Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 539

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 538: Room 207, Gate Room - Fourth Trial ‘The Fallen King’ (24)

──────

- ???

I came to amid a storm.

My name was William Smith, thirty-two years old-

“...”

No.

My old name couldn't describe who I was now.

Who was I?

Just as indescribable despair began to consume my mind, a Revelation from the Great One descended.

「You are a Fragment that fell from the Celestial Realm.

You are part of the Great One.

You are one of the 348,000 remnants created when the star split apart.

Gather the other pieces.

Then ascend to the Celestial Realm.」

Ah...

Now I understood.

I was born human, but I was destined to stand as a god.

「Your number is 234,822.」

...

What did that number mean?

* * *

I heard a commotion early that morning.

It was Ariana, my kind neighbor next door.

“William! I have a favor to ask!”

“... What is it?”

“My husband's car is acting strange. I think it's leaking oil... Could I borrow your car?”

I should lend it to her.

No, I should just give it to her.

Things were supposed to end up in the hands of the people who needed them.

I had three cars, so there was no problem with giving one to Ariana-

“...”

Until yesterday, I would've smiled brightly and told her to take it.

I'd already given away plenty of things that way, and I'd also taken plenty of things myself.

But I didn't want to anymore.

It was my car.

I'd bought it with money I earned through hard work, hadn't I?

Why should I give my cherished car to someone else?

I didn't want to.

Still, she'd find it strange if I said that outright.

“Ariana, I'm sorry. That car's engine is in terrible condition too. I need to send it in for repairs.”

“Oh my! Then it can't be helped!”

It was a lie I made up because I didn't want to lend it to her, because I didn't want to give it away.

The woman left with a cheerful smile, never doubting my words.

Because lies could not exist in utopia.

Except for me.

...

Except for me!

“Gasp!”

My breathing quickened.

Only then did I realize what an immense ‘blessing’ I had received!

In Paradise, where everyone loved one another and knew no lies, I had gained the right to deceive others!

* * *

From that day on, miracles I couldn't have imagined back when I was an insignificant employee at a beverage company began to happen.

A picturesque house on the California coast.

Three beautiful yachts and supercars that made everyone nod the moment they heard their names.

Even famous paintings worthy of a museum!

Wealth fit for a leading businessman had become mine.

Getting it all had been absurdly easy.

Whenever I made up a convincing story, everyone believed me. Whenever I said in a desperate voice that I needed something, they even shed tears as they handed it over!

Idiots.

They were all morons!

I was the only human among creatures worse than monkeys!

What did I need to complete this happiness?

Naturally, a beautiful young lady who made my eyes light up!

The moment I met a girl with black hair, blue eyes, and an utterly mysterious air, I knew it was fate.

“M-my name is William. May I ask your name-”

“I want to see them.”

“Pardon? What?”

“I heard you have many beautiful paintings in your house. May I look at them?”

“O-of course!”

* * *

It was a moment I would never forget for the rest of my life.

A beautiful girl who seemed like she had stepped out of a dream was walking through my home!

It took all my strength to suppress the vulgar thoughts that kept rising in my head.

As evening fell over the California coast, I shared a drink with her and was about to talk about the future.

“Let's stop here. I was on guard just in case, but you're really nothing special.”

“Pardon? What are you suddenly-”

“You're too stupid. You don't even know my name.”

“W-what are you-”

The girl's blue eyes had turned as cold as ice. It wasn't anger so much as disappointment.

Her gaze, filled with pure contempt, was fixed on me.

Then dozens of terrifying eyes appeared behind her!

“Didn't you hear the Revelation?”

“Pardon?”

The moment she reached out, my whole body stiffened like stone.

It felt as if some incomprehensible force had stolen control of my body.

“You heard it at the beginning. Gather the other pieces and ascend to the Celestial Realm. That meant there were countless other pieces in the world besides you.”

“Mmph!”

“I pity you. Not you, but the Fragment that underwent Unification with such a stupid Host. You gained great power, and this is all you could think of? A big house, yachts, a pretty woman?”

“Urgh!”

“There's nothing wrong with being greedy. What's wrong is being too foolish to hide that greed. Well, I suppose this is where your fate ends.”

A chilling hand moved toward my head.

“What number are you?”

“Gurgle!”

“Forget it. At this level, you probably don't even know what the number means. The lower the number, the larger the piece. Being generous, yours must be somewhere in the 200,000s.”

I was scared.

I didn't want to die.

Please, save me!

“You aren't going to die.”

“...”

“An inferior Fragment will simply merge with a superior being.”

As her cold hand burrowed into my head and she swallowed the shining piece that had changed my life, William Smith's sense of self scattered like bubbles, and I came to one final realization.

Her name was Serena K Wilde, and she was Number 38.

“Did you really like me? How interesting. Since we were originally one, wouldn't this be a form of narcissism?”

* * *

- ???

“Long ago, the Holy Mother said this! Love your neighbor. Cherish the child next door as though they were your own. And then-”

Murmuring rose during the sermon.

When I discreetly raised my head, I saw a shaggy-haired young man entering through the church doors.

The young man lowered his head as if apologizing for disturbing the solemn atmosphere, and the congregation turned their attention back to me.

“...”

Focus on the sermon.

“Everyone, you've heard many words about love, haven't you? Doesn't it move your hearts?”

The congregation nodded as if they agreed completely.

