Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 707

“Why are you here?”

As Hunter 4 appeared, the staff member glanced around to ensure no cameras or people were nearby. Then, looking surprised, he approached Hunter 4 and asked, “I told you to pretend you didn’t know me, right?”

“Do you think I wanted to come here?”

Unlike Hunter 4, the staff member seemed very relaxed, which only irritated Hunter 4.

“Why? Doesn’t seem like you have anything urgent. Rembrandt caught Hunter Joo Min-ki, so everyone’s relieved, right?”

The staff member asked, concerned, as Hunter 4 chewed his lip and paced around, looking genuinely anxious. Hunter 4 pointed a finger at him.

“That’s why.”

“That? Joo Min-ki? Ah, you were after Joo Min-ki too? I thought you were diligently catching monsters one by one.”

“Ugh!”

Hunter 4 got annoyed and started talking about Hunter 3.

He spoke about how Hunter 3 recently suspected that ‘Rembrandt might be targeting those belonging to Black Ring,’ and how ‘Rembrandt is deliberately leading us towards monsters and then healing us to make us his subordinates,’ and so on.

“At first, I thought that friend was overreacting. But seeing how things have turned out, I’m starting to think Rembrandt might really be after us.”

Fortunately, the staff member listened to Hunter 4’s words.

However, he didn’t seem entirely convinced, just like before.

“I understand what you’re saying. But for your words to be true, Rembrandt would have to actively lead you guys to be attacked by monsters. But we’re constantly monitoring in real-time, and there’s no sign of him inducing attacks to a problematic degree.”

“Really?”

“Of course. The last friend who was attacked suspected Rembrandt and set a trap, only to run into Joo Min-ki.”

“What?”

“Besides, he fought well. But Joo Min-ki is infectious, you know? He got a few scratches during the fight and got infected. It seems like infection makes it hard to move your body. He couldn’t fight, so he called out Rembrandt’s name for help. There was no room for Rembrandt to intervene or anything.”

Hunter 4’s expression turned blank, and the staff member thought for a moment before adding.

“But the fact that he appeared as soon as he was called means Rembrandt was nearby.”

“That’s what I’m saying!”

“But we can’t do anything just because he was nearby without doing anything. Even if Rembrandt had such intentions, he didn’t interfere during the fight, didn’t obstruct the fight; he just didn’t help until he got hurt and then helped late. It’s a hunting competition anyway, so other participants try to maintain that level of etiquette.”

Hunter 4 got angry and protested.

“So, you’re saying I should become a Rembrandt follower like this? Chasing after Rembrandt’s tail!”

“That’s our public image anyway. No one will think it’s strange even if you do.”

“Hey!”

“What do you want me to do? We can’t intervene unless participants are fighting each other or can’t return to the accommodation because they were attacked by monsters.”

It was true, so Hunter 4 could only huff and puff without responding.

But he couldn’t go back like this and fall into Rembrandt’s grasp.

Hunter 4 kept thinking about how he could get help from the staff member without overdoing it, and finally came up with a good idea and asked.

“Rembrandt has already caught Hunter Joo Min-ki, so he’s confirmed for the second round, right?”

“That’s right.”

“You can’t just say that and let him out, can you?”

“No one can leave during the first round of the finals. The filming crew can’t leave either; we’re all staying here together. You want us to kick out Rembrandt, who’s a participant? It’ll look suspicious to anyone.”

“Then how about making him stay in the accommodation? What about that? There are only monsters outside the accommodation anyway, so there’s no need to go outside. It’s only a few days left; wouldn’t it be possible to make him stay during that time?”

At Hunter 4’s earnest expression, the staff member scratched his forehead in trouble.

But Hunter 4 wasn’t showing any signs of backing down, so the staff member eventually nodded.

“I’ll make the suggestion. But I can’t push it through forcefully.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

The staff member didn’t want to be caught colluding with a participant, so he quickly left.

Hunter 4 sighed in relief.

*If I’m not injured by a monster, I won’t need to be treated by Rembrandt.*

*Even if I am injured, if Rembrandt isn’t around, I can go to a doctor for treatment. That should work.*

* * *

He said it without confidence, but it seemed the staff member had managed to say it well. Three hours later, a notice was posted on the accommodation bulletin board.

[Participant Rembrandt has caught Hunter Joo Min-ki and has been confirmed to advance to the second round of the finals. To avoid interfering with the other participants’ matches, please remain inside the accommodation for the remaining period.]

With this, Rembrandt was officially banned from leaving the accommodation.

The accommodation had many verandas, good lighting, and, above all, a large area.

Enduring a few days here wouldn’t be too difficult. This seemed to have played a part in the decision.

“This is…”.

However, Rembrandt, who had things to do outside, sighed as he looked at the bulletin board.

“This is troublesome.”

Hwasa Ja clicked his tongue beside him.

“I know. What could possibly happen indoors that would require your treatment?”

If someone got hurt outside, there would be an excuse to urgently need Rembrandt’s treatment.

But indoors, there would be fewer cases where urgent treatment was needed, so it would be more natural to call a doctor.

“Saja, what if you teleported me outside?”

“The cameras will be watching.”

