Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 501
Only Krnovel
EP.501 Episode 501 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Third Trial ‘Miskatonic University’ (3)
Episode 501 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Third Trial ‘Miskatonic University’ (3)
– Kim Ari
Late at night, I leaned against the window and thought about the information I had gathered so far.
First, those associated with the Miskatonic University Department of Occult Studies are a force opposed to the Vatican.
If you look at it this far, it feels like Miskatonic University is the villain, just like Mukseong’s opinion during the day… .
To begin with, the logic of ‘Introduction to Demonology’ that justifies the existence of chaos entities was extremely flawed.
The origins and tendencies of each chaos entity are all different, so isn’t it unfair to suppress them all at once?
It’s true that most of them are harmful to humans, so they were just killed without distinction!
The werewolf professor, I can guarantee that he has killed five or six humans in his life –
“… Phew.”
I took a deep breath and restrained myself from endlessly defending the Vatican and criticizing Miskatonic University.
The Vatican is not an administrative state, and this is not the reality we live in.
So there is no need to unnecessarily identify with it or empathize with it.
Second, what on earth is Pero’s stuffed animal?
The situation is that he was already dead and stuffed before the ordeal even began.
That is, Pero was included in the ‘previous trial’ and not the third trial.
Since Pero usually starts with a song, it might have started with an ancient Egyptian party… .
I’m not sure about this part.
There is no rule that the starting point of the Pero is next to Songi, and there are also cases where it started in a place unrelated to Songi, such as Room 206.
Who was that old man who seemed to know more about Pero than that? The Dean?
If Pero helped, would he be on our side?
Or is it a lie that Pero said he protected him?
Did he actually kill Pero and stuff him as a trophy?
Third, this letter engraved with the symbol of Horus.
What is Horus talking about out of nowhere?
What does the phrase ‘Father, why have you forsaken us?’ mean?
No, there are other, more important issues than this.
Who sent this letter to my room?
“…”
The old man I met earlier, he might be the dean.
I acted like I recognized Pero in front of that guy.
He made excuses like he wanted to touch it because it was pretty, but even I think that’s a ridiculous excuse.
Did you send me a letter knowing that I was special because of that behavior?
So is the old man the son of an Egyptian god?
You might wonder what the ‘Son of God’ is all about, but the Dean is a colossal monster who has stood alone against the Vatican for hundreds of years.
At that point, it would be normal for something like, ‘The Dean’s true identity is actually the son of God!’ to come out.
Rather, it’s more amazing if you just say they’re human.
“…”
I’m not sure about this part either.
Calling a divine being ‘Father’ is something that believers also commonly do.
Even people who go to church always say, “God the Father, Father,” right?
Therefore, the Dean may not be the son of Horus, but a believer.
“… oh.”
That is, there was a chaotic entity that was so great that it worshipped a dean who alone stood against the Vatican as a father or a god.
What on earth is Horus?
I summarized my concerns so far in three lines.
Dilemma 1: Which side should I take, Miskatonic University or the Vatican?
Concern 2: What is the relationship between Pero and the old man? Is the old man the dean?
Question 3: Who is the Dean? Is he the son of Horus or a follower of Horus? Then what is Horus?
I couldn’t come to any clear conclusions, but I knew where to go tomorrow.
*
I sought silence from early morning.
“Shall we go to the library?”
“okay.”
“Hmm, are you planning on looking through all sorts of data there?”
“Miskatonic University, History of Ancient Egypt, especially Horus.”
“what?”
“Keep that in mind, because it’s a keyword you’ll have to look for when you go. Oh, and when you have time, let’s also look into medieval Europe. There might be a story about Elena and Eunsol there.”
“Uh, um, Ari, it looks like you figured something out, and I figured something out too.”
“say it.”
The ‘young man’, who seemed to be gathering his thoughts, hesitated for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“I was so surprised to find that stuffed animal of the guy Pero that I decided to look around more. Miskatonic University seems to be full of strange things.”
Miskatonic University is a force combining chaos and occult researchers.
Of course, if there was a future management agency, it would be overflowing with strange objects that would need to be immediately quarantined.
“There’s a place that only professors can access. There must be something hidden there.”
“…”
“Well, let’s go to the library first. It’ll be easier there.”
