WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 355: Room 205, Curse Room - ‘□□□□’ (4)
──────
- Kim Sang-hyeon
Time dragged on.
The killing intent of the martial artists surrounding me prickled against my skin, so I couldn't relax.
I'd clearly seen someone leave earlier to summon Yi Ja-seong, but I had no idea why he still hadn't arrived.
Then a voice like a drill boring into my ears rang out.
“I hear Iron-Soul Divine Spear's abilities have improved greatly during his time at the imperial court.”
“I haven't spent my days idling.”
“Would you spar with me?”
At first, I wondered what this was about.
Cha Gun-ak, my senior brother in this setting and the Mangho Iron Sword, obviously wasn't close enough to me for a friendly spar.
Was he planning to kill me under the guise of a spar?
Still, we weren't close enough to kill each other in broad daylight with this many witnesses around.
Well, I could accept that much.
They were martial artists rather than officials. Maybe they could settle old grievances through a contest of skill.
But if he wanted to challenge me, why wait this long to do it?
Once that thought occurred to me, the answer came naturally.
Yi Ja-seong had arrived somewhere beyond my sight.
Which meant the sudden challenge had a simple purpose.
“Did the Alliance Leader say he wanted to see my skills for himself?”
“... Draw your spear.”
* * *
Only three exchanges were needed to decide the match.
Was it because I was skilled enough to defeat Cha Gun-ak, a master unparalleled in the Martial World, in three moves?
Half right, half wrong.
“Y-you bastard! What kind of wicked trick did you use?”
“...”
“Kim Sang-hyeon! I knew you had been corrupted by the imperial court's gold, but I never imagined the very roots of your martial arts were rotten!”
To be precise, the form of my spear techniques was utterly incomprehensible to martial artists from this world.
The blessing, ‘Diligence,’ gave those who worked hard a fitting reward, but the form that reward took was extremely supernatural.
After studying medicine, my hands had become able to pass through the human body.
After working hard to make fires in the wilderness, I'd gained the ability to create flames with a snap of my fingers.
If that was the result of studying medicine and making fires, how could the result of learning to wield cold weapons in a primitive age possibly be normal?
Even as my spear lightly pierced his shoulder, my opponent couldn't understand how only the blade of my spear had flown through the air.
Of course, I didn't understand it either.
“You bastard! If you have a mouth, then-”
At that moment, a firm voice rang out alongside a bold presence that filled the entire space.
“Gun-ak. You're making a fool of yourself. That's enough.”
“Master...”
“If this hadn't been a spar, your head would have fallen within three moves. Would you still babble about wicked tricks while your head rolled on the ground?”
“... I will train harder.”
With that, Cha Gun-ak left, apparently intending to train.
At last, Yi Ja-seong appeared. Aside from being rather muscular, he looked little different from any old man one might see on the street.
“Alliance Leader, it's been a long time.”
“Get to the point. Neither of us is comfortable with the other.”
“Very well. Alliance Leader, the Fire Cult's main force will reach the capital in three days at the earliest, or next week at the latest.”
“...”
“Will you help us then?”
“Help... I never thought the day would come when someone from the imperial court would make such a request of me.”
There was considerable emotion in the old man's voice.
Yi Ja-seong was a father who had lost his daughter and a master who had lost his disciple.
Naturally, I didn't think he'd help just because I asked, so I had prepared an offer.
“Alliance Leader, as you know, the late emperor who caused this disaster-”
“He's dead.”
“... Yes. The current emperor said that if you wish it, he is willing to step down from the throne. If that isn't enough, he said he would apologize before the Heavenly Righteous Alliance for a full week.”
Every word was true. We had no attachment to titles within a Curse Room in the first place.
There would be repercussions if the emperor stepped down, but compared to dying three days later, it was better no matter how I calculated it.
Still, the words “step down from the throne” must have sounded shocking to those listening, because murmurs rose all around us.
Surely this much would-
“What good would that do?”
“Alliance Leader...”
“Would my daughter and disciple rise from their graves if he did so?”
With those words, the Alliance Leader turned halfway around and looked over the people nearby.
...
What was this?
I felt something strange that I couldn't explain in words.
It wasn't the instinct of Iron-Soul Divine Spear as a martial artist, nor the instinct of Kim Sang-hyeon, doctor, soldier, and astronaut.
