Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 846

◈ 846. Cave Battle

Jiremi rushed towards Rembrary, but Rembrary hadn’t been idle. He’d used the time well.

Having run faster, Rembrary quickly reached the inner cave where the priests had collapsed. None of them appeared conscious.

“Wake up, wake up.”

Rembrary shook the priests vigorously, infusing them with divine power. But they remained unresponsive.

‘Are they injured?’

Rembrary examined the walls and floor of the small cave, searching for a magic circle that might be affecting their minds.

“Rembrary!”

Before he could locate the source, Jiremi arrived.

Rembrary raised the sword he’d been carrying, using it to block Jiremi’s attack. The clang of metal echoed menacingly.

Jiremi swung his sword wildly, as if his life depended on overwhelming Rembrary.

“You’re awfully motivated for something so pointless.”

“Shut up!”

“Don’t you like my voice?”

“Shut up!”

“Then I suppose I shouldn’t.”

“Please shut up!”

Rembrary deftly deflected Jiremi’s attacks while continuing to scan the cave for the source of the priests’ incapacitation. This only fueled Jiremi’s anger.

‘So, I’m so easy to deal with that you can fight me while distracted? You’re always like that!’ Jiremi gritted his teeth.

Suddenly, Jiremi’s sword clattered to the floor. He’d lost his temper and misjudged a swing.

Seizing the opportunity, Rembrary thrust his sword forward. Jiremi dove for his weapon, but Rembrary’s sword followed him relentlessly.

‘Am I going to lose without even getting revenge?’ Just as Jiremi despaired, a laugh and a sharp object pierced through Rembrary’s sword.

The force caused Rembrary to drop his weapon. Jiremi scrambled to retrieve his own and create some distance.

Rembrary turned towards the sound. A black wizard in a dark cloak stood near the inner cave’s entrance.

“Good. Very good. You’ve grown stronger in the meantime.”

The black wizard spoke as if he knew Rembrary well, then lowered his hand. His mouth opened wide beneath the cloak’s hood.

“If you go any further, this summoning circle will be complete.”

Rembrary kicked the sword on the floor, snatching it up in mid-air.

“You’re going to fight to the end.”

The black wizard feigned impressed.

“But even the demons aren’t here to help you today. No one can save you.”

The black wizard was skilled at talking nonsense, as one might expect. Rembrary gripped his sword and stepped forward.

As if on cue, mercenaries, each two or three times the size of an average adult, emerged from behind the black wizard.

“Monsters are harder for priests to handle than people, especially priests like you.”

The black wizard muttered, hinting at his knowledge of Rembrary’s halo.

Jiremi stood silently, merely breathing, leaving Rembrary to face the threat alone. ‘Now Rembrary must be scared.’

But Rembrary, when glanced at, appeared as composed as ever.

‘Let’s see how long you can keep that up.’ Jiremi bit his lip.

The mercenaries advanced menacingly, wielding weapons with a readiness to strike down even a child.

Rembrary raised his sword in response. But the size disparity was overwhelming. It seemed one blow from the mercenaries would send him flying.

However, before Rembrary could engage the mercenaries, another sound echoed from outside.

“Hmm?”

The black wizard frowned, wondering if he had summoned reinforcements.

“Damn it!”

He cursed. The mercenaries, who had been maneuvering to avoid the unconscious priests, turned their heads at the outburst.

Soon, they too murmured in surprise. People in white priest robes and paladin uniforms were approaching over the black wizard’s shoulder.

The corners of the black wizard’s lips turned down. Even with only his mouth visible, his bewilderment was palpable.

“How did they know to come here?”

The black wizard glared at Jiremi.

“No. I only brought Rembrary, I swear.”

Jiremi retorted, realizing the black wizard suspected him of betrayal.

“You should have been more careful!”

The black wizard shouted and moved among the mercenaries.

Jiremi looked back and forth between the black wizard and the approaching priests. ‘What should I do?’

In the meantime, the paladins and priests arrived, guided by Redrin’s feathers.

Before coming here, Rembrary had imbued the feathers with his divine power and left them with a note.

He’d worried the distance or time might render them ineffective, but they had clearly worked.

“Rembrary! You’re here!”

A paladin spotted Rembrary as the distance closed and shouted.

“Disgusting creatures. Attacking a child.”

The secretary priest muttered, his voice harsher than usual. The paladins drew their weapons.

“Eliminate them!”

At a mercenary’s cry, the black wizard and his mercenaries clashed with the paladins and priests. The cave erupted in chaos.

The sounds of clashing weapons and screams reverberated off the walls. Rembrary grabbed the legs of the fallen priests, dragging them towards the wall.

