Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 211

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 210: Room 104, Curse Room - ‘Hotel High, the Prestigious Academy’ Re (4)

──────

- Cha Jin-cheol

--- Thump! Thump! Thump!

The moment I turned around and took a step after hearing Ga-in's order to “kill me after I use Descent,” my heart began pounding violently.

After one step, my head started to hurt. After two, my legs began to shake.

I couldn't take a third step.

‘B A C K O F F!’

This wasn't just psychological fear. A strange sound inside my head tickled at my ears while some unknown force relentlessly pressed down on my head, demanding that I kneel and beg for forgiveness at once.

Thankfully, the pain didn't last long. With the strange sensation of cool water instantly washing down my sticky throat, the incomprehensible pressure tormenting me vanished in an instant.

Song-i used the bracelet's power on me!

I rushed at Ga-in, frozen like a statue, gripping another fragment of the Star in one hand.

“Urgh!”

My palm burst apart, and three fingers fell away.

The backlash from repeatedly using the Star while fighting Aurelia had begun. Still, I couldn't back down now. I grabbed it with my other hand and brought the fragment of the Star down on Ga-in, just as I had against Aurelia.

--- Thud! Thud!

It felt like striking concrete!

Descent had made Ga-in's body absurdly durable. Still, he hadn't become completely immune to the Star's power. Each blow made the golden glow pouring from his body dim a little.

--- Crackle!

With a sound like electricity sparking, the light around his upper body faded.

At the same time, the fragment of the Star I swung buried itself directly in Ga-in's body!

“I did it! Even a monster like this can't-”

A wave of light crashed down.

A golden wave so bright I couldn't open my eyes filled my vision. Some unknown force grabbed me and flung me somewhere.

When I came to after slamming into the ground, I saw a living sun standing before me!

‘Foolish one, Cha Jin-cheol. Did I not warn you to back off?’

“What the hell is this supposed to-”

‘I showed you mercy and gave you a chance to retreat on your own. Yet you could not hide your arrogance and dared to harm the body of the Great One. Your sin is great and deep.’

“Get your facts straight. Why is that body yours? It's Ga-in's body!”

‘The light of judgment shall descend...’

Light fell from the sky.

I didn't even think of resisting. Was this how it would feel to stand blankly by the roadside and see a nuclear missile falling from the sky?

Just before I lost consciousness, one worry remained in my mind.

This monster had killed me with incomprehensible authority through thought alone, without even being able to move a finger.

How could anyone possibly defeat something like this?

* * *

- Kim A-ri

“Two people dead in thirty seconds.... Ga-in, you're seriously too much.”

The battle moved quickly.

Cha Jin-cheol charged in first and summoned the Star, trying to destroy Ga-in under Descent. The rest waited because they couldn't fight near the Star. Song-i used the bracelet's power once to help Cha Jin-cheol.

Thankfully, Ga-in under Descent didn't respond at all. He stood there like a punching bag.

The Star's overwhelming destructive power, which had even warped the Unborn One's Cocoon, eventually worked on Ga-in under Descent as well. With a tremendous noise, a huge hole big enough to fit a human head opened in Ga-in's upper body. As if that weren't enough, all kinds of bizarre distortions appeared across his body.

Had something worked?

The moment I thought that, an incomprehensible force turned Cha Jin-cheol into a spray of blood in one blow, then knocked down Song-i too.

What kind of power was that?

Ga-in under Descent still couldn't move even a finger. I didn't know what power he had used, but it was definitely my turn now.

...

Shockingly, Ga-in under Descent still wasn't dead.

A huge hole had been punched through his upper body, and strange flesh was sprouting everywhere from his twisted body. Yet he wasn't dead. The warped flesh slowly fell away, and the huge hole began closing.

Once that recovery was complete, there would be no coming back from it.

Aaaah! How the hell am I supposed to kill that?

Without mental protection, it was hard to even get close. Even with an Inheritance that could destroy a god's Cocoon, we had to attack for a long time just to land a meaningful hit.

And even after landing one, it counterattacked with an unknown power and killed whoever landed the blow. Then it began healing every wound with Regeneration that would put even a lizard to shame.

The most unbelievable part was that Ga-in under Descent hadn't even twitched a nose hair this whole time!

We were on the verge of being wiped out by a punching bag that was just standing there.

I didn't know. There really was no answer.

At least I'd evacuated Mook-seong in case something happened.

Let's do what I can. At least I could slow his recovery.

Looks like I'm in for something awful today.

--- Click!

I took off the Protective Suit.

“Eun-sol!”

“Huh?”

“You wear this now.”

An icy wind rose from my fingertips.

