WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 361: Room 205, Curse Room - ‘Absolute Master’ (10)
──────
- Kim Sang-hyeon
The moment the second attempt began, I headed for the Heavenly Righteous Alliance, going over what I had to do from here.
The problem we had to solve in Room 205 was the Fire Cult, or more specifically, its leader, Jo Won-hong.
The difficult part was that Jo Won-hong himself was monstrously powerful and had an enormous number of subordinates.
It would have been easier if Yi Ja-seong had been the root of the problem.
Based on what had been revealed during the first attempt, Yi Ja-seong behaved less like the head of an organization and more like an absurdly strong martial artist.
In other words, when an unorthodox martial artist appeared before him, he preferred to draw his sword and act alone rather than keep his distance and mobilize the Heavenly Righteous Alliance's martial artists.
Even if someone like that was stronger than Jo Won-hong, he would be easier to deal with. No one could stand against sheer numbers forever.
Jo Won-hong, on the other hand, was not someone who enjoyed acting alone to that extent. Jin-cheol, who had been on the battlefield, said he hadn't even caught a glimpse of him.
The reason Jo Won-hong had pursued Elena alone before was that the emperor had been fleeing across the border. It had been a special situation where no one else could keep up with the pursuit.
That made it difficult to create a situation where the hotel party could gang up on him.
In short, it would be difficult to deal with Jo Won-hong with our strength alone. There were two solutions.
First, bring in the Heavenly Righteous Alliance and Yi Ja-seong.
Second, awaken the Phantom Demon.
I had to carry out the first.
* * *
Once I arrived at the Heavenly Righteous Alliance, things unfolded much as they had before.
At first, martial artists from all around glared at me as though they wanted to devour me. Before I knew it, Yi Ja-seong had secretly arrived nearby and ordered Cha Gun-ak, the Mangho Iron Sword, to test my skill.
“I hear that Iron-Soul Divine Spear-”
“Fine.”
“... How do you know what I was about to say?”
Oops!
I'd been so deep in thought that I answered before Cha Gun-ak could even suggest a match.
“In this situation, weren't you about to suggest that we exchange a few moves?”
“Hah! It seems you had the same thought?”
Things had to go somewhat differently from here.
...
We exchanged roughly twenty moves.
Cha Gun-ak's martial arts had nothing to do with complicated tricks or elaborate forms.
The principle behind his bold swordsmanship could probably be summed up as, “Let's see which of us is stronger.”
I, on the other hand, had thoroughly avoided a contest of strength from the start.
My opponent kept trying to force a decisive clash while I kept avoiding it. Naturally, both of us grew frustrated.
“Haah!”
“...”
“Iron-Soul Divine Spear, how long do you intend to keep running?”
“...”
Of course, I hadn't come here intending to run away.
I simply couldn't find the right moment to strike a decisive blow because the conversation I'd had with Mook-seong before leaving kept circling in my head.
* * *
“Sir, do you remember the Revelation of Heavenly Secrets in Room 205?”
“Absolute Master, unavoidable death, tricks won't work, and exceptional martial strength is required. Something like that?”
“I understand the first two phrases now. Absolute Master refers to Jo Won-hong, Yi Ja-seong, and the Phantom Demon. Unavoidable death refers to the Crimson Flame Iron Fan.”
“The meaning of tricks and exceptional martial strength is unclear.”
“From the context, tricks are the opposite of exceptional martial strength.”
“Methods other than martial strength?”
“To be more specific, I think it means the ‘sorcery’ found in martial arts novels-”
“Agent, I've never read one of those ‘martial arts novels.’”
“That’s why I'm explaining it.”
* * *
Mook-seong interpreted the third phrase of the Revelation of Heavenly Secrets as meaning, ‘Refrain from sorcery.’
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. When Cha Gun-ak saw my supernatural spear techniques during the first attempt, he immediately became furious and accused me of using sorcery.
Yi Ja-seong had scolded Cha Gun-ak rather than finding fault with my spear techniques, but considering what happened afterward...
Yi Ja-seong had eventually summoned me at night and killed me.
His greater justification had probably been the alliance between the Phantom Demon's followers and the imperial family. Still, my strange spear techniques must have played a major part in hardening Yi Ja-seong's suspicions.
In short, there was no benefit in coming to persuade martial artists, then using sorcery to overpower them.
So I felt like a circus performer as I demonstrated my techniques before Mook-seong and went through the process of confirming what looked like martial arts rather than sorcery.
The result was this technique.
--- Thump!
I lightly snapped my fingers, and flames erupted.
The fire at my fingertips ran along the length of my spear. Then heat haze began to rise from its blade.
At the same time, Cha Gun-ak's eyes widened in shock.
