Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 425

◈ 425. Sa Gamjae, Shin Jo-woon, and Lion Lord

Martial Arts Alliance Leader Hyun Woo-ham sensed his impending death.

He straightened his posture and focused his mind to regulate his breathing, yet he felt a strange presence nearby, one so profound it seemed hardly human.

An aura that whispered of death, dark yet devoid of malice.

‘So, this is how death arrives.’

Thanks to his mastery of martial arts, Hyun Woo-ham possessed a body far stronger and a mental fortitude superior to most young people.

His martial arts skills had reached a peak, blocked by an invisible wall that prevented further improvement. Even so, Hyun Woo-ham was so formidable that all martial artists unanimously hailed him as “one of the top three strongest.”

Considering the fates of his teacher and other old masters who were less skilled, Hyun Woo-ham had been confident he would live at least another 30 years.

But now, death was approaching with such natural ease and proximity.

Hyun Woo-ham slowly opened his closed eyelids.

Before him stood a man with almost no visible signs of life, his complexion deathly pale.

A man of such ethereal beauty that he seemed not of this world, yet utterly devoid of color.

If death meant transitioning to the afterlife with such a gentle-looking grim reaper, it wouldn’t be so bad, he mused.

Hyun Woo-ham spoke without hesitation.

“Are you a grim reaper?”

Surprisingly, upon hearing those words, the man, who had seemed utterly devoid of vitality and saturated with death energy, gained a touch of color.

He remained pale, but now appeared more human.

Yet, to Hyun Woo-ham, he still resembled a grim reaper.

The man hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Hyun Woo-ham smiled wryly and asked.

“You’ve come to take me, haven’t you? …Would you grant me time to leave a will? I wish to pen a short letter to my loved ones.”

“…….”

“A stubborn old master clinging to life—it might seem absurd from the perspective of one who has transcended life. But I never anticipated dying at this age. I am utterly unprepared.”

Hyun Woo-ham sighed, contemplating the turmoil that would engulf the martial arts world after his demise.

The current martial arts world appeared tranquil on the surface, but the Alliance leaders and heads of martial arts families were all aware of the delicate balance.

They knew how much effort was being exerted beneath the surface to maintain this tranquility.

Moreover, Yu Mae-na, the enigmatic absolute master whom the evil faction [a group known for their unorthodox and often ruthless martial arts practices] held in highest regard, had vanished without a trace, leaving her disciples and followers to run amok.

So…….

“I didn’t come to take you.”

Hyun Woo-ham’s thoughts were interrupted by the grim reaper’s words.

“Huh?”

He had been preoccupied with the aftermath of his death, and now he stared at the grim reaper, puzzled by his statement.

The grim reaper frowned slightly, then carefully surveyed the room.

Hyun Woo-ham belatedly grasped the grim reaper’s meaning and asked in embarrassment.

“No, then why is a grim reaper here…?!”

Soon, he grew even more terrified and turned pale.

“Could it be! Did you come for my granddaughter! If that’s the case, take me instead! She’s still young!”

“I’m lost.”

“What?”

“I lost my way. And five people too.”

“!”

“The atmosphere in the room is quite fancy and luxurious. You seem to have money and power. You can help me, human.”

* * *

A few wooden furniture pieces. A rather classical atmosphere.

A scroll hanging on the wall. A very rough-looking paper on the desk, and a half-dried brush is hanging next to it.

Shin Jo-woon quickly examined the room, then checked the bed he was lying on, found his shoes, put them on, and opened the door to go outside.

“!”

He rarely got surprised, but this time he was quite surprised.

He had clearly crossed dimensions with Rembrary, who was half-frozen. Why was he alone in this place?

‘A cliff?’

Moreover, the small, isolated building he was lying in was surrounded by cliffs on all sides.

It was amazing how they had built the building.

In other words, someone had built a building on a flat space at the end of a cliff, and Shin Jo-woon had woken up inside.

As he was circling around the building in bewilderment, he saw someone wearing strange clothes watering white camellias.

A person with hair tied in a half-bun that came down a little further than the shoulder line.

The attire that came down to the tips of the toes reminded him of old scholars, but it was difficult to guess which country or era the patterns and detailed shapes belonged to.

“You’re awake.”

At that moment. The person watering the plants called out to Shin Jo-woon.

When Shin Jo-woon nodded, the person turned to Shin Jo-woon, put one hand behind his back, and suddenly apologized.

“First of all, I must express my regret to you. I regret it too.”

Shin Jo-woon frowned slightly, about to ask, ‘Did you save me?’ Suddenly, regret?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“My name is Lumena. Have you ever heard of it?”

‘Lumena?’

Soon, Shin Jo-woon remembered where he had heard the name.

“The god of Lapsus?”

Rembrary had mentioned it in passing.

As soon as Shin Jo-woon finished speaking, the white camellias swayed on their own, even though there was no wind.

Lumena nodded.

“Yes. It seems we can talk quickly if you know. Then I’ll tell you why you’re here and why the others aren’t here. When you crossed dimensions, Redrin asked me for help. Hearing that, I reached out to catch him.”

‘Him?’

“Don’t be offended. It’s not that you’re not important, but I needed to bring him to my side to make things easier.”

