WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 241: Room 202, Curse Room - ‘The Little Mermaid’ (19)
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[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 102
Current Location: Level 2, Room 202 - Curse Room ‘The Little Mermaid’
Sage’s Advice: 1]
- Han Ga-in
The problem of killing myself while in the body of that “giant snake” was easier to solve than I'd expected.
I remembered seeing a documentary saying that venomous snakes generally aren't immune to their own venom. So, I bared my fangs and bit my tongue. It immediately began to “melt.”
After biting myself all over, intense pain soon surged through my body, as though I were being burned alive.
Of course, I had no intention of suffering through that pain for long.
“Hup!”
“You're back. What happened to the snake?”
“I took care of it.”
The cave was still in chaos, with monsters running wild everywhere. They were probably “Kadarudah's followers.” I'd heard that Riringanor had the power to control those monsters. Did Lee Su-ho have a similar ability?
Fortunately, none of them were as strong as the snake I'd possessed. The cave also wasn't wide enough for many monsters to attack at once, so we never had to deal with more than five at a time. It was manageable.
Our group's various supernatural abilities helped, and Eun-sol, wearing the Protective Suit for once, simply threw herself into the fray and forced her way forward. We quickly opened a path.
Still, everyone was uneasy. We were wasting too much time.
“Everyone, get behind me!”
A bottle containing the “500 mL Blood Reserve” we'd received as a prize from Hell's Hotel Kitchen flew out from A-ri's arms. The lid opened, and blood flowed out like a living creature. A-ri added her own blood to it.
What kind of skill was that? Between the two, hadn't she used a whole liter of blood?
Sure enough, a phenomenon that could only be called magic occurred, befitting such an enormous loss of blood. A red mist large enough to cover a third of the cave moved forward like living poison gas, sweeping up every monster in its path!
“What the hell is that-”
“Jin-cheol, carry me on your back.”
Thanks to that incredible magic, we were able to advance without resistance for about five minutes. At a glance, I could see over thirty, perhaps forty, monsters that had been swept up in the mist. They lay dead, shriveled down until only their shells remained.
But the cave still showed no end, and there were still more monsters Lee Su-ho had prepared. Unable to take it any longer, Grandpa snapped.
“What kind of army did that son of a bitch Lee Su-ho build in this cave? How the hell did he feed all these monsters?”
It felt like we'd already killed a hundred of them...
At that moment, we heard a sound that brightened everyone's expressions.
--- Bang! Bang! Rat-a-tat bang!
Loud gunfire rang out from the rear of the cave.
Reinforcements had arrived.
After we paused briefly, more than thirty Management Bureau Assault Team members reached us from behind in under a minute. It was the first time I'd seen the Management Bureau's elite force in Room 202, and they looked extraordinary at a glance.
They were completely different from the special forces soldiers I'd often seen on TV. Even their clothing wasn't the kind of military uniform people normally imagined.
“What kind of armor is that? An Enhancement Suit? I've only seen stuff like that in movies.”
“Jin-cheol, don't gape like that. You think people would fight monsters barehanded?”
Soon, Chief Park and Serenade arrived as well. We were exhausted too, so we took a moment to catch our breath and speak with those who had come from behind.
The Management Bureau soldiers must have expected this situation, because they even handed us things like chocolate bars.
Unlike the Management Bureau's elite force, which arrived clean and intact, Serenade's group seemed to have had a rough time.
She was covered in blood from head to toe, and she had come alone. I could guess what had happened.
Just as we'd feared, Serenade and the Merfolk must have gotten lost in this cave, scattered from one another, and suffered terribly. Other than Serenade, they might all have died.
Elena approached her with a worried expression.
“Sis, where's Riringa?”
“She's still too young, so I left her behind. It's fortunate. If I'd brought her, that child too...”
While they spoke, Chief Park and Grandpa had a brief conversation as well.
“Agent Mook-seong, we saw traces of incredible battles on the way here. You agents are impressive. Thanks to you, we had an easy trip.”
“Save the compliments. We're short on time, so let's get to what's important. There'll be more monsters Lee Su-ho prepared ahead of us.”
“You can rest now. You cleared the way well, so we arrived without trouble. It's time to use the weapons we saved. Let's move immediately.”
“I like how decisive you are. But didn't you say you wouldn't arrive until tonight?”
“Are you displeased that we arrived too early?”
“I'm saying it because I'm grateful, kid!”
Chief Park hadn't been joking when he told us to trust them now.
The moment the monsters appeared ahead of us, rat-a-tat bang! Gunshots rang out in rapid succession, and the monsters burst apart. It was hard to tell who the real monsters were.
What kind of equipment was that?
As we ran, I kept watching the gear used by the Management Bureau's elite force. The Enhancement Suits they wore had a smooth, rounded look, like beetles. Judging by the force in their legs whenever they stepped on a monster, they seemed to enhance physical abilities as well. Still, they didn't grant strength on the same level as the hotel's Protective Suit.
Their durability and ability to protect the person inside were more disappointing than I'd expected.
Eun-sol knew almost nothing about fighting, but earlier, trusting only in her Protective Suit, she'd fought while taking every kind of attack, from claws to headbutts. No matter how recklessly she fought, the Protective Suit hadn't taken even a scratch.
In contrast, the Enhancement Suits worn by the Management Bureau's elite force were pierced by much weaker attacks, and the people inside suffered.
Of course, that only seemed disappointing because I was comparing them to the Protective Suit. The Protective Suit was probably something made in a realm where miracles and technology couldn't be distinguished.
The suits were a little disappointing, but the more I watched the guns, the more amazed I became. At first, I thought they were some kind of assault rifle I recognized. Then a giant centipede burst out from the cave wall, and its body literally exploded.
