WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 88 - Desertion (3)

-Bzzt! Bzzzzt!

Reality wrapped at my command, sending sparks dancing through the air around me.

If I was going to do this, I was going to do it properly.

"Hey! Stop the truck!”

Unit 1 hesitated at my order. At a time when countless tentacles from Floor 15 were descending to swallow us whole, stopping the truck seemed like the worst possible decision.

"Kiek?”

But I was adamant.

"I said stop.”

-Screeeeeech!

The truck’s tires screamed as it came to a halt.

The moment we stopped right in the middle of the ruined road, countless tentacles swept down from the sky.

"What are you trying to do?!”

Even Gu Bonjae, a being who normally feared nothing in a fight, looked horrified.

I said nothing and simply focused as I drew out my power.

-Bzzzzt!

A force completely different from my usual Reality Manipulation surged into existence.

"Ghk!”

My vision was swallowed by darkness. Normally, I should have blacked out on the spot, but my anomalous trait allowed me to endure it.

I stared at every tentacle within my field of view and issued a single command.

'Sever!'

My will manifested as an absolute anomaly. At that instant, one of the thick tentacles nearest to us was sliced cleanly in two.

-Slice!

But that was only the beginning. Reality Manipulation triggered a chain reaction, cutting through the countless writhing tentacles suspended in the sky.

-Slicesliceslice.

The severed tentacles fell from the heavens like giant, wriggling worms. At the same time the scream of the entity that was Floor 15 shook the sky itself.

[......Kroooooaaaaah......!]

Then something astonishing happened. The moment the tentacles were severed, the people hanging from their ends stood up on their own.

Once someone had become an entity, they couldn’t be turned back into a human. But they were no longer puppets. They had regained their own free will. Shrieking, they scattered in every direction, like a swarm of insects.

"Krreeeeh!”

"Kreeeegh!"

"Kreeeeeeeeh!"

It was as though they instinctively knew that this was their only chance to obtain freedom.

The transcendent entity that was Floor 15 hurriedly lashed out with its remaining tentacles, desperately trying to recapture them.

[......Mine......!]

Its frantic movements left it completely exposed. Gu Bonjae hurriedly shouted,

"We’ve got our chance! We have to run!”

But I couldn’t answer. The King’s Noose was constricting my throat too tightly. Besides, my attention had already been drawn elsewhere.

'What’s that?'

Something caught my eye. Along the side of the colossal monster, inside a slit that resembled a giant gill, I saw something.

A vivid, crimson light.

I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I knew one thing for certain. That was the core of that transcendent being. An overwhelming amount of anomalous energy radiated from it.

Almost instinctively, I targeted the core.

"......!"

The King’s Noose tightened around my throat even further. Watching from nearby, Nicola cried out in alarm.

"Brother! If you push it any further, you’re really going to die!”

I ignored him. Instead, I imagined drawing every last bit of energy out of that crimson core.

Reality Manipulation turns imagination into reality.

-Vrrrrm!

The energy contained within the crimson core began flowing toward me. It felt as though I were drinking through a giant straw.

The enormous mass of flesh lurched violently.

[......What are you doing.........!]

For the first time, there was unmistakable panic in the voice of that transcendent being.

At the same time, the entirety of Floor 15 began to tremble. The road rippled beneath us. The gigantic bones rising like roadside trees snapped apart.

But I couldn’t spare any attention for that.

'What? What is this?!’

The immense energy I’d absorbed from the monster was changing my body.

In an instant, the pathways that allowed me to contain anomalous energy began expanding. They became far larger and intricate.

Then I realized what I was feeling.

'Am I ranking up?!'

There was no doubt. My Awakened ability was advancing to the intermediate stage. And naturally, the amount of power I could safely channel through the King’s Noose began increasing as well.

I’d wondered why this was happening. Perhaps the power absorbed from that crimson core was something like a heavenly elixir.

