The Best Cure for Those Returnees is a Beating

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– Bang! Clatter!!

A man is causing a ruckus inside the store. Kwon Tae-ho approaches him slowly.

“The end of the world is coming soon! It’s too late to repent on Judgment Day! Pay heed to the words of the Celestial Lady right now! Repent! O sinners! Regret! O sinners!!”

“Hey, stop it, will you…? People are watching, man…”

“Ugh….”

Even as one member of the party goes wild, the other two can’t seem to rein him in. Both seem to have had a bit too much to drink and are struggling to keep themselves upright.

At this rate, Kwon Tae-ho has no choice but to step in.

“Hey.”

“Huh?”

At Kwon Tae-ho’s appearance, the man causing the chaos turns to look. Seeing someone almost 190 centimeters tall staring down at him, he instinctively takes a step back.

“You’re disturbing others, you know. How about you tone it down?”

“Disturb? Are you saying I did something wrong?! I’m trying to save people! Stop with your nonsense, you devil’s accomplice!”

“What a lot of words from a cultist.”

“What did you say!? Cultist?!”

– Whoosh!!

Kwon Tae-ho grabs the man’s swinging fist and twists it. While the guy is momentarily stunned, Kwon Tae-ho quickly gains the advantage and slams him down to the floor.

– Bang! Thud!!

“Ah! Wait! My arm! It hurts!!”

“You’re under emergency arrest for unauthorized ability use and causing civilian damage.”

“Are you the… police?”

“No, I’m an enforcer.”

The mere mention of “enforcer” freezes the previously raging man’s expression. Confirming that any resistance has disappeared, Kwon Tae-ho turns to the other members of his group.

“If you’re going to get involved, come on.”

“N-no! We won’t….”

“I’m sorry. Our friend caused trouble….”

“Well then, you. Call the police and report this. Tell them to take your friend away.”

Under Kwon Tae-ho’s orders, one woman from the group reluctantly calls the police.

A short while later.

“Truth Church?”

As Kwon Tae-ho hands the man over to the arriving police, he hears that name from the officers.

“Yes. I asked the other two in your group, and they said they got acquainted through a religious matter. Truth Church, they said. Do you know anything about it?”

“I’ve heard the name, at least….”

Truth Church.

It is a new religion that emerged in South Korea after the great upheaval. Officially, it claims only a few tens of thousands of followers, but it is rapidly gaining ground.

Like most religions that sprouted following such upheavals, it originated from a deity of another world, claiming that the upheaval itself was God’s judgment and that the deity would one day descend to judge sinners.

In any case, they preach for people to believe in their religion and repent to prepare for salvation… a typical apocalyptic fear-mongering marketing strategy.

One of the other distinct features is that they have a leader who is known as the “Celestial Lady,” a returnee who appears like an angel.

“Actually, I have followers of Truth Church around me too. They do a lot of volunteer work, and the members are nice people… But every time there’s an incident like this, I think, ‘Yep, cults are still cults.'”

“I feel the same. This is just personal bias, but I haven’t seen a proper religion among those based on other worlds. After all, there are just so many of them.”

“Hahaha. That’s true. Just the other day, I saw a religion that worships a beautiful girl who loves tteokbokki as a deity. The older folks are always talking about the end times, and honestly, they’re not entirely wrong.”

“It’s a chaotic era. That’s why people like us have to work hard.”

At Kwon Tae-ho’s words, the police officers chuckle shyly. Being told that by an enforcer, known as the protector of order, left them unsure of what to do.

“Well, good luck.”

“Yes! Thank you for your hard work, Enforcer!”

After completing the handover, Kwon Tae-ho decided to wrap up the drinking session and left the establishment.

“Thanks for the meal, Enforcer! I’ll work even harder starting tomorrow!”

“Right, be careful on your way back.”

“You two, be careful too!”

After sending Lee Ha-yeon off, Yoo Seol and Kwon Tae-ho walked in the same direction. Although Yoo Seol had shaken off some of the effects of the alcohol, she still seemed to struggle to keep her balance.

