WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 454: Room 206, Curse Room - The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days Re (17)

──────

- Yoo Song-i

Before getting down to business, I looked back on what had happened during the second run.

What kind of person was Mayor Leon Kadyrov?

Someone who believed lower-class citizens could be sacrificed for the city at any time.

Someone who didn't truly trust anyone, not even his blood relatives.

He definitely wasn't a good person.

But when it came to the city, he had an overwhelming sense of responsibility.

Strangely enough, he was like a Management Bureau agent.

The Progenitor, whose status was closer to that of a real agent, had seemed emotionally like an ordinary person...

Anyway, to gain control of the city without clashing with the mayor, we needed to meet two conditions.

First, reveal that the mayor himself was terminally ill.

Second, show that I was capable of sustaining the city.

What would make a good third condition?

“Dad. I have something to tell you.”

“You have something to say?”

Now it begins.

“A few days ago, I came into contact with an Order of Reason survivor who came up from the depths.”

“... How do you know that name?”

“That man said Paradise was in danger and that he needed to meet the person in charge of the city.”

“Ridiculous! The Progenitor said it had been over a hundred years since contact with the depths was cut off. How could there possibly be a survivor after all this time?”

Just as expected, the mayor knew nothing about the time delay in the depths.

“... Strictly speaking, he wasn't alive.”

“What?”

* * *

--- Whoosh!

The salty wind tickled my nose.

“Wow! The beach this time? Where are we?”

“...”

It was probably Jumunjin Beach in Gangneung.

I remembered coming here often with my family when I was young.

Back then, my parents still got along.

“It's nice that no one's here! We could even go swimming.”

“...”

This was the most secret place in the world, a dream.

There shouldn't have been anyone else here in the first place!

That cursed Hotel had turned even dreams, the final place of rest, into somewhere you couldn't let your guard down.

“Um... Song-i?”

“...”

“Th-that isn't a tidal wave, is it? I mean, a tsunami on a Korean beach... Aaaah! Song-iii!”

My little world answered my anger with a tsunami.

Thanks to that, Ga-in, who was beside me, clung to a nearby tree so he wouldn't be swept away.

“W-why am I the only one getting swept away? You're right next to me-”

“Because it's my dream. Hah! Stop!”

“...?”

“Huh? Why isn't the tidal wave stopping?”

“Aaaah!”

* * *

Flash!

I woke up in bed with that sensation.

“...”

The bed tilted to the right.

Because someone heavier than me was lying beside me.

Ga-in clutched his head and complained.

“We agreed before going in this time, so why was there a tidal wave?”

“You might not know this, but my dreams are usually full of hellish tidal waves and meteor collisions.”

“What kind of nonsense is that-”

“Next time, it'll be volcanoes and dinosaurs.”

“I kind of want to see the dinosaurs.”

“...”

From now on, I planned to make my dreamscape hellish.

That way, this man I couldn't let my guard down around wouldn't casually enter my dreams again!

“What? Why are your clothes so dirty? You're covered in dirt.”

“You didn't know? I slept outside.”

“What do you mean... Ah.”

Come to think of it, he probably couldn't use Kingdom of Dreams within the range of Indomitable Reason.

Had Ga-in gone outside Paradise through the passage he learned about during the previous run?

He must have used Kingdom of Dreams while sleeping outside, which was why he was so filthy.

This painting was troublesome in many ways, but it was an incredibly useful tool.

What if we didn't have Kingdom of Dreams?

Even getting Ga-in into the Floating Mansion would have been a major challenge.

“Wait a moment. We're going to meet the mayor soon, so you need to look dignified-”

“No, I just got a good idea. Let's go right away.”

“... All right.”

* * *

--- Creak!

When the door opened, Leon, who had been reviewing documents late into the night, looked up.

“What is it at this hour?”

“... That man has appeared.”

“What? The security system detected no intruder at all. How could he suddenly-”

Even the great mayor was flustered by the thought of a mysterious man claiming to be an Order survivor breaking into the mansion.

I spoke as calmly as possible.

Like a girl hiding some secret, I tried to give off the most mysterious air I could manage.

