WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 378: Room 205, Curse Room - ‘Absolute Master’ (27)
──────
[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 206
Current Location: Room 205, Curse Room - ‘Absolute Master’
Sage’s Advice: 2]
- Han Ga-in
Jo Won-hong was suppressing both me and the Phantom Demon with the power of the Demon-Subduing Divine Orb.
The Phantom Demon’s plan for breaking through this crisis was absurdly simple.
‘The only ones they’re wary of are us.’
Jo Won-hong had been paying attention only to the Phantom Demon from the start.
He saw A-ri and Mi-ro as nothing more than the Phantom Demon’s lackeys. He did not even consider them worth speaking to.
‘Keep talking to Jo Won-hong and draw his attention. In the meantime, I’ll signal your companions.’
The Phantom Demon could not use Possession because the Demon-Subduing Divine Orb was suppressing it, but simply relaying its intent was still possible.
In short, while I distracted Jo Won-hong, A-ri and Mi-ro would receive the Phantom Demon’s signal and destroy the Demon-Subduing Divine Orbs.
“Fire Cult Leader. Let’s say I accept your offer. What are you planning to do now?”
“What is there to consider when you and I have joined forces? We simply turn the army around and attack the imperial palace at once.”
“You sound confident. Didn’t that young Emperor beat you pretty badly?”
“You...”
“Haha! I’m joking, I’m joking! Who are we? The greatest master under heaven, the Phantom Demon, and the Fire Cult Leader, master of the greatest force under heaven! What could we possibly fail to do together?”
“...”
“Let’s devour it. That whole world, let’s swallow it in one bite like cake!”
“Cake?”
“Ah, you don’t know cake? It’s popular in the West-”
--- Clank!
The hands of the clock turned.
Cha Jin-cheol, the Big Dipper Grand General and the Empire’s final shield, appeared.
* * *
Cha Jin-cheol emerged among the unsuspecting Fire Cult followers like a wolf among sheep.
We were already in the latter half of Level 2. Everyone knew exactly what to do.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Cha Jin-cheol swung his iron pipe, turning more than ten Fire Cult followers into bloody pulp before he could take a single breath.
As if she had been waiting for it, red mist spread from A-ri’s body, followed by screams.
The moment Jo Won-hong widened his eyes and tried to intervene-
The wing tattoo beneath my clothes flashed, and I slammed my entire body into him for the first time in a while.
No matter how much of an absolute master he was, he could never dodge a Hotel-style Teleportation Full-Body Strike!
“Arrgh!”
Huh?
The instant we collided, Jo Won-hong screamed and his upper body was stained red.
I had not caused that wound.
It was an old wound, and a grave one at that.
It looked as though a sharp spear had punched a hole through Jo Won-hong’s upper body.
--- Crash!
In that brief moment, a series of shattering sounds rang out.
Jin-cheol, A-ri, and Mi-ro had destroyed the Demon-Subduing Divine Orbs one after another!
And then-
‘Got it!’
The Phantom Demon’s soul had recovered its power. Just as it excitedly tried to seize Jo Won-hong’s body, the Fire Cult Leader counterattacked.
“Why? Why would you make such a foolish choice?!”
Another Demon-Subduing Divine Orb flew from Jo Won-hong’s robes and began to shine.
He had hidden another one!
Unlike before, when five or six Demon-Subduing Divine Orbs had been active at once, the Phantom Demon did not lose all its power.
Still, defeating Jo Won-hong alone had become difficult.
The Fire Cult Leader summoned the Crimson Flame Iron Fan from thin air, pointed it at me, and shouted.
“Stop! Everyone, stop! Phantom Demon, make your subordinates stop as well!”
At Jo Won-hong’s command, the Fire Cult followers lowered their weapons and stepped back.
The companions behind us also paused, apparently deciding they needed to see how this would play out.
“Phantom Demon, please! I will not hold the blood spilled today against you. Reconsider my offer!”
“...”
We could retreat now.
The Fire Cult Leader’s words must have been sincere.
He had already lost his battle against the Empire, and without the Phantom Demon’s help, it would be difficult for him to rise again.
For a moment, countless thoughts passed through my mind.
Was it right to settle this here?
Could we win? Even if we won, could we survive?
It was hard to say.
Only one Demon-Subduing Divine Orb remained, but even that one had cost us dearly.
Should we back down and pretend to join the Fire Cult Leader?