It was as though I’d swallowed countless miraculous treasures, things like aviation kerosene or the 10,000-year Snow Ginseng, all at once, causing my rank as an Awakened to rise automatically.

On top of that, my Awakened ability existed to support the Kings Noose. The synergy between the two was extraordinary.

'What immense power.'

Of course, there was still a limit to how much I could absorb at once.

Only the portion I successfully assimilated directly contributed to my promotion to the intermediate stage. The rest remained inside me as temporary energy.

For that moment, I had exceeded the maximum amount of anomalous energy my body was supposed to be able to hold.

'This is almost comparable to the power of a God-Class entity, right?'

Of course, it was only temporary. Once I spent it, it would disappear. But for this brief moment I could imitate the power of a God-Class being.

Before the King’s Noose tightened any further, I decided to unleash one final attack.

'Let’s make this one count.'

I raised my hand toward the sky. Then, I prepared the most devastating strike I could possibly imagine.

A Meteor Strike straight out of fantasy.

-Flash!

The heavens split apart. The sky above, covered by that colossal mass of flesh, was sliced open as though cut by an invisible blade.

Beyond the rift, I could see the space between Backrooms floors. The same empty void where the Hanging King had once fallen.

Deep within that emptiness a brilliant light burned like a distant star. It rapidly drew closer. Then radiance burst forth from the gap between the floors.

A meteor erupted out of that dimensional rift and hurtled toward Floor 15 straight at the colossal mass of flesh.

-Whoooooooosh!

With a sound like the air itself was being torn apart, the blazing meteor plunged toward the colossal mass of flesh that was Floor 15.

The hundreds of thousands of eyes embedded in that grotesque body stared at it in fear.

-Booooooom!

The instant the light struck, the entire world turned white. Then sound, color, and even sensation disappeared.

For those few moments, even the King’s Noose no longer felt oppressive.

A short while later, when I opened my eyes, the enormous mass of flesh that had filled all of Floor 15 was engulfed in flames.

The entire world had turned crimson. Blistering heat and choking black smoke filled the air.

[......Krooooh...... Graaaah......]

Of course, that didn’t mean the transcendent entity that was Floor 15 had died. But it had clearly suffered catastrophic damage. Its countless tentacles hung limply as it lay sprawled across the sky.

"It’s time to go!”

Gu Bonjae shouted. I nodded. With a flick of my finger, I erased the concrete wall sealing the entrance to Hwangcheon Tunnel, then released the King’s Noose.

"Ghk!"

Blood poured from my nose and mouth as I collapsed backward. At that very moment the truck lurched into motion.

-Vrooom!

Lying on the rattling truck bed, I watched Floor 15 burn as it screamed in agony.

"See you again……”

The next time I returned, Floor 15 would probably look very different.

* * *

"Uugh......"

There was one thing I knew for certain. The weak groan echoing in my ears was coming from my own mouth.

So I was still alive.

My hazy memories slowly began returning.

The last thing I remembered was the truck heading toward Hwangcheon Tunnel. Then we must have escaped.

But something else caught my attention. The back of my head felt strangely soft and comfortable. Was there really such a pleasant pillow?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, a gentle voice spoke.

"Oppa, are you okay?"

At the same time I felt a cool hand gently stroking my forehead.

"Ah......"

When I opened my eyes, Seoul Suyeon was looking down at me. My head was resting on her lap.

I hurriedly tried to sit up, but she softly pressed my head back down.

"It’s okay. Just stay like this.”

"......"

"Is it uncomfortable?”

"No, it’s too comfortable…”

"Hehe."

I decided to simply enjoy this peace for a little while. The warmth against my body felt undeniably real.

I’d really escaped Floor 15.

Keeping my eyes closed, I quietly asked,

"How did you manage to send that letter? And what happened?”

"After you entered Floor 15, we didn’t hear a single thing from you for more than 2 weeks.”

"Really?”