Like A-ri.

“Why are you so surprised? Stay put. He'll be here soon.”

Perhaps he sensed something unusual in the daughter he had thought immature. The mayor's eyes wavered as he looked at me.

Then a huge man responsible for guarding the mansion entered through another door.

“Robert!”

“...”

“I just heard from Song-i. She says an intruder entered the mansion, so activate the security system at once-”

“Mayor, you live in a fine place.”

A bizarre voice, like an iron skewer scraping against metal.

Clearly, it wasn't Robert's voice.

He must have used the Grimoire to control Robert's body, but what was that voice?

Had he learned some disgusting voice technique from Elena?

“... Who are you?”

“How envious I am! We lived in a place worse than hell, treating suffering as sweetness, yet how can you alone enjoy such luxury?”

The mayor's face turned slightly pale.

His manner naturally became more respectful too.

If this person really came from the Order, he was practically the mayor's superior.

“I-if you are from the Order, please behave like a person. You have nothing to gain by threatening me.”

“Nothing to gain? Do you truly believe that?”

“What are you-”

--- Crash!

“Guh!”

The next moment, the man suddenly lunged forward and seized the mayor by the throat.

Unpredictable actions, supernatural strength, a demonic presence.

Even knowing it was all an act, I was impressed.

If I felt this way, wouldn't it be hard for the mayor to even keep his composure?

“What a fresh body! Your beating heart is truly tempting!”

“Ghk! P-please calm-”

“Child, I served humanity all my life. I rotted away in a lightless abyss without wealth or honor.”

“Y-you suffered greatly. I understand, so-”

“Then shouldn't you offer up your body for me as well?”

“Mmgh!”

... Wow!

This felt exactly like a horror movie.

The mayor didn't know it, but Ga-in taking over his body was one of the scenarios we had considered too.

We discarded that option.

Not because we wanted to respect the accomplishments of a mayor who had devoted his life to sustaining Paradise.

It was because taking on the mayor's role meant wasting a great deal of time on meaningless administrative work.

I knew from experience.

It was about time for me to step in.

--- Flash!

Cold, sharp light emitted from my bracelet pierced the office.

As if it would instantly drive out the madness of a corrupted sorcerer!

The next moment, the giant holding the mayor by the collar twisted his entire body and opened his eyes wide.

“Huh? Huh? M-Mayor! What is-”

“Ghk! R-Robert! If you've come to your senses, put me down-”

How confused must Robert have been?

He had only done his best to protect the mansion, but after losing consciousness, he woke up to find himself nearly strangling his superior to death.

Unfortunately, his terrible day wasn't over yet.

“A-Aah! My hand... My hand!”

Robert's right hand writhed like a squirming worm.

Seeing his hand move against his will, Robert's face went white.

First his right hand, then his wrist, and soon his right shoulder and upper body.

Like a venomous snake's poison spreading from his hand through his entire upper body, the area of his body he couldn't control gradually spread.

It looked as if a demon were toying with a human.

In a situation like this, many people reacted similarly.

“G-God! Progenitor!”

Because they couldn't handle it with their own strength.

Because it was a disaster beyond their abilities.

All they could do was pray to a great transcendent being.

Fortunately, Robert had salvation this time as well.

--- Flash!

When the bracelet shone once more, Robert's arm returned to normal.

The mayor and Robert turned their eyes toward me, who appeared to be suppressing a demon with some unknown power.

“L-Lady Song-i!”

“Song-i! Are you suppressing that monster with your bracelet?”

Could the bracelet suppress the power of the Grimoire?

It could probably notice Possession, but anything beyond that seemed difficult.

In the first place, all of this was just an act.

So I put on an even more reliable front.

“Yes. Both of you, stay put. Hoo... Cain!”

There was no response.

Of course not. A demonic being had to act with gravitas.

“Cain, are you thinking of fighting me? Show yourself already.”

--- Creak!

Once again, the office door opened, and a man entered.

Then I saw the mayor's eyes trembling aimlessly from side to side and realized it.

This man was afraid of Ga-in.

He was overwhelmed by supernatural terror.

