Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 414

414. He’s Here

The faces of the terrified people were stained crimson. They writhed with all their might to escape the horror, but their struggles seemed futile.

Sagakjae watched the scene unfold from the window of a nearby three-story building, finally understanding the situation.

He recalled the incident in the music show waiting room when the Grim Reapers tried to capture Lapsus. Rembrary had intervened, crushing the Grim Reapers.

Sagakjae had initially assumed Rembrary was protecting Lapsus because they were from the same world.

But now it was clear that Rembrary and Lapsus were at odds. Rembrary seemed to be struggling with Lapsus’s addiction, unable to undo it.

It was evident that Rembrary had crushed the Grim Reapers simply because he disliked them.

‘Even if the Fake Saint [a derogatory term for Rembrary] has a strange personality, he doesn’t usually resort to force… Is the situation so dire that he feels he has to?’

Sagakjae frowned, the smell of cigarettes from the lower floor bothering him, and stepped away from the window.

A random passerby, holding an orange juice from the vending machine, approached Sagakjae and clicked his tongue while looking out the window.

“What are they doing again?”

The passerby seemed to misunderstand the situation, believing the people were voluntarily bowing their heads in praise of Rembrary, unaware they were being crushed by his power.

Sagakjae saw no need to explain, so he turned and headed down the building stairs. But his mind was racing.

‘Even the Underworld hasn’t located the Demon King’s fragment. They don’t even know where the Demon King is hiding.’

Meanwhile, Lapsus, connected to the Demon King, was steadily gaining followers.

The problem was that even if someone was captivated by Lapsus and contributed to the Demon King’s power, it was difficult for the Grim Reapers to intervene if they were Earth residents.

It was a delicate situation. They couldn’t break the rules simply because people were not completely corrupted but merely possessed by the Demon King. The rules were not made by the Grim Reapers or King Yama [the ruler of the Underworld in East Asian mythology].

‘The demons are aware of this and are using the addicts possessed by Lapsus as shields.’

Seeing that even Rembrary couldn’t handle Lapsus’s addiction and was resorting to intimidation, the situation seemed more serious than he had initially thought.

‘Maybe the otherworld god hasn’t simply disappeared but has weakened and can’t properly supply power.’

Emerging from the building, he saw a group of people across the road grabbing their ears and rolling on the ground. Passersby were filming the scene with their cell phones, curious about what was happening.

Sagakjae stared at the scene with troubled eyes, then slowly turned, entered the alley, and vanished from the street.

‘Maybe I should join forces with the otherworld god.’

* * *

“Us? We have to join forces with the Fake Saint?”

When Sagakjae told Sajikjae his thoughts, Sajikjae tilted his head with a skeptical expression.

“Um… isn’t that a bit much? He was a god on their side, but here, the Demon King and the otherworld god are essentially the same.”

Sagakjae shook his head.

“I initially thought they were the same, but they’re different. Their methods and tactics differ.”

“Well, the Demon King was a Demon King even in his own world, so his methods must be more dangerous.”

Nodding, Sajikjae frowned as he filled the coffee pot with water.

“Joining forces with the enemy of my enemy… It’s an effective strategy, but I don’t know if they’ll want to join forces with us.”

Sagakjae placed two glass cups on the table, tore open two disposable coffee packets, and poured them into the cups. Sajikjae turned off the coffee pot, now full of water, and went to the sofa, crossing his arms.

“They have a history of trying to kidnap us. The Fake Saint will likely hate us. They don’t even return the Grim Reapers who turned into pigeons these days…”

“Our Grim Reapers can’t harm humans who haven’t reached the end of their lifespan. His Highness [King Yama] has significant restrictions as a god, and we’re also lacking manpower.”

“Of course, if we join forces with the Fake Saint, all of that would be resolved. They can deal with the humans seduced by Lapsus, and since they’re not gods, they have no restrictions. Manpower… well, they might be lacking manpower too, but at least it’s increasing, not decreasing.”

“That’s right. So, it’s okay to join forces, right?”

“To join forces, they need to benefit as well. We get all sorts of benefits, but what benefits will they get? The benefit of forgiving the grudge of being kidnapped?”