“Are you okay? Should I get you a hangover remedy?”

“Worrying about me now? No thanks. If I take that, I’ll feel worse. I just want to get home and sleep.”

“If walking is hard, I can carry you.”

At this suggestion, Yoo Seol hesitated for a moment but then shook her head vigorously. Her embarrassment overshadowed the influence of alcohol.

“By the way, you ran into some annoying folks.”

“Who? Oh, the Truth Church? What’s the big deal? There are always people like that in today’s world. Nothing to stress over, right?”

“That might be true, but unlike other new religions, Truth Church is a bit special.”

“Special?”

Seeing Kwon Tae-ho questioningly raise an eyebrow, Yoo Seol answered.

“No matter what religion, their deity isn’t visible. Even those pretending to be God’s representatives look like ordinary humans, which makes them less persuasive.”

“And then?”

“Truth Church is different. They have an angel there.”

“Returning to human form from another world isn’t that rare. Is there anything special about looking like an angel?”

“That’s what the average person thinks. But to those who are obsessed with the religion, it’s different.”

Humans are creatures that love to assign meaning to symbols. And the symbol of an angel was tremendously alluring to those wishing to rely on religion.

“Anyway, I hope this blows over without incident.”

“It’s just catching an ordinary drunkard. Nothing significant can happen.”

With those thoughts, the two returned to their respective homes.

Fortunately, nothing happened the next day.

But the day after that…

“Ah, grandmother!”

As Lee Ha-yeon was heading to the office, she ran into the local old lady she had met on the subway before. The old lady, recognizing her, waved her hand joyfully, as if she were seeing her own granddaughter.

“Oh my, my pretty young lady. Out and about early again, are we? Off to work?”

“Hehehe. Yes. How about you, grandmother? Are you heading to the senior center today?”

“Of course! I had a great win against Mrs. Kim from the laundromat yesterday. She insisted I come back to pay her today, so I came out early this morning.”

“Hahaha… It’s good to enjoy, but don’t get too carried away…?”

“Well, we old folks all play the same games. Hmm?”

At that moment, the old lady frowned at a ruckus coming from the alley.

“Oh dear, I bet those enforcers from the district office are stirring up trouble again. Are they demonstrating every other day now?”

“No, really? That can’t be true? I haven’t heard of anything recently…?”

“??? How would a young lady know that?”

“Wait here, grandmother. I’ll check it out!”

Leaving the puzzled old lady behind, Lee Ha-yeon quickly ran towards the office.

Then.

“Kwon Tae-ho is Satan!!”

“Satan! Satan!”

“Let’s drive out the devil!!”

“Drive him out! Drive him out!”

“Human rights violations! Don’t do this!!”

“Don’t do this! Don’t do this!”

A familiar scene. A familiar noise.

Just like the day after Kwon Tae-ho had captured the celestial Seong Jin-hong, a group of protesters had set up camp in the alley in front of the office, shouting passionately.

However, there was a difference this time: unlike before, they were all carrying symbols that looked like tilted crosses. Lee Ha-yeon instantly recognized who they were.

Truth Church followers.

“Everyone! Two days ago, one of our faithful brothers was wrongfully accused by the devil’s minions while he was trying to convey the Celestial Lady’s words to foolish sinners! Should we just let that fiend suppress and persecute our brother with filthy power?!”

“No way! No way!”

“That’s right, everyone! Brothers! Sisters! We must fight! We must not bow down to power! Until the day the words of truth spread across the world and everyone is saved! We will fight!!”

“Let’s fight!! Let’s fight!!”

“Now, let’s do it again with vigor!! Kwon Tae-ho is Satan!!”

“Satan!! Satan!!”

The atmosphere of the protest was far more intense and heated than the one against Seong Jin-hong before. Overwhelmed by their fervor, Lee Ha-yeon unconsciously took a few steps back.

At that moment.

– Beep beep beep!

Lee Ha-yeon’s phone rang. It was a call from Yoo Seol.

