WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 523: Room 207, Gate Room - Fourth Trial ‘The Fallen King’ (9)
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- Han Ga-in
There are times in life when you have to grit your teeth and endure, no matter how difficult things are.
Studying for college entrance exams or a job is a prime example.
No matter how miserable it is, there is no reward unless you can endure memorizing English vocabulary and solving math problems.
After recovering the Kingdom of Dreams and taking care of various matters, I was now attending church.
This was exactly the time when I needed to grit my teeth and endure.
“Horus once said, ‘You who are small and young, love your neighbors and do not hesitate to give. The love you spread today shall become the bedrock that supports you in the Celestial Realm.’”
Loving your neighbors and helping one another was nice enough advice...
But who said that?
Could it possibly have been me?
“Book of Sophia, Chapter 8, Verse 7. When the embankment collapsed and water began leaking through, Horus said, ‘Each position carries a different duty. Those in low positions need only devote themselves to their daily labor, but those who govern others require a broader view.’”
Did I really say that?
“Therefore, faithful believers must also act according to their duties. If you run even a small business, you must not cling to immediate profits and should cultivate a long-term perspective-”
This was getting more and more embarrassing.
“Misaiah Primer, Chapter 22, Verse 7. Jealousy is the greatest seed of misfortune. Everyone possesses different things. If you begin envying every little thing you lack, you shall be unhappy for the rest of your life. Reflect upon what you have and be grateful for it.”
What the hell had ‘Horus’ been doing, going around saying every kind of thing?
It sounded like I had lived thirty lives and realized every truth in the world!
By the halfway point, it was hard to hold back my laughter, so I listened with a stupid grin on my face.
When I looked over, Min-a in the back row was already half asleep.
Judging from the circumstances, ‘Horus’ was probably Ga-in summoned by Mi-ro’s Time Lender. But think about it.
Given the Time Lender’s nature, I could only have been summoned for an hour at most, and it must have been an emergency.
Would that ‘Horus’ have had time to travel through Egypt and Europe, saying sage-like things?
The priests of later generations must have gathered phrases that sounded good to them, made scriptures out of them, then slapped “Horus said” at the beginning.
Anyway, they were saying every good thing in the world had come out of my mouth, so I just kept grinning.
“Student Eun-ho, correct your attitude.”
“... I’m sorry.”
“She says not to laugh so much.”
“Got it.”
Apparently, me giggling by myself during the sermon had made the believer sitting beside me uncomfortable.
That was probably why Min-a said something too.
What was I now?
The first god in human history to apologize to one of his believers?
Let’s think seriously.
I was recovering the Sacred Sun after the Grimoire, but those were only preparations.
What was the true disaster of the fourth trial?
An unknown light descending from the sky and bringing ruin in an instant.
The heart of the trial was determining what that light was and how to stop it.
“Hmm...”
The moment that light descended could be considered a kind of time attack.
Of course, there was the possibility of enduring the light once with the Hourglass, then using Grandpa’s One More Chance to go back in time, but...
I had not even found the Hourglass yet.
“...”
There should still be some time left.
If the Hotel had intended to proceed immediately, it would have done so without taking away our Inheritances and Blessings.
Exactly how much time remained was unknown.
A week would be extremely tight. A month would still be urgent, but manageable.
If it was around six months, there would be enough time by Hotel standards to take a vacation in the middle of it.
Returning to the matter of recovering the Sacred Sun, the first problem was figuring out where it was.
I had heard that the Church of Horus’s ‘mysterious objects’ were mostly in America. Did that mean I had to go all the way to the United States?
I needed to think about this a little more-
“About 120 years ago, a very famous incident occurred in Spain. You have heard of the Spanish Disaster, haven’t you?”
Hmm?
“The exact cause of that disaster remains unknown, but one thing is certain. The Holy See suffered a severe blow from the incident. The Holy See, which had seemed ready to swallow the entire world, lay low for nearly fifty years.”
This much was information I could find online.
“Now, now! Believers, please maintain confidentiality from this point onward.”
From that moment, the sermon became a little rougher.
It was like, since they were all fellow believers, the priest could say things that would be troublesome if they got out.
