Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 557

◈ 557. Prince…?

Woo Yeon-woo sprinted back the way he came, cursing a blue streak. He was so angry and frustrated he could barely stand it.

Even as he called Rembrary, Woo Yeon-woo tried to pinpoint Shin Jo-woon’s location.

Personally, he loathed the guy, but they were in the dungeon as a team, after all.

Suppressing his personal feelings to act as a team, he planned to warn Rembrary first, then tell Shin Jo-woon to be careful.

But what do you know? Shin Jo-woon was already fighting someone.

‘Fighting already?’

Is that bastard a fighting cock? Woo Yeon-woo clicked his tongue, straining his eyes to identify Shin Jo-woon’s opponent.

He had to move around so much to see the face, constantly shifting his position.

“Is Shin Jo-woon crazy?”

Woo Yeon-woo blurted out, forgetting he was on the phone. The person Shin Jo-woon was fighting was his own brother, Woo Seong-woo.

“That son of a bitch!”

Woo Yeon-woo cursed and started running back down the path he had struggled to climb.

* * *

“Did you even hear what I said?”

Woo Seong-woo asked, dodging frantically as Shin Jo-woon suddenly attacked him, even though he seemed to understand.

“Of course.”

Shin Jo-woon replied in a tone that inspired absolutely no trust.

“That’s why I’m attacking weakly, right?”

Deflecting shards of ice flying past his heart with psychokinesis, Woo Seong-woo genuinely wondered what Shin Jo-woon’s standard for ‘weakly’ was.

But Shin Jo-woon wasn’t lying this time.

He really thought Woo Seong-woo’s words were worth listening to, and that’s why he was trying to take Woo Seong-woo with him.

Then, Shin Jo-woon noticed Woo Yeon-woo hiding behind a large sculpture some distance away.

Hidden, Woo Yeon-woo was only sticking his hand out.

He was clearly using his ability, so Shin Jo-woon waved a hand in that direction while parrying Woo Seong-woo’s attacks.

Soon, a scream of “Ah!” came from behind the sculpture.

Woo Seong-woo glanced that way and cried out in surprise.

“Yeon-woo!”

Woo Yeon-woo was staggering out, one hand completely frozen.

Woo Seong-woo, who had instinctively tried to rush over, grit his teeth, using his psychokinesis to push away the rapidly approaching cold air swirling around his feet.

But he was already furious.

Seeing Woo Yeon-woo’s hand frozen, Woo Seong-woo couldn’t hold back his anger and began to unleash a full-scale attack on Shin Jo-woon.

Instantly, objects and trees around them started flying towards Shin Jo-woon, and stones swirled like a tornado.

“Ah, damn it. What do I do?”

Woo Yeon-woo groaned, clutching his hand, then stomped his foot as the fight intensified.

“Stop fighting, both of you!”

Woo Yeon-woo shouted. At this rate, they would both get seriously hurt.

“I said stop fighting!”

But almost as Woo Yeon-woo shouted, half of Woo Seong-woo’s body froze, and the giant statue that Woo Yeon-woo had hidden behind flew towards Shin Jo-woon’s head.

At that moment.

Shin Jo-woon frowned, touched his forehead, and the statue, which had been flying towards Shin Jo-woon against gravity, suddenly dropped to the ground.

Woo Yeon-woo’s mind went half-numb with a moment of all-consuming terror.

Beyond his confused mind, he saw Rembrary walking towards them.

“Troublemakers.”

Seeing Rembrary approaching with a gentle smile, Woo Yeon-woo felt strangely wronged.

‘I was trying to stop them, too.’

* * *

After Rembrary healed the three people affected by ‘Divine Majesty’ and unfroze Woo Yeon-woo and Woo Seong-woo, Woo Seong-woo immediately disappeared into the bushes.

“Hyung!”

Woo Yeon-woo chased after him in a panic, but Woo Seong-woo was already gone.

Dejected, Woo Yeon-woo glared at Shin Jo-woon, annoyed, but Shin Jo-woon was just checking the time.

Rembrary watched their behavior and asked.

“Why has Woo Seong-woo suddenly become so shy?”

