Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 626

◈ 626. Taeri?

After inspecting the hotel, Rembrary and Sagamjae found no cracks. That left only one possibility.

“It seems monsters are entering from the outside.”

Rembrary nodded at Sagamjae’s muttering.

“Looks like it.”

Ki Seonghyun, who had been listening, asked from beside them.

“Entering from the outside?”

“Exactly as it sounds. There’s nothing here that would spawn monsters.”

“Can you see things like that?”

“Not here.”

Ki Seonghyun didn’t seem to believe Rembrary.

But he couldn’t completely ignore it either, as he frowned and kept glancing at Rembrary.

Instead of explaining further to Ki Seonghyun, Rembrary asked Sagamjae.

“Do you think someone deliberately let the monsters in?”

Nam Seonwoo, who was nearby, flinched. After all, he had released the bug monsters from Nakru.

However, the other monsters that appeared at the hotel and delayed the restoration project weren’t Nakru’s doing.

While he was talking to Sagamjae about it, the hunter who had told Nam Seonwoo to get bent finished preparing to leave and walked towards Rembrary, Sagamjae, and Secretary Yoon, not towards Nakru.

His expression was so determined that Rembrary stared at him blankly before asking.

“Are you really thinking of joining Redrine?”

The hunter replied as if it were obvious.

“Yes. I would have died if not for you, Rembrary. I might as well join Redrine.”

“You might be suspected as a spy. The two groups aren’t on good terms right now.”

It wasn’t just ‘might be suspected’; he was sure to be suspected 100%. But the hunter didn’t budge.

“I’ll have to deal with it.”

“Aren’t you deciding too hastily?”

“If you were shot by your boss and came back to life, you wouldn’t want to stay in the same company either.”

Rembrary had always been the boss, so he didn’t understand the example.

But he did have a subordinate who always stayed by his side, even after shooting him multiple times.

Rembrary tilted his head, and the hunter cautiously asked.

“Is there a condition for joining—”

“Don’t tell me.”

“That’s a relief. No, is it? Aren’t you being too accepting? What if a spy gets in?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t matter?”

“After seeing Daeju’s miracle and my healing, even if they come as spies, they’ll end up sticking around.”

The hunter paused and said, “Ah,” in agreement, but then shook his head.

“You trust people too much. We know you’re a saint, but people think you’re just an Awakened. Even if you show your power, it won’t lead to faith in God. Some people will only try to benefit.”

“It’s fine. Everyone lives trying to outsmart each other.”

“!”

The hunter looked at Rembrary with a complicated expression before sighing.

“You don’t seem like a saint, but you are.”

* * *

When Rembrary finished his work at the hotel and returned home, Daeju was unexpectedly there.

It wasn’t a frequent occurrence, so Rembrary didn’t initially know why he was there.

“Why are you here, Daeju?”

“Nakru uploaded a video of the High Priest working to the internet. Those bugs… the video.”

Only after hearing Ninniling’s explanation did Rembrary realize what Nakru had done.

“I see. But even if they upload it, it won’t be a big deal.”

“They only uploaded scenes of the High Priest struggling with his weakness and cut off the scenes where the High Priest was active. They’re very transparent.”

“My weakness?”

“Bugs.”

Rembrary checked the video and comments that Ninniling showed him. However, contrary to Nakru’s intentions, his image seemed to have improved somewhat.

“There aren’t as many people who dislike me as I thought?”

“That’s because the High Priest saved people 멋들어지게 [impressively] at the end.”

“But they’re very despicable. We need to be just as despicable to them, High Priest.”

“To dare reveal the High Priest’s weakness!”

Rembrary didn’t react much, but the Redrine believers were furious at Nakru’s actions.

“Weakness? I just dislike bugs a little, it’s not a weakness.”

Even when Rembrary insisted that bugs weren’t his weakness, Daeju and even Ardor didn’t believe him.

“I’m worried someone might try to exploit the High Priest’s weakness.”

“I said it’s not a weakness…….”

“Still, surely not. Would they try to attack the High Priest using bugs? That’s too inefficient, isn’t it?”

“I said it’s not a weakness.”

The only one quiet at the table was Woo Yeonwoo, who had inadvertently joined the gathering and wasn’t a Redrine believer.

Woo Yeonwoo blankly ate his cup ice cream with a ‘Why am I here?’ expression.

* * *

[……I’m telling you. Do you really think I’m afraid of bugs?]

“Well, I haven’t seen the video yet.”

[Because of the meeting?]

“Yeah. Because of the meeting.”

[Anyway, I don’t fear bugs, I dislike them. You know the difference, right?]

“Ah. Of course. I know.”

A faint humidity was felt in the cold night air. Was it going to rain? Shin Joongwoon looked up at the sky while talking to Rembrary.

It wasn’t raining. The air did feel subtly different, though.

‘Is it going to rain later?’

Shin Joongwoon started walking again.

Three or four times a week, he would get out of his car on the way home and walk around the neighborhood alone.

Even though the ‘city’ was relatively safe, no one knew when or where a monster might appear, so he regularly checked the area around his house to ensure safety.

[I’m still a little worried.]

“You’re worried?”

[What if the demons release bugs in the dungeon? It’s not scary, but it wouldn’t be a pleasant sight.]

“Should I come with you to this dungeon, then?”

[Aren’t you busy?]

“When are you going?”

“When are you free?”

“Anytime tomorrow. No, from three o’clock onwards.”

