Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 534

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 533: Room 207, Gate Room - Fourth Trial ‘The Fallen King’ (19)

──────

- Han Ga-in

“One thing bothers me. Was this truly the Holy Mother's intention, this vicious world?”

That question started the discussion.

“Don’t think like an ordinary person. Think like the head of the Holy See.”

“Like the head of the Holy See?”

“She’d pity the ten percent dying in agony. Of course she would. But from the Holy See’s perspective...”

“About that many people suffered in the old world anyway?”

“That’s it.”

The horrific realization of Marx and Hitler’s blended dreams.

But what if I viewed the world from Aedia’s perspective as the head of the Holy See?

Even in the old world, around ten percent of humanity suffered at the hands of Chaos Entities for one reason or another.

So Paradise was not a place where ten percent suffered. It was a place where ninety percent had been saved.

--- Tap!

Grandpa lightly tapped the table and spoke.

“The final boss of Room 207 is Aedia. Or the Mirror. Do you all agree?”

Everyone, including me, nodded.

Now that the end of Room 207 was faintly in sight, I believed resolving it meant bringing down Holy Mother Aedia and destroying the original Mirror she possessed.

“Let’s do this. Ga-in, fly to the moon and fight Aedia! While you’re at it, figure out her full strength. It’d be great if you kill her, but it doesn’t matter if you fail. If you fail...”

“Mook-seong can turn back time. We still have nearly three weeks left, right?”

“That’s it!”

Grandpa’s plan was simple.

I would head straight to the moon, fight Aedia, and determine the Holy Mother’s capabilities.

If I won, great. If I lost, we would turn back time and fight again from a more favorable position.

It sounded plausible, but there was one problem.

“Did you forget the note?”

「Horus, be careful of the sky. If you act too conspicuously, you’ll be found out.」

“...”

“There’s an unidentified eye in the sky. It can’t find us right now thanks to measures Aedia took.”

“If we act conspicuously, we’ll be found out... Would flying to the moon count as conspicuous?”

“Obviously.”

Everyone fell silent.

The Holy Mother was on the moon, but to fly there, I would have to fight that eye.

Wasting too much power on the eye before I even met the Holy Mother seemed pointless.

“Should we just turn back time now? If we return to before Aedia’s reality alteration, that eye didn’t exist yet.”

A-ri immediately pointed out the flaw.

“Idiot. Then you’d have to fight her without knowing her capabilities.”

I was about to get lost in thought, expecting a long meeting, when someone knocked.

A hotel employee?

--- Ding-dong!

While Grandpa, Mi-ro, and I hurriedly threw on clothes, A-ri went outside and returned with a guest bundled up from head to toe like us.

“Ahh! A-ri, I’m not fully dressed yet-”

“It’s fine. Just take them off.”

“Pfft! You’re all so cute.”

“Sophia!”

Our visitor was Sophia!

As expected of a great witch, a plane crash was nothing to her.

Just take them off?

Even if it was Sophia, if she felt instinctive disgust toward us...

“Sophia is one of the ten percent.”

That settled the matter.

* * *

Sophia’s explanation went on for a long time.

Unlike us, who had only awakened a few hours ago, Sophia had spent the past week walking through the changed world with a clear mind. She knew far more than we did.

“Just as A-ri said, I was among the unchanged ten percent. It was probably Aedia’s choice.”

Aedia had said she would use “us” as insurance against her own failure.

Sophia had been included in that “us.”

“Thanks to that, I had a very hard time! Everywhere I went, people wanted to kill me. It brought back memories of my childhood, when witch hunts were rampant.”

“... You must’ve had a hard childhood.”

“Of course. Still, I could endure it. I waited for all of you to wake up.”

“You did well.”

Afterward, we told Sophia about the plan we had made.

We inevitably gave her a brief explanation of One More Chance. There was no way to explain it otherwise.

“Y-you can turn back time? That’s possible?”

“It is.”

Apparently shocked, Sophia stood up and paced in circles for quite a while.

“Have you calmed down?”

“Yes.”

“You understand the plan, right? And the problem with it?”

“Yes. The Guardian is the problem, correct?”

The being that had pressured us a few hours earlier was called the Guardian.

The people of this changed world believed the Guardian was an Apostle sent down by God.

“It really does protect the world. It’s like a vaccine that eliminates rampaging demons.”

“Hmm...”

That explanation let me understand the rough structure of the Paradise Aedia had created.

First, she had created a distortion similar to Song-i’s Affinity in ninety percent of humanity.

The chosen cared for and loved one another, while Chaos Entities felt affection toward them.

That could greatly reduce the number of Chaos Entities harming humans, but not eliminate it entirely.

Even Song-i, the true owner of Affinity, had been attacked many times.

There were beings like vampires that needed to harm humans to survive, and there were monsters that simply rampaged because they were insane.