“Shy? He just ran away.”

Woo Yeon-woo replied irritably, pointing at Shin Jo-woon.

“Because of that guy.”

When Shin Jo-woon seemed about to turn his head towards Woo Yeon-woo, Woo Yeon-woo quickly asked Rembrary.

“How did you come straight here? You went into the maze.”

“I was worried because you shouted something strange at the end.”

“You came on purpose…?”

“No. I took the wrong turn and ended up outside.”

“…That’s not coming because you were worried.”

“I was worried. I just didn’t intend to come.”

Woo Yeon-woo, twice as angry as before, kicked the perfectly good floor with his toe.

Rembrary examined the shattered statue and all the trees and benches scattered around and asked.

“Why were you fighting?”

Woo Yeon-woo immediately protested.

“I wasn’t fighting. I was trying to stop that guy and my brother from fighting.”

“Really, Anchovy?”

Shin Jo-woon put down his phone, looked at Rembrary with pitiful eyes, and said.

“Was that stopping them? It looked like two brothers were trying to attack me 2-on-1.”

Seeing that expression, Woo Yeon-woo’s blood pressure suddenly soared, and he touched the back of his neck.

What is this guy saying right now?

Of course, he tried to attack Shin Jo-woon to stop the fight. That’s right. But wasn’t this guy the one who shattered that attempt with a single gesture?

His hand was the one that froze. So why is he acting so pitiful?

“Oh dear. Then, Yeon-woo, it seems it’s your fault.”

“Do you believe him?!”

Those two are making me angry as a pair. Woo Yeon-woo shouted, then squatted down as his vision blurred.

Rembrary, like giving medicine after causing the illness, quickly came over, poured divine power into his head, and smiled gently.

“You seem to get too caught up in your emotions, Yeon-woo.”

“I’m sure I wouldn’t if you’d shut up.”

“Liar.”

“You bastard, you’re the same species as a demon!”

As Woo Yeon-woo touched the back of his neck again and tried to faint, Rembrary asked Shin Jo-woon this time.

“But Anchovy, 2-on-1 aside, why were you fighting with Woo Seong-woo?”

Shin Jo-woon thought for a moment, then told him almost exactly what Woo Seong-woo had said, except for the part where Rembrary’s priest’s robe darkened.

Woo Yeon-woo initially listened with a displeased expression, but as the story progressed, he said urgently.

“Then you have to tell people about my brother! That way, you can clear up the misunderstanding about my brother!”

Woo Yeon-woo’s desperate expression crumpled at Shin Jo-woon’s casually thrown words.

“……”

Woo Yeon-woo couldn’t think of anything to say and closed his mouth.

If he were to agree that Shin Jo-woon was right here, there would definitely be something *jjipjjiphan* [unpleasant or찝찝한 feeling] about it. If he were to deny it, he would be seen as someone who didn’t want to admit he was wrong.

Rembrary grabbed Shin Jo-woon’s arm and shook it.

“But why is Seong-woo trying to keep it a secret? Listening to this, I don’t know why he’s keeping it a secret. Whether it’s accepted or not, it would have been better to say it.”

“He says there’s one reason why it’s difficult to say.”

“Reason?”

Woo Yeon-woo asked urgently, shaking off his confusion.

“What is it?”

Shin Jo-woon shrugged.

“I was going to catch him and listen.”

Then, he smiled at Woo Yeon-woo as if ignoring him, and the moment Woo Yeon-woo saw that smile, his stomach twisted, and he shouted without realizing it.

“My brother must have a reason for acting like that! Why are you trying to catch him and listen?”

Perhaps because he was angry, his words were the exact opposite of what he had said earlier.

Rembrary raised his eyebrows and looked at Shin Jo-woon.

Something… that fox Anchovy. It seems like he *yudo* [誘導 -誘導 means to guide or lead] Woo Yeon-woo’s reaction in the direction he wanted.

On the other hand, Woo Yeon-woo was initially angry, then wary of Shin Jo-woon, and then resentful towards his brother.

To tell such an important story to Shin Jo-woon of all people.

‘Does he not trust me…….’

