Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 371

371. Isn’t a God Someone Who Offers a Hand in the Most Needed Moment?

Rembrary was genuinely surprised to see who had appeared.

“Lumena-nim?”

It was Lumena.

“How did Lumena-nim get here?”

More accurately, it should have been, ‘Why are you here?’ but Rembrary was so bewildered that his words got tangled.

“I heard you were trapped.”

Lumena, giving a simple, vague answer, looked around the endlessly sprawling floor and clicked her tongue.

“Indeed. They put you in a tricky place.”

Rembrary quickly ran towards her.

“Is it alright for you to be here?”

He was glad, but more than that, he was worried. Even Redrin couldn’t come here because the situation wasn’t favorable. For Lumena, who was weaker than Redrin, to come here…

“It would have been better not to come.”

“But why…”

“Still, I have to save you.”

Rembrary was taken aback even after hearing the explanation.

“I know that Lumena-nim is close to Redrin-nim… but still, I’m not Lumena-nim’s High Priest, so I’m grateful but also bewildered that you would come this far for me. I don’t know why you’re doing this.”

“Because right now, you’re more helpful to humans than I am.”

“That can’t be.”

Rembrary immediately denied Lumena’s words.

Of course, if you only considered ‘now,’ Lumena’s words were correct. An incarnated god’s abilities are weakened, and there are more restrictions.

It wasn’t that being weakened meant literally ‘becoming weaker,’ but the god’s greatest power—the authority to appoint priests and grant them divine power—was significantly reduced. So, when a god incarnates, the number of priests they can have under them drastically decreases.

A vicious cycle repeats as the number of priests decreases, further reducing power. Therefore, when considering various factors, it was ultimately a loss for a god to incarnate.

However, that was something that could be fixed once Lumena found someone else worthy of becoming a High Priest and released her incarnation.

In other words, even if Rembrary was more helpful to people than Lumena right now, Lumena’s words were a stretch in the long term.

As Rembrary looked at her with disbelieving eyes, Lumena finally confessed honestly.

“You weren’t my child, but that’s not a reason for me to neglect you. I love all those who need care.”

“!”

Rembrary looked at Lumena with trembling eyes. Something was about to come out of his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say.

He knew that Lumena had this kind of nature. But he had never thought that he would be the object of it, so a vague feeling wandered around confusedly.

“Let’s go first.”

As she spoke, Lumena, who had been waving her hand in the air, lowered her arm, and a small circular hole appeared in the air where she had been waving.

And that hole gradually expanded, burning the paper as if a spark had landed on white paper and spread around it.

Rembrary stood silently next to Lumena, watching the spark grow to a size that a person could pass through.

However, before the passage in the air became even the size of a window, the other side of the air rippled like fog, and Yama appeared, with red cloths draped like snakes.

Yama’s bare feet made no sound even when they touched the floor, but Yama clearly revealed his presence with just his atmosphere.

As Rembrary slowly turned his head, he saw Yama, looming alone in a space where not even a breeze blew.

Yama’s lips, which had appeared leisurely, alternated between Rembrary and Lumena before slowly rising into a smile.

[A pitiful god who has lost her power.]

As Yama spoke as if pitying her, Lumena’s hand, which was holding Rembrary’s arm, tightened slightly.

Rembrary widened his eyes and looked back and forth between Lumena and Yama.

However, Yama had not even glanced at Rembrary since Lumena appeared, as if Rembrary was not even worth considering in the fight between the gods. On the other hand, Lumena was holding Rembrary’s arm as if she would never let go.

Rembrary glanced at the passage Lumena had created. The passage was not yet large enough for even one person to pass through, let alone two. The passage was expanding too slowly, burning its surroundings as leisurely as Yama, making it frustrating to watch.

[I was going to turn a blind eye if you pretended not to be there. How foolish of you to come here.]

By the time Yama finished speaking, black-robed grim reapers were lined up in all directions, not in suits like when they usually walked around.