"Yes. In the end, I had no choice but to ask Director Yoon for help. Together with Ivan and the Awakwend that Director Yoon sent, we made our way to the entrance of Floor 15 by the shortest route we could. That’s how I managed to send the letter.”

"...Thank you. You saved my life.”

If it hadn't been for Seol Suyeon this time, I might really have died. After a moment, I couldn’t help asking.

"By the way, Suyeon."

"Yes?"

"Why aren’t you my girlfriend?”

"What?"

Seol Suyeon’s eyes widened in surprise. Her expression plainly asked, where in the world did that come from? So I explained.

"When I lost my memories, I saw your picture.”

"...And?”

"My first thought was that you were unbelievably beautiful."

"Oh my...."

"And that you were exactly my type. For some reason, just looking at you made my heart race. Then I found out we’d even taken smiling selfies together.”

Seol Suyeon answered quietly.

"We took quite a few whenever we had the chance...."

"Right, and Nicola told me we even lived together.”

"Um…That’s not exactly wrong……”

"Anyway, while I had amnesia, my heart kept pounding. I kept thinking, ‘Someone like her lives with me? Then she had to be my girlfriend, right? Wow, Park Minho, what kind of lucky bastard are you?’”

"What? Hahaha.”

Seol Suyeon laughed as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Before I’d noticed, she’d leaned in. Her face was much closer now.

"So? Go on.”

"Then I got my memories back, and suddenly I felt disappointed."

"Did I do something wrong?”

"No, I was disappointed because you weren’t my girlfriend. And at the same time I got genuinely angry at myself.”

"Angry? Haha."

"I really was, you know? You’re my favorite VTuber and the person I trust most through everything in the Backrooms. How does it make any sense that you’re still not my girlfriend?”

"So?”

"When we got back, I decided you were finished. I was going to confess. No more hesitation.”

"......."

At some point, Seol Suyeon’s large eyes had come right in front of mine. When the moment finally arrived, the words I’d prepared refused to come out.

But Seol Suyeon simply waited patiently.

The strands of her hair brushed gently against my cheek. They tickled. Just like my heart did. In the end, I forced the words out.

"Suyeon, will you go out wi….Mph!”

Instead of answering, Seol Suyeon simply pressed her lips against mine.

* * *

The fires consuming Floor 15 continued to burn. The flames spread endlessly, showing no sign of ever dying out.

The place that had once housed the military collapsed into ruin. Burning buildings and shattered structures made it resemble a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

The countless soldier-entities who had once been transformed into puppets were no longer under anyone’s control. Freed from the entity’s grip, they scattered in every direction.

But the most serious problem was the wound inflicted upon the transcendent being known as Floor 15.

Because of that injury, the boundary between levels had been torn open. Throughout Floor 15 it was now possible to see vast holes opening into the empty void between levels. From those rifts, a black mist began to seep out.

-Fshhhh.

The gas-like substance drifted free, gradually gathering together into a single shape. Before the fires of Floor 15 could die out or its flesh could regenerate, it escaped through the opening.

The cloud of black mist condensed, taking on a solid form. It slowly transformed into a towering, grotesque figure.

Its entire body was wrapped in ragged, filthy bandages. Upon its head rested a faded crown. It was the Hanging King.

[……I have returned……]

Having been cast into the void between levels by Park Minho’s Reality Manipulation, the Hanged King had used the collapse of Floor 15 to make his way back.

Almost immediately, Floor 15 reacted to his anomalous presence.

The timing couldn't have been better. Its entire body had been ravaged by flames. Its flesh was desperately trying to regenerate, and after having so much of its power drained by that human, it trembled with weakness.

Now an excellent source of nourishment had appeared before it. The gigantic tentacles slowly writhed, reaching toward the King. But the horrifying monarch, his eye sockets nothing more than empty black holes, merely smiled.

[A lowly creature that doesn’t know its place…]

Whoever had done it, the insignificant being occupying this floor had been weakened. Even so, it still possessed an immense amount of anomalous power.

More than enough to satisfy the starving King’s hunger.

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