“Y-yes?”

– Use the emergency stairs. You know what I mean?

Click.

With that, the call ended. Glancing up, she saw Yoo Seol’s face reflected in the window, gesturing towards the back of the building.

Lee Ha-yeon carefully made her way up the emergency stairs, trying not to be noticed by the protesters. Upon arriving at the office, she was greeted by Yoo Seol, who had a nonchalant expression.

“Good morning, Ha-yeon. I’m brewing coffee; do you want some?”

“Ah, yes. I’d love some… No! It’s complete chaos outside…! What are we going to do about them?”

“What do you mean? I reported them for holding an illegal assembly, so the police will come and handle it soon. Until then, we just have to endure the noise.”

“But what about the Enforcer…?”

“The Enforcer—”

– Bang.

At that moment, the inner office door swung open, and Kwon Tae-ho stepped out, his hair soaked and dripping water, not wearing even a single thread of clothing on his upper body.

“Ah, Enforcer!”

However, having already experienced this once, Lee Ha-yeon was not flustered.

“Oh, good morning, newcomer.”

“Yes! Good morning!!”

“…Enforcer, could you put on some clothes? It’s a bit awkward to see.”

“Why would it be awkward with such sculpted muscles in front of you? You have no appreciation for aesthetics, Assistant.”

“Want me to turn them into pieces?”

“If you can, go ahead. If you succeed, I might consider supporting you for a special position.”

Kwon Tae-ho casually threw on a shirt he had laid out. Yoo Seol shook her head in disbelief at Kwon Tae-ho.

“So, why did you get hit with eggs again this time? Was there a baseball player in the crowd?”

“I could have dodged, but I didn’t want to spill the coffee in my hand…”

“Quite the brag, indeed.”

Even with the noise from the loudspeakers outside, the two remained completely unfazed.

To them, even such situations were mundane. Lee Ha-yeon wondered if she could ever be that calm. She hadn’t even realized that avoiding situations like this in the first place would be the best solution.

“Well, considering the usual protests, it should quiet down in a day or two. Until then, let’s just be careful.”

As Yoo Seol said, after the police eventually dispersed the protesters, they didn’t return.

However, unlike the victims of Kwon Tae-ho’s last encounter, the Truth Church followers began to torment Kwon Tae-ho and his group in even more petty and sneaky ways.

For instance, they would leave rotten eggs on the stairways of buildings without CCTV.

Or plaster the exterior walls with posters condemning Kwon Tae-ho as a devil-worshiper.

Or spread unhealthy rumors and slanders about Kwon Tae-ho on the internet (which was nothing out of the ordinary).

That much could be brushed off as just bad luck, but eventually, an incident happened that couldn’t be overlooked. A few suspected followers trailed Yoo Seol home at night.

“This won’t do. Where’s the Truth Church headquarters? I’m going to confront them directly. If they keep bothering us, I’ll show them what physical oppression against a religion looks like.”

“Your boldness in single-handedly starting a religious war is commendable, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Religion, politics, and ideology are all prime topics that get slammed by public opinion. Especially for someone like the Enforcer, who’s already controversial.”

“Am I just supposed to sit back and take it? I’ve seen the police turn a blind eye because it’s a religious matter. What’s the point of having investigative and arrest powers? I might as well poke at them until something sticks—”

– Beep beep beep!

At that moment, the office phone started to ring loudly.

“Yes, this is Kwon Tae-ho’s office.”

Yes, I see. Yes.

As Yoo Seol gave a few formal responses, a hint of surprise crossed her face. After hanging up, Kwon Tae-ho asked.

“Bad news?”

“If we’re being technical, it’s good news.”

“What is it?”

“We received a call from the Truth Church. Their followers are coming to apologize for the damage they caused directly. They asked when would be a good time, and I told them today would be fine.”

“Really?”

Hearing Yoo Seol, a thick smile blossomed on Kwon Tae-ho’s face. Cracking his knuckles, he said.

“Well then, let’s see what these high-ranking cultists have to say.”