straight to the top floor.

Ding dong— Knock knock—

Arriving at the door, Rage rang the bell and knocked.

[Who is it? We’re in a bit of a hurry right now, could you come back later?]

Kang-woo and Eun-chae, who had just heard that Jeong Gyeoul had been hospitalized again, were preparing to leave when they received the Apostles’ visit.

It was a situation where you couldn’t help but say they were unlucky.

“They’ll come out if we wait, right?”

“…You’re really hopeless.”

Crash—

Eruogens, frowning at Rage’s words, kicked the front door.

But the door only dented; it didn’t break.

“Pfft, that’s a unique way to knock.”

“Shut up!”

When Eruogens kicked the door again, it finally broke, allowing the Apostles to enter.

“What, what are you doing?!”

“What was that loud noise…”

Eun-chae, who had just changed her clothes, came out to the living room and was speechless.

“This is all because of ST-156 and Jeong Ha-yul, so don’t blame us. Let’s go quietly.”

“Rage, shut up and just grab someone.”

Rage, seemingly enjoying the situation, had a faint smile on his face.

Eruogens, who believed he could beat Jeong Ha-yul one-on-one, wasn’t happy about having to resort to kidnapping and hostage-taking.

“Kidnapping is this boring? I hope I never get assigned to a mission with you again. It would’ve been better if it were Gula.”

“Think about how I feel having to work with a blockhead like you. It’s so frustrating and exhausting.”

“You’re really…”

Ignoring Rage’s cursing, Eruogens walked into the living room and approached Eun-chae.

“…Oppa!”

“Calm down, Eun-chae. They don’t seem to want to kill us, so let’s go quietly. Resisting will only get us hurt. We won’t even buy time.”

“But still!”

“Listen to me.”

“…Okay.”

Kang-woo, who had been through similar situations more than Eun-chae, quickly assessed the situation.

The mention of ST-156 meant these weren’t just ordinary villains.

At least members of the Satan Church.

If they could break into Infinite Cheongdam, they were likely the so-called Apostles.

In that case, resisting would only get them hurt, and they’d be caught in less than 10 seconds, so he chose to go quietly.

Within less than 5 minutes of arriving at Infinite Cheongdam, the Apostles successfully secured Yoo Eun-chae and Baek Kang-woo.

***

At Daehyun Hospital’s special room, Jeong Gyeoul lay still as a vibration came from her phone.

“…!”

The phone showed a photo of an unconscious Eun-chae and Kang-woo.

Another vibration brought a threatening message.

[If you want them alive, drive the car parked in the hospital’s underground level 4, license plate 4885, and follow the saved route. If we detect any police, association, military, guild, or any individual accompanying you, their lives will be over.]

No more messages came after that.

Jeong Ha-yul’s body began to tremble.

Anger aside, her worry for Eun-chae and Kang-woo kept her from calming down.

Drrr—

“The association head contacted me, worried you might have lost your mind after this attack. You should’ve lived more carefully.”

“Park Seol-hwa. I need to talk.”

Park Seol-hwa, who usually picked fights, paused at Jeong Ha-yul’s suddenly serious demeanor.

“…What is it?”

“I need to go somewhere for a bit. Take care of Gyeoul.”

“What, you think I wouldn’t? I’d do that without you asking. Just go already. From now on, it’s my time with Gyeoul.”

Park Seol-hwa’s tension eased, thinking Jeong Ha-yul might threaten to bring down Daehyun if she didn’t find the Satan Church immediately.

‘If Jeong Ha-yul is this serious… did she find the Satan Church’s location?’

Park Seol-hwa, accidentally hitting close to the mark, chuckled and shook her head.

‘No way. If the Satan Church were that easy to find, we’d have caught them already.’

Maybe she’s going to protest another breach.

Or to blame the Apostles for slipping away.

Or to overthrow the always-late association.

Park Seol-hwa thought it wasn’t her concern.

Jeong Ha-yul, stroking Gyeoul’s head, left the room.

And…

A week passed, but Jeong Ha-yul didn’t return.

Yoo Eun-chae and Baek Kang-woo, practically family to Jeong Ha-yul, were also missing for a week.

‘…What on earth is happening?’

Park Seol-hwa regretted not asking where Jeong Ha-yul was going when she left.

Jeong Gyeoul, who was expected to wake up in a day or two, still hadn’t regained consciousness.

“Gyeoul… your family will be found by your sister, so sleep a little longer.”

Park Seol-hwa thought that if Gyeoul woke up and heard the news, she might not be able to stop her.

She wished Gyeoul would just sleep a few more days.

Despite not waking up, her magic power had stabilized perfectly, with no issues.

Doctors believed her brain was refusing to regain consciousness due to the stress from Lee Chae-song’s death.

[Betraying the duties of a hero.]

[A hero deceiving the nation.]

[Jeong Ha-yul, where is she now?]

[Exclusive) Is Jeong Ha-yul on a love escape?]

[Domestic security, maintained by one hero, government’s lack of response.]

Ten days had passed since Jeong Ha-yul disappeared.

All sorts of media were already chewing over her sudden disappearance.

People couldn’t believe she might have been taken down.

A hero called the world’s strongest.

The idea that Jeong Ha-yul disappeared without a trace was less believable than her committing a crime and fleeing.

“Where is she off playing? Last time she went to England…”

“That was to take care of her sister, wasn’t it?”

“Sister? More like her daughter. This time, she went on a trip with her dad, mom, and daughter!”

“…Jeong Gyeoul was caught up in this terror attack and is in the hospital, right? Something must be going on.”

“Pfft, something happened to Jeong Ha-yul? If it did, we’d know. At least half of Korea would’ve been blown up.”

People only talked about Jeong Ha-yul when they gathered.

Every internet community was filled with posts about her.

Even the news was the same.

The situation was worse than when she left for England because of Gyeoul.

Rumors that she might be dead were common, and villain-related incidents had more than doubled, creating a gloomy atmosphere across society.

“What is the association doing? Can’t they control the media?”

“Public opinion is too bad because of the academy terror attack…”

“…Sigh, really useless. I’ll handle it, so just expand the search. How can you still not find her?”

Ten days had passed since the S-class hero went missing, and there wasn’t a single clue.

They confirmed she took a car from the hospital’s underground level 4, but after that, she vanished into thin air.

CCTV from the hospital and nearby roads showed no trace.

‘Jeong Ha-yul… where are you?’

As Park Seol-hwa busily worked to find the Demon King’s family…

Jeong Gyeoul woke up.

 

---