WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 167: Room 201, Curse Room - ‘The Cube’ (16)
──────
- Kim A-ri
... What a strange space. The space beyond the TV was a gigantic room, so white it was blinding.
As planned, the others began walking with their eyes closed, believing through my blood that this place was safe.
Only I crossed the space with a clear mind, protected by Song-i’s bracelet.
Why go through it consciously when we’d already figured out how to cross safely?
Simple. I wanted to see what kind of being the Zero-Dimensional Eye really was.
The Zero-Dimensional Eye, probably Room 201’s Prisoner.
What role was it playing in this scenario?
So far, I hadn’t found any role for it beyond being part of the scenario’s background.
It wasn’t opposed to the Adversary like the Devourer, hadn’t granted power to the Adversary like the Director, and wasn’t worshipped as a god by the Adversary like the Lord.
If anything, it felt similar to the Nebula Dragon, which had no presence until the final battle.
The Zero-Dimensional Eye’s role was still unknown.
Maybe that was something Ga-in, once he woke from Sealing, would have to uncover?
Off in the distance, I saw around twenty soldiers Headquarters had stationed here.
According to Eun-sol, the entire facility only had around thirty soldiers, with the rest being researchers. They’d brought more than half of them here.
The Zero-Dimensional Eye was in this space.
Those people didn’t even dare approach us. They were just waiting for us to reach them.
...
Thanks to the bracelet’s protection, I’d avoided losing consciousness the moment I entered.
Should I check now?
The instant I raised my head, I collapsed.
An overwhelming gaze violently pierced through me!
Even though I wasn’t the bracelet’s owner, I instinctively knew.
I couldn’t endure it for long.
I shouldn’t have tried to look! I’d made a mistake, daring to satisfy such pathetic curiosity.
Mistake, mistake, m̸i̸s̸t̸a̸k̸e̸, m̸i̸s̸t̸a̸k̸e̸, m̸i̸s̸t̸a̸k̸e̸, l̸i̸e̸s̸a̸n̸d̸t̸h̸e̸h̸o̸u̸s̸e̸
* * *
‘It looks like things will get interesting from here, so I let you go.’
* * *
The gaze that had been tearing me apart piece by piece disappeared.
Only when I was half out of my mind, when even the letters and numbers in my head were breaking apart and I was on the verge of losing consciousness, was I released.
I didn’t know. I had no idea what that being was.
One fact, though, was painfully clear.
That being stood on a level so far beyond Beatrix that the two couldn’t be compared.
How had the Chief Researcher sealed something like that?
What kind of person was he?
“A-ri?”
I’d been leading my companions with their eyes closed, like the Pied Piper.
When I suddenly stopped, Song-i, who’d been waiting, looked puzzled.
Let’s go. If we delayed any longer, there was a risk that the Suggestion cast on my companions would wear off.
For some reason, the pressure from the Zero-Dimensional Eye had disappeared.
The Headquarters forces didn’t seem to realize that and were still waiting far away.
This was good.
Moving earlier than the enemy expected was always the right move!
Kim A-ri: Begin!
At the same time, all my companions opened their eyes.
Our ninth companion, who’d stayed completely silent on Song-i’s shoulder after being released from Sealing, flew into the air.
“Go! Living flash grenade!”
* * *
- Lee Eun-sol
“Go! Living flash grenade!”
What was that supposed to be? Some gag from the seventies?
Well, Pero did serve as something like a living flash grenade.
Pero shot A-ri a sharp glare, then flew forward and transformed.
--- Screeeech! Screeeech!
A piercing scream rang out, and chaos erupted!
We’d covered our ears in advance and mentally prepared ourselves, but our opponents hadn’t.
Caught off guard, Headquarters’ soldiers began firing at one another like maniacs.
Right then, Cha Jin-cheol, having summoned the Star, flew in like a cannonball.
With thunderous crashes, Headquarters soldiers began flying through the air.
Wearing a high-performance bulletproof vest and wielding the Star, Jin-cheol looked like an invincible superhuman as he rampaged through them.
