Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 266

266. The Road Back (2)

As soon as he received the request, Mullu unhesitatingly struck the opponent’s back with the center of his long spear. Nien-ning, who had already drawn her sword halfway out of its scabbard, swung it to block anyone else from approaching, pulling Rembrary along.

“This way, please.”

‘Attacking without warning?’ Rembrary thought, bewildered, but followed Nien-ning’s lead. In such a desperate situation, there was no time to stand and seriously discuss why they were doing this.

Besides, attacking first was what the others were doing as well. The people who had gathered around the bulletin board to see the official notice attacked Rembrary’s group almost as fiercely as demons.

They were all people, but perhaps because they had suffered at the hands of the demons or because they were disappointed in the High Priest, they tried to seize Rembrary and his companions without even confirming their identities.

‘If I use divine power here, even Nien-ning and Mullu will collapse.’

Rembrary counted the number of people rushing at them and clicked his tongue. There were only three of them, while the other side had at least ten, and their numbers were increasing. If the people above had joined hands with the demons, the number would probably increase even more… Even as he thought this, Rembrary dodged the incoming attacks and threw punches.

“Judging by his movements, he doesn’t seem to be the High Priest?”

Some of those who were only watching the situation without participating in the fight whispered among themselves, but Nien-ning thought, ‘As expected of the High Priest,’ and shouted.

“This way! Come this way!”

At first, the difference in numbers was too great. It seemed to everyone that Rembrary’s group would be captured immediately.

However, while the people on the other side were unable to eat, sleep, or rest properly because of the demons, Mullu and Nien-ning had maintained peak condition thanks to Rembrary’s divine power. Moreover, as Rembrary contributed to their strength and sent divine power to them whenever they seemed to tire, those who were not accustomed to fighting were gradually pushed back.

Taking advantage of the gap, Rembrary, Nien-ning, and Mullu managed to mount their horses and hastily leave the village.

“Why did you suddenly start swinging your spear earlier?”

Rembrary asked from his horse only after they had completely left the village. Mullu grabbed the reins and lowered his body, explaining,

“Public sentiment is not the same as before. It’s because the demons are ruthlessly using the people. The conditions the demons have offered are enough to make people’s eyes turn. Who would want to become food for the demons?”

“That’s true.”

“I thought it would be better to end things quickly rather than hesitate.”

Rembrary, who had roughly guessed the situation, nodded in agreement and asked again,

“Where should we go now? If we want to go to the Eastern Continent, we have to go by land through the Central Continent, right? If we go by sea, we’ll lose our escape route.”

The group paused at a fork in the road that split into three paths. However, Mullu, who had suggested going to the Eastern Continent, shook his head this time and pointed in a different direction.

“If other villages are in the same state, it might be better to go to the rift first.”

“To the rift?”

“Yes. It will be easier for the High Priest to deal with the demons…”

“What’s the location of the rift from here?”

“If we ride without stopping, we can arrive within two hours or so.”

Rembrary thought for a moment and nodded.

“Then let’s go that way.”

* * *

At that moment, in the village that Rembrary’s group would have reached if they had continued straight on, there were several members of the Demon King Resistance Army who had come from the Eastern Continent. They were sitting in an inn, eating, when they overheard people talking about the High Priest.

The group became quiet at the mention of the High Priest, as if they had planned it, and listened to what the people were saying. After listening for a while, they clicked their tongues, as if the same content was about to be repeated, and whispered among themselves.

“They say the High Priest has been kidnapped. Do you think it’s true?”

“It probably isn’t. He must have escaped.”

“But in reality, the paladins here have been eager to treat the High Priest as a traitor and deal with him, haven’t they?”

“That’s right.”

“?”

“The paladins wanted to deal with the High Priest, not kidnap him, right? The paladins’ goal is to deal with traitors. If it were their doing, they would have just killed the High Priest on the spot, not bothered to kidnap him and carry him around.”

“Then…?”

“It’s more likely that the High Priest escaped with the help of the paladins. I heard that he suddenly became strange. Maybe they joined hands again after seeing him regain his senses.”

The Eastern Resistance Army members exchanged glances after speaking. Their High Priest had been out of contact after leaving his post. The Eastern High Priest and Rembrary served different gods, so they weren’t always on good terms, but even if High Priests didn’t get along, they were still on the same side against the Demon King.

“He’ll probably try to come to the East as well. All those who can resist the Demon King are there now.”

“Even if he’s a heretic, we should join forces in this situation.”

“It’ll be difficult for three people to come. How about we go and help him?”

* * *

“There will be no one looking for the High Priest here.”

After riding for several hours, Mullu finally slowed down and said.

Rembrary looked around. It was a forest path with a gentle slope, but it didn’t seem to be a place where people often passed by, as the path was not well maintained.

However, there was a torn piece of clothing hanging on a tree branch, and a small dagger was lying below it. Above that, a thin tree was broken. It seemed that someone had slipped and fallen down the slope after climbing up there.

‘Falling down a gentle slope means they lost their footing while coming down in a hurry.’

As Rembrary looked in that direction, Nien-ning explained,

“There are people who are trying to follow the Eastern High Priest through the rift even now. It must be their trace… They must have been caught by the demons and chased while trying to go to the rift.”

Rembrary gestured towards the top of the slope.

“Is the rift beyond there?”

“Yes. Several demons are guarding that area.”

Mullu quietly added,

“The number of guards has probably increased by now.”

Rembrary stroked his horse, and the horses, which had been moving restlessly, immediately quieted down. Rembrary stroked their manes, dismounted, and carefully climbed up the slope.