“Shall we talk about something a little different today? Everyone! Did you know the flames of heresy are burning?”

The people began murmuring again.

It wasn't a sermon suited to a Paradise filled with love.

But my sermon was no ordinary sermon.

I gestured to those who had already been indoctrinated.

--- Clank! Clank!

The windows shut, and the lights dimmed.

Many of the congregation looked flustered, but the residents of Paradise did not easily suspect others.

“I have seen it! I have seen a force like clouds rising beyond the great Guardian. I have seen a devil burning the Paradise granted by the Holy Mother! This signifies the Four Horsemen of the End Times spoken of in the Book of Revelation-”

The people grew increasingly confused.

They couldn't accept words that rejected love, yet they had forgotten how to doubt and couldn't reject them either.

In that contradiction, the congregation slowly lost their way.

“Everyone, I love you. Every tear you shed pains my heart. Your storehouses are my storehouses, and your children are my children! So remember my words, and think them over carefully at home.”

By the end of the sermon, the lost lambs left the chapel with confused expressions and returned home.

...

Only one goat remained in the vast chapel.

“Do you have a question, young man?”

It was the shaggy-haired young man from before.

“Haha, no questions. I just think it's funny.”

“What do you mean?”

“We both know who the other is, so let's cut the act. Hey, pastor. What are you doing? Bewitching people to build an army or something?”

“...”

“Are you stupid? Do you think an army of ordinary people would help in a war between us? You'll just get exposed, like you are now!”

“...”

“Forget it. Just looking at you, you're probably in the 100,000s or higher. What a waste of your piece.”

The next moment, an invisible force stiffened my body like stone.

“... I'm afraid.”

“Don't be scared. It'll hurt for a moment, then it'll be over. After that, you'll become part of someone superior-”

“That's not what I'm afraid of.”

I was afraid.

I always was.

Every time, the moment of Unification terrified me.

“What?”

“Young man, it seems you've already gathered several pieces in Korea. Have you ever considered what will happen when all the pieces are gathered?”

“Are you stupid? Didn't you hear the Revelation? When the pieces are gathered, the god of the Celestial Realm-”

“Will that god be us?”

“What-”

--- Crack!

With a sound like stone breaking, my body began to move again.

“H-how!”

The young man's eyes widened in shock.

“Were you surprised to see a Fragment openly running a church in Seoul? Did it look like I was openly asking to be killed?”

“You-!”

“You thought I was a stupid piece. You should've considered other possibilities, including that it was a display of confidence.”

Heat filled my body.

The faithful hearts of the congregation gave me tangible strength.

--- Boom!

I rushed at him with lightning speed and seized his body. He could only writhe in pain, unable to do anything.

I had experienced this many times already.

Those who had awakened to the Book's power were frightening because of their strange tricks, but their physical strength was insignificant.

“I suppose this is the first time you've seen power like mine.”

“Urgh!”

“As you gather pieces and your rank rises, you gain mysterious powers. Some gain powers like yours, which toy with the bodies of others... Others gain powers like mine.”

I looked into his despair-filled eyes and gave him one final farewell.

“Since you don't even know that, it seems your fate ends here, young man.”

--- Crunch!

A Fragment, beaded with red droplets of blood, fell into my hand.

If I absorbed it, I would gain greater power and draw closer to the Celestial Realm.

I had done this many times already.

“...”

I hadn't lied when I told that unfortunate young man I was afraid.

The closer I drew to a higher realm by gathering pieces, the more a horrifying possibility consumed my thoughts.

When every piece was gathered, would I still remain?

“Phew...”

There was no choice.

If I didn't become stronger, someone stronger would simply swallow me.

So there were only two possible fates.

Become a god, or become a god's meal.

I was Number 16.

I was Seo Il-do.

...

At least, I still was.

* * *

- Kim Mook-seong

About two years ago.

Ga-in, that brat, A-ri, and Mi-ro went to the Moon.

I clung to a giant telescope, watching the Moon and waiting for the right moment to use One More Chance.

Then a brilliant light seemed to erupt from the Moon, and incomprehensible things began to happen.

The young man in front of me was a good example.

“The point of return was reset.”

“Is that so?”

He looked completely different from Ga-in. To begin with, he was a White young man.

Of course, Ga-in could change bodies because of the nature of his power, so racial classification was meaningless.

The reason I judged that this young man wasn't Han Ga-in had nothing to do with his appearance.

“You really don't know what's happening right now?”

“No.”

The young man answered as though it were nothing.

“D-don't say it so easily! I didn't turn back time because I believed you! Now there's no way to return to before the Holy Mother twisted the world!”

“It's okay.”

“What do you mean, it's okay? You said you don't know anything!”

The rather handsome young man smiled faintly.

“There are only three things I know. First, you don't need to turn back time. Everything will work out. Second, you don't need to do anything. Grandpa and I can just fish leisurely until the final moment. That's what our roles are from the start.”

It was what I always heard.

Don't turn back time.

He had come to tell me that.

There was no need to do anything until the final moment.

Just fish leisurely.

Every time I heard it, I felt terribly frustrated.

Because Paradise, which had seemed peaceful on the surface until just two years ago, was becoming a complete mess every day!

“Don't you watch the news? The British prime minister was assassinated in broad daylight yesterday!”

“Wow! Is that Fragment going to become the British prime minister? That's fine too.”

“In China-”

“Comrade Secretary is observing things closely every day.”

I was at a loss for words.