Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 561

◈ 561. The Shrunken Rembrary

“Rembrary went into the dungeon alone?”

Shin Joong-woon asked in surprise, and Dae-ju corrected him.

“He didn’t go alone; he took Ardor with him.”

“They might have to fight demons after passing this dungeon. Why did he go alone?”

“…….”

Shin Joong-woon let out a hollow laugh. He came to the Redrin headquarters to deliver something to Rembrary, but Rembrary wasn’t there, and he only received absurd news.

Dae-ju, in his own way, felt a bit wronged by Shin Joong-woon’s reaction. He had clearly tried to dissuade Rembrary.

Rembrary made the choice to enter the dungeon with only Ardor. So why was he being blamed?

“It couldn’t be helped. Producer Kim Moo-rok said he was investigating something and needed to proceed quickly.”

“I’m not criticizing the quick pace. I’m saying that even if it was fast, more people could have been added.”

“The Archpriest said it’s cumbersome to use his powers with too many people, so he deliberately only took one person. What do you want me to do about that…….”

Dae-ju muttered, exhausted from the continued questioning.

“I can’t force anything on the Archpriest. I’ve offered various opinions, but they only work when the Archpriest is willing to accept them.”

Having said this much, Shin Joong-woon couldn’t openly blame him any further.

Jang Tae-ri, who heard the situation over the phone, also muttered in dismay.

―This is really troublesome. There’s no guarantee we’ll meet Rembrary even if we enter Area 3, Entrance 6 right now.

After ending the call, Shin Joong-woon returned to Worldboom headquarters and pondered for a while, eventually realizing that Kim Moo-rok was the root of all this.

As long as Kim Moo-rok continued with that documentary, Rembrary would continue to act this way.

Thinking this far, Shin Joong-woon searched all the sites that hunters mainly used.

The results were the same as before.

Before the rumors about Kim Moo-rok’s documentary, no one associated Rembrary or Redrin with the Cataclysm [a world-altering event].

There was a baseless story about seeing a child resembling Rembrary inside a dungeon, but it was difficult to connect that to the Cataclysm.

Shin Joong-woon frowned, tapping his mouse.

Then why did Kim Moo-rok even think of investigating Redrin and Rembrary in that direction?

“Did something happen during the preparation of the show?”

Kim Moo-rok might have learned something, or perhaps someone who knew something approached Kim Moo-rok.

After contemplating, Shin Joong-woon decided to investigate what was visible first and called his secretary to give instructions.

“Find out who came forward to sponsor Kim Moo-rok.”

“Yes. But it’s become difficult to track the flow of money since the Cataclysm… it might be hard to find out.”

“Still, find out as much as you can. Oh, and get Kim Moo-rok’s phone number too.”

* * *

Woo Yeon-woo learned about Rembrary’s news through Ninring.

After exchanging phone numbers at the haunted mansion, Ninring occasionally sent Woo Yeon-woo texts.

Even though they contacted each other periodically, the text messages were usually about everyday life.

But this time, important news had arrived.

Of course, it was closer to a text message worrying that Rembrary was only getting too close to the priests of the Yggdrasil Temple [a significant religious order], rather than aiming to deliver news.

‘He said it would be a hindrance to bring a lot of people, so they only went with two?’

Woo Yeon-woo stared blankly at the text message Ninring sent.

Afterward, Woo Yeon-woo felt, ‘Is my skill that terrible?’

Everyone says the most important thing in a fight is numbers.

If having a lot of people is cumbersome enough for them to leave, doesn’t that mean I’m a hindrance in battle?

Woo Yeon-woo recalled Shin Joong-woon arrogantly and obnoxiously saying, ‘Don’t come when we’re knocking down pillars, Woo Yeon-woo.’ Even then, he couldn’t keep up himself.

Anyway, if things continue like this, Rembrary will try to leave him behind next time too.

It feels bad, but Shin Joong-woon has a high probability of going together next time, even if he was left behind this time.