“His Highness can turn a blind eye to the otherworld god settling down here, as long as they don’t try to reopen the closed rift [a portal between worlds].”

“Well, their world’s people haven’t all crossed over yet, so would they try to close the rift?”

As soon as Sajikjae muttered this, the coffee pot signaled that the water had finished boiling. Sagakjae returned to the kitchen, poured the boiling water into the cups, and turned around.

Sajikjae still looked unconvinced.

“I think there will be disagreements on the point you mentioned, Jikjae.”

“Still, should I mention it to His Highness?”

Like a long-time partner, Sajikjae immediately understood Sagakjae’s thoughts and asked.

“Yeah. Looking at it earlier, the otherworld saint’s side didn’t seem to be in a good situation either.”

When Sagakjae nodded, Sajikjae sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

“Then at least tell His Highness. Yeah, there’s nothing to lose by telling him.”

* * *

When Sagakjae went to the Underworld, King Yama was not in the royal court. Only the adjutant was putting Seondo [a type of traditional Korean confectionery] in a box and packing it.

“Where is His Highness?”

When Sagakjae asked, the adjutant sighed deeply and pointed to the archway.

“He must be somewhere beyond there.”

Sagakjae thanked the adjutant and went out through the archway. Looking around, he saw King Yama standing with his hands behind his back in front of a large flower bed, looking up at the crack in the sky.

“Your Highness.”

Sagakjae called out as he approached, but King Yama did not turn his head. But since there was no way King Yama wouldn’t notice his presence, Sagakjae stopped nearby and told him his opinion, which he had also discussed with Sajikjae.

He explained that Redrin seemed weaker than he thought, that the otherworld saint’s side didn’t seem to be in a good situation, and that Lapsus was spreading his power day by day without caring whether it harmed other beings.

While speaking, Sagakjae constantly watched King Yama’s profile. He thought King Yama would accept his opinion, but he also thought that the pride of a god was so high that he would dismiss his opinion mercilessly.

“……”

“There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Sagakjae was even more nervous at the more receptive attitude than he had anticipated. But King Yama was not being sarcastic.

“Redrin and Lumena are the culprits of this incident. Normally, I would never accept them. But if I leave it like this, the beings of our world will suffer, so there’s no other way.”

“Your Highness…”

“Don’t be touched. Even if we join forces, I will take measures.”

“What measures?”

“That’s not your concern.”

King Yama said firmly, but Sagakjae was relieved even with this much. Basically, they were enemies, but the otherworld god was still a god.

They came from a completely different world, so there would be more differences between them and King Yama, but at least it didn’t seem like they were planning to expand their power destructively like the Demon King.

“Sagakjae, Grim Reaper.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I can’t find Redrin, so tell the otherworld saint to summon his god. Tell him I want to talk.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

* * *

“That conversation… I want to have it too.”

As soon as Sagakjae came out of the Underworld, he went straight to Rembrary and told him King Yama’s words. However, Rembrary, who he thought would readily agree, instead became sullen.

“Isn’t he your god? Don’t you know where he is?”

“……”

“I also know that your god has become weaker than you think. That’s why King Yama has softened.”

“If you call him and try to harm him—”

“He said to swear on the name of God that he will never harm your god during ‘this meeting’.”

When Sagakjae even mentioned the name of God, Rembrary relaxed his vigilance and loosened his sullen expression.

But the answer was still not what Sagakjae wanted.

“I don’t know if Redrin will accept His Highness’s proposal. He harbors a lot of resentment towards you.”

“It’s not that our Highness doesn’t have any resentment either, but he’s still considering joining forces. If you ask, wouldn’t we have more reason to resent? Our peaceful world was torn apart, after all.”

That was true, so Rembrary suddenly looked pained and put his hand on his forehead instead of continuing the conversation.

“I’m saying this because I know that Redrin-nim has weakened for a while, but recently I haven’t been able to contact Redrin-nim either. I don’t even know if he’s listening to my prayers, let alone conveying any messages.”

Since there was no way that Rembrary, the high priest, would lie about his god, Sagakjae frowned.

If Rembrary’s words were true, wasn’t Redrin really seriously weakened?

For a moment, Rembrary and Sagakjae looked at each other without saying anything.