Rembrary watched Woo Yeon-woo turn into a snail, then waved his hand in front of his face.

“If you’re done talking, let’s go into that maze together. I saw a child inside. That child seems to be a prince.”

* * *

As they walked silently towards the maze, the atmosphere seemed endlessly awkward, so Woo Yeon-woo looked at Shin Jo-woon and Rembrary with a sulky expression.

And he realized. He was the only one who felt awkward.

Shin Jo-woon kept sending and receiving messages on his phone, and at a glance, it seemed like he was remotely handling World Boom matters.

Rembrary… I don’t know what he’s thinking. He’s just smiling gently as usual.

In the end, like a thirsty person digging a well, Woo Yeon-woo asked Rembrary cautiously.

“Hey. But you said this is your house.”

“The shell is.”

“Then, do you know the woman who gave us the mission earlier?”

“No. It was a face I saw for the first time.”

“You can’t remember people’s faces.”

“Can’t I?”

“Yeah. You can’t. Well, that’s not important. Anyway, if this is your house, the prince that woman is asking us to find. Do you know him?”

“I don’t know. I’d have to see his face to know.”

Woo Yeon-woo was about to ask more, but when he thought Shin Jo-woon was listening to the conversation, he deliberately changed the subject.

“Hey, did I tell you there’s something really weird in the center of the maze?”

After saying that, he realized that the scenery looked different from when he looked down from above and when he looked at it from here.

He hadn’t paid attention to it because he was horrified to see Shin Jo-woon attacking Woo Seong-woo earlier.

The scenery that looked like hell from above looked like a peaceful palace again when he came inside.

“This place is strange. Really.”

Meanwhile, the group arrived at the maze and went inside.

As soon as the group entered, the back of the child who had appeared to guide Rembrary at first reappeared.

“That, what’s that?”

“It was there earlier, too. It keeps appearing as if it’s telling us to follow.”

“What? But you took the wrong turn and came outside? We can just follow that back, you idiot.”

Woo Yeon-woo clicked his tongue and walked ahead.

But unlike how he had strode forward, even though Woo Yeon-woo walked ahead, he came to his senses and found that the group was outside the maze.

“Huh? Why is this?”

Rembrary explained to the bewildered Woo Yeon-woo.

“I was like this, too.”

When Shin Jo-woon laughed from behind, Woo Yeon-woo bit his lip. That Shin *jaesu* [재수 – meaning unlucky or irritating]. Why is he laughing when he got lost too?

Is he laughing because he called Rembrary an idiot and made the same mistake?

But when he listened closely, the laughter was too clear and bell-like to be Shin Jo-woon’s laughter.

Did this guy drink helium gas by himself? Woo Yeon-woo turned around with a displeased expression, then flinched.

It wasn’t Shin Jo-woon who was laughing. The laughter was coming from inside the maze.

“It seems like the things inside are constantly pushing us out.”

Woo Yeon-woo hid behind Rembrary and nodded.

Rembrary asked again.

“Still, shall we go back in?”

“Can you find your way?”

“We just have to not get swept away by that child.”

Still, Woo Yeon-woo, who didn’t quite trust Rembrary, was about to say something again, but suddenly the maze made of plant walls began to freeze rapidly from in front of Shin Jo-woon and instantly froze solid.

Ice stairs also appeared in front of him.

As the surprised Woo Yeon-woo blinked, Shin Jo-woon went up and said.

“We won’t have to worry about getting lost this way.”

* * *

Shin Jo-woon had laid a layer of floor on top of the maze, so the group went straight to the center.

Sounds of grumbling like ‘That’s unfair’ ‘That’s too much’ ‘That’s cheating’ were heard from below, but wasn’t the dungeon the one who cheated first?

The group quickly arrived at the central part and came down the ice stairs again.

“Ugh.”

Woo Yeon-woo contorted his face.

What was in the central part looked more gruesome up close than from afar.

Red thread, but it looked sticky rather than thread, and it was bizarre because something kept dripping from that thin, long place.

That red thread was forming a tree shape, and cocoons in the shape of people were hanging from the stem of the tree shape, wriggling.