Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 366
Only Krnovel
Episode 366 – No. 205, Room of the Curse – ‘Absolute Master’ (15)
The old man standing on top of the wall that had protected the Gwangmyeong Empire from foreign enemies for hundreds of years looked outside with a worried expression.
Was it because he was worried about the future of an empire that had finally reached its limits?
It wasn’t.
For Kim Muk-seong, the ’empire’ was nothing more than a fake with no value.
What he was worried about was not the future of the illusory empire, but the safety of his comrades who had left to destroy the Sky Tower beyond the wall.
“Ugh… . I should have gone with you too! Elena, do you think it will go well?”
The cloaked woman standing next to the old man, Elena, who had returned to the barrier a little while ago, answered.
“well… . “It should work out well-cough!”
Perhaps it was because it was late and cold, or perhaps because she was overusing her ominous imagination, but Elena looked even more haggard and tired than usual.
“You’d better go in and rest. “Go to the emperor’s side and rest.”
“I won’t refuse.”
With those words, Elena left for the imperial palace to rest and serve as the emperor’s escort.
When Mukseong, who was left alone on the wall, was sighing, the guard who was watching the guard post came running and reported.
“Elder!”
As for the silence, the situation of receiving the report itself was a bit funny.
This is because he does not hold any official position in the first place.
However, after his outstanding performance in the previous round, the soldiers began to treat him as if he were a general or something.
This may be because we live in an era where expert officers without official positions who fought alongside us some time ago are more trustworthy than ostentatious high-ranking civil servants.
“What?”
“Someone wearing strange clothes has arrived!”
“You came?”
“Oh, they say he’s an old man’s friend!”
What kind of bullshit is this? There’s no way my friend is here –
there is.
If he were not Kim Muk-seong’s friend but a friend of ‘Talhonnoya’, he might be.
Based on the setting, it seems like I’ve been living as a martial artist for over 50 years, but it’s even weirder if I don’t have any friends.
“What friend in this situation? “Just give him some old money and send him back.”
“I-I’m sorry, but-”
It looks like he is an expert.
“Hi… . Where are you? “Guide me.”
“yes!”
*
– Eunsol Lee
The work at Sky Tower was completed successfully.
I decided to think so.
In any case, you stopped Cardamos’ summoning ritual itself, right?
The problem is that what happened next went against common sense.
After waking up from the vision shown by Cardamos, as soon as we left the Sky Tower, what greeted us were the Baehwa cultists who had woken up from a nightmare and were engulfed in anger.
I thought one of our fates was confirmed: either we would be wiped out, or we would miraculously escape in a massacre.
It wasn’t.
This is because Jo Won-hong appeared out of nowhere, bleeding, and the Baehwa cult leader stopped the cultists and sent us away.
At that moment, not only we, but also the Bae Hwa believers who had surrounded us, and Lee Ja-seong, who had been pursuing the cult leader, looked embarrassed.
The leader spoke to us with eyes filled with infinitely complex emotions.
‘Go back. Go back and face your fate.’
‘… What do you mean?’
‘Have you not seen it with your own eyes? ‘The ending the Prince of Blue Flame has prepared for you is not here.’
I couldn’t understand.
First, I couldn’t understand the terrible vision of death shown by the Prince of Blue Flame.
Second, I couldn’t understand the religious leader’s crazy attitude that he shouldn’t kill us now because God’s eldest grandson foresaw such a future.
I really felt like I would never be able to understand the thoughts of such a fanatic.
Elena, who was resting in the imperial palace, stopped by the wall and called me to ask.
“sister?”
“Elena, I have a question to ask you about the God of Baehwagyo.”
“Tell me.”
“Is Baehwagyo a kind of polytheistic religion?”
“Polytheism?”
“It seems like there are multiple divine beings. Asha, Cardamos. “Is there more?”
“Bohu Manach, Asha Bahista, Ameretat, Agni and many others. “It would not be wrong to say that it is a polytheistic religion.”
“Which of them is the prisoner?”
