Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 794

◈ 794. Scattered Children

“What is that kid saying right now?” Rembrary couldn’t understand what the child was saying.

Rembrary began to look around for a vine to lower into the pit.

“Benefactor, benefactor, benefactor, I have a handkerchief!”

The poor child was in a state of confusion, babbling nonsense.

Fortunately, before the child was completely consumed by fear, Rembrary found a long vine tangled in a tree.

It looked a bit flimsy, but Rembrary decided to trust in the power of nature and pulled on the vine.

He pulled the vine out, making it long like a rope, and threw it into the pit. The child asked,

“Benefactor, can I grab this and climb up?!”

“Yes, do that.”

“I’ll be quick. Please wait a little! Don’t leave!”

The child shouted five times faster than a normal person, then grabbed the vine and quickly began to climb, just like a flying squirrel.

But just as the child was almost at the top…

“Huh?”

The vine snapped.

With a thud, the child fell to the ground, and Rembrary clicked his tongue.

“Oh dear.”

He had trusted in the power of nature. It seemed the vine was too thin after all.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine! Just a little dizzy in the back of my head!”

“Wait just a moment.”

“Benefactor, when did there become three of you?!”

“!”

The child’s condition was worse than he thought. He must have hurt his head when he fell backwards.

Rembrary looked around, touching everything that looked like a rope. But most of them were similar to the thin vine from before.

‘What should I do? Redrin, what should I do?’

Rembrary looked up at the sky, then jumped and ran to the thin vines.

And this time, he grabbed several thin vines and twisted them together in layers.

“Grab this and come up.”

Rembrary threw it into the pit.

“There are three ropes, benefactor! Which rope are you talking about?”

“Touch all three and grab the one you can.”

“I can grab the middle one!”

The child quickly climbed up.

“Are you alright?”

“Benefactor, you saved me again. Benefactor, did I tell you I have a handkerchief?”

Rembrary put his hand on the child’s forehead. It was warm. He healed the child in that state and took his hand away, and the child jumped around like a young donkey.

“Benefactor, benefactor, I feel energized when I see you!”

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Benefactor, please tell me your name. I’ll be sure to remember it this time and not forget. I heard it before, but I forgot. But I was too surprised then, and now I’m confident I won’t forget!”

Rembrary looked at the child. The child was clenching both fists and sparkling his eyes.

Just as Rembrary was about to answer, a piercing scream was heard.

“!”

Rembrary quickly ran towards the sound.

“Benefactor, what’s your name?!”

The child also ran after Rembrary. Perhaps because he was wearing an apprentice paladin’s uniform, the child ran well on the mountain path like a goat.

Reassured by this, Rembrary ran even faster.

The scream was getting closer. Moreover, the scream was not an adult’s scream. It was either Violet Hair or Lydal.

‘It’s Violet Hair!’

Finally, through the trees, he saw Violet Hair being pinned by the monster’s wing.

One bird monster was crushed and collapsed, and another bird monster also had part of one wing crushed.

“Close your eyes!”

Rembrary shouted and emitted his halo to the maximum. As Rembrary approached, the monsters’ screams erupted from all directions.

Not only the bird monsters but also the unseen monsters screamed.

Only when the sound completely disappeared did Rembrary turn off his halo.

Violet Hair was lying face down on the muddy ground, then grabbed a nearby rock and staggered.

“Are you okay?”

Rembrary reached out his hand, but Violet Hair didn’t take it. Violet Hair, who finally got up on his own, brushed the dirt off his clothes and asked.

“Where’s Lydal?”

“I don’t know. But I found the apprentice paladin. Over there……”

Rembrary turned his head back, startled to see no one there.

“Huh? He’s not here?”

Rapsus’s expression crumpled.

“You came alone. You didn’t leave the kid behind and come alone, did you?”

“We were running together until halfway.”

“You should have watched him while running……!”

Rapsus shouted, then shut his mouth tightly.

“Why are you stopping mid-sentence?”

“I’m holding back my anger!”

Rapsus kept hitting the dirt on his clothes.

He didn’t like receiving help from Rembrary, but he received help anyway.

Besides, Rembrary was a few years younger than him. He shouldn’t yell in anger.

“By the way, didn’t you speak informally to me earlier?”

“……”

“You did, didn’t you?”

Rembrary looked up at the sky and muttered seriously.

“It’s getting too late. We need to find Lydal quickly and find the foal again.”

* * *

At that time, Ardor, who had lost track of the benefactor, blinked in dismay.

‘Where did he go?’

Ardor had never lost someone his age in a race. But he lost him. Ardor rubbed his eyes and looked up at the sky. Was he really an angel?

After pondering for a moment, Ardor decided to look for his master again and headed upwards.

“Master!”

Fortunately, not long after, Ardor reunited with the second search party.

It was thanks to the second search party, who heard the commotion, went up the mountain, and then changed direction and came down.

“Ardor!”

The master was horrified and ran to his young disciple.

“Why are you here!”

