Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 379

379. The Demon King’s Purpose

Rembrary was surprised to see the Eastern High Priest here, and even more surprised by his black priestly robes.

“Hey, did you change the design of the priestly robes without permission?”

Lumena wasn’t in this world right now, so those black priestly robes certainly weren’t Lumena’s taste.

Rembrary, who had received grace from Lumena, had to address this issue properly.

“You’re still an idiot.”

Only then did Rembrary remember that the Eastern High Priest had recently sided with the Grim Reapers. He had joined hands with the Grim Reapers to harm the Archpriest.

“I wasn’t very interested in you, so I forgot for a moment.”

“!”

“You sided with the underworld. The Grim Reapers all wear black clothes. Is that why you changed your clothes?”

Rembrary smiled gently, making it clear that he wasn’t an idiot.

“…You moron.”

However, the Eastern High Priest’s eyes seemed to waver for a moment, but he muttered even more coldly, brushed past Rembrary’s shoulder, and left.

“Why is he always so grumpy?”

Rembrary clicked his tongue at the sight and looked at the Demon King.

Even during Rembrary and the Eastern High Priest’s brief argument, the Demon King calmly held the menu in his hands.

“That’s amazing.”

As Rembrary muttered and sat across from him, the Demon King finally took his eyes off the menu and smiled at Rembrary.

“It’s the same Woo Yeon-woo’s face, but it feels like a completely different person. It’s just you on the surface.”

The atmosphere was so different that Rembrary was genuinely impressed.

It was the same when he saw him in the parking lot before, but he acted like a Demon King then. But today, he was just holding a menu. Yet, it was obvious.

The Demon King laughed as if amused by his words.

“Trying to be perceptive.”

“?”

“You didn’t even recognize that the kid who just left is my child.”

Rembrary looked at the Demon King, wondering what he meant, and his eyes widened in surprise.

“Kkokko is… your priest?”

“Is his nickname Kkokko?”

Rembrary recalled the Demon King saying he was after his abilities. Did he not care who it was as long as they were a vessel for the High Priest?

Rembrary became a little confused. Kkokko might be a birdbrain, but he really liked Lumena.

It was absurd that he suddenly sided with the underworld after coming to this world, but if he thought of him as a High Priest following the god of this place, he could somehow try to understand. To some extent.

But the Demon King… isn’t he not a god of this place? The Demon King was the Demon King in this world and in his original world.

“What do you want to do?”

He was originally going to ask this question, but he was going to do it after eating all the meat. Or while eating. After seeing the Demon King’s attitude, Rembrary couldn’t delay any longer and asked.

In fact, he had an idea, but it was too inefficient for Rembrary to consider. So he had to ask. He needed to know the purpose to think of a way to stop it.

“First…”

“…”

“Let’s eat meat first.”

The Demon King smiled casually and turned the menu back towards Rembrary.

“Pick something.”

Rembrary, wary of him, vaguely pointed to the most expensive item.

While waiting for the staff to set the table, Rembrary didn’t take his eyes off the Demon King. Even when the staff brought the grill and installed it.

The Demon King, as if it wasn’t his first time coming to a Korean BBQ place in Woo Yeon-woo’s body, naturally picked up the tongs and placed the meat on the grill when the meat and grill were ready.

“…”

Rembrary didn’t take his eyes off his every move and opened a cider bottle.

“Just in case, keep in mind that I’m not like Kkokko.”

“?”

“I won’t be swayed just because I get some meat, and I won’t do that.”

“Do you think I’m after your power? Why?”

“Because I’m great.”

This Korean BBQ place had a unique blue light above.

Thanks to the blue light coming down from above and the red light from the grill rising from below, the Demon King’s appearance shone particularly eerily in between.

The Demon King’s shoulders trembled slightly at Rembrary’s advice, and he raised only one corner of his mouth.

“If you’re misunderstanding because of what I said before, don’t worry. One High Priest is enough.”

“!”

“The High Priest has already been created.”

The Demon King smiled brightly and placed cooked meat and grilled garlic on Rembrary’s plate.

Rembrary ate the meat wrapped in lettuce diligently, not because the meat was delicious, but because he wanted to eat this quickly and finish the main topic.

The Demon King didn’t eat a single piece himself, even though he was the one who suggested coming to the Korean BBQ place, but Rembrary never offered him any meat.

Rembrary was a High Priest with a sharp edge. He wasn’t the kind of High Priest who would share a table with the Demon King.

Especially not with a Demon King who called the High Priest ‘just a’.

* * *

When they were almost done with their meal, Rembrary, feeling that he couldn’t wait any longer, wiped his mouth with a napkin and asked.

“What is your purpose?”

“You asked me to meet just to ask that?”

“If you expected purification or exorcism, you shouldn’t have come hiding behind Woo Yeon-woo.”

The Demon King smiled, raising both corners of his mouth in perfect symmetry.

“You don’t like meeting me in this body, do you?”

“Would I?”

“That’s a relief then.”

Before he could ask what he meant, the blue light started flickering and suddenly went out.

As the upper part became dark, the Demon King’s lower face was enveloped in a reddish light thanks to the charcoal fire that hadn’t been removed yet.