The former were restrained by offering up the ten percent as “Sacrifice,” while the latter were eliminated through the Guardian’s power.

“... It seems more complete than I expected. But can this really free ninety percent of humanity from the fear of Chaos Entities?”

Mi-ro tilted her head as she asked.

“But, um, isn’t this scenario one the Hotel considers a failure?”

That was why it had been collected by the Hotel, adapted, and set as a Gate Room.

It was definitely a wrong answer.

I just wasn’t sure why it was wrong.

--- Tap!

Grandpa struck the table again to get our attention.

“Enough philosophical worries! What matters is resolving Room 207!”

“...”

Normally, I would’ve agreed with Grandpa’s attitude.

This time, though, a strange intuition tickled at my mind.

Why was it the wrong answer?

Answering that question felt like it might be important in Room 207...

Sophia spoke again.

“Let me summarize your plan. You want to go to the moon and determine the Holy Mother’s capabilities. If you win, great. If you lose, you’ll turn back time and fight from a favorable position. But the Guardian is preventing you from going to the moon. Is that right?”

“Exactly.”

“One method comes to mind...”

“Oh! Tell us.”

“The Guardian is incredibly powerful, but there’s only one.”

“Ah?”

“Someone else just needs to draw that eye’s attention.”

In simple terms, someone other than me would draw the Guardian’s aggro while I went to the moon to fight the Holy Mother.

A-ri asked the most important question.

“Who would do that?”

“Um...”

“You know there’s no point if someone throws Florida into chaos to draw its attention, then dies to the Guardian’s eye beam in 0.1 seconds, right?”

“...”

Simply drawing its attention wasn’t enough.

They had to hold out against the Guardian until I reached the moon and determined the Holy Mother’s strength.

“I’m not confident. It’s a monster Aedia made to protect the entire planet.”

“I-I have a Mirror Shard, so-”

A-ri firmly cut Sophia off.

“The Mirror is a Magical Artifact that brings Yaldabaoth’s power into reality. The Guardian is a monster Yaldabaoth created at Aedia’s request.”

“...”

“You’re saying you’ll use Yaldabaoth’s power to kill Yaldabaoth’s Apostle? Do you think Yaldabaoth will lend you its power?”

In the end, the question was who besides me could face the Guardian, which radiated such an overwhelming presence in the sky.

If we couldn’t solve that, our only option was to turn back time and head to the moon with no information.

The discussion reached another deadlock.

“Should I... Um, should I try?”

Mi-ro spoke cautiously.

Midnight Mi-ro could probably face the Guardian.

Was this the right time to expend Midnight Mi-ro?

It seemed like it.

“Mi-ro.”

“Yeah!”

“As you said, now might be an appropriate time to expend Midnight Mi-ro-”

--- Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang again.

Sophia had already joined us, so this time it had to be a hotel employee!

“Clothes! Clothes!”

“Over there! Give me my top!”

“Sophia! Your mask, your mask!”

“Eek! Lord Horus, why are you suddenly taking off your top-”

“No, I wasn’t trying to take it off-”

“Sophia, Ga-in is always like this.”

Everyone frantically got dressed.

A-ri, who had gone to meet the employee for us again, returned immediately.

Her expression was strange.

“Sophia.”

“W-what? Is it an employee? I’m almost dressed-”

“Sophia.”

Sophia finally sensed something strange and looked confused.

“What is it?”

“You, fifty years ago...”

“Fifty years ago?”

“... Didn’t you say you killed Fortuna?”

And then.

--- Crack!

The door split apart in an instant.

A-ri narrowed her eyes and summoned the Irregular Polyhedron.

Grandpa instinctively summoned One More Chance.

Sophia clenched the Mirror Shard so tightly that blood flowed from her palm.

Amid all this, a young man entered with an utterly confident bearing.

Amid the strange tension, he looked at me and spoke.

“Wow! Brother Ga-in! It’s been so long!”

The moment I heard that familiar voice, my tension vanished.

At least, mine did.

* * *

A brief peace followed.

At least two people in this room, Mi-ro and I, had never clashed with Fortuna. We could treat him entirely as Park Seung-yeop.

He knew that too, so he only spoke to Mi-ro and me.

“Brother Ga-in, wasn’t that a little too harsh? Considering how everyone suffered because of Aedia...”

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll explain everything step by step once we get outside.”

“It’s fine. You’re smart, Brother Ga-in. You must’ve had a plan. I’m really happy to see you. Ah, it’s been a while, Mi-ro!”

“Really? It feels like I saw you pretty recently.”

“Ha ha! Is that thanks to the Immortal Sarcophagus? I’m jealous. I’ve been awake for so long that it’s been stressful.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be. I’m just glad we’ve met now.”

He seemed to be rationally suppressing any resentment or disappointment he felt toward me.

Even toward Mi-ro, who had spent a comfortable time in the Immortal Sarcophagus unlike him, he said he was glad to see her.