It was the instinct of a ruler, a priest of the City of Light who had gazed down upon countless people for centuries.
At that moment, I knew Yi Ja-seong was acting.
I couldn't explain how I knew if someone asked, but I was certain.
The next moment, Yi Ja-seong's expression became strangely profound.
I contemplated Yi Ja-seong.
Yi Ja-seong saw through me.
That was why we both understood at the same time.
I had seen through Yi Ja-seong's act. Yi Ja-seong knew I had seen through it, and I realized that Yi Ja-seong knew I knew.
Among dozens of people, a strange communication passed between only Yi Ja-seong and me.
“Since enlightenment requires no words, this is called not relying on words...”
“...”
“I believe that is answer enough, Iron-Soul Divine Spear. In memory of old ties, stay the night.”
At the same time, an entirely different sentence reached my ears.
- Come to the training grounds at dawn.
* * *
When I reached the training grounds at dawn, Yi Ja-seong was already there.
“It seems I'm late.”
Instead of answering, the old man stared at me quietly.
“How curious.”
“...”
“I thought I would always be the one observing you all, yet now you see through me.”
Something was different. This old man was... different somehow.
“I was fortunate.”
“How could that be? Your cultivation of observation must have deepened.”
“It sounds as though you mean a kind of martial art by ‘observation,’ but that isn't it. I've simply met many people and-”
“What is the difference?”
“Pardon?”
“What difference is there between the principle of observation in martial arts and the worldly ability to read people?”
As the old man's eyes turned toward me, an indescribable pressure seemed to weigh down my soul.
As if in defiance, I spoke the thought I'd had earlier.
“What is your true intent?”
“True intent...”
The leader of the Heavenly Righteous Alliance slowly walked halfway around the training grounds, then drew a sword.
I flinched at the sight, but he gave no indication that he meant to cut me down.
“What is the pinnacle of martial arts? What do you think?”
“...”
What was this turn of events?
I'd asked Yi Ja-seong about his true intent, and suddenly he was talking about martial arts.
“Before I turned twenty, I believed it was lightning. A fast, powerful sword could cut through anything. When I tested that belief against the heroes of the south, none could withstand my sword more than three times.”
The old man's hand moved, and a streak of lightning split the air.
“Before I turned thirty, I realized the wonder of precision. Put more simply, it was the proper distribution of force. If my sword reached the right place at the right speed, I learned that even strength as great as Mount Tai could be easily deflected. Once I reached that stage and traveled beneath heaven, there were few enemies under the sky.”
This time, it was different from before.
Rather than moving like lightning, the sword in the old man's hand slowly passed through the air, drawing complex shapes.
“But... I realized that wasn't the end. I felt there was something beyond it.”
“What was it?”
Before I knew it, I found myself deeply interested in this conversation with the Alliance Leader.
For this moment, concerns about Room 205 and the Heavenly Righteous Alliance's support had been pushed to the back of my mind.
I truly wanted to know.
I wanted to know what possibility lay beyond, the possibility discovered by a superhuman second to none beneath heaven.
Could I gain even a part of this person's enlightenment?
It would be good to learn martial arts. Even if I could receive a portion of some realization beyond the boundaries of such knowledge, that would be good too.
“In Buddhist teachings, complete understanding and moving forward without obstruction is called being Unhindered.”
“Complete understanding and moving forward without obstruction? Alliance Leader, no, Master. This disciple's understanding is shallow, so I find it difficult to understand. Could you explain it more simply?”
“To move forward without obstruction, one must cast off the shackles that bind oneself. But what are my shackles?”
“...”
“I cut away, and cut away again. I dismantled the twenty-four forms of the Heavenly Righteous Swordless Art that I had cultivated throughout my life, one by one, and eventually even forgot its formulas. Yet shackles remained.”
“What were they?”
“For a long time, I did not realize it. I knew something bound me, yet had no way of knowing what my shackles were. Then, thirty years ago, I found the answer I had sought for so long.”
Thirty years ago?
“He was truly one who was Unhindered. He understood the principles of all things, and nothing restrained him from doing as he wished.”
“Was this ‘Unhindered one’ perhaps the Phantom Demon?”
“He mocked the principles of heaven and regarded human morality as a toy meant for play.”
“What kind of-”
What kind of great enlightenment was that? He was just a crazy bastard!
“Therefore, he was one who was Unhindered, and also the freest being between heaven and earth-”
“Isn't that just another way of saying he was insane?”