On the other hand, the area above his eyes was completely immersed in darkness, and all that could be seen were his pupils reflecting the red light.

“Then our purposes must be the same.”

With that chilling appearance, the Demon King smiled so that his barely visible eyes curved.

* * *

Redrin.

I don’t know if you’re listening to my prayers right now, but I’ll speak on the premise that you’re listening even if you can’t answer.

It seems like the Demon King is trying to bring his body to this world. Not just the fragment that’s here now, but his real body.

When Ardor told the story of the Demon King’s hand crossing the barrier, I thought ‘maybe?’, but it was true.

How do I know? I heard it from the Demon King. To be exact, from the fragment of the Demon King’s soul that entered a certain person.

“…”

I knew the Demon King wouldn’t give me a proper answer, but I still had to ask his purpose.

The Demon King has a brain, so there must be a reason why he followed us here.

And if I knew his purpose, I thought I might be able to persuade the Demon King.

There’s a 99% chance that I won’t be able to persuade him, but I have to try if there’s even a 1% chance.

But the Demon King didn’t tell me that far. No, actually, he did say something.

When I asked, ‘Are you trying to take over this world too? Is that why you’re trying to bring your body here?’, he said with a serious face. He wants to become an actor.

Of course, I know the Demon King lied. I’m not swayed by such a simple lie.

But I don’t know anything other than the fact that he lied.

I still don’t know exactly what the Demon King’s purpose is. I’m just thinking, is he just trying to take over this world too?

Anyway, I harvested three pieces of information.

First, the Demon King is trying to bring his main body here.

Second, the Demon King is no longer targeting me as the High Priest.

Third, the Demon King has made Lumena’s High Priest his own High Priest.

Ah. Did I not tell you, Redrin? Before, the Demon King’s fragment said he wanted to make me his High Priest. It seemed like he had an ulterior motive.

But when I asked him today, he said he already made the Eastern High Priest his High Priest, so he doesn’t need me.

Demons try to get whatever they like by any means. Whether it’s an object, land, or contractor. How much more would the Demon King?

So it’s a relief that the Demon King no longer wants my power…

I’m worried that Lumena will be shocked when she finds out about this.

* * *

“Why did you lie?”

As the Demon King came out of the Korean BBQ place, Oh-wan, who had just finished paying and brought the car, asked.

“You were listening.”

“I didn’t mean to listen. But I could hear everything from where I was.”

The Demon King took the coat from Oh-wan, draped it over his shoulders, and got into the back seat of the car.

Oh-wan, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, started the engine and looked at the Demon King through the rearview mirror, and their eyes met.

The Demon King was smiling, and when their eyes met, he said as if it were obvious.

“To reassure him.”

* * *

No matter how I think about it, the reason why the Demon King is trying to come here is to take over this world. What benefit does the Demon King get from taking over two worlds?

Other than that, is there any reason why the Demon King would bring his demons, especially his close demons, across here?

Rembrary couldn’t do anything properly after returning home because he was thinking about this.

Even when asking Jang Tae-ri about school, even when the training camp commander called to ask when he was going to give him the early discharge consent form.

Maybe it’s because the Eastern High Priest in black priestly robes kept popping up in his mind from time to time.

‘Maybe Kkokko thought Lumena died, so he sided with the Demon King? Is he trying to take revenge because he thinks the god of this place killed Lumena?’

After thinking for a long time, a plausible hypothesis finally came to mind.

‘I think that’s it.’

Rembrary quickly took out his cell phone.

‘I should ask Sa Gam-jae. The Grim Reapers lived with Kkokko until recently, so they can explain why he suddenly betrayed them.’

Maybe Kkokko’s contact information too.

‘No. I don’t think he’ll give it to me.’

But Rembrary soon changed his mind. If Kkokko really betrayed them, there’s no way Sa Gam-jae would give him his contact information.

But how long had he been lost in thought?

Around the time the outside was dark. He was hungry, so he decided to eat first and then think, so he went downstairs to the kitchen.

He took out a few fruits to eat from the kitchen and sat down at the table, and 305 saw it while going to the bathroom and quickly ran over.

“I’ll do it for you!”

While 305 was busy taking out food ingredients from the refrigerator and taking out a cutting board from the cupboard, Rembrary refused only in words, saying, “It’s okay.”, and took out his cell phone and turned on the internet.

But when he turned on the internet, there was a very strange word in the real-time search terms.

‘Ji Tae-in… loses his voice?’

If it’s Ji Tae-in, isn’t that Tae-in from Wild Animal? The one who always walks around looking sullen?

“But you saw Woo Yeon-woo today, didn’t you, benefactor?”

“Yeah.”

Rembrary asked casually, turning on the article with the most comments among the related news articles.

“How did you know?”

According to the article, Tae-in’s first solo song after leaving LLL Entertainment was very well received. Everything from the music to the music video was well received.

But on the day of the showcase, suddenly, in the middle of singing, he couldn’t make a sound.

“Ah, a scene of Woo Yeon-woo putting meat on the benefactor’s plate was uploaded on the internet.”

Rembrary was seriously reading the article and turned his head, saying, “Huh?”