It was mature.

That was why it felt awkward.

Was it because Seung-yeop in my memories had been a middle schooler who thought about games all the time?

“I heard your conversation on the way here. My hearing is pretty good.”

“Oh! Is that martial arts too? You must be pretty strong now.”

“Ha, Brother Ga-in. From now on, call me Park Seung-yeop, the Greatest Martial Artist Under Heaven.”

“Ha ha!”

“The problem is who’ll draw the Guardian’s attention, right? I’ll do it.”

In any case, once we started talking, the tension naturally eased.

I had heard so many ominous stories about Fortuna from the others, but the young man before me looked like Park Seung-yeop in every way, not Fortuna.

Could it be an act good enough to fool me?

No matter how I looked at it, Seung-yeop didn’t seem like the type who would become good at acting just because time had passed.

A-ri had said it herself.

Fortuna was Seung-yeop twisted by the Mirror, and A-ri’s “hypnotherapy” was returning him to Seung-yeop.

So it was only natural that this young man was Park Seung-yeop-

“Everyone, get back! Now!”

There was one person here who could never forgive Fortuna.

--- Ting!

Sophia made the Mirror Shard glow, Seung-yeop frowned, and everyone was taken aback.

“Sophia!”

“Lord Horus, you’re being deceived right now!”

“...”

“This man is a monster. You know what he did, don’t you?”

A-ri tried to persuade her again.

“Sophia, I’ve told you several times. He’s different from the Fortuna you know. He’s returned to before the Mirror twisted him, to when he was Horus’s, um, angel-”

“Shut up!”

A-ri fell silent at the sudden outburst.

She could feel the anger, grief, and resentment raging like a storm.

This wasn’t a situation where reason would work.

“This man was already dead! I killed him with the Mirror! I turned him into a writhing lump of flesh!”

“... Sophia.”

“Lord Horus, please listen to me. This monster must be killed.”

“He’s not Fortuna. He’s Park Seung-yeop, my companion, no, my angel.”

Sophia’s eyes went blank.

“... Are you giving me an order?”

“What?”

“If you order me not to attack, I’ll obey. I am your Pontiff.”

That caught me slightly off guard.

Force her to obey?

I could do it, but she was Eun-sol’s daughter, practically one of my companions who had waited for me for so long. It felt wrong to go that far...

At that moment.

The young man turned to Sophia with a bitter smile.

“You still hate me.”

“Of course I do! I spent thousands of nights waiting for the moment I could kill you! Could I forget burying my mother with bloodied hands, even after a thousand years?”

“So you used your master as bait?”

She used her master as bait?

What was that supposed to mean?

I looked to A-ri in confusion, but she had no idea either.

Come to think of it, none of us knew exactly how Sophia had killed Fortuna.

Without a word, Seung-yeop walked to the window and touched the glass as though he were tracing someone’s figure.

“After Sister A-ri woke me from that long stupor, I thought about something.”

The first thought Fortuna had after returning to Seung-yeop.

“I had to put Yumi back into the Soul Box.”

“Ah...!”

A-ri’s mouth fell half open.

“Fortunately, Yumi’s final Fragment remained in the world. I believed that if I put it inside, I could save Yumi.”

“Seung-yeop, you...”

Grandpa’s eyes trembled.

“Yumi might not be sane. Her personality might have fragmented, making her a madwoman. But that was fine. I could keep her by my side and care for her. Even if she couldn’t recover here, if I could somehow take her outside...”

Yumi couldn’t recover inside Room 207.

What about after returning to the Hotel?

What if we used Eun-sol’s Flute?

What if we got some special means from the Merchant?

I thought it was possible.

As far as I knew, the Hotel was the closest thing to omnipotent in the universe.

“So, Sophia, I followed your guidance into the cave. I was going to put Yumi, half-collapsed, back into the Soul Box. To do that, I had to remove my soul from it.”

The moment Fortuna lost his immortality to put Yumi back in the Soul Box.

“That day, I died once by your hand. I wasn’t the only one who died. Caught in the savage curse you unleashed, even Yumi’s final Fragment vanished forever.”

Sophia had killed Seung-yeop and Yumi.

“And you still haven’t let go of your grudge.”

Everyone was speechless.

Then a cold, mocking voice spoke.

“Sorry, but it wasn’t me who tore my master into pieces. It was the Holy Mother. You’re the Holy Mother’s slave. And you blame me for my master’s death?”

Well, it wasn’t exactly wrong.

Seung-yeop readily admitted it.

“You’re right. At least between you and me, I’m not in any position to act high and mighty.”

“If you realize that-”

“So I prepared a gift for you as well.”

“What? Ha! The only thing you can give me is death!”

“Listen a little longer. Pontiff Sophia.”

“What-”

“I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.”

An offer she couldn’t refuse?

“I will... send you...”

“What?”