Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 423

423. A Brief Farewell (End)

Contrary to the Lion Lord’s anxiety, Rembrary was completely sane. However, he didn’t have the chance to reassure the Lion Lord, “I’m sane, so don’t worry.”

Though his eyes were open and he was conscious, he was so focused on praying to Redrin that he couldn’t properly perceive his surroundings.

From the moment Rembrary awoke, he had been pleading with Redrin.

‘Redrin, please open a rift. I will take the Demon King’s fragment there, so the Demon King can’t fully revive his body for a very long time.’

No matter how much he prayed, there was no response from Redrin, but Rembrary continued to pray, believing that Redrin had sent the Lion Lord, Shin Jo-woon, and Mullu here. He reasoned that Redrin was pretending not to respond because he didn’t want to sacrifice Rembrary.

‘Redrin, just as you want to protect me, I want to protect you.’

[…….]

‘You know I can suppress the Demon King anywhere if you just regain a little strength. Remember when we first met after crossing over here? I was suppressing the Demon King well back then.’

[…….]

‘Redrin, you exist even without me, but I don’t exist without you. So, Redrin, please open a rift. This is also for my sake, so don’t be sad… and don’t pretend you can’t hear me.’

[…….]

Rembrary intended to take the Demon King’s fragment and go alone through the rift to another dimension.

Crossing a rift was extremely dangerous. It wasn’t for nothing that Lumena and Redrin created a frog egg-like shield when crossing rifts. If something went wrong, Rembrary could end up floating in the gap between dimensions, never fully crossing the rift.

However, Rembrary believed that Redrin or Yeomra would prevent that from happening. So, he would safely cross the rift and arrive in another dimension with the Demon King’s fragment—in an unnamed dimension.

Of course, the Demon King could follow. Just as he had moved all his remaining body to this world, following one of his fragments in Woo Yeon-woo’s body, he could do so again this time. However, the next migration would be much more difficult for the Demon King.

When Rembrary’s world came to Earth, Redrin and Lumena connected the dimensions there and here, and they poured all their energy into creating a passage so they could cross over without harm.

Thanks to that, not only the strong but also ordinary humans easily migrated from there to here, but the place Rembrary was going this time was not such a place. It was uncharted territory, a dimension unknown and unprepared.

Even if the Demon King found out which dimension Rembrary had taken his part to in the future, he would need demons to transport the other body fragments without being detected or stolen by the gods there. How could he safely send all the trustworthy demons there?

The Demon King would have to consider a huge loss of power to open the way, just as Redrin and Lumena did, so Rembrary crossing the rift to another dimension was a bad move for the Demon King. It would force him to expend considerable resources and risk exposure.

‘Redrin, I know you’re listening.’

However, this was also a bad move for Rembrary.

Just because he took away a part of the Demon King’s fragment didn’t mean that the power the Demon King had built up here would disappear. Nor did it mean that the Demon King’s subordinates would decrease.

The Demon King’s other fragments were still intact here. The demons who had migrated from another world following the Demon King, and the devils who were native to Earth but had turned to the Demon King’s side, were still numerous here. They would continue to fight the Grim Reapers.

How long would it take for Redrin to regain his strength and suppress the Demon King?

Rembrary would have to live alone again in a place where he knew no one and was unfamiliar. Perhaps for the rest of his life.

Still, Rembrary prayed the same.

‘Redrin, send me.’

Just as he hadn’t stopped Lapsus from leaving knowing he would die, Rembrary didn’t hesitate to step forward.

Meanwhile, smoke began to rise from the half of Rembrary that Shin Jo-woon had frozen. It seemed that the Demon King’s side, which had been suppressed, was also starting to rebel.

Redrin, who had been watching the situation, eventually opened a rift and called Lumena.

Even as Rembrary continued to pray to Redrin, the battle between the Grim Reapers and Rembrary’s group inside the Demon King’s space suddenly stopped when the entire space seemed to crack with a ‘creak’ sound.

Everyone stopped at the ominous sound and only rolled their eyes.

Only after another ‘creak’ sound did they realize the anomaly that had occurred in the black space behind the throne where Rembrary was sitting.

As if the giant who had been pressuring them had this time cut through the space with a hook, a large, sunken wound had appeared there.

Beyond the sunken wound, a deeper darkness was submerged than here, and countless stars were visible above it. Like the middle of the universe.

Although half of his body was frozen and he couldn’t check behind him, Rembrary noticed from the sound alone that Redrin had granted his request.

Yeomra, who had been closing every rift Redrin opened, didn’t stop it this time.

Rembrary, who had noticed the situation, stopped praying and smiled faintly at Sa Gam-jae, asking for a favor.

“Gam-jae.”

“……Otherworld Saint.”

“I’m having trouble getting there to suppress the Demon King, so push me there.”

At Rembrary’s request, Sa Gam-jae, whose face was scarred here and there from fighting with his companions, squeezed his eyes shut.

Ardor and Mullu also opened their eyes wide and opened their mouths, but as if they had received some message from Redrin, they suddenly stopped moving and bit their lips.

Rembrary, sitting majestically on the throne, smiled gently as always and asked again.