Only then did I realize they were something else.
Was every bullet a kind of grenade? They seemed to be weapons that fired small grenades in rapid succession.
After moving straight ahead for about thirty minutes while examining several other strange pieces of equipment, we finally reached the end of the cave.
- Thump!
“Urgh!”
“What the-”
- Thump!
“E-everyone, stop!”
- Thump!
I could hear a heartbeat.
A huge, incredibly huge heart was beating.
The confidence I'd gained from witnessing the Management Bureau Assault Team's reliable combat strength vanished like a bubble.
Ah...
I'd forgotten for a moment.
This was Hotel Pioneer. Wasn't this a place teeming with beings that could treat any weapon made by humanity like a toy?
Chief Park groaned beside me.
“Incredible! It shouldn't even be awake yet, and it's already this powerful! It'll be even more incredible once it awakens. This isn't the time to stop. Move forward!”
It was the right decision.
But humans had instincts. Since we could guess what kind of being waited ahead, everyone's movements naturally slowed.
At the far end of the cavern, a man stood still, staring at the ceiling.
“Lee Su-ho!”
“...”
“From the first time I saw you, I thought I should kill you! I regret that I didn't force the issue and kill you then!”
- Bang!
Gunshots rang out in succession, but it was as if an unknown transparent wall stood between Lee Su-ho and us. We soon approached it, but neither the guns nor even Jin-cheol's punch could shake it.
“Are you planning to barricade yourself behind that? Did you think we wouldn't have a way to dismantle something like this?”
As he spoke, Chief Park gestured, and a slender soldier brought over a complicated device.
That was when Lee Su-ho spoke for the first time.
“There's no need. That barrier won't last long anyway.”
“Then why don't you open it now?”
Regardless of what Lee Su-ho said, the soldiers began dismantling the barrier.
“... Is this how it ends?”
He sounded as though he'd sensed his own defeat.
Serenade, who had silently followed us until then, stepped forward.
“Yes. This is how it ends. Since we're here, I'd appreciate it if you explained why you caused all this.”
“How foolish.”
“What?”
“Serenade. Did you follow them without knowing what will happen to you?”
“What do you mean, happen to-”
“You're saying pointless things.”
[Advice: 1 -> 0]
[Teleport to your right immediately!]
- Bang!
A bullet grazed the spot where I had been standing.
At the same time, Song-i's head exploded right before my eyes.
A bullet struck the back of Grandpa's head. Just moments earlier, he had been leisurely teaching the “juniors” how to use their equipment, saying things were going well.
A hole the size of a human head opened in Jin-cheol's chest as he stretched his neck, saying it looked like things would be easier this time.
Mr. Sang-hyeon, who had been asking A-ri with a worried expression whether she was all right, didn't understand what had happened even as he died.
At most, it took one second. Maybe less.
Four people died in the time it took to draw a single breath.
...
I didn't roar in rage or anything like that. I didn't even have time to think.
Almost by instinct, I stole the body of another soldier in my field of view. I immediately turned the gun in my hand and-
- Bang! Bang!
As my consciousness faded, I realized what had happened.
The Management Bureau's elite force had succeeded in completely killing “me.” They had killed not only my original body, but even their own comrade whose body I had possessed, without even 0.1 seconds of hesitation.
The emotion that came to mind in my final moments wasn't anger or sorrow.
It was admiration.
* * *
“Done! We've succeeded in killing the most dangerous ability user! Don't let your guard down. Continue.”
The strange boy who had terrified them by controlling Abratas, king of the sea serpents, had died before he could even take a sip of water.
At the same time, “cleanup” began everywhere.
By the time one breath had passed, corpses were scattered all around.
Watching that absurd sight, Lee Su-ho gave a hollow laugh.
“You people really are something else. Aren't you from the same Management Bureau? Those were valuable people, considering their abilities, and you let them die such pointless deaths.”
“Lee Su-ho, that isn't an appropriate expression. No one here died a pointless death. There were only inevitable sacrifices for the great Leap.”
Ah...
This was familiar.
They were that kind of group.
No doubt they'd pulled this shit because they believed that, until the “Project” was complete, neither ordinary people nor even most Management Bureau agents should know about it.
Thinking that way, Lee Su-ho could guess what kind of bastards these soldiers were.
Beings born human, now becoming something inhuman.
The beneficiaries of the Leap.
Their full-body Enhancement Suits, which completely concealed their bodies, weren't a choice. They were a necessity. They couldn't let anyone see their bodies mutating.
“Then please carry out that great Leap without me.”
“Lee Su-ho, it's over now. Imelda asked me to give you her regards.”
Imelda.
The forgotten name reached his ears, and Lee Su-ho clenched his teeth without realizing it.
If that former Saintess of the Deep hadn't been so greedy!
In the cave filled with tragedy, Park Jin-seong made a solemn declaration.
“Today's tragedy will also become nourishment for the great Leap. Armstrong once said that this step is a step for me, but a great Leap for humanity. Today, we will once again make that Leap-”
Lee Su-ho covered his ears.
Even in a moment like this, Park Jin-seong was putting on airs.
Was there anything left for me to do?
At that moment, he saw Serenade and Elena being “collected” across from him after being knocked unconscious by some means.
A sudden realization struck Lee Su-ho.
He didn't know about the others here, but Elena and Serenade would never be killed.
The Management Bureau absolutely needed Daughters of the Sea God for its plan.
Strange letters appeared in the air.
Looking at Park Jin-seong, whose eyes were full of suspicion, Lee Su-ho smiled for the first time.
This battle wasn't over yet.
Footnotes:
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