Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 90

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 89: Room 102, Curse Room - ‘House of Horror’ Re (2)

──────

- Han Ga-in

We had to figure out how to deal with the threat of possession that would begin the moment we entered the mansion.

I shared what I had in mind.

“This time, we have Sister Song-i’s bracelet, so we should be able to resist somehow. Besides, isn’t the corruption still in its early stages? Such grand abilities might not be usable yet.”

“Ga-in, no, Deacon Han. The more I hear you talk like that, the stranger it sounds.”

“We should get used to it. Isn’t the bracelet one of the highest-level powers when it comes to the mind? Couldn’t it dispel possession?”

“It could probably detect possession, but I don’t think it would be easy to dispel.”

“Why not?”

Why would it be difficult?

We had had the bracelet for quite some time, but Song-i was the only one who had even a rough understanding of its principles and limitations.

Sister Song-i paused to think. She seemed to be trying to translate the “alien knowledge” the hotel had placed in her mind when she obtained the bracelet.

“It might sound strange, but the bracelet is more of a ‘scientific’ object than an occult one.

“The source of its power is rooted beyond reality, but it was processed through science.

“Just not human science. Possession is entirely on the occult side.

“That doesn’t mean it can’t resist occult phenomena at all.

“Take possession, for example. It can defend against it, but driving it out would be impossible.”

I had no idea what the difference was between the occult and alien super-science.

I felt like a primitive man listening to someone explain a smartphone.

Still, I understood what Sister Song-i meant.

The bracelet could detect possession and defend against it. If someone was already possessed, though, it could not drive the possession out.

* * *

As soon as we reached the mansion and met the cardinal and Parishioner Eun-sol, I looked at Sister Song-i.

She shook her head. No one was possessed. Once we confirmed that, we began talking.

First, we shared what we had learned: the disappearances, Lee Se-hyeon’s reputation, and A-ri and Seung-yeop’s whereabouts.

“Did you find anything?”

The cardinal spoke.

“No. You’ll understand once you speak to him yourselves. Lee Se-hyeon, that bastard isn’t easy to deal with. If I hadn’t gone in knowing all that, I might’ve been completely taken in too.”

Lee Eun-sol spoke, sounding even deeper in character than I was.

“We couldn’t get anything out of him through conversation. He said he was worried about the disappearances in the village too and had been trying to take measures.

“There wasn’t a single opening. Lee Se-hyeon’s son, ‘Lee Si-woo,’ is also in the mansion.”

Parishioner Eun-sol continued.

“He says he’s particularly worried about the disappearances because of his son. The boy has been sickly since childhood, so he was taught at home by a private tutor. Recently, though, Lee Se-hyeon has been too anxious to even call the teacher over.”

As I considered that, Father Jin-cheol spoke.

“Didn’t we hear before entering that there was a suspicious book in this mansion’s basement?”

“That was information A-ri got during the first attempt. There was an unidentified book in the basement, and opening it would bring you face-to-face with a demon. But since time has gone back, we can’t be sure it still applies.”

“I don’t know much about architecture, but could someone build such a vast underground space overnight? I think it was built at the same time as the mansion.”

That made sense. I knew as little about architecture as he did, but the underground space probably existed even at this point in time.

The cardinal offered his opinion.

“Let’s see whether we can learn anything more over dinner, then infiltrate the mansion’s basement together tonight.”

* * *

- Han Ga-in

Dinner.

After I began speaking with Lee Se-hyeon, I understood what the cardinal had meant when he said, “I might’ve been completely taken in too.”

“So I told the manager, how long do you plan to live as a salaryman, trembling over a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand won?

“Shouldn’t you take a chance when it’s time to take one, at least if you want to stand proudly before the people you love?”

“Was that how you persuaded him and expanded your business?”

“Ha ha! Do you think a few words like that would persuade someone? What matters isn’t a few words, but a vision. And if we consider the political changes in South Korea at the time...”