“Why are you making such expressions? If you guys subdue the Demon King quickly, I can come back again. There’s no need to make such sad faces.”

It was a lie. It was easy to say, but it wasn’t something that could happen within the average human lifespan.

Tears eventually fell from Sa Gam-jae’s eyes, who wasn’t fooled by the lie.

“Rembrary!”

The Lion Lord, who was watching this, shouted in a hurry.

“You said you were going to freeze and store him! What about that!”

Even to the Lion Lord, who didn’t know much about rifts, the space that looked like the universe in the void seemed so frightening and vast.

But you’re asking to be pushed into that seemingly empty place? Is that a request to be killed? It seemed no different from being pushed off a cliff, or rather, opening the door of a spaceship and being pushed out.

“Freeze? Are you going to freeze me with the Demon King? I don’t know who came up with that idea, but it’s dangerous. In the end, it’s still inside this world. What if something goes wrong even a little bit?”

“!”

The Lion Lord looked back and forth between Sa Gam-jae, Mullu, and Ardor, his mouth gaping. Last of all, he looked at Shin Jo-woon, with the thought that Shin Jo-woon would confidently step forward and stop him, saying that wouldn’t happen.

As he thought, Shin Jo-woon, who had been quietly watching the situation, stepped forward.

“I’ll do it.”

In a different direction.

The Lion Lord opened his mouth even wider. Was that ‘I’ll do it’ meaning ‘I’ll push you into that dark and scary space that I don’t know what it is!’? On the outside, they seemed to have a good relationship, but did Shin Jo-woon actually hate Rembrary?

While the Lion Lord was in confusion, Shin Jo-woon walked over and lifted Rembrary from the throne.

“You’re the frozen anchovy, but I’m the one who’s freezing.”

In the midst of all this, Rembrary made another nonsensical joke, but there was no change in Shin Jo-woon’s expression.

The Lion Lord was flustered when Shin Jo-woon walked towards the horribly sunken space like a hook, so he moved towards that side first and then reached out to Shin Jo-woon.

“Wait a minute. Stop. We need to think about it more―”

But before he could finish speaking, Shin Jo-woon threw Rembrary into it.

“!”

Together with his own body.

He had jumped down with Rembrary in his arms.

Everyone was surprised by the unexpected situation, and Sa Gam-jae hurriedly ran towards the rift.

Just as he was about to look down into the rift, someone seemed to be running towards that side, and they pushed Sa Gam-jae aside and jumped inside.

In his staggering vision, the end of green hair disappeared with a whoosh. Mullu, the commander of Rembrary’s Paladins, had followed the one he had to protect.

“!”

The Lion Lord was even more surprised by the attitude without the slightest hesitation and took half a step back. In an instant, three people had gone into the black hole-like space. Who knows where that is! Who knows what will happen if you go there!

But before the second shock could subside, this time Ardor ran over and jumped inside again.

“?!”

Grasping the Lion Lord’s clothes.

“Why meeeeeee!”

The Lion Lord was surprised and stood there, but suddenly he was dragged in, screaming and waving his hands.

He was trying to hold on to the edge of the rift, but the rift passed through his hand like fog, and instead, Sa Gam-jae’s clothes were caught.

The Lion Lord held on to that tightly.

As Sa Gam-jae seemed to be swept away towards that side, the frozen Grim Reapers finally ran towards that side in surprise and reached out their hands.

In a situation where his body was tilting, Sa Gam-jae felt a short moment seemed very long.

Sa Gam-jae looked back for a moment. He saw his colleagues who were surprised and trying to grab him.

Sa Gam-jae could have shaken off the Lion Lord. He could have reached out and grabbed a fellow Grim Reaper with one hand, and cut off only the clothes that the Lion Lord was holding on to with the other hand.

But in a fleeting moment, he stopped shaking off the Lion Lord and was willingly dragged in as if he couldn’t help it.

[If you succeed in completely eliminating even one Demon King fragment, let me know then. I will continue to monitor the Demon King fragment inside Rembrary.]

The moment Sa Gam-jae’s voice reached Yeomra, the pitch-black space created by the Demon King flowed down like broken mosaic tiles and returned to Wild Animal’s dorm.

Inside the dorm, the demons and Demon Kings who had sensed the anomaly were gathered and looking around.

Then, the moment the Demon King’s space disappeared and the Grim Reapers’ figures reappeared there,

The Grim Reapers and demons, who recognized each other, immediately rushed at each other’s lives.

In an instant, blood of various colors splattered everywhere, turning the clean dorm into the middle of hell.

Woo Yeon-woo stuck to the wall and gasped several times. Because he was too weak, no one paid attention to him.

Woo Yeon-woo crawled into the closet, closed the door, and curled up his whole body. Tears flowed non-stop and his body convulsed without rest.

[You are a sore spot for me.]

Tears flowed out as blood rushed to his eyes and face.

‘Rembrary.’

Woo Yeon-woo recalled the name he had always called out in anger, but there was no one there to give him an annoying answer with a smile.

Woo Yeon-woo hugged his legs tightly.

Author’s words