I couldn't hold it in, perhaps because I had become so immersed in the teachings the leader of the Heavenly Righteous Alliance had spoken of until now.
I couldn't accept that the great realization gained by an Absolute Master with no rival under heaven was simply the mindset of a madman who ignored every rule of the world.
The old man gave a hollow laugh.
“Disciple, let us return to the beginning.”
“The beginning?”
“Did you not say yesterday during the day that the emperor would apologize for the deaths of my daughter and disciple?”
“Y-yes.”
“What is he apologizing for?”
Only then did I vaguely understand the concept of being Unhindered that the old man spoke of.
He was telling me this.
You killed my daughter and disciple and freed me from my shackles, so why would I resent you?
“Yet there are still far too many shackles binding me.”
“Those aren't shackles. They're proof of the life you've lived!”
“You may think so. More importantly, an uninvited guest has entered the capital.”
“What?”
“Sang-hyeon, I will give you a chance. Show me one move.”
“...”
“Shouldn't you leave no regrets before you die?”
* * *
- Kim A-ri
“And the food really was impossible to eat-”
“Wait.”
“Huh?”
I silenced Mi-ro and focused.
I was sure I'd heard something strange a moment ago...
Had I imagined it?
Then Eun-sol, who had been listening to Mi-ro complain ahead of us, stood and looked around.
“Something flashed in the distance.”
“A flash?”
“Hmm. I'm not sure. It was like lightning struck from the ground, but it passed too quickly.”
Eun-sol sat back down with a puzzled expression.
Then Jin-cheol spoke with an uneasy look.
“A sound like a building collapsing, a flash like lightning. Didn't Brother Sang-hyeon use Final Flash?”
“...”
The area fell silent for a moment. Soon, Eun-sol's expression hardened.
“Let's finish the conversation quickly. We can go out and find out what happened afterward.”
In Room 205, Mi-ro and I had somehow begun in the absurd position of being followers of the Phantom Demon.
It felt like being Ga-in's followers, which quietly annoyed me, and beyond that, we were public enemies of the continent.
On top of that, both Mi-ro and I stood out far too much, so we couldn't move around freely.
The one fortunate thing was that the world was a mess and public order had collapsed.
Collapsed public order was misery for decent civilians, but good fortune for public enemies of the Martial World.
After struggling our way to the capital, Eun-sol sent someone for us not long after, and we were able to meet everyone.
As soon as we gathered, Eun-sol told us something surprising.
“Call Ga-in with Time Lender?”
“That's it!”
Eun-sol's idea was simple.
Ga-in was the one subjected to Sealing in Room 205.
The Phantom Demon was a being even other Absolute Masters feared.
Putting those two facts together led to the conclusion that the Grimoire's power would be very useful in Room 205.
“The Fire Cult Leader will enter the capital within three to five days.”
“Will the wall collapse that quickly?”
“It could hold longer if they wanted it to, but this means they won't make a stand at the wall and will preserve their strength.”
How would the Fire Cult react after quickly entering the capital?
After achieving their lifelong ambition, they would at least hold a triumphal procession.
That meant there was a high chance Fire Cult Leader Jo Won-hong would reveal himself in public.
“Then we deploy everyone's strength at once. Including Ga-in!”
It didn't seem like a bad idea. I especially trusted the strength Ga-in would bring when called by Time Lender.
“I have another idea.”
“Another idea?”
“I found the location of the Phantom Demon's Sealing.”
My mouth fell halfway open. Mi-ro said what I had been about to say.
“Huh? In the setting, A-ri and I searched for it for twenty years and couldn't even find a trace!”
“... According to the setting, it should also be impossible for me, the de facto ruler of the imperial court, to be talking to you two. What's the point of worrying about that?”
She had a point.
No matter how close the country was to collapse, the Harmonious Gate Lord, the emperor's guardian, holding a secret meeting with followers of the Phantom Demon?
In a martial arts novel, it would be more absurd than the abbot of Shaolin meeting with an elder of the Demon Sect for talks.
“I wrote it down on this paper. The exact location is-”
“Child, that is enough.”
The world... splits apart.
A beam of light fell from the sky and tore through space.
Until the moment her head fell, Eun-sol did not realize what had happened.
An old man appeared.
He was the Sword of All Under Heaven.
Footnotes:
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