WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 363: Room 205, Curse Room - ‘Absolute Master’ (12)

──────

- Lee Eun-sol

The first battle ended with the Empire's victory.

The Fire Cult Leader did not step forward, as though it was not yet his time, even after three of the Thirteen Commanders, the cult's core masters, had died.

Ironically, that was clear proof they still had another card left to play.

If that battle had been their final card, Jo Won-hong would have risked his life and fought on the front lines as well.

Then, three days later, a strange tower began to rise on the plain occupied by the Fire Cult.

Fortunately, someone among us could identify it. According to Elena, it was called the Heavenly Tower within the Cult.

“It's a tool for a kind of summoning ritual.”

Yi Ja-seong responded to Elena's words.

“To summon what? As the First Apostle surely knows, the Fire Cult can summon more than one or two kinds of beings.”

“I can't be certain... but in this situation, we should assume they intend to summon the strongest being they can.”

Cha Jin-cheol looked uneasy.

“I was hoping it would end with us fighting people if possible... Looks like a monster is going to show up after all. What's the strongest monster they have?”

“Asha's eldest son's eldest son's eldest son. Kardamos, the Ever-Flaming Prince of Azure Flame... apparently.”

Kim Mook-seong: Yi Ja-seong is right beside you, so don't make it so obvious that you're reciting it from memory.

Elena: I'll be careful.

“Kardamos? That alone doesn't tell me much about what kind of being it is.”

“A descendant of heaven, a scion of the gods said to possess divine blood. Put more simply, it's a kind of phoenix.”

Cha Jin-cheol: Like that thunder wolf from Cinema?

Elena: Probably?

At that moment, Yi Ja-seong lightly tapped the table.

“It seems the Harmonious Gate Lord has an unusual talent. If possible, I would like to hear what is being said as well.”

“...”

“I was going to pretend not to notice, but you have been making it rather obvious.”

“I'll be more careful.”

I let out a sigh.

He could not have seen the Chat Window. Since this scenario had a method similar to the Chat Window called Voice Transmission, he seemed to have caught on quickly.

Yi Ja-seong really was difficult to deal with in many ways.

He was our ally for now, but there was no way to tell how long this precarious balance would last.

--- Tap!

Grandfather lightly struck the table, drawing everyone's attention.

“Alliance Leader, the imperial family must have troubles of their own, so there's no need to press them too hard.”

“...”

“More importantly, First Apostle, how do we stop Kardamos from being summoned?”

“It's simple. Destroying the Heavenly Tower will be enough.”

The moment I heard that, I thought of Mr. Sang-hyeon.

Trying to destroy a massive structure visible from outside with swords and spears would be terribly difficult.

But with Final Flash, wouldn't it only take a flick of the finger from far away?

The Chat Window blinked again.

Kim Mook-seong: Final Flash could probably destroy it in one shot...

Lee Eun-sol: The problem is what happens after using it.

Considering the distance between the wall and the Heavenly Tower, even if Final Flash was a powerful Inheritance, we could not be sure of its power if it was fired from the wall.

In the end, everyone, or at least Mr. Sang-hyeon, would have to abandon the wall, advance onto the plain occupied by the Fire Cult, and fire Final Flash.

But Final Flash was an Inheritance that took a considerable time to recharge after use.

So after destroying the Heavenly Tower with Final Flash, we would likely be attacked by Jo Won-hong while unable to flee from the plain, with one Inheritance unavailable.

Was there any way for us to survive Jo Won-hong in that situation?

There was.

Cha Jin-cheol: If Yi Ja-seong protects us, we'll be fine.

Lee Eun-sol: Honestly, he's hard to trust.

Cha Jin-cheol: Didn't he save you the other day?

In the end, it depended on what the Absolute Master before us, Yi Ja-seong, truly thought.

His daughter and disciple had been killed by the imperial family, giving him a clear reason for vengeance. Then there was the ominous keyword, Heart Demon, which might even override that grudge.

I looked at Yi Ja-seong with complicated feelings.

Then Yi Ja-seong let out another deep sigh.

“Please, say something to me as well. For ten minutes now, you have said nothing to me while blinking at each other. I am beginning to wonder if this is some strange joke.”

“... I'm sorry.”

Holding a meeting with someone we couldn't trust was this difficult.

Then Cha Jin-cheol said something unexpected.

“Let's just be honest.”

“Now that is a welcome thing to hear.”

“We have a way to destroy the Heavenly Tower the Fire Cult is building.”

“Ho?”

Lee Eun-sol: Wait!

Cha Jin-cheol: The Heavenly Tower is being built even now. Delaying only puts us at a disadvantage.

“The problem is that we need to travel to the plain to use it...”

By then, Yi Ja-seong immediately understood the situation.

“Some of you must remain in the imperial palace to protect the emperor, so splitting your already limited strength and descending below the wall is dangerous? Because the Fire Cult Leader may attack you?”

“You understood right away.”

“That is because I... Ah. It seems you find it difficult to trust that I will properly protect you.”

“...”

As if he found the situation ridiculous, Yi Ja-seong suddenly drew the sword at his waist.

“What are you...”

Cha Jin-cheol lightly gripped my shoulder, stopping me.

The old man spoke calmly.

“When lives are at stake, it is difficult for either side to truly trust the other. I understand.”

“...”

“But remember one thing. Since I, Yi Ja-seong, entered the Martial World at seventeen, I have never once been ashamed before this sword.”

“...”

“I have nothing more to say. Harmonious Gate Lord, make your choice. Will you waste time at the wall like this and then fight a descendant of a god, or will you trust me and destroy the tower?”

An inexplicably powerful intuition flashed through my mind.

Could this decision be the most important moment of this run?

* * *

- Yoo Song-i

About twenty minutes had passed since we began moving along the forest path.

Sweat was starting to bead on my forehead, but even now, I had no idea where to search for Ga-in in this vast mountain terrain.

Then Mi-ro, who had been running around in her Protective Suit like a preschooler, approached the herb gatherer.

“Mister, do we still have a long way to go?”

“Y-yes, miss. Still, it's much faster than taking the main road. The path is rough, but it's a shortcut...”

“Yaaawn! Mister.”

“Yes?”

“Go stand against that tree for a moment.”

“Excuse me?”

“Come on! I need to pee!”

“Ah, understood!”

When Mi-ro suddenly brought up peeing, the herb gatherer panicked and turned around to face the tree.

Then, a watch appeared.

What?

--- Click!

The hand seemed to make one full turn, and then Ga-in suddenly appeared in midair.

No, what the hell was going on?

Mi-ro silently pointed at the herb gatherer. Ga-in nodded, then took out the Grimoire.

A moment later, the herb gatherer turned around, tilting their head.

“What, what, what, what -”

“Song-i, be quiet.”

“What is this? What suddenly happened?”

“Ga-in is possessing that person.”

“Why? What? Why, why, why?”

A-ri looked tired.

“Didn't you notice? That person has been leading us somewhere strange.”

“I-it's a shortcut...”

Mi-ro answered casually.

“It was strange from the castle onward. Everyone was busy running away and crying, but this person latched onto us while pretending to be scared.”

“I'd been suspicious since then. It's a mystery that you've survived in the hotel this long, Song-i.”

A-ri crushed me with those words in an utterly serious tone.

The most shocking part was that I could understand A-ri noticing something, since she was so sharp, but even Mi-ro had noticed something strange about the herb gatherer before I did!

A-ri calmly approached the herb gatherer.

“Did you learn anything?”

“...”

“Are you still reading information? Hurry up...”

The next moment, A-ri suddenly did a backflip to avoid the other's attack.

Mi-ro, who had been leisurely making fun of me, spun around in shock.

The herb gatherer stared at Ga-in's body lying beside Mi-ro with gleaming eyes.

“This power... His cultivation seems lacking, yet it resembles the Phantom Demon's power. And that body looks far too much like the body possessed by the Phantom Demon!”

“H-he can resist Possession? How?”

“How many centuries have passed since the Phantom Demon plunged the world into misery? If we remained helpless forever, we would have only our own laziness to blame. Still... it is difficult to endure.”

The next moment, a shining throwing knife sprang from the herb gatherer's hand.

“Argh!”

The herb gatherer drove the throwing knife into their own shoulder!

Was the herb gatherer fighting Ga-in for control of the body?

I was too confused to understand what was happening, but one thing was clear. This was not the time to stand still.

Using Diverse Perspectives, I twisted the herb gatherer's senses, making them think they had been thrown into blazing flames.

“Aaaagh!”

As the man rolled across the floor in confusion, A-ri rushed in, not even aiming for the opening, and cut his throat.

...

After the brief lull, Ga-in, whose body had been lying beside Mi-ro, woke up.

“Urgh!”

“Oppa! Are you okay?”

“No, why are there so many people who can resist Possession? This hasn't happened often before...”

A-ri let out a small sigh.

“He said the Phantom Demon rampaged for hundreds of years. As someone guarding the sealed area, the herb gatherer must have learned martial arts that can counter it.”

“I get it now.”

“Hm?”

“Now I understand what I told Mi-ro in the first run. Split the mind to resist Possession. It wasn't some abstract expression. It literally meant splitting the mind.”

“... Twofold Mind Technique?”

“What is that?”

“It's my own way of describing a method for splitting the mind. It seems you need to learn the solution.”

“How? The insight I just gained will disappear again over time.”

“That's true. More importantly, did you learn anything? Was the person we just killed one of the two masters warned about in the advice?”

“Yes. It would have been very difficult if we fought head-on, but we dealt with the herb gatherer easily through a surprise attack.”

“What about the other one?”

“I don't have any information about that person.”

After hearing that, A-ri immediately gestured to Mi-ro, telling her to dismiss Ga-in's summoning.

Just before disappearing, Ga-in wore a somewhat regretful expression.

“We dealt with one. Now there's only one left.”

Footnotes:

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