Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 653

◈ 653. Eve of the Storm

Woo Yeon-woo looked at Rembrary with a bewildered expression. However, Rembrary wasn’t paying attention to Shin Jo-woon’s unusual tone.

“How did you get out? I don’t think you were in the First Pillar.”

‘What is he talking about?’ Woo Yeon-woo looked back and forth between Shin Jo-woon and Rembrary, his eyes wide with confusion. Then, he belatedly realized.

‘Ah. The Shin Jo-woon from another world. The one who was captured by the demons.’

That Shin Jo-woon seemed to be an emperor. ‘So, is that Shin Jo-woon the emperor?’ Woo Yeon-woo’s eyes widened even further. A real emperor?

“Ah, I am…”

Almost simultaneously, Emperor Shin Jo-woon also stopped speaking and looked at Rembrary, showing a surprised expression as he recognized him.

“Come to think of it, you’re Yeon-woo.”

Woo Yeon-woo’s eyes widened even more.

“Do, do you know me?”

‘Even though you’re from another world?’

“Aren’t you my eunuch?”

“!”

The feeling of wonder vanished at the word ‘eunuch.’ Woo Yeon-woo got angry and vented his frustration on Rembrary.

“Hey, Rembrary, what’s with that crazy guy?”

“Another world’s anchovy. I call him Great King Anchovy—”

Before Rembrary could finish his answer, Emperor Shin Jo-woon strode up to Woo Yeon-woo, causing Woo Yeon-woo to glare at him.

The emperor, who had quickly closed the distance with his long legs, stared down at Woo Yeon-woo with curious eyes.

Because that face was scary and unpleasant, Woo Yeon-woo flinched and stepped back, even though he knew the other person wasn’t the real Shin Jo-woon.

However, unlike Earth’s Shin Jo-woon, Emperor Shin Jo-woon didn’t act any more frighteningly. He simply smiled and muttered.

“I’ve heard there are people who look alike, but this is amazing. You have the exact same face as my eunuch.”

Woo Yeon-woo was momentarily stunned before his expression twisted.

“Rembrary! What is that? He looks exactly like Shin Jo-woon, but he’s even more annoying!”

Still, Emperor Shin Jo-woon burst into laughter.

“It’s amusing to see you getting angry in front of me after only ever seeing the back of your head when you were bowing. Rembrary, are there others around you who have the same face as the people around me, like this one?”

“Your parents.”

Emperor Shin Jo-woon looked surprised for a moment before laughing again.

“My parents, you say.”

It was Woo Yeon-woo who was horrified.

‘If they’re the emperor’s parents, then they’re the former emperor and the queen mother, right? Shouldn’t I express myself respectfully? Of course, this is Earth, not that emperor’s world, but…’

On the other hand, Emperor Shin Jo-woon nonchalantly said, “You’re always interesting.” That was all.

Still, Woo Yeon-woo couldn’t relax, but Rembrary casually brushed off Emperor Shin Jo-woon’s words and asked.

“But really, why did you come?”

“Ah.”

Only then did Emperor Shin Jo-woon return to the topic they had been discussing. He sat back on the sofa and took out a small glass bottle from his sleeve, handing it over.

“The Demon King asked me to deliver this.”

Rembrary accepted the glass bottle that the emperor handed him. Inside was a golden liquid with a tempting color.

The color was pretty, but the amount was too small to be a drink.

Rembrary examined the bottle from side to side before asking.

“What is this?”

The emperor replied calmly.

“The Fifth Pillar.”

Rembrary raised his eyebrows.

“This is?”

He had heard that the Fifth Pillar was hidden, but…

“It doesn’t look like a pillar to me.”

‘It’s not even a pillar, just a liquid.’ Rembrary shook the glass bottle up and down. ‘Indeed. It was just a liquid even when he did that.’

Woo Yeon-woo, who was watching, calmly offered his opinion.

“Maybe the Fifth Pillar isn’t a real pillar, and they just called it a pillar for convenience?”

“Oh. My eunuch is clever.”

As soon as the emperor praised him, he got angry and shouted.