The hems of their robes were fluttering wildly as if the same wind that blew around Yama was blowing around them, so Rembrary thought that he and Lumena were standing in the middle of a whirlwind.

Then, the moment Yama raised his hand, the grim reapers simultaneously began to charge towards Rembrary and Lumena.

Rembrary took a breath to use the Authority of God, knowing that it would not work on Yama.

However, before Rembrary could use his authority, the wind that came from Lumena burst out and spread in a circle, making the grim reapers’ robes, which were already fluttering, flutter like laundry on a windy day.

At that moment, Lumena abruptly threw Rembrary through the passage, which had grown large enough for one person to barely crawl through.

Rembrary, who had been wary of the grim reapers, was taken aback when his body suddenly went outside. He grabbed the passage tightly with his hands and looked at Lumena.

“Lumena-nim!”

However, as soon as Rembrary went out, the passage that Lumena had created immediately began to shrink, causing Rembrary to panic even more.

As if she had heard Rembrary’s call, Lumena glanced this way and instructed with a blunt voice.

“I’ve always wanted to say this, you son of a bitch High Priest. I’m not close to your god.”

Rembrary held onto the passage with one hand and reached out his other hand towards Lumena, but the passage was shrinking too quickly compared to before.

And in the shrinking clouds, Rembrary saw Yama seize Lumena. Lumena, who was caught in Yama’s hand, instantly turned into a sparkling light and scattered.

“!”

Yama flung all the clumps of light into the dark fissure inside his space, which Rembrary hadn’t even seen when he was there.

“Lumena-nim!”

Rembrary shouted until his throat was torn, but the passage was already almost closed, and Rembrary was merely hanging there.

At that moment, someone swiftly snatched Rembrary and reached out one hand through the passage that Rembrary was hanging from.

The unseen something that flew from that hand chased all the way to the fissure that Lumena had fallen into, and with that last thing, the two passages completely closed, and the surroundings changed into ordinary clouds.

Rembrary looked, weeping, at the one who had grabbed him. It was Redrin with a hardened face.

“Redrin-nim!”

As red roses were laid under his feet and the ground formed, Redrin released Rembrary on top of it.

Rembrary grabbed Redrin and, weeping, pointed at the passage that was now without a trace.

“Lumena-nim was destroyed while trying to save me! Please save Lumena-nim!”

Redrin’s figure blurred because of the tears.

Redrin patted his back while holding Rembrary in his arms.

Rembrary continued to weep in that state, and then looked up at his god with his eyes completely wet. Redrin’s face was calm.

“Calm down.”

As their eyes met, Redrin released Rembrary and wiped away the tears with his palm.

Rembrary, who was sitting on the ground, clutched handfuls of red petals in both hands and thought that the sight was just like blood.

He regretted that he should have remained in Yama’s space. He was just trapped there, doing nothing. He didn’t know that Yama would mercilessly destroy Lumena.

Redrin’s hand was placed over his head, but as the large hand touched him, the sad heart grew even larger, so Rembrary trembled his shoulders and bit his lip.

“It’s difficult to go save Lumena right now, but a god is immortal. They don’t die. No matter what form they take.”

“But…….”

“I sent half of my power to Lumena before the door closed, so don’t worry.”

Rembrary was despondent, then suddenly lifted his head in surprise at Redrin’s words.

However, Redrin’s face was indifferent, as if he had given away the remaining change in his pocket.

“Then Redrin-nim is!”

But Rembrary couldn’t continue his sentence and opened his mouth because he knew that the content contained in that sentence wasn’t something to just brush over and say ‘I see. That’s a relief.’

Redrin continued to speak calmly with a nonchalant face.

“If Lumena wants, she might be able to return to the original world. If she returns there, she might be able to come back here again, crossing the fissure.”

“!”

“Even if she doesn’t, she’ll settle down somehow. So don’t blame yourself. Lumena’s love for someone is the light of that being, not your debt.”