Rembrary and Sagakjae both needed Redrin. Right now.

But since there was no way to find a god who was not even a person and had disappeared, both of them were at a loss.

“I have to travel around for the Grim Reaper’s work, but if I happen to see your god, I will convey this news.”

He couldn’t just say, ‘Please look for him anyway’ in this situation, so Sagakjae gave a plausible answer, although he was skeptical.

Rembrary couldn’t very well answer, ‘Then I’ll wait’ when Sagakjae was leaving.

Rembrary also nodded.

“I will gather as many people as possible and try to call Redrin-nim.”

* * *

As soon as Sagakjae left, Rembrary consulted Mullu about this matter and then summoned not only the paladins and priests, Daeju, and Ardor, but also the director of the research center who was sincerely interested in Redrin and the lion lord who had witnessed Redrin’s existence with his own eyes.

Since Redrin didn’t respond even when he prayed alone, he wondered if it would be any different if he gathered people and prayed.

“Will this work?”

“We have to hope it does.”

However, even after praying several times with this many people, there was still no response from Redrin.

Others were disappointed by Redrin’s lack of response, but Rembrary was not. He had tried this kind of attempt for the first time, but in fact, he didn’t expect much from this level.

“Lion, bring Woosungwoo.”

“Woosungwoo? Yeonwoo hyung [hyung is a Korean term used by males to address older brothers or close male friends]? You’re telling me to bring Yeonwoo hyung?”

“Yes. And Daeju, gather the otherworld residents living in the Honghwa Battalion’s dormitory.”

The lion lord, hearing the request to bring Woosungwoo, and Daeju, hearing the request to bring the otherworld residents who had already refused to become passionate believers in Redrin once, were embarrassed and looked at each other.

“What are you going to do? They’re the ones who said they’re going to stay away from religious life to save themselves. Will they really help at times like this? No, I think they’ll be more careful not to get involved.”

Ardor answered instead.

“When our High Priest comes forward and gives a speech, the listeners are immediately moved. Don’t worry, just gather the people from our world who have entered Honghwa.”

He was dumbfounded because he was told to gather people who had never been hidden, but Daeju first gathered all the otherworld residents living in the Honghwa Battalion over five hours as he was told.

He didn’t praise Rembrary’s abilities as much as Ardor, but Daeju also believed in Rembrary’s abilities as a high priest, so he had a vague trust that if he gathered them somehow, he would persuade them well on his own. Perhaps with a touching speech or something like that.

But there was no emotion in Rembrary’s persuasion.

“Redrin-nim used too much power trying to save you, and now he’s on the verge of disappearing.”

“……”

“If you think it doesn’t matter, you only know one thing and don’t know two. The people and gods who originally lived here all want to send you back. They were watching because Redrin-nim was holding on. If Redrin-nim disappears, will you even have a chance to adapt here? You’ll be kicked out again.”

It was a threat that anyone could understand, but it worked.

Woosungwoo also decided to help with this because he had seen something strange awaken in his brother’s body before, so he would help his brother, not Rembrary.

And the next day.

Rembrary, who had called Daeju and other paladins, priests, and everyone who could pray to the yard, looked around the audience once and then put his hands together.

Since he had told them in advance what kind of prayer to say and when, the gathered people also put their hands together and prayed sincerely to call Redrin.

‘Redrin-nim, if you can’t come here, please let us know your location. This side’s god will go directly.’

How long had it been? Just as one or two people among the people were about to find it tiresome.

Black storm clouds began to gather in the blue sky. It was a similar omen to the ‘black cloud’ phenomenon, so the gathered people were all surprised and went inside the building.

Still, Rembrary did not move and just stood there blankly.

People told him to come in, but Rembrary didn’t budge.

At that moment.

“Look there!”

Red rose vines seemed to surround the ‘black cloud’, and then they began to bloom one by one in an instant.

“Oh my god.”

“Did Redrin-nim respond?”

The people were muttering, moved by the amazing sight, even though they didn’t know what was going on.

Inside a very high palace in the Underworld, King Yama, who was sitting on the throne and waiting for Redrin, also opened his eyes and smiled.

“He’s here.”