“Who’s your eunuch!”

The emperor, after angering Woo Yeon-woo again, calmly explained about the liquid in the bottle to Rembrary.

“The demons say that if you drink this, the pillar will disappear, but your emotions will be amplified, and you’ll become their ally, or so they say?”

Rembrary stared intently at the liquid before muttering.

“I wondered how they would use the power of Vinak on me. I didn’t expect them to tell me to drink it outright.”

Whether he understood all those words or not, the emperor simply conveyed the message instead of asking for an explanation.

“Whether you drink it or not, the choice is up to you, he said.”

“…….”

Being between Emperor Shin Jo-woon and Rembrary made Woo Yeon-woo feel like a modern person stuck in a historical drama, so he cautiously stepped back.

However, when Rembrary took off the stopper of the glass bottle and tried to drink the contents right away, he was horrified and reached out his hand.

Even so, he was a step too late, but fortunately, the emperor grabbed Rembrary’s arm first and stopped him.

The glass bottle stopped precariously at Rembrary’s lips.

Woo Yeon-woo breathed a sigh of relief, feeling his heart drop.

On the other hand, Rembrary frowned and asked the emperor.

“Why are you stopping me?”

“I’m still explaining. You have to listen to the end.”

“Is there anything else to say? I think I’ve heard everything?”

“If you drink it all, the pillar will collapse, and the Demon King will be sealed.”

“I know.”

“At that moment, those who have migrated to the demon realm will also be sealed.”

“I know that too.”

“And yet you were going to drink it without hesitation?”

While the emperor was surprised, Rembrary pulled out the stopper again and tried to drink the liquid in the glass bottle.

This time, it was Woo Yeon-woo who stopped Rembrary.

Rembrary sighed as his arm was grabbed again and looked at Woo Yeon-woo.

“Why again?”

Woo Yeon-woo shouted urgently.

“Wait a minute. If what that other world Shin Jae-soo says is true, you can’t drink this!”

“Shin Jae-soo?”

“Why?”

The emperor and Rembrary spoke almost simultaneously, but Woo Yeon-woo ignored the emperor and explained to Rembrary.

“What do you mean, why? People will be sealed together, right?”

“It won’t hurt, probably.”

Woo Yeon-woo’s mouth dropped open.

“Is pain the issue?!”

“Then?”

“People are going to be sealed!”

“I’ve thought about that issue many times. But what can I do? They went into the arms of the devil of their own accord. They must have been prepared. We should respect that.”

Woo Yeon-woo jumped at Rembrary’s nonchalant words.

“No, that’s true, but! Those people didn’t go there thinking they would be sealed!”

Still, when Rembrary didn’t look convinced, Woo Yeon-woo hurriedly added.

“I’m not saying to just blindly endure it. But at least, we should tell those people what’s going to happen from now on and give them a choice.”

Rembrary asked indifferently.

“Will they believe it?”

“If they don’t believe it, then it’s their responsibility. We should at least say something.”

Woo Yeon-woo gritted his teeth and persuaded Rembrary, then quickly lowered his head when he discovered the emperor, who was watching the situation with a smiling face and his hands behind his back.

Rembrary, who had repeatedly informed people through Redrine headquarters that ‘if the demon realm disappears, we don’t know what will happen to the people inside,’ thought that even if he told the story one more time, it wouldn’t be very effective.

But anyway, since the opposition seemed strong for now, he put the cork back into the glass bottle and called the emperor.

“Hey, Great King Anchovy. Aren’t you supposed to escape when the pillar collapses? I can understand Yeon-woo stopping me, but why are you stopping me? Wouldn’t it be better for you if I drank this?”

“Whether you drink it or not, I can return. It’s just a matter of whether I return soon or return late.”

The emperor, having said that far, smiled ambiguously and tapped his mouth a couple of times.

Although the restrictions were weaker than before, there still seemed to be some matters that he couldn’t speak about.

Rembrary stared silently at such an emperor, and in the end, he obediently put the glass bottle in his pocket.

“I received it well. I’ll think about it and drink it.”

