Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 330

330. King on the Chessboard

Jang Tae-ri narrowed her eyes.

“Help?”

“Other Grim Reapers must have sought out other Saints as well. Specifically, some Saints.”

Even if it’s just some Saints, it can’t be just one or two. For Grim Reapers to collectively seek help from Saints, it must be a significant matter.

“To be direct, Jang Tae-ri, can you help protect the world?”

Jang Tae-ri, who had been pondering what kind of help a Grim Reaper would ask of Saints, frowned at the unexpected words. Protect the world?

She was already bewildered by the sudden appearance of the Grim Reaper, but being asked to help protect the world made it difficult to even know how to react.

“Protect the world?”

Several superhero movies flashed through Jang Tae-ri’s mind. At the same time, she felt cheesy and got goosebumps. Protect the world. It was a story she often heard on the screen.

Of course, there were many who protected the world in reality, and many had such professions. After the Cataclysm [a large-scale disaster], there were many who protected the world with unrealistic powers, and Jang Tae-ri respected them all.

But even those people don’t say, ‘Let’s protect the world today,’ do they? But to hear it face-to-face like that felt awkward. Cheesy. But since it’s a Grim Reaper saying it, it can’t be ordinary words.

“What exactly do you want me to protect it from?”

As Jang Tae-ri asked calmly, the Grim Reaper simply laid out the situation: a god from another world, the rifts created in the process, the residents of that other world brought by the god, the god’s clerics, the Cataclysm on Earth that occurred in the process…….

Jang Tae-ri’s eyes widened at the previously unheard secrets of the world.

“A god from another world…… so the world is in this state because of……?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh my goodness.”

“Surprising, isn’t it?”

“Wow. I really didn’t expect it.”

“Yes, we didn’t expect it either.”

“Just one question. Ah, this isn’t a question with refusal in mind, so don’t take it the wrong way. Are the Grim Reapers asking for my help because you lack the strength, or because you don’t want to step forward directly? Like, people’s problems should be solved by people, or something?”

At Jang Tae-ri’s sharp question, the Grim Reaper smiled bitterly.

“It’s not just a matter for people. Of course, we are directly involved. But we Grim Reapers are bound by the rules of this world, so we are strongly restricted in some ways. Conversely, the other side is much freer. That’s why we’re asking for the help of a Saint like you.”

Restrictions? What restrictions? Jang Tae-ri wondered what those restrictions were, but seeing that they were only vaguely referred to as restrictions, it didn’t seem like they would be explained in detail. Jang Tae-ri skipped that part and asked.

“How can I help?”

To be honest, she still felt awkward about the current situation and it didn’t quite hit her, but she couldn’t just blankly listen to explanations she didn’t understand.

“Continue listening to the explanation from earlier. Just as there is a god, a Grim Reaper, and a Saint here, there is a god and clerics there. Do you see the difference?”

“……There’s one less thing there? There are no Grim Reapers there?”

“I don’t know exactly what their system is like. But I haven’t met one yet. Anyway, what’s certain is that there, the clerics, the Saints, are as strong as Grim Reapers and do more work. On the other hand, the Saints here are weak. So originally, we Reapers should be dealing with the clerics and otherworlders who came from there. But there are two problems.”

“Awakening……?”

“That’s right. There, there are many humans who are originally as strong as the Awakened here, but even ordinary otherworlders who are not Saints or Awakened become temporarily stronger when they come here. Some become as strong as monsters. But even then, they have no reason. It’s all just speculation, though.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“Moreover, it’s not just otherworld ‘humans’ who are coming over there. In other words, there are too many enemies for the Grim Reapers to handle alone. That’s the first problem.”

“What’s the second problem?”

“There are ‘humans’ here who sympathize with them. Earthlings.”

“No way.”

“There are. The problem is that we Grim Reapers find it very, very difficult to kill humans who have not reached the end of their lifespan due to those restrictions. That’s why we’re trying to get help from Saints. Like Jang Tae-ri.”

“…….”

“Originally, the Saints in our world have no talent for fighting. But as the Cataclysm occurred, most of the Saints awakened other abilities, and some became somewhat helpful in combat. Jang Tae-ri is one of them.”

“…….”

“In addition, Saints basically have the power to resist evil, and if they borrow the power of the otherworld god, their basic disposition becomes evil, so Saints can exert particularly strong power when facing them. If you help, it will be a great help.”

“!”

Jang Tae-ri was very surprised. She was surprised that there were otherworlders, and she was surprised to be asked to eliminate those who came from another world but were still called ‘people’.

Moreover, the traitors are not otherworlders, but just people here, or in other words, people who believe in a strange religion. Of course, it seems like they are following a being that is too dangerous to be simply called a strange religion.

As Jang Tae-ri’s eyes wavered, the Grim Reaper quickly added.

“You can refuse if you can’t. It’s a request, not an order.”

He said she could refuse, but it was not easy to refuse a Grim Reaper’s request. Because if you’re a person, you’ll have to see the Grim Reaper again someday.

As Jang Tae-ri was troubled and unable to decide, the Grim Reaper once again told her in a soft voice.

“You don’t have to decide right away. Think about it.”

“Can you distinguish who the otherworld god or otherworlders are?”

“It’s difficult to distinguish unless they reveal themselves.”

“Then how…….”

