Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 875

875. Beginning and End

‘Can I change my Divine Power attribute?’

It was a completely unexpected question.

[Change your Divine Power attribute?]

Redrin looked at the angel who had run far away. The angel was also hiding behind a cloud rock, eyes wide.

[Your ability is very rare. There has never been a High Priest with your ability. My child, why do you want to change your ability?]

Redrin didn’t know why the child was doing this but tried to soothe him.

‘I heard that there was a High Priest of Iaira who could seal evil at once.’

The child’s story was unexpected. Redrin’s face crumpled, and the angel, who had been returning, ran away again.

[Rembrary.]

Redrin opened his mouth heavily.

[Attributes can be changed. But if it were easy, everyone would use Divine Power in the form they wanted.]

‘Even if it’s difficult, can you do it, Redrin?’

[Of course, but I won’t. The form of using Divine Power is the one that suits you best. Forcibly twisting it will have significant side effects. I won’t lose my High Priest, whom I barely obtained, to such a foolish thing.]

‘Does that mean dying?’

[Erase such thoughts from your head.]

* * *

The first year after becoming High Priest passed in an instant.

Rembrary, who had been learning the High Priest’s duties from the highest-ranking priest as a leading High Priest candidate for several years—both before and after becoming an Inquisitor—easily adapted to the role of High Priest.

It was a very advantageous case compared to those who became accustomed to other tasks without knowing they would become High Priest and learned the High Priest’s duties anew at an older age.

And on the first winter day after becoming High Priest, the highest-ranking priest said to Rembrary.

“Now that you have fully adapted to the work, you can have your own Holy Knight Order.”

“Can I pick them as I please?”

“The basic members are assigned based on volunteer status and skill, but you can also add personnel that the High Priest wants. You can compose the entire order only with those you want. You can select them through tests or competitions, receive recommendations, or bring Holy Knights you have in mind separately.”

Rembrary smiled, a smile that the believers praised as one that ‘even heretics would return to being believers upon seeing,’ and rose from his seat.

“Then shall we go to the place where the Holy Knights are gathered?”

* * *

Because the Holy Knight training center and the general Holy Knight office were attached, when Rembrary appeared to see the Holy Knights, the trainees also became agitated.

“The High Priest must have come to pick Holy Knights!”

“I want to be the High Priest’s Holy Knight too.”

“Does the High Priest only pick Holy Knights this time? No, right? He’ll keep picking, right?”

The trainees whispered excitedly as the carriage with the Redrin Temple mark rolled smoothly and stopped in front of the Holy Knight office headquarters.

When Rembrary revealed himself outside the carriage, Holy Knights and trainees all gathered to watch.

“High Priest! Welcome!”

The training center director also ran over and welcomed Rembrary with a proud voice.

Rembrary looked around. Numerous Holy Knights and apprentice Holy Knights were gathered.

Everyone stared blankly at Rembrary, and when their eyes met, they hurriedly averted their gaze.

Occasionally, a few confidently looked at Rembrary. But among all those people, there was no green hair that Rembrary was looking for.

“Are there any Holy Knights you are looking for?”

The director asked as Rembrary kept looking around.

“There is.”

At Rembrary’s answer, the Holy Knights gathered within earshot simultaneously sighed softly.

Who could be the Holy Knight that this youngest High Priest had in mind and came to pick in person? They were envious and curious.

“Who is it? There are many Holy Knights not here right now, so if you tell me the name, I will check if they are here.”

Rembrary thought for a moment and then pointed to the training grounds with his eyes. The training grounds were empty because everyone had come to see Rembrary.

“There’s no one in the training grounds?”

“I came to find the Holy Knight Commander.”

“The Commander?! You’re trying to pick the Commander right away?!”

The director, who had been asking in surprise, widened his eyes even more when Rembrary took out his sword, scabbard and all.

Rembrary smiled, showing off the ornately decorated scabbard that looked like a decoration.

“They have to be stronger than me, wouldn’t you say?”

The Holy Knights, who had been looking at Rembrary with good feelings, flinched at the arrogant words.

However, the director did not let his guard down because he had seen Rembrary fight evenly with Mulu, who was the top apprentice Holy Knight when he was young.

“Would you like to spar directly?”

When the director asked cautiously, Rembrary nodded and looked to one side.

“If you think you are qualified to be the Holy Knight Commander, attack me with your ‘main weapon’.”

The director also turned his head in the direction Rembrary was looking.

Behind the gathered people, green hair was walking up late.

Following Rembrary’s gaze, people simultaneously turned their heads to the green hair.

Having identified Mulu, they immediately realized who Rembrary had come for.

Mulu, who had reluctantly come out following her colleagues, chuckled, recalling her duel with Rembrary when he tapped the scabbard while looking at her.

