Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 360

360. Behind the Story

In what he thought was his final moment, someone saved his life, even regenerating the flesh on his leg where it had vanished, leaving only bone. No, at this point, he wasn’t even sure if it was a person who had saved him.

The villager’s face twitched, and he burst into tears.

“What? Why are you crying?” Maeng Wooshin asked gruffly from the side, but the villager couldn’t answer. He himself didn’t know why the tears were flowing so freely.

But one thing was certain: that healer, whether human or not, was more than just an Awakened [a person with supernatural abilities] with healing abilities to him.

In the terror of whether his body would be consumed by the white mud first or torn apart by the Pterodactyl, the villager was dying alone, his heart filled with despair.

If Maeng Wooshin had been captured a little earlier, if his body hadn’t been so ravaged that only half remained, the villager would have suggested they join forces to escape, even if it seemed impossible.

But by the time Maeng Wooshin was captured, he had already lost his lower body and was in a situation where survival was impossible.

Therefore, instead of offering words of comfort to Maeng Wooshin, another victim, he had only poured out negativity.

When that healer came to save Maeng Wooshin, his dark heart grew even darker, and he deliberately said harsh things.

The thought that only Maeng Wooshin would be rescued while he was left to die was unbearable, even though he knew it was wrong.

But the healer saved not only Maeng Wooshin but also him, even restoring his missing body.

As his twisted heart returned to its original place, he sobbed continuously, overwhelmed with emotion, gratitude, and guilt for venting his anger on Maeng Wooshin.

At that moment, a warm hand rested on his shoulder.

“What is your name?” a gentle voice asked.

“It’s Jewp. Kim Jewp,” Kim Jewp hiccuped, looking at the benefactor before him. The halo shining behind the benefactor was truly dazzling, so much so that he thought he might go blind.

In that moment, Rembrary shook his head, as if saying, ‘No, that’s not the answer.’

Kim Jewp’s heart sank. His answer couldn’t be wrong; he had just stated his name.

But he grew anxious when the benefactor shook his head as if he had heard the wrong answer. Did the benefactor want a different answer?

In fact, he did.

Rembrary smiled kindly at the bewildered man and said, “Believer No. 305.”

“Pardon?”

“From now on, you are Believer No. 305.”

“Pardon?”

*Wow, look at that bastard’s smooth talking.* Maeng Wooshin, who was watching, clicked his tongue, thinking that the arrogant newbie was surprisingly good at changing his expression when he needed to. *That pathetic look.*

Of course, since it hadn’t even been 10 minutes since the newbie had saved his life, Maeng Wooshin kept these honest feelings to himself.

Just when Rembrary was about to ask the prospective Believer No. 305, Kim Jewp, about his original religion and naturally encourage him to convert…

“No!” A sound that was hard to tell whether it was a child’s scream or a cry was heard.

Startled, Maeng Wooshin looked towards the sound. The child who had been holding hands with Rembrary behind the water tank was running over, sobbing.

“There are no siblings!”

“I told you there weren’t,” Rembrary replied to the child, regretfully looking at Believer No. 305, who was almost 넘어올 [swayed over].

Maeng Wooshin frowned. He had watched Rembrary climbing the building floor by floor with that child on the screen, so he knew the child’s situation.

Rembrary had told the child ‘Your sibling isn’t here’ on the floor right below. Still, he didn’t believe it and ran off to find them. It seemed he couldn’t find them after all.

“No, you should comfort the child. Why are you making them cry more?”

“Isn’t it strange to lie that they are here when they aren’t?”

“You could say they aren’t here but they might be somewhere!”

While Rembrary and Maeng Wooshin were arguing quietly, the child looked back and forth between the two, their lips trembling as if they were about to cry.

Kim Jewp cautiously raised a hand. When Maeng Wooshin and Rembrary stopped arguing and looked at him, Kim Jewp asked with a flustered face, “Um… why are you talking while looking at the air? Who are you talking about right now?”

Maeng Wooshin wondered if he was hearing crazy 소리 [sounds] and pointed at the child with his finger.

“I’m talking about them, them. The one who was with the newbie all the way up.”

However, Kim Jewp still had a bewildered expression.

Maeng Wooshin asked annoyedly, frustrated, “When this kid asked Rembrary ‘Aren’t you a healer?’ Rembrary said ‘People often mistake my Awakening ability for healing’ and talked about it. Then he said his ability is actually greatness. Don’t you remember? You were laughing awkwardly next to him?”

However, Kim Jewp only looked more embarrassed. He didn’t understand at all.

Seeing that expression, Maeng Wooshin realized that Kim Jewp wasn’t joking.

Maeng Wooshin turned pale and stepped back in surprise. “Newbie, are they a ghost?”

Rembrary shook his head. “You shouldn’t treat a perfectly alive child like a ghost.”

The child also didn’t understand what was going on at first, but then realized that the villager, Kim Jewp, wasn’t ignoring them but couldn’t see them at all, and froze, looking at Rembrary.

“Why can’t that 아저씨 [mister/uncle] see me?”

Rembrary knew why Kim Jewp couldn’t see the child, but he wasn’t sure if he should tell the story in front of the child.

The child, who had been flustered and at a loss at first, realized that Kim Jewp’s continued treatment of them as if they weren’t there wasn’t just simple ignorance, and asked Rembrary, tearfully, “Healer, why can’t that 아저씨 [mister/uncle] see me, and why is he like that?”