The god Lumena omitted many parts of his words, but Shin Jo-woon was able to figure out that the ‘him’ Lumena was talking about was Rembrary.

When Shin Jo-woon didn’t seem too upset, Lumena continued.

“But I couldn’t see well. The space between dimensions is a mysterious space even for us gods.”

Lumena sighed for a moment as he continued.

“But things seemed to be going well. I felt his energy, reached out, and grabbed something. But when I brought it back…….”

Shin Jo-woon immediately understood what Lumena was trying to say.

“It was me.”

“Yes.”

Lumena nodded and asked suspiciously.

“Were you two attached?”

“I was holding him. Be-, Rembrary was frozen.”

“I see.”

Shin Jo-woon roughly understood how the situation had unfolded.

He wondered why only he was here. It was clear that this god had pulled him and separated him from the group.

But there was still something he didn’t understand, so he raised his eyebrows and asked.

“Even if you missed him when you brought him, if he’s in the same dimension, you can just bring him back, right?”

“If I knew where he was.”

“Ah.”

He probably doesn’t know. Even though he’s a god. Shin Jo-woon omitted the rest for Rembrary’s sake.

Lumena sighed again and again, then forced a smile as if trying to create hope and muttered.

“Anyway, I brought a piece of the Demon King here, so the Demon King will never be completely resurrected in your world.”

Shin Jo-woon nodded in relief because Jang Tae-ri and his family were there.

“So, do we have to stay here?”

“No, I can send you back. The other side will help too, so if we use our strength from both sides, we can do it somehow. If it’s just once.”

So easily? Is it because he’s a god?

Shin Jo-woon, who had changed his mind 30 seconds ago, admired inwardly.

Lumena carefully wiped the dust off the flower with the end of his sleeve, put down the watering can, and gestured for him to follow.

“But if you go back there in your current state, it will be easy for the Demon King to be resurrected by taking the piece again. So it’s better to seal the Demon King’s piece here before you go.”

“Is there a way?”

“We have to find it. One of the gods here is asleep and can’t wake up, so maybe there’s a secret to putting the Demon King’s piece to sleep there.”

As Lumena entered the building, Shin Jo-woon followed him into the room where he had woken up.

‘The inside of the room?’

But when he entered the room, the interior had completely changed from when Shin Jo-woon was lying alone.

As Shin Jo-woon looked around in surprise, Lumena reached out into the air, took out something, and handed it to him.

As if there was an invisible drawer there.

Shin Jo-woon accepted it. It was an elaborate gold plaque.

“What is this?”

“I’ll find a way to put the Demon King to sleep, so you find Rembrary and the others and bring them here. I can’t send them back separately.”

“?”

“Ah, you asked what the plaque is. After coming here and using a little power, I was first mistaken for a member of the evil faction, but later I was called a righteous member of the evil faction or something like that.”

“Evil faction?”

“That’s not important.”

“?”

“Anyway, you don’t have any base here. Take this plaque with you and act as my successor. My name has many enemies, but also many allies, so it will be useful. If you go to some merchant groups with it… Anyway, if you go to big merchant groups, there’s money I’ve entrusted to them, so find it and use it.”

Shin Jo-woon accepted it without refusing.

Lumena was right. He had no base here, and he didn’t even have any background knowledge.

Without this safety device, it was clear that it would take a long time just to adapt to this place, let alone find Rembrary and his group.

“And one more thing.”

“Yes.”

“My disciples seem very angry that I disappeared without a word. If you happen to meet them, please appease them.”

The moment Lumena finished speaking and smiled and patted Shin Jo-woon on the shoulder.

Lumena disappeared, and the scenery inside the room, which had changed when Lumena entered, returned to its original state.

Leaving only the gold plaque in Shin Jo-woon’s hand.

Shin Jo-woon put the plaque in his coat pocket and went outside.

“…….”

Unfortunately, the outside scenery remained a cliff.

Shin Jo-woon walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the abyss.

It was so high that the bottom of the cliff was just black. He couldn’t see the bottom.

After standing there for a while, he crossed his arms and touched his forehead.

So… first, he had to get down here to use the plaque or find Rembrary…….

‘To bring the group up here, I must find the Lion Lord.’

* * *

However, at that moment. The Lion Lord was already with Shin Jo-woon.

At least, that’s what he thought.

“Shin Jo-woon?”

He had been caught by that silver-haired bastard and dragged into another dimension. When he came to his senses, Shin Jo-woon was wearing strange clothes and staring blankly at him.

The Lion Lord looked around and asked in surprise.

“When did you change your clothes?”

The surrounding furniture and background were one thing, but Shin Jo-woon’s clothes changing in an instant was too strange.

But Shin Jo-woon only raised his eyebrows as if he felt bad instead of answering.

“Shin Jo-woon?”

Repeating it like that.

“You are an intruder with guts outside your belly [a saying to express someone is bold and disrespectful]. How dare you call my name.”

Moreover, with the words that followed, the Lion Lord thought that Shin Jo-woon’s ego had grown about fifty times as he crossed dimensions.

He was originally a human intoxicated with his own excellence, but ‘my’? He was talking as if he were an emperor.

The Lion Lord ignored Shin Jo-woon, looked around, and asked.

“Where is this? Where’s Rembrary?”