*
Mukseong and I were soon buried among the musty smelling old books.
Because, as expected from a university library, there were so many books that seemed worth looking through.
— chin!
“Wow~! That Pharaoh took his own daughter as his wife. Does that have anything to do with our party?”
— Bam!
“It’s just a book about civil wars between the later Egyptian pharaohs. I thought there’d be a hotel party in it, but I guess not.”
— chin!
“This is a book featuring several famous beauties from medieval France. Doesn’t this woman look a bit like Elena?”
“Well, I don’t know what they have in common, other than being blonde.”
“Look carefully! This maid here has a nose that resembles Eunsol’s.”
“The age range is so different. To a 70-year-old, someone might look similar to someone in their 30s or 40s, but -”
“Ariya, does it make sense for you to say something like that to me?”
While I was spending my time feeling this way and not getting anywhere, I felt a presence on the other side.
This is Emily, the beautiful girl who begged me to show her ‘vampire powers’ in class yesterday.
— Snap!
“Ariaang!”
I was surprised when he suddenly hugged me from behind!
This isn’t a maze, what kind of behavior is this?
We just met for the first time yesterday!
“… I think it’s rude to suddenly do this.”
“Sorry. But Ariya, why were you absent today?”
“…”
If you think about it, both Mukseong and I are college students according to the setting.
Since it wasn’t exactly a vacation, of course there were classes.
They both just came to the library without caring about such trivial matters at all.
“I came to the library to study.”
“Huh, you look so sincere! But wouldn’t it be better to go to class?”
“… I’ll be leaving starting tomorrow.”
“There are lectures in the afternoon too?”
“I’ll listen to that.”
If you are absent frequently, your professors and classmates may find it strange, so be careful.
“Oh, you’re Mr. Mukseong, right? Hello!”
“Ahem, hello?”
Here he goes again!
Do you still think I’m in my 70s?
I noticed it right away.
“…Hello, Miss Emily.”
“What are you two studying? By any chance? Whoa!”
“…”
“…”
“Oh, you’re a freshman and you’re already dating -”
“Miss Emily, I am married and have children back home.”
In 1897, it would have been acceptable for a college student to get married.
“Oh my! I’m sorry. I was rude!”
“No. I just happened to meet Ari-yang at the library, so I hope there won’t be any strange rumors.”
It’s true that Mukseong got married a long time ago and even had children.
There is only the sad truth hidden in the fact that not only children but also grandchildren were killed in some way.
Anyway, I have to send this guy away.
“Emily, I’m studying right now, so let’s talk later -”
“What are you studying? Oh, I see you have a lot of Egyptian history books. You’re studying the roots of Miskatonic University?”
“…”
The roots of Miskatonic University….
Listening to Emily, I remembered what the werewolf professor said yesterday.
‘According to old records, our origins date back to ancient Egypt.’
The professor himself didn’t seem to believe this, but there must have been a reason why such rumors spread.
“Huh? But I think you’re looking at the wrong book.”
“… thank you.”
This time the answer is sincere.
“Emily, can you tell me what book I should read?”
“good!”
Soon, Emily trotted around the surrounding library and brought out several very old books.
“For your information, these books are hard to find outside of Miskatonic University.”
“okay?”
“Those who study the roots of universities usually look at it from the perspective of ‘replacement of beliefs.’”
“Change of faith?”
This is a concept I’m hearing for the first time.
“You don’t know? Long ago, in the long history of ancient Egypt, early on? It is said that the Egyptians of that time worshipped a strange god.”
“Strange God?”
“It is said that he was a being that ruled over death and the afterlife, and that he used the skull as his symbol… .”
“Doing it?”
“I actually forgot the name.”
It is said that the ancient Egyptians worshipped a strange god who ruled over death and the afterlife and whose symbol was the skull.
“One day, the Egyptians’ beliefs suddenly changed. The nameless primordial gods were completely forgotten, and all the temples were destroyed. During this process, there was a considerable civil war in the capital city of Memphis.”
“Hmm… .”
“The belief that took hold after that is the Egyptian mythology we know well. It is a belief centered around Horus, the god of the sun, sky, protection, and vengeance.”
A religious change that took place in Egypt in ancient times.
It is said that those who serve Horus have eradicated the traditional religion, whose name is now unknown.