This man was truly good at talking. When you got down to it, he was bragging about how successful he was and how much money he had made, yet it was incredibly entertaining.

... This wasn’t some supernatural power, was it?

It didn’t seem like it. He was simply a very skilled speaker.

Cardinal Mook-seong took the lead and interrupted the flow of conversation. Based on the information he had heard from Parishioner Eun-sol, he pressed Lee Se-hyeon about the “strange rumors.”

It didn’t work.

Without getting flustered or agitated by our pressure, he explained away several suspicions.

Regarding the suspicion that he collected occult objects, he took out a few items and said it was simply a hobby of collecting art.

When we mentioned his meetings with suspicious people, he added that someone had probably misunderstood foreigners he met for business.

The most frustrating part was that even when Elena openly used Lie Detection, none of his lies came to light.

I felt we needed to shift the atmosphere. The cardinal, apparently thinking the same thing, slapped the table.

“Mr. Lee Se-hyeon. I’ll be honest and ask you a few things.”

“I’m frightened by the thought that Your Eminence suspects me. I’ll reveal everything honestly.”

“Do you know anything about the Book of the Avatar? Even if you don’t know its name, tell us honestly if you have ever obtained an unidentified, strange book. Also, are you hiding anything from us about the disappearances?”

“I know absolutely nothing about either matter.”

I looked at Elena. She shook her head. He was not lying.

My thoughts became tangled.

As silence settled over the dining table, a boy approached.

“Mr. Lee Se-hyeon. Is that your son over there?”

“Oh? I’m sorry, everyone. Si-woo? What is it?”

Lee Se-hyeon went over to his son and began comforting him.

He looked about middle-school age. He had the air of the stereotypical sickly boy. Perhaps because his father was fairly handsome, the boy was quite cute too.

His son seemed to be unwell, so Lee Se-hyeon apologized, ended dinner early, and took him into a room.

After Lee Se-hyeon left, we continued our discussion.

“What do you think? I don’t think we’ll be able to get anything out of him through conversation.”

The cardinal answered.

“I agree. Sister Elena, was there not even the slightest lie in his words?”

“No. The items he showed us were ordinary artworks, and the foreigners he met were business contacts. He seems to know nothing about the Grimoire or the disappearances. At least, he himself believes that to be true.”

Jin-cheol offered his opinion.

“Couldn’t he have some power that resists Lie Detection?”

I spoke too.

“The situation is confusing, but let’s conserve Sister Elena’s Lie Detection for now. For some reason, it doesn’t seem to work properly on him. We shouldn’t waste it.”

The cardinal asked, “Sister Elena. How much power does Lie Detection have left?”

“Two minutes? Three? I’ve used almost all of it.”

“Save it, as the deacon said. I don’t think we can learn anything else through conversation. Let’s go to the mansion basement tonight.”

From a distance, we heard Lee Se-hyeon’s footsteps as he returned.

After silently communicating through the Chat Window for a moment, we made a plan.

Only Sister Song-i and I, who had prepared a trump card, would go down to the basement. Everyone else would remain upstairs.

The Grimoire was presumed to possess a powerful ability related to mental attacks.

We also had to consider the possibility of a demon taking possession. It was dangerous for anyone without mental resistance to approach it.

* * *

--- Cuckoo!

At the sound of the cuckoo clock, we left the room. After exchanging glances with the others, we headed toward the study.

They said there was a lever somewhere on the wall that opened the stairs leading underground, right?

It didn’t take long to find it. After pulling the lever, Sister Song-i and I entered the stairwell.

We had prepared flashlights because we had heard there was no lighting, but there was nothing we could do about the stale air. It didn’t stink exactly, but it made me feel suffocated.

We walked downward for more than thirty minutes. How many meters underground were we?

A sturdy iron door appeared in the distance.

I used the Chat Window.

* * *

Han Ga-in: Found the door. Going in.

Yoo Song-i: Haven’t found anything unusual yet.

* * *

--- Creak!