[Okay. Then let’s meet at the entrance of dungeon 1-6 tomorrow at three. Oh, you need to be well-prepared. Tomorrow, after passing through dungeon 1-6, we’ll probably fight the demon in charge of pillar 1 right away. Noir won’t be easy to deal with.]

“Noir has a grudge against us too.”

Shin Joongwoon ended the call, hearing Ardor shouting from beyond the phone, put his phone in his pocket, and continued to walk slowly.

Then, just as he was about to pass through the vermilion light pouring from the streetlamp,

He heard the sound of a blunt metal chain falling behind him. Shin Joongwoon stopped in the center of the light.

He was sure there was no one on the road when he passed by. To hear the sound of a chain falling not far behind him. It wasn’t normal.

As if reacting to his nerves, the air around his hand turned as cold as ice.

“I dropped something. I threw something. It slipped out of my hand.”

As he rapidly repeated making and melting ice in his hand, he heard a gushing voice from behind. It was the direction where the chain sound came from.

“Will you help me? Will you help? Will you help?”

Shin Joongwoon remained in place, only turning his eyes to the side. He faintly saw a figure wearing a fedora in the blind spot of his vision.

Instead of picking up the chain, he slowly turned his body completely around.

Standing there was a man wearing a fedora and a suit, with a collar around his neck like a dog.

He was wearing a dog collar, but there were no other threatening weapons. No knife, no gun. And no facial features either.

Shin Joongwoon realized that the man was a demon. The sound of the chain falling was the sound of the chain on the collar around the man’s neck falling.

With that peculiar appearance, the demon spoke to Shin Joongwoon again.

“Will you pick up my collar? Kind human. Pick up the collar.”

Shin Joongwoon had raised many kinds of dogs, but he didn’t have the slightest desire to pick up the demon’s dog collar.

He didn’t answer and froze the demon whole before turning around.

Before he could take a few steps, he heard a voice carried by the wind in his ear, ‘You are unkind.’

Shin Joongwoon felt something was wrong and looked back again.

The ice he had made was still there, but there was nothing inside.

In the short time it took him to freeze the demon with ice, the opponent had already escaped.

“…….”

Shin Joongwoon frowned, stared at the empty ice, waved his hand to make the ice disappear, and went home.

As he entered the house and took off his coat, the butler approached and asked.

“Sir, did something bad happen outside?”

“No.”

Shin Joongwoon looked at him questioningly, and the butler pointed to his own face.

“Your expression isn’t good.”

“I saw a strange demon.”

Shin Joongwoon frowned, thinking of the demon who wasn’t threatening but had a very peculiar appearance.

The butler asked worriedly.

“Today, I also watched the video of Rembrary fighting the demons. It seems to be quite effective. I know you’re not religious, but how about asking Rembrary to give you a blessing?”

Shin Joongwoon asked as he went up the stairs.

“Who’s Rembrary?”

“Pardon?”

The butler’s eyes widened, and he soon burst out laughing.

“You mean 돼지 님 [Pig Sir]!”

It seemed like Shin Joongwoon was joking, so he was matching his words. Shin Joongwoon raised his eyebrows, then smiled and said.

“Your jokes have improved a lot.”

With those words, Shin Joongwoon went up the stairs again.

The butler didn’t understand Shin Joongwoon’s words for a moment, so he couldn’t follow him and stopped in his place.

‘Are you still joking……? ‘

* * *

Before, the reporters would only gather when the pillars were destroyed, but today they were gathered even before entering the dungeon.

Rembrary came to the entrance of 1-6 and raised his eyebrows when he saw the reporters camped out.

“Rembrary, does this mean that pillar 1 will also collapse after passing through this dungeon?”

“Then only pillar 4 will be left, right?”

“Are you confident this time too? Are you going alone?”

Everyone seemed to know that Rembrary had already passed through entrances 1-1 to 1-5.

Rembrary responded appropriately while waiting for Shin Joongwoon to arrive.

‘Huh?’

But for some reason, Shin Joongwoon didn’t come even at 3:05.

Puzzled, Rembrary avoided the noisy reporters, got back in the car, and called Shin Joongwoon.

“?”

But Shin Joongwoon didn’t answer. Woo Yeonwoo, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, blankly watched the scene and asked.

“Why? Can’t Shin Jaesu come?”

“He’s not answering the phone. He said he’d go in with me at three today.”

“Did something urgent happen at the company?”

“Maybe.”

Rembrary then called Jang Taeri.

After hearing about Shin Joongwoon from Rembrary, Jang Taeri said, “Just a moment,” and hung up, then called Rembrary a little later.

—He’s not answering my calls either?

“We were supposed to go into the dungeon together at three today. Did something urgent happen at Worldboom?”

—I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything about that. Did something happen at the High-End Hunter meeting yesterday?

After thinking for a moment, Jang Taeri suddenly suggested brightly.

—Then why don’t we go together this time?

“Is that okay?”

Rembrary, knowing that Jang Taeri was dedicated to her work, asked in surprise, and a refreshing laugh was heard over the phone.

—It’s okay. It’s not like I go often.

“I’m fine with it.”

Then, 20 minutes later, Jang Taeri arrived.

After contacting Shin Joongwoon again and he still didn’t answer, Jang Taeri left a teasing message for Shin Joongwoon, and the two entered dungeon 1-6 together.

“We need to be careful because we might fight the demons right after passing through the dungeon.”

Rembrary repeated the request he had made to Shin Joongwoon yesterday as he entered the dungeon.

But after saying that, he couldn’t see Jang Taeri. She had definitely entered first.

“Taeri?”