Even though he heard those words, new tears welled up in Rembrary’s eyes. He was afraid that Lumena might have been annihilated because he saw Lumena being destroyed, even though he knew that a god is immortal. This time he was saddened that Redrin had given away half of his power that he had barely recovered because of himself.

As Rembrary’s gaze reached him, a faint smile appeared on Redrin’s lips for the first time. He stroked Rembrary’s head with his large hand and whispered soothingly.

“I was just helping my most precious friend, so this is not something that you should feel guilty about.”

“I keep thinking that everything that happened might have been because I was caught by the King of the Underworld.”

Redrin shook his head.

“You are the child that I love most. What did I say?”

“…….”

“No wrong has come from you, you are such a being. This is not because you were caught by Yama, but because Yama caught you.”

“!”

“Do not blame yourself for anything.”

* * *

“Lapsus.”

The Eastern Great Priest turned his head at the clear voice that was calling him. There was a grim reaper that was sticking with him like a partner, a grim reaper whose usefulness could only be found in going back and forth between this world and the underworld at once and refilling handkerchiefs at any time.

“What’s the matter?”

As the Eastern Great Priest asked, the grim reaper took out and handed over a handkerchief from his pocket. Today, it was not stained with enemy blood.

As he frowned and looked down, the grim reaper placed the handkerchief in his hand and informed him with a sad expression.

“Your former master died.”

“Former master?”

“I don’t know the name, but they went to save the otherworld saint in His Majesty’s space and died. They say they disappeared completely, turned to dust. A god is immortal, so even if they died, they didn’t really die, but anyway, they completely fell out of this world.”

“Are you going to cry? Wipe your tears with this.” The grim reaper’s clear expression was saying just that.

But the Eastern Great Priest retorted coldly while covering the handkerchief on the grim reaper’s face without a change in expression.

“So what?”

At that cold attitude, the grim reaper removed the handkerchief from his face by blowing on it and clicked his tongue.

“You’re really bad too. Aren’t you sad at all?”

Still, as there was no change in the Eastern Great Priest’s attitude, the grim reaper disappeared, abandoning the handkerchief on the floor in the end.

The Eastern Great Priest looked down at the river that was shining roundly only in the place that received the streetlight’s light after the grim reaper disappeared, while leaning his body on the bridge railing silently.

-If I hadn’t been Rembrary, I would have been the youngest Great Priest. I think that the things I have achieved are great, and I feel pride. People keep comparing me to him, and saying that I am lacking is very unpleasant.

-The higher you are, the more envy you receive. People are ignoring you as much as they are envying that child, so don’t be swayed by their words.

-If I had been as strong as Rembrary, Lumena-nim would have become the greatest god… It hurts my heart to think about this.

-I like these human feelings that you have. That child has too much strength because of emotions that he will never feel in his life, but you have everything.

-What’s the point of having jealousy or inferiority? These things are not necessary.

The Eastern Great Priest picked up the handkerchief that the grim reaper had left behind by bending his body. He clenched the cold handkerchief inside his fist and leaned his body on the railing again while biting his lip.

‘I said that these things are not necessary. Not necessary… these things.’

At that moment.

“Darkness has deepened in your heart.”

All the nearby streetlights went out, and a low voice was heard from right next to him. The Eastern Great Priest was startled and looked to the side.

“Woo Yeon-woo?”

Woo Yeon-woo was standing there, an Awakened who was quite famous in this world. But that atmosphere…

“Demon King?”

The Eastern Great Priest became confused. How is it the Demon King but Woo Yeon-woo? No, but the presence was too weak to say that it was the Demon King. Then a fragment? Is it a fragment of the Demon King?

With a face that didn’t care about the other’s confusion, the Demon King smiled while extending one hand as if requesting a dance.

“Isn’t a God Someone Who Offers a Hand in the Most Needed Moment?”

“!”