Everything we had shown him until now was meant to create that feeling.

* * *

- Kim Sang-hyeon

There was a contradiction concerning the Demon King.

The records left behind by the Order, which had sealed the Demon King despite its shortcomings, and Ga-in's experiences of contending, however imperfectly, against the Demon King's power had something in common.

The Demon King was closer to a cosmic natural disaster incapable of communication than a being with a personality.

Then how could such a being have worshipers?

It was possible that worshipers served it of their own accord.

Humans had always worshiped even natural phenomena like typhoons and lightning as gods.

But a typhoon couldn't grant Revelation to humans.

During the second run, the Demon King gave its worshipers a Revelation that Han Ga-in was a false prophet.

Was the Demon King actually capable of communication?

Or was there another secret within the Cult, separate from the Demon King?

One of those had to be true.

I intended to uncover that secret.

* * *

“Kadyrov deceived us! He cast us into an endless cycle of suffering-”

--- Click!

In Paradise's underground cavern, where the gathering was underway, someone approached me.

The nearby worshipers bowed to her with faintly moved expressions.

It made sense.

To ordinary believers, A-ri was living proof that a god existed.

A-ri stopped in front of me.

“...”

“...”

Her eyes asked one final question.

Are you really going through with the plan?

When we discussed it outside, A-ri had opposed my plan until the end.

I answered with my eyes as well.

Let's proceed.

Then a small hand shot out like lightning and seized me by the collar.

“Got you!”

At her sharp voice, the people around us began murmuring, and even the person giving the sermon stared at us in surprise.

“W-what is this? L-Lady A-ri? What is-”

“Everyone, attentiooon! I caught Kadyrov's spy!”

The people of the Demon King Cult gathered in the underground cavern feared and hated no one more than the mayor.

At the mention of a spy sent by that mayor, everyone was shocked.

The people who had gathered around me tied me up in confusion, while A-ri searched my clothes and found my identification card.

“Everyone, look at this! Second-Class Citizen, Kim Sang-hyeon!”

The Demon King Cult didn't discriminate against its followers based on class, so being a Second-Class Citizen wasn't a problem in itself.

The problem was the next phrase.

“An inspection agent working directly under the mayor! See?”

I nearly laughed.

Wasn't A-ri finding this situation absurd too?

To A-ri, a Management Bureau agent, and me, with my special forces experience, this was so implausible that it fell apart after three seconds of thought.

What idiot Secret Agent would carry identification so carelessly?

“Urgh, i-it's real! He's the mayor's inspection agent!”

“Who the hell is this bastard?”

“You son of a bitch-”

“I had no idea he was this kind of person-”

Still, this was enough to deceive ordinary people.

Though could this even be called deception?

Under Room 206's setting, I really was a Secret Agent.

--- Thud! Wham!

The enraged believers continued beating me.

A-ri looked slightly flustered as she tried to stop them, but calming them didn't seem easy.

It was fine. This much hadn't been a big deal even before I came to the Hotel.

Thankfully, it took less than ten minutes for the Cult's leaders to arrive, looking flustered.

“An inspection agent? What nonsense is this!”

“You worm! We'll skin you alive-”

“Wait!”

A sharp voice silenced the crowd.

It was Raymond, the highest-ranking among the Cult elders.

They were also the first person to notice that Ga-in was a fake during the previous run.

“We should interrogate him before killing him. This bastard-”

“I'll interrogate him.”

When A-ri spoke calmly, the elders stirred.

I had felt it during the previous run as well, but A-ri's standing wasn't as high as expected in meetings of the Cult's upper ranks.

It was probably because, under the setting, she was a young girl.

“I caught him, didn't I? Do you know the power of blood?”

That was why A-ri had to put on this show of catching me.

At least in this situation, A-ri needed to have more influence.

“... Do as you wish.”

It's starting.

...

At that moment, an indescribably powerful pressure weighed down on my heart.

With the experience I had built up at the Hotel and A-ri's help, deceiving the Cult's humans wouldn't be difficult...

But how would the Demon King react to an attempt at contact from the participants' side?

I didn't know.

Footnotes:

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