“Go ahead.”

Ninrin, who was standing next to her, cheered in a small voice.

Mulu felt the weight of the spear on her back and stared at Rembrary for a moment. No one else was stepping forward.

She thought about her skills. Would she be able to protect the High Priest?

As Mulu grabbed the spear she had been carrying on her back with one hand and stepped forward, those close to her cheered playfully and stepped back.

The people stepped back in a circle, placing Rembrary and Mulu in the center.

When Rembrary, dressed in High Priest attire, took out a sword that looked like a decoration no matter how you looked at it, the Holy Knights clenched their fists in the air, feeling unnecessarily nervous.

“It’s a bit different from the promise.”

Mulu swung the spear lightly and then grumbled, unable to bear Rembrary’s beaming smile.

“But didn’t you not use the spear last time?”

As Rembrary adjusted his grip on the sword, a textbook-like stance came out in an instant. Surprisingly, the imposing aura weakened when he took such a perfect stance.

Those who had expected the High Priest’s skills were taken aback, but Mulu did not let her guard down. She calmly looked for an opening and then quickly moved forward.

* * *

“Lapsus, Lumena has given a divine message. From now on, you are the High Priest of the Lumena Temple.”

One autumn day, a few months after he turned twenty-two, the highest-ranking priest approached him during a meal and informed him.

The people around Lapsus all widened their eyes and held their breath.

Lapsus also froze, holding a fork.

For several months after Rembrary became High Priest, Lapsus had persistently pestered Lumena.

However, Lumena would only say ‘not yet’ and tell him pleasant stories.

He had stopped pestering Lumena and was gradually letting go of his hopes, but High Priest?

As Lapsus was dazed and unable to say anything, the secretary priest shouted from next to the highest-ranking priest.

“The second youngest High Priest in history, High Priest!”

Can you use the words ‘second’ and ‘youngest’ together? Lapsus frowned at the thought. The secretary priest’s shout felt like he was mocking him.

“You don’t seem very happy. Is it because it’s too obvious?”

When the high-ranking priest sitting next to him teased, Lapsus finally put down his fork and slowly stood up.

Everyone around him stood up and bowed to Lapsus. The highest-ranking priest was the same.

Lapsus, who was standing alone in the large dining hall, could not say anything for a while and only stared blankly at the glass door.

Finally, he had become a High Priest. A vague thought came to mind, and strangely, he felt a little empty.

‘Since Rembrary is already the youngest High Priest, even if I set the second record, Rembrary will continue to live with me in the same era.’

Lapsus finally realized the identity of this ambiguous feeling.

Lapsus left the dining hall and walked to the prayer room.

“High Priest, it shows that you don’t have a good expression.”

The highest-ranking priest followed behind him and informed him.

“I know. But what can I do? I’m not feeling very good.”

“You are the second youngest High Priest among all High Priests. Be proud. Lumena loves you very much.”

“But not as much as Redrin loves Rembrary, right?”

“!”

“Rembrary is younger than me, and since his ability is healing, his lifespan will be longer. That means I have to live being compared to Rembrary until I die. Even if I’m second out of a hundred, if there’s only the first place and me in this world, it’s no different from being last, right?”

“Iaira and Kamuel are also High Priests, so you’re not last.”

Is that something to say? Lapsus stopped and looked at the highest-ranking priest.

“Of course, the two are of completely different ages, so they won’t be compared to High Priest Rembrary.”

“You know it well.”

Lapsus walked back to the prayer room. He wanted to be alone. Only when he was alone could he fully rejoice that Lumena loved him the most.

But just as Lapsus was about to enter the prayer room, the sound of wheels skidding noisily came from outside.

Lapsus ran back outside.

A carriage had skidded and crashed into a pillar of the temple headquarters, and a priest was crawling out through the twisted carriage door.

The priest, who did not know that Lapsus had become High Priest, rushed to the highest-ranking priest as soon as he came out of the carriage and shouted.

“Something terrible has happened! The fifth passage for the Demon King summoning has been completed!”

* * *

It had been a very long time since all four High Priests had gathered.

On the day of the meeting attended by all High Priests for the first time in decades, Rembrary sighed softly as soon as he got out of the carriage.

“It’s amazing.”

Mulu also muttered, looking around.

“It seems to be because of the completed passage.”

He didn’t know what the atmosphere of the previous High Priest meetings was like, but the current atmosphere was very heavy and gloomy.

Among the High Priests getting out of the carriages and their secretaries and Holy Knights, no one had a smile on their face.

Rembrary moved inside and made eye contact with the newly appointed High Priest of the Lumena Temple.

She seemed to be of a similar age, so Rembrary tried to greet her, but as soon as the Lumena High Priest saw Rembrary, she turned her head away and walked away alone.

