Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 552

◈ 552. Finding Rembrary

Whenever Rembrary entered or exited the dungeon, the chat window—where the demons frequently teased each other and reacted to Rembrary’s party—was now silent.

Waryon, who had been assembling a puzzle to reorganize the dungeon, threw down the dungeon model in frustration.

“What is this! The Archpriest isn’t coming, and only strange people are coming and going!”

“Strange people? Each of those people’s foolish actions empowers the Demon King.”

Waryon looked to the side at the sudden voice.

Noir stood there with his arms crossed, as if he had been there all along, and he was scolding him right away.

Waryon picked up the model and threw it at him this time.

“You can’t understand what I’m saying. It’s not that I don’t need humans, it’s that they’re not *fun*.”

“The Archpriest didn’t come to the dungeon every day anyway. There were many times when he didn’t come for about three days.”

Noir snatched the model out of the air. As soon as Noir grabbed it, the model crumbled and disappeared without any resistance.

Waryon frowned and asked.

“Right. But Clot heard it from that human kid that the Archpriest went to Redrin and hasn’t been back.”

Instead of answering, Noir stared intently at Waryon’s crystal ball, then disappeared back into the mirror.

“Why did that bastard come and get on my nerves?”

Waryon, who had been grumbling, became a little worried.

“Is the Demon King okay? That god, Redrin, it seems like he noticed something.”

* * *

The heavy rain made visibility almost nonexistent.

Woo Sungwoo was walking with a large umbrella when he spotted someone he had briefly seen before, the one he had followed Noir to see.

‘Wasn’t that the Demon King?’

In his world, the term ‘Demon King’ conjured up an image of a dignified but dark figure in black attire. Contrary to that image, this one was quite flamboyant.

But even though he was dressed so flamboyantly, there was an ominous aura about him.

‘Why is he doing that?’

Anyway, with that flamboyant attire and ominous aura, the Demon King was standing in the pouring rain.

It was amazing how he didn’t look like a drowned rat, even though he was getting soaked.

Well, what did he care? Woo Sungwoo felt a brief flicker of interest, but soon lost it and continued on his way.

* * *

Two more days passed, but Rembrary still hadn’t returned.

“It’s still strange,” Jang Taeri muttered as soon as she entered Shin Joowoon’s office, taking off her jacket.

Shin Joowoon stopped signing documents and looked at Jang Taeri once, then at his secretary standing next to Jang Taeri.

As the secretary quickly left, Jang Taeri sat on the sofa in the center of the room, frowning.

“Aren’t you weirded out? No matter how I think about it, it’s not like him. Rembrary wouldn’t make plans to eat and then disappear.”

“You’ve been thinking about that the whole time?”

“It’s been five days since I heard from him, even if we count three days as vacation.”

Jang Taeri sighed and noticed that Shin Joowoon wasn’t taking off his suit jacket, even though he must be uncomfortable, and asked, “Why are you dressed like that in your office? Aren’t you hot?”

“I’m just seeing you and leaving. I have an appointment.”

“An appointment? Now? With whom?”

“Sagamjae.”

“Ah, that pale grim reaper? Well, grim reapers are all pale. Are you going to ask about Rembrary? Oh, yeah, that would be good.”

As Jang Taeri muttered and got up by herself, Shin Joowoon waved at her.

“Jang Taeri? When should I answer?”

“No, you don’t have to answer.”

Shin Joowoon didn’t wave to say goodbye, but Jang Taeri waved back like a farewell and quickly grabbed her jacket and went outside.

The secretary, who was coming in with coffee, was flustered and backed away.

“Are you leaving already?”

“Yes, see you later.”

Just as the elevator arrived, Jang Taeri slipped inside.

Shin Joowoon looked down at his watch.

He wanted to chase after Jang Taeri and ask what was wrong, what she was saying and answering by herself, but it was time for Sagamjae to arrive.

* * *

As soon as Jang Taeri rushed outside and got into her car, she called Sajikjae.

[Yes, Jang Taeri! Long time no see.]

Sajikjae answered the phone with a welcoming voice.

Jang Taeri asked cautiously, “I wanted to ask you something.”

[Ask me anything!]

“It’s about Rembrary…”

He said to ask, but he didn’t say he would answer.

Sajikjae, who had answered very kindly, reflexively hung up as soon as Jang Taeri brought up the story of the Otherworld Saint [a saint from another world].

“Hello? Hello?”

Jang Taeri never expected Sajikjae to hang up on her.

She kept talking into her phone and belatedly realized that the call had been disconnected, and called Sajikjae again.

Fortunately, Sajikjae answered the phone again.

“Why did you hang up?”

―A squirrel ran by. It wasn’t intentional. I’m sorry. But what brings Taeri to this place…?”

“I have something to ask.”

―Yes. What is it?

“I haven’t been able to reach Rembrary for several days. Is he there?”

―No. He’s not here.”

“…”

When Jang Taeri didn’t answer for a moment, Sajikjae hurriedly added over the receiver, ―He’s really not here.”

For someone who said that, he was too surprised and hung up the phone earlier. Jang Taeri became suspicious and asked, “Then do you know where he is?”

This time, there was no answer from Sajikjae for a while.

‘So he *does* know something.’ Jang Taeri held her phone, calmly waiting for Sajikjae to answer.

