Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 665

◈ 665. Rembrary

The reporters rubbed their hands, blowing on them to ward off the cold, and gazed up at the rows of tall buildings.

“When are they coming out?”

“They should just hurry up. It wouldn’t make a difference whether they prepare a statement or just say something off the cuff.”

Amidst the voices checking the broadcast equipment, disgruntled remarks continued to pop up, making the surroundings quite noisy.

The noise wasn’t just from the reporters’ complaints.

The number of protesters had increased, and onlookers had gathered as well. The street itself was chaotic.

“Aren’t the people gathered here afraid of the black cloud phenomenon? We’re here because it’s our job, but why are those people here?”

“Redrin Hunter Company said they would release a statement on their official SNS regarding the documentary that was suddenly released. Those people probably came out of curiosity after seeing that.”

Some of the reporters clicked their tongues.

However, they too were curious about how Redrin Hunter Company would explain away the enormous revelations in the documentary.

“But whatever they say, can they even salvage the situation?”

“It’s better than staying silent, at least.”

“I don’t know. I wonder if even a good explanation will have any effect.”

But as time passed and the number of onlookers grew, Redrin, who had promised to make a statement, remained silent.

Since there weren’t even any hunters or believers coming and going today, the people who had braved the danger and cold to gather were growing increasingly irritated.

Even if they were waiting with good intentions, waiting this long would make anyone angry. Especially since the other party might be the very people responsible for the upheaval.

“Come out!”

“Come out and talk!”

“Don’t hide!”

“Let’s see how long you can hide. Not even a rat can get past us!”

As more time passed, harsh words began to emerge from the protesters.

Many of those who had suffered from the upheaval were among the protesters, so they were bound to be more agitated than the onlookers.

Those who were only cursing were the ones exercising restraint. Some were even throwing stones while crying.

“My family was destroyed because of you!”

“You’re dragging us down so you can live! Get out of here right now!”

“Whether you live or die, do it outside the Earth!”

The reporters glanced at those who were particularly agitated and clicked their tongues.

“Crazy. If it’s this bad only four hours after the documentary was released, it’ll be chaos in a few days.”

“Will it only be chaos in our country? It’ll be chaos overseas too. We’re not the only ones who have suffered.”

“I’m scared the atmosphere will get too rough.”

“Damn it, if those bastards really caused the Earth to end up like this, shouldn’t they have to put up with this? They turned the Earth into a wasteland!”

“We don’t know if that documentary is real or not. There’s no decisive scene, so it’s all circumstantial evidence.”

“Yeah. It’s not like killing the Otherworlders will return the Earth to its original state.”

“Oh, yeah, you guys’ families are all fine and dandy.”

“That’s not what I meant…….”

The reporter, who was about to become a public enemy for making a statement that favored Redrin, closed his mouth, overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

It was then.

“It’s up!”

A shout was heard.

“Where?”

“Where is it up?”

The short shout spread like a wave in an instant, and the surroundings began to stir. Soon, other shouts followed in succession.

“Go to Rembrary’s SNS! A video has been uploaded!”

“Not Redrin’s official account?”

“Are they announcing it directly?”

“To Rembrary’s!”

The reporters glanced at Redrin’s headquarters and took out their phones.

Upon entering Rembrary’s SNS [Social Networking Service], a new video, uploaded not long ago as someone had shouted, was there.

It was a video of Rembrary speaking with a gentle smile, dressed in unfamiliar white robes.

Rembrary in the video was beautiful enough to elicit exclamations, but to the angry people, even the other party’s strengths seemed to fuel their anger even more.

“Damn it, he’s smiling in a situation like this!”

Before the video was even played, curses were heard first.

“Does this guy have no tact at all? Why is he uploading a video smiling at a time like this?”

Someone muttered in disbelief.

Listening to that sound, a few keen individuals thought.

‘It seems like he’s smiling on purpose to provoke us?’

The sharp criticism directed at those who might have actually come from another world and at Redrin Company was instantly redirected towards Rembrary with just one smile in this video.

But even if they said these words, they would be attacked again like before, so they kept their mouths shut.

* * *

The Demon King was watching Rembrary through Noir’s mirror.

Everything was going according to his plan. Everything. Now, all that was left was to wait for the drug to take effect.

The other demons around him were also looking at the mirror with complicated expressions.

It was then. The sound of a bell, hung as a decoration, began to ring softly.

Soon, the small sound began to grow louder, as if spreading from a distance.

As the pleasant bell sound became so loud that it was disturbing, the Demon King frowned and slowly rose to his feet.

Someone was trying to forcibly enter the barrier.

Not yet Rembrary, who was visible in the mirror.

Whether the Binak’s liquid had worked or not, there was still no change in Rembrary. So much so that he doubted whether the liquid had been switched.

Amidst the loudly ringing bells, Redrin slowly revealed himself.

The Demon King’s lips twisted upwards upon confirming his form.

“To come to the place where you will soon be sealed with your own feet. You’ve finally gone mad.”

“My child prayed. Not to be in pain.”

Red roses slowly began to bloom around the approaching Redrin.

The Demon King became uncomfortable at the sight.

The approaching Redrin had the same arrogant smile on his face as always.

“Don’t expect anything. I won’t follow the same path as you. My child needs a place to return to.”

The same kind of roses began to wrap around the Demon King’s arms as he began to walk towards Redrin.

“That child is about to become my child now.”

The bells above their heads rang even more loudly as the two gods grew closer, and eventually, unable to withstand the aftermath, they began to fall down and break one by one.