After that, Rembrary thought that the emperor would take care of himself and return, so he went back to the kitchen where he had been earlier.

Woo Yeon-woo also glanced at the emperor, returned to the table where he had been sitting a little while ago, and picked up his spoon again.

But unexpectedly, the emperor also followed him into the kitchen.

“Why aren’t you leaving?”

When Woo Yeon-woo asked, bewildered by that, Rembrary also stopped taking out a new ice cream spoon and asked.

“That’s right. Why are you there?”

“The system is such that I will naturally return when you drink the pillar.”

Rembrary’s lips drooped.

“So. Are you going to keep staying here until I drink this?”

“I have nowhere else to go.”

* * *

While Rembrary was dealing with the emperor, Woo Yeon-woo slipped back into his room and plugged his phone into the charger.

Then, he sat blankly on the bed, just staring at the wallpaper.

He had woken up, but was it because he had heard everything that had happened through Rembrary’s mouth? He was still bewildered.

‘Was it really resolved… really?’

Then, about 10 minutes later, he turned on his phone and saw an enormous number of texts and missed calls pouring in.

In particular, Jong-woo’s contact volume was overwhelmingly high.

“A lot of time has passed.”

Seeing that, he got a sense of the passage of time. Woo Yeon-woo called Jong-woo.

[Woo Yeon-woo! Are you okay? Are you awake?!]

He was going to apologize for causing concern, but when Jong-woo started scolding him after a brief moment of worry, that feeling disappeared.

“Ah, stop nagging.”

[You didn’t have any injuries, but you didn’t wake up for over a week. How scared do you think I was!]

Woo Yeon-woo suddenly became anxious.

Rembrary had said that Moruso had confiscated the documentary and didn’t explain it with much importance. ‘Is that real?’

‘It’s a documentary that even had a trailer released, can it just end with confiscation? Everyone who knows already knows the content, right?’

[Hey. Are you listening to me? Are you spacing out again?]

“Hyung [older brother/friend]. About the documentary while I was unconscious. The one that Gu Joo-il PD [Producer/Director] made.”

[Why suddenly that?]

“It was overturned, they said. Is it real?”

‘The Hunter Management Administration didn’t officially reveal the confiscation.’

“…Are there any rumors related to it?”

“Well, there are many rumors, such as Rembrary stopping the documentary’s release, Shin Jo-woon stopping it, etc. But there’s nothing certain.”

“What are people saying?”

[Just like what I said earlier. People are guessing that it was stopped by power or force. But it doesn’t seem like it will be a big problem. Why? What did Rembrary say?]

‘Is it unnecessary worry?’ Woo Yeon-woo thought about it and shook his head.

“No. It’s nothing. Since everything was resolved so well after I fainted. It makes me even more nervous.”

[That’s because you were unconscious. Everyone was so busy.]

“…I guess so?”

Woo Yeon-woo forced a smile. But he was still a little uneasy.

* * *

Rembrary was about to take the bowl of porridge that Woo Yeon-woo had left unfinished to his room when he heard the sound of that phone call and went back to the kitchen.

After putting the bowl in the sink, Rembrary told Emperor Shin Jo-woon, who was following him around, the location of Earth’s Shin Jo-woon’s room, and then he also went into the bedroom.

Rembrary sat on the bed with his legs stretched out and took out the glass bottle that the emperor had received from the demons and looked at it.

‘—It’s not for you. It’s because I was worried that when that documentary is released, even our believers will be lumped together as people from another world and be ostracized.’

Moruso’s words after confiscating the documentary and drawing a line came to mind again.

Of course, even so, the trailer had already been released, so rumors related to it were still circulating, but there was a difference between a documentary coming out openly and not.

Everything seemed to be resolved well.

But Rembrary thought that Woo Yeon-woo’s instinctive fear was probably right.

From the beginning, what the demons were aiming for was not protecting the pillar, but what would happen after the pillar collapsed.

It was then. Suddenly, the phone vibrated loudly, and Rembrary put the bottle in his pocket and picked up the phone.

“Yeah?”