Interestingly, this has happened countless times throughout history.
Didn’t the local indigenous beliefs collapse every time Christianity was spread?
“I understand. But what does the replacement of Egyptian beliefs have to do with Miskatonic University?”
Emily muttered with a somewhat mysterious expression on her face.
“As time went by, the Christian forces that arose in Europe invaded Egypt.”
“Is this a story from the Roman era?”
“They say that something similar happened again. This time, the priests of Horus were driven out. And… .”
“and?”
“It is said that the priests of Horus are the origin of the Miskatonic University.”
“…”
During the Roman era, the Papal See emerged in what is now Europe.
They were a group that burned chaos as a demon, and in the process of expanding their power, they drove out the Horus Cult of Egypt.
“You’d be better off looking in the book rather than asking me about the rest.”
“thank you.”
*
After Emily left, Mukseong and I devoted ourselves to studying books related to the period of the ‘change of faith’ in Egypt.
The story of how the royal family of the old days suddenly turned into strange monsters.
A rebellion by the Egyptian people who were suffering under the tyranny of monsters.
It is said that the priests of Horus were at the center of it.
“…”
There were descriptions of ‘Horus’ written here and there.
Unlike most myths that depict gods vaguely and abstractly, Horus has specific records of his actions and appearance.
As if he were a ‘historical figure’ rather than a mythological god!
“A young male in his late teens or early twenties… .”
“And they were of a different race from the Egyptians. Isn’t that amazing? The Egyptians of that time probably didn’t even know of the existence of ‘Orientals,’ yet the description is exactly like an Oriental.”
The one who controls fate.
A being that brings everyone to their knees.
One who can take on many forms and takes all of them as his own.
A liberator who overthrew the corrupt royal family and saved suffering Egypt.
Above all, it is a being that uses ‘birds’ as its symbol.
“Hey, Ariya, this, this is not it!”
“…”
“It’s so similar to someone we know’s ability? Is it a coincidence?”
“No way.”
In ancient Egypt, there was a ‘labyrinth’, and she is the owner of the heritage ‘time zone’.
“It’s Cain. There’s no doubt about it.”
Horus is Cain!
Once I realized this, information that had been confusing me until then began to unravel.
I found a thread that I could use to string beads that I didn’t know where to go.
“Priests of Horus, they were the first party.”
Kim Sang-hyun, Yoo Song-i, Park Seung-yeop, Miro, and even Yumi.
These are the priests of Horus.
“The fallen royalty would have been the boss of that ordeal.”
“The forgotten god?”
“He might have been the boss. Anyway, the first party took care of both of them.”
The next part is the key.
“Before entering the third trial, do you remember the story we told on the train?”
Mukseong nodded.
“The four trials are actually one giant trial. In the past, in the Room of Curses, we started off spatially separated, but this time, we started off temporally separated. Is that what you’re talking about?”
“I realized it before I even heard about it. The other colleagues didn’t. But!”
“After going through the ordeal, those guys realized it too! Well, it would be expected for Sang-Hyeon to realize it since he’s so smart.”
You may have realized it yourself, or it may have been Gain, summoned by Miro, who told you.
“After defeating the boss, there must have been some survivors. And those comrades… .”
“You have spread the Horus faith!”
So, the identity of the power centered around Miskatonic University is the descendants of the ‘Han Ga-in worshippers’ whose seeds were sown by the first party!
At that moment, Mukseong muttered cautiously.
“But, here, what does this phrase mean?”
The latter part of the record of the period of change of faith contained the following passage:
“Great Horus granted mercy and allowed the survivors of the fallen royal family to leave Egypt alive.”
“Just looking at the content, it seems like Ga-in let the enemies live and left them with a lot of trouble.”
“…”
“It is accompanied by a note that it signifies the infinite mercy of the omnipotent Horus.”
That can’t be true.
This part is just an interpretation added arbitrarily by a later scholar.
If it was Eunsol or Jincheol, then I don’t know, but what kind of mercy is Gain?
“I don’t know.”
I couldn’t understand the meaning of this passage.
Was there a separate reason to let the enemy live?
— Bam!
At this point, Mukseong stood up.
“Okay, we’ve done quite a bit of past research, so let’s go to the place I found. There’s bound to be something there too.”
“okay.”