WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 364: Room 205, Curse Room - ‘Absolute Master’ (13)

──────

- Yoo Song-i

Of the two masters Ga-in's advice had pointed out, we easily dealt with the herbalist in a surprise attack.

Half a day was enough to realize just how fortunate that had been.

“D-duck!”

The instant I heard Mi-ro's voice, I dropped flat onto the ground.

At the same time, a vicious metallic shriek rang out as an indistinct blade sliced through the air.

“Where the hell have those things been coming from?”

Then Pero rushed over as if even shouting was a waste of time and covered my prone body!

As though it were only natural, a sharp, awl-like object flew down from above and punched three holes through Grotesque's body.

This was hell.

The moment we took a step, throwing knives came flying at us. Whenever the exhaustion became too much and we hid behind a rock, some unknown venomous snake suddenly poked out its head.

After running around in a panic, we found a pit waiting in the ground as if it had been expecting us. Pero had to lift me over it.

Naturally, a hidden iron spike lay inside, one that looked capable of killing several people.

Between the hidden master, who knew every inch of Mount Cheonjang's terrain and darted about while hurling blades, and the traps laid all around us, it was hard to endure.

What made it worse was that the second unknown master never appeared before us.

Maybe this wasn't the type of martial artist who fought head-on in the first place.

A fighting style that hid completely and relied on nothing but surprise attacks.

I had no idea how we were supposed to overcome it.

Then A-ri, wearing an uncharacteristically exhausted expression, caught one of the flying daggers and quietly studied it.

The incoming dagger was identical to the daggers scattered on the ground.

The moment I saw that, I realized what A-ri was thinking.

A-ri vanished as if she had crumbled away.

No, it would be more accurate to say she slipped out of my awareness.

...

The flying daggers disappeared.

Once A-ri began pursuing the unknown master with the power of Compass, they started fleeing.

Mi-ro approached with a tired expression.

“It's, it's quiet! Maybe they've run out of weapons?”

“No. A-ri is chasing them.”

“A-ri? Why did A-ri suddenly show up?”

Watching Mi-ro tilt her head, I was once again reminded of how threatening A-ri's The Unremarkable Girl was.

Unless I constantly focused and kept A-ri in mind, I would even forget that she had been here.

Mi-ro's reaction right now proved it.

“Let's rest for a moment...”

“I'll check first!”

Wearing her Protective Suit, Mi-ro took the lead toward a nearby tree and looked around.

--- Clank!

As if it had been waiting for her, a trap on the ground snapped shut with enough force to crush a bear's ankle.

Of course, even a trap strong enough to tear off an elephant's ankle couldn't pierce the Protective Suit.

“Come over here!”

I was tired.

Really, unbelievably tired.

I was so out of breath that taking even one more step felt difficult.

Mi-ro seemed to feel the same way. She leaned against the tree and slumped down.

I sat beside her and muttered, “How many hours have we been running away now?”

“... I think it's been four or five hours. I'm tired.”

“Lucky you. At least you're wearing a Protective Suit.”

“Pero, come over here too!”

When I looked up, Pero was slowly approaching, its whole body twitching. It was covered in blood from taking the blade wounds in my place earlier.

“Pero must be tired too...”

“Of course it is.”

A pale thread appeared in front of me.

Thinking dust had gotten into my exhausted eyes, I rubbed them. The next instant, a sharp snare wrapped around my neck.

My vision spun around 360 degrees.

Because of that, I was able to see my own body from an angle I normally never could.

“Aaaah! S-Song-i!”

... That was my last memory.

* * *

- Mi-ro

I blankly caught Song-i's head as it floated in the air, tangled in the snare and spinning around.

Song-i's expression was strangely peaceful. Even at the moment of her death, she seemed not to have realized what had happened.

Tears slipped out before I knew it.

We had already confirmed that we could see each other again after leaving, but I still couldn't stop myself from crying at that moment.

“Sniff... Song-i...”

Then a cold voice spoke.

“Mi-ro, let's move.”

“A-ri?”

“This place is too dangerous. Cho Il-pyeong is dead, but the traps they set are still everywhere.”

Cho Il-pyeong? Was that the name of the master who had tormented us?

Since she had even learned the name, it seemed A-ri had killed and interrogated them.