“It’s hard to find them if they hide. But if they hide, it’s hard for them to build up their power, so they have no choice but to show themselves. Especially the higher-ups. So some are openly revealing themselves. You don’t have to catch those who are hiding, just catch those who are.”

“Who are they?”

“You probably already know? You know, the hunter company ‘Redrine’.”

“Who?”

Tae-ri looked at the Grim Reaper in surprise. Redrine. It was famous as a cult company. Most Koreans probably know that company.

But even while talking about that cult company, no one would think that the cult actually believes in a god, even a god from another world. But it was a place that believed in a real god, even a god from another world? Moreover, that company has…….

‘Rembrary.’

Tae-ri swallowed hard. Our pig [term of endearment]. Our pig is there. Come to think of it, our pig is a bit of a suspicious existence.

“Is the head of that company an otherworld Saint?”

Tae-ri couldn’t bring herself to ask about Rembrary and asked about the head of the company instead.

“No. The head of that company is a defector from here who switched to the otherworld god. He’s someone who needs to be eliminated…….”

The Grim Reaper gritted his teeth as he spoke.

“You can’t eliminate him right now.”

“Why?”

“There are circumstances.”

“Circumstances?”

Why are there so many circumstances?

However, the Grim Reaper did not explain those circumstances and took out his cell phone.

“Ah. And one more thing.”

Tae-ri was surprised. The Grim Reaper has a cell phone too. Even the latest model. The model released a week ago.

“This.”

Whether Tae-ri was surprised or not, the Grim Reaper showed her a picture of someone on his cell phone. She stretched her neck out at the shiny screen and was startled. The person who appeared on the screen was Rembrary holding flowers. As Tae-ri opened her eyes wide, the Grim Reaper firmly instructed.

“You can’t touch this person either.”

“Who is this person……?”

“You know chess, right? This person is the king of the opposing side.”

“King? Not the head of the company?”

“No. This side is the king.”

“!”

* * *

“I don’t understand at all.”

“Which part?”

“Everything from beginning to end.”

Seon Woo-sil is a singer. A rock singer. And she has a lot of pride. Such Seon Woo-sil suddenly came and said that a friend of hers who had received a divine revelation said that Rembrary might be in danger.

“How does that friend know me?” I asked, and she said she knew me from watching TV. “What’s the danger?” I asked, and she said she wasn’t sure.

Rembrary was sure that even if the smart Jang Tae-ri or Shin Jo-woon came, they probably wouldn’t understand what Seon Woo-sil was saying now. Of course, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t smart.

“It’s all like that. Divine revelation, it seems like it’s not that clear.”

“Then it’s not divine revelation. It should tell you exactly what’s going on. Redrine-nim would have told you exactly.”

“What?”

“Why is Seon Woo-sil upset?”

“……Hmm. What did I do. Anyway, that’s what she said. She just saw a fragmentary video, something like that. In that video, you were stepping on blood and walking to a throne or something.”

“Throne? Isn’t that good?”

“You were stepping on blood, remember?”

“Is it my blood?”

“I don’t think so?”

“Then what does it matter.”

“There’s another video too.”

“What is it?”

“You were sitting in a chair, and people with weapons were surrounding you. They were pointing their weapons at you, so don’t say things like, ‘Aren’t they my guards?'”

Seon Woo-sil had never had such an unsettling prophetic dream. So she was quite worried, but Rembrary laughed as if it was nothing.

“Seon Woo-sil, you’re borrowing trouble.”

“Hey, you don’t know, but she’s really…… really amazing!”

“You said she couldn’t see anything clearly.”

“She saw it clearly this time.”

“Your words keep changing, Seon Woo-sil.”

“It’s because I’m telling you verbally. That’s how people’s memories are.”

As Rembrary continued to listen to her words casually, Seon Woo-sil finally got annoyed and jumped up.

“Ah, anyway, I’m telling you to be careful because something like that will happen in the future. Be careful if you have any idea what it is, and be careful even if you don’t.”

No matter how good her intentions were, there was nothing more she could do if the other person didn’t want to listen.

Seon Woo-sil got up and left first, as if she had nothing more to say.

Rembrary tried to get up to follow her, but Seon Woo-sil got annoyed and told him to eat everything she ordered, so he couldn’t see her off.

After she left, Rembrary sucked on the sweet coffee with a straw and thought about what Seon Woo-sil’s warning meant.

Seon Woo-sil made excuses about her friend, but Rembrary already knew while listening that it was Seon Woo-sil’s own ability. She probably had a prophetic dream or something. She’s probably an Awakened [person with supernatural abilities] in that field, but she wouldn’t have told others that she was an Awakened because she didn’t have the power to protect herself.

But a blood-stained road and a throne. He really had no idea. On the other hand, there were so many things he could guess about the people who surrounded him and took out their weapons that he couldn’t even predict it.

‘Minions of the Demon King? Grim Reapers? Or subordinates of the high priest of the Eastern Continent? Or maybe hunters here who don’t get along…….’

At that moment, the cell phone placed on the table vibrated with a buzzing sound. As the cell phone vibrated and moved away by itself, Rembrary picked it up. Light came on the screen, and Jang Tae-ri’s name and number appeared.

‘Tae-ri?’

Shin Jo-woon was worried because he couldn’t get in touch. She sent a text.

Tae-ri must be only angry at the anchovy. She’s contacting me first. Rembrary smiled contentedly and opened the text message box.