If we stayed near Jo Won-hong and waited for an opportunity, perhaps a better one would come.
...
No.
Jo Won-hong was weaker than ever.
Most of the Demon-Subduing Divine Orbs he had prepared had been destroyed, and he had been badly wounded by someone.
Given time, he could simply make more Demon-Subduing Divine Orbs, and his wounds would heal.
Jo Won-hong would only regain more strength as time passed.
On the other hand, the strength I had available would not grow any greater than this.
Besides, he had discovered that A-ri and Mi-ro possessed tremendous power.
Stop here and give the Fire Cult Leader a chance?
He would do everything he could to separate A-ri and Mi-ro from me.
Even if killing Jo Won-hong here got us all wiped out, that would not be a bad trade.
The scenario in Room 205 was not complicated.
The Fire Cult was the enemy, and Jo Won-hong was irreplaceable to the Fire Cult.
So...
If we killed Jo Won-hong here, we would win!
Slowly, I turned my head.
As if she had been waiting, A-ri’s eyes met mine.
A smile came to my face.
I knew A-ri was thinking the same thing I was.
A-ri knew I was thinking the same thing she was.
“Haah!”
A-ri released all the blood from her body and summoned a red vortex.
With a thunderous roar, Cha Jin-cheol charged the Fire Cult Leader.
Jo Won-hong swung his fan with a grim expression.
* * *
“Crimson Flame Iron Fan! Pass judgment upon the most wicked one here!”
The moment the fan gave off five-colored radiance, I immediately spoke to the Phantom Demon.
‘Get out of my body now!’
If the Phantom Demon continued sharing my body, the Crimson Flame Iron Fan would undoubtedly pass judgment on me.
Of course, I did not forget to offer the Phantom Demon a carrot.
‘Don’t worry even if you die! I’ll make sure to take the Soul Box and your soul out of here!’
The Phantom Demon understood and readily left my body.
Up until then, everyone shared the same thought.
‘The Crimson Flame Iron Fan will judge the Phantom Demon.’
... That was not what happened.
“Kyahhh!”
A shrill scream pierced our ears.
Everyone, even the Phantom Demon that had taken over a nearby Fire Cult follower and the Fire Cult Leader who had used the Crimson Flame Iron Fan, stared toward Mi-ro in shock.
Blue flames engulfed Mi-ro in an instant and burned her into a handful of ashes!
Naturally, Jin-cheol, whom Mi-ro had summoned, vanished like a bubble as well.
“W-What?”
“What in the world?”
“Mi-ro!”
What was going on?
In the first run, had the Crimson Flame Iron Fan not burned Mi-ro to death because she was a follower of the Phantom Demon?
If the Phantom Demon and one of its followers were together, then the Phantom Demon should obviously have been the source of evil and been judged first.
Why did the fan ignore the Phantom Demon and kill Mi-ro even in this situation?
I forced myself to stop thinking about it.
Whatever the reason, the result was not bad.
The Crimson Flame Iron Fan, the Fire Cult Leader’s greatest weapon, had been used on Mi-ro.
That meant the fan could no longer threaten the Phantom Demon!
“Oh... How fascinating.”
The Phantom Demon, borrowing the body of a Fire Cult follower, gave me a chilling smile.
“Let us do this together.”
The Phantom Demon’s Soul-Shifting Demon Art.
My Grimoire.
Evil mysteries with different origins that had reached similar ends.
The two powers struck the Fire Cult Leader at once.
* * *
“Cough!”
... That hurt.
“Ghk!”
“My lord, are you all right?”
Black blood began spraying from my mouth.
“I only got hit once...”
“I apologize.”
It was not the Phantom Demon’s fault.
It really was not.
If there was a problem, it was that the one remaining Demon-Subduing Divine Orb seemed to be some kind of custom-made product. It was ridiculously powerful.
And Jo Won-hong was disgustingly strong.
I really had only been hit once!
Yet that single blow had crushed my insides, and chunks of flesh began spilling from my mouth.
It was not as though we had achieved nothing.
The Fire Cult Leader’s condition was even worse.
Both arms had been torn off, and he was now a panting lump of flesh with only one leg remaining.
That was Jo Won-hong’s current state.
Only then did he realize our great secret.
“You... were not one person!”
“You finally figured it out?”
“You, who are you? You cannot be the Phantom Demon!”
“You don’t need to know, you bastard!”