“As you know, those Holy See bastards are a bunch of sons of bitches, aren’t they? They’re idiots who babble that only the being they worship is a god, while every other great being is a demon!”
The believers clapped and cheered as if they had been waiting for it.
The more devout they were, the more dissatisfied they seemed with the Holy See.
Those who had joined only recently looked a little startled, but they quickly began adapting as well.
Anyone who came to an emerging religion like the Church of Horus probably already held some resentment toward established religions.
“But those bastards suffered a catastrophe, no, let’s call it karmic retribution! Once they received their due and went quiet for fifty years, an opportunity finally came to Pontiff Sophia, who had endured silently until then.”
Pontiff Sophia...
“Then came the 1960s. The Holy See, which had been uncharacteristically humble, began expanding again. Thanks to that, the emerging religions that had been flourishing in Europe were completely swept aside in less than twenty years.”
If Europe had fallen, Asia was naturally next.
“Sometimes openly, sometimes from the shadows! The Holy See tirelessly plotted the downfall of our Cult. They committed terrorism against high-ranking figures and even orchestrated campaigns to destroy the reputations of famous believers who openly displayed their Faith.”
Hearing the priest’s clear anger made my heart feel uneasy too.
No matter that I was doing this to clear the room, the Church of Horus was a Cult my companions had created.
And they were people who followed me as, well, some great being.
“Then, seven years ago, a major incident occurred. Pontiff Sophia disappeared!”
Sophia had remained the unchanging leader of the Church of Horus ever since the Church of Horus began its full revival 120 years ago.
To believers, that supernatural longevity was proof of her holiness. To the Holy See, it must have been proof of her heresy.
Within the Cult, no one except Horus could approach her status.
That overwhelming authority became a problem after she vanished.
No one could replace Sophia.
As a result, the position of Pontiff had remained vacant for seven years.
They did not say it outright, but the priests seemed certain that the Holy See was responsible for Sophia’s disappearance.
“Ahem, Priest, why bring up something like this today...”
“Exactly.”
Perhaps because it was such a depressing story, some of the believers began looking uncomfortable.
It also seemed like a story so obvious that there was not a believer who did not know it.
Still, it was useful information for me, so-
“... Hmm?”
A sermon that made everyone uncomfortable, but was only useful to me?
And it just happened to come up on the day I attended?
Could someone in the Cult have intervened for my sake-
Krrrrrroooom!
Suddenly, thunder boomed as if the sky itself had been torn apart!
Everyone looked out the windows in shock. Dark clouds filled the sky, making it dark despite the morning hour.
“Uh... What was that sound?”
“It must have been thunder. Strange, though. The forecast did not say it would rain.”
“Haha, Mrs. Park, when do those weather bureau guys ever do their jobs properly? It’s probably-”
Krrrrrroooom!
Once again, an enormous blast seemed ready to explode the entire world, as if to shatter everyone’s complacency.
This time, it was not only thunder.
Bzzzz!
Ding ding ding ding!
“Your phone is ringing!”
“Let it go!”
Cell phone ringtones sounded from every direction.
I knew it.
A call coming in during a situation like this could not possibly be ordinary!
“Wh-What is it? I told you not to call while I’m at church-”
Smack!
The moment the middle-aged woman beside me tried to answer the phone, I knocked it away.
“Ah! S-Student! What are you-”
“Don’t answer it!”
I immediately stood and shouted at the people around me.
“Don’t answer! Hang up!”
As if they could not hear me, people began pulling out their phones.
“Honey, what? You want me to come outside?”
“Dong-sik, why are you calling so much? You want me to come out right now?”
“Oppa! I told you I was going to church this morning. So- Huh? You want me to come out and look at the sky?”
Every call was saying the same thing.
Come outside.
Come outside and look at the sky.
Was that normal?
This was obviously something like a Demon Disaster!
Creak!
Min-a, sitting behind me, climbed onto her chair and shouted like crazy.
“Everyone, close your phones! Something strange is happening, so you can’t go outside!”
It did not work at all this time either.
The words of a teenage boy and girl who had only recently joined the church did not carry much weight, and those who had answered their phones seemed to have already fallen under slight hypnosis.
Thud!
“Will you move? I have to get out!”
“Please, everyone! Please remain seated! Don’t you think something is wrong here?”