We opened the iron door and entered.

...

A strange book glowing blue.

After Sister Song-i and I looked at each other, she applied mental protection to me.

This was the trump card we had prepared.

With the bracelet and my Filter layered together, we approached the book with the greatest mental resistance we could obtain right now.

“I’m only saying this because I’m worried about you, but you shouldn’t touch it carelessly.”

Startled, I looked around. ‘Lee Se-hyeon,’ who had been hiding in one corner of the room outside the beam of my flashlight, stepped into view.

“You! Weren’t you upstairs?”

“Did you think the path you took was the only route to the basement? This place is wider than you think.”

“We clearly used Lie Detection earlier and got the answer that you knew nothing! What did you do?”

“Lie Detection? Ah! I wondered what sort of miraculous power it was when that beautiful nun’s eyes glowed earlier. So it was an ability like that?

“I didn’t do anything special. The ‘me’ at that time simply always gave truthful answers.”

As I spoke with ‘Lee Se-hyeon,’ the Chat Window activated.

* * *

Yoo Song-i: This person! Not human!

Han Ga-in: What do you mean?

Yoo Song-i: Hard to use bracelet too! Run now!

Kim Mook-seong: What is it? I’m coming down right now, get away!

* * *

This underground passage was narrow and long. It would take a long time for our companions to reach us.

Had he noticed the others coming down? The man slowly rose, snatched up the Grimoire, and spoke in a relaxed tone.

“You needn’t worry so much. If I intended to attack you, wouldn’t I have ambushed you in the dark?”

That was true. To begin with, we hadn’t even known he was hiding there. If he had ambushed us, we would have been helpless.

“If anything, I’m wondering why you didn’t ambush us.”

“If I ambushed you and killed you, wouldn’t I have to kill your friends coming down from above as well?

“Let’s say I managed to kill them all. Then the Holy See would send an army. I’m not confident I could kill them too.”

Song-i cut in.

“Then what is the purpose of this conversation?”

“I intend to show all of you clear proof.”

“Clear proof?”

The man seemed to think he had said enough. He flicked his hand.

In an instant, unidentified black chains shot out from every direction and bound Song-i and me to the wall.

That was all.

The man did not seem to intend to torment us any further.

He had no intention of killing us, and even though he knew the cardinal, priests, and others were coming down from above, he did not even intend to run.

What was he thinking?

* * *

About fifteen minutes passed before familiar faces appeared amid a loud commotion.

Jin-cheol’s anger erupted.

“You bastard! Are you trying to take hostages?”

Mook-seong seemed to think the same thing and pulled out his gun.

--- Bang!

He shot at Song-i and me!

When ‘Lee Se-hyeon’ saw where the gun was aimed, he used some sort of power, and the bullet bounced away.

Was that old man actually insane?

“Everyone, I’m sorry. I’ll send you off peacefully. We’ll kill this bastard, so don’t worry!”

Wasn’t it normal to at least pretend to rescue the hostages first?

He was going to shoot the hostages dead right away? Was this some kind of Russian-style rescue?

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who found it absurd.

“Ha ha... The Holy See truly is remarkable. I haven’t touched a hair on their heads, yet you intend to kill the hostages first? They aren’t even hostages to begin with.”

With those words, Song-i and I were released.

The cardinal looked sheepish.

“Oh? You weren’t hostages?”

“Does taking hostages have any meaning when you are all such idiots? I only intended to create plenty of witnesses.”

Witnesses?

After slowly looking over the gathered exorcist team, Lee Se-hyeon left one final remark.

“Everyone, watch carefully. I have no intention of pitting my strength against ignorant fools like you, so I’ll be leaving now.”

--- Crunch!

The chains crushed Lee Se-hyeon’s head in an instant. At the same time, the blue-glowing Grimoire spun through the air and vanished somewhere.

What the hell was this?

As everyone stood there in shock, at a loss for what to do, a notification appeared before us all.

/You have successfully escaped!/