“S-Samadhi True Fire! You're not even my master. How can you possibly...?”
At that point, the match was decided.
--- Clap!
“That will do.”
I didn't even need to thrust my spear.
Yi Ja-seong rose from where he had been hiding among the surrounding martial artists and stopped the match.
It already felt as though I had won without our weapons ever touching. Even Cha Gun-ak accepted his defeat.
It was different.
The reactions of the surrounding martial artists were far too different from before.
Before, they had looked at me as a wicked traitor who used bizarre tricks to defeat the alliance leader's disciple. Now, regardless of faction, they looked at me as a senior of the Martial World who had reached lofty heights.
I was impressed by Mook-seong's accurate judgment and dumbfounded by it at the same time.
Fine, a spear blade flying through the air was sorcery.
But why was producing fire from my hand not sorcery?
At least the former was a technique for wielding a weapon. The latter was openly magic.
When I asked him about this bizarre logic, unable to understand it at all, Mook-seong gave me a clear answer.
“Just accept it!”
* * *
Once I defeated Cha Gun-ak without using sorcery, though I still couldn't understand why, the whole situation changed.
Yi Ja-seong had the Heavenly Righteous Alliance's martial artists sit around him as if he were about to give a lecture, then stood alone in the center and began a demonstration of martial arts.
“The qi of heaven and earth is ever-changing! If you grasp its limitless potential, there is nothing you cannot achieve-”
...
“Fire, wind, lightning. These natural phenomena are also the result of endless change. Thus, it is no empty claim to say that nature dwells at the end of martial arts-”
Before I knew it, I had joined them and was listening to Yi Ja-seong's lecture.
The hostility the Heavenly Righteous Alliance's martial artists had shown me had long since melted away like snow.
“Therefore, this is the principle of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Watch.”
A miracle occurred.
A gentle spring breath filled the area and warmed the surroundings. This was spring.
Flames resembling the sun in the sky flickered like an illusion. This was summer.
A cool breeze swept away the heat of summer. This was autumn.
Then a chill cold enough to be felt on the skin passed through the training ground. This was winter.
Even for the Sword of All Under Heaven, such a technique seemed quite exhausting. Yi Ja-seong's forehead was soon covered in sweat, and his hands began to tremble slightly.
Still, this astonishing display was worth it, at least for inspiring his disciples' respect.
The Heavenly Righteous Alliance's martial artists began looking at Yi Ja-seong as though he were a god.
In the middle of disciples gazing at their master with eyes full of reverence...
I kept shouting inwardly.
‘What kind of martial art is this?’
Why was even something as absurd as that grand magic considered martial arts, while a spear blade flying through the air was called sorcery?
Perhaps it was because of that slightly rebellious thought.
Yi Ja-seong suddenly called me.
“Sang-hyeon.”
“Yes?”
“That final trick you showed was remarkable. There will be many who can refine fire qi, but the skill of placing that force within an iron spear is rare. Explain its principle.”
“...”
I didn't know.
I didn't know how flames appeared from my hand, nor how I could place them into a weapon.
It didn't make scientific sense in the first place.
The three elements of combustion were oxygen, fuel, and heat.
There was plenty of oxygen in the air, and fine, I could say I created heat with my fingers.
But how was the fire sustained without fuel?
It wasn't as if I'd coated my fingers or spear in oil.
“...”
“...”
I needed to say something plausible and get out of this.
“I apologize. It is said that profound enlightenment cannot be expressed in words... I am not confident I can put my realization into speech.”
“Ho... So you have not yet reached the summit, but are still on the path?”
What was that supposed to mean?
“I understand. You must be in the process of gathering your enlightenment. I hope that one day, you will share all of that wisdom with everyone.”
“Of course. One day, I too will share with the alliance the teachings Master bestowed upon me long ago.”
I was certain the day I understood the principle would never come.
When the lecture ended, Yi Ja-seong dusted himself off and stood.
Only then did I remember why I had come here and approach Yi Ja-seong.
“That will do.”
“Yes?”
“Do you think I do not know what you wish to say?”
“...”
“Return to the imperial palace.”
“Master, please-”
“Did I say I would refuse?”
“Yes?”
“Return.”
At that moment, as before, another sentence reached my ear.
- I will send someone to the imperial palace soon. Return for now.
Only then did I understand.
I had to leave before they could discuss whether to help the empire.
* * *
Around evening, a martial artist arrived at the imperial palace with the news we had hoped for.
The Heavenly Righteous Alliance would actively participate in the coming battle against the Fire Cult. If the Fire Cult Leader sought the throne, the alliance leader would also draw his sword for the empire.
Of course, it wasn't free.