Maeng Wooshin looked at Rembrary, his eyes seeming to say, ‘So, why can’t that person see them?’

Rembrary hesitated several times whether to tell the child the truth or not.

Thanks to reading the memories left in the 문양 [tattoo/mark], he could guess what was going on, but this story…

“I filled in the gaps in between.”

* * *

People learned about 균열 [rifts] through the ‘passing god’.

The ‘passing god’ connected the 균열 [rifts], which people couldn’t see or feel, to the building.

To be precise, he moved the building over the 균열 [rifts].

The 균열 [rift] was connected to the ‘door’ of the building.

However, the ‘passing god’ was not fully powerful, so someone had to enter the ‘door’ for the building to properly block the 균열 [rift].

The child’s grandfather, the current high priest, left the children with other people and decided to go in there himself.

Among the survivors, there were only three young children, his grandchildren. He had managed to protect all three of them, but the situation was getting harder and harder.

To increase the children’s chances of survival, he had to close the large 균열 [rift] at all costs.

The future high priest asked the survivors to protect and raise the children well as a reward if he died, and then went to the building merged with the 균열 [rift] and stood in front of it.

However, Lumena stopped the high priest from entering, saying that ‘an adult passing through would have a greater impact and cause more anomalies’.

This left only the high priest’s three grandchildren as candidates to pass through the 균열 [rift].

The high priest gave up one to save at least two—the youngest.

People gathered in front of the building merged with the 균열 [rift], and the high priest placed the sleeping youngest inside the door.

And then, the moment he stepped back, the second child, who hadn’t been brought, appeared from somewhere and jumped into the building together to save their sibling.

The grandfather was about to go crazy when two of his grandchildren disappeared before his eyes. In fact, they weren’t dead, but to the people’s eyes, it was as good as dead.

The survivors also couldn’t do anything because the sense of guilt felt different between one death and two deaths.

The ‘passing god’, feeling sorry for them, erased the memories of the grandfather’s grandchildren from the memories of the people gathered here.

Because of this, the grandfather and the villagers forgot about the grandchildren.

However, the guilt remained deep in their hearts, and they 추대 [chudae – pushed/supported] the grandfather as the high priest.

However, the ‘passing god’ didn’t know that there were three children in total.

After the sibling left, the child, who couldn’t disobey their grandfather’s words or leave their sibling behind, was watching the situation with binoculars.

The child saw the situation but didn’t hear the conversation, so they thought that their grandfather had gained power by sacrificing the youngest.

They interpreted that their grandfather cried because he didn’t intend to sacrifice the second child but ended up sacrificing them as well.

The first child became an Awakened due to the shock, fear, and anger of this incident.

The desire to find the sibling who had entered the building made the child become a space-related ability user.

The child tried to find their sibling inside by dominating the building mixed with 균열 [rifts].

However, the building was connected to the 균열 [rift] and had been touched by a god, so the child couldn’t freely roam inside the building.

The child thought about asking the villagers for help, but instead of help, the villagers ignored the child and didn’t even acknowledge them.

The grandfather was the same. He didn’t talk to the child or make eye contact.

The child thought the villagers were crazy, and whenever outsiders came to this place, they took them inside the building and asked them to find their sibling.

In the process, some of the outsiders told the villagers about the child, but at first, the villagers thought, ‘There’s a child like that? Who is it?’ but soon forgot.

This was because the ‘passing god’, who didn’t know there were three grandchildren, made them forget even the first child because he made them forget ‘the grandfather’s grandchildren’.

* * *

“…That’s what happened.”

Even though the story was over, both the child and Kim Jewp had faces that didn’t believe it.

Kim Jewp didn’t want to believe that they were living thanks to the sacrifice of two children.

The child didn’t want to believe that their grandfather had abandoned the youngest to save them.

“No.”

“Of course, my 추측 [chucheuk – guess/speculation] are included in between.”

Rembrary added an explanation, but the child didn’t seem to be in a state to hear it.

The child kept repeating ‘No, no’ and suddenly screamed.

Maeng Wooshin covered his ears with his hands.

But the problem wasn’t the ears. As soon as the child started screaming, the building suddenly started shaking violently.

It wasn’t just shaking but undulating like waves, probably due to their Awakening ability.

“Damn it! Hold on tight!”

“Ugh!”

“Stop the kid!”

Not only Kim Jewp and Maeng Wooshin but even Rembrary had difficulty maintaining their balance.

Rembrary tried to approach the child to calm them down, but the child avoided Rembrary.

In that moment.

The 민둥새 [Min-dung-sae – Bald Eagle Monster] slowly began to appear from below to the rooftop.

“Damn it, that thing again!”

With even the giant Pterodactyl returning in the midst of this, Kim Jewp and Maeng Wooshin fell into even more panic.

It’s hard to fight such a monster even when the building is fine. To have to fight in a building where you can’t even stand still!

Rembrary, who had been trying not to use the dignity of God as much as possible because of the child, was even hesitating whether to use the dignity of God at this point.

In that moment.

The 민둥새 [Min-dung-sae – Bald Eagle Monster], which had menacingly revealed itself, let out a scream and collapsed forward.

As the huge head fell forward, behind it, a green-haired woman appeared, standing on the back of the Pterodactyl with a spear 박고 [bakgo – stuck/pierced].

“Mulu?”