He hoped to prevent them from being trampled, but some were already being injured.

As he worked, a sword was thrust at him.

Rembrary released the legs, ducked under the blade, and drew his own sword. His attacker was Jiremi.

“Jiremi, do you really want to fight to the end?”

Rembrary asked, annoyed that he couldn’t focus on the injured.

“Why? Are you scared now?”

“The result will be my victory anyway, so why bother competing?”

“You bastard! Our skills are evenly matched!”

As soon as Jiremi shouted, Rembrary’s sword speed doubled. Jiremi’s eyes widened.

“How?”

‘So you’ve been holding back your speed until now? Why?’ Jiremi was so shocked he almost dropped his sword.

Thanks to his training, he managed to defend, but he was steadily pushed back. Then Jiremi noticed the lake behind him.

The opposite side of the lake, where he had tried to force Rembrary, was getting closer.

‘Damn it, I’m going to fall in instead of Rembrary!’ Jiremi gritted his teeth.

He was pushed to the edge of the lake. Two more steps and he would fall into the water.

His hands trembled with fear, and Jiremi’s sword flew from his grasp, splashing into the lake.

“Are you going to continue?”

Rembrary asked, holding his sword under Jiremi’s chin.

The battle raged on. Rembrary wanted to move the fallen priests to safety.

“Haha. Hahahaha.”

Jiremi laughed hollowly, realizing his situation. It was always like this.

“You always act like you have something more important to do. I’m always just standing in your way, staring blankly.”

Rembrary turned his back on Jiremi. He didn’t have time for someone’s complaints.

“Have you ever thought of Yurish and me as your equal friends? Has there ever been a time when you didn’t ignore us?”

Instead of waiting for an answer, Jiremi grabbed Rembrary and jumped into the lake.

“!”

He grabbed Rembrary’s waist and plunged into the water.

Rembrary, upon hitting the water, grabbed Jiremi’s chin and tried to push him away. But Jiremi clung to him.

The more Rembrary struggled, the more Jiremi laughed. ‘You’re helpless now!’

‘I’m finally getting revenge for my family.’ Jiremi felt a sense of relief, even as he suffocated.

Rembrary, however, felt a surge of anxiety. He held his breath and tried to dislodge Jiremi.

The lake seemed deep, and the two continued to sink. Jiremi appeared to have lost consciousness, swaying as Rembrary pushed him.

Even in this state, Jiremi’s grip remained firm.

‘What grudge do you hold against me? Do you really think the Ladderun estate incident is my fault? Or do you want it to be my fault?’

Rembrary frowned at the swaying Jiremi. He was also struggling to breathe.

Rembrary swallowed water, a painful sensation in his lungs.

He channeled divine power into himself, hoping it would help.

Finally, his feet touched the bottom. Gaining purchase, Rembrary forcefully removed the unconscious Jiremi and pushed himself upwards.

He could only see the dark water around him. ‘Can I make it to the surface?’

Rembrary sent divine power to Jiremi and then realized, ‘I can breathe?’

Was it the divine power? It wasn’t as comfortable as breathing on land, but he could breathe.

It wasn’t pleasant, but it seemed he could reach the surface.

Rembrary carefully picked up Jiremi and activated a halo around him. The black water was disorienting.

But as soon as he turned on the light, he saw fish surrounding him.

Fish the size of human heads, like small monsters, bared their teeth and closed in.

“!”

Rembrary intensified the halo, but the fish didn’t retreat. They only drew closer, their eyes cloudy.

‘They’re not monsters.’

They weren’t monsters, but they looked terrifying. Rembrary grabbed Jiremi by the back of the neck and swam upwards.

The fish followed.

To avoid the rapidly approaching fish, Rembrary kicked with all his might.

Then he noticed something embedded in the lake wall and changed direction.

‘Redrin, take a look at this. It’s strange.’

The wall was covered in aquatic plants, except for a circular area.

Instead, a huge jewel, larger than a human head, was embedded there.

Rembrary approached. It was pearly, but not a pearl.

‘Redrin, what do you think this is?’

No one would discard a jewel of this size.

There were traces of it being forcibly embedded.

‘Something is rippling inside. Like a wave.’

At that moment.

[Rembrary!]

Not Redrin’s voice, but another, similar one.

[Avoid it! It’s a summoning circle! It’s going to explode!]

Rembrary thought a demon was imitating Redrin, but then Redrin said urgently.

[Rembrary, Lumena is right. Get out of there now.]

‘It’s going to explode?’

Rembrary swam back towards the surface.

At that moment, Jiremi opened his eyes wide.