They demanded an apology in the emperor's own hand for the imperial family's past abuses against the Heavenly Righteous Alliance, along with several measures to prevent such things from happening again. The emperor stamped the document without even reading it.
Seung-yeop stamped it so decisively that the Heavenly Righteous Alliance martial artist looked flustered.
As things went well, Eun-sol couldn't hide her joy.
“Oh! It went better than I expected. It looks like the Heavenly Righteous Alliance will send martial artists soon, right? Will Yi Ja-seong join them too?”
“I believe so. Yi Ja-seong's Voice Transmission certainly had that implication. But...”
“But?”
“I truly don't understand it. All I did was defeat the alliance leader's disciple and create flames with my hand. Does that justify clearing away the grudge between the Heavenly Righteous Alliance and the imperial family?”
Agent Mook-seong looked frustrated at my words.
“No, I explained it all, didn't I? From the Heavenly Righteous Alliance's perspective, you are the youngest son who ran away from home. You are the youngest son who was seduced by the wicked words of those in power, left the proper path, and returned home after ten years!”
“And?”
“Then that youngest son came back and, to everyone's surprise, showed the righteous path without a single shame beneath heaven!”
“... You mean by snapping my fingers and showing them fire?”
“This is frustrating! You had a match too, didn't you? Martial artists of the Martial World can tell whether someone is good or evil after exchanging a few moves!”
“I've never heard such a bullshit theory of psychology in my life-”
“Argh! Sang-hyeon! This isn't psychology! To people of the Martial World, a person's whole life is contained at the tip of their blade!”
“Ha! Mook-seong, I usually let things go because of your Management Bureau career, but I'm a doctor licensed by Harvard! That's utterly ridiculous-”
“Please... both of you, stop acting like idiots.”
“Ahem. Sir, rather than trying to understand it logically, perhaps think of martial artists as a species different from ordinary people...”
“... I understand.”
After things settled down, there had been something slightly unclear about what happened earlier.
It was a success, but it felt like only half a success.
Agent Mook-seong seemed to feel the same way and asked me.
“Were you unable to bring up Yi Ja-seong's Heart Demon?”
“There was no situation where that kind of conversation could come up.”
The cause of Yi Ja-seong's Heart Demon was probably his inferiority complex toward the Phantom Demon.
Since A-ri and Mi-ro, the Phantom Demon's followers, had not come to the capital, Yi Ja-seong hadn't thought of the keyword, Phantom Demon.
It was a paradoxical situation.
If the Phantom Demon's followers came to the capital, they provoked Yi Ja-seong and caused him to run wild. Yet because they had stayed away, we couldn't approach the core keyword connected to Yi Ja-seong, the Heart Demon.
Eun-sol reacted as though she didn't see the problem.
“Does it matter? Whatever happens, all we needed to do was bring in Yi Ja-seong and the Heavenly Righteous Alliance, and we did, didn't we?”
That was true too.
We had succeeded in bringing in the Heavenly Righteous Alliance without touching the Heart Demon keyword.
Then Agent Mook-seong tilted his head.
“That is true. We brought in the Heavenly Righteous Alliance while ignoring the Heart Demon keyword. Then...”
“Then?”
“Why does this keyword exist?”
“...”
* * *
- Yoo Song-i
I walked through the marketplace under the warm sunlight, gathering the supplies we needed.
At first, I worried because we had no money, but it turned out we didn't need any.
“Argh! P-Please spare my life!”
“...”
“M-My old mother and young daughter are at home.”
“What about your wife?”
“She could not survive last year's famine...”
It was a sad story.
But why was this man acting like this in front of me?
“Then put all the rice and clothes in this bag!”
The mechanical voice coming from the massive helmet of the White Dragon Divine Armor made the man collapse, trembling.
“I-If you tell me to put them in-”
“Geez! Can't you understand? Phantom Demon Punch!”
Mi-ro, the White Dragon Divine Armor Master, unleashed her ultimate Arcane Art, Phantom Demon Punch, and smashed the stall apart in one blow.
“A-ri, take this one away right now!”
My head started to hurt.
How had we ended up becoming robbers who looted market stalls in Henan Province in broad daylight?
And why had Mi-ro, wearing the Protective Suit, suddenly begun displaying the mental age of someone childish enough to shock an elementary schooler?
--- Screeeech!
Something burst, followed by people's screams.
I turned my head with a hollow laugh and found Pero openly robbing a butcher shop.
That was right.
We were now, myself included, followers of the Phantom Demon and public enemies of the Martial World.
We weren't public enemies of the Martial World in name only. Our actions made us public enemies too.
“Where did A-ri go at a time like this?”
Footnotes:
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