Song-i arrived in the middle of it, flashing her bracelet so the soldiers shot one another. Grandfather and A-ri kept pulling their triggers too.
...
Everyone was fighting well.
Elena, Seung-yeop, and I were just watching from the back.
Had about fifteen minutes passed? The fight was finally winding down.
A considerable number of soldiers were dead or had fled, while loud noises echoed from Headquarters.
Cha Jin-cheol ran over to me.
“Eun-sol, did we get almost all of them?”
“There should be around ten more inside Headquarters. Still, I don’t think they’ll be much of a problem for you now. By the way, Jin-cheol, you really look like a superhuman from a superhero movie. When you grabbed a soldier in each hand and threw them, you looked exactly like that green monster.”
“Hahaha! It’s not just my strength. This outfit helps too.”
“The bulletproof vest? It stops bullets from piercing through, but it doesn’t block all the impact.”
Jin-cheol only grinned. Then again, impact would only be a problem for physically ordinary people like Song-i and me.
“Is there any way we could get this outfit from the Hotel? If I could wear this in other Curse Rooms too, I’d probably be one and a half times stronger.”
It wasn’t an ordinary bulletproof vest. Getting a Management Bureau custom model probably wouldn’t be easy.
Grandfather spoke with a tense expression.
“Beatrix hasn’t come.”
I glanced behind us before answering.
“We’ve put some distance between us, but this place seems to be where the Zero-Dimensional Eye is. She probably doesn’t want to fight here.”
--- Click!
Jin-cheol opened the door leading to Headquarters.
Now came the next phase.
* * *
Honestly, I’d done nothing but watch during the fight outside.
My role would be important from here on. That was why I was the one wearing the Protective Suit!
After signaling to my companions, I moved a little away from the group and prepared to blend into the surroundings.
--- Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire rang out from every direction.
--- Fwoooosh!
I could also feel the Star’s waves piercing through the Protective Suit and stinging my skin.
Amid it all, I focused all my attention on the One-Eyed Giant Bird’s eye as I searched for Patrick.
...
...
Found him.
Lee Eun-sol: Patrick found. Make it loud.
Following my instructions, my companions began causing as much chaos as possible.
Cha Jin-cheol suddenly rushed in as if daring them to shoot him, and Pero kept screaming.
Holding my breath to stay invisible, I approached Patrick.
Patrick was watching the situation beside a specially built passage.
If things looked bad, he was probably planning to flee through that passage. That would make things troublesome for everyone.
When I opened the brooch, the butterfly immediately tried to fly out.
No.
By the time you flew over there at your slow pace, Patrick would see your flashy appearance, get startled, and run away.
Trust your owner this time.
I held the butterfly and approached Patrick myself.
I’d been holding my breath for invisibility too long, and I was starting to run out of air.
Voices reached me.
“What the hell is that guy? He’s been hit ten times already!”
“He doesn’t seem to have an ordinary body!”
“I can see that too, you fucking idiot! Where’s Beatrix? Is the escape route ready?”
“She’ll be here soon! It’s only been a few minutes since those people started rampaging. The escape route will be ready within ten minutes.”
“Then throw bombs at them!”
“Sir Patrick, that’s...”
“What choice do we have? At this rate, the facility will fall to those-”
“Hi!”
I casually reached out and planted the butterfly in Patrick’s body.
I became visible immediately, and just as one of the bodyguards tried to grab me, Patrick fell with a rough groan!
The bodyguards, startled, tried to move Patrick somewhere, but I just held on to him.
Yep, Protective Suit! Wearing this makes me really strong too!
The bodyguards turned red in the face as they tried to pull me away, but it was no use!
Yep, a Protective Suit makes you really heavy!
I happily held on, feeling like I had about 0.3 Cha Jin-cheol’s worth of strength. Eventually, my companions, having cleared out the area, joined me.
The end was in sight. We’d secured Patrick.
“Eun-sol, good work!”