“well… . “Do we really need to find out?”
It’s not wrong.
There won’t be any prisoners running rampant in this room, so there’s no need to bother trying to find out their identity.
“Can you tell me about Cardamos again?”
“The eldest son of Asha’s eldest son, the prince of the eternally burning blue flame. He sees what no one else can see. “Son of destiny.”
“Can you see the future?”
“According to the myth, yes.”
“Hmm… .”
“What’s wrong?”
“no. “Go and rest.”
Elena tilted her head and eventually returned to the imperial palace.
“…”
Little by little, I feel stuffy.
Is the illusion shown by God that he can see the future really an illusion?
If it was some specific information, I would have discussed it with my colleagues, but I was reluctant to even bring it up as a topic because it was more of an ominous image.
With a sigh, I forgot about my unanswered concerns and began to focus on handling the administrative tasks that had piled up on the table while I was away from the wall.
Late at night, someone knocked.
“Johwamunju, may I come in?”
It’s my grandfather’s voice.
Would you come at a time like this? You could have used a chat window… .
Did you come not as ‘Kim Muk-seong’ but as the temporary director of the barrier?
“Please come in.”
— Snap!
In a calm manner, my grandfather relayed stories such as that something was wrong with the water channel installed at the bottom of the wall, or that some of the food he had been storing had rotted.
It’s an ordinary report.
“…”
Eunsol Lee: Answer.
“By the way, Master Moon. Yesterday evening, the barbarians of the north sent an envoy. “I want to listen -”
Eunsol Lee: Anyone who sees the chat window immediately –
“Isn’t this nonsense? So I sent those kids back! Have you noticed it already? “You have great hair!”
*
– Kim Sang-hyun
The moment Ms. Eunsol stopped speaking in the chat window, my body already stood up from the bed.
As the door opened like a bolt of lightning, the maids and the soldiers who were dozing off nearby looked at me in surprise.
“Ho, escort? What happened suddenly-”
“Let me know! “Something strange has happened to Jo Hwamunju’s identity!”
The sound of soldiers running in all directions in surprise was heard from behind.
I ran frantically to the room where Eunsol was handling administrative work, and even before I could open the door, the smell of blood that assaulted my nose made me dizzy.
— Jump up!
Inside the room was the body of Eunsol, who had been murdered so brutally that it was difficult to describe and Mukseong with her mouth half-open.
“What is this?”
“I do not know! “I came in to report, but Hwaseongmunju was already like this!”
“What the hell is this! Did Baehwagyo send an assassin? Wow, Cardamos’s foresight has come true in this way!”
“The prophecy of Cardamos?”
Mukseong, who did not participate in the destruction of the Sky Tower, responded by asking what he meant.
“I’ll explain later! First, let’s take care of the situation -”
“I want to hear it now.”
“…”
I raised my head in a daze.
The old man’s eyes were spinning at strange angles.
He was not silent.
It was ‘something’ that took over the body in silence.
*
A quiet room, a space where not even the bare minimum of furniture is visible, let alone luxurious decorations.
The old man was sitting cross-legged in silence in the middle.
At that time, the door opened and a young man, Kim Sang-hyun, came in.
“Master!”
“…”
“We’re in big trouble! It is said that an assassin from Baehwagyo came in and harmed Jo Hwamunju. “Go to the imperial palace immediately and -”
“Enough with the joke.”
“…”
“It looks like you want to see the emperor, right? The purpose is revenge? The Emperor would have died long ago… .”
“Ah, I’m losing face today.”
The old man asked calmly, as if he were dealing with an old friend.
“Has anything unpleasant happened?”
“There was! Huh… . Ja-seong, please listen to my complaint for a moment.”
“Tell me.”
“I woke up after 30 years of sleep because I was attacked by those damn bugs?”
“You had a hard time. “It’s a pity I couldn’t stab you one more time.”
“You really speak beautifully. Anyway, the kid who woke me up used a strange object that suddenly made me untouchable.”
“Hoo?”