The priest stood at the exit, blocking it with a desperate expression.
It was fortunate that someone besides Min-a and me had kept their senses.
The problem was that there were three sane people and over a hundred insane ones.
“Come on! I told you something urgent came up!”
“Move! Get out of the way!”
“Priest Kim Myeong-hwan, won’t you move while we’re asking nicely?”
“Everyone... Please, please come to your senses! Those calls must be something strange-”
“You little bastard!”
In the chaos that erupted in an instant, I hurriedly grabbed Min-a.
“Do something! Like at the cafe! Tap something on the phone and-”
“I don’t have the power to make them sit back down. It’s usually for chasing people away! Can’t you do anything?”
Even with the Power of the Avatar, making hundreds of people sit at once would be far too much strain!
“...”
The Church of Horus clearly possessed supernatural power, but most ordinary believers were just regular humans.
If they went outside, they would surely suffer something terrible.
Usually, I did not concern myself with the well-being of every NPC while clearing the Hotel, but...
I did not want to be that cold this time.
These were people who had believed in and relied on ‘Horus’ for many years.
“Min-a, go tell the priest to turn off the lights.”
“What?”
From what I could see, the hypnosis was not that strong yet.
At this level, a small shock could bring their senses back for a moment.
Click!
As the lights throughout the large worship hall went out, the excited believers began to panic.
Some light entered through the windows, but the supernatural clouds outside had darkened everything there too.
“Huh? What’s going on? Did the power go out?”
“Oh, come on! We need to get outside quickly.”
“Priest, do you think I didn’t see that? Turning off the lights all of a sudden-”
Creeeak!
The sound of a window opening.
“Do not be afraid.”
The voice was somewhat awkward and uncomfortable, like metal scraping against metal.
The being speaking was not human.
That was why the situation was bizarre, yet also overwhelmingly sacred.
“Now that I have come to this place, do not be swayed by the devil’s crude temptations.”
“W-What is this...?”
The believers stood there blankly.
The hypnotic hold caused by the phones had long since been broken.
“Turn away from the beguiling voice. Step away from the path of death. I wish to protect you.”
As if waiting for that moment, the priest shouted desperately.
“Everyone, turn off your phones! Please!”
People who had ignored everything Min-a, the priest, and I said until then obediently turned off their phones as though they had never resisted.
“Sit down. Pray. Though the force of the Corrupted One fills the heavens, even the fiercest storm must eventually subside.”
“Pray. Pray.”
“Let us pray! Everyone, let us pray!”
“O Horus, protect foolish me and my family today as well...”
After barely calming things down, I grabbed Min-a and pulled her along.
“Let’s go!”
“Huh? Huh? We can go outside? But the situation out there-”
“I took a quick look.”
“You did?”
Min-a looked confused, then quickly understood.
“Ah, the parrot came in from outside, right? You saw through the parrot’s eyes-”
“Be quiet and let’s go.”
Just as I was about to consider what to do about the priest still blocking the door...
“...”
The priest clasped both hands and bowed with an expression of absolute faith.
“May all that you wish for come to pass.”
“...”
“I pay my respects to the Great One. Even if I cannot be saved, I pray that your will may be fulfilled.”
* * *
As I ran out of the church with Min-a, I spoke.
“Get ready to fight!”
“What is it like out there-!”
“Just picture a hell filled with monsters! Get your gun ready!”
When we finally reached the front gate and saw the situation outside the church, Min-a and I were speechless for a moment.
The world had become as dark as late evening, despite it still being morning.
People’s grief-filled wails rang out from every direction.
Incomprehensible conglomerations of malice had appeared throughout Seoul!
The moment I frowned, my phone began ringing.
Bzzzz!
I had not answered it. I had not even touched the phone.
As if none of that was necessary, a familiar voice sounded.
「What do you think?」
“... You.”
「We have met before, have we not? I vividly remember the first time we met beside the statue. I kneel and apologize for failing to recognize you then.」
“Hong Go-hak.”
「Look. This is the reality we must endure. The true face of the world that the Holy See conceals behind its murky Veil.」
“Did you cause this?”
「You are late. Far too late. Everything has already become irreversible! The End Times are approaching. Seoul’s destruction is only the beginning!」
Footnotes:
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