However, since he can’t fight properly even after awakening, there’s a high probability that Rembrary will leave him behind again.

Woo Yeon-woo hung a sandbag and punched it, clenching his jaw.

Hyung [older brother or a close male friend] had something important to say but told Shin Joong-woon instead of him, and Rembrary took a crazy person who might run off anywhere, saying he was more reliable.

Both have different circumstances, but wouldn’t it be because they both distrust him?

After Rembrary left for another world with a few companions.

He remembered again the time when he could only watch the situation helplessly, crouching in a corner of the room.

After much deliberation, Woo Yeon-woo called Gu Se-ji and asked for a favor.

“Can you give me some practice like a real battle? Anyone from Nakru is fine.”

―Why?

“I want to use my abilities properly.”

‘Both Hyung and Rembrary distrust me.’

Woo Yeon-woo continued to push the sandbag with one hand.

But Gu Se-ji answered vaguely with a troubled voice, “Well.”

“Is this something to hesitate about?”

Disappointed by the answer, he asked, and Gu Se-ji sighed.

[What if I train you and make you get seriously injured? How much of a fuss would Woo Sung-woo make?]

“Hyung isn’t even here right now.”

[He’ll hear about it later anyway.]

Woo Yeon-woo began to wonder if he should be relieved that Gu Se-ji still trusted Woo Sung-woo or annoyed that he was being refused training.

[If you really want to do it, I’ll do it when Rembrary is next to you. So you can get healed right away if you get hurt.]

After hanging up, Woo Yeon-woo slumped dejectedly on the sofa.

It was a good thing that the Nakru people still trusted Hyung, but he couldn’t do real battle-like training because he was mindful of them.

He had already been doing training that wasn’t like real battles, and he was still doing it from time to time.

Woo Yeon-woo realized when he failed to stop Shin Joong-woon and Hyung from fighting. What he needed was a sense of real battle.

No matter how quickly he practiced identifying and attacking characteristics in the practice room, when he tried to attack Shin Joong-woon, his hands froze before he could even do anything.

After worrying for a while, he received another text from Ninring. This time, there wasn’t much important content.

It was just that the children were angry because Rembrary had gone to the dungeon again without saying anything.

Then Woo Yeon-woo suddenly had an idea.

‘What if I ask Ninring?’

* * *

“Helping is no problem.”

When Woo Yeon-woo went to Ninring and asked for a favor, Ninring answered readily but was also curious.

“Doesn’t your heretical group have a lot of people too? How did the order come all the way here? There are Shin Joong-woon and other strong people too.”

“I think Ninring is strong.”

Woo Yeon-woo made an excuse appropriately.

He omitted things like he was scared of Ninring, so just facing her would be training, or at least Ninring wouldn’t try to kill him until she found out he was the culprit who went inside the Archpriest, but he didn’t know how Shin Joong-woon would react, so he couldn’t ask him.

Anyway, he was planning to improve his skills before Rembrary knocked down the pillars and came out.

* * *

Rembrary and Ardor, who had entered the dungeon, had no way of knowing what people were doing outside.

The two were just in a wide field.

“The cell phone is out of service, Archpriest.”

“Okay. We have no choice but to finish quickly and get out.”

Inside Entrance 6 of Area 3 was an endless field.

Unlike before, there was no large palace, no eerie mansion where ghosts might appear, and no desolate desert, but a peaceful, empty field.

But sometimes things that look so normal are more dangerous, so Ardor didn’t let his guard down and quickly scanned all directions in succession.

How long had they been walking like that? The green grass they were walking on seemed to gradually darken, and later it turned completely black.

“Why is it like this?”

“I don’t know.”

They were walking, marveling at the strange phenomenon.

Gradually, the number of people around them began to increase one by one, and later the number increased so rapidly that it became difficult to move.

What was concerning was that each of these people who had increased in number had an unusual appearance.