“Now it starts. Here, hold this guy.”
While Cha Jin-cheol held Patrick, I retrieved the Nightmare Butterfly.
It had probably been less than five minutes, but Patrick looked like he’d aged ten years.
The moment the butterfly came out, a groan full of pain burst from him.
“Guh! Guh!”
“Now we just need to take him to the third floor. A-ri?”
A-ri looked uneasy.
“A-ri?”
“I said this when we were making the plan, but I’m worried.”
“You don’t think hypnosis will work well?”
“Yeah. He’s not an ordinary person.”
Patrick woke up in the meantime.
“Kh... The third floor. If it’s the third floor... that’s where the Sealing and he are. You’re Management Bureau people, so you can’t be here to damage the Sealing. Did you come to rescue the Chief Researcher?”
“You’re not completely clueless.”
“Hehehe... This isn’t even funny. You really came to rescue him? Do you think the Chief Researcher is truly some hero who saved the world? Do you know why I betrayed him? Cogs like you don’t know anything-”
“Are we really going to listen to this guy forever? We don’t have time, so let’s hurry. A-ri.”
Cha Jin-cheol was right. We didn’t know when Beatrix might interrupt us.
With a sigh, A-ri stared into Patrick’s eyes for a long time, just as she had done with Elizabeth before.
Had three minutes passed? Drool dripped from Patrick’s mouth as he began moving according to A-ri’s instructions.
“Did it work?”
“Probably.”
“That answer makes me uneasy.”
“I’ve said it several times, he’s not an ordinary person, so I can’t guarantee it. Don’t let your guard down. Keep watching him.”
Most people in Headquarters were dead or had fled. With Patrick in tow, we headed for our destination.
There were several doors outsiders couldn’t enter, but securing Patrick allowed us to pass through without much trouble.
... As we walked, a question I hadn’t considered before came to mind.
“A-ri.”
“Yeah?”
“Why did Patrick betray them in the first place?”
“...”
“Come to think of it, this person originally held a high position in the Management Bureau. He was a high-ranking official at the Arizona Branch. Would the Management Bureau have treated someone like that poorly? They must’ve given him considerable wealth and status. That alone would have been a strong deterrent against betrayal.”
“Probably. Someone with a position like that in the Management Bureau would’ve built enough wealth to support his grandchildren.”
“Then why did he betray them? In exchange for betrayal, he ended up living in the shadows among monsters. He can’t even easily leave this stuffy Headquarters.”
Seung-yeop answered.
“Could Beatrix have threatened him?”
“That’s possible, but based on the records and the way he talks, it didn’t feel that way. Patrick and Beatrix seemed less like they had a one-sided relationship and more like partners.”
A-ri offered her opinion.
“No matter how strong Beatrix is, she was still an experimental subject under the Chief Researcher’s control. Even if she got lucky and escaped, could she manage this massive facility? Managing everything from the Cube to the equipment storing monsters underground isn’t something a demon girl who spent her whole life being experimented on could do. It’s the work of an expert with decades of relevant knowledge.”
There was something we’d kept questioning while making the plan.
Considering our guesses and the Owl’s advice, it was certain that the Chief Researcher had a means of controlling Beatrix.
Then why had he been defeated? Was it simply because he let his guard down?
He wasn’t some careless person. Could someone extraordinary enough to seal the Zero-Dimensional Eye and save the world really be defeated by his own test subject just because he was careless?
It was hard to accept.
...
Maybe.
Maybe Patrick had betrayed the Chief Researcher and freed Beatrix in the process?
That would explain how the Chief Researcher had been defeated.
He must have prepared a way to control Beatrix, but he likely never expected an administrator within the facility to betray him.
Why had Patrick betrayed him?
Why abandon the wealth and status offered by the Management Bureau, borrow the strength of an experimental subject, and betray the superior who had saved the world?
I remembered what Patrick had said before falling under A-ri’s Suggestion.
‘Do you think that man is truly a hero who saved the world?’
Footnotes:
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