“That’s what happens when you turn the hourglass over. Are you familiar with that thing?”
“I don’t know because my experience is still short.”
“I wanted to know what this was, but I had to do what I had to do, so I came to the imperial capital. “I don’t know how much I expected when I came here.”
“however?”
“But strangely, everyone noticed me quickly.”
“Huh… . “It seems that the tension was maintained thanks to Cardamos’ prophecy.”
“prophecy? I heard that story before. “What is it?”
“It’s no big deal. “It was the being that Baehwagyo tried to summon, and it predicted the deaths of many people.”
With those words, the old man turned back.
At that time, Sanghyun raised the corners of his mouth and asked the old man.
“But Ja-seong… .”
“…”
“What was your condition in the prophecy? “Are you dead too?”
“Check for yourself.”
*
– Two days ago, Maze
After the teacher fired the final flash, a huge passage leading underground appeared.
When I jumped into the passage, I thought it would feel like a huge slide, but it wasn’t.
This is because, unlike the slide with a smooth surface, there were sharp stones everywhere.
If I hadn’t been wearing a hazmat suit, I would have slipped down the aisle and my body… .
Let’s stop thinking about it because it’s terrible.
If I hadn’t been wearing a protective suit in the first place, I would have died a long time ago.
While sliding for a while, a place that looked like an empty space appeared underground out of nowhere.
The body fell due to gravity and finally reached the floor.
— Slosh!
“Oh my!”
…
“What’s this?”
The surrounding area was full of black jelly-like objects, but when I touched it, it was very mysterious to see that it was springy and suddenly turned into a gas.
“Where should I go? Is it over there?”
There was an open road in front.
Unlike me, who fell due to gravity and stopped moving as soon as I arrived at the clearing, the flash continued straight ahead without any such effect.
“Ugh! “What is this?”
In the center of the clearing, there were traces of a rock that had fallen from above, broken shackles and broken iron bars, and the remains of a human being.
I’m not stupid, and I couldn’t not know what this was even when I saw it with my own eyes!
“No, right? No, right? “Isn’t it?”
I ran in a huff and grabbed the ‘hands’ of people scattered everywhere.
These are hands that know! It’s a hand I’ve already held a few times.
“Gain… .”
At this point I fell to the floor in a daze.
We went through all sorts of hardships to try to wake Ga-in up and dug into the interior of Cheonsan Mountain, but in the process, thanks to the destruction of the terrain caused by the flash, Ga-in’s body in the center was crushed!
What kind of ridiculous accident is this?
It was so absurd that I didn’t even have the energy to be angry.
If you think about it, it was a place full of cruelty and bloodshed, but the absurdity and futility overcame the fear.
“Does this make sense? “Does this really make sense?”
“It doesn’t make sense.”
“yes? “No, I was so damn excited to wake you up!”
“okay?”
“You worked so hard, but it was all in vain? Really, what is this-”
“It won’t be in vain, right?”
“…”
Suddenly, I came to my senses.
Now, I… .
‘Who are you talking to’?
The thick gas that was spread everywhere began to dance.
Even though I couldn’t hear any more words… .
The pressure felt like someone was grabbing my heart, freezing my soul.
I was shaking and thinking, not even able to breathe properly.
Unlike Gaini, the Hwanma is an immortal being who does not die even if his body disappears.
The owl informed him that if Ga-in’s mind awakens, he can handle the illusion.
The final flash… .
At the same time as destroying the phantom’s seal, Ga-in’s body was destroyed and his spirit was also destroyed.
The thick gas touched the surface of the protective clothing in a lump that resembled a hand.
“Let me borrow your body for a moment. outside -”
The next moment, I saw a strange vision.
A flame burning in the deep sea, ice that does not melt even in lava.
Something that has not changed even over eons stretched out its hand and lightly wrapped around my body.
To me who raised my head in fascination –
The masked one, the benefactor, spoke with his mouth.
‘Hourglass’
“You’ve learned some unusual talent? There’s nothing to be afraid of. You freed me, right? I will give you endless glory -”