Jo Won-hong spat black blood, then glared at the Phantom Demon one last time and cursed.
“You... vermin!”
“I’ll hear your final words.”
“What? King? My lord? Ha! Yu-seong, true to your lowly nature, have you found yourself another ‘master’?”
Yu-seong?
Was that the Phantom Demon’s real name?
“...”
“Heh, heh! Did you think I would not know what you were long ago?”
“I...”
“You lowborn bastard! Yes, now that this master of yours is dead, are you planning to seek out another? You-”
“I will survive no matter what!”
--- Crunch!
The Phantom Demon’s hand crushed Jo Won-hong’s head.
...
Mi-ro had died to the Crimson Flame Iron Fan.
After pushing Old Blood to its limit, A-ri had perished together with hundreds of Fire Cult followers.
Jo Won-hong was dead now.
And I... would die soon as well.
I had been drawing on the Grimoire’s power at its limit for quite some time.
I was not anxious. Really.
I was not just convincing myself I had won. I had clear evidence.
The contents of Scenario Understanding shining before my eyes were proof.
「Scenario: Curse Room - ‘Absolute Master’
At last, when Han Ga-in, trapped within Mount Cheonjang, awakened, he realized the Fire Cult had surrounded the entire mountain.
Will he retreat? Or will he fight?
Han Ga-in chose battle and was finally able to defeat Jo Won-hong.
Great dangers bring great rewards!
Han Ga-in risked great danger and was able to obtain the sweet fruit of victory.」
Great danger had been overcome, great reward had been received, and the sweet fruit of victory had been obtained.
The meaning was obvious from the wording alone, wasn’t it?
It meant everything was over.
The scenario was not even updating anymore. Yes, there was no doubt.
The story prepared by the Hotel ended here.
But...
Why was I so uneasy?
Someone approached through my blurring vision.
“My king...”
Ah, I got it now. It was because of this bastard.
Mi-ro and A-ri were dead, and I would soon die. The only one left alive was this bastard.
Why did that make me uneasy?
Would the Phantom Demon suddenly do something again? No, that could not be it.
The Phantom Demon was an entity that could do anything for survival.
Maybe it would have been different if he did not know the truth about the Hotel, but now that he did, the Phantom Demon could not betray us.
He could not survive unless my companions took the Inheritance, the Soul Box, and the Phantom Demon’s soul inside it out of Room 205.
“From now on, I shall do my utmost in my own way.”
“...”
“I swear that I have not the slightest intention of betraying my king. This much, I promise sincerely.”
“...”
“I will make this easy for you. We will meet outside.”
As my consciousness collapsed, I shouted until the very end.
Do your utmost at what? Just do nothing and stay quiet!
* * *
- Lee Eun-sol
Within a single night, one unbelievable piece of news after another came in.
First, Cha Jin-cheol suddenly croaked and died.
I’m not joking. He really died all of a sudden while eating.
It was such an abrupt death that I could guess the reason.
That damned Time Lender! It had to be that.
The Jin-cheol from the past must have died somewhere far away.
Second, Jo Won-hong was dead.
That was truly hard to believe, but soldiers who had arrived at Mount Cheonjang sent us Jo Won-hong’s head. There was no denying it.
Jo Won-hong could not possibly have had the Phantom Demon’s talent for changing bodies, so he was definitely dead.
“Doesn’t this mean it’s over?”
Grandfather quickly cut off Elena’s shocked cry.
“Elena, stop saying such unlucky things-”
“Am I wrong?”
“... Even you, Eun-sol!”
No, she was right!
Most of the Thirteen Commanders had died in the fighting, and Jo Won-hong, an absolute master, was dead too?
Even if the Fire Cult rose from the dead, it could never recover now.
Sure enough, before half a day had passed, letters began arriving from every direction.
All sorts of factions that had sided with the Fire Cult because they thought the Empire would fall began begging forgiveness and swearing loyalty to the imperial family.
“Wow! What was that, Grandfather? The Heavenly Dragon Gate says they were deceived by the Fire Cult’s wicked scheme. What do you think?”
“They were deceived, all right. They thought the Fire Cult would win, but it lost.”
Only then did Grandfather accept it.
We had won. We had won the war!
All that remained was the eradication of the Fire Cult remnants, and we did not even need to step in for that.
It was already underway.
And so, we celebrated the victory that was soon to come.
Footnotes:
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