Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 520
Only Krnovel
EP.520 Episode 520 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Fourth Trial ‘The Fallen King’ (6)
Episode 520 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Fourth Trial ‘The Fallen King’ (6)
– Han Ga-in
It’s 2pm, just past lunchtime.
Mina and I arrived at a quiet cafe near the Horus Church.
After that, we didn’t say anything for about five minutes.
It seemed like they were both waiting for the other to speak first.
Of course, there is no such thing as eternal silence in this world.
— Bam!
Mina took her cell phone out of her pocket and placed it on the table.
“what?”
“It’s a bit noisy around here.”
Even though we came to a quiet cafe, it wasn’t like there was no one else there besides us.
“Well, then lower your voice tone -”
“There’s no need for that.”
For a moment, I didn’t understand what he was saying.
Mina tapped the screen of her phone as if to show me off, and a simple sentence appeared.
“Set up a level 3 security space.”
“Level 3 security space?”
“Look carefully.”
“It will take about 3 minutes, so please be careful until the setup is complete. The secure space will be maintained for about 15 minutes.”
Soon, something strange happened.
The three people sitting in the back stood up and decided to go back to the office early.
The man and woman who were eating cake at the third table from the right suddenly stood up, leaving half of their cake behind, as if something urgent had come up.
Students near the kiosk left to play table tennis, and an elderly couple sitting in the corner hurriedly left, saying that they did not seem to have turned off the gas valve.
Lastly, the coffee shop worker left the store without a second thought even though we were there!
I knew it intuitively thanks to the mystical experiences I had accumulated in hotels.
You’d probably think that the people who left the cafe did so voluntarily, right?
Something urgent came up at work, the cake didn’t taste good, I wanted to play table tennis, I don’t think I turned off the gas valve –
They may think this is the cause, but it is not at all.
The real cause is the strange phenomenon created by the cell phone in front of you!
“what’s this?”
“I got promoted. I’m no longer a trainee.”
“what?”
“It’s a tool I received when I became an official agent. It can be used for various purposes, just like now.”
“What the hell is the principle? Are you brainwashing everyone in the coffee shop?”
“Pfft! It’s not that grand.”
“…”
“Have you ever heard this saying? Humans are creatures of rationalization.”
“rationalization?”
“When something happens, people tend to come up with plausible reasons. When ancient people saw lightning, they imagined a thunder god, and when modern people were unlucky, they thought of a secret organization’s conspiracy.”
“…”
“I understand it that way. I was given the thought, ‘Get out of the cafe,’ and each person just came up with a reason to match.”
It’s a subtly eerie description.
Is it possible that the real-life management agency is also using these means to control the world?
In the quiet cafe, Minah spoke in a calm tone.
“Let’s be honest. The strange book that the author summoned. Do you have it now?”
If you already know this much, lying is just a pointless waste of time.
Also, given the circumstances, it seems that Min-ah suspected me of being a ‘wizard’ but did not report it to the Vatican.
What does this mean?
“Before we talk, let me ask you one thing. What are the chances that the Vatican will suspect you and I talking?”
“Don’t worry about that part, I’ll take care of it.”
— Bam!
When I summoned the Book of Incarnation and placed it on the table, Mina made a complicated expression.
“Don’t open it.”
“If you open it and look at the contents? Will you die? Or will your eyes melt and your brain flow out?”
“…”
That’s how it is for most people, but Ari wasn’t like that.
How about this girl?
“Listen.”
Soon, Mina started telling a story about herself.
I became an agent about 7 or 8 years ago, and I have no memories before that.
I have asked the Vatican many times about my past self, but have never received a proper answer.
So, while I was living a life of half-letting go, the hotel incident happened.
“I didn’t know at first, but after thinking about what happened that day, I realized. Aha, Eunho Cha is the culprit?”
This part wasn’t it, so I quickly corrected it.
“I think you’re misunderstanding, but most of the accidents that day were caused by the author himself. I -”
“I guess so. You just did the final cleanup. But where did the author get this book?”
“…”
For a moment, I felt considerable tension.
Is this guy telling me that he gave a book of grimoires to a girl he thought was mine and caused several people to die?
This is really unfair –
“Well, I guess it’s okay now.”
“…?”
“It may not have been you, but this book itself that coveted human life. Demon entities are inherently violent and difficult to control.”
“uh -”
“What matters is the memories that come to mind when I think about you.”
Mina didn’t mention anything about the hotel business anymore.
Instead, the story continued about the ‘memories of the past’ that had been brought up at the beginning.
“When I think about you, memories from the past that I couldn’t recall on my own keep coming back to me.”
In her memories, she is said to have had meals with ‘someone who looked like me’ in a fancy five-star hotel-like place and had snowball fights in a snowy field.
It’s a memory about a hotel.
‘Someone who resembles me’ is, of course, me before my appearance changed slightly in room 207.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, but no matter how much I think about it, you seem like the key to my memories. What do you think?”
“… Let me ask you one thing.”
“say it.”
“Why didn’t you report it to the Vatican?”
Soon, she took out a small photo from her bosom with a somewhat dazed expression.
“look.”
In the photo, Mina was walking down the street looking no different than she does now, but the surrounding scenery was very different from these days.
“This photo was taken in the 1980s. I found it by chance while trying to find memories from the past.”
“…”
“I didn’t tell the Vatican. I thought they would burn the photos and erase my memories.”
At this point, I vaguely realized the situation.
As expected, there is a high probability that this girl is Ari who has lost her memory.