How long had he been walking, trying not to make any noise? There was a thin barbed-wire fence between the large trees. Beyond it, several demons who were not dressed as paladins were wandering around. They were casually patrolling, exchanging a few words with each other, and then wandering around again, but their numbers were considerable, so Rembrary went back down the slope for now.

“The guard isn’t strict, but the number is unexpectedly large.”

“The rift is a little further inside from there.”

Mullu drew the current location, the location of the barbed-wire fence, and the location of the rift on the dirt floor with his finger. After looking at it, Rembrary thought for a moment and suggested,

“I’ll go scout the rift, so you guys stay here. That would be better.”

Nien-ning was surprised and tried to stop him.

“It’s dangerous.”

“I can also block the demons’ movements at the same time. It won’t be for long, but it’s possible for a short trip. But this method affects even people who aren’t demons. If you guys freeze up with me, it’ll be even more troublesome.”

“But…”

Mullu shook his head to stop Nien-ning from trying to dissuade him again. Instead, he asked about their future course of action.

“Are you just going to investigate the rift?”

“I’ll try to close it if I can.”

If the rift could be closed easily, Yama wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble. Rembrary thought that even if he was great, he wouldn’t be able to close the rift. Even so, he didn’t say anything negative for the sake of his paladins.

“If you hide here, I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes.”

“Be careful.”

After instructing Mullu and Nien-ning, Rembrary climbed up the slope again. As Rembrary stepped over the barbed-wire fence, the demons who had been wandering around excitedly giggled and made a fuss at the same time. They laughed wildly among themselves, saying that Rembrary had come to be captured of his own accord.

The laughter was loud enough to be heard by Mullu and Nien-ning, and the two clenched their respective weapons in anger, but tried not to rush out. For the paladins, the ‘real High Priest’ Rembrary was someone they could trust that much.

After a few minutes of that, the demons’ laughter suddenly disappeared. All sounds disappeared at the same time, as if they had suddenly put their hands over their ears.

* * *

Unlike usual, Rembrary wielded his divine power without hesitation. He wasn’t unleashing his divine power to the limit, but he wasn’t controlling it to only affect the surroundings either.

As a result, the demons who discovered Rembrary were terrified and knelt down, trembling, before they could even get close. They were people who loved fighting and blood, but they weren’t without fear. Absolute fear was an unfamiliar emotion to them, so the demons just cowered and feared without knowing what was going on.

In the meantime, Rembrary strode forward without even glancing at those who were collapsing. When he found the rift, Rembrary finally stopped.

‘Is this it?’

The rift looked like a wound left by a beast clawing at the air. It was clearly different from the spiderweb-like or hairline-like forms he had seen when he was in Korea. This rift was bigger and clearer. Moreover, there was a strange feeling coming from the inside….

Rembrary reached out towards it. Then, a throbbing energy was clearly felt from beyond. But it wasn’t an ominous feeling, so he could guess why the High Priest of the Eastern Continent had brought people inside.

‘Can I stop it?’

Rembrary waved his hand near the rift and tried to raise his divine power first.

* * *

“Who are you…?”

Mullu and Nien-ning, who were waiting for Rembrary, were surprised and stood up when the paladin from the Eastern Continent, whom they had seen before, appeared. They knew that he was not an enemy in the current situation, but they became wary when he came with strangers.

The paladin from the Eastern Continent waved his hand and introduced those who had come with him.

“They are the Demon King Resistance Army. They came to scout the state of the Demon King’s army and to rescue anyone who wants to fight and take them to the East.”

The people the paladin pointed to bowed, and Mullu lowered his spear and nodded in acknowledgment.

“But why did you come here?”

Even as he said that, Mullu still asked without letting his guard down, and the paladin gestured in the direction they had come from.

“We heard about the High Priest and were going there when we heard the story that he had caused a commotion in the village and ran away. We were in the opposite village, so we didn’t think he would come that way and stopped by here.”

The paladin, who had explained quickly, looked around.

“But the High Priest isn’t here?”

Nien-ning finally put her sword back into its scabbard and replied,

“The High Priest went to investigate the rift.”

She could have stopped at that explanation, but Nien-ning deliberately added more.

“He also said that he would close the rift if necessary.”

Since the Eastern High Priest and Rembrary had been rivals in the past, she was showing off a little in the midst of all this, boasting that ‘our High Priest is this great.’ However, as soon as he heard those words, the Eastern paladin’s expression hardened and he shouted.

“You can’t!”

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

“Oh, no!”

The Eastern paladin went up the slope without even having time to explain. There, the demons were still kneeling on the ground in fear.

Seeing that, the Eastern warriors were amazed by the power of the High Priest Rembrary, which they had only heard rumors of, and their eyes widened. But the paladin ran straight to the rift without even having time to be surprised. And as soon as he found Rembrary standing in front of the rift there, he shouted.

“You mustn’t close it! Redrin and Lumena made that!”

Nien-ning and Mullu, who had followed the paladin’s group, were surprised by the story they were hearing for the first time. Rembrary, too, was sending divine power into the rift when he turned his head, wondering ‘what is that,’ at the words of the person who had suddenly appeared.

At that moment.

The energy that had been flowing peacefully inside suddenly twitched and sucked Rembrary in. Surprised, Rembrary reached out and grabbed the rift.

“High Priest!”

Mullu hurriedly ran towards him and pulled Rembrary back up. The Eastern paladin, Mullu, and Nien-ning also grabbed Rembrary’s hand and pulled. But the pulling force from the inside was too strong.