As she was doing that, she saw Sagamjae entering Worldboom.

She didn’t know how he knew, but he glanced this way before entering, nodded his head as a greeting, and passed by.

As she was returning the greeting, Sajikjae finally answered, ―Gamjae is the reaper who runs errands to Redrin. Sagamjae might know something. But I don’t know.”

‘Sagamjae knows?’ Jang Taeri got out of the car.

Shin Joowoon definitely said he had an appointment with Sagamjae. Is Shin Joowoon also trying to ask about Rembrary’s whereabouts?

* * *

As Jang Taeri expected, Shin Joowoon was also asking about Rembrary’s whereabouts.

Sagamjae answered firmly, “What the Otherworld believers are saying is correct. Rembrary is with his god. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Perhaps… is he unconscious?”

“Why do you think so?”

“I made plans with him and Jang Taeri, but he disappeared and I can’t reach him.”

“…”

Shin Joowoon watched Sagamjae’s expression closely and thought, ‘This grim reaper… He seems to know something more.’

But if he knows something, why isn’t he answering? What does he gain by avoiding answering?

If there wasn’t a history of trying to kidnap Rembrary in the underworld, he would have just assumed there was a reason.

‘Maybe it’s because of his past record.’ Despite the grim reaper’s denial, Shin Joowoon became suspicious of the underworld.

Several bad thoughts crossed Shin Joowoon’s mind. For example, the ice hostage method he used before.

Sagamjae noticed the unusual signs just from the fact that his eyes were turning cold and became wary, ready to draw his weapon at any time.

At that time…

“President.”

The secretary’s voice from outside the door broke the tense atmosphere between the two.

“Representative Jang is here again.”

Sagamjae quickly got up at this opportunity and disappeared.

Shin Joowoon stared at the spot where Sagamjae had disappeared and answered, “Tell her to come in.”

The door soon opened, and Jang Taeri came in, saw the traces of someone sitting on the sofa, and asked, “Didn’t Sagamjae come in here? Did he just leave? Did I miss him? Why didn’t I see him?”

“He left. Not here. Somewhere else.”

“About Rembrary? Did you ask? What did he say?”

“He’s with Redrin. He said he doesn’t know the details.”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t know about that.”

As Shin Joowoon stood up after answering quickly, Jang Taeri followed him to the door and asked, “But where are you going?”

“To track the car’s location.”

“Whose car?”

“The car that the pig [Rembrary] was riding in.”

The elevator door opened. Jang Taeri went inside with him and asked in disbelief, “You were tracking Rembrary’s car?”

Shin Joowoon pressed the button and answered nonchalantly, “Yeah.”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s okay. It’s my car.”

“No, even if it’s your car, how can you track the location after telling Rembrary to use it?”

“Are you going to get angry?”

“I would have gotten angry if I had known three days ago. You timed it well. Praise for today.”

When they arrived at the parking lot, Jang Taeri got into Shin Joowoon’s car with him.

Shin Joowoon looked at Jang Taeri with eyes that said, ‘Why are you here?’, and Jang Taeri sighed, “Ah.”

“Okay, seatbelt.”

“Are you going too?”

“Are you going to leave me out?”

When Jang Taeri asked with wide eyes, Shin Joowoon couldn’t say no. Jang Taeri was also very worried.

Instead, Shin Joowoon took out his phone, checked the time, and warned, “It might take a long time. You’re busy with work.”

“It’s okay. Let’s go.”

Shin Joowoon tried to say something more, but he thought she must be very worried too, so he started the car.

“Then you can check the location next to me.”

Jang Taeri checked the phone screen and the navigation that Shin Joowoon handed her and kept telling him the location.

However, even though they were traveling by car, it was not an easy journey.

The roads, which had already deteriorated after the upheaval [a cataclysmic event], became even worse as they got closer to where Rembrary’s car was.

Occasionally, monsters would pop out in sparsely populated areas and try to attack the car, and they couldn’t move forward because they had to deal with the monsters each time.

The car went deeper and deeper into the forest.

By the time the car stopped, it was clearly daytime, but the tall trees made it look dark all around.

“I think it’s around here,” Jang Taeri said, checking the location one last time, and Shin Joowoon stopped the car.

Shin Joowoon took the phone from Jang Taeri, checked if he had the location right, and looked around.

“Why did Rembrary come all the way to a place like this?”

“I don’t know.”

“He wasn’t said to be dead. He wouldn’t have come here with bad intentions.”

Jang Taeri stopped talking. Shin Joowoon was looking in a certain direction with a dumbfounded expression, raising his eyebrows.

“Why?”

When she ran to the side, she saw Shin Joowoon’s car, abandoned and in tatters.

It was dented everywhere, and its original elegant appearance was nowhere to be found.

Shin Joowoon walked towards it and checked the inside of the driver’s seat.

“He’s not here.”

“Did he get hurt and go outside? Did he go to a nearby hospital because of his injuries?”

“He’d be fine even if he was hurt.”

Rembrary’s phone was visible inside the dented car.

Shin Joowoon twisted the door open and reached out to take out the phone. The phone’s battery was already dead.

Jang Taeri became even more worried about Rembrary when she saw the state of the car.

“Ah, really. This is unsettling.”

Shin Joowoon thought for a moment and then called Sagamjae again.