From the area where the bells had fallen, the surrounding space began to collapse as if being torn apart.

The sealing had begun.

“To think you would come to be buried with me, Redrin.”

“That won’t happen. I’m going to take my child back.”

The mirror that Noir was using to watch Rembrary shattered as the powers of the two gods collided. Noir made another mirror, but it was also destroyed by the power of the gods.

Noir’s expression hardened as the means to watch over Rembrary disappeared.

‘I guess it’ll be okay not to watch?’

Noir thought, unable to make any more mirrors.

‘He definitely consumed Binak’s power, right?’

* * *

―I was the one who chose Earth as the evacuation site. When I arrived, it seemed like a decent place, so I hastily made a path here. I didn’t expect the demons to follow me all the way here.

“You crazy bastard! Why are you lying like this!”

Woo Yeon-woo was practicing making cakes to give Rembrary a handmade cake as a Christmas present.

He owed Rembrary a lot, one way or another, and he liked to eat the most.

Then, Woo Yeon-woo was horrified and shouted after watching Rembrary’s announcement video through a link sent by Hye-gyeol, saying it was a hot topic.

Most of the announcement video was not problematic.

Rembrary denied that most of the documentary’s contents were exaggerated, but admitted that some things were true, and said that since they were only here temporarily, the people from the Otherworld would return to their original world.

He promised that they would do their best to restore this place to what it was before the upheaval.

Up to this point, there was no problem. There was nothing more to say in this situation.

It was surprising that Rembrary, not Daeju, made the announcement, but since Daeju was from Earth, it made sense that Rembrary stepped up to speak on behalf of the Otherworld.

The problem was that Rembrary made a completely absurd lie, saying that he was the one who made the path from the Otherworld to here.

Woo Yeon-woo’s veins popped out on his forehead as he fumed.

“No way! It took several gods from their world to make that! He doesn’t even have the ability to do that, so what is he saying he did it himself! But how could he……!”

Then, Woo Yeon-woo’s eyes widened. Could it be? So? Did he pretend to do it himself on purpose to hide the fact that gods were involved?

“Rembrary, you crazy bastard!”

Woo Yeon-woo shouted.

“Yeon-woo?”

Then, he immediately closed his mouth after hearing a faint voice.

“Rembrary?”

It sounded like Rembrary’s voice.

“Is that you, Rembrary?”

He turned around, but no one was there.

“Rembrary?”

Woo Yeon-woo took the test cake No. 3 and went out of the kitchen.

‘The sound was small…… is it over there?’

After wandering around, Woo Yeon-woo finally found Rembrary standing on the balcony. Rembrary was standing with his hands behind his back, looking at the sky.

“Hey!”

As soon as he saw him, Woo Yeon-woo rushed over. Hearing the footsteps, Rembrary finally turned his head.

“You, you! Are you okay?”

“I thought I heard you cursing me, and you were really here.”

“It’s not cursing―”

“I thought our family wasn’t here because Anchovy sent his disguised family members here.”

Woo Yeon-woo glanced at the white high priest’s robe that Rembrary was wearing and replied.

“Those people. They’re here. On their way here, they told me to go to my brother’s place because they would be staying here. But I was worried you might come here…… so I stayed to see you off.”

“Are they still here now?”

“Some went out to buy things, and two of them are―”

Woo Yeon-woo was explaining, but he got angry and stopped.

“No, that’s not the problem! What did you do? Why are you lying so absurdly? You’re going to get cursed even if you only tell the truth, so why are you saying you did what other gods did?!”

Woo Yeon-woo tried to hold out the video he had been watching on his phone, but he only had the cake in his hand.

He had left his phone in the kitchen because he had rushed to get the cake.

Rembrary pointed to the cake with his chin as Woo Yeon-woo flinched with the cake in his hand and asked.

“What is that? Why are you carrying a cake?”

Woo Yeon-woo became embarrassed but replied sullenly.

“I was going to give it to you. I was making a cake. I failed.”

“Really?”

Rembrary smiled happily at those words, and at that moment, a piece of snow fell from the sky.

Starting with that, small snowflakes began to flutter down.

“It’s snowing again.”

Woo Yeon-woo muttered, looking up at the sky, and then flinched as he looked at Rembrary again.

“!”

The snow accumulating on Rembrary’s white high priest’s robe was not white but black.

Woo Yeon-woo stared blankly at the black snow covering the white clothes for a moment, then his eyes widened and he muttered.

“Oh… the snow… color… ?”

Then, when he looked up further, he saw black snow mixed with the wind rushing towards them from behind.

The snowstorm pushed Rembrary from behind like a wave, causing his hair and high priest’s robe to flutter forward.

The black snow that had seeped in settled in place.

Woo Yeon-woo watched in a daze as the white high priest’s robe began to be dyed black, and the black light spread out as if it were spreading.

The moment Rembrary reached out and grabbed the cake plate. Woo Yeon-woo finally came to his senses and opened his mouth, saying, “Your clothes….”

But at that moment. As the black snowstorm raged even more strongly, Rembrary disappeared like a sea fog covered by the black wind.

White snow began to cover the falling black snow again.

Woo Yeon-woo’s mind went blank as he watched the scene.

Not far away, someone turned on a street lamp, and a faint vermilion light spread to this side.

Woo Yeon-woo ran his hand over the spot where Rembrary had been. There was nothing to grab. Nothing.

Belatedly, Woo Yeon-woo screamed and grabbed the railing as terror rushed in as if collapsing.

“Rembrary!”