Someone’s eyes were melting, someone’s skin was melting, someone had horns on their head, and someone’s face was upside down.

Is it like that haunted mansion before? Rembrary thought of the space created by Warion and walked on, but this place was open.

“What is this place?”

“The dungeon escape mission isn’t even showing up.”

After walking like that for about 30 minutes, a cliff appeared. Rembrary and Ardor stopped in front of the cliff.

There was another cliff across the cliff, but to get from here to there, it seemed like they had to fly almost.

“The road is cut off.”

Ardor leaned out and muttered, looking at the dizzying cliff below. And he looked up again and looked beyond the cliff.

“Anyway, it seems like we have to cross here.”

The cliff itself is not a problem. The problem was that there was a pillar on the other side of that dizzying cliff.

If they clear this area, they have to go to that pillar. At this rate, they couldn’t even get close, let alone knock down the pillar.

“I don’t know what they want.”

Rembrary muttered, tilting his head.

There had never been a time when it was so difficult to know what the demons were up to as this time. Are they trying to show the past like before?

Rembrary recalled his childhood, which had disappeared from his memory.

Is this background also related to that childhood that the demons claim?

At that time. Someone drove a large cart and passed by Rembrary. Rembrary, who turned around to avoid it, was startled.

The background is the same… but it looked a little different. It felt a little wider and bigger.

‘Why is this?’

Besides, the cart that had passed by was gone. Feeling strange, Rembrary looked to the side and raised his eyebrows.

Ardor, who had been standing right next to him, was also gone. As he was looking around, a shout was heard not far away.

“Go that way! Damn it! Don’t miss it!”

And then another irritable voice followed.

“If we miss him, you and I will all die! The Emperor will never leave us alone!”

As he looked around again, he saw a few of the strangely shaped monsters he had seen passing by earlier suddenly appearing as if they had been summoned in the middle and approaching this way.

What was strange was that the closer they got, the more they regained the form of normal people. Besides…….

‘Big.’

Rembrary realized that their height was much taller than when he had seen them passing by.

When they passed by earlier, most of them were clearly smaller than him.

Then he realized.

‘Did I shrink?’

Not only those people but also the background itself was bigger overall. Things like the height of the grass.

At that time. The people who were wandering around shouted at Rembrary.

“It’s over there!”

“There!”

“Catch him!”

Rembrary used ‘Divine Majesty’ on them, but the people running towards him ran without being affected at all.

‘Is it an illusion.’

Unlike the people in the cocoons in Areas 3-5, they all seemed to be illusions.

Then what should he do, he was thinking, but unexpectedly, three choices appeared in front of him.

―Follow the past.

―Run away.

―Try to hide well.

So that’s what it was. Are they showing the past again this time?

Even this time, they’re not showing the illusion of a child, but changing this side to a younger version?

‘If that’s the case, why are they giving me choices? Is there something they can’t just show me?’

Even as he was wondering, the illusions were getting closer and closer.

Even though they are illusions, the attacks they make will probably affect this side. Since it will actually be an attack from the dungeon.

After thinking for a while, Rembrary discovered a crow-tit [a small, active songbird] fluttering above his head.

It was going around Rembrary’s head, and the way it was sticking out its wings and pretending to shoot at the rushing illusion looked exactly like…….

“Ardor?”

When Rembrary asked, the crow-tit quickly came to Rembrary’s side and sat on his shoulder.

‘Is this side a newly created one because it doesn’t exist in the past?’

After thinking for a while, Rembrary said the first choice.

“Number 1.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his legs suddenly moved on their own. Towards the cliff.

In the blink of an eye, Rembrary was falling below the cliff.

Ardor Crow-tit tried to grab Rembrary and fly away, but it was no use as it was only being dragged down together.

At that time. The body that was falling at a rapid speed suddenly stopped in mid-air.

As he blinked blankly, someone grabbed Rembrary by his clothes and lifted him up, muttering.

“Why is food falling from the sky……?”