--- Slice!

* * *

- Lee Eun-sol

“Aaaah! A-ri, what the hell are you doing?!”

I was completely shocked.

Without realizing it, I screamed like crazy. Of course, there was no one to answer my question. A-ri, who had just called me over and made me wear the Protective Suit, had cut off her own head!

Suicide out of nowhere?

Had Ga-in under Descent brainwashed A-ri with some unknown power in that short time?

No.

Just as her head rolled across the floor, an enormous amount of blood burst from A-ri's body and covered Ga-in!

It was a bizarre sight, as though the blood itself had a will. A mist made of red blood moved around Ga-in's body, then seeped into him with a bubbling sound.

The next moment, a loud tearing sound came from Ga-in's body, and blood began spraying from all over him.

Was that A-ri's finishing move?

Seung-yeop had told me that she used something similar once in Room 201....

I shook my head, pushing away my confused thoughts.

I should do what I could too.

Of course, I couldn't even get close to that monster. But what about the butterfly?

--- Click!

The Nightmare Butterfly, beautiful no matter how many times I saw it, fluttered forward and seeped into Ga-in's body.

Did that do it?

Please just die already!

Ga-in, it's your big sister's wish, so please just die already!

How many people had sacrificed themselves?

Cha Jin-cheol and Song-i died just to punch one hole through Ga-in's body. A-ri died trying to stop that hole from closing.

Yet that monster still wasn't dead!

--- Twitch!

For the first time, the monster's body, which hadn't moved even a finger until now, twitched.

My heart nearly stopped with fear as I frantically backed away and spotted Elena.

“Elena!”

“... Sis.”

“Are you okay? Can you still do something?”

I didn't expect much, even as I asked.

Everyone now knew that the being inside Ga-in's body was the Lord. I didn't know exactly what kind of being the Lord was, but it was at least not human.

“...”

“You can't use Justice, can you? What about Ominous Imagination? Do you have anything left?”

“...”

For some reason, Elena didn't say anything.

Was she too exhausted? Or had Descent affected her mind because she was too close?

Honestly, it wouldn't be strange if she'd gone insane. I was close to losing it myself!

For now, we had to get away from here. Cha Jin-cheol and Song-i were already dead. I didn't know what state A-ri was in, but she could no longer remain with us.

We had no useful options left.

“Elena, let's run for now. We need to meet up with Grandpa!”

“... Where is Mr. Ga-in?”

“If you mean Ga-in inside Pero's body, he's in the back with Sang-hyeon.”

“I see.”

“We have to move quickly! Right now-”

“Shut up, bitch! Can't you see I'm trying to concentrate?”

“Uh, uh, uh, uh....”

I was so shocked that I could only stare with my mouth hanging open!

Why was Elena suddenly-

“Don't act deaf. Listen. Can't you hear it?”

“W-What...?”

“The ground is roaring this loudly, and you can't hear anything? Cut off those useless ears of yours with scissors! Ahahaha! I hear it. I hear it!”

The ground was roaring?

What was she talking about? If the ground was roaring, shouldn't we feel the vibrations before hearing anything? I couldn't feel a thing.

“Ever since I came into this filthy underground place, I've been thinking about it. They built such a flashy facility in a dark place like this, but could the foundation really be intact? Just as I thought! This damn underground city is about to collapse! The ground is roaring. The ground is roaring!”

... The city beneath the Old School Building, built by the cultists, was extremely bright despite being underground. Right now, Ga-in's whole body was giving off so much light that it was hard to keep my eyes open.

Elena had gone insane.

So I decided not to interrupt her.

Because this was Elena's ability.

--- Rumble!

I could hear it.

Now, even I could hear the ground roaring and the earth shaking!

At the same time, Elena began to stagger. Thanks to the incredible strength given by the Protective Suit, I could carry Elena in one hand and run.

I ran, ran, and ran again.

An enormous sound came from behind me, as if the entire world were collapsing, but I didn't look back. As I raced toward the door we had entered through to reach the underground city, I managed to pick up the bewildered parrot from the floor too.

Pero, no, Ga-in was here, but where was Sang-hyeon?

I didn't know. There wasn't even time to think about it!

Even after climbing the stairs, running through the door, and returning to the Old School Building, the shaking didn't stop.

--- Rumble!

It was collapsing.

The entire foundation beneath the Old School Building was sinking into the earth!

I saw Hotel High students and staff passing by the Old School Building scream and run in every direction.

After running and running until I finally reached somewhere safe-

A single sign appeared before me.

[Hotel High, the Prestigious Academy]

...

“Sorry, but I'm taking this school's sign down now.”