“The Lumena High Priest has a completely different personality from Lumena [the Goddess of Light].”

When Rembrary whispered softly after seeing this, the Lumena High Priest flinched as she walked, but she kept walking forward.

Even during the meeting, the Lumena High Priest tried never to talk to Rembrary.

“Five out of six passages have been completed. Now is not the time to only focus on preventing the completion of the passages. We must also think about how to protect people if the Demon King invades.”

The Kamuel High Priest seriously talked only about the current situation, whether he knew this atmosphere or not.

The Iaira High Priest nodded with a serious expression and added a word or two.

“Can’t we mobilize secular forces [non-religious armies]?”

Rembrary also offered his opinion.

Morso shook his head.

“We are not from a royal family like you, Rembrary. Just because the High Priest asks for the mobilization of troops, the kings do not take those words at face value. Moreover, there is no king who is willing to provide enough troops to look after the entire world.”

“Besides, if we tell people that the Demon King’s invasion passage is almost complete, there will be great chaos at that moment.”

The Iaira High Priest also opposed it.

Lapsus pouted and turned his head away.

The meeting was held in such a way for a long time, but there were no significant results.

“Let’s each organize what we talked about today and talk again tomorrow.”

In the end, the meeting was postponed to the next day, and Rembrary came out of the meeting room after five hours.

“Are you okay?”

Mulu, who was standing next to the door, quickly approached and asked.

“What they talked about inside…”

Rembrary told the story of the meeting and walked to the area that the Redrin priests would use.

“High Priest Redrin.”

But it was when he was walking while receiving glances from people. Someone called Rembrary from behind. When he turned around, the Iaira High Priest was standing there.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Rembrary gestured for Mulu to go in first and went out to the terrace with the Iaira High Priest.

“What’s going on?”

As soon as they were alone, Rembrary asked, examining the Iaira High Priest’s complexion. The Iaira High Priest’s expression was noticeably clouded as soon as they were alone.

“High Priest Redrin, Iaira… has a story to tell you.”

“Iaira?”

Rembrary frowned. Does the Iaira God have something to say to him?

“What is it?”

“He proposes that if you come to Iaira, he can change your attribute.”

Rembrary raised his eyebrows.

“Attribute?”

That was a question Rembrary had already asked Redrin when he had just become a High Priest.

But how could the Iaira God know about that? The only ones who knew about it were Redrin or Jeremy, who had delivered the Iaira High Priest’s book to Rembrary.

‘No, if someone had Jeremy deliver that book instead…’

“What do you think?”

When Rembrary frowned and remained silent, the Iaira High Priest asked again.

“I am Redrin’s High Priest, so I cannot go to another god just to change one attribute.”

Rembrary refused immediately. If he changed his attribute, he might be able to save Redrin’s world.

But because the one making the offer was the Iaira God, there was a sense of distrust.

“I see.”

The Iaira High Priest did not persuade him further but sadly raised the corners of his mouth and turned around and walked away.

Looking at his back, which seemed heavier than any other High Priest, Rembrary recalled his childhood memories.

It was so long ago that it was vague, but there was a time when all the attacks of the black magicians were concentrated in Redrin’s territory.

He had prevented a summoning circle that was about to be created inside the lake with Redrin’s help.

Rembrary recalled the flow of power at that time and examined the endless Divine Power flowing through his body.

“High Priest?”

Mulu came to find Rembrary and discovered his appearance and approached him.

Rembrary stared intently at his palm and then raised his head.

“Are you okay? Did the Iaira High Priest say something strange?”

Mulu came closer and stood next to him.

Rembrary lowered his hand and tapped the side of the railing.

As Mulu came closer to that side, Rembrary looked at the high mountain far away for a moment.

It felt like each leaf had life and was pulsating. What would happen to this world if the Demon King invaded?

“High Priest, as expected, that person…”

“Mulu.”

“Yes.”

“If the Demon King were to invade.”

“That will not happen. Because you are here, High Priest.”

“If that’s the case, the time to stop him would be when the Demon King is about to cross over, before he arrives here.”

Is the situation that bad? Mulu was at a loss for what to say and only looked at Rembrary’s profile.

“I might have one way.”

“Then isn’t that good?”

“But I’ve never done it before.”

“!”

“Whether I succeed or fail, I might disappear.”

Mulu’s eyes widened at Rembrary’s unexpected words. She wanted to say that the method should never be used.

But could she say that? Rembrary was the High Priest, and if Rembrary could not stop the Demon King, countless people would die and be injured.

Even the survivors would not live as before.

“Then… I will go with you.”

At Mulu’s answer, Rembrary smiled brightly and turned his head. He looked like he was about to call her ‘Grass Sister’ like in the old days.

However, Rembrary said nothing. He turned his head back and looked at the mountain.