For some reason, she was captured by the Vatican, and the Vatican periodically erases Min-ah’s memories and uses her as a tool called an ‘agent’.
Minah herself vaguely realized this fact.
While he was doubting the Vatican, he met me and regained part of his memories. Those memories called me his comrade, so he decided to trust me instead of the Vatican and came to me.
This is the context in which not reporting to the Vatican or not pursuing further investigation into what happened at school is concerned.
“Oh, looking at you reminds me of something else. You like Zero Coke more than coffee, right?”
“… that’s right.”
It was strange.
As Minah talks to me, it seems like she is recalling Ari’s memories little by little in real time.
It wasn’t so bad because I already felt confident that he was my colleague… .
Actually, I was becoming more and more confused.
‘Almost’ all circumstances point to Mina’s true identity as Ari, who has lost her memory.
Similar appearance, loss of memory and being used by the Vatican, and even Ari’s recovering memories.
There was only one element at stake – the soul.
“…”
Once again, I examine her while drawing on the power of the Grimoire.
A faintly floating, pure white line caressed Min-ah’s body and soul, relaying to me once again the information that had already been conveyed several times.
‘This’ is not Ari.
“what’s the matter?”
“… no.”
There are two possibilities.
First, Mina is not Ari, she is someone who gained Ari’s memories.
What if Ari really is in the hands of the Vatican?
Approaching Mina itself could be a trap set by the Vatican!
Second, Mina is Ari’s soul is twisted.
If this is true, what kind of being could have twisted the soul of the Book of Incarnation to the point where it judged it to be ‘another person’?
It must be a being so lofty that humans cannot even dare to fathom it.
“Just in case, have you ever tried summoning a mysterious object?”
“what?”
“A polyhedron glowing crimson.”
“I don’t know.”
“Or maybe the blood in your body has some kind of mystical power?”
“Hmm… His regenerative powers are better than the average person’s. He also has good athletic ability.”
“…”
Since I’m not Ari, I can’t use the legacy?
Or, is Ari right, but she lost her memory and forgot how to use the Legacy?
My head hurts more and more.
Anyway, I couldn’t just keep worrying about this, so I made a decision.
“Min-ah, there’s something I have to do from now on. Maybe, in the process, you’ll be able to solve your doubts too… .”
“What is it?”
*
Whatever Minah’s identity, one thing is certain.
She has been a great help to me.
“So you didn’t come to the Church of Horus to find me?”
“It was just a mission. It was a coincidence that I met you.”
The Vatican has been monitoring the Cult of Horus, and Mina’s dispatch was part of that effort.
I don’t know if it was a coincidence that we met at church or if it was some strange coincidence, but at least it wasn’t Minah’s intention.
“The Cult of Horus did not really appear until the 1900s. It’s old for a new religion, but it’s nothing compared to Christianity. And yet it was able to expand its influence at an astonishing rate.”
“There is a ‘miracle’ behind it?”
“The Vatican thinks so. And there are some reasons for it. As you know, in this world, ‘miracle’ is usually synonymous with the devil or magic.”
The Vatican believes that unidentified miracles were involved in the expansion of the Cult of Horus.
As soon as I heard the word miracle, the divine sun came to mind.
The sacred sun made me, a miner with no power or status – number 206, into a cult leader who shook the city.
How much more so is there a sacred sun in an organization with sufficient money, power, and time?
It is possible to become a global religion that shakes the entire planet in a short period of time.
“You said the Vatican had some evidence for the miracles of the Horus Cult?”
“Our undercover agents have obtained several photographs and testimonies.”
“Has anyone seen a fireball floating in the air?”
“Fireball?”
Judging by the tilt of their heads, it seems that no agent has seen the sacred sun.
I’m sure he’s in the Horus Cult.
Are you using it secretly?
“I don’t know about fireballs, but I’ve seen things like this.”
Mina quickly took out a pen and drew a simple picture on a napkin.
For security reasons, it seems we can’t show you the photos directly.
The picture alone was enough.
I discovered the ‘Kingdom of Dreams’!
“ah…!”
“Did you know? It’s a painting that hangs on the outer wall of a secret room in a Korean church.”
I was amazed the moment I saw it.
The kingdom of dreams was hidden somewhere in the Korean diocese!
If I retrieve this painting, I can contact my comrades who must be alive somewhere in the world.
and….
“What’s wrong? You’re suddenly staring at me.”
The Dream Kingdom may be the one to determine whether this girl is the real Ari or not.
I immediately revised my short-term goals.
Rather than securing the sacred sun whose location we don’t know yet, let’s secure the dream kingdom whose location we have already confirmed.
“I need this painting. Where exactly is it hidden?”
“I can tell you the location itself. I also have a rough idea of how to get there, since I’ve already tried it. However.”
Mina made a somewhat subtle expression.
A feeling of mixed anxiety and curiosity.
“The question is whether you can go in and come out safely.”
“…”
“The leaders of the Horus Cult are ‘strange beings.’”
“Strange? Are you a superpowered person? Or maybe magic? That’s it, but -”
“No, I’m not talking about the ability part.”
“then?”
“I don’t know if they are human.”
“… The old man I met yesterday, was his name Hong Go-hak? That person?”
“well.”
It seems that the unidentified religious sect that worships me as a god is not only not a normal religion, but its leaders are not even human.
I felt a somewhat strange feeling and burst into laughter.
The next day, I infiltrated the church in earnest with Mina.