However, as the group left the bulletin board and walked towards an area without cameras to freely discuss this matter,

Hunter 4, who was coming from the opposite side, discovered Rembrandt and flinched.

Then, Hunter 4 saw Hunter 1, who was naturally attached to Rembrandt’s side like a companion, and felt irritated.

He could have just ignored it and passed by, but Hunter 4 couldn’t resist and deliberately approached Rembrandt’s group.

Rembrandt, who was already disappointed that he might miss Target 4, smiled gently and asked as Hunter 4 came right up and completely blocked his path.

“Why is that?”

Hunter 4 smiled and looked up at Rembrandt provocatively, sneering in a small voice.

“My plan is about to fail. What should I do?”

“What are you talking about?”

“What you did to my colleagues. You won’t be able to lure monsters to hurt me anymore, will you? It’s become difficult to brainwash me naturally, hasn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You induced my colleagues to be attacked by monsters. They got hurt by monsters they would normally handle well, creating a situation where you could treat them. Then, you treated them and used some kind of side effect or brainwashing to bring my colleagues over to your side.”

As Hunter 4 spoke, he felt emboldened and continued in a mocking tone.

Then, he glared at Hunter 1, but Hunter 1 just looked at him with a pure, hamster-like face.

Speechless, Hunter 4 looked back up at Rembrandt and suddenly met his deep-sea-like eyes, instinctively shutting his mouth.

Even though he was acting like this, the other party didn’t budge, and Rembrandt’s eyes looked beautiful yet strangely ominous, so Hunter 4 eventually changed his mind.

*Let’s not engage. Let’s not provoke.* Hunter 4 decided to be good and stepped aside.

But it was already too late. He hadn’t provoked Rembrandt, but he had provoked the fanatic next to him.

The moment he finished speaking and stepped aside,

Ardor, who had been watching the whole time, pretended to hide behind Hunter 1’s body, then stretched his long leg past Hunter 1’s side and kicked Hunter 4.

Hunter 4, who was watching ‘what is he doing’ while leaning against the wall, was suddenly hit and fell to the ground.

“Hey!”

But it wasn’t a major injury, so as Hunter 4 fell and was about to protest in anger, he saw something even stranger.

Ardor was handing the water cup he was holding to Hunter 1.

While he was thinking about what they were doing, he heard a terrifying voice.

“Heretic. Share the opportunity to receive Rembrandt-nim’s blessing with your friend.”

Hunter 4 looked at Hunter 1 with ‘no way’ eyes. *No way. No way.* He couldn’t be that brainwashed, could he? They weren’t close, but they were still part of the same group.

But Hunter 1, without the slightest hesitation, with a frustratingly pure expression, poured the water on Hunter 4’s leg.

The pouring water looked ordinary, but after passing through Hunter 1’s ability, it was no different from a giant needle.

“Ugh!”

As Hunter 4 screamed, clutching his leg, he heard a joyful voice.

“With this, you also need treatment.”

Looking at Ardor’s condescending smile, Hunter 4 used every curse word he knew.

* * *

When the staff members who heard the commotion rushed over, Hunter 4 had already finished receiving treatment.

“What’s going on?”

The staff member was surprised to see blood on one side of Hunter 4’s pants and asked.

Among the three staff members who rushed over was the staff member who had spoken with Hunter 4 a few hours ago.

The staff member felt uneasy when he saw Hunter 4, who had been afraid that ‘Rembrandt was targeting him,’ with Rembrandt’s group, and looked at Hunter 4.

But the side effects had already appeared in Hunter 4. Hunter 4 pointed at Hunter 1 and said.

“That person attacked me.”

The staff member shouted ‘no way’ in his mind. But Hunter 1 didn’t offer any rebuttal again.

Moreover, the water spilled on the floor was proof that Hunter 1 had used his ability.

In the end, Hunter 1 was disqualified on the spot for violating the ban on fighting between participants.

For the privacy of the participants, there were areas without cameras inside the accommodation, and this area was the same.

So, no matter how much the Black Ring staff member suspected, if Hunter 1 himself agreed to it, the truth could not be revealed.

The staff members took Hunter 1 away, and Rembrandt said goodbye to Hunter 1 and took Hunter 4 to his room.

*He didn’t intend to do it this harshly, but since it had turned out this way, shouldn’t he use the situation well?* Thinking flexibly, Rembrandt sat Hunter 4 on a chair and asked the same question he had asked everyone from Hunter 1 to Hunter 3 again.

“You belong to Black Ring, don’t you?”

“I did before I saw Rembrandt-nim’s miracle.”

Hwasa Ja went to sit on the bed, shuddering at the sight of more mild-flavored Ardors [referring to the intensity of their fanaticism].

Ardor sat on the edge of a chair, fiddling with his gun, looking at Hunter 4 in preparation for any possible situation.

Rembrandt smiled gently at Hunter 4 and asked again.

“When you were in Black Ring, have you ever seen a woman with green hair, about this tall, carrying a spear on her back?”

“You mean Mullu?”

But unexpectedly, Hunter 4 said the name right away.

Rembrandt was pleased, but since Hunter 4 said the name but didn’t say he had seen her, he asked again calmly.

“Yes. Is Mullu with you guys?”