“I came to find you, Master. Some of the first search party came down. They said they didn’t request help.”

“What?!”

The master was startled and looked back at the paladins who came with him.

“Oh my. Was it a fake support request? Then we must return to the mansion immediately.”

The paladin next to him said urgently.

“The enemies might be trying to invade the mansion. If we leave, the mansion’s forces will be completely empty!”

“That could be true.”

Ardor’s master nodded and pointed down the mountain.

“Go down again!”

“Master, Master.”

Ardor urgently grabbed his master.

“What’s wrong?”

“When I fell into the pit, the benefactor came and saved me.”

“Benefactor? That paladin kid who saved you?”

“Yes. I think he’s somewhere around here.”

“That can’t be. You must have seen something wrong. You’re the only apprentice paladin here.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“But the benefactor appeared with a halo and saved me.”

“Must be an angel.”

The master hastily made excuses, wanting to go down quickly, and gave instructions again.

“Everyone, go down!”

* * *

“Rembrary!”

“……”

“Rapsus!”

“……”

“Rembrary! Rapsus!”

Lydal shouted the names of his scattered friends and passed a large tree root.

The forehead that hit the tree when they scattered throbbed. The trees here grew so densely that it was hard to pass through.

‘That monster struck with its wings…….’

Lydal clenched his teeth and continued to move forward, his arm, which had been weak since earlier, hanging limp.

His arm hurt too much, but it would be healed immediately when he met Rembrary. More than that, he had to gather his scattered friends.

‘I was the one who suggested coming in, to Rembrary and Rapsus. I have to take both of them out safely.’

Lydal, groaning and moving forward, stopped at the sound of rustling behind him.

“?”

Lydal stopped in his place and focused on the sound.

Rustle, rustle.

It sounded like the sound of pushing away the piled-up leaves with his feet. The sound was too loud. It wasn’t the size that Rapsus or Rembrary would make.

Lydal looked around and ran behind a large tree, hiding behind it.

Hugging the tree tightly and holding his breath, he saw something pure white and huge kicking away the leaves and walking along the path.

Lydal covered his mouth. The pure white monster looked like it had limbs and looked like a person on the outside.

But the closer it got, the more certain he was that it wasn’t a person. It looked like a white cloth was covering a skeleton.

Every time it shook its arms, the severed heads of the paladins shook with it. Lydal’s hands began to tremble.

‘Rembrary. Rembrary. Where are you?’

* * *

“We can find Lydal if we use the feathers.”

When Rembrary took out a feather and infused it with divine power, the feather immediately pointed in a certain direction.

“Let’s go quickly.”

But Rapsus grabbed Rembrary.

“Wait a minute.”

“Why?”

“Lydal has defensive abilities. We should find the apprentice paladin first, not Lydal. The kid you lost.”

Rembrary stared blankly at Rapsus.

Rapsus’s face turned red at the gaze that made it hard to tell whether he was smart or dazed, and shouted.

“It’s not because the apprentice paladin is from the Lumena Temple and Lydal is from the Redrin Temple! You trust Lydal, that’s why!”

“I was just thinking about that.”

“It’s not!”

At the shout, a bird fluttered up from the tree. Rapsus quickly shut his mouth. If he made too much noise, he might attract monsters.

“Anyway, Lydal will be fine. Let’s find that kid first. I’ve never heard that he has any special abilities.”

Rembrary thought Rapsus’s words made sense.

But the feather, which was trembling more than usual, was not very reassuring. It seemed like he should find Lydal quickly.

“Um, then let’s do this.”

Rembrary took out another feather from his pocket and handed it to Rapsus.

“You go to the apprentice paladin. I’ll go to Lydal.”

“We’re only two, but you’re saying we should split up and go?! Then what’s the difference between us and Lydal?”

“Since we got separated nearby, the apprentice paladin will be somewhere around here.”

There was no room for compromise in Rembrary’s words. Noticing this, Rapsus snatched the feather away.

“Okay, let’s go separately. I’m not scared.”

“See you later.”

Rembrary immediately said goodbye and started running down the dark path to the side.

“Is this okay?”

Rapsus muttered, looking down at the feather Rembrary had given him. Shouldn’t they go together after all?

But if he followed Rembrary now, it would look like he was giving in because he was scared. The highest priest should never lose to Rembrary, he said.

“……It’s okay to go separately. I’m not scared.”

Rapsus persuaded himself and muttered, infusing divine power into the feather.

“Let’s go to the apprentice paladin.”

After waiting for a while, Rapsus’s face turned pale. The feather wasn’t moving.

‘Is it fake?’

But it wasn’t. Rembrary just handed over whatever he could grab quickly from his pocket.

The feather was emitting a faint light, clearly the same shape as the feather Rembrary used.

‘Maybe it’s a Redrin Temple relic, so I can’t use it with other divine power?’

A growling sound was heard not far away.

Rapsus widened his eyes and looked in the direction Rembrary had run. Rembrary was already out of sight.

‘I’m going crazy! What should I do?’