“Did you find where Ga-in is?”

“... Probably.”

We had no choice but to leave Song-i's body behind and set off.

After struggling against Cho Il-pyeong for over half a day, none of us had the strength to take another step, let alone bury Song-i's body.

And then...

Pero silently sat beside Song-i.

“It looks like this one can't move any farther either.”

Its feathers were completely stained with blood, to the point that it was hard to tell their original color.

Even a tough creature like Pero couldn't move easily in that condition.

After moving for another twenty minutes or so, a small cave came into view.

It looked completely ordinary, and it was so small that a large person couldn't enter at all.

I probably would have passed it by if A-ri hadn't pointed at it.

“Is it here?”

“Listen to me from now on.”

“Okay.”

“Strictly speaking, there's no path or entrance that leads into the sealed area where Ga-in is.”

“Huh?”

“The people who sealed Phantom Demon wanted no one in the world to ever approach that area. Of course, they wouldn't have made a convenient path that could be used to undo the Sealing.”

“R-right.”

“There is an exit that the people who performed the Sealing made so they could leave. That cave is the trace of that exit.”

I understood what A-ri meant.

Even if we entered there, there was no easy path to where Ga-in was.

* * *

After entering the cave, I stood in front with a torch and began descending underground.

It was narrow and uncomfortable enough that every step was difficult, and sharp stone fragments lay everywhere around us. I couldn't tell whether they had been placed deliberately or were part of the natural terrain.

--- Ting!

“Eek! Something fell from above again.”

“Good thing it didn't hit me.”

“That's mean.”

“Good thing it hit Mi-ro.”

“That's even worse.”

“Then did Mi-ro want it to hit me? I don't have a Protective Suit.”

“That's not what I meant, but...”

--- Clang!

At that moment, an ominous metallic sound began echoing throughout the cave!

“Aaah! W-what is this?”

A-ri muttered with a look of resignation.

“This is disgusting. They hid more traps right until the very end.”

The sound of iron grinding against iron.

The sound of water flowing.

The sound of gears turning.

A mechanical trap formation designed to slaughter intruders!

...

I did my best.

I gave everything I could to survive.

But there were traps in the walls on both sides, the ceiling, and the floor. When they all activated, a human body of flesh and blood couldn't withstand them.

Only one person survived: me, wearing the hotel's special Protective Suit, which blades and swords could not pierce.

“A-ri...”

“...”

Three rusted iron spikes had torn through A-ri's body.

An ordinary person would have died long ago, but perhaps because of the power of Old Blood, A-ri could still speak.

“S-should I pull out the spikes?”

“No. If you pull them out in this situation, I'll die faster.”

“...”

“Mi-ro, listen carefully. It looks like you'll have to continue alone from here.”

“Sniff...”

“Don't cry. Take this.”

An Hourglass popped out of A-ri's hand.

“The Hourglass?”

“You remember when Ga-in and I explained how it works before, right?”

“Yeah...”

“Do your best.”

“...”

“Time... Lender... summon a suitable companion...”

The moment A-ri's head dropped, I realized I was truly alone.

I could barely breathe.

Not one of the people who had led me this far remained by my side.

Even the path we had entered through had been blocked by a pile of rocks with a tremendous roar.

I had no intention of coming this far only to flee without accomplishing anything, but now even the path to escape was gone.

Who should I summon?

Before that, what was I supposed to do now?

I was in an underground cave blocked off on all sides.

I had to go deeper underground for Phantom Demon's sealed area to appear, but there was no path leading there.

I needed someone who could make one.

--- Click!

The clock hand moved to the morning, and a tall, sturdily built man appeared.

The first thing he did upon appearing was snap his fingers.

--- Whoosh!

“I can finally see. This appears to be a very dark place... Miss Mi-ro, please briefly explain the situation.”

I explained the situation to Doctor.

“Hmm. So Ga-in is in a sealed area somewhere underground?”

“That's right!”

“Final Flash can certainly make a path, but this is difficult.”

“Huh?”

“Where should I make an opening? Where underground is Ga-in? I need at least a rough direction.”

“...”

“This is difficult. As far as I remember, even if we use information on our companions' locations or Miss A-ri's Compass, we can't detect the precise location of a sealed companion.”

“W-what do we do?”

“Who else can you summon?”

“We entered with you for the morning, Ga-in for noon, and Jin-cheol for the evening.”

“Ga-in's power can't break through the ground and make a path, while Jin-cheol's Otherworldly Star attacks in every direction, so it would be difficult to use in a confined space.”

“...”

“Honestly, this is a dangerous place to use Final Flash too. The ground may collapse.”

“... What do we do?”

“There is only one answer. This sort of thing is normally suited to Seung-yeop, but I will have to do it.”

“Huh?”

“I'll take a shot.”

“Aah!”

“Easy, easy. I won't be making a completely blind guess. After talking with you and examining the surrounding terrain, I've narrowed it down to two possibilities. By Hotel standards, those are odds worth trying.”

With that, Doctor silently raised his hand.

“This is unsettling.”

“Are you worried you'll be wrong?”

“More than that, I'm worried about what will happen if I use Final Flash underground like this...”

“I'll send you back as soon as you fire the flash.”

“Will I disappear immediately in that case?”

“Not immediately. It takes a few seconds.”

“Is that so? I have no choice, then. I'll fire.”

--- Rumble!

Final Flash, the superweapon created by humanity in the distant future, pierced straight through the cave floor and created a deep passage toward the abyss.

I threw myself into the passage and sent Doctor back.

I hoped the reverse summoning would finish before the collapsing cave could hurt Doctor.

* * *

- Lee Eun-sol

“Cough!”

Late at night, after the sun had set, we were crossing the plains guided by moonlight when Sang-hyeon suddenly rolled across the ground in pain.

“S-Sang-hyeon...”

I reflexively covered my mouth just as I was about to shout in surprise.

Even Yi Ja-seong, who had remained calm through everything, could not hide his alarm as he approached Sang-hyeon and checked his condition.

“Iron-Soul! What's wrong?”

He must have been in terrible pain. Foam mixed with blood and saliva kept flowing from Sang-hyeon's mouth.

In the end, the whole group had to stop, remain on guard, and check on Sang-hyeon.

...

Had ten minutes passed?

Sang-hyeon barely managed to sit up straight and muttered, “... This is bad.”

“What's wrong all of a sudden? Do you have a preexisting condition?”

“Final Flash.”

“Pardon?”

“I can no longer use it.”

“Whaaat? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Jin-cheol, who had been beside us, came over with his mouth hanging open.

“Brother, what do you mean by that?”

“Another me used Final Flash. And...”

“Time Lender!”

“It seems I was seriously injured. Since I'm still alive, I wasn't killed. Miss Mi-ro must have sent me back while I was badly hurt.”

Was the reason Sang-hyeon had rolled on the ground and vomited bloody foam because part of the damage had returned to the original body when his duplicate was seriously injured?

I didn't know. The mechanics of Time Lender didn't matter right now. That wasn't important!

Jin-cheol clutched his head.

“No, we struggled all the way here to get into a position where we could target the Heavenly Tower, and now we suddenly can't use Final Flash...”

Then Yi Ja-seong, who had been listening nearby, spoke.

“Final Flash. Is that the method you prepared to destroy the Heavenly Tower?”

“... Yes.”

I had made a mistake.

We had avoided talking about Inheritances in front of Yi Ja-seong, but everyone had panicked earlier and said things we shouldn't have.

I needed to stay calm.

Just hearing words like Time Lender and Final Flash wouldn't tell him everything about the powers of our Inheritances.

Unlike us, who were panicking, Yi Ja-seong spoke calmly.

“I don't know what any of that means, but it seems the method you prepared has stopped working.”

“... W-we should return first...”

“Return? I don't know much about construction, but even I can see that tower is nearing completion.”

“...”

“It doesn't matter.”

“Pardon?”

“I have never lived by trusting in some strange trick. In the end, the only thing I have ever trusted at the final moment was the sword in my hand.”

“...”

“Our bodies are sound, and our weapons are sound. What is there to make such a fuss over? Let us go.”

Having said that, the old man advanced toward the tower, which was beginning to take on an ominous form, as if it were nothing.

For the first time, I thought